Team Fortress 2 - Tips and Tricks

I realize that I just completed an entry recently showing off a 2D version of Team Fortress 2 but, as much as I like to keep things varied, my recent playing time with Team Fortress 2 has shown me that many "n00bs" just still haven't caught on to how the game works and/or what each class is capable of doing and how they should be played.

Without further ado, here is my own Team Fortress 2 Tips & Tricks guide:

GENERAL TIPS

• In the options menu, click KEYBOARD, go to ADVANCED, and ensure that "Fast Weapon Switching" is enabled (you can scroll through weapons using the mouse wheel rather than having to click the chosen weapon afterwards to equip it)
  
  
• In the options menu, click MULTIPLAYER and find the "Autoheal after single click" (not word-for-word) option for Medics; this helps greatly
  
  
• Use a Mic. If you do not, you are sorely missing out
  
  
• If you need a Medic, call for one by hitting the E key. DO NOT forget this.
  
  
• If you are playing the CP game mode, keep an eye on the bottom of the screen and watch for which points are being captured and by how many players (remember that each Scout counts as two people on a point)
  
  
• If you are playing the PL game mode, keep an eye on whether or not the cart is moving and also if it is moving backwards or is about to move backwards; adjust your play-style accordingly and help to either push the cart or keep the enemy away from it
  
  
• In the PL game mode, the cart heals you; if you can dance around it - versus crazy Pyros, for example - it will keep you healed, remove any burns, re-supply your ammo, and give you an edge over your opponents
  
  
• When on the "class choosing" screen, look below to see how many of each class your team has; if you don't mind, try picking a class that has a low-abundance of players to "flesh out" the options and make your team even more diverse; too much of one class (unless you're doing a Scout rush, har har!) is rarely a good thing
  
  
• If your team is being killed by Spies, always turn around every now and then to make sure one isn't sneaking up on you; suspicious teammates, teammates who you can't walk through, or teammates with their health down about halfway (Their health will almost always show this if it's a spy) indicates that a Spy is likely present
  
  
• When you see an incoming uber charge, unless you're playing as a class or have the weaponry to disrupt it/knock away the medic/player being ubered, move out of the way and don't risk being killed; wait until the charge is finished then go in for the kill

MEDIC

• "Buff"/overheal everyone except spies on your team if possible, as it will give them a health bonus and may give an edge over the enemy
  
  
• Heal burning teammates first to remove burns
  
  
• Unlock the Medic gun that heals you as your needles hit enemies and use it often when not healing teammates; especially when retreating from enemies or even in need of health such as when on fire - sometimes it saves your life!
  
  
• Uber teammates only at the right moments such as when you/him are about dead or when you're deep into enemy territory and need to take out sentries or large forces (Also, DO NOT uber spies in a serious match!)
  
  
• Use your bonesaw/ubersaw to kill spies; with the ubersaw, you'll get an uber boost from doing so - equivalent to healing a teammate!
  
  
• Watch your back; spies love taking down medics, as it means one less possible uber charge their team will have to worry about
  
  
• If the person you're healing moves into a danger area and you have a corner to hide behind, do so and let your healing beam stretch; don't risk being sniped or blown up and losing an uber charge just because your teammate is being wreckless; if he dies, he can always respawn and later be uber-charged by you
  
  
• When finishing up an uber, if the odds are obviously against you and you haven't made any progress, don't be afraid to retreat and charge up again; an uber doesn't necessarily mean a kamikaze, so you don't always have to go deep into enemy territory then die in the process - plus, the medic is a fairly quick guy!

PYRO

• Don't run in the open or you'll be taken down quickly as most of the other classes will outgun you
  
  
• Circle-strafe your foes up-close, especially heavies, and you may be able to frustrate them and get the best of them as the flamethrower will do MASSIVE damage until they lock onto you (you may even get a kill AFTER they kill you due to the burn damage alone)
  
  
• If you're on a map such as 2Fort and you're being chased by an opponent, avoid the water as much as possible as it completely disables flames
  
  
• When flaming an enemy, if they retreat, quickly pull out the shotgun and blast them; the burning plus shotgun blast will usually either severely hurt or kill them
  
  
• If there is a spy in the nearby area of you're being harassed by them, use your flame on nearby teammates; friendly fire is off 99% of the time and any disguised spies will immediately burst into flames and be revealed to the team
  
  
• Use the newly added "compression blast" (right-click; works only with the standard flamethrower) to deflect Soldiers' rockets and Demomens' grenades and to also knock back engineers repairing sentries or even disrupt ubers by separating the enemy medic and the person he's uber-charging
  
  
• If possible, learn the layout of maps so that you can ambush enemies from behind or even from above so that you: A. Strike first, and B. Confuse the heck out of them
  
  
• When the flare gun is unlocked, use it to target snipers and medics; snipers will be burning and their aim will be affected (as it will continuously make them jerk around) and medics, unlock the folks they're healing, will have to seek out other medics or other forms of health to stop the burning

