_ _ ___ _ _____ | | | | |__ \ | | | | | |__| | / \ | | | |ŻŻŻ _____ | | / /\ \ | | | ŻŻ| |_____| | |ŻŻ| | / / \ \__ | |___ | |ŻŻ |_| |_| /_/ \__/ |_____| |_| _ _ _____ _____ | | | | | ___| | ___| _ | | | | | |__ | |__ |_| | | | | | __| | __| _ | |___ | | | | | |___ |_| |_____| |_| |_| |_____| ___________________________ TEAM FORTRESS CLASSIC (TFC) ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ An in-depth multiplayer guide ______________________ Matt Beisser Darkdragoon@home.com Version 1.2 (3.17.00) ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ This guide is for: Half-Life: TFC (PC) Half-Life: TFC (Mac) Half-Life: Opposing Forces: TFC (PC) The latest version of this FAQ is always available at http://www.gamefaqs.com _______________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ _________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ _________________ 1. Overview ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 1. Introduction 2. Starting off 1. Computer requirements 2. Modem 3. Ping vs. Lag vs. Latency 4. Controls 3. The characters 1. Scout 2. Sniper 3. Soldier 4. Demonian 5. Medic 6. HW Guy 7. Pyro 8. Spy 9. Engineer 4. The maps 1. Two Fortresses 2. Canal Zone 2 3. The Well 4. The Rock 5. Hunted 6. Alpine 7. Blood Tube 8. Open Fire _________________ 2. Legal Info ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ 1. Disclaimer 2. Copywrite _______________________________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ [1.1] Introduction Congratulations! If you are reading this FAQ then you probably have bought Half-Life. =) Half-Life is one of the best games I have ever played. It got several awards in 1998 including game of the year. If you bought Half-Life because the plot of the single player sounded interesting then this FAQ isn't for you. If you bought Half-Life and decided that the single player sucks and you don't like getting fragged every five seconds in a death match game then you're come to the right place. Team Fortress Classic. 2 teams (usually) going against one another trying to get the most frags and accomplish a common goal. Unlike single player you have other intelligent teammates to help you (intelligent being the key word.) And unlike a death match game it isn't a free for all, so you don't have to worry about getting killed every 5 seconds. In my opinion Team Fortress Classic, or TFC as it is commonly know as, is the best online game that there is. It's a balance between skill, teamwork, and luck. [1.2] Starting off All computer games require a computer to play them. (DUH!) For some of the games out, especially the new ones, you have to make sure your machine can handle it. That's one of the great parts about TFC you don't need a speed machine to be able to play. [1.2.1] Computer Requirements For Half-Life:TFC you need a Pentium 133 or faster, Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0, 24 MB RAM, 400 MB hard drive space, Windows-compatible sound card, SVGA 256-color graphics, 2X CD-ROM, Online play requires 32-bit ISP with 28.8+ modem or local area network. Supports 3Dfx 3D graphics cards. For Half-Life: Opposing Forces: TFC you to have Half-Life installed. You also need a Pentium 133 or faster, Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0, 24 MB RAM, 200 MB hard drive space, Windows-compatible sound card, SVGA 256-color graphics, 2X CD-ROM, Online play requires 32-bit ISP with 28.8+ modem or local area network. Supports OpenGL or Direct3D graphics cards. [1.2.2] Modem While it says that you only need a 28.8 bps modem in reality the minimum is more a 33.3 bps modem. That is the absolute minimum. If you have a slower modem the game won't be very fun because you will move so slow that almost anyone will be able to frag 'ya. Again if you have a 33.3 bps modem you can still play Half-Life:TFC but I would strongly recommend getting a 56 bps modem. They're really not that expensive and make the game a lot more enjoyable. [1.2.3] Ping vs. Lag vs. Latency This is a large controversy in Half-Life:TFC. Some people disagree with others about what is what. Others use all three interchangeable. So to set the record straight here are the differences: Latency, measured in milliseconds, is based on the average number of packets sent to the server. Ping is based on two things. How long it takes for a _single_ packet to be sent to the server and how long it takes for the server to redirect that packet back to your computer. Basically, a high number is bad and a low number is good. So you want to try and keep a low number if at all possible. Lag is bad. It slows your game down. It is produced from your computer and the internet. So you don't want lag. Basically the faster your computer the less lag you get, the lower the latency and ping you will have. Sometimes even if you have a real fast computer you will still have a high latency. Well since two things, your computer and the internet, create lag and you know it's not your computer then it is unfortunately your isp. Large isps like AOL, Prodigy, MSN, etc. are not good isps too have for online gaming. These providers are meant to be used to surf the www, chat with friends, etc. not to play online games. So get rid of em! No one said that you have to use a large company to get onto the internet. As a matter of fact the local providers in your area are almost always faster, more reliable, and can guarantee a good service. Not to mention they are usually a lot cheaper. If getting rid of your current isp isn't an option then you do have other options that will help your latency out. Close all programs except Half-Life. Use a lower resolution setting. Don't download anything while your playing. Be sure you're using the most recent version of HL:TFC. Try downloading a program that helps reduce lag. There are a couple out there (lowlag, lagkiller, and usethisifyoulagonhalflife, etc.) You can also try turning off the sound (though I don't really recommend it.) [1.2.4] Controls No matter how low your latency is you're still going to get fragged a lot if you can't move quickly. There are good control setups and bad control setups. A good control setup allows you to move quickly, have an accurate aim, and be able to use all your special abilities without moving your fingers all around. Here's what I use: ________________________________________________________ | __ | ______ | [__] [_][_][_][_] [_][_][_][_] [_][_][_][_] [_][_][_] | | || | | ___ | |__||__| | [_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][___] [_][_][_] | | | | [__][Q][W][E][R][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][ | [_][_][_] | | | | [___][A][S][D][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][____| | | | | [Shif][Z][X][C][_][_][_][_][_][_][_][___][_] [_] | \____/ | [Ctr] [__] [________Space________][_] [__] [_][_][_] | |________________________________________________________| Q - Drop Flag W - Move forward E - Use R - Reload A - Strafe Left S - Move backwards D - Strafe right C - Use special ability V - Set detpack Z - Call medic X - Drop extra ammo Shift - Grenade type 2 Ctrl - Crouch Space - Jump Left Click - Shoot Right Click - Grenade type 1 Mouse Wheel Up - Next weapon Mouse Wheel Down - Previous weapon You don't have to use these exact controls just use whatever is comfortable and allows you to play well. You absolutely, positively, MUST use a mouse, however. I don't care how you play other games. If you don't you'll never be able to hit any one, nor will you be able to move quickly enough. [1.3] The characters Half-Life:TFC offers a variety of characters to choose from. Each has there own skills. Try to use the best character for the job. A master of TFC will know how to utilize each characters special skills and attributes. [1.3.1] Scout Scout - The perfect flag capturer. Weapons: 1 Crowbar 2 Shotgun 4 Nailgun Grenades: Primary: Concussion Secondary: Caltrop Speed: Very fast Armor: Low armor (maximum of 50 green armor) Abilities: - Removes an enemy's Spy's disguise by touching him - Disarms detpacks set by enemy Demomen when he comes in contact with them Special Skill: Display flag status Scouts are the best flag capturers, so they are utterly essential in any map which involves a flag (maps with objectives like Capture the Flag or Territorial Control). Scouts can be effective even without firing a single shot, since their strength lies in their speed rather than in their combat skills. If you like moving twice as fast as everyone else, and screaming for an escort as you escape the enemy base with the Flag and the entire enemy team pursuing you, then the Scout is your class. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Run. Don't fight. Every single enemy you meet is a better fighting class than you are. Remember, your goal is to get the Flag, not kill the enemy. Leave the killing to your teammates who are playing fighting classes. Don't run in straight lines. Your enemies will be doing everything they can do to prevent you from getting into their base. Use your "Move Left" and "Move Right" keys to dodge incoming fire. Even if you can't see an enemy, keep dodging as you run, because chances are good that there's a sniper aiming at you. Call for help. If the enemy has a defensive position that you just can't get past, or a sentrygun that keeps killing you, call for backup. Tell your teammates where the enemy (or sentrygun) is, and let them take care of him for you. Concuss enemy defenders. If there are a lot of enemy defenders in a room, use your Concussion grenades to soften them. Hold down your "Throw Grenade Type 2" key for a couple of seconds before releasing it. This will throw the Concussion grenade a second or so before it goes off. Hopefully the defenders won't have time to avoid it with only a second's warning. After the grenade has exploded, run like the wind! Concussed defenders find it hard to hit any target, let alone a Scout running at full speed. Slow down pursuers with caltrops. Caltrops are small metal spikes that injure and slow down anyone who walks over them. When you're being pursued, hit your "Throw Grenade Type 1" key to drop a canister of caltrops. Try and drop the canister just around a corner or in a narrow passage to ensure the enemy runs over the caltrops. If you're lucky, this will slow them down long enough for you to escape. [1.3.2] Sniper Sniper - The ultimate long-range fighter. Weapons: 1 Crowbar 2 Sniper Rifle 3 Auto Rifle 4 Nailgun Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: None Speed: Medium Armor: Low armor (Maximum of 50 green armor) Special Skill: Zoom The Sniper is the only class that can kill an enemy on the other side of the map with almost no warning at all. Be careful though, for if the enemy engages you at close range you're weaker than most of the other classes. If you like settling down into a good sniper position and methodically killing every enemy who exits his base with a single shot to the head, then the Sniper is for you. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Become one with your sniper rifle. The sniper rifle takes awhile to master. The trick to using it is to learn to aim effectively. When you press your "Fire" button, you begin to aim. Your rifle will raise slightly and a red laser sight will appear where you're aiming. When you release the "Fire" button, the rifle fires. The longer you hold down the "Fire" button, the more damage the shot does. If you aim for a full 4 to 5 seconds before you fire the shot, you'll kill almost any class in a single hit. If the enemy is a fair distance away, use the zoom capability of the rifle by pressing your "Use Special Skill" key (right mouse button by default). Use your sniper rifle like a rifle. Always remember that the sniper rifle is a rifle, not a pistol or shotgun. You can't just shoot from the hip. If you're running, you won't be able to fire the sniper rifle until you slow down and take aim. If you need to fire on the run, use your nailgun or auto rifle. Aim for the head, neck and upper chest. The sniper rifle does more damage if you hit your target in the head. This damage adds to the damage created by the amount of time you aimed before firing. You'll kill anyone if you aim for a couple of seconds and hit them in the head. However since the head is such a small target aim for the neck or upper chest. You'll still do an incredible amount of damage and you raise your chances of hittng your target. Another thing to note is that if you shoot them in the legs, you'll slow them down. Avoid letting enemies get close. You're fairly weak when it comes to close combat, so don't let your enemies reach you. Find a position where they can't get to you easily. If they do get near you, don't try to kill them with the sniper rifle. Change to your nailgun or auto rifle and gun them down. You can try lobbing some grenades at them to keep them away too. Hide your laser sight. It's a good idea to start aiming before you see your enemies so that you can build up a bit of damage before you fire at them. Since your laser sight is visible, learn to hide it in places where your enemies can't see it. Use your auto rifle to finish them off. The auto rifle is a great weapon for finishing off targets who you know are low on health. If you hit them with a well-aimed shot from your sniper rifle, it's more than likely they'll be low on health, so switch to your auto rifle and pump a few rounds into them. They'll have a hard time dodging you [1.3.3] Soldier Soldier - The best all-around fighter. Weapons: 1 Crowbar 2 Shotgun 3 Super Shotgun 5 Rocket Launcher Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: Nail Grenade Speed: Slow Armor: Heavily armored (Maximum of 200 red armor) Special Skill: Reload The workhorse in any TFC team, soldiers perform well at any task and specialize in none. If you like killing lots and lots of enemies in straight man-to-man combat, this is the class for you. Soldiers are a core class in any offensive or defensive squad. