TFC STRATEGY GUIDE
BY [UoM]KYOSUKE

Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION
II. A GUIDE TO TF LINGO
III. MULTIPLAYER ETIQUETTE-"HOW TO BE NICE"
IV. CLASS GUIDE
V. MAP GUIDE
VI. 10 THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT TF
VII. SKILL
VIII. FAQ
IX. CONCLUSION

I.INTRODUCTION

TFC is a mod based on the Half-Life engine. Although another mod
(Counterstrike) enjoys greater popularity, I've always enjoyed TF more
due to it's variety of character classes and the all out mayhem that
can ensue. Plus, once you die, you can come right back to life...in
Counterstrike, you have to wait till one team or the other wins (which
usually takes too long for my short attention span).

II. A GUIDE TO TF LINGO

While playing TF, experienced players will throw around terminology
that makes no sense unless you're...a more experienced player. Or if you
read this guide.

TF- Team Fortress
TFC- Team Fortress Classic (same thing, for all practical purposes)
GG- "Good Game", usually said after a map ends
GTG/G2G- "Got To Go", said before someone is about to leave game
FF- "Friendly Fire". On some servers, you can hurt your teammates...on
other servers you can't, which obviously consists of Friendly Fire.
Usually someone new to a server will ask "Is FF on?"
TK- "Team Kill". This is when someone kills someone on their own team,
which detracts a point from the killers' kills.
TKER- Someone who kills their own team on purpose.
LLAMA- Either 1.) A Tker, or 2.) Someone not very good at TF.
Newb/n00b- "Newbie". Someone inexperienced/not good at TF.
SG- "Sentry Gun", a gun turret built by Engineers.
HW- "Heavy Weapons". Refers to "Heavy Weapons Guy", a class.
BTW-By the way...
GJ- "Good job"
TY-"Thank you"
SPAM/SPAMMER/SPAMMING-This refers to randomly throwing grenades or some
other such weapon, hoping it will do damage to the enemy, but not
really aiming at anyone in particular. Most of the time this has a
negative context, but it's actually a fairly effective technique. Don't
spam enemy respawns.

There are other initials that people write all the time that I won't
put down here, along the lines of "wtf". I'm sure you'll figure out
that one fast enough on your own =/

III. ETIQUETTE GUIDE
There are certain things that you should avoid doing because certain
things tend to make your teammates very angry. Of course, it's within
your rights to do just about anything you want; but these will often
make people mad. And, in some servers, these actions will get you
banned.

-SWEARING.Be aware of the server's swearing policy. Many servers do not
allow swearing or racial slurs. Read the little screen that pops up
before the match begins, that should indicate the server's policy. If
it doesn't say anything about swearing, then it's usually fair game.

-FLAG STEALING. This occurs when a teammate steals an enemy flag and
brings it most of the way back to your base, and then gets killed,
leaving the flag lying around. Then, another teammate (not the one who
carried it most of the way) grabs the flag and caps it, getting ten
points. Because I usually play as a Scout, I can testify that it is
often very difficult to complete a cap, and it's very frusterating when
someone just takes it two steps and gets points that they really don't
deserve. If you see the enemy flag lying around your base, the best
course of action is to grab it and take it to a safe area, then ask
your team "who's cap?". If someone says "mine" then tell them where to
find you, and press the key to toss the flag (default key:c). If no one
responds, or if someone types "take it", then go ahead and cap.
NOTE: There are a lot of subtleties involved in this. One obvious
question: How close does your flag need to be to your base in order for
it to qualify as "someone elses"? The rule I use is over the halfway
point of the map.
NOTE: If it takes multiple people to get the flag over the halfway
point, it's usually acceptable to take it for yourself.
NOTE: I'll be the first to agree that this doesn't really matter. In my
mind, team points are the most important, more so than individual
scores (it is called TEAM fortress, after all, not Kyosuke's Fortress,
although that would be cool). But you have to realize that sometimes
people are trying to make a good impression on clans, friends, or have
some other motive for getting a high personal score. IN the end, it's
your choice; but if you take someone's cap, they will often be pissed
off.

-TURTLING-This occurs when a team gets a lead, and then all or almost
all of their players switch to defense, in the closest TFC equivalent
to genuine team-camping. Much like flag-stealing, there's nothing
really wrong with this, but it pisses people off.

-TKING. If FF is on, don't kill your own team on purpose. If there's an
admin around, you will be kicked off or banned from the server. If not,
you're just ruining everyone's fun. Go read an anarchy book to get rid
of your angst.

-BE RESPECTFUL OF THE RULES. Often times, I play on servers that are
run by guilds or clans. Although these clan/guild members can usually
be identified by their tags, sometimes they go undercover with generic
names. Bottom line: You never know who's watching you. Be safe and obey
the rules.

IV. CHARACTER GUIDE

First of all, here are some general strategies that apply to everyone.

-When you need to get somewhere fast, jump diagonally towards your
goal. This increases your speed.

-Strafe as often as possible. It makes you more difficult to hit.

-Jumping and ducking can help you avoid Sniper shots, although the best
method of doing so is to hide behind some barrier.



There are 8 characters in TF.

1. SCOUT- "Think Squirrel"
Health: 75
Armor : 50
Weapons: Crowbar, Nailgun, Shotgun
Grenades: Caltrops, Conc.Grenade

The Scout is the fastest character in TF, by far. The Scout has two
primary uses...1.) Capturing Flags/Securing Command Points, 2.) Finding
Spies. While on offense, the Scout's great speed can help him grab a
flag out of enemy territory and quickly return it. This speed can be
increased twofold when performing a Conc.Jump (see below). On Defense,
the Scout can run into everyone in your base. While this may seem like
a worthless activity, if you run into an enemy spy, it will remove his
disguise. This will help keep your team's SG's alive, and will help
your snipers know who to shoot.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-Learn the essential Scout technique, the Conc.Jump. The purpose of
this technique is to use a grenade to LAUNCH the Scout towards his
target, at a very high velocity. There are two ways to do this.
1.) Press and hold the keyboard key that prepares a conc.grenade
(the default key is 'G') while walking forward. You'll notice
that when you do this, a beeping sound will occur. When
'primed', the grenade will beep three times slowly, then two
times very quickly, and will then detonate. What you want to do
to perform a conc.jump is wait for the three slow beeps and one
fast beep to go by, then jump before the last beep (while
walking forward). You should aim to be around the peak of your
jump when the conc. grenade goes off.
Got all that?
The key component to a successful conc.jump is TIMING. And in order to
get the timing right, you need to PRACTICE. Find a server that dosen't
have many people on it and just practice the timing until you can
perform it anywhere, on command. This technique is INCREDIBLY useful in
maps like Warpath, 2fort, Dustbowl, Rock2, and...well, pretty much every
map. Trust me, learn it if you plan to be a Scout.
2.) The second way to perform this technique is to throw a
conc.grenade and stand on top of it, then jump between the 4th
and 5th beep (same as before). Don't forget to push forward when
you jump. This will propel you vertically (it makes you fly
high, not far). This is useful for gaining easy access to high
ledges. The first way is generally more useful, but both ways
are worth knowing.

-Learn to use your Caltrops (default key:'F'). When you use them, it
drops a set of spikes behind you, and anyone who steps on them will
have their speed reduced by 1/2 (temporarily). When anyone is chasing
you, drop the caltrops to give them an unpleasant surprise, and allow
you to make a clean getaway (hopefully).

-Do NOT fight. What the Scout has in speed, it lacks in fighting power.
All of his weapons are weak, and unless you are VERY skilled or very
lucky, you WILL lose in a direct fight. There are three situations
where fighting with a Scout is permissible: When you see an enemy
sniper who is too stupid to use his assault rifle, if you're fighting
another Scout, or if you know that your opponent has like 2 life left,
and even in these situations it still takes some skill to emerge
victorious. Golden Rule: Just RUN.

-Master evasive techniques. Learn to effectively strafe from side to
side. Jump. Duck. It doesn't take much to kill a Scout; do all that you
can to avoid getting hit.

