Team Fortress® 2 (TF2) - Tips, Tricks etc

Soldato
Joined
11 Sep 2003
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Hello all,

read about TF2 here a week or so ago and loaded it up a few days later, pretty much been hammering it everyday since then! So far I think its the best multiplayer FPS frag-fest I ever played and am slowly working my way through all *nine* classes.

If your reading this and you don't know what TF2 is/looks like then check out these videos here and here

I think the *Pixar* style graphics is a stroke of genius, not seen anything like that before except in a Disney film!

Anyway I'm sure there will be lots of people wanting to know how to best play each different character class so I though we could use this thread to share tips, tricks etc

I do actually have a few questions myself . . .

  1. Is there a list of keyboard shortcuts/commands somewhere?
  2. Does the Spy have to uncloak to backstab?
  3. Whats the knack of doing a rocket-jump as a soldier
If you have any gameplay questions feel free to add them here! :)
 
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1. dunno
2. yes
3. aim straight down and press jump and fire, its all in timing rly how high you go, try and press jump a fraction of a second before firing (i think)

Easiest way to learn is practice in the warmup, just go back to the resupply wardrobe thing for health
 
note: none of the below is of my doing and as such i take no credit for it, all thanks to tutonic of enemydown (i think)

15 Tips/Tricks:

Every weapon except for the Sniper Rifle and the Demoman's grenades does less damage at longer ranges. Even rockets do less than half their full damage when fired from a distance.


Team-mates are almost completely immaterial to you, whereas enemies block your path. If a team-mate is blocking your path, he's a Spy.


Scouts count as two people when capturing control points.


The Pyro's flame can be put out by any form of healing, but isn't affected by knee-deep water. Only swimmable water extinguishes it. Either way, the flames burn for one last second before going out.


The Pyro's flame range is halved while he's running forward, since it travels at twice his running speed.


Even without a Medic, a Heavy will win a firefight with a fully-upgraded Sentry if he's close enough to it. Don't place your Sentries too close to entry points.


The Heavy's fists are the only melee weapon with a secondary fire. Left mouse is a left hook, right mouse is a right hook, and critical hits are uppercuts.


A Sentry gun can fire in any direction, but takes a moment to turn around if attacking an enemy behind it's normal arc of fire. You can place them closer to walls if you right-click twice before deploying - that rotates the turret's position to face you.


If he gets in its way, an Engineer can be killed by his own Sentry. It won't do damage to team-mates, though, even if they stand in its line of fire.


Players always emerge from teleporters facing the same direction. Instead of destroying an enemy teleporter, stand behind it and kill the players as they come through. Particularly effective as a Spy.


You can build Sentries underwater. If you have a Dispenser next to you, it'll heal you faster than you lose health from drowning.


Disguised Spies appear injured to the enemy team. If an enemy Medic heals them, their apparent health will go up. But if they stand near an Engineer's dispenser, the healing beam will activate but their health will stay the same. Look out for this.


A Medic can Ubercharge two players at once by switching between them very rapidly with his medigun. It lingers slightly on each person after you switch, so if you can switch back and forth quick enough, all three of you will be completely invincible.


A cloaked spy becomes visible briefly if hit by enemy fire, or touched by an enemy player.


There's a corner of the water on 2fort, on the Blue side, where it's shallow enough to stand. It's a great Sniper spot, and Soldiers can use it to rocket-jump up onto dry land.
 
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I don't want to blow my own trumpet but... i'm the undisputed king of rocket jumping :P

Seriously tho, i've been good at rocket jumping in TFC (i could speed run the majority of 3rd party rocket jumping obstacle course maps) and still seem to be able to go higher than the majority of people in TF2.

There are plenty of elements to the timing of the jump + firing of the rocket, but they're something you develop as you gain a feel for it. The first thing (and most important to know) is to CROUCH when you jump. That gives you the extra height needed above the explosion to catch some impressive air.

Only crouch when rocket jumping when you're trying to get somewhere higher than you tho. If you do it on a flat you go so high you end up losing most/all of your health when you land.
 
you cant rocket jump like a pro till youve played ra3 for a long long time ;) anyone can go up/forwards.
 
Some great tips in here. Keep it up guys. This is the only problem when you download a game from steam, no instruction book.

Any tips for scouts as im rubbish with them. lol
 
note: none of the below is of my doing and as such i take no credit for it, all thanks to tutonic of enemydown (i think)
Yup some good tips there!