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Reload regularly. Your rocket launcher only holds 4 rockets at a time. When it's empty, you're vulnerable. You can reload at any time by hitting your "Use Special Skill" (right mouse button by default) or "Reload" (R by default) keys, so whenever you've got a moment throw a rocket or two into your launcher. Smart enemies will be counting the number of times you've fired, and they'll try and attack you when they think you're empty. Reload before you run out, and you can give them a nice surprise when they charge you. Use your nail grenade to pin your enemies down. When your throw a nail grenade, it rises into the air and then begins to spit nails in all directions for a few seconds before exploding. It's a great room clearer, and the perfect way to keep enemies pinned down. If they're pursuing you, drop one behind you as you run. If you're defending a room, you've been told enemies are incoming, and you need health, drop one into the room before you run to the Resupply Room. Learn to rocket jump. One of the unique things a soldier can do is rocket jump. It's a term for a fairly brute force method of gaining some height. Aim your rocket launcher straight down at your feet, and press your "Fire" button and your "Jump" button at the same time. The rocket will hit the ground at your feet, exploding and propelling you up into the air. It'll hurt you a bit, but it's a great way to get into areas of the map that are normally inaccessible. It takes a bit of practice, but once you've got it you'll be the bane of snipers everywhere as you rocket jump into their sniping positions from the ground below. [1.3.4] Demonian (spammer) Demoman - A lethal close-range fighter. Weapons: 1 Crowbar 2 Shotgun 4 Grenade Launcher 5 Pipebomb Launcher Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: MIRZ Grenade Speed: Medium Armor: Medium armor (Maximum of 100 yellow armor) Special Skill: Detonate Pipebombs Set Detpack Carrying more explosive weaponry than any other class, the Demoman clears whole rooms in seconds. He's essential on maps where the use of high explosives can destroy barriers, allowing access to more entrances into the enemy base. His remotely-detonable bombs make him a vicious defender in enclosed spaces. If you like watching the smoke clear and seeing bodies everywhere, the Demoman's your class. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Use your launcher. Your main weapon is your grenade/pipebomb launcher. It has two modes, grenade and pipebomb. In grenade mode it lobs grenades that explode on contact with enemies. If the grenades don't hit anything they explode after a couple of seconds. In pipebomb mode, the launcher lobs pipebombs. These are simply grenades that don't explode on contact. Instead, you remotely detonate them at any time by hitting your "Use Special Skill" key. These are great for setting traps! Don't use too many pipebombs. You can have too many pipebombs lying around at once. If you reach your limit, your oldest pipebomb will automatically explode when you lob another one. Pipebombs will explode after they've lain there for a couple of minutes, but you'll rarely have to worry about this. Also, your pipebombs are rigged to your heartbeat, so when you die, all your pipebombs explode. It's not uncommon to see them blow up the same guy who just killed you. Reload regularly. Your grenade/pipebomb launcher can only hold 6 grenades at a time, so when it's empty, you're in trouble. You can reload at any time by hitting your "Reload" key, so whenever you've got a moment, throw a few grenades into your launcher. Smart enemies will be counting the number of times you've fired, and they'll try and attack you when they think you're empty. Reload before you run out, and you can give them a nice surprise when they charge you. Clear rooms with your grenades. No other class carries as powerful grenades as you do, let alone as many. Your MIRV grenades explode into smaller grenades which then explode again, killing anyone and everyone near them. These are great for clearing entire rooms. If you know there are enemies ahead, throw a few grenades in and watch them come running out. Get up close and personal. All your weaponry is powerful at close range, but none of it is very useful at long range. Avoid having fights with enemy classes that are dangerous at long range, like the Sniper and Soldier. Either charge them, dodging as you go, or retreat behind cover and hope they come to you. Wherever possible, fight in enclosed areas where they can't avoid getting hit by the explosions from your grenades. Use your detpack to open new pathways. Some TFC maps have specific obstructions that can only be destroyed by a detpack. These will be identified in the map Briefing screen. There are 3 different "Set Detpack" keys to allow you to set the timer on the detpack. Place a detpack in front of the obstruction by pressing your "Set 5 Second Detpack" (M by default) key. You must hold down the "Set 5 second Detpack" key for 4 seconds to place the detpack, during which time you'll be unable to move or shoot. If your enemies are smart, they're going to try and kill you during this time, so you might need to get a teammate to escort you. You can stop setting the detpack at any time by releasing your "Set 5 second Detpack" key, at which point you'll pick up the detpack and be able to move again. You can only carry 1 detpack at a time. Learn to pipebomb jump. Pipebomb jumping is a crude method of gaining access to areas you can't get to normally. Throw a pipebomb out, then go and stand on it. Press your "Jump" key and your "Use Special Skill" key at the same time. This will