-As unlikely as it seems, Scouts are good at taking out SG's (as long
as the Engineer isn't close by), and is a VERY useful technique to
know. First, determine the location of an SG. Then put a wall or some
other barrier between you and the SG. Crouch down, and SLOWLY edge
forward. If you do this slowly enough, you will see a piece of the SG
before the SG will see you. Get out your nailgun, and fire at the
visible portion of the SG until it blows. You'll know if you're hitting
because the SG will sort of glow. Just be aware that when doing this,
the Engineer will eventually get the idea, and will more than likely
come to attack you. Be prepared to evacuate quickly!

-Now, for the most important thing a Scout can do, even more so than
the Conc.Jump (!!!): KNOW YOUR MAPS. A conc.jump is not very useful if
you don't know where you're going. Getting the enemy flag doesn't do
any good if you don't know where to take it. This is THE most important
thing a Scout can do. Know all of the secret passages and hiding places
you can use to get into the enemy base undetected. Know where you can
get health and armor, because if you're hit, you'll need it. Learn
where the Engineers usually place their SG's. Know every map forwards
and backwards. I can't stress this enough!

-Scouts can defuse enemy detpacks by running over them. This is
especially useful for when a demoman sets his detpack for a minute and
leaves it somewhere where it will likely hurt your team.

Scouts are like squirrels; they're fast, they're weak, they always run,
and they're easy to kill (not that I know that from personal experience
or anything, heh heh). It is a deceptively difficult class to master. A
large following of TF players believe that the Scout is not a good
class, because the Medic is better in every fashion, except he's
slightly slower. While that's true, I often find that extra bit of
speed is exactly what I need to escape. But then, I'm biased, since I
almost always play as a Scout. I love Scout :).


2. SNIPER- "Have Advil Close By"

Health : 90
Armor  : 50
Weapons: Crowbar, Sniper Rifle, Assault Rifle

Ah, the Sniper. Probably the most popular class, and arguably the most
annoying class. MANY servers limit the amount of Snipers that can be on
one team; not many servers limit Pyros. However, they are annoying
because, in the right hands, a good Sniper is invaluable. I would
rather have a good Sniper on my team than a good member of any other
class.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-This may seem simplistic, but a lot of people new to the game don't
know how to "make the red dot appear". Switch to the Sniper Rifle
(weapon #2), then press and hold the fire button (default key:
Enter/Left Mouse Click) until the red dot appears. Also be aware that
you can zoom in (Default Key: Right click) on targets.

-The most important aspect of sniping is knowing where to do it from.
Find the ideal places in every map to snipe from. If you're new to the
game, look where other snipers go.

-Sometimes, with a little help from your friends (like friendly scouts,
medics, demo men, other snipers, etc etc), Snipers can get to sniping
points that would otherwise not be possible. Sometimes, through use of
grenades and other such means, they can shoot you up to platforms that
can't be reached by just walking. See the Map Guide for examples of
these places in each map.

-Aim for the head. You will be able to kill most classes in ONE SHOT if
you hit them directly on the head. You can also shoot at their legs,
which decreases their speed. Aiming at the legs seems to be
particularly effective in hurting HW Guys.

-The Sniper Rifle is most effective for long term sniping. If an enemy
gets close to you, use the Assault Rifle unless you are fairly adept at
using the Sniper Rifle.

-On a similar note, ALWAYS leave yourself at least five bullets when
using the Assault Rifle. Why? It's important to remember that the
Sniper Rifle can kill enemies in one hit. So every bullet is
potentially a kill...five assault rifle bullets won't even kill a
Scout. If you're low on ammo, always switch to the Sniper Rifle.

-Learn to "hit and run". If someone is charging at you, and you hit
(but don't kill) them with a Sniper Rifle, don't just stand there while
you reload; they will probably kill you. Instead, run behind a wall or
other barrier, then reload and aim where the enemy will most likely
appear. Until you've achieved a certain level of skill, Snipers are not
very adept at close-quarters combat.

-It's sometimes advisable to move after every kill. If whomever you
kill sees where you are, they'll be more ready for you next time. If
you're on a roll in one spot, stay there; but if you're getting killed
a lot, move around.

-Learn the strafe technique. Prime the Sniper Rifle, and strafe from
behind a wall, ready to fire. Sounds easy, but it's hard to do it
effectively.

-A lot of the time, there is a lot of fighting between competing
opposing Snipers. Remember that almost all maps in TF are mirror
images; wherever you like to snipe from, the enemy Snipers will like to
snipe from. Learn where the enemy Snipers like to hang out; they can
kill you as easily as you can kill them.

-Snipers can perform a version of a rocket jump on teammates, as long
as FF is off. If it's off, then kneel down, and wait for a teammate to
jump on top of you (obviously this is not going to happen randomly, you
have to plan it out). Then prime your Sniper Rifle, and aim it towards
where you want to shoot your teammate. Then have them jump, and release
the trigger. If done correctly, your teammate will fly to wherever you
aimed. This is ideal for shooting Engineers or other Snipes to
otherwise inaccessible areas, which makes it much more difficult for
the enemy to dispatch them. If a teammate ever asks you for a "boost",
this is what they mean.

-Remember your grenades. If you have them, don't be afraid to use them.

In closing, there's some advice I'd like to give new Snipers. Number
one, try to train a little on a small server before you go onto bigger
ones. Since many servers limit the amount of snipers that a single team
has, good Snipers can get very angry if a newb Sniper is taking up a
slot. Whoever get there first has the right to be Sniper, I'm just
saying that if you're not good, you'll take some heat for it. Likewise,
don't take grenades when other people are waiting in line for them.
Although they can be useful, ALL other classes need grenades more than
Snipers.
Snipers are, in good hands, the best unit in the game (in my opinion).
But in order to become a good Sniper, you need to practice, a LOT.
There are a lot of subtle techniques that one can use to maximize their
effectiveness. If you want to be an excellent Sniper, you have a lot of
work ahead of you.
Despite all I've written about Snipers, I'm only an average one. That
shows you how difficult it is to master =/


3. SOLDIER- "Like a HW, only with skill"

Health  : 100
Armor   : 200
Weapons : Crowbar, Super-Shotgun, Rocket Launcher
Grenades: Grenades, Nail Grenade

The Soldier is the meat-and-potatoes of any team. When used
effectively, the Soldier is capable of many powerful feats.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-The key to being a good Soldier: master the Rocket Launcher. The key
to doing this is simple: Do not aim for your opponent's body, aim for
their feet! Rockets are slow; if you aim for the body, they can be
avoided easily. But when the rockets explode, they cause damage over a
wide area. If you aim at their feet, it won't do as much damage, but it
will do some. Plus, it will send your opponent flying into the air. If
you watch them fly, you will eventually be able to determine where they
will land, and you can fire another rocket. If you're good enough, you
can keep an opponent in the air for virtually your entire encounter.
This is the ideal of the Soldier.

-Another keystone to being a Soldier is "rocket-jumping" or "bunny-
hopping", which are the Soldier's equivalent of a conc.jump. To do
this, aim straight down with the Rocket Launcher, then jump and quickly
fire, while walking forward. This will send you flying up and forward.
Very useful for getting to high ledges. Also, while you are in the air,
you can fire rockets down on your unsuspecting foes, a technique
especially useful for killing Snipers on various battlements. Bunny-
hopping will do some damage to you, so be careful not to do it if
you're low on health.

-When fighting in close quarters, don't be afraid to fire the Rocket
Launcher near you. It will hurt you, yes, but it will also hurt the
enemy. Since Soldiers have a lot of armor, you can afford to take some
collateral damage.

-The Soldiers have an interesting grenade, called the nail grenade. It
fires nails for awhile, then detonates. This isn't overly effective at
killing opponents, but it does have two uses; killing SGs, and scaring
enemies away. As for killing SG's...that's self explanatory. As for the
other use, try throwing one of these into where a few enemies are
standing. Snipers will likely stop aiming in order to run away, and
enemies won't enter the area when they see the nails, for fear of
getting badly hurt. It is essentially a chaos device; learn to use it
well.

