EPT![[image loading]](http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc382/Slipperysnak/Capture.png)
Hey guys. I am making this post to give my fellow Starcraft 2 players an idea of why they should try Team Fortress 2 and how they can get into it. I am hoping I can break down the barrier to entry that has been artificially been built up by the constant development of TF2 and the lack of a really helpful nexus of information. I am going to cover a range of different levels of experience with the game so feel free to skip to the section that applies to your own experience. Before getting into the how to play I want to get into the what and the why.
What is Tf2?
I am going to keep this short and sweet because I figure this will be common knowledge to most people but basically Team Fortress 2 is a class-based first person shooter. The game pits two teams against each other each fighting to complete the game mode objective within the time limit. Each team has access to the same 9 classes each with all unique weapons and attributes. These 9 classes provide an all different playing experience depending on the game mode, weapon unlocks, and in-game situation leading to an atmosphere of constant discovery and compelling replayablity.
Why should I care about TF2?
The most obvious answer to this question is that TF2 is a great game. I am not here to compare TF2 to other games instead I am going to go over some of the things that make TF2 so great to me.
The first thing that comes to mind is just the aesthetics. This game has one of the most original art-styles that I have ever experienced especially in a time when First Person Shooters (FPS) games have been focused on making the graphics more and more realistic. Basically the game realized that immersion and graphical brilliance isn't a one way street towards realism but a topic open to the interpretation of the users. With this in mind they have developed a themed world with its own characters and humor.
In line with the aesthetics are the characters of the classes. At this point almost every class has its own "Meet the *CLASS*" video that provides so background to what it means to be each one of the classes outside of the weapons and in-game voice prompts. Hopefully we will get the Pyro soon.
Alright, so far all I have really hit on is the flavor because that is a big reason why the game is so immersive. The next reason is that the game isn't campy, or round based, or designed to be a stalemate. Now let me follow that up by saying that although this may happen on 32 man servers it is due to the amount of players and even then can be countered with correct play. If you want a shooter with constant action, strategy besides just mindless shooting, and constant growth and updates then TF2 is the game for you.
Lastly you should care about TF2 because it has a competitive side which you can pursue if you ever feel like you have hit your skill-ceiling. This competitive scene has great outlets to work your way up to the top with players that are mindbogglingly good.
TF2 for the player with no PC FPS background
This part of the guide is written for players that have little to no experience with FPS games on the PC. I really hope if this is you that you are reading this before you have already started playing TF2 because if not then you are probably very frustrated. The first thing you need to understand is that the TF2 player base is mostly made up of players who have player PC FPS's for multiple years spanning multiple games with similar controls. So if you go into a normal game and expect to slowly learn how to play with people of similar skill level that just isn't going to happen. Before I go any further I want to make it clear that this shouldn't discourage you especially if you are a Starcraft 2 player or have reasonable computer experience because many of the skills with transfer over for you.
The first probably hardest thing for new players is to understand movement. This is because for most experience players it is like an instinct, their fingers are constantly hovering over the right keys and the have an acute understanding of exactly how far they are going to move for how long they hold each key (very similar to using control groups and hotkeys in SC2). Making movement instinctual is the first step to learning to play TF2.
So with this is mind the first thing a new player should do is to open TF2 and go straight into the training. It start by explaining movement and all the basic controls if at any time you miss something or want to change controls just simply hit Escape and navigate through the options on the bottom of the screen.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Wa8hW.png)
Also the other trainings unlock as you complete them but don't have a lot of the explanatory quality that the soldier tutorial does. If you need to fill in any of the gaps check out the wiki here for explanations of all the classes and their weapons. Once you finished all the trainings try playing against only bots; this can be found by clicking on the training again and then selecting offline practice. From here you will be given 3 game modes to practice. Once you select a game mode the map selection screen will pop up; with this screen you will be able to choose the number of players and to choose the difficulty of the bots. Play with the number and difficulty of the bots as well as experimenting with all three game modes. The maps I suggest familiarizing yourself with are
Control Point: cp_badlands, cp_granary
King of the Hill: koth_viaduct, koth_badlands
Payload: pl_badwater, pl_goldrush
![[image loading]](http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc382/Slipperysnak/th_PLtraining.png?t=1309671014)
![[image loading]](http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc382/Slipperysnak/th_KOTHtraining.png?t=1309671065)
![[image loading]](http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc382/Slipperysnak/th_CPtraining.png?t=1309671088)
If you start to get burned out just playing against bots or just feel like you have a pretty good idea how to play each class then go to the wiki linked of above and read about all the unlocks and how each class should play. This is good because it will help to stop you from being overwhelmed by all the unlocks and not understanding what is happening. If you have made it this far congratulations, you know the basics about playing a FPS on a computer and you are about equal in knowledge and TF2 experience as the next group so continue reading.
Players with non-TF2 computer FPS experience
This section of the guide is written for those who have completed the first section but also players who are familiar with movement, aim and other FPS basics. The goal here is to get you acclimated to TF2 rather than overwhelming you with the all the possible unlocks. Before even starting the best thing to do is to have some knowledge of the basics of each class. They are pretty self-explanatory but check the wiki here if you aren't comfortable playing it by ear.