cause you to jump and detonate the pipebomb simultaneously. The pipebomb's explosion will do a fair amount of damage to you, and propel you up into the air. It takes some practice, but once you've got it, you'll be able to get to places you couldn't before, like up into the middle of the enemy sniper positions. [1.3.5] Medic Medic - The most indirectly lethal class in the game. Weapons: 1 Medikit/BioWeapon 2 Shotgun 3 Super Shotgun 5 Super Nailgun Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: Concussion Grenade Speed: Fast Armor: Medium armor (Maximum of 100 yellow armor) Abilities: Can heal his teammates with the medikit Automatically heals himself Special Skill: Select Medikit A solid close-to-medium range fighter, the Medic moves swiftly and carries a gun that enables him to mow down any of the weaker classes without too much trouble. His real strength lies in his ability to heal himself and his teammates with his medikit. If you love seeing eternal gratitude in the eyes of your teammates, or can't aim at all and still want to be incredibly useful to your Team, go for the Medic class. You might not kill a lot of enemies, but the teammates whose lives you've saved sure will. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Heal your teammates. When you look at your teammates (by pointing your crosshairs at them), the status bar in the lower leftm corner of your screen will show you their health and armor. If their health is less than 100%, they need some healing. Select your medikit by hitting your "Use Special Skill" key, run over to your teammate, aim your medikit at them (just like you would a crowbar), and press your "Fire" button. One "hit" and they'll be back to full health. Cure your teammates. Your medikit will heal everything. If you see that one of your teammates is concussed, hallucinating, infected, crippled from a leg shot or caltrop, or burning from a pyro's flamethrower, use your medikit on them to cure them of their affliction. They'll be eternally grateful. Power up your teammates. You can do even more than just heal and cure your teammates. If you use your medikit on a teammate who's already at full health, you'll inject him with adrenaline, increasing his health 5 points over his maximum health level. The maximum you can adrenalize him up to is 50 over his normal maximum health. Adrenaline is short-lived, and the player's health will slowly drop down until it's back at his normal maximum health. This is an excellent way to give an attack squad a boost before they enter the enemy base. The only drawback is that the medikit needs some "ammunition" to do this. You can get more medikit "ammunition" by picking up health packs in your Resupply Room. You'll need medikit "ammunition" to heal yourself over time too. Infect your enemies. If you use your medikit on an enemy, you'll infect him with an infectious virus. It'll drain his health slowly, until he either dies or is healed by a Medic on his team. The virus is particularly lethal because it's airborne. If the infected player gets near any of his teammates, the virus will infect them as well. Listen for "Medic!". Other teammates might signal to you that they need healing by shouting out "Medic!". You'll see a flashing red icon above the player who is calling for assistance. Heal 'em! [1.3.6] HW Guy Heavy Weapons Guy - A walking tank. Weapons: 1 Crowbar 2 Shotgun 3 Super Shotgun 5 Assault Cannon Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: MIRZ Grenade Speed: Very slow Armor: Extremely heavily armored (Maximum of 300 red armor) Ability: Due to his size and armor, the HW Guy isn't fazed much by injury, and rarely gets pushed around much by explosions. Special Skill: Select Assault Cannon The name says it all. A slow moving, heavily armored beast toting an enormous assault cannon, the HW Guy can mow down any enemy in seconds. Not a lot of finesse in this one, since the cannon spits out so much fire you barely need to aim it. If you like picking a defensive position in a map and saying "No-one, and I mean no-one, is getting past here", then the HW Guy's the class you want. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Defend. Don't go on offense with this class until you're fairly experienced. You're the slowest moving class in the, game, and you'll be picked off by enemy snipers before you even get into the enemy base. You're one of the strongest defensive classes in the game. Just keep firing your assault cannon at anyone firing at you, and they'll be the ones to die first. Jump while firing. Your assault cannon whacks quite a punch. Always jump and shoot, no matter what. You will take less damage from your enemies and you can kill them faster. This is because they are not hitting you part of the time (hence your jumping) and you are occasionally hitting them in the head. You can kill 2 enemeny HW guys and still have health and armor left if done properly. Work in relatively open areas. Your assault cannon takes a second to wind up before it begins firing. This means that it's not a good idea to guard places where a Scout can appear and get past you before you've begun firing. Enclosed spaces are also bad for you because they allow the enemy to jump out, lob rockets and grenades at you, and then duck back behind cover before you can hit them. That said, large open spaces are also dangerous for you due to your slow speed. Snipers and Soldiers can pick you off from a distance, where the inaccurate fire of your assault cannon renders it fairly ineffective. Luckily, enemy snipers rarely make it into your base. An ideal defensive position for a HW Guy is at one end of a long corridor that enemies have to move through, allowing you to fire at them as they approach. Stand in doorways. Scouts hate you. You're their worst nightmare. The only thing on an enemy Scout's mind when he sees a HW Guy on Defense is "How can I get past him?". Do your part to make it harder for Scouts by standing in doorways that they need to get through. Scouts will run up and attempt to squeeze by you. Ignore them if they're shooting at you, since they have about 1/5 of the armor you have. Wind up the assault cannon and let 'em have it. If you're feeling particularly nasty in a Capture The Flag map, go and stand right on top of your Flag. Watch out for their concussion grenades though. Work with a Medic or Engineer. Try and get an Engineer or Medic to defend near you, so that you can get them to heal you and repair your armor. Since you're so slow, it takes you longer than any other class to get to the