-Whenever possible, when entering an open area, fire a rocket towards
favorite sniper hideouts. Since Soldiers are so slow, they make easy
target for Snipers. But when Snipers are faced with a rocket flying
towards them, most will stop aiming and start running. Keep this up
until you get to a relatively safe area. Bunny hopping can sometimes
help avoid Sniper shots, but the above method is less painful.

-When facing fast opponents with low armor, you might want to switch to
your Super-Shotgun. Also use your Super-Shotgun if you're low on health
and can't take any collateral damage (unless you don't mind killing
yourself with the Rocket Launcher in order to take some enemies down
with you). In most situations, use the Rocket Launcher.

-A useful fighting technique; jump while using the Rocket Launcher. It
minimizes damage to you. Easy to say, hard to do, essential to master.

-When fighting as a Soldier, it's critical to always keep moving. Run
around, strafe, jump, just make it so that you're not an easy target.
This will help you live a little longer.

-Additionally, a technique that will often help turn the battle in your
favor is if, while you're firing your rockets and jumping around, you
also prime a grenade. The extra damage the grenade will do to your
opponent will often make the difference. This is a somewhat advanced
technique, so it's sort of hard to do.

In a sense, there's not too much to being a Soldier. The Soldier's
usefulness is largely based on mastery of the Rocket Launcher. However,
much like Snipers, they are incredibly useful if in good hands.
BTW, if you can take one thing away from reading this section about the
soldier: AIM AT THE ENEMIES' FEET!!! If you can take away two things,
ALWAYS KEEP MOBILE WHEN FIGHTING!
I'm a pretty good Soldier, but the good ones out there make me look
like a fool =/


4. MEDIC- "The Most Balanced Unit"

Health  : 100
Armor   : 100
Weapons : Medikit/Poison, Super-Shotgun, Super-Nailgun
Grenades: Grenades, Conc.Grenades

As mentioned in my little quote, the Medic is the most versatile
(balanced) unit in the game. The Medic is the second fastest unit in
the game, and has some decently powerful weapons, with the capability
to take out the entire enemy team in one shot (really)! Let's explore
the general strategy of this fascinating unit.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-Here's how to potentially kill the whole enemy team. Use your Medikit
(Weapon #1) on enemies. If you hit them, they will be affected with a
deadly disease. If they touch any of their teammates, their teammates
will be affected with this disease. So if you infect a newb, he won't
know why he is losing health, and will run to the respawn to refill his
rapidly deteriorating health, and infect all teammates in the respawn.
The only way to get rid of the disease is to be healed by a friendly
medic, or to die (there is a secret way to get rid of disease, but not
many are aware of...I'll get into that later). While experienced players
usually do a suicide charge, or even kill themselves in order to avoid
death by disease, it is a VERY useful technique that will greatly annoy
your foes!

-For greatest effect, try to infect enemies named "Player".

-Medics can get points for healing teammate's infections.

-Medics can perform conc.jumps as well. To see how to do this, see the
"Scout" section. The process is the same.

-Medics can also use their Super-Nailguns to effectively take out SGs.
To see how to do this, read the "Scout" section.

-Remember that you can heal your teammates. Be attentive, and listen
for the plaintive "Medic!" or "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical
attention!" calls of your teammates. Make sure you're especially
available if an enemy Medic is infecting your team.

-A Medic is a good candidate for capturing the flag/key/command points.
Some say the Medic is better at capping than the Scout.

-Use your Medikit/Poison against HW Guys and Soldiers, unless you're
pretty confident with using your grenades and Super-Shotgun. It's
usually a good idea to use the Super-Shotgun against Scouts and other
Medics.

I view the Medic as, essentially, a more powerful version of the Scout.
Most of the strategies that apply to Scouts can be used effectively by
Medics. What makes the Medics different revolves mainly around the
Medikit/Poison. Learn how to, and when, to use it. And finally,
remember to help your teammates!



5. HEAVY WEAPONS GUY- "You're already good at it!"

Health  : 100
Armor   : 300
Weapons : Crowbar, Super-Shotgun, Machine Gun
Grenades: Grenades, Scatter Grenades

More or less everyone agrees that the HW Guy is the easiest class to
play. As a matter of fact, many people believe that it takes no skill
at all to play a HW Guy. There are those that claim that it takes a lot
of skill, but those people often only play as HW Guy.
I think it is the easiest class to learn and master, but you do need to
know what you're doing.
The basic idea/purpose of a HW Guy is simple. Take out your Machine
Gun, aim, and shoot. This will shred any class but another HW Guy to
ribbons in a second or two. That's basically it, but here are a few
extra tips to bring out the full potential of this heavily armed and
armored class.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-Don't use anything but the Machine Gun and both types of grenades,
allowing for the rare use of the Super-Shotgun.

-One of the biggest HW Guy challenges is meeting up with another HW
Guy. The most critical thing to do is, if possible, get in the first
shot. At equal health and armor, it becomes a case of who shoots whom
first. Also, try to strafe when firing. Anything that you can do to
make your opponent miss, even for a moment, adds to your chances of
coming out of the encounter in one piece. But make sure that you can
hit HIM while taking the above evasive maneuvers; otherwise it defeats
the purpose. Also, if you can prime a grenade while firing and dodging,
it will often make all the difference in a HW battle, as the damage it
does to the enemy will work to your advantage.

-The other thing that strikes fear into the heart of a HW Guy is an
Engineer. The Engineer has something called an EMP Grenade, which does
damage based on how much metal the grenade is carrying. With 300 Armor
and loads of ammo, it spells instant death for a HW Guy. The main way
to avoid this is to kill the Engineer before they get close enough too
even lob a grenade. If you see an Engineer running around you but not
firing, then he's priming a grenade. Be aware that even when you kill
him, there may be a live grenade on his body. Be careful.

-In order to counter for your slow speed, do the diagonal-jump method
to increase your speed.

-...well, most of the strategies for HW Guys are how to battle. There are
other FAQ's that deal more with battling. I'd consult those.

I don't play HW Guy all that often, so there's not much more I can
really say here. I really don't think it is all that hard of a class to
be good at, although there is definitely a difference between good and
bad HWs. If you are just starting to get into TF, HW Guy might be a
good class to start with.
BTW, they're REALLY slow.


6. DEMOLITIONS MAN- "Ready, Set, Blow"

Health:100
Armor:120
Weapons: Crowbar, Shotgun, Grenade Launchers, Remote Grenade Launcher
Grenades: Grenades, Scatter Grenades

Demolitions Man (Demo) is the ultimate spammer. Almost all of his
weapons result in a massive explosion with great annihilation power.
While spamming a doorway is the picture of simplicity, using the Demo
in any other situation requires a finesse not immediately evident when
looking at the name of the class.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-I'll start out with the Demo's "hidden weapon", the Detpack. The
Detpack is a massive bomb that kills everything in a large radius. The
default key to set this monster is 'M'. The primary use of the Detpack
is to blow open sealed passageways in various maps, like Dustbowl and
Warpath. But here's a devious tip; in any map where there's a timer (60
seconds before gates open), when there's about 7 seconds left, start to
set your detpack. Once it's set, run. Roughly when the gate opens,
BOOM, large numbers of the enemy team can be killed. Just be careful;
if FF is on, it has the potential to wipe out all of your defenses,
too.

-Learn to use Weapon #5. You can fire grenades that will then just sit
wherever they land, until you detonate them by pressing trigger 2
(default key:right mouse button). This is especially useful for
guarding your flag...if an enemy takes your flag but then later dies,
leaving it on the ground, shoot some grenades around it. As soon as an
enemy touches it, detonate the grenades. Repeat process. You can also
use a similar procedure on doorways and other narrow passages.

-Weapon #4, the Grenade Launcher, to spam small passageways, such as
the ones in Dustbowl.

-Both Weapons #4 and #5 can be used as primary weapons. The Grenade
Launcher is obvious; point, shoot, and hope that they're too stupid to
strafe. Sometimes it's better to fire it at the ground, and let it
bounce at the opponent; it seems to increase accuracy a little. A more
subtle (and often more effective) way to use Weapon #4 is to shoot
around where you suspect the enemy will be in a few seconds. It's sort
of hard to predict that, but it's easier than it sounds.

