Team Fortress 2 Strategy

strategy guides & forums

There is currently zero responses to “”

Why not let us know what you think by adding your own comment! Your opinion is as valid as anyone elses, so come on... let us know what you think.

1 On October 23rd, 2007, greenwoodDT said:
awesome

posted on October 23rd, 2007 at 3:50 pm
2 On October 23rd, 2007, Pie21 said:
I agree Who’s gonna make the first thread?

posted on October 23rd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
3 On November 20th, 2007, Digital Jedi » Blog Archive » TF2 Strategy - The Scout, Versus said:
[...] to see what was happening in the Team Fortress blog land and ran across a post that pits the Scout against every other class in the [...]

posted on November 20th, 2007 at 7:15 am
4 On November 28th, 2007, Scoutz Unite! - Page 2 - One World Syndicate Community Forums said:
[...]

posted on November 28th, 2007 at 8:53 am
5 On March 1st, 2008, BehavyuR said:
Thanks for adding the guide, Pie21, and to everyone including you: I promise I will make the guide slightly shorter as soon as I have the time and brainpower to do so!

posted on March 1st, 2008 at 4:12 pm
6 On March 2nd, 2008, Neoviper said:
The shots including the sniper are very boring, but its fun seeing him get nice headshots, and people flopping over, maybe a mid air headshot would be cool.

posted on March 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 am
7 On March 2nd, 2008, Pie21 said:
It’s probably a good enough length as it is. Of course if you think it’ll be better then it’s probably worth fixing up.

And you’re right Neoviper, but the problem is always that the sniper shoots at targets far away, so if you take the shot from where the sniper is to get a good look at him, his target is tiny. I’ll think of something though.

posted on March 2nd, 2008 at 5:27 am
8 On March 2nd, 2008, Neoviper said:
No, i mean not having the sniper in the shot, and just showing the results of his work. Would have to have at least one shot of the sniper, but its perfectly well understood that in an article about the sniper, people flopping over with blood coming out of their head, are sniper victims.

posted on March 2nd, 2008 at 11:47 am
9 On March 2nd, 2008, Pie21 said:
Good point. I guess having a tiny sniper in the background could work with that. Problem is you can only have so many shots in a sniper article that barely have a sniper in them.

posted on March 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
10 On March 18th, 2008, discrider said:
Don’t forget that the spy can disguise himself as his own team! This can be very useful in a couple of ways:
1. If you disguise as another team member, you generally become less of a target for the other team. Generally, if the other team sees you as a spy, or worse, as a friendly team member within a group of enemies, they will try to eliminate you before you can infiltrate behind their lines. If you disguise as a friendly, they’ll target the medics instead, or the guy firing the big gun at them.
It also gives you the element of surprise, especially useful in sudden death. If the enemy sees you as an enemy pyro or demoman, they won’t be expecting the highly accurate pistol fire you are about to unload on their face.
In any case, the time that you spend with a group of friendlies running towards the front line disguised as someone less annoying, is time spent conserving your cloak.
2. The other good way to use this ability is to spread misinformation at the beginning of the game about the make-up of your team. This is especially valuable on the Attack/Defend map Dustbowl. Disguising as a friendly Heavy/Sniper can often scare people away from the gated exits/entrances.

posted on March 18th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
11 On March 18th, 2008, discrider said:
You can kill the Heavy with the medic, it just takes some doing.
First you need the Heavy to be distracted: In my case, it was a friendly medic going ineffectually kamikaze on him.
Second close the gap, while not being seen.
Third AMPUTATE! After the second hit with the bonesaw, the heavy will probably have noticed you and start spinning around trying to hit you. Keep strafing left and right, and throw in a bit of jumping for good measure. Try to anticipate which way the player is likely to turn and avoid that minigun. Sometimes the player will help you by not having a high enough mouse sensitivity to cope, in which case you should just keep running around the Heavy in one direction. After about 7-8 hits, he will go down.
After taking the Heavy down, I immediately got gibbed by a Soldier. Go figure.

posted on March 18th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
12 On March 19th, 2008, ribo said:
Good Guide. It may be worth noting that your rockets can scatter stickybombs so if a cluster is in your way you can hit them with a rocket and they roll possibly clearing you a path.