nearest Resupply Room, stock up, and return to your position. If you've got a Medic and/or Engineer nearby to save you the trouble, you can ensure your position is never left undefended. Remember to use your "Call for Medic!" key to signal that you need assistance from them. [1.3.7] Pyro Pyro - Set them on fire, and watch them burn. Weapons: 1 Crowbar 2 Shotgun 4 Flamethrower 5 Incendiary Cannon Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: Napalm Grenade Abilities: Wears flame retardant armor, making him impossible to set on fire. Special Skill: Select Flamethrower A great first line of defense, the Pyro can easily knock chunks out of the enemy with his flamethrower. He doesn't have much in the way of killing weaponry, but he can make sure no-one gets into the base without being set on fire, and being burned alive tends to upset people. If you like running into a room, firing wildly, and then watching enemies run around screaming as they roast, then the Pyro is perfect for you. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Set them on fire. The strength of a Pyro comes in his ability to set enemies on fire with his flamethrower and incendiary cannon. The more you hit your enemies with fire, the longer they'll burn and the more damage they'll take. You're a great class for sowing confusion in the enemy ranks, mainly because it's really hard to aim effectively when you're burning to death. Keep in mind that your weaponry doesn't do a lot of damage though, and it'll take quite a while to kill armored classes like the Soldier and HW Guy. Get in close, set them on fire, and retreat while they burn. Keep doing it until they die. Use your incendiary cannon effectively. The flamethrower is your main method of setting enemies on fire, but the incendiary cannon has two advantages that make it essential in some situations. First, and most obvious, is that it has a far greater range and can ignite multiple targets at once. The rockets travel fairly slowly, but have a larger blast radius than the Soldier's rockets. They don't do much damage, and they don't set everyone on fire, so they're great for lighting up the enemy Snipers and providing the confusion your team needs to get a squad across the open areas between bases. Secondly, and most importantly, they ignite enemies through walls. The heat generated by the rockets penetrates right through walls, floors and ceilings, setting any enemies on the other side alight as well. If the enemy Snipers are causing you trouble on 2fort, run under them and fire some shots into the ceiling. Be the first line of Defense. One of the most useful things a Pyro can do is be the first line of defense for a team. Guard the entrance to your base, and make it your mission to set every single enemy who passes you on fire. Don't worry too much about killing them, just make sure you ignite them a bit. Once they're past you, warn the rest of the team's Defense that there are incoming enemies. This early warning, combined with the fact that no attackers reach the main Defense without being singed, can often be the thing that prevents the enemy from breaking through. Hold them off with your napalm grenades. Napalm grenades set an area of ground on fire for a few seconds, igniting any players who try to move through it. They're great for blocking off an area, saving time and probably your life. Drop them on the ground if you're being pursued, or throw one into rooms filled with enemy defenders to force them to move away from their positions. [1.3.8] Spy Spy - The perfect infiltrator and terrorist, all in one. Weapons: 1 Knife 2 Tranquilizer Gun 3 Super Shotgun 4 Nailgun Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: Hallucinogenic Grenade Speed: Medium Armor: Lightly armored (Maximum of 100 green armor) Abilities: Removes an enemy Spy's disguise when he touches him Can disguise himself to look like any class, team or both Can feign death Special Skill: Open Disguise Menu A class who can disguise himself to look like anyone, the Spy can often walk into the enemy base, right past the defenders. Able to kill an enemy in a single hit with his knife, the Spy is someone you definitely don't want to turn your back on. After a few of their members have been knifed in the back, teams tend to get fairly paranoid. You know you're winning when they start to shoot each other for fear they're Spies. If you like matching your wits with the enemy instead of your reflexes, then the Spy is your class. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Think, think, think. A spy is one of the hardest classes to play well. It takes time to master and the only thing you have to kill you opponents are you wits. So plan what you are going to do ahead of time. For example, don't try and do everything at once. Just set one goal and achieve it. If you team is having trouble getting the flag because of a sentry gun then sneak into their base and kill it. Maybe the other team has 4 snipers that are picking off your teammates left and right. Go over there and pick them off one by one. After all four are dead feign on the ground and wait for them to come back. When the are charging up their sniper rifles get up and stab them all again. Go run and hide this time and come back in 30 seconds. Chances are they'll all be their again, ready to feel the cold steel of your knife. If you are trying to get the flag, DO NOT go straight to the flag room. I can guarantee that if you do this you will get killed 75% of the time. Run around the base for a little bit. Go up the stairs and run into the flag room once. Then go check out the hallway and toss a grenade or something. Check back in again and stand in the doorway and act like your guarding the flag. The key to being a spy is to act like the other team. If you put on an HW guy desguise and go for the flag room no one will turn their head. If you throw a grenade at an "enemy" (really your team) they will trust you. That's the key--TRUST. *Authors note: I once was in an enemy base for over 30 minutes and never once got detected. I also had 50 kills and 0 (!) deaths. You can get real good at this class. It just takes practice. Pretend to be one of them. Your number one skill as a Spy is your ability to look like a member of the enemy team. Wherever possible, avoid letting the enemy see you as a Spy. Once they know you're playing a Spy they'll be much more alert. Luckily, the paranoia induced in a Team from the knowledge that there is an enemy Spy wandering around is worth playing a Spy for in itself. It takes a couple of