-When using Weapon #5, you can fire then detonate at will. One way you
can do this effectively is to run around and fire a few of the pipe
bombs around. When your opponent (ideally) runs over one of them,
detonate and repeat the process.

-The Demo can hold a lot of grenades. Make full use of them.

-The Demo can also do his own (painful) version of bunny-
hopping/conc.jumping. To do this, fire a pipe bomb and then run towards
it. If you want to fly straight up, stand on top of the bomb, jump,
then detonate it. If you want to fly up and forward, jump and detonate
immediately after running over it. NOTE: This technique does a fairly
significant damage to you, so use it sparingly and only when necessary.

-Don't forget your Shotgun! With so many other powerful weapons in your
arsenal, it's easy to forget. But since it's the only long-range weapon
with precise aim, it can be very useful, especially when fighting
another Demo who is trying to hit you with grenades...just back away and
use your Shotgun, it's actually surprisingly effective!

 Aside from mastering the uses of the Detpack, the main task is to
discover the effective uses of Weapons #4 and #5. This is harder than
it sounds, and the best way it can be accomplished is by (you guessed
it) practice. However, the Demo's main effectiveness does come in
booby-trapping narrow passages and Detpack usage; he is not the best
open-field fighter.


7. PYRO- "The Gadfly"
Health:100
Armor :150
Weapons: Crowbar, Shotgun, Flame Thrower, Incendiary Cannon
Grenades: Grenades, Fire Grenades

Have you ever seen one of those flies that buzzes around your house,
around your food, just being annoying? The TF equivalent of that fly is
the Pyro. Another strategy guide once said that the Pyro was the only
class that can do it's job without getting a good score, and I agree
fully with that statement. The Pyro's job, simply put, is to be
annoying.
Although this is what I wrote originally, the Pyro's usefulness has
been increased in the past few months. I've heard that their damage
ratio was increased, and since [UoM]Ginta plays as Pyro often, I've
learned some new strategies that make the Pyro potent.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-The medium of the Pyro's annoyingness is fire. The Flame Thrower, the
Incendiary Cannon, and the Fire Grenades make fire. When the enemy is
hit with fire, it does some damage for a time, and also clouds their
field of vision with fire. The main strategy of the Pyro is,
appropriately enough, to set stuff on fire (yaaa!)

-It's especially useful (and fun) to set snipers on fire. It disrupts
their deadly aim. Throw a fire grenade or shoot the Incindiary Cannon
into favorite Sniper hideouts and watch the barbeque.

-The most effective way to do battle is with the incendiary cannon.
This weapon detonates into flame wherever it connects. Although if you
detonate it close to you it will hurt you fractionally, it seems to
have a much more accurate hit ratio than the flame thrower, and it has
the large advantage of range. The Flame Thrower is effective for doing
big damage to slower moving enemies. But the incendiary cannon is
better in general because it is effective against everyone and has
better range.

-That being said, the best weapon that Pyro's have is the normal
grenades. Try to have four of them when you go to attack.

-The Fire Grenades can hurt SG's as well as normal grenades can, and
normal grenades are more useful. Use Fire Grenades to kill them if you
can spare the time.

-On servers where FF is off, Pyro's have an additional skill that can
be of great use; spy detection. Just flame anyone you see. If they
catch on fire but appear to be a member of your team, then they're a
Spy. Act accordingly.

While annoying people is all well and good, I find it is generally
better just to kill them (this only applies to TF, of course, not real
life...heh heh...). Pyro is more or less widely regarded as the worst
class, but he does certainly have his uses, and is currently becoming a
little more popular.


8. ENGINEER-"The King of Defense"
Health:80
Armor :50
Weapons: Wrench, Super-Shotgun, Laser

Although the Engineer (I believe) was created largely for defensive
purposes, he can play offense and defense equally well. What he lacks
in health he makes up with his sentry gun and EMP Grenades.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-The most important function of the Engineer is to build a Sentry Gun
in the right places, and maintain it's health. In order to build a SG,
the default key is right-mouse button. This will open a menu, and
select to build SG. If it's not an option, grab a few backpacks of ammo
and try again. Once it is built, hit it with your wrench to make it
more powerful. Get more ammo backpacks and repeat this process until
your SG is level 3. If the gun itself is facing the wrong way, open the
menu and rotate it.

-A hallmark of a good Engineer is WHERE to build the SG. There are
certain places in every level where SGs can be most effective...see the
map guide for more info.

-The other piece of equipment that the Engineer can build is a
Dispenser. This device resupplies anyone who uses it. This is not as
useful as the SG, but it has it's uses. In some maps, you can build a
dispenser in a narrow passageway, blocking enemy access. Of course, the
enemy can destroy it, but then you'll know where he's at, and can head
over and toss an EMP to finish the job. If the enemies use the
Dispenser, a message will flash across the screen telling you as much.
You can then detonate the Dispenser (open the same menu that you used
to build it, it will now be an option). This will often kill the enemy,
or at least seriously hurt them.

-EMP Grenades do damage based on how much metal your opponent is
carrying...they are deadly for HW Guys and Soldiers, and even works very
well against other classes. Try to make sure to have these handy
grenades with you at all times. For some reason, EMPs work well against
Scouts too.

-Your little laser gun isn't good. Don't use it.

-Your sentry gun, at level 3, can survive an explosion from a grenade.
It can't survive two normal grenades. So if an opponent throws a normal
grenade at your SG, wait until it explodes, then quickly run in and
repair it, and then quickly run away...in all likelihood, a 2nd grenade is
on it's way. If a scatter grenade lands by your SG, just get away;
there's no way you can save it.

-If on defense and not under immediate attack, you may want to do "spy
checks", similar to the Scout. If FF is off, then shoot everyone you
see with your Super-Shotgun. If they bleed, they're an enemy Spy, kill
them! If FF in on, then bump into everyone...if they're an enemy spy,
then their disguise will be removed. It's important to be aware of
spies, because they are prime-candidates to destroy your SGs.

Similar to the Sniper, a lot of being a good Engineer comes from where
to place your SGs. Also like the Sniper, it's a good idea to change
it's location occasionally, to throw off the enemy (unless you have it
in a great spot).


9. SPY-"Watch Your Back"

Health: 90?
Armor : 100?
Weapons: Knife, Tranquilizer Gun, Super-Shotgun
Grenades: Normal Grenades, Gas Grenades

The Spy can perform a variety of tasks that can be of great use. From
scouting to killing sentries to killing snipers and everything in
between, the Spy is a class that is very useful, yet very difficult to
master.

GENERAL STRATEGIES

-First, learn the subtlety of disguises. Use the default key to bring
up the disguise menu is the right-mouse button. From there, go to
"enemy disguises" and choose one. When choosing a disguise, you'll want
to be sure to pick a disguise of an opposing players' class. For
example, if the enemy team doesn't have a Pyro, don't disguise yourself
as a Pyro. If you do, you will be MUCH easier to spot. Trust me here.

-It's not enough to just disguise yourself; you have to ACT like a Spy.
Experienced players are very aware of spies, and will often perform
"spy checks", and if you fail, you're in trouble. Here are a few tips
on how to blend in:
1. Don't go "Straight for the Gold". If your goal is to capture a
flag or something like that, don't just rush straight towards it.
The enemy will view this as highly suspicious. Likewise, if a
large group of enemies are walking towards you, and they see a
member "of their own team" running at them from the opposite
direction, it's pretty apparent you're a Spy.
2. Run Backwards. This gives the illusion that you were fighting
some battle and made a temporary retreat, and are still prepared
to fire on the "enemy". It will draw less attention then running
in facing forward. Of course, you have to be somewhat familiar
with the map in order to do this, or you'll be running backwards
in random directions, an action which is just BEGGING for
attention.
3. Act Like The Enemy. The better you fake it, the more likely it is
that you will survive the encounter. In addition to running
backwards, throw a Grenade forward to give the idea that you're
battling back some opponent (don't use a gas grenade, obviously).
Be careful doing this if FF is on.
4. Pick an Appropriate Disguise. If you're goal is to take out some
SGs, disguise yourself as an Engineer; the enemy will be less
likely to attack an Engineer on his way to "repair" a SG than
some Soldier or something making a beeline for the named SG.
Likewise, if you want to take out some Snipers, disguise yourself
as a Sniper. The enemy team will not think much of a Sniper
running towards the battlements. Another class running towards
prime Sniper areas will draw more attention.
5. Don't disguise yourself as a Scout. There's not much reason why a
Scout would be running back to his home base, and the variation
in speed between the Scout and the Spy will clearly mark you.
Also be aware of disguising yourself as a Medic. The enemy team
will call for you to heal them, and might be curious when you
just run away.