Also in 1 on one fights with a slow opponent I try to hit them in the chest rather than rely on splash..just a preference.

posted on March 19th, 2008 at 6:37 am
13 On March 19th, 2008, Pie21 said:
Added the sticky scattering, good point. And there is something to be said for direct hits if you’re good enough, but really they have to be slow or very close. It’s also a good point though, in certain situations.

posted on March 19th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
14 On March 26th, 2008, obZen said:
glad you finally mentioned the shot gun. i have plenty of heavy hours and i have my shot gun out constantly unless a situation presents itself for the mini gun. i also run with my shot gun out when i get an uber to dish out damage while i am on the move to my sweet spot then, once i am where i think is a good spot [or 6 shots have been fired], i whip out my ac and lay waste.

one other thing i would like to add is, as a heavy you are at your best when you can lure your enemy to you (since you are slow as a turtle on crutches). i avoid rushing in unless i have a medic backing me up or i am uber’d. when alone i annoy people with my shot gun and get them to come to me. sucks for them usually because once they get to me i am waiting right around the corner with my mini gun spinning. point: play defensive offense and if you have a medic on you it works even better because you suck up damage which builds the uber faster which lets you kill everything.

you also make a good engy buddy assuming he’s smart and has a dispenser there for you. you can just hold down the fire button (you can do this with a pyro too… great spot is last stage on dustbowl first cp… if you stay out of sight as a heavy or pyro with a disp around the corner from the first cp you can stop spies from even thinking about getting past you to sneak to the last cap… assuming you dont die. pryo works from the side of the cp where you drop down from the tunnel from spawn and heavy works either side just make sure if youre on the opposite side that you are always firing ACROSS the gap that leads to the cap… this way you will see the spies flicker and can at least warn your team) which works great for keeping spies off the sg/disp and pretty much makes enemies stay hidden because you are constantly shooting/getting healed and they will surely lose that battle.

bit longer than i planned… my 2 cents.

posted on March 26th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
15 On March 26th, 2008, obZen said:
one thing that is ALWAYS left out on EVERY medic guide i have seen is if you’re healing a heavy and are attacking in a linear style (meaning your enemies are directly in front of the heavy) you can crouch and actually HIDE BEHIND the heavy. he will take all the oncoming fire which will result in damage which results in a faster uber which will result in you both kicking major ass. the technique is tricky and it doesn’t always work out unless the situation is perfect. to do it correctly the heavy must be firing (so he’s moving slow). you run up behind him and crouch and TAP your forward key fast enough to keep up with his slow fat butt. looks almost like a secret special move if done correctly. only bad thing is he has the potential to run out of ammo. again, this only works in very specific situations.

EXAMPLE: last cap on granary (or any map for that matter) and all the enemies are piling on the cap to save it… crouch behind the heavy you’re healing since the enemies are all in one spot [and probably won't scatter because they're busy saving the cp]. once they turn their attention to you its over because the heavy will soak up so much damage and usually wont die because you’re right up on him [and you heal ever so slightly fast the closer you are to your target]. just keep inching forward, pop your uber and win.

posted on March 26th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
16 On March 27th, 2008, Still Learning said:
There is one serious drawback of forward defense, though. I was on a team facing an opponent following that strategy onceand we did have a hard time to get through to the last CP becaue of that ( I still don’t know the map names; it was the map with 2 CPs separated by a series of tunnels; the first is on a wooden barn, the second right next to spawn point, in front of a wooden building complex ). The opposing team set up their defences in front of the tunnels, and we just couldn’t get through. So after a while, one of my teammates shouted “spy rush!”. Seconds later 6 of our 8 people changed to spies, while the other two changed to soldiers to give the illusion of a constant attack, spamming rockets. The spy guys cloaked past the defence line, overpoered what little defence there was at the second CP and took it in no-time. Thought it was worth mentioning.

posted on March 27th, 2008 at 2:05 am
17 On March 27th, 2008, Pie21 said:
Hah, interesting point there Mr Learning. That would be Dustbowl stage 2, and while I can see it working, I’m guessing you’d have a tough time pulling it off again. One sentry gun with accompanying engineer would give 6 spies a run for their money alone, and a single pyro (which is always nice to have hanging back a bit watching everyone’s backs would compound the problem.

On that note however a forward defence without (backwards) defence, you’re right, will fall to the right attack. I always like to see at least a guarded sentry holding the fort, and of course the forward defenders shouldn’t be pushing so far forward (as a whole, individuals can probe) that they can’t get back to defend if needs be.

posted on March 27th, 2008 at 2:12 am
18 On March 28th, 2008, man-man said:
Latest info is that the Overhealer was found to be impossible to balance, and that instead we’ll be seeing a version of the medigun that charges a different type of ubercharge – instead of 10 seconds invulnerability for you and your target, you get 10 seconds of 100% critical hits.

Could be rather useful for going on a mad rampage of epic killing, or taking out an engineer nest before you get gunned down by the sentry

posted on March 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
19 On April 6th, 2008, BehavyuR said:
Yo Pie… “Cinderblock – Gravel Pit CPC” has the wrong image. It’s the image that was used for the “Cinderblock – Gravel Pit CPA” hint. Thought I’d let you know.

posted on April 6th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
20 On April 7th, 2008, The Bakery said:
Nice site!