seconds to disguise yourself, so try not to be discovered. Think before you disguise. The Spy is the thinker's class. You need to outwit your enemy. After your first couple of infiltrations, it's fairly likely the enemy is on the lookout for you. They'll be watching for anyone on their team who's doing anything out of the ordinary. You need to watch the enemy so you can become one of them. Pick your disguise carefully, and change it whenever you're alone and the disguise is no longer fitting. If the enemy has one Sniper, and he's defending the base entrance, don't disguise yourself as a Sniper and walk into their Flag room. Remember your teammates. Remember that your teammates will also see your disguise. So if you're disguised as an enemy Sniper, your teammates will probably think you're an enemy Sniper too. If they're smart, they'll read your ID in their status bar and know you're a Spy, but usually, they'll pump a few rounds into you. You can help prevent this by sticking to a simple rule: Never change your Team disguise inside your own Team's base. Think before you shoot. As a spy, attacking anyone is not a decision to be made lightly. This is because when you attack, you lose your disguise. That's right. You're back to looking like a Spy, and you can be sure that any enemies who see you won't be amused that you've been pretending to be their buddy for the past 2 minutes. The only exception to this rule is grenade throwing, which means that you can throw a grenade and still maintain your disguise. Unfortunately, any enemy who sees you throwing grenades around is probably going to get a little suspicious. Avoid enemy Spies and Scouts. Enemy Spies and Scouts will remove your disguise if they touch you, so avoid them if you're disguised. Try not to look like you're avoiding them though. Be careful when picking up Flags. Some maps have objects that remove your disguise. For example, in Capture The Flag maps, if you grab the enemy Flag while you're disguised, your disguise will be lost, and you won't be able to re- disguise while carrying it. Lie in wait for them. Use your ability to feign death a lot. Spys are very effective at killing specific individuals on the enemy team, so they are particularly lethal on maps where 1 or 2 classes are important. For example, in CanalZone 2, Scouts are essential because they're needed to carry Flags from their base out to points on the map. Find places where the Scouts will be moving past, and lie in wait for them. Be careful not to look around while you're "dead", because the enemy will be able to see your "corpse" moving. Wait until they pass you, then stand up and knife them in the back. Another useful thing to know is that you can disguise yourself while you're feigning death, which is often the safest way of disguising yourself. Knife them in the back. When used right, your knife is the most lethal weapon you carry. If you stab an enemy in the back with it, it'll kill him in one hit. Even if your stab isn't perfect, it'll still inflict severe damage upon him. Bear in mind that as a result you'll lose your disguise, and you can be sure that if there are enemies around to notice this, they won't be amused. Provide intelligence. If you're in the enemy base, waiting for the perfect opportunity to grab their Flag while no-one's looking, or to knife a particular Defender in the back as your Team's attack squad comes in, make yourself useful. Report back information to your teammates. Tell your Team where the enemy Defenders are located, what classes they are playing, where their sentryguns are, and so on. Take out their sentryguns. Sentryguns are dumb. They won't fire at you if you're disguised as a teammate of the Engineer who built them. They won't even fire at you when you throw grenades at them. This makes you the ultimate anti- sentrygun weapon. If your team's Scouts are getting mowed down by enemy sentryguns, walk on into the enemy base and put some grenades on the sentrygun when no-one's looking. Use your Tranquilizer Gun. You tranquilizer gun is your friend. If enemies are giving persuit hide around a corner and watch them go running by. Then shoot them in the back and run like crazy. Your tranquilizer gun is deadly in water, especially to slow people. Give an HW guy or a soldier a shot or two in the leg and swim away. The poor enemies won't relieve what's hit them until they're about to drown. [1.3.9] Engineer Engineer - The perfect remote defender. Weapons: 1 Wrench 2 RailGun 3 Super Shotgun Grenades: Primary: Hand Grenade Secondary: EMP Grenade Speed: Medium Armor: Lightly armored (Maximum of 50 yellow armor) Abilities: Can build automatic sentryguns Can build ammunition & armor dispensers Can repair his teammates' armor Can create ammunition Special Skill: Open Build Menu When your base needs some heavy defense, the Engineer comes to the rescue, building automatic sentry guns that track enemies and kill them. Able to repair his teammates' armor and build machines to dispense ammunition, the Engineer is often the core player in large defensive squads. If you need to defend your base against all those hardcore players out there with much better aim, the Engineer's the perfect class. _______ TACTICS ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Get Metal. All your abilities as an Engineer rely upon you having enough metal. To get metal, grab armor from your Resupply Room. Any armor you can't wear is automatically converted to metal. To see how much metal you've got, select your Wrench and looking at the "ammo" count in the bottom right corner of your screen. 