-You lose your disguise if you ever use any of your weapons, with
the exception of Grenades and Gas Grenades. You also lose it if you
bump into a member of the opposite team, or pick up a flag/key/ or
secure a command point.

-If you need to disappear quickly, use the "Feign Death" technique
(which is found in the same menu as Enemy Disguise, Friendly
Disguise, etc). This will make it appear as if you are dead to all
observers, but you can pop back up by selecting the "stop feigning"
command. Just be aware that you can still be hurt, and experienced
players often routinely shoot bodies on the ground, in an extra-
vigilant Spy check (either that or they like to mutilate dead
bodies. Either way, you're screwed). Also, be aware that if someone
stands on you, you will not be able to get up, and then can kill you
at their leisure.

-"Feign Silently" is the same as "Feign Death", except you don't
make the death-groan sound. This is more useful than feigning death.

-Spies are great for taking out SGs, because, when disguised, the SG
won't fire on them. Just lob two normal grenades at the SG when no
one is watching (if possible), and then continue on your merry way.

-You can use the knife to kill people in one hit, if you stab them
in the back. Walk behind an enemy character and use your knife, they
will die instantly. This is great for taking out a group of Snipers,
because their attention is usually focused elsewhere. Get 'em all!

-Spies don't lose their disguise when throwing Grenades. Thus,
before you go into enemy territory, make sure you're loaded to bear
with grenades. This will ensure that you can do the most damage
possible before losing your disguise.

-Another neat trick; feign silently in a favorite Sniper spot. When
they come and their attention is focused elsewhere, pop up and knife
them. Repeat the process until they wise up (might be never, if
they're n00bz).

-If possible, throw a Gas Grenade into the Sniper area, or any other
area that will cause hassle for the enemy. Do this only if you can
do it undetected, or if you're about to die.

-Your gas grenades cause your opponents to have illusions. Much like
the Pyro's flame grenades, all this really accomplishes is minor
damage and minor annoyance. Thus, as I said above, only use them if
you can do it discreetly.

-Recognize when an enemy figures you out. If someone keeps shooting
you, it's fairly obvious that they figured you out. Drop the facade,
whip out your Knife or Super-Shotgun and grenades, and battle it
out.

-Your Tranquilizer Gun makes the enemy have illusions and slows
their reflexes, much like the gas grenades combined with caltrops.
The purpose it really serves is if you shoot the enemy (this also
slows their movements), and then take advantage of the situation by
stabbing them in the back.

-Ironically, the Spy makes a better scout than the Scout does. When
you infiltrate the enemy base, you can tell your teammates about the
defenses the enemy has set up, such as where SGs are and if there's
a Soldier camping around somewhere.

-Try a knife fight between spies sometime. It's fun.

There are a lot of subtleties to being a good Spy. I'd say the Spy's
two most important tasks are to take down stubborn SGs and to learn
how to knife people. In order to ensure your survival to even GET to
the SGs, however, you must act like the enemy. The Spy is a very
useful class that is very hard to master.

IV. MAP GUIDE

Here's a guide to all of the common maps in TF. For each map, as
opposed to any general strategies, I give class-specific tips.
Here's a brief translation table:

Sc-Scout
Sn-Sniper
So-Soldier
Me-Medic
De-Demo
Py-Pyro
En-Engineer
Sp-Spy

Did you figure out my brilliant abbreviations system?

DUSTBOWL- "Let the Spamming Begin!"
In Dustbowl, as with other maps, the players are devided into two
teams (duh). But in Dustbowl, they are broken up into "Defenders"
and "Attackers". The Defenders' goal is to defend a fortress against
a series of attacks from, you guessed it, the Attackers. There are
three separate fortresses; if they lose all three, then they lose
the game. This map emphasizes teamwork; it's my favorite map.
Attackers' Strategy

Sc-Don't be a Scout at first. Not at the beginning of any of the
three fortresses, anyway. There will be so many grenades and bombs
flying in your face that there's no way you'll make it through it
alive. Once the first lines of defense are cleared and you can
change to Scout, get some grenades, and then just pick up the flag
and go for the CP. Be sure you know where the CP is before you take
the flag. It can be effective to do a conc.jump to the CP. Just be
careful; if you jump somewhere wildly, you might be killed and drop
the flag in some obscure place. Your teammates will not appreciate
that.

Sn-Before the assault on any of the given fortresses start, the
Defense will invariably set up SGs near the gates. Once you spot
one, prime your Sniper Rifle and aim it at one of the SGs. When the
gates open, fire on that SG immediately. The SG is a HUGE pain; if
you can take it out right away, then it will be a huge help to your
team. Other than this, however, it's probably not a good idea to be
a Sniper. It's essentially a defensive class; the enemy will
slaughter you before you have a chance at a good shot, most likely.
If you're a really good Sniper, then go for it, I'm sure you'll find
a way. But if you're a really good Sniper, then why are you reading
this far?

So-When the gates open, rush forward and throw as many grenades as
possible. Do this until things clear up a bit, then aim
rockets/grenades at the SGs if no one else has taken care of them
yet. Other than that, just do your normal Soldier things; kill
Snipers, shoot rockets, etc etc.

De-Same as the Soldiers, rush the gates and throw as many grenades
as possible. If you manage to survive long enough to use all your
grenades, then switch to the grenade launcher. If (by some miracle)
you survive even longer, try to take out some SGs or kill a few
Snipers. However, after the initial rush, changing to a Soldier or a
HW would probably be more useful.

Py-Use your fire grenades to cause an annoyance for the defense. Use
your incendiary cannon to target Engineers and their SGs.

Sp-The Spy plays a critical role in Dustbowl. Since (when disguised)
the SG's wont mow them down, it is usually the responsibility of the
Spy to get past the Defensive spamming and take out the SGs. This
will usually take a few tries, and will be much more difficult if
the enemy has good Snipers. But keep trying. Throughout Dustbowl,
just try to take out the enemy defenses.

Defense

Sc-Scouts are useful for Spy checks, especially after the initial
chokepoint is passed.

Sn-This is a map where good Snipers can be a great asset. Before the
gates open, find yourself a good Sniper spot. In the first fortress,
standing on the high cliff (next to the grenades), aiming at the
main gate, is one god spot. The other good spot is standing right
above the secondary entrance. Near the Capture Point, there are
numerous good Sniper spots, including in the building near the CP,
the area above the CP (accessible by a ladder near the respawn), and
standing behind the boundary of the CP. For the second fortress, the
first good sniping spot is behind the "grenades" sign, or on top of
the building that's near the gate. When your defenses are pushed
back a bit, there are three more good sniping points...to the left of
the CP (further from respawn), above where the double-entrances are,
and right on the CP, facing the double doors from afar. In the third
fortress, just find a position that's far from the gates, and be
sure to zoom in. When your defenses are moved back, there's a nice
big final area with a bridge leading to it; just hide in one of the
nooks and crannies there and snipe away. In general, in this level,
find a safe place to snipe that's far away from the gates. There
will be plenty of grenades going off around the gates, and you don't
need to deal with that. Finally, be extra vigilant looking for
spies. Spies are often the ones that will kill you and your team's
SGs; they are very dangerous.

