Your TF2 tips.

[DazZ.]

Don't use the backburner

And yet, when asked why, noone can give a reason other than "it's useless!"

It turns you into a spy that can't cloak.

It takes away the airblast, the tool most useful to teammates who you can help by clearing demo sticky traps, putting out friendlys on fire, provide cover from soldiers.
With the airblast you can stop people from getting away whilst you shove them against a wall, which is very helpful for a close combat class. You can't do the old puff n sting with a backburner, which is very helpful against taking down heavys in seconds. With a backburner if the enemy turns around, you're back to your normal flamethrower, which is exactly what any heavy is going to do the second he's on fire, and then rape you with boolits.

Taking the airblast for 100% back crits is most defiantly not worth the trade off, that's without getting started on the hitbox.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Don't use the backburner

And yet, when asked why, noone can give a reason other than "it's useless!"

It turns you into a spy that can't cloak.

It takes away the airblast, the tool most useful to teammates who you can help by clearing demo sticky traps, putting out friendlys on fire, provide cover from soldiers.
With the airblast you can stop people from getting away whilst you shove them against a wall, which is very helpful for a close combat class. You can't do the old puff n sting with a backburner, which is very helpful against taking down heavys in seconds. With a backburner if the enemy turns around, you're back to your normal flamethrower, which is exactly what any heavy is going to do the second he's on fire, and then rape you with boolits.

Taking the airblast for 100% back crits is most defiantly not worth the trade off, that's without getting started on the hitbox.

Indeed.

 

[RanD00M]

Watch out for spies.Especially if your a sniper,medic or engineer.

 

[p3t3r]

get the kills that pay the bills

 

[RanD00M]

Don't use the backburner

And yet it has saved my ass many times.

 

[PhantomCritic]

Don't enrage the heavy, for he shall pop many a caps in your ass. As for engineers, your sentries are like your children and the spies are the pedophiles, you need to protect said children from . Good day ladies and gentlemen.

 

[RanD00M]

If you're a beginner, a good class to play as is medic. NOT because its easy to play "no no! in time the job is very strenuous!" however few people will mess with you unless your doing something very wrong AND you'll be able to follow around other more experienced players and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the different classes.

This might be one of the best tips you can get.

 

[DazZ.]

We don't need 4 spies on a 12 man team

4 Spies? You guys are lucky.
My teams have consisted of 11 soldiers/demos and 1 pyro (Im the pyro<3)
Oh, one time it was 10 soldiers/demos, 1 scout(me) and 1 medic

That is only because the demo/soldier update just came out and everyone wants to try out their new weapons.

It's starting to pass now, in a week it should be normal again.

As for Escapist "clan", we have more of a community based here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/The-Escapist-Team-Fortress-2-Group-PC]. Where we organise things such as melee only night, and play custom game modes like prophunt/dodgeball on occasion.
But we will usually say we are playing there when we are playing, and we mostly just have normal games on the Escapist UK server. (IP found in the group.)

 

[dark_taint92]

never underestimate a sniper with a huntsman the arrows are slow but if you dodge and move back your going to get pinned.
learn to hate enemy spies everyone else does
love the team medic, seventh has kept me alive countless times over the course of me playing plus always look out for the medic.
watch for spies keep checking the classes your team are you can root out a spy by just doing that.

 

[MahouSniper]

As an engineer, you can right-click to rotate your buildings. This allows you to set up sentries in more advantageous directions and MAKE YOUR TELEPORTERS NOT FACE WALLS.

It took me about a year to figure this out.

 

[archvile93]

Expect to die, ALOT. Only use the pyro, every other class is useless in every sense of the word. Go for achievements immidiately regardless of what your team wants; otherwise you can't unlock the usefull weapons and will have to take down an enemy with a nuke launcher with an airsoft gun. Always assume your teamates are morons (they almost always are).

 

[Caliostro]

Don't use the backburner

And yet, when asked why, noone can give a reason other than "it's useless!"

