TF2 Tips and Tricks

Technology and Gaming
#1

I’m a huge TF2 nut and I’ve played almost 500 lifetime hours, but sometimes, I still feel like I’m getting really outplayed. Recently Valve has added some new tips in their loading menus, and those have helped, but I figure the community would also have some hints to share.

So ITT, post any tips, tricks, hints or insider knowledge you have learned for TF2. They can be general strategy tips for all classes, or gameplay tips that apply only to one class, weapon, map or game mode, or they could just be insights into how the game works. Anything that can help make a player a little more pro. Obviously, it would be good to make sure that they are up to date, but go ahead and post anything, even if it seems obvious or trivial.
Here’s a few to get started.

-Crit rates are 2% for normal weapons, and 15% for melee weapons. An additional bonus of up to 10% is awarded for damage dealt in the past 20 seconds, scaling linearly up from 0 damage to 800 damage. This is why when you’re doing really well you tend to get a lot of crits, and also is why the wrench crits so much.

-As a Sniper, you have a very narrow field of view when scoped in with your rifle. If you are alone with no one to watch your back, avoid staying zoomed for too long so you won’t get snuck up on by enemies. You can also learn to use the Huntsman so you don’t have this problem. Also, do not count on the Razorback to protect you from spies. Good ones will just shoot you instead, so be prepared to spycheck at all times.

-Always err on the side of caution. Lag compensation can cause some major headaches if you try to cut it down to the wire, so
(1) Duck out from heavy/sentry duels well before you’re in the red. You will die faster than you think. (2) If you are a medic with an uber, and you or your target start to take damage, activate the charge quickly and don’t wait til the last second. It is better to spring it early then to die and not have it at all. (3) If you think a demo is going to charge, get out of the way. If you don’t, he’ll have chopped your head off by the time you start to move.

-Keep one of every weapon, and learn to use them. Their drawbacks and strengths make them suited for different situations. For example, use the Direct Hit to quickly take out sentries; use the Rocket Launcher to clear control points.

#2

No tips will save you if you’re not that good at the game!

#3

Rain death from above as soldier
Poot stickies on ceiling - no one expects them there
As scout, just keep jumping and evading enemy rockets and other projectiles.
Jump on heavies head then bash him down using your bat
As sniper stop standing around like a bloody idiot, throw jarate, cut bitchez down and snipe people from close range - you’ll do more as sniper as you did in your entire lifetime
As spy, do everyone a favour and sap those goddamn sentries
As engineer, do everyone favour and put that dispenser there
As Heavy, use the shotgun once in a while
As Demo, use the CQC kit when accompanied by a medic
As Scout, medics are your first and only priority, taking them down means all other classes are going to fail
As pyro, deflect rockets and grenades into their feet, they’ll get someone with the huge splash damage +minicrit
Don’t use the backburner.
Don’t use the FAN unless you’re really quick at in-out tactics
Medics should never charge Soldiers with the DH

Always remember the 3 second rule. If you saw an enemy, and the enemy did (not) see you, wait for 3 seconds then emerge from cover. It’s very likely that after 3 seconds your enemy has disengaged and switched to another target, use this to your advantage and melt him down

#4

-As a Scout, shooting at the floor with the FaN after double jumping effectively gives you another jump which can be useful for manouvering around the map or getting out of sticky situations

#5

shoot people a lot

#6

also avoid overcrowded servers. they are never fun unless you enjoy getting killed 5 seconds after you leave spawn by players who do nothing besides gaming TF2 the entire day long (they are like wired into the game just like the old bhoppin quake players).
If you want to have a life besides TF2 you will never become that good anyways so change server as I said.

Also check the class distribution in your team. I find often that nobody plays spy so I often play spy and do a lot of havoc this way. I jump around as much as I can and then launch that knife into someones back. You will not survive for too long but the pleasure of backstabbing someone is so good that I don’t care. Spy is definitely the most fun class to play.

#7

-Heavies, medics are your best friends and enemy spies and snipers your worst enemies.
-Spies, beware of enemy pyros
-Engineers, really, constructing teleporters in the right places and mantaining them gives your team a huge advantage as its way faster to get from point A to B.

#8

If your not good at the game, play medic. Regardless of how bad you are at medic people will still appreciate you more then any other class you’d play as.

#9

Well yeah, lol. However, some tips can help a good player do a little better, and that’s what I was going for.

Let’s see now…

-People often seem to not take sticky bombs seriously. Always, always take them seriously. If they’re an enemy’s, destroy them from a distance before advancing. If they’re yours, remember where you placed them, and check your counter to make sure they’re still there. Don’t just forget about them.

-Pyros who use airblast are life-savers. Use airblast to put out teammates who are on fire, reflect projectiles, and push away ubers. That last one is a big one. Aside from their uber, medics are mostly defenseless during an uber. If you can avoid being noticed by the ubered player, run at the medic and keep airblasting him away from his target, leaving the target open to attack from your teammates. If you can’t get to the medic, just blasting the uber back will help a lot.

-For the other side of that last tip, if an uber is activated on a teammate, follow them in to take out pyros and sentries, and just to keep the offensive push going.

-As a Demo, use a batch of stickies to take out enemy sentries from where they can’t see you.

-Once enemy sentries go down, destroy any teleporters or dispensers in the area so that enemies cannot reach the front lines as quickly and so engineers cannot rebuild as quickly.

-In KOTH, once you take the point, be ready to go back and defend it at a moment’s notice.

-As a demo, you can use the sticky launcher to leave a bunch of stickies on a capture point, go off and fight elsewhere, and then detonate them when you hear the announcer tell you your point is being captured (or if you see it’s being captured at the bottom of the screen). As I said earlier, many people do not take stickies seriously, especially if they cannot see a demo anywhere.

#10

get 2 ubersaw medics,have one uber another,and have the other medic fill his uber while being ubered,then uber the first medic.
repeat until your team wins.

#11

I mainly play as a pyro and i swear by the compression blast. Really helps even the playing field against demos and soldiers, not to mention the defensive capabilities mentioned by Orpheon. I will also mention the ability to knock back rushing scouts when sentry guns and flamethrower normally miss.

Also, its important to get used to switching to your shotgun/flare gun for when the enemy is running out of flame range.

#12

Mainly, I play as spy, finding it as a fond penchant to backstab people.

Anyways, make your disguise believable. Or better yet, attempt using Dead Ringer. Stay away from enemy pyros in general, sap everything and kill engineers and other players. Backstab those snipers too.

#13

If you’re a spy, switch classes.
If you’re a sniper, switch classes
if you’re a medic, use the kritz on defense and ubercannon on offense
if you’re a medic DON’T EVER SWITCH CLASSES
If you’re a soldier the above rule will count again
Sticky spam is for faggots

#14

Don’t be a prick, each class has it’s own individual qualities.

#15

I’ve rarely seen spies and snipers played right. Let alone do something usefull. The chance of someone in a pub being good at spy are almost 0, nada, nothing.

#16

I’ve had my fair share of backstabbing soldiers, heavies, demos, medics and so forth. But yeah, I have been caught by the pyros a few times.

#17

Go to Steam Library
Right click TF2
Select “Delete local content”
???
PROFIT!

#18

Anyone can backstab. Backstab =/= playing right necessarily. Playing right = staying alive and getting valuable targets, however. Stairstabs are just a mere trick you can do if you have mastered the class.

#19

Protip: If anyone complains anythings is for faggots, noobs, etc., do it. Its probably effective.

#20

Agreed; this is nearly always the case in multiplayer games.

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