De-The Demo has one of the most important jobs in Dustbowl. This job
is simple to accomplish; just fire your Grenade Launcher at the
gates as soon as they open. About 7 seconds before the gates open,
place a detpack near the gates, to give the first few rushers a nice
little surprise. After that, just let loose with your Grenade
Launcher and grenades. If there's another Demo, try to make sure
that one of you is spamming the enemy entrance at all times. Get
more grenades when it's safe, and continue to spam. If the enemies
get past your first line of defenses, switch to another class before
until they get the actual CP. Then switch back to Demo, and begin
the spamming anew. Very important on Dustbowl.

En-The Engineer has potential to rack up a very nice score on
Dustbowl. There are ample places to build a SG, and since the
Attackers' only hope is largely to charge the gates, you will likely
get a good score. In the first fortress, good places to build a SG
are on top of the secondary entrance, and along the edge of the
cliffs that frame the main entrance. When your defenses are knocked
back, build one either iin the building next to the CP, near the
arch that's close to the CP, the space above the CP, in the doorway
to the building near the CP, or on top of one of the two passages
that lead to the seconds area. In the second fortress, build a SG in
the first building (in the window), on top of the small building
near the gates, and tucked in between the small building and the
cliff face. When your defenses are knocked back, build the SG either
above the double-entrance, somewhere in the nearby building, or in
the area directly around the CP. In the third fortress, build it in
the small building with a window. If your defenses are knocked back,
build the SG in the last line of defense fortress, and in the area
directly before you cross the bridge (in the nook). In general, try
to stick close to your SG, and be ready to repair it any instant. If
you have grenades, then throw them. But, mainly, make sure your SG
is always up and running.

Pyro-Since Spy detection is critical on Dustbowl, if FF is off, fire
that incendiary cannon at everyone you see. If they catch on fire,
they are a Spy, and you should try to kill them. If your teammates
are smart they will try to do the same thing.

WARPATH-"A Scout's Paradise"

Warpath is an ideal map for Scouts and Spies. The goal is for a team
to capture all 5 of 5 commmand points, at which point that team will
win the round. Each point captured is 2 points, so often times good
Scouts will have great scores on this map.

Sc-A very effective class on this map, especially for getting the
first two Capture Points. It is in this map that it is critical to
use the conc.jump effectively, especially if there's a Scout on the
other team that knows what he is doing. Capturing CP 3 early on can
often determine the tone of the entire round, so it's capture is
very important. As a Scout, use your grenades to conc.jump you to
the first two CPs. If you're quick and lucky, you'll be able to get
the another CP, and if you're playing a team of n00bs, then you
might be able to win the round very quickly. However, much of the
time, there will be an SG up near the enemy base, and it's often
hard to deal with those since there are also usually other enemies
hanging around. Even so, if you're careful and are good at
conc.jumping, a Scout is a very effective unit on this map.
Another tip:If the enemy is overtaking you, hide in the Garage near
CP3. Whenever the enemy takes CP3, wait for a little while, then run
out, retake the point, then hide in the garage again. This will get
very annoying for the enemy, and does wonders to keep your team
alive.

Sn-The classic Sniper spots on this map are on the ledges that face
Command Point 3. Other than that, try behind the signs that say "Red
Team" and "Blue Team", near CP3. Near points 2 and 4, there are
plenty of ledges that give the Sniper a good vantage point. Near CPs
1 and 5, there are also plenty of vantage points. Take your pick,
based on how many CPs you control.

So-Bunny-hopping is fairly useful in this map. Use it especially to
launch yourself onto the enemy ledge near CP3. From there, kill the
annoying Snipers, and try to get a few rockets into a SG or throw
some grenades in the mix. Bunny-hopping is also a good way to get to
CPs 1 and 5 before the enemy has a chance to set up good defenses.

De-Be sure to blow the collapsed entrance to the enemy base, which
can be found under the bridge that has CP3. Whenever enemies
defensively gather in their base, your scatter grenades are a great
method of dispersing them. Also, using weapon #5 around the area
near CP3 will help you maintain this critical CP.

Sp-The Spy has a very important role in Warpath. Obviously, the Spy
can disguise himself in order to get CPs with little harassment.
However, the Spy's best use in Warpath is to get close to CP's 1 or
5, feign death, and then move in for the final kill. Normally it's a
good idea to feign death outside of the areas of CPs 1 and 5,
because if you enter the enemy base, a message saying such will
inform the enemy of your prescene. This is fine if you're
reasonalbly sure that your teammates will capture CPs 2 or 4 fairly
quickly. But if you're feigning for a long period of time, an
opponent might come around looking for you, shooting the bodies on
the ground. Also important for Spies on this map is (like most other
maps) to take out those annoying SGs.

En-Good places to build SGs are on top of any building, in the
entrances to CPs 2 and 4, directly under the ledges near CP3, and
inside the buildings near CPs 2 and 4. Also, Warpath gives you ample
grenades whenever you respawn; make good use of those EMPs!


AVANTI-"Coping with Sentry Guns"
Much like Dustbowl, the teams are again divided into attackers and
defenders. Unlike Dustbowl, the map does not end when one team wins
a round; instead, offense and defense switch. The goal of Avanti is
to capture a series of four points, at which point that team wins
the round. The role of the defense is to prevent that from
happening.

ATTACKERS

Sc-Scouts actually aren't too helpful on this map. They can cap the
points as well as any other class, but since the fighting in Avanti
is fairly confined and linear, and since SGs are so prevalent, the
Scout can't make full use of his speed. If you want a fast class, go
with the Medic.

Sn-If you're a Sniper on offense, just move around until you get in
a position to kill other enemy Snipers. Also, if at all possible,
try to take out some SGs.

So-Use your rockets and grenades to kill SGs and Snipers.

Me-A Medic is useful in this level because of his relative speed and
ability to infect. Infecting the defense is a good way to cause some
chaos. Also remember your Super-Nailgun for killing SGs. The Medic
is a good choice for capping the points.

De-You can blow a hole into the church with your detpack...just follow
the narrow ledge near CP3 to the end, then set the detpack/
Otherwise, not as effective, since grenades are in such short
supply. Also, the battle is largely uphill, which limits the
usefulness of weapons 4 and 5. More useful on defense.

Hw-Since grenades are in such short supply, just use your machine
gun to kill the SGs. You'll probably die a few times trying to do
this, but you'll be able to fix your score when you go back on
defense.

Sp-As usual, the Spy's job here is to take out those stubborn enemy
SG's. This is especially important in the Church command point (4),
where there are almost invariably SGs set up in the church itself.

DEFENSE

Sc-I usually play on Random class. Whenever it makes me a Scout on
defense, let's just say I don't last very long.

Sn-All of the balconies make good Sniper points. Note especially
that if you're on the edge of the balcony at CP2, you can aim down
at the opening gates. Just be careful of any Snipers aiming for you!
Another good sniping spot is through the window of the church (near
CP3). Also, there's an overhang in the building near CP3; if someone
helps you (with a grenade or rocket) to get you up there, it's a
pretty good vantage point. There's another, similar ledge below CP2.
There's also a narrow ledge near CP3 that offers a good view of this
one ledge that the attackers often jump off of to reach CP3. It is
very important to keep an eye out for Spies! Shoot anyone suspicious
if FF is off! Spies are usually the ones that sway things in favor
of the attackers. The map is designed in such a way that SGs are
very effective, but the only thing the SGs can't deal with are
Spies. That's largely your job in this map!

Me-Infecting the attackers can be very effective in this map,
especially if they don't have a medic to heal them.

De-Use weapon #5 on the gates and other narrow areas. Use it to
surround the flag if the attackers drop it somewhere. Used
effectively, weapon #5 can be a very good friend when defending on
this map.

En-Engineers are the keystone to defense on this map. The more SGs
you get up, the better. Good places to build are outside of the well
near CP1, in the balcony across from CP1, on the ramp to the north
of CP1, on the ledge near CP2, on the ledge overlooking the overhang
relatively close to CP2, the first ramp you see when going for CP3,
the small ledges by CP3, in one of the areas under the overhangs
near CP3, and in the church.

Sp-Maneuver your way behind enemy lines, then go knife-crazy. I
can't do it, but a lot of good spies can apparently do this pretty
well.