The first thing you should do when you open up TF2 is make sure that you are familiar with the controls and to adjust your settings. Once you have fixed your settings to your liking click on training on the main menu and go into offline practice.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/uU5YM.png)
From here try out all three game modes on a variety of maps (my map suggestions in the above section) favoring at first one class. As you play with the difficulty of the bots and the number of players make sure learn how each class plays and even pick a couple favorites. Once you think you have a pretty good understanding of how the classes work in offline mode take another look at the wiki here especially the weapons. The first weapons you will see for each class are the initial weapons the game initially came out with while the other primary weapons are unlocks that are available through random drops, purchase via the Mann Store (I think one purchase activates your TF2 beyond free to play but confirm before buying yourself), trading and crafting.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8LMj4.png)
The items section of the menu is your gateway to your loadout for each class for which can be changed on the fly either through the loadout hotkey or hitting escape and going to items. These items have been constantly added to TF2 since it came out so it is a good idea to read over what the all do so that you can tell how and why you died. As should probably be expected some of the items are lame while others are super fun but I guess it all just depends on the situation and your preferences. You will get the chance to decide what you like as you get more drops. The more you play the more random drops you get.
Whew that was kind of along little rant about items but I just wanted to put it out there before I talked about how to start playing because that is often what throws people off. If you just keep dying and you don't know why it is really freaking frustrating. I am not promising that you won't die to a lot of stupid stuff especially when you are starting out but if you at least know what is happening then you can hopefully avoid frustration and then seek out whatever unlocks look the most fun to you.
So yeah about the playing now, if you have tested out a lot of the maps and modes you probably have a few favorites. There is two ways to start playing, there is the lazy I don't care where I play way and the server filtering way. The lazy way is to just click play now. It allows you to choose which game mode you want but generally puts you in either a laggy server, a server with few people, or a server on a boring map but if you don't care then it is the easiest. The next way to find a game is to use the browse servers menu. This tool has multiple tabs to help you keep track of the server you like or hate, where you friends are playing and servers that are lag free, populated and on the right map. In order to find your perfect server navigate to the internet tab and click all refresh. The tool will start finding servers and scrolling super fast; just wait for it to finish refreshing or else it can be really annoying. Also while it is refreshing you can add filter which allow you to control what map you want, exclude servers with no one in them or that are full, pick a ping threshold, and make sure it isn't password protected. Also you can sort servers by all the categories at the top.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/jM5PE.png)
A couple things to beware of when joining servers are false player reporting from servers and reserved slots. Often big servers have one of both of these features that make searching for them really annoying. The first thing to look out for is false player reporting, basically what this means is that the server says the are say 24/32 players in the server but when you join there are not that many players. Servers do this to try to artificially keep their server populations up by tricking people looking for games. This will become more apparent as it happens to you more and more but the easiest way to avoid being a victim of this is to right click on the server you are about to join and click on server info. This will bring up another window which you should then refresh, once refreshed the server info will show you a list of the people playing on the server along with their points and the time they have been on the server. This will show the accurate amount of players as well as showing if there are any bots (evident by ridiculous hours of play time). So although this is relatively easy to avoid the second thing isn't really as obvious. This second thing is the reserved slots. Servers are often sponsored by gaming communities which allow donators and members to have access to the server at all times. This normally looks like a server with either one or two open slots on the server listings. When you join however you get a message that says you were kicked due to reserved slot so you basically just have to find another server. I doesn't take long to just join another server but if you are tired of hitting reserved slot servers then just join a server with a lower population and you are less likely to have problems.
I suggest with this knowledge trying out different maps until you find one you like or even a specific server that you like but from here just go out and enjoy. For your first few times out I suggest pl_goldrush and cp_dustbowl as maps that provide a solid pub experience. From here you should be able to explore the game, play with all the different unlocks as you get them, and have some fun!
If you get a break or want some more resources check out the bottom of the post in the links section where I will link more outside of the game content. Also once you get a hang of pubbing and how the games works head on over to the next section.
Competitive TF2: So You Think You're Hot Shit
This section is written for players who have decent experience in TF2 but just kind of got bored of playing pubs. I realize playing competitively isn't for everyone but for those who didn't even know it existed it is important to get it this out there. Basically there are two main competitive formats out there, 6v6 and Highlander.
I am going to start with Highlander because I think that it is the most similar to playing on a public server and because quite frankly I don't have as much experience with it. The format name is based on the idea that there is only one of each of the nine classes allowed to be played, basically 9v9. Highlander is a chance for people to play their favorite classes within a competitive environment with restrictions that cut down the insanity a little bit. Currently CommunityFortress.com has a strategy series going where they interview some highlander teams about how they play. I will link one of the articles from my favorite highlander team (because of their name), Oedipus and the Motherfuckers, here. Highlander is played on a pretty wide variety of maps differing from 6v6 due to its high player count. If you are interesting in giving it a shot check out the links at the bottom of the page or visit tf2lobby.com where highlander lobbies are semi-rare but usually at least available a couple times a day.
