Team Fortress 2: Newbie Advice Thread

The Engineer's is nice, though.

Is there any way to tell which classes you have for the head of the class achievement? I've got 8/9 and I just don't remember which I need.

NVM, got it with soldier, who despite being 4th on the list of most played, I apparently never finished a round playing as one.

edited 4th Jul '11 12:56:56 PM by blueharp

After playing a bit more, I've actually become very fond of the Scout class. There's just something really satisfying about taking on a Heavy/Soldier/Demo/Pyro group with nothing but a baseball bat.

Well, save for the Medieval Mode and humiliation purposes, Bat has no real application, since you have a powerful close-range gun as your primary. However, other unlockable melees for Scout can aid significantly aid yourself and your team:

• Sandman gives you a stunning ball and painfully-long-yet-extremely-humiliating-and-amusing Taunt Kill. You have 15 health less though, making you effectively the second most fragile thing in the entire game(Spy with Conniver's Kunai is first).
• Candy Cane gives you a small medkit after you kill an enemy, which is especially effective in Medieval Mode. On the other hand, you're now more vulnerable to explosives(Though the fact that you have 150 hp at best without overheal doesn't make you that much resistant in the first place).
• Boston Basher applies bleeding effect on hit enemy. However, should you miss the smash, you are the one to start bleeding. It can effectively halve your health in a matter of seconds or even outright finish you off, so caution is advisable.
• Sun-On-A-Stick crits against burning enemies, but deals less damage against everything else. It's rather very situational, though it can work well with Sharpened Volcano Fragment Pyro in Medieval Mode(Said axe lights the target on fire).
• Fan-O-War deals 90% less damage, but marks the target with distinguishable skull, forcing him to take 33% more damage from everything for several seconds. It can also detect Spies(Skull is visible over a cloaked Spy).
• Holy Macereel(Not sure if I wrote it right) is basically a more humiliating Bat reskin that tells the numer of hits on enemy. It's however necessary to complete Milkman's Set which gives you additional 25 hp(Along with Shortstop, Mad Milk and Milkman hat).

There's also Atomizer, a bat that's actually not usable in melee fights (it effectively deals around 50-60% usual damage, or 80% if we're talking one swing) but that's not why it's there. It's there to give scouts an ability to triple jump at the cost of damaging themselves for 10 health each time. It is very abusable on some maps and worthless on other maps.

The point here is that Scout's bat is one of the several weapons in the game that must always be replaced with unlockables whenever possible (other examples that come to mind are Heavy secondary, Medic melee and primary, possibly Sniper melee)

edited 4th Jul '11 1:06:21 PM by Aminatep

I have that one too, but can't figure out how to use it.

Sandman is what I've been using. Earlier today I came up behind a group that was attacking our checkpoint, stunned the Pyro that was watching the others' backs, killed him, and then the Spy tried to backstab me and walked right into my bat. I came up behind the Heavy who was distracted gunning down my teammates and bludgeoned him to death, then kamikaze'd into the Soldier's rocket launcher, managing to land a couple blows before I was killed.

Of course, 90% of the time I die anticlimatically, but the times I don't make it all worth it and the running speed means dying doesn't knock me out for long.

Also, I rarely use the Scattergun because I can't aim it and it runs out of ammo at all the wrong times.

edited 4th Jul '11 1:06:35 PM by EdwardsGrizzly

Scout deals three times more damage per shot than per bat swing. With crit soda you can OHKO many classes.

> I rarely use the Scattergun because I can't aim it and it runs out of ammo at all the wrong times.

It's like playing sniper for the SMG, quite frankly.

edited 4th Jul '11 1:17:05 PM by Aminatep

That I don't do. When I play Sniper, I play it right: Way out of the action, picking off foes one-by-one. But my game lags enough that it's extremely hard to line up shots in close quarters.

@Aminatep: Though I agree with Medic's melee, I beg to differ with the other three.

1. Until Uber Update, Heavy lacked a unlockable that deals damage and that's what makes Shotgun effective. Also, if you happen to have Sandwich/Bar/Steak and run out of Minigun's ammo, your only way to defend is your melee.

2. Basic Syringe gun gives you higher regeneration rate than Blutsauger. Use it only if you're efficient at aiming with syringes(And it isn't that easy). Crossbow is essentialy made entirely for Medieval Mode(Though if one has sharp eye, he can use it effectively in normal gameplay). I'm not sure about Overdose, I need to try it.

3. Kukri is the most versatile of Sniper's melees. Shiv applies bleeding, true, but also deals less damage. Bushwacka crits on mini-crited targets(And makes "Jarate Chop" look possible to do), but destroys you should you bump into enemy Pyro. The last one(This with tongue-twisting name) shows its true power when you have less than 50% of health and before that deals less damage.

edited 4th Jul '11 1:32:58 PM by FergardStratoavis

Because of hiimdaisy, I will never call that new kukri by any name other than "Ocelot."

The thing about your melee weapons for Sniper is that you have to judge whether they'll work well with your secondary. Jarate+Shiv and Jarate+Bushwacka are both great combos. While Jarate+Kukri does more damage than just Kukri, it's either not guaranteed lethal or not continuous damage. So it's okay to fill nearby enemies with some lead with the SMG before slashing them.

So basically, the SMG should probably be your secondary when equipped with vanilla Kukri.

edited 4th Jul '11 1:54:52 PM by hnd03

> if you happen to have Sandwich/Bar/Steak and run out of Minigun's ammo, your only way to defend is your melee.

a wise man once said that if you are shooting so much you've run out of ammo you are supposed to pick it from the pile of corpses

> Shiv applies bleeding, true, but also deals less damage

There's a question: when do you go melee anyway? as far as I'm concerned it's when spies attack you, and damage over time counters spies nicely. it does deal less damage but over time it's actually notably more, and you aren't gonna melee heavies to death.