Maybe also good to pay attention to how you scatter stickies. In a control point, when a demo is lacing the doorways, an errant rocket can actually scatter the stickies to the interior of the CP, with disastrous results if the demo notices.

posted on April 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
21 On April 8th, 2008, Krouv said:
There are two more things I would add to this guide:
1) A Pyro is perfect for causing a Medic too use his Uber-charge too early, due to the panic effect.
2) Always try to attack from above if possible. This disorients the enemy and makes them less likely to hit you, at least in his first and second shots.

posted on April 8th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
22 On April 15th, 2008, shipwreck said:
Added a bit about the new, lower rocket reserves.

posted on April 15th, 2008 at 6:29 am
23 On April 15th, 2008, Still Learning said:
“The main reason for defenders losing is a poor class mix. Your team should not have more than 1 sniper or any scouts, and should definitely have at least 1 demoman and heavy and 2 medics.”

It hurts my pride as a scout player to read that A scout on the defense can have similarly huge value as a spy or sniper. While he can’t effectively deal with sentries, he’s good for sneaking around and taking out teleporter enterances ( exits are often guarded by sentries ), and if teh scout player knows what he’s doing, can apply a tremendous pressure on the attacking team by popping up around the corner, quickly taking down a key demoman or medic, disappearing again, coming up from a different angle, getting rid of the spy as he’s just about to disguise himself, disappear again, etc, etc. Especially effective on Dustbowl 2, also somewhat on D1, after the first wave of attackers is dealt with – forcing medics to pop ubers early, and to charge them in the safety of their point, too ( few things are as frustrating as having a scout pop up behind You and blast You to oblivion with two shots, leaving no time to activate the ubercharge).

Also, although it’s true that it’s rather silly to go scout when You see 3 snipers and 4 spies on the team already, there are two things to remember: One, the team is probably doomed anyway, because there are seven other morons on it , two: A skilled scout is better than a rookie demoman. Speaking from experience here; I can’t seem to get the demoman to work for me, and have changed often from scout to demoman or soldier when my team complained. I seldom manage to contribute anything to defense like that.

posted on April 15th, 2008 at 8:03 am
24 On April 15th, 2008, Neoviper said:
One ingenious spot which i saw a sentry in, was on the top level of the base, guarding the second cap point, from that little sniper loft. now normally, this would be rocket bait, but if you place it behind the boxes in that area, attacking enemies cant see it, and it will surprise a lot of people.

the only troubles that come up are when they realize what is happening, and send someone through the building to kill it. either another sentry guarding the main entrances, or the stairway room, would solve that problem.

posted on April 15th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
25 On April 16th, 2008, Pie21 said:
Granted, scouts can be useful. Perhaps “no scouts” is a bit excessive, but I stand by no more than 1 sniper, and more than 1 scout would be eating up valuable defensive class spots. A scout can “have similarly huge value as a spy or sniper”, but that’s not saying much Actually spies can be incredibly effective against unparanoid attackers, but again you CAN have too many.

At the end of the day, going medic is probably going to be more help than going scout or sniper, unless you’re particularly skilled with the above. That’s what I was trying to get at.

posted on April 16th, 2008 at 2:59 am
26 On April 22nd, 2008, looka_bear said:
your litte tib-bit about scout/spy seems like a nobrainer. (the name has TEAM in it…)

in fact, i seem to think the only teamwork existing in TF2 is the medic + [insert class here]

i always think in 2fort, in the enivitable turtle, it just takes two spies to act as a demo/medic team, get to the intel, then pair up and sap two or more sentries, then have the two walk back up, shooting anyone who comes in their way

but no, my teammates just laugh, and go on their own individual tasks

posted on April 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
27 On April 22nd, 2008, looka_bear said:
instead of four spies in sequence, how about this:

the enemy has set up three sentries in far different place, the four spies uncloak right in fron of the sentries at around the same time, spam sap while frantically jumping around, then take care of the engies, regardless of teammates around, this would cause utter pandimonium, and is a good push time.

(it’s called TEAM fortress for a reason, peeps)

posted on April 22nd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
28 On April 22nd, 2008, looka_bear said:
for the dustbowl setup, try diguising a a friendly heavy, and try and freak’em out a bit by standing at the gates…

friendly disguises are put there for a reason, and that reason is, a blue scout coming out from the blue base drws a lot less attention than a red demo coming from the wrong way…so USE IT!!!

posted on April 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 pm
29 On April 22nd, 2008, looka_bear said:
shit dude, these will that years at least, less if some cheapo’s decide to have a private achievment party.

posted on April 22nd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
30 On May 6th, 2008, itburns said:
Overall speed of the target is entirely irrelevant when choosing a target. The important factor with regard to movement is transversal (or angular velocity). Transversal is, in layman’s terms, the speed of the target with regards only to the left/right/up/down movement relative to your position. For example, someone running directly towards you has a transversal of 0; they are effectively standing still. Someone running to your right has a transversal of… well its a lot of math but its more than zero, trust me. Because of this a scout running towards you may actually be an easier target than a heavy strafing to your left or right. Choosing targets with low/no transversal is the key to getting headshots consistently. This is the same reason that it is harder to hit targets which are closer even when their overall absolute speed is the same, as transversal takes into account the distance between the observer and the target.

