The Newbie's Guide to TF2 Unlocks

[Fanta Grape]

It's pissing me off. Every second heavy is using brass beast, two out of three pyros are using backburner and it feels like every damn scout is using a soda popper, so here's a guide for new people as to which unlocks you should use and which unlocks you shouldn't.

Use most of the time:

Axetinguisher
Equaliser
Degreaser
Ubersaw
Sandvich
Gloves of Running Urgently

Highly Situational Weapons:

Batallion's Backup
Scottish Resistance
Brass Beast
Dalokoh's Bar
Sydney Sleeper
Warrior's Spirit
Quickfix
Diamondback
Bazaar Bargain
Big Earner
Fan-of-War
Natascha

Except for the 'Always use' weapons, try to stick to the stock weapons. Of course, there's nothing wrong with trying out new stuff, having fun and overall, just enjoying the experience. The problem is, Valve does not balance their weapons properly, and then a bunch of free-to-play players end up equipping anything they get not knowing that the weapons are usually worse. They get into bad habits, and overall, it hinges on their ability to play more effectively.

Now I know there's a bunch of you shaking your head side-to-side thinking, "This guy takes the game too seriously, he doesn't know how to have fun." But honestly, I think the most enjoyable part of Team Fortress 2 is to develop your skills both for yourself and as a team player to win the game. There's nothing more satisfying than a really close match where both teams are constantly doing really effective strategies and manoeuvres.

Playing a demoknight is fun; and just today, I had 13 heads on my eyelander at one point in the match, but when your team is losing in seconds, you can't even walk out of spawn without dying, and the rest of your team is a bunch of sydney sleeper snipers ... is that really fun? Moderation is the key here.

Any questions on any weapons, please ask

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Ok, a large number of things:

1. The soda popper is awesome. If you're good with your timing it allows you to completely control when and where you use your crits. If you're good with it you can take out 3 or even 4 enemies during a single crit with it. Great for rushing a point that you know the enemy is already capturing, and unleashing the crit on them right as you reach them. Not as much versatility as the stock shotgun, but much more power if you use it right.

2. The Scottish resistance is useful if you're attempting to defend multiple entrances into a chock point by yourself.

3. Brass Beast is good on defense, especially in payload (absolutely useless on offense though).

4. Sidney sleeper is good for assists and for holding the enemy team at bay making it good for defense. It's fast to fire for good damage, and does not require a lot of precision, meaning it's very quick for hitting multiple targets. You won't get the kill but it's easy for teammates to pick up an assist, especially since your target gets coated in jarate and takes more damage. Also makes enemies think twice about attacking after they've been hit, and makes them go looking for health, stalling the enemy if they don't have enough medics.

Each of the weapons has it ups and downs. The standards are good for their versatility in all situations, but once you know what you're good at, and what skills you excel at you can use the weapons which have more defined niches, and which to a layman may seem less useful, but which you personally are extremely proficient with.

Now the OP needs to figure out that there isn't a single weapon that should "never be used" and get over himself.

 

[MajorTomServo]

There isnt a single useless weapon in the game. Everything is there on purpose with a different strategy in mind. If you dont like it, fine, but that doesnt mean no one else should use it.

 

[CobraX]

It's pissing me off. Every second heavy is using brass beast, two out of three pyros are using backburner and it feels like every damn scout is using a soda popper,

People use the Soda Popper because It is op like a mutha trucka, It makes sense that so many Scouts use it, since as I said, It's really good. Also the Brass Beast is not that big of a deal, I see more Tomislav Users running around. Same goes for the Backburner, most Pyros I see run around with the basic Flamethrower or the Degreaser. Also why the lack of love for the Sydney Sleeper and Quick-Fix?

It seems like you just hate the Non-Basic Weapons in TF2 in general, why don't you just play on Clasic servers?
The only over powered weapon is the Soda Popper, everything else in TF2 is really well balanced.

There isnt a single useless weapon in the game. Everything is there on purpose with a different strategy in mind. If you dont like it, fine, but that doesnt mean no one else should use it.

This guy has a opinion I agree with. I like this guy. It's really late where I live, so my apologies if this post didn't make much sense.

All the weapons have their owns situations where they excel and situations where they fail. Certain weapons/classes counter other weapons/classes. Everything in TF2 is really well balanced. Except the Soda Popper, that damn thing needs the Nerf Hammer so bad.