200 metal is the most you can carry. You need 130 metal to make or upgrade a sentrygun, and 100 to make a dispenser. Build a Sentrygun. Your most useful contribution to the Team is your sentrygun. You can only have one of these built at a time, so positioning it well is important, although you can always dismantle it and build another. Don't worry if it quickly gets destroyed the first few times you build it. Just look for a new place to put it where the enemy will have a harder time killing it. Keep an eye out for other Engineers, and see where they're placing their sentryguns. Once you've picked a place to build yours, hit your "Use Special Skill" key to bring up the Disguise menu. If there's no option 2 to build a sentrygun, that means you don't have enough metal, so go get some more from the nearest Resupply Room. It takes 4 seconds to build your sentrygun, during which time you won't be able to move or shoot, so if you're building outside your base you might need someone to guard you. Upgrade your Sentrygun. Once you've got your sentrygun built, you'll want to upgrade it quickly. Sentryguns have 3 levels, and at each increasing level they have more health, fire faster, and hold more ammo than at the previous level. Level 3 sentryguns fire rockets as well as their gattling guns, making them particularly vicious. To upgrade your sentrygun, make sure you've got at least 130 metal, and then hit your sentrygun with your wrench. The maintenance menu will come up. If there's no option 2 to Upgrade the sentrygun, you don't have enough metal, so go get some more from the nearest Resupply Room. Note that once your sentrygun is level 3, you won't be able to upgrade it any further. Maintain your Sentrygun. Once the sentrygun's up and running and killing some enemies, you'll need to maintain it. If you look in the bottom left of your screen, you'll see your sentrygun's health and ammunition. If it's low on health, you'll need to repair it. Hit it with your wrench and select the "Repair" option from the menu. Keep doing this until it's fully repaired or you run out of metal (you can see the amount of metal you've got in the ammo count in the bottom right corner of your screen). If your sentrygun is low on ammunition, you need to restock it. Grab some shells from your Resupply Room, hit your sentrygun with the wrench and then select the "Put ammo in sentrygun" option. If it's a level 3 sentrygun, make sure you grab some rockets and put them in it. Keep doing this until it's fully stocked with ammunition. Finally, make sure your sentrygun's facing the right way. Sentryguns track better if they're facing the direction the enemies' are coming from, and they'll sometimes swing around and end up facing the wrong way after they've shot down an enemy. Hit the sentrygun with your wrench and select the "Rotate Sentrygun" option. Keep rotating it until you're happy with the direction it's facing. Build a Dispenser. The next thing that your team would be eternally grateful for is an ammunition & armor dispenser. This is a small machine that creates ammunition and armor inside itself every 10 seconds, and lets anyone get some from it. It's like a mini Resupply Room. If you've got a group of Defenders in a place where they can't get to a Resupply Room quickly enough, a dispenser's the perfect thing to allow them to resupply without leaving their posts. Dispensers are also great if they're hidden somewhere near the enemy base to allow your attack squads to resupply right before they go into the enemy base. Like sentryguns, you can only have one dispenser built at a time, so place it wisely. They have little health, so keep your dispenser fully repaired if you can. Hit it with your wrench to bring up the Maintenance menu, just as you do for the sentrygun. Repair your teammates' armor. Another important and often overlooked trait of the Engineer is his ability to repair his teammates' armor. Simply hit your teammates with your wrench. You'll need a bit of metal to repair them, but not much. Keep hitting them until their armor's fully repaired, or until you've run out of metal. Note that your teammates will probably use the "Call for a Medic!" command to ask you to repair their armor, so if you hear them yell for help, look around. The player who called for help will have a floating red cross above his head. Make ammunition for your teammates. The other useful thing an Engineer can do is make ammunition. This is great for swiftly delivering ammunition to Defenders, like HW Guys, who don't have time to get to the Resupply Room and back to their posts before the enemy attacks. Making ammunition is easy. Simply hit your "Drop Unused Ammunition" key (X by default). Unlike every other class, who only drop the ammunition they're carrying that they can't use, Engineers always drop some ammunition of each type, using their metal supply to fabricate ammunition that they don't have. If you don't have much metal, you won't be able to make much, but its probably still a better idea than sending that HW Guy back to the Resupply Room. Protect your Sentrygun with EMP grenades. Your EMP grenades are tricky. They explode like any grenade, but instead of doing any damage themselves, they detonate anything explosive around them and rely on that to do damage instead. This means players with explosive ammunition, like rockets and shells, will explode like firecrackers. Detpacks will go boom. Pipebombs will detonate. Ammo packs will go up in smoke. Roughly speaking, the more ammunition lying around, the more dangerous the EMP blast is going to be, and some classes, like the Soldier and HW Guy, are carrying a heckuvva lotta ammunition. The only downside is that some classes, like the Scout, are carrying almost no explosive ammunition at all, and can simply walk right through an EMP blast. Use your EMP grenades, combined with your hand grenades, to destroy enemies who are trying to destroy your sentrygun. Your sentrygun is far more dangerous to them than you are, so if you're lucky, you'll be able to throw a grenade at their feet while they're otherwise occupied. [1.4.1] Maps There are always new maps being made but here are the official maps along with some other common TFC maps. [1.4.1] Two Fortresses Two Fortresses - Capture The Flag. Two fortresses, separated by a small bridge. Break through the enemy defenses and steal their Flag from the basement. Bring it back to the Capture Point in your battlements to score. Watch out for enemies coming through the underwater entrances. Objective: Assault the enemy Base, and steal the enemy Flag from their basement. Bring it back to the Capture Point in your battlements to capture it. Defend your Flag to prevent the enemy from stealing it. Scoring: 10 points per Flag Capture. Notes: If a player carrying a Flag is killed, the Flag will fall to the ground. It will remain there for 60 seconds and then return to its starting position. If it's your Flag, you need to defend it, wherever it is. Don't let the enemy touch it, because they'll pick it up, and even if you kill them the 60 second time starts all over again. Players: 4 to 24. [1.4.2] Canalzone 2 Canalzone 2 - Territorial Control. Two Teams vie for control of a group of buildings divided up by canals. Capture strategic points on the map, and hold them to score points. Use the light, fast classes like the Scout to capture points, and back them up with heavier classes to hold the points once captured. Objective: Capture and hold as much territory as you can by placing Flags on the Command Points throughout the map. Scoring: 1 point for every 30 seconds you hold a Command Point. 