> arabic knife thingy
well it is the shittiest of unlockables, but Medic has a vita saw

edited 4th Jul '11 1:55:40 PM by Aminatep

Also, do not taunt after a kill in the middle of the firefight. You are gonna die. a Lot if you get cocky.

You can't always do that, though. If the guys you kill are far enough away and there are enough enemies around you can't get to the ammo, you have to fall back. At least with the shotgun you can keep yourself safe while doing so.

that's way too oddly specific as far as I'm concerned. Better get a sandvich.

Agreed. Sandvich is pretty much universally better.

A hoovy with a shotgun might as well paint on his back LOOKT AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I AM HARMLESS!

The extra survivability you get and can offer to your team is well worth the loss of a shotgun you had use only if you didn't manage well enough your ammo reserve.

edited 4th Jul '11 3:07:22 PM by OrangeSpider

Whatever you do DONT eat sandvich's in the open. Snipers absolutely love target practice.

And yet, there is still a good chance they will miss. And by they I mean me.

I scored my first taunt-kill today. I am feeling less noobish already. Soon I will be able to show my face in the main thread.

A few more questions:

1: Is it feasible to host matches on a typical PC? Or is this only a dedicated-server kind of game?

2: Is there any overall stats kept, or is it only per-life stats?

3: What is the right way to play a Demoman?

4: What is the right way to play a Soldier?

• 1) Not sure. But I think you probably need to actually rent out a server
• 2) Whenever you join a server, the loading screen shows your overall playtime for each class, most points as each class, and then beside it a list of your Mosts overall
• 3) Not a great demoman, so I can't really help
• 4) Look for priority targets. Medics, sentries, and spies should be your primary focus. After that, it's whoever is in range. Your rocket launcher does a lot of damage, enough to kill weaker classes with two rockets at close to mid-range. Try to find higher ground. It's easier to avoid damage when you aren't exposed.

edited 4th Jul '11 3:25:16 PM by hnd03

• 1.) Of normal size? HAHAHAHAHAH no. Your computer might be able to handle it if you have a really high end computer, but even then it probably won't be that good, and your ISP will probably want to rip you a new one for all the bandwith you'll be using.
• 2.) It does keep track of records, but there's nothing like EXP or anything that's persistent and important. Though there are Strange Weapons now, that get different titles when they get more kills, so that's something, but other than that...
• 3.) I swear by Demoknight. Others swear at me and say that anyone who plays Demoknight is forever a noob and should burn in hell! Though, luckily, the second option is mostly hyperbole, but there's a big division on it and I'm not good enough at both ways of playing to tell you.
• 4.) Never played this class enough, but I love using the Liberty Launcher, very fun, so I'm getting some practice into it. Really, the main thing I see soldiers do is a lot of damage to enemies and smash sentries and stuff from range. In order of Ubering they come second after Heavy, and right before Demoman.

1. A small one, maybe. TF2 comes with a Dedicated Server tool, but you couldn't run a 24-slot server feasibly.

2. Not really. There is a Performance record, but it keeps track of not-that-important stats.

3. Depends. I personally can't Demoknight for crap, so I stick to Vanilla Grenade Launcher and Sticky Launcher, but I use the Ullapool Caber to switch things up. Works for me.

4. Again, depends. I use Black Box, Buff Banner (or Concheror) and Equalizer.

edited 4th Jul '11 3:45:18 PM by RocketDude

If you don't go Demoknight, use Stickies. Stickies, stickies, stickies. USE THEM. SPAM THEM EVERYWHERE. You may get called a spamming noob (I don't think anyone does this anymore, except for other noobs, everyone's accepted it as a part of life) but it works and it will get the job done if done right.

If done wrong, you will end up killing yourself with your own stickies. Several times.

Or spam Grenades, like I do. Either you hit someone directly or you catch them with the splash damage.

edited 4th Jul '11 3:50:28 PM by RocketDude

Well, there isn't exactly a "right" way of playing with any class. Loadouts tend to change your role and combat capability which can tend to interesting results. For example, Direct Hit gives you an edge against Sentries as it can destroy lvl 3 with just two shots and can do it quick enough so Engie cannot repair it. It can also be used to fend off Snipers. However, Scouts are more likely to defeat you unless you're extremely good at aiming.

About playing as Demo, I do believe I've put the link to one Arena match where creative use of Sticky Jumper, Ullapoor Caber and Vanilla Launcher turned the tides of battle before even really starting.

About Soldiers... You're balanced. You're good at everything, but you're best at anything. You can fight on long and short range, though not to extend like Sniper and Pyro can. You're tough, but Heavy's tougher. You're good at destroying Sentries, but Demoman is better. You can control the area with your rocket launcher, but again, Demo and possibly Pyro and Heavy are better at this, thanks to stickies, afterburn-that-makes-people-panic and damage output respectively. You're the bulk of your team, so you're fitting in the place where people aren't. You must be cautious, however, as you're the second slowest class in a game and therefore you are a easy kill for most Spies.

Thanks to three kinds of banners, you can aid your team with buff aura that can make them deal more damage, take less or turn it into health. You can also rocket-jump and now, with the introduction of Manthreads, you can actually damage people by stomping them. That being said, you lost your Shotgun, your best weapon for encounters with skilled Scouts, but still... You can speed up your teammates with Disciplinary Action(melee) as well.

Sorry if this sounds helpless, but Soldiers are pretty much made for everything. You'll hate a good Soldier on enemy's team, but even a beginning one can give you a run for your money.

^This.

Soldiers are what I really started to get kills with after a brief beginning stint with scout. If you play soldier with common sense, you'll always be credit to team.