There are plenty of elements to the timing of the jump + firing of the rocket, but they're something you develop as you gain a feel for it. The first thing (and most important to know) is to CROUCH when you jump. That gives you the extra height needed above the explosion to catch some impressive air
Good to know thanks! :)

This is the only problem when you download a game from steam, no instruction book
Yeah, I'm confident that there is a .pdf or similar knocking about?
 
The most useful thing about the scout is the ability to change direction mid-air. Usually when someone is jumping you'll know exactly where theyre going to land thus making them an easy target, a scout that can change direction on the fly to dodge rockets/nades etc will stay alive a lot longer.

Also as a scout dont think you can take on anything other than a spy/engi solo (with ease), you want to aim to get the jump on other classes instead. The pistol is also pretty powerful with a good aim, just always always always keep moving.
 
The best tip i could give for a scout is to keep a set distance for certain enemies. For example as mentioned before, against a spy, medic or an engy go in toe to toe and outgun them.

Against a HWGuy get in at point blank range (if you can) and then circle him. The fact you are running past his screen so fast due to being so close means that unless he has the reactions of a robot there is no way he can track you. Also at point blank range the scattergun is so powerful it'll kill a HWGuy in 3/4 shots.

Against a pyro, demoman or a soldier, use your speed to you advantage and keep a fair distance between you and them. Your pistol is far more effective than their shotgun at range and, at that range, the pyros flamer is useless and the soldier will have a hard time landing a hit with the rocket launcher, same for the demo.

Against a Sentry gun (this applies to all classes, but is very useful with the scout) if you crouch and edge slowly to a corner you can get a bit of the SG in view without it spotting you. If the engineer has gone walkabout you can whittle its health down with the pistol without it even firing back, this is extremely effective with the soldier as it only takes 3/4 rockets to kill a SG. Be warned though, against anyone with half a brain they will spot you and push you into the SGs line of fire.
 
Easiest way to learn is practice in the warmup, just go back to the resupply wardrobe thing for health

Or if there's a medic on the team get them to heal you during warmup. Builds up ubercharge quicker for the medic, and I often repay people who fill up my ubercharge with the invuln if they're in the right place...
 
Also as a scout dont think you can take on anything other than a spy/engi solo (with ease), you want to aim to get the jump on other classes instead. The pistol is also pretty powerful with a good aim, just always always always keep moving.


yes, buts its very very satisfying if you take down a heavy solo with a scout :D
 
You can easily take out a heavy with a scout if he's on his own in the open, particularly if you catch him unaware / from behind. just jump and circle and watch them flail.
Often do it on 2fort when they're going across the bridge on their own.. I'll go over the top and come round from behind
 
As with every "this class kills that stuff" discussion youre all basing this on personal encounters where skill is a major factor :) put 2 evenly matched people together on a server and get them to fight it out with the different classes, a scout will never kill a HWguy without extreme luck.

Its a rock paper scissors game but when people are exceptionally good or bad they sway peoples viewpoints to the point of "omg my class is underpowered" when they get destroyed or a simple "nerf scouts". Its all over the main tf2 forum aswell, people who suck at the game want "their class" made better :\
 
As with every "this class kills that stuff" discussion youre all basing this on personal encounters where skill is a major factor :) put 2 evenly matched people together on a server and get them to fight it out with the different classes, a scout will never kill a HWguy without extreme luck.

Its a rock paper scissors game but when people are exceptionally good or bad they sway peoples viewpoints to the point of "omg my class is underpowered" when they get destroyed or a simple "nerf scouts". Its all over the main tf2 forum aswell, people who suck at the game want "their class" made better :\

Very true and unfortunately this will always apply to all class based games. A scout still has a better chance against a HW if he gets close tho so i stand by my tip!
 
i still think the scatter gun is too good :D

the scout only really fears flames (due to their low health), and sentries/heavies at long range. Other than that they should be able to use their speed and agility to dodge any rockets/grenades/snipers

saying this it is odd how the scout is the class i have played the least... personally i dont think u can go wrong with the solider... mr average maybe.. but he has no weaknesses either
 
There is a great "sniper" spot for the soldier in cp_well or tc_hydro (i think though correct me - whichever one has the indoor arena looking like an old james bond movie with power generators and the capture point is on a raised platform):

The little control-booth type building on the upper level on the left as you come out of the spawn point - rocket jump up there and rain down rockets on unsuspecting enemies, or shotgun them from close range. Obviously they will get you eventually but i've defended pretty effectively from there a few times
 
I heard lots of people complaining about how poor the flamer was in the beta but when Ive used him he has burnt everyone to a crisp. Especially crowded roooms.

Have they improved him?

Not too good when he meets a heavy face on but who is lol
 
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