posted on May 6th, 2008 at 11:15 am
31 On May 6th, 2008, itburns said:
I would also recommend that, when possible, you position yourself near a friendly sentry (dustbowl and goldrush have several good oppurtunities). Spies will be less likely to backstab you with a sentry around, and you can use your powerful machete to take care of any spies which go after the buildings first. Having a dispenser nearby also tops up your health passively. The only downside to this is that the sentry may become a target, exposing you to splash damage. In that event just run away.

posted on May 6th, 2008 at 11:22 am
32 On June 29th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Gold Rush Map Guide said:
[...] Gold Rush [...]

posted on June 29th, 2008 at 3:11 am
33 On June 29th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Housekeeping said:
[...] Admin Blog [...]

posted on June 29th, 2008 at 3:12 am
34 On June 29th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Housekeeping said:
[...] Contact [...]

posted on June 29th, 2008 at 3:13 am
35 On June 29th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Gold Rush Map Guide said:
[...] Gold Rush Gallery [...]

posted on June 29th, 2008 at 3:13 am
36 On July 19th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Compression Blast Guide said:
[...] Pyro [...]

posted on July 19th, 2008 at 12:27 am
37 On August 1st, 2008, absolin said:
Is there any way to get bird’s eye view of the maps? If so I’d be happy to do so and send you the images.

I can’t find any on the tubes =(

posted on August 1st, 2008 at 1:57 pm
38 On August 2nd, 2008, Pie21 said:
We’re discussing it over in the top down map views thread – there’s a few to choose from in there.

http://tf2strategy.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=134

posted on August 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
39 On August 12th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Um… said:
[...] Admin Blog [...]

posted on August 12th, 2008 at 12:44 am
40 On August 12th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Um… said:
[...] Soldier Videos [...]

posted on August 12th, 2008 at 12:47 am
41 On August 18th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Heavy info update said:
[...] Heavy Overview [...]

posted on August 18th, 2008 at 12:40 am
42 On August 18th, 2008, Wolf the Widowmaker said:
The flare gun and the backburner images are in the wrong order.

posted on August 18th, 2008 at 10:53 am
43 On August 18th, 2008, Pie21 said:
I think I put them in the order they’re unlocked at the time, but you’re right and it’s fixed. Ta.

posted on August 18th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
44 On August 18th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Heavy Update Update #5 - Arena Mode said:
[...] we’re getting all this for FREE!), but Valve had to go one further. This is not just a single new weapon, nor is it a more substantial TODO list for the next few weeks, this is something [...]

posted on August 18th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
45 On August 18th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Heavy Update Update #5 - Arena Mode said:
[...] but Valve had to go one further. This is not just a single new weapon, nor is it a more substantial TODO list for the next few weeks, this is something [...]

posted on August 18th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
46 On August 20th, 2008, absolin said:
I don’t understand what’s going on in the rocketman video… how is he moving so fast? Is he rocket-bunny-hopping?

I’m assuming that the settings he input at the start of the video are just the health settings, yeah?

If there’s info on how to rocketjump like that myself, please link or share here =D

posted on August 20th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
47 On August 21st, 2008, Pie21 said:
To be honest I have no idea either. I think it’s just perfect timing.

For the first shot you aim slightly behind yourself rather than straight down, and then when you’re about to hit the ground again, you time it perfectly and retain all your forward momentum as well as adding the extra launch. Practice, I guess

posted on August 21st, 2008 at 12:16 am
48 On August 29th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Gallery + TF2 Blog Update said:
[...] Gallery [...]

posted on August 29th, 2008 at 4:08 am
49 On August 29th, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Gallery + TF2 Blog Update said:
[...] Spy Videos [...]

posted on August 29th, 2008 at 4:09 am
50 On August 30th, 2008, so1id sn@ke said:
Couldn’t agree with you more, looking back on it, the original demoman design seems so…..generic. They nailed each character’s personality and nationality perfectly. Well, nearly so, I still have some thoughts on if the medic were japanese or the spy british, but that’s just me probably.

posted on August 30th, 2008 at 2:16 am
51 On September 2nd, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Gallery + TF2 Blog Update said:
[...] Ravine Gallery [...]

posted on September 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 pm
52 On September 2nd, 2008, TF2 Strategy: Gallery + TF2 Blog Update said:
[...] Lumberyard Gallery [...]

posted on September 2nd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
53 On September 8th, 2008, absolin said:
how about a list of rocketjumping practice maps?
I’ve heard about one called “skyscraper”, but wasn’t able to find a download for it or it’s exact name.