What we should really be talking about is how much we all want some new HATS, AMIRITE?!

 

[Sir Boss]

soo... never use some of the (situationally) better weapons, methinks the original poster is just sore over something. Soda Popper for example in the right hands ca wreak unholy amounts of butpain

 

[deleted126167]

DELETED

 

[Fanta Grape]

There isnt a single useless weapon in the game. Everything is there on purpose with a different strategy in mind. If you dont like it, fine, but that doesnt mean no one else should use it.

Okay, let me try to clarify. First off, I'll take down the Soda Popper. I don't play scout that much and most good scouts I know just go to the scattergun for consistency but I can understand how people will like it.

Now here's the thing. A weapon's practicality is strongly related to its ability to be used for general purposes. This is why the standard 6v6 classes are so strongly used when it comes to the format, because they're an all purpose set. Switching to double heavy on the last cap or using an engineer and sniper on a map like gravel pit is understandable. But the problem is that these are being used as primaries by many people. The megaheal with its charge rate is horrendously impractical, the bazaar bargain does not reward skill but rewards camping. A weapon that's only useful for about 10% of the time is suddenly being used 100%.

What all you people need to remember is that this, as it says in the title, is a newbie's guide. The people who are using these weapons are not constantly switching out their loudout depending on the situation. These people aren't calculating the effectiveness of these weapons. They're using them because they found them and then end up overusing it. I remember back when I started TF2, I had a lot of trouble playing demoman because I equipped the scotres thinking it was a better weapon. It was definitely useful in a lot of situations, but not nearly as many as a default one would be.

A small anecdote for anyone still reading, but I was recently on a server and the trade popped up and I accepted. He was just asking for some weapons to trade and he offered me what he had on screen. I saw that the brass beast was equipped and I told him two things.
1. If he wants to trade, he should go to a trade server.
2. He shouldn't use the brass beast because it's just not very practical.
Later on in the game he was using the default minigun and he was extremely pleased with the result of what he managed to do. He thanked me and I left the server soon after that.

People who don't thoroughly understand the game of TF2 will choose a weapon which they instinctually think is better and stick to it. This is a guide for newbies who don't understand the game yet.

Just got into TF2 again after being away for 2-3 years, this is very useful, thank you!

If you've played before, I think you should ask around which weapons are good or not. If you know the game, you'll find a use for the never-use weapons. But generally, if you want to play successfully without wanting to try something different, the stock loudout and the always use weapons are pretty reliable.

 

[Saika Renegade]

Having either ruthlessly killed or saved the life of myself or another member of my team with each of the weapons listed in the 'never use' category, I am hard pressed to take such suggestions seriously.

For instance: The Scottish Resistance. Limited airburst opportunities? True. You're not going to be able to front-load as much damage in a short period of time. Absolutely -brutal- defensive capabilities? You bet. One KOTH match on Nucleus ended in blood, gibs, and hilarity because the last second push being made by the enemy team's trio of heavies was brought to a violent end by my team's demo detonating over a dozen sticky bombs he'd placed on the ceiling above the point, and as I was healing him at the time, I also got the assists. We basked in their rage.

Or alternatively: Natascha. Less powerful than the standard guns, yes. Much less so early on? Yes, albeit due to the numerical reporting this has mostly been fixed. Its utility and its rage-inducing qualities skyrockets when you are paired with another heavy, and you have your bullet hose slowing down a pyro while your buddy with the Brass Beast tears them several dozen new orifices. (Also, the Brass Beast--painfully slow for offense, brutal on defense, again, much like the SR).

Or perhaps those are too loud and abrupt, let's talk the Sydney Sleeper. No instant kills? True. The ability to quickly and effortlessly hamstring an enemy player's defensive ability at range? Priceless. Yes, it isn't designed for sniper duels. It isn't made for the 'traditional sniper role' of scattering gray matter across walls. What it -is- good at is guerrilla warfare, quickly debilitating an enemy for the rest of the team to shred. Why do that when you can kill people outright, you ask? Simple. Attention--headshots leave people gunning for you. Alternately, a sniper who doesn't put it through the brainpain every time but knows how to not get hit can contribute effectively.