In short: it sacrifices a crucial ability (compression blast) for a skill you didn't even need in the first place (back crits).

As a pyro, if you catch someone from behind at flame range and they DON'T die, even without crits, you're doing it horribly wrong...

So in turn for the extra crits that, again, you should never need, you loose the ability to reflect rockets, grenades, arrows and stickies away (including crits), push ubers and put out fires on friendlies. This "menial" ability can be used to:
- Render the pyro near projectile proof (which includes rockets, sentry rockets, grenades, stickies, arrows and flares), making projectiles bigger menaces to the person that shot them than to you;
- Make sentry spots near invulnerable by reflecting away stickies, grenades, rockets or ubers;
- Save team mates, particularly medics, from dying to enemy fire by putting the fire out instantly;
- Keep enemies from getting away as the compression blast pushes enemies UPWARDS, slowing them down immensely (specially if they're pushed against a wall, corner, crevice, death pit, etc), which is particularly invaluable against scouts, medics or anyone carrying the intel;
- Stop ubercharges from doing anything at all as you can either push away/juggle the person being charged or, personal favorite, push the medic away so the charged suddenly looses his invulnerability and dies a horrible and confusing death;
- Stop Kritzkrieg/Crit boost charges from the 2 most deadly classes (Soldier and Demo) by using their own projectiles to instantly kill them or their medics;
- Rocket jumping as a pyro... look it up;
- Easily, safely and quickly clear paths through stickies for your team;
- Instantly kill someone near a death pit;
- Save someone from getting backstabed by a spy that you can't kill fast enough;
- Quickly turn Charging Demos into a nullity as a threat by airblasting their charge away;

Oh yes, and...

- Single puff of fire -> Airblast -> Axtinguish. Instant kill to anything but a heavy (they take an extra swing of the ax) or dead ringer spies. Incredibly difficult to dodge, avoid or prevent in any way. Learn to love it.


Hope that's clear.

 

[Peanut Butter]

Ubercharge is not just for heavys, dont underestimate the power of an ubered soldier

 

[hopeneverdies]

Don't use the backburner

And yet, when asked why, noone can give a reason other than "it's useless!"

In short: it sacrifices a crucial ability (compression blast) for a skill you didn't even need in the first place (back crits).

As a pyro, if you catch someone from behind at flame range and they DON'T die, even without crits, you're doing it horribly wrong...

So in turn for the extra crits that, again, you should never need, you loose the ability to reflect rockets, grenades, arrows and stickies away (including crits), push ubers and put out fires on friendlies. This "menial" ability can be used to:
- Render the pyro near projectile proof (which includes rockets, sentry rockets, grenades, stickies, arrows and flares), making projectiles bigger menaces to the person that shot them than to you;
- Make sentry spots near invulnerable by reflecting away stickies, grenades, rockets or ubers;
- Save team mates, particularly medics, from dying to enemy fire by putting the fire out instantly;
- Keep enemies from getting away as the compression blast pushes enemies UPWARDS, slowing them down immensely (specially if they're pushed against a wall, corner, crevice, death pit, etc), which is particularly invaluable against scouts, medics or anyone carrying the intel;
- Stop ubercharges from doing anything at all as you can either push away/juggle the person being charged or, personal favorite, push the medic away so the charged suddenly looses his invulnerability and dies a horrible and confusing death;
- Stop Kritzkrieg/Crit boost charges from the 2 most deadly classes (Soldier and Demo) by using their own projectiles to instantly kill them or their medics;
- Rocket jumping as a pyro... look it up;
- Easily, safely and quickly clear paths through stickies for your team;
- Instantly kill someone near a death pit;
- Save someone from getting backstabed by a spy that you can't kill fast enough;
- Quickly turn Charging Demos into a nullity as a threat by airblasting their charge away;

Oh yes, and...

- Single puff of fire -> Airblast -> Axtinguish. Instant kill to anything but a heavy (they take an extra swing of the ax) or dead ringer spies. Incredibly difficult to dodge, avoid or prevent in any way. Learn to love it.