posted on September 8th, 2008 at 10:19 am
54 On September 8th, 2008, absolin said:
There are a few sites / site subsections devoted to this already. How do you feel about a list of recommended links? I’d be happy to gather a few if you wanted to post them as editor’s content.

posted on September 8th, 2008 at 10:20 am
55 On September 8th, 2008, Pie21 said:
Good idea! Given that ‘the time being’ until I get around to this section is longer than longcat, I spose I should be pointing people to others in the community whose job it already is. If you wanted to put a few links together, that’d be great!

posted on September 8th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
56 On September 8th, 2008, Pie21 said:
I don’t know about those specialised custom maps, I tend to just bum around in-game to see where I can and can’t get. Maybe someone else knows? You could ask in the forums, certainly.

posted on September 8th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
57 On September 29th, 2008, absolin said:
hurrah!
I was left search for strategy vids on youtube for the days you were down.
the horror…

posted on September 29th, 2008 at 10:44 am
58 On October 1st, 2008, absolin said:
instead of Hydro, do Steel!

posted on October 1st, 2008 at 8:56 am
59 On October 20th, 2008, TF2 Videos - Focused Gaming said:
[...] that should help intermediate Pyros. Still no unlocks, though. Compression Blast Guide by Pie21 (Youtube Embedded with Article) A pretty well written and descriptive article accompanies this video. If you’ve come back from an [...]

posted on October 20th, 2008 at 1:22 am
60 On January 27th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: Summer Is Too Hot said:
[...] Heavy Achievements [...]

posted on January 27th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
61 On February 19th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: The Scout Update: Day 3 said:
[...] moving down their track. Given the ramps the tracks run up are identical, it suggests to me the “very different new game mode” will be a race to see which team can push their little cart to the end first. If that’s true, [...]

posted on February 19th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
62 On May 1st, 2009, TF2 Strategy: TF2 Round Up said:
[...] Pyro Videos [...]

posted on May 1st, 2009 at 3:08 am
63 On May 2nd, 2009, TF2 Strategy: TF2 Round Up said:
[...] Scout Overview [...]

posted on May 2nd, 2009 at 12:31 am
64 On May 8th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: TF2 Round Up said:
[...] Scout Achievements [...]

posted on May 8th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
65 On August 9th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: WordPress Upgrade said:
[...] Contact [...]

posted on August 9th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
66 On August 28th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: A Challenger Appears! said:
[...] Spy Overview [...]

posted on August 28th, 2009 at 2:44 am
67 On September 17th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: TF2 Team Blogs, said:
[...] when Valve released the raw .vmf’s for all the TF2 maps a while back, and said they were working on getting the TF2 character animations out there too? [...]

posted on September 17th, 2009 at 12:20 am
68 On September 22nd, 2009, NeonDarkness said:
Before you read this, the only reason I Wrote this was because I’m bored, and this sudden death section has nothing in it, so I may as well put something in. Unless you have absolutely no idea what sudden death is, then do not read this.

Sudden death is when the game has gone into overtime and its a draw between both teams. When sudden death begins you will have a short amount of time to select a character,(About 10 seconds I’ve heard)And then you cannot change. In sudden death mode, if you die once, you will stay dead until next round. So don’t die. The smart idea would be to choose a class that can survive, instead of worrying about how many people your going to kill, just make you you stay alive. Choose wisely. like a sniper, for example, (unless confronted by another sniper, or ambassador wielding spy) , will survive for a decent length of time if he keeps his distance from others, as a sniper should. A medic constantly regains health,and can heal teammates, so he is also a good option. And a scout is fast, so it’s harder for a sniper to hit him, and can make a quick retreat if necessary. A spy can also be a good option, becoming invisible and hiding(the Cloak and dagger are good for this), faking his own death(Useful), long range ambassador(For taking out enemys at a distance(again very good for surviving), and a instant kill back stab melee weapon. The heavy, while having his huge amount of health, is slow, cannot retreat as easily if in trouble, and is an easy target for snipers. It all depends on how good you are with a class really, and these are just some obvious tips that everyone knows about, sorry about wasting 5 minutes of your time, but I did warn you

posted on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:40 pm
69 On September 27th, 2009, NeonDarkness said:
Oh, and by “5 minutes” I meant 45 seconds. Lol.

posted on September 27th, 2009 at 3:00 am
70 On September 28th, 2009, TF2 Strategy: Choose Your Class said:
[...] Choose Your Class [...]

posted on September 28th, 2009 at 7:26 am
71 On October 10th, 2009, Arencey said:
Very good strategies, as for you mr looka_bear; I would laugh at you too, spies are terribly over rated as sentry hard counters, sure they can sap sentrys but any decent engineer will easily kill the spy and save or rebuild his sentry, soldier=sentry hard counter, not spy. Spies are there to take out key members of the enemy team that are camping, i.e. Demomen,snipers, heavys on defense, and to take out key offenders such as soldiers and medic heavy combos.