On to 6v6 the main competitive side of TF2 and where you can really test your skill. I am not going to spend a lot of time talking about the format because I think it has already been done better than I could do here. This link explains it pretty much flawlessly so please read through it before continuing on because I hope I can address some of the basic things that have fallen through the cracks and how to get started.
Ok, so now I am assuming you have a basic understanding or how 6v6 works but are a pub player doesn't know where to get started. The first step is TF2lobby.com, which in my opinion is one of the greatest things to ever come to competitive TF2.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ovi2e.png)
Basically this is a site the organizes pick up games. It is connected with Steam though so it can be a little intimidating logging in through your Steam account for fear of piracy. Even though I told you it was safe I would suggest you do whatever you need to do where that means comparing the login to the actual Steam site or logging into the real Steam first to feel safe. Once you have logged in you will be able to join the lobby listings. When first writing this I forgot some really good advice but thankfully someone caught it with a reply.
On July 04 2011 01:27 OmaplatA wrote:
I've been playing TF2 since near the beginning, around April 2007. #1 advice to new players: when you start out, play Medic.
The reason is the TF2 community is pretty well established, and like other multiplayer FPS games, can be pretty hostile to new players who don't know the ropes. But Medics are always welcome. Plus, it's an easy class to play, and you have time to observe how others do it, how the maps flow, decision making, etc.. Also, the uber is what TF2 was built around, so you can really make an impact by using one at the right time
I've been playing TF2 since near the beginning, around April 2007. #1 advice to new players: when you start out, play Medic.
The reason is the TF2 community is pretty well established, and like other multiplayer FPS games, can be pretty hostile to new players who don't know the ropes. But Medics are always welcome. Plus, it's an easy class to play, and you have time to observe how others do it, how the maps flow, decision making, etc.. Also, the uber is what TF2 was built around, so you can really make an impact by using one at the right time
From here I am just going to create a straight up list of Dos and Don'ts.
Do
-Read the help dialog explaining how lobby works before joining your first game.
-Be humble and attentive to the chat box when you join your first few lobbies.
-Choose one of the cookie cutter classes that are available or leave if the class you want isn't.
-Practice your rollout to middle on the map you want to play before joining a lobby (youtube is a great resource for this).
-Ready up promptly.
-Join the game in a timely manner.
-Minimize and use the report feature when those in game ask you to report a missing player.
-Listen to voice chat of your teammates and try to coordinate with them.
-Type "fov_desired 90" in console without the quotes because it gives you a must for competitive play. (It widens your field of view)
Don't
-Get discouraged either by angry people, getting kicked for being new, or playing poorly because the only way to get better is to play.
-Click a random offclass and ready up.
-Be afraid to ask questions.
-Join a lobby unless you have at least 40 minutes in which to finish it.
And that is pretty much all the ones I could think of that were really obvious. Tf2lobby is a great tool that basically autoconnects people to a Pick-up Game (PUG) with 1 click and sets classes. Also make sure you do not leave to many games because next to each players name is a reliability number which shows how often you have stayed or left. If your reliability is bad you will often be kicked so just make sure you are aware.
I won't talk too much about custom HUDs and other stuff but below I will link a lot of resources that may be able to help your further if you are interested in playing on an even higher level of PUGs, joining a team and competing, or just keeping track of the professional scene.
Conclusion\
Wow holy crap this guide took a long time to write so I hope you guys are getting something from it. I know it is kind of a wall of text and it is probably incoherent because I am going only on a first draft but let me know if it helped. Also feel free to PM or post if you need any help whatsoever. I am by no means a pro player so I don't have immaculate information or knowledge of the game but as a regular PUG player I thought maybe I could share my passion for TF2 with people who already share my passion for SC2. Again, I hope you enjoy and the links will follow.
TF2 Important Links
Tf2 Official Wiki- A source with a lot of the basic TF2 information.
Community Fortress- The main NA site for TF2 news and some coverage information for the pro-scene.
Competitive Wiki- Mediocre information about how to start playing competitively
Ubercharger.net Competitve Play- Awesome series of articles on playing TF2 competitively
Official Website- Home of the official blog for all announcements TF2 and also where you can download free to play TF2.
eXTV- A source for NA TF2 casting although rather inconsistent the eXTV Justin.tv will usually be more up to date.
Vanilla Tf2- More European based site with news and VanillaTV which seems to cast more regularly than eXTV.
TF2 Official Video Page- Has all the flavor video for each class along with the content from the Saxxy Awards where players made a bunch of their own amazing 1:00 videos.
Steam-Client you need to run TF2.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/i4Say.png)
Please tell me if there is anything I forgot or if you guys have some changes. Thanks!
Edit: Added pictures to help explain, sorry if they are all weird sizes or don't make sense I am not very good at manipulating them. Hope you guys enjoy and it isn't overkill... that much. =)