Conversely, if that's not skilled enough for you, consider the Bazaar Bargain then. For those who -are- talented enough to consistently put lead into frontal lobes, it is an absolute terror. It's slow to start, no denying it, but it's rather like a bulldozer: I've met two highly talented players who have taken this 'never use' weapon and hit enemy teams like a Mack truck with cut brakes.

As long as it's actively contributing to the success of the team, the playstyle, or the skills of the player at hand, no weapon is useless. They may be more difficult to use than the 'ideal loadouts' perhaps, but never useless.

 

[Fanta Grape]

snip

read my post above yours.

Those weapons can be utilised but they're often very situational, and they don't really teach you how classes are standardly played.

 

[snagli]

I rather like the Big Earner, Batalion's Backup, Quickfix and Warrior's Spirit, but I can understand how a new player might use them and learn bad habits. That's how I got my Cloak and Dagger addiction which took me 15 hours of forced failing to get rid of.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I'm sorry, but this list is just a great big illustration of what's wrong with the gaming community. Let people use what they want. Hell, the fact that you listed the Quickfix in the never use section is just flat-out wrong. Have you ever seen a Quickfix-Scout team? They literally win on every CTF map in under 3 minutes.

Every weapon added to TF2 ever is excellent in the right hands. You might say some of these are "too situational". Well, that's why you can change your loadout on the fly. To adapt to the situation, that's what makes a good TF2 player: The ability to adapt.

 

[gigastar]

snip

read my post above yours.

Those weapons can be utilised but they're often very situational, and they don't really teach you how classes are standardly played.

And you realise that the point of some of theese weapons is to alter the standards by which a class is played?

 

[Fanta Grape]

snip

read my post above yours.

Those weapons can be utilised but they're often very situational, and they don't really teach you how classes are standardly played.

And you realise that the point of some of theese weapons is to alter the standards by which a class is played?

That's true, but I think it'd be better for a soldier to learn how to make the best use of his rocket jumping as opposed to sticking to a liberty launcher all the time. I think it's important for new people to learn the basics before they try to specialise in something.

 

[Anthony Wells]

i play for fun. i have loadouts i personally am really really good with. hell i manage to take the brass beast and wreak havoc on the entire enemy team in an offensive rush. i can be considered a newb because i started back in march but im damn good now constantly placing in third fourth fifth or second in maps i never get first but im not going out for the most points im trying to help my team. hence why when there is too many of one class i stay away from said class. i find the quick ifx extraordinarily helpful since i get my uber off before the others i have capped several points with a heavy using it and managed to isolate teams. i can use most of those weapons extremely well even in situations that dont call for them. but i practice constantly against bots and my friends with the different weapons and i learn to use them in ways most people find stupid and i often get called out for it yet we usually win when i do it.. im not saying im a tide turner and that does happen rarely but i think i contribute to the team effort of winning the match and if i have done that then i did my job as a team player.

 

[Fanta Grape]

i play for fun. i have loadouts i personally am really really good with. hell i manage to take the brass beast and wreak havoc on the entire enemy team in an offensive rush. i can be considered a newb because i started back in march but im damn good now constantly placing in third fourth fifth or second in maps i never get first but im not going out for the most points im trying to help my team. hence why when there is too many of one class i stay away from said class. i find the quick ifx extraordinarily helpful since i get my uber off before the others i have capped several points with a heavy using it and managed to isolate teams. i can use most of those weapons extremely well even in situations that dont call for them. but i practice constantly against bots and my friends with the different weapons and i learn to use them in ways most people find stupid and i often get called out for it yet we usually win when i do it.. im not saying im a tide turner and that does happen rarely but i think i contribute to the team effort of winning the match and if i have done that then i did my job as a team player.

Fantastic! You're a team player for TF2 and you're having fun with it. No problem! You're willing to learn and you're doing it effectively. I can totally understand that. My problem is that often there'll be a quickfix medic, a brass beast heavy and 10 big earner spies on one team when a sentry needs to be taken down. Now surely, that can be quite frustrating. There's definitely uses for all the weapons I listed but it's just that a well oiled team often won't ever need some of these because of how they operate. I play heavy competitively for a highlander clan and I get very annoyed when I see other heavies sitting in the corner of the map with the natascha not able to know how to play offensively because the weapon wasn't made for that sort of use.