Hope that's clear.

I assume you watched Magnetro's Advanced Tactics vids.

 

[ddon]

look at where the snipers are aiming. stay away from their unless your a sniper, a spy or something realy fast.

 

[Caliostro]

If you're a beginner, a good class to play as is medic. NOT because its easy to play "no no! in time the job is very strenuous!" however few people will mess with you unless your doing something very wrong AND you'll be able to follow around other more experienced players and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the different classes.

Uh...?

Either you're a good troll, or someone just very, very confused... Medic is one of the easiest classes to play, if not the easiest, conversely they're everyone's #1 target...

 

[Caliostro]

I assume you watched Magnetro's Advanced Tactics vids.

Who? What?

This is all personal advice, I've posted this in the Steam forums before, but if that Magnetro said this then the dude knows what he's talking about.

 

[Canadaftw]

Also DO NOT TRUST THE SCOUT those bastards are always spy's.

Speaking of scouts and spies.. People seem to have the wrong color, I was just now blue, and a scout that was blue started shooting me with the scattergun (So he wasnt a spy) and killed me, im 100% sure he was blue and when I saw the kill up in the corner he was red.. >.< It confuses me.

There was probably a blue light or he was in a dark area so that it only looked like he was BLU.

 

[Potato21]

Ok:
1. Medics, your blutsauger makes you a scout killing machine, as well as able to defend yourself enough to get away, but don't start thinking you're a combat class. When people around you are dying, heal them, don't be a combat medic, because even if you attain success, your team will be ticked off that you didn't heal anyone.

2.Pyros, use the default flamethrower, the backburner can be useful, but deflection far outweighs any backburner benefit.

3. Heavy, unless its like the first day after the scout update, there's no reason to use natascha. Also, when there are a ton of medics running around, you won't need the sandvich.

4. Spies, Act like a team mate, don't react to being shot (ie turning around) just keep moving, they'll likely stop shooting before you die.

5. Demo, try to avoid straight up fights with faster classes, a good scout will easily kill you so try not to get caught fighting one on one. Chargin' Targe and Eyelander recently allowed some success against scouts but still, you can't maneuver like they can so unless you've got a stack of stickies around and can lure them by, its best to stay away.

6.Soldier, Kritzkrieg is your friend, as is the bugle. I'd stay away from direct hit since my aim isn't that good with rockets, so this is personal opinion, but I like hitting multiple enemies with wide splash damage. The bugle and a kritzkrieg also help.

7. Sniper, its a good job mate. Well....until you've got 40% of your team as them. This class can be devestating but when there's too many mediocre snipers, you'll lose. the huntsman can help you get closer to the action but when push comes to shove, a good sniper can beat a huntsman sniper any day simply because there's a degree of chance if the huntsman hits, and often its used as a spam weapon, which means, unless the enemy team doesn't learn, you'll uickly find you have no heads to pin arrows to.

8.Scout, I like the scout a lot. Always remain onthe move and in the air. double jump and change direction on the second jump. You have to use your mobility to make up for your frail nature. Force of nature will also likely not get you high scores without a low ping and some practice. I'd stick to scatter gun until you've learned the ropes. Bonk can be handy for getting into a base, but I find the pistol is far better and often a very lethal weapon. Most scouts neglect its use at long range which it actually does quite well.

9.Engy, practice. You need to know which spots are good and which spots are bad to build in. Keep your shotgun or pistol out too when not building or fixing something as you can often save your base by helping your sentry out. This also gives better warning of spies. Pyros can't always be responsible. Sure, good pyros spy check and deflect rockets when they can, but a lot of pyros don't give engies a second thought.

10. Every class. Try to work on getting used to switching weapons with 1,2,3,4,5 keys. It's almost downright necessary to change weapons to adjust to different situations. Like a pyro using the axetinguisher, he needs to be able to switch weapons fast.