25 bonus points for gaining control of all 5 Command Points. Notes: Capturing a Command point is done by taking a Flag from your Command Center and placing it on a Command Point. You can see which Team holds a Command Point by the Flag and colored light around the Point. If the enemy holds a Command Point, you need to recapture it with a Flag. Players move at half-speed while carrying a Flag. Players: 8 to 32. [1.4.3] The Well The Well - Capture The Flag. 2 large fortresses separated by a large no-mans-lan, where Snipers reign supreme. This map uses the same scoring system as 2fort, but it's bigger and caters to larger teams. Use Demomen to destroy the underwater grates and open more entrances into the enemy base. Objective: Assault the enemy Base, and steal the enemy Flag from their tower. Bring it back to the Capture Point in the base of your tower to capture it. Defend your Flag to prevent the enemy from stealing it. Scoring: 10 points per Flag Capture. Notes: If a player carrying a Flag is killed, the Flag will fall to the ground. It will remain there for 60 seconds, and then return to its starting position. If it's your Flag, you need to defend it, wherever it is. Don't let the enemy touch it, because they'll pick it up, and even if you kill them the 60 second time starts all over again. Players: 8 to 32. [1.4.4] The Rock The Rock - Capture The Flag Variant. Set in two opposing prison-like bases, Rock plays similar to a Capture The Flag map, but with slightly altered rules. Teams break into the enemy Warden's office, steal the keycard within, and carry it across to the enemy Gas Chamber, where they use the keycard to release the Gas and kill the entire enemy team. Objective: Assault the enemy Base, and steal the Keycard from their Warden's Office. Take it across to the other side of the enemy Base, where you can gain access to their Gas Chamber and release the Nerve Gas. Defend your Keycard to prevent the enemy from using it to release the Nerve Gas in your Base. Scoring: 15 points each time your team releases the Gas. Notes: If a player carrying the Keycard is killed, the Keycard will fall to the ground. It will remain there for 60 seconds, and then return to its starting position. If it's your Keycard, you need to defend it, wherever it is. Don't let the enemy touch it, because they'll pick it up, and even if you kill them the 60 second time starts all over again. When the Nerve Gas is released, you have 10 seconds before the Gas will kill you. To survive, you need to either get a hazard suit (located behind the appropriately marked doors) or get underwater. Players: 8 to 32. [1.4.5] Hunted Hunted - Assassination / Escort. The most heavily teamwork-oriented map in TFC, this map has 3 teams who each have strong roles. The first is The Hunted, a single player with no weapons or armor, whose only objective is to make it to the waiting truck at the end of the map. The Second Team consists of Bodyguards, whose only objective is to ensure The Hunted player makes it to his objective. The Third Team is the group of Assassins, and their objective is to simply kill The Hunted. Objective: The Hunted: Make it to the white truck waiting for you behind the doors at the edge of the Helipad. The Bodyguards: Prevent the Assassins from killing The Hunted before he gets to the truck. The Assassins: Kill The Hunted. Scoring: The Hunted: 50 points each time he makes it to the truck. The Bodyguards: 50 points each time The Hunted makes it to the truck. The Assassins: 25 points each time The Hunted is killed. Notes: There is a limit of 5 players on the Assassin team, and Assassins may only choose the Sniper class. Bodyguard team has no player limit, but Bodyguards may only choose the Soldier, Heavy Weapons Guy, and Medic classes. Whenever The Hunted is killed or makes it to the truck, every player in the game is respawned back at their starting positions. The truck is parked behind the doors at the edge of the Helipad. The doors can be opened by pressing a button in either of the towers next to the doors. The doors don't stay open for long, so The Hunted needs to move fast. Players: 4 to 24. [1.4.6] Alpine Alpine - Assault Objective: Blue must penetrate the Red mountain base, retrieve the flag, and bring it back to their cave outpost. If Blue can find a way to seal off the Flag Turret, they will gain easy entree. Falls from a height can be deadly. Scoring: 25 points if Blue captures. 10 points per minute that Red keeps their flag. Notes: Flag carriers drop the Flag when they die. Dropped flags return to their Base after 30 seconds. [1.4.7] The Blood Tube The Blood Tube - Capture The Flag Objective: Enter the enemy Base and make your way to the back of the lower level where their flag resides. Grab it and bring it back to the capture point on your roof. Place it on the raised square to capture it. Scoring: 10 points per Capture. 10 frags to the player who captures it. Notes: Flag carriers drop the Flag when they die. Dropped flags return to their Base after 60 seconds. [1.4.8] Open Fire Open Fire - Capture The Flag Objective: Enter the enemy Base and deactivate the lasers which guard access to their Flag. Grab the flag and bring it back to your Base. Place it on the glass square to Capture it. Scoring: 10 points per Capture. Notes: Flag carriers drop the Flag when they die. Dropped flags return to their Base after 60 seconds. Lasers stay deactivated for only 30 seconds. [2.1] Disclaimer Half-Life, Half-Life: Opposing Forces is the registered trademarks of Sierra. All other trademarks are the copywrite of their respective owners. [2.2] Copywrite !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF YOU ASK 99% OF THE TIME I WILL ALLOW YOU TO USE THIS FAQ. DO NO PLACE THIS ON A WEBSITE OR DO ANYTHING ELSE WITH IT UNLESS YOU ASK ME. I ALWAYS FIND OUT AND I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE THAT MY FAQ REMAINS JUST THAT--MINE. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This FAQ is the copyright (c) of Matt Beisser. It may not be reproduced in partial or full without the consent of the author. It IS protected by the copywrite laws of the United States. Also there are mistakes in this faq that I made on purpose. Grammer, spelling, spacing, etc. so don't even think about ripping erasing my name and putting your name on it, as I have proof that this is mine and I WILL make sure that you don't get credit for it. My advice don't push your luck... [END]