 

[Rednog]

Really a never use list?
Learning to use weapons properly and for their intended purpose should take some off that list (granted some are super situational).
Example the brass beast is great on defense where you're really not going anywhere, plant your feet on a point and go at it. Hell if you're good enough on payload you can use it on offense, either sit on the car or right in front so the cart either pushes/carries you. Your place is with the cart the speed loss isn't that big of a deal. It's the opposite of the tomislav, intended for defense not high movement offense.

Quickfix, you're there to top people off, you're not going to be a single target carry. Don't strap yourself to a heavy in the traditional manner, you're spreading heals rapidly to the team and backing up other medics by filling up hp at speeds they can't.

The Sydney sleeper is a good gun for people who aren't so great at the point and click adventure that is snipers in tf2. So they can't score headshots, the sleeper is a decent tool for lower end snipers, and for people on the higher end you're going to basically play quick scope a thon where you're just going to be firing over and over into people to get them under jarate effects so your team can mini crit them to death.

I personally love the fan of war, the scout melee weapons overall aren't that great and you really don't want to be using melee as a scout except for maybe the occasional spy that goes invisible on you and you're trying to find him. I love the fan for the ability to take out bigger targets, killing the higher health targets like a heavy or a health buffed player can be tricky as a scout. Run up behind tap with fan of war, scatter gun to the back, they're either dead or you dispatch them with another quick shot.

Yes I know this a newbie guide but still, most newbies aren't going to have the alternative weapons anyway.

 

[DazZ.]

Use the Scottish Resistance on defence.

If you're area denying it's much more effective, as is the brass beast on the last point, although I'd take the Scottish Resistance even if I was heading to mid, but I wouldn't go further than what we had capped. Brass beast I would use just on the last point of my defence, and stand on the point.

 

[Anthony Wells]

i play for fun. i have loadouts i personally am really really good with. hell i manage to take the brass beast and wreak havoc on the entire enemy team in an offensive rush. i can be considered a newb because i started back in march but im damn good now constantly placing in third fourth fifth or second in maps i never get first but im not going out for the most points im trying to help my team. hence why when there is too many of one class i stay away from said class. i find the quick ifx extraordinarily helpful since i get my uber off before the others i have capped several points with a heavy using it and managed to isolate teams. i can use most of those weapons extremely well even in situations that dont call for them. but i practice constantly against bots and my friends with the different weapons and i learn to use them in ways most people find stupid and i often get called out for it yet we usually win when i do it.. im not saying im a tide turner and that does happen rarely but i think i contribute to the team effort of winning the match and if i have done that then i did my job as a team player.

Fantastic! You're a team player for TF2 and you're having fun with it. No problem! You're willing to learn and you're doing it effectively. I can totally understand that. My problem is that often there'll be a quickfix medic, a brass beast heavy and 10 big earner spies on one team when a sentry needs to be taken down. Now surely, that can be quite frustrating. There's definitely uses for all the weapons I listed but it's just that a well oiled team often won't ever need some of these because of how they operate. I play heavy competitively for a highlander clan and I get very annoyed when I see other heavies sitting in the corner of the map with the natascha not able to know how to play offensively because the weapon wasn't made for that sort of use.

Dont even get me started on people who dont know how to use a class..a join a server start doing good and suddenly everyone has to be a demoman or heavy or sniper or spy..why? cause im doing good...i hate it. as for the big earner i use that mostly because i work with the dead ringer so getting the backstab gets my cloak back up quicker but i cant use the letranger worth diddly beans for some reason probably because i havent practiced enough. i know the feeling about not being able to do something thats why i take it upon myself to sap the sentry damn the consequences. i usually have one of my friends i see almost daily in real life helping me so we can coordinate through steam chat or just by talking to each other since we are in the same room and so we can form a strategy on the fly if need be. i always come up with plans i just need more people to coordinate with to carry them out. set up a couple sentries here..let a heavy medic pair take out the enemies move the sentry up pyro stay spy checking. all that stuff. but no one ever listens to me. the one thing in this entire game i hate more than even people who dont know how to play properly with the weapon.. is griefers and "pro" spies who start bragging and gloating over how awesome they are... i play for fun and to help my team and when people like that get in the game it ruins it more than a demoman using a bottle with alibabas wee booties and a chargin targe...