FLAGRUN

The goal of Flagrun is to get all four flags into your base. You
start out with one, the enemy has another, and there's two in a
tower in the central part of the map.
One of the keys to this map is to be the first one to grab the flags
in the central tower. For some reason, people often forget to do
this.

Sc-The Scout's job in this map (like most other maps) is so capture
the flags. In doing this, Conc.jumps are critical. One useful place
to conc.jump is between the two sniper balconies, across the center
of the map. Get the timing right; it's possible. Other good places
to conc.jump include after you steal an enemy flag, to get out of
the tunnel or to make a quicker escape from enemy territory. As a
matter of fact, once outside of friendly territory, everywhere is
fair game for a conc.jump. Just make sure that you save some for
when you really need them. Try to stay out of sight when possible;
there are plenty of Snipers around. Also keep an eye out for SGs,
especially in the enemy flagroom.

Sn-In addition to the Sniper Balconies (pretty obvious where they
are), there are plenty of hidden Sniper spots. One good place is the
tower where the two flags are...just be aware that if they see you,
the enemy might send someone up in the tower after you. Also
consider the two bridges that are inside friendly territory (the
ones that lead directly to where your flags are stored). With a
little help from a conc.grenade (it might be possible to do this by
falling out of the balcony from the friendly-facing side), you can
get onto the slight incline above the tunnels that lead into your
base. For a slightly less exotic position, hide in the corner (away
from the medkits) and snipe the enemies as they run into your base.
It's also possible to get up into the corner above the ladder that
leads to the Sniper balcony; don't ask me how, I've just seen people
there, and they otherwise sucked too bad to be cheating. Another
good place to snipe is the tunnels that lead from your base to the
middle of the map. Another, final good place to snipe is in the
tunnel in the ENEMY base that leads to their Sniper Balcony; not the
path from their respawn to the balcony, but from the balcony to the
ground.
I really don't think I'm good at describing these places =/

So-As usual, send some rockets in the direction of the annoying
Snipers. There is something additionally useful that you can do; a
few seconds after the map begins, go to the middle of the map, and
towards the tower...on the ENEMY side. Walk in the area between the
tower and the enemy wall (near a ladder that leads up to their
Sniper balcony) and crouch against the wall. More than likely, a
point-hungry enemy will run to the top of the ladder and wait there
until the gate to the other two flags opens. Send some rockets up
there to spoil his fun. If no enemies run to wait up the ladder,
then when the gates open, go up there yourself and grab a flag. If
your other teammates have been doing their jobs, it's possible to be
up 3 flags to one in a relatively short period of time.

Me-This is another map where the Medic is useful. Infecting the
Snipers is a good idea if they're being a pain. Otherwise, either
stick around your base to heal the infected, or go for the flags.
Use your Super-Nailgun and normal grenades to kill SG's, and don't
forget to use your conc.grenades to perform conc.jumps to rapidly
exit the area.

De-Use weapon #5 on the area where your flags are kept. You don't
have to stick around the flag room, but it might be a good idea. As
soon as the "enemy stole flag __!", detonate them. Remember that
this weapon works best when the grenades are dispersed over a
decently wide area. Another good place to use weapon #5 is on the
enemy Sniper balcony. Another idea: hide behind one of the walls in
the center of the map at the beginning of a match, or just be in the
relative area when "neutral flags are available!". Throw a scatter
grenade into the area underneath the tower, where people fall after
they grab a flag. Sometimes an enemy will drop down, and then
immediately be blown up by your scatter grenade. As I mentioned
earlier, getting these flags in the beginning of the match can be a
great help.

Py-Yes, strategies for the Pyro! The Pyro is useful on this map
because he can carry so many offensive grenades. He's ideal for
killing those SGs in the enemy base and polluting the Sniper deck
with fire grenades. Just like the Soldier, it's a good idea to send
some rockets (in your case, the Incindiary rockets) into the
favorite Sniper spots.

   En-Build SGs in the area where your flags are kept. Almost anywhere
   In the room is alright, but the ledge above the main entrance,
the ledge above the elevator, the area next to the elevator, and
even directly facing the entrance. An idea for an offensive
placement is in the enemy tunnel that leads from the ladder to the
Sniper deck. As long as you build it fairly close to the ladder, and
stick around and take good care of it, then it will be somewhat
effective.

Sp-Guess what? Time to take out those SGs. Also consider coming in
the enemy base, going up the elevator that leads to the enemy
respawn, and knifing all the Snipers. For extra-sneaky spies, feign
death around the Sniper balcony (preferably in some dark area), and
repeat the process. Also a fairly useful technique in enemy flag
room. And, once the defenses are down, it might be a good idea to
try to capture an enemy flag yourself.

CROSSOVER 2-"Control the Bridge"

Crossover 2 is another capture the flag map, kind of similar to
2fort. Almost all classes are useful on this map (sorry, Pyro).

Sc-Capture that flag! The best way to do this is to get to the
bridge in the middle of the map, jump in the water under the bridge,
and swim through the underwater passage and into the enemy base.
Once in the enemy base, be aware of the small area near the flag
that has an elevator that leads to some health (in a backpack). Once
you have the flag, there are two options for escaping. If you're
skilled enough, it's possible to perform a conc.jump that will lead
you to the front "yard" of the enemy base. It's also possible to
conc.jump into the gate to the underwater passage. The final options
of escape are up the conveyor belt and out of the enemy base, or up
the stairs behind the flag and out of the enemy base. Between these
two, it's usually the better idea to take the conveyor belt up.
Throughout your visit to the enemy base, be especially cautious of
those SGs. There are plenty of places where they are likely to be,
and that will really not make your day. Once you're out of the enemy
base, take the passage that leads through rock (if your Demo has
opened it). From there, it's a good idea to jump back into the water
and use your own underwater tunnel to your own base. Do this
especially if there are enemies on the bridge.

Sn-As always, there are places to snipe in this map, but in general
it's not a map that's too hospitable to snipers. The Sniper balcony
is, as always, a good place (it's by your CP). You can also stand on
the building (the one with the elevator inside). Both sides of the
bridge in the middle are also good spots. It's also possible to get
onto the roof of your main complex. Finally, the gateway that leads
to the enemy base is a good place for offensive sniping.

Me-Medics are good for capping the flag in this map, especially
because they have both conc. and normal grenades at their disposal.
So head to the enemy base with a full load of grenades, kill those
SGs, and conc.jump out of there.

En-See the Sniper section for this map...everywhere where Snipers are
effective, your SGs will too. In addition, building next to the
flag, across from the flag (near the lowest respawn), under the
underwater passage exit, in the underwater passage itself, in the
health-backpack area (near your flag), on the raised platform near
the top of the conveyor belt ramp (climb a ladder to get there),
somewhere near your upper-most respawn, in the passage that the
Demo's blow open, near the stairs that lead to your flag, and in the
yard of your base, near the entrance.

Sp-Kill the enemy SGs.


2FORT-"Home of the Evil Camping Soldiers"

2Fort is another capture the flag map. It's also a map where people
just seem to LOVE to defend. It's not uncommon to see a big fat HW
standing at the top of the enemy ramps along with a few SGs spread
around. Not to mention the evil, evil enemy Soldiers who never leave
the basement. 2Fort is also probably the most hospitable Sniper map
around...many people in serious clans (not [UoM]) use 2Forts as a
tryout map for potential Sniper recruits. A difference between 2Fort
and most other capture the flag maps is that almost any class has a
decent chance of capping the flag. Since it often takes a lot of
firepower to blast your way out with the flag, power is just about
as valuable as speed. A lot of people really love this map. I hate
it with a vengeance.

Sc-Scouts are not too useful on this map. They work fine if the
enemy does not have much defenses, but if they do (especially if
they have a soldier in the basement), then forget it. The best ways
to access the enemy base is to either perform a conc.jump onto their
balcony or to go underwater. Beware of crossing that bridge, though;
as I said earlier, this is a great Sniper map. Honestly, if you want
to cap the flag, use the Medic.