If the engineer simply sits at his sentry with his back to a wall he becomes nearly invulnerable to spies of all skill, give him one more person to play defense with him and a spy can’t do much against a sentry alone.

posted on October 10th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
72 On October 12th, 2009, Arencey said:
“boasting plenty of gameplay variety, huge amounts of personality, and of course a level of developer support that is pretty much unprecedented” Tell that to the ever increasing number of the tf2 gamers on the x box, we’ve been promised an update for over a year now but we have yet to see so much as a single class update, I’ve been waiting for valve to give the x box community what they payed for since the medic update hit the pc, the fact that we may have to pay more for the updates pc gamers got for free isn’t very fair either, we bought the game just like the pc gamers, on top of that we pay a monthly bill for x box live and those of us who don’t care for the half life series(Guilty) are pretty much forced to buy it anyway because we can’t purchase tf2 stand alone like pc gamers.

I understand that valve may not be allowed to put the updates on x box live for free due to microsoft but they better be as cheap as possible. I don’t want to pay for updates on a regular basis either, I.E. when we do finally get the updates and if we have to pay, I don’t want to pay again a year later for the new content pc gamers have gotten for free yet again.

posted on October 12th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
73 On October 12th, 2009, Pie21 said:
Good point, and I complete understand. I am of course coming from a PC perspective, with a pretty extreme bias

First of all, I can all but guarantee that Valve WANTS to give all Xboxers ALL the updates for free. Whatever price ends up being charged is the best price Valve could get. Their frustrations with the M$ pricing policies are very public and vocal. That they managed to get the L4D Survival Pack out for free at all is a minor miracle.

There are of course other issues to consider if you are Valve; one that would figure prominently is the stupid decision of MS to sell a version of the Xbox with no permanent storage. Assuming they don’t send out an updated disc with all the updates on it to everyone who owns TF2 on Xbox, then they’re going to be alienating customers. Unpatched versions aren’t going to be able to play on patched servers, since there’s stuff going on that they simply can’t understand.

I’m actually quite interested in this issues, though I know little about it. I may shoot a brief email off to Gabe and see what he has to say.

posted on October 12th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
74 On October 13th, 2009, Arencey said:
Good guide, I can see why you call the scout an offensive support class; while a scout is very effective a whole team of them can be defeated by a single sentry. On a team without a group of primary assault classes on the front line the scout is pretty much useless.

posted on October 13th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
75 On October 13th, 2009, Arencey said:
Nice guide, you should have mentioned that spies have many other jobs besides taking out sentrys, spies are over rated as sentry hard counters, if the sentry is guarded then the spy really can’t do anything but sap it then get killed. You will be much more usefull to your team as a spy if you leave guarded sentry guns alone and go after other targets.

posted on October 13th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
76 On October 13th, 2009, Arencey said:
Forward defenses are very vulnerable and I don’t really trust them, I know any team that tries forward defense on me puts themself at a seriouse disadvantage, spy is my main class and I’ve had some epic moments where my entire team could not break through a forward defense on dustbowl and I snuck to the last control point, easily took out the lone engineer, then enjoyed a nice ciggarete taunt as a scout came running to try and stop me.

While I do like having a bit of a forward defensive to slow down and take out some attackers(Heavy+Medic is great for this), Imo it is much better to have most of your team near the point.

posted on October 13th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
77 On October 13th, 2009, Arencey said:
“The heavy is perhaps the least dimensional class in Team Fortress 2.” I disagree, you have to be a fan of mmo games like WoW to understand how much fun the heavy can really be, when used for forward defense he plays just like a “Tank” in variouse mmo games, soaking up damage so the rest of the team doesn’t have to die, and single handedly pushing the entie enemy team back and slowing them down make the heavy one of the most fun classes to defend with.

posted on October 13th, 2009 at 8:04 pm
78 On October 13th, 2009, Arencey said:
A good guide, covered all the basics and then some. One more thing you should add is that when you ubercharge someone, especially heavys, you need to rush in front of them and jump around drawing the sentry gun’s fire onto you, allowing your buddy to move in closer and do more damage without getting knocked around by rockets.

posted on October 13th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
79 On October 14th, 2009, Pie21 said:
Good point, I’d say there’s pros and cons for both strategies, unsurprisingly. Maybe we just haven’t wroked very well, but the problem I find with having everyone hanging around near the point is people tend to cluster – partly because there’s only one or two sources of health (usually including a dispenser), partly because people want to stick near other people (which is usually good except when everyone does it in a small space).