SPY

• Use the Q key (quick weapon switch) to quickly switch from your sapper back to your knife for taking down enemy engies before they can react
  
  
• Sap sentries, THEN knife engineers; if you do it the other way around and the sentry is upgraded, chances are, it will likely blast you to pieces before you can sap it
  
  
• Use cloak sparingly, and find "safe spots" to allow it to recharge; also, just added, is the ability to refill it by collecting ammo (even off fallen enemies' weapons) and dispensers or medical cabinets
  
  
• If you're being attacked and they know it's a spy for sure, don't be afraid to pull out your revolver and let the bullets fly; it does a good amount of damage and hurts enemies at long range

SNIPER

• Remember that your shots will charge up when you scope in; use highly-charged shots to take down classes with a lot of health such as Heavies being healed by Medics
  
  
• Don't give away your position by keeping the dot sight on a wall enemies can see; instead, move it to a place on the wall in which they can't see and, when an enemy appears, quickly react and move the scope to their position to catch them by surprise
  
  
• Aim for the head! Headshots are ALWAYS critical hits and do TONS of damage
  
  
• If you see Medics, aim for them first
  
  
• Don't stay scoped in the entire time or you'll be caught by spies; every now and then scope out and check around you for any enemies
  
  
• If you're caught up close or even need to make an escape, pull out your submachine gun and use it to deter enemies; it does a fair amount of damage and even works good against spies because of its rapid rate of fire

SOLDIER

• Remember: rockets are slow; don't fight snipers with them or you'll lose almost every time; harassing snipers with them (popping out, firing a rocket, then popping back in) is a fun little tactic, though
  
  
• When rocket-jumping, do a normal jump first, THEN shoot a rocket at your feet; this makes you go higher and doesn't hurt you as badly
  
  
• Be careful about your rocket supply and learn when to reload and when not to; the reloading process is lengthy and will often get you killed if you choose to reload (or not to reload) at the wrong time
  
  
• Aim for the feet of enemies; not only does this hit them more often, but it also knocks them up into the air, angers them, and gives you a chance to strike back with a mid-air shotgun blast!

DEMOMAN

• Plant sticky grenades in places that allow you to ambush your foes (around corners or on low ceilings), then detonate them when they come through
  
  
• Use normal grenades to suppress enemy forces and even, if you're accurate enough, to badly hurt them up close
  
  
• Sticky grenades can be charged up and shot long distances; this is a good way to attack foes by surprise because you can right-click and actually detonate them in the air
  
  
• Don't be afraid to get frisky, if you're being chased by an enemy, launch grenades at your feet (even stickies) and allow them to detonate, either killing the chaser or blasting/scaring him into going back where he came from
  
  
• If you need to reach high places or travel across the map at the expense of losing a chunk of health, plant sticky grenades at your feet (any more than 2 means death most of the time), jump, then detonate them to go flying. Weeeee!!!!

SCOUT

• Scouts obviously have low health, so keep this in mind and don't think you're going to charge into a battle, take on the entire team, and get out alive
  
  
• Use fast, unpredictable movements and double-jump around foes to get the best of them with your powerful double-barreled shotty
  
  
• When making hasty retreats or firing at enemies from afar, forget the shotgun: Pull out the pistol for ultra annoyance mode!
  
  
• Avoid sentries at all costs unless you can find an under-construction sentry or a level 1 sentry just around the corner; otherwise, it's instant death 9 times out of 10
  
  
• Don't be afraid to rush to undefended points; your speed will allow you to retreat if too many enemies arrive, and the fact that you count as 2 players on the point means that you'll capture it faster than any other single teammate

ENGINEER

• As a building is going up, whack it with your wrench; this makes it build slightly quicker and uses no metal
  
  
• Right-click to rotate buildings before you place them; use the arrows on the blueprints to ensure you're facing them in the proper direction
  
  
• Remember that dispensers, especially after they've been given time to charge up the metal supply after construction, are an excellent source of metal; you can also get metal from fallen enemies or weapon boxes/ammo cabinets such as those at spawn for insta-fast refills!
  
  
• ALWAYS build a teleporter entrance just outside of the spawn point
  
  
• Just added: You can now upgrade teleports as well as dispensers; don't be afraid to do so, as level 3 teleports, for example, recharge much faster and will help your team greatly
  
  
• On offense, try to move your buildings up as much as possible; you don't want to have sentries, dispensers, or even teleporter exits back at previous points on the other side of the map when a crucial push is occurring elsewhere
  
  
• On defense, make sure that you're constantly spy-checking your stuff and "wrenching" any strangely-acting teammates
  
  
• For effective sentry upgrading/repairing, construct a dispenser next to or behind a sentry and use it to constantly refill your supplies without forcing you to leave the sentry to gather them
  
  
• If you're in good shape and you see a fellow engineer building (or re-building), lend him a hand - your wrench-hits help construct/upgrade his buildings, too, and will get his equipment up much quicker

HEAVY

• Don't stand out in wide-open areas too often, because your melon head will attract snipers from all across the country
  