Sn-2Fort is a good map for good Snipers. If you're NOT a good
Sniper, and there ARE good Snipers, you will be annihilated. There
are basically two sniping spots in 2Fort; on the sniper balcony, and
below it. There aren't too many clever places to hide, so it's
important to be a quick shot (read:skilled). The only 'clever'
places to hide are inside the top of the elevator area, across from
the water passage that leads to your base, and next to the small
ramps of the enemy base (snipe them from their own side while they
run across the bridge). But the truly good Snipers need no good
hiding spots here; they just dominate the balcony. This is a map
where the Snipers can determine the winner of the match.

So-As much as I hate when people do this, being a defensive Soldier
is very effective on this map. Just hang around in the basement, and
rocket anyone who comes down (be more discriminate if FF is on). If
they manage to get to the flag, stand by the ramp that leads out of
the flag area, and wait for them to come out, or throw some grenades
in the area. It's fairly easy to kill whoever goes down there,
usually, because they have likely already been weakened. The Soldier
is probably most effective down there on this map. If you don't feel
like hanging around a dark basement for 45 minutes, then just do the
normal strategies for a Soldier. Although, there is one critical
exception; it's not a bad idea to go for the cap. Because defenses
are often strong in 2Fort, it's sometimes useful to have a powerful
class (soldier, HW, Demo, even Pyro) go for the cap.

Me-More useful for capping on this map. Conc.jump or use the water
to get into their base...save those grenades for taking out SGs. As
for capping the flag itself, be aware that in addition to the spiral
ramps that lead down into the enemy flagroom, you can also drop down
the elevator shaft. If there's an enemy Soldier down there, use both
types of grenades, and if all else fails, try to infect them. Once
(if) you manage to get the flag out of the enemy flagroom, then duck
into the little room next to the spiral ramps, drop down, and use
the water passage to get into your base. Stay out of sight of the
Snipers. When not capping, it's a good idea to infect the enemy in
their base...since it's a fairly enclosed area where the enemy stays,
the infection can spread quickly. On the flipside, if there's an
enemy medic, be sure to spend some time healing in your base.

Demo-The Demo can be very useful in this map, in many ways. First,
it's possible to close the spiral staircase that leads to your base
from the water (although it's usually not a good idea to do so).
Perhaps the most useful thing Demos can do is to take out SGs and
Snipers. Once you know where the Engineers typically build their SG,
then just lob a few grenades from your Grenade Launcher in those
areas. Since Snipers are such a pain in this map, if you penetrate
the enemy fortress, use your normal and scatter grenades to kill
them. Just take a detour to the Sniper balcony to blindside them.
Another devious trick; go down into the water via the passage in
your own base, swim to their base, walk outside of their base
(directly below the Sniper balcony), prime a Scatter Grenade, then
toss it up on the balcony. The reason for all this secrecy is
because shelling the Sniper deck with grenades is a fairly common
practice; if they see you running towards them across the bridge and
they fail to kill you, Snipers will usually take a few steps back,
anticipating the grenades. The beauty of this technique is that they
literally never see it coming. Finally, if you're out of grenades,
it's fun to set your Detpack for 1 minute on the Sniper deck. That
can really ruin their fun.

Pyro-Pyro's are OK for capping. It's also pretty annoying for enemy
Snipers when you throw a flame grenade into their favorite areas.

Engineer-Good places to build are on the top of the ramps that lead
to your main respawn, near the spiral ramps, in the room directly
before the spiral ramps, anywhere in the flagroom area, and in the
water. Even though your SGs might get killed a lot, it's important
to keep building them (move it's location after it's been destroyed
a lot). And keep your grenades full; they're very useful for killing
invaders in your base.

Spy-In addition to killing SGs, your duty in this map is also to
kill Snipers (or at least throw a gas grenade into their favorite
areas), and possibly to kill the defending Soldiers and HW Guys.


BADLANDS-"Another Annoying Sniper Haven"

Badlands is a Snipers' paradise, with lots of narrow ledges all over
the place, at least two areas more or less designated for Snipers,
and plenty of nooks and crannies to hide away in. It's also a pretty
good map for Engineers. Most of the servers I play on don't have
this map in their rotation, so my memory of it is a little fuzzy.

Scout-Be aware of the favorite SG hideout in this map, which is in
the only area you can go after grabbing the enemy flag. BEFORE you
grab the enemy flag, go out on that little ledge that leads into the
next room, and use your nailgun to take out the SG. Then grab the
flag and get out. Often times, falling into the crevice is the
safest way to get back to your base. But if the crevice is well
guarded, go out their front or side door, and be ready to conc.jump
to safety.

Sniper-Plenty of places to go on this map. So many places, as a
matter of fact, I'm only going to name a few of the best places. The
Sniper balcony above your main base is, of course, one such good
defensive sniping position. Also, if you go to the top level of your
base, there is another Sniper area, and a path that leads to a thin
ledge...anywhere in this area is a good place. The favorite place for
skilled Snipers is on the area directly before the bridge in the
middle of the map. The favorite place for annoying Snipers is in the
crevice of their own base, facing the tunnel that leads into their
base.

Soldier-Use your nail grenades to flush Snipers out of their hiding
spots whenever possible.

Medic-This is another map that seems to lend itself to mass
infections, so break out your poison. Additionally, the Medic is
good at capping in this map...his extra firepower more than makes up
for his slight speed disadvantage.

Pyro-If you want to make a nuisance of yourself, set enemy Snipers
on fire (ideally killing them) and then make your retreat to the
upstairs portion of the enemy base, and repeating the process. But
still, a Pyro just isn't the best class to pick.

Engineer-Good places to build SGs are: in either room that leads to
the flag room (one is at the top of the tower, one is where the only
obvious exit to the flag tower leads). Additionally, if you fall
into the crevice by your base, you'll notice a ladder that leads up
to this little ledge, which is a good place to build. Also, if you
walk across the bridge outside the exit to your base, you can walk
up the wall to your right, and build the SG there. Another good
place is just inside the entrance to your base.

Spy-This is a map where Spies make good cappers. Sometimes the only
defense on this map is an SG outside of the flagroom; just toss some
grenades at the SG, grab the flag, and get out. Of course, it's also
great fun to knife the Snipers from behind, feign death, and repeat
the process.


CP2-"Slow, Ugly, Violent, Annoying"

The goal of CP2 is to bring a total of 5 flags to five separate
capture points. This map is particularly unrewarding for Scouts,
since the flags reduce your speed just by about half (when carrying
them), and you're only rewarded two points for every cap. And
because EVERYONE who carries a flag has his speed reduced by half
temporarily, you can imagine how long it takes for a HW Guy to make
a cap.


Scout-Although your speed is greatly reduced, you're still the
fastest out there. Make good use of your conc.jumps...because you're
so slow, it will be twice as useful as normal. If you run into
enemies and you are far away from the CP, toss your flag (default
key:c) and get out, unless you think you can perform a conc.jump
straight onto the CP, or are very good with conc.grenades. Otherwise
you'll be cut to ribbons.

Sniper-There are as many sniping points on this map as there are
boxes and ledges. The two favorite points seem to be in the river
system near the enemy base, on the ledge above your main
headquarters, and on the narrow bridge that leads from CP3 to the CP
closest to your base (1 or 5). Another good place is behind the
boxes on the ledges near CP3. Since there are ample places to snipe,
it's a good idea to move around and switch positions. Unless the
other team is pretty bad and never spots you.

Soldier-Because everyone carrying a flag is so slow, it'll be easy
to defend CPs. Or to clear the way for Scouts or Medics to capture a
CP. In addition to sending a few rockets in the Snipers' direction,
it's a good idea to clear the path to CPs, or defend the CPs that
your team had already captured. Sort of like a bodyguard.

Medic-This map isn't as conducive to poisoning as other maps.
Capping CPs is still a pretty good idea, but a Scout would be
preferable. If capping, conc.jump to gain speed.

Engineer-Build SGs around CP3, or around any CP you particularly
wish to defend.

Spy-Not as useful, since SGs are not as useful in this map. If you
ever need to penetrate the enemy defenses, use the river system to
get behind enemy lines, and use your knife/grenades to destroy
whatever is causing the problems.


THE HUNTED-"..."

I hate the Hunted, and I'm not going to devote much time