This obviously leaves you pretty vulnerable to a) demos, b) kamikaze rushes (i.e. a Pyro jumping into the thick of things followed up by a Solly or two), and especially c) ANY kind of ubercharge. An ubercharge on ANY class will be effective if your whole team is clumped around the point, and it’s too easy for them to just roll in and wreck the joint. One of the key strengths of forward defences is to harass the Medics and not let them get into a position to uber the final point. Best example of this is Dustbowl 2.2 defence: by putting players around the tunnel exits, it prevents the Medics from strolling right up to the final corner before popping the uber, and Pyros can generally cut them off with compression blasts well before they get there.

As you say though, one of the caveats is that you must keep some people home, and one of the FD’s weaknesses is that it can be so effective that the defence just keeps pushing forward once they claim their territory, leaving the point they’re SUPPOSED to defend undefended. Obvious example is Dustbowl 3.2 – how many times has that been Spycapped when the RED team is up defending 3.1!

It all depends really. This is all my humble opinion of course

posted on October 14th, 2009 at 12:00 am
80 On October 14th, 2009, Pie21 said:
Good point, but I don’t think I ever said he wasn’t fun, if you’re into that sort of thing. By “dimensions” I’m thinking more about how many roles he can take on, how much variation can be applied to each role, etc. The Pyro for instance can kamikaze rush, ninja ambush, harass and keep enemies at bay, storm bases with an uber, and he’s even extremely effective on defence (where I enjoy using him). His different weapons complement these roles: CB for defence, BB for ambushing, flares + CB for harassing, CB + Axtinguisher for ambushing, etc.

The Heavy on the other hand (again, from my experience) has one, maybe two kind of roles he can fill, and ultimately he tends to get locked into standard patterns due to him being so slow when he’s doing what he’s supposed to (dishing out boolleets). He can defend by standing in an advantageous position and spamming, he can slowly push forward with his team by walking along and spamming, and he can attack by walking around a corner and spamming. He just doesn’t tend to lend himself to experimentation and creative use is what I’m getting at. I’m not suggesting he’s weak or boring or unhelpful, as he’s none of these things, but there’s just not as much creativity involved.

posted on October 14th, 2009 at 12:07 am
81 On October 14th, 2009, Pie21 said:
Ah, very true. Edited that briefly into the first bit. Cheers!

Also reordered by preferences for ubers – Demo, Pyro, Soldier, Heavy. No one else is really worth ubering except in the most extreme situations (ubering an Engy and standing in front of his sentry to save it from an ubered Soldier, ubering another Medic for an Ubersaw chain, and so on).

posted on October 14th, 2009 at 12:23 am
82 On October 15th, 2009, Hash Classic said:
For the first stage, second control point, one of the best defenses I’ve seen is for a Heavy to stand on the point with a dispenser to the right of him. The Heavy is now looking at four exits (both tunnels and 2 grates) and can supply a tremendous amount of cover fire to any enemy approaching the cp from the front and has unlimited ammo from the dispenser (as long as there is a dispenser, the Heavy need not spin down his gun). Ubercharged enemies can still push through so it is important for any Spies on the team to target the Medics; otherwise, its basically an impenetrable defence.

As a Heavy deploying this tactic, be sure to sweep your gun over all four visible exits constantly and make sure your ammo is nearly full at all times (occasionally a demo or soldier will destroy your dispenser). Keep an eye out for cloaked Spies trying to sneak through your fire; and if an Ubered opponent does reach the point TRY TO STAY ALIVE! once their Uber runs out take out the pair and conserve your ammo until your Engie rebuilds the dispenser (remember there is a small health and ammo spawn close by, use it if you have to).

This tactic works best when your team’s Spies are taking out their Medics; having a friendly Medic running back and fourth between you and your AggroDefence (Soldiers, Demos, Pyros trying to push the enemy back) is a good idea – if your Medic doesn’t mind sitting on their UberCharge, have him be able to run to your position to pop the Uber in case a enemy Uber gets to the point. Otherwise, just hold down leftmouse until time runs out.

posted on October 15th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
83 On October 15th, 2009, Pie21 said:
What about Snipers though? I find they’re a much more common counter to Heavies than Spies are. Either way, putting a sentry or two to the right of the Heavy in that position make it virtually impenetrable from down the stairs, except for an uber.

posted on October 15th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
84 On October 16th, 2009, Arencey said:
Good guide, I always thought the pyro was more suitable for defense rather than offense reguardless of the label valve has given the pyro.

posted on October 16th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
85 On October 29th, 2009, paulg said:
havy update most fun ever

posted on October 29th, 2009 at 5:50 am
86 On November 27th, 2009, Bombatomba said:
To add to the soldier tips, I personally find it very useful to keep jumping around while firing rockets (and i don’t mean rocket jumping).
First, it makes you much harder to hit and especially helps you avoid being shot in the head. This is, of course, true for any class, but since the soldier is pretty slow and therefore relatively easy to hit, jumping around as if you were a scout, combined with a high amount of health, makes the soldier very durable (at least for a class that is always on te front).
Second, while in mid-air, it is easier to aim accurately at a certain spot on the ground. This is mostly because the more perpendicular you are to the surface you’re aiming at, the bigger that surface is from your point of view.
Third and last, firing a rocket while in the air, makes you less susceptible to your own explosions. Since your rockets tend to explode on the ground, you will generally be further away from your explosions when you are not on the ground. (This is mostly important in close combat)

posted on November 27th, 2009 at 6:35 am
87 On November 27th, 2009, Pie21 said:
Ah yes, all good points Bombatomba. I find myself doing that instinctively having spectated good Soldiers doing it, but I couldn’t sum up why it was such a good idea quite as succinctly. Cheers.