  
• Unless you've unlocked the sandwich and are confident in your solo skills, try to always pair up with a medic; medic+heavy combos are some of the best the game has to offer
  
  
• Know when to hold down right-click (spin up the barrel) and prepare yourself to fight and when to move quickly (fleeing or pursuing enemies who've turned the corner, for example)
  
  
• Don't waste too much of your ammo on far-away enemies; the minigun does very little damage in such situations
  
  
• If you're caught up close by surprise and may be overwhelmed (such as versus classes other than sniper), quickly whip out the shotgun so that you can fire back immediately rather than having to spin-up the minigun

I know that I've left out a few things here and there because I've had other tips on my mind that sort of slipped away, but I think the ones I've included above are some of the most important for each of the classes. As others have said, however, no guide or tip list can be better than pure experience. As you learn the layout of the maps and how each of the classes works and which classes it is good/bad against, you'll quickly become a much better, more effective team player overall.

Team Fortress 2 in 2D!

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! Yes, I am back and this time I have something special I'd like to share with all of you. This isn't one of my own games, but it is one I've been playing a lot in the past few days and that will please any Team Fortress 2 fan out there who is seeking similar gameplay but in a different realm - the 2-dimensional realm, that is!

Now enters Gang Garrison 2, a freeware computer game that takes Team Fortress 2's "Capture the Intel" game mode and downsizes it into a game that looks and sounds like a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title but retains TF2's key gameplay components. And yes, all the classes are there! Scouts, Soldiers, Demomen, Heavies, Medics, Engineers, Snipers, Spies, and Pyros are all included and function similarly to how they do in Team Fortress 2.

Here is more information on each of the classes and what I personally think about them in Gang Garrison 2:

• Scout - Can double-jump like in TF2; has a scatter gun that has poor range but does good damage if all of your bullets strike opponents up close; is obviously the quickest class; great for capturing flags and also quickly reaching high platforms that may be out-of-reach for other classes

• Soldier - Fires slow rockets that take a second to boost out when fired; can actually "rocket jump" like in TF2; is tougher to hit opponent's feet and get the high ground because of the 2D perspective, but is still a tough class
  
  
• Demoman - Fires up to eight sticky grenades which are then all detonated by right-clicking; excellent for setting up traps and protecting the Intel; can detonate grenades in mid-air just like in TF2 and can "sticky jump," too!
  
  
• Heavy - Has a minigun that has decent range and great damage up close; is the slowest class in the game, but works great paired with a Medic; can often take down Sentries all by himself
  
  
• Medic - Can heal teammates with his Medic Gun and can also fire needles at the same time; does not have an uber ability like in TF2, but is still crucial for assaulting heavily-fortified bases to grab the Intel
  
  
• Engineer - Can place a single sentry which automatically fires upon enemies that are in-range but can't be upgraded and isn't very powerful versus large groups of enemies; also comes equipped with a shotgun that is good for spy-checking and base defending, but not quite as good as the Scout's scatter gun
  
  
• Sniper - Can use the mouse to move the screen to the left and right so as to see far ahead; when firing, the shots hit instantly and do good amounts of damage; is defenseless up close, however, as he has no secondary weapons
  
  
• Spy - Can cloak for unlimited periods of time; is more easily discovered, however, because of the game's 2D perspective and unlimited ammo for all classes; is equipped with a powerful revolver that does good amounts of damage; can uncloak behind enemies and stab them for one-hit kills and can also do the same to Sentries to destroy them
  
  
• Pyro - Has a flamethrower which is surprisingly lengthy in terms of its range; can use his "compression blast" from TF2 to reflect rockets; is excellent for catching enemies up close and burning them to a crisp

As you can tell by this list alone, each of the classes is very different and fun to experiment with. My personal favorite so far has been Pyro because his flamethrower is excellent for taking down incoming Scouts and killing Medics who are hiding behind the folks they're healing. You can run right through enemies, after all, so it's a little easier to quickly sprint past the guy he's healing and toast him before he has a chance to run away or be saved by his teammate.

The communication in-game is restricted to chat bubbles that appear over your character's head, but this does a great job of preventing chat spammers, bad language, griefing, etc. You can still press 'E' to make a red-cross bubble appear and alert near-by Medics, and you can also press C to bring up the rest of the bubble icons such as a thumbs-up, a finger pointing to the left or right, an alert for a nearby Spy or Sentry, and more. You would think that players would not pay much attention to these options, but I've been surprised at just how much they're used - especially the thumbs-up icon which is often used when successfully defending or capturing the Intel or even saving the asses of your teammates!

As with my other posts, I've recorded a special gameplay video showing Gang Garrison 2 in action. This shows me playing as a variety of classes and combating the enemy. I never really get close to the Intel, but I do kill some Intel carriers and show the diversity of the classes that makes the game so fun to play! Enjoy:


Well, what are you waiting for? It's free and it kicks ass!

Grab Gang Garrison 2 at http://www.ganggarrison.com/