posted on November 27th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
88 On December 8th, 2009, chipbuster said:
DosPassos has pointed out that the tf2tactics.com video was faulty, and that the cart does indeed have a speed cap at three people.

posted on December 8th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
89 On December 9th, 2009, chipbuster said:
Guess what Pie?

Soldier vs. Demo update, 12-09-2009

Sorry you had to miss it

posted on December 9th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
90 On December 16th, 2009, Pie21 said:
Fixed, cheers!

posted on December 16th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
91 On December 27th, 2009, Blade12 said:
excellent video…

posted on December 27th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
92 On January 7th, 2010, NeonDarkness said:
OK, dude, I like the advice and think your awesome and all, but you shouldn’t try to bring math into a video game, it has the similar effect of dividing by zero. That is to say… TEH HOL UNEEVRS WIL XPLOD!!! BOOM!!!

Good advice though.

posted on January 7th, 2010 at 3:08 am
93 On January 7th, 2010, Pie21 said:
Math? That’s just numbers. Take an engineering course, and thou shalt know math

In English, don’t bother fully charging every shot, because you probably don’t need to. More, weaker shots is likely more effective than less, more powerful shots.

posted on January 7th, 2010 at 3:25 am
94 On January 14th, 2010, so1id sn@ke said:
FaN is the one that got nerfed. Just pointing out a lil typo.

But imo….Targe didn’t need a nerf. It did what it was suppose to: counter explosive spam.

posted on January 14th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
95 On January 14th, 2010, Pie21 said:
Ah yes, sorry. All this updating at once confuses me

And the Targe still counters explosives, just not as much. I don’t think it’s entirely fair that a Demoman can flee from a Soldier and take 5 roughly direct hits from rockets. That said, I’ve never worn the Targe myself, so I’m not the best man to ask the opinion of.

posted on January 14th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
96 On January 18th, 2010, TF2 Strategy: Now Showing: The Demoman, Versus said:
[...] The Demoman, Versus [...]

posted on January 18th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
97 On February 13th, 2010, TF2 Strategy: Chipbuster’s Choosing A Server Guide said:
[...] Choosing A Server [...]

posted on February 13th, 2010 at 1:57 am
98 On March 6th, 2010, Raptor said:
I disagree with the 1 Sniper argument. Usually, if you have 12 or 16 players (24 or 32 player servers) you can afford having 2 Snipers, and it is actually a very tactical advantage. An example being if I headshot a troublesome soldier with a buff banner, and a kritzkrieg’d heavy comes around the corner, I have to wait for the full charge to be able to kill him. If there are 2 snipers, that means that you have a fully charged bullet every 1.5 seconds. It may not sound like much, but it can make an enemy team think twice about offensive strategy.

Also, know your targets. A scout dosent have much health, and if hes being shot at, a quarter charged chest shot is usually enough to take him down. Pay attention to your charge meter, and pick your targets. Killing 4 hurt enemies or taking 4 shots to kill a 450HP Heavy. Your choice.

posted on March 6th, 2010 at 4:38 am
99 On March 6th, 2010, Raptor said:
I never use the compression blast anyway, so the Backburner is permenantely equipped.
Also, if you notice a lot of enemy pyros on the enemy team, avoid using the flamethrower. The Pyro wears a flame-retardant suit (duh) and the flamethrower will not have the highly dangerous burn effect.
Finally, igniting snipers with the flare gun is also tactically sound and very anoying. The flare gun has the same fire-and-forget style of the rocket and demonade, and if you move fast you will be able to ignite the sniper and send him running for a medkit without being shot, allowing high-priority targets to move up without fear of an unscheduled brain transplant.

posted on March 6th, 2010 at 5:01 am
100 On March 6th, 2010, Raptor said:
There is a certian place in Badwater Basin just in front of the first CP where Engineers LOVE to place their stuff. I have found that getting a medic to buff you, and going around the corner firing the minigun whether you see anything or not will completely decimate anything inside. The reason why this works is that the sentry can be hit at short range without noticing you, as the hitbox can be hit before you enter the Sentrys LOS. The minigun will take off about 3/4 of the sentrys health before it notices you, and the medic will heal any stray bullets you take.

posted on March 6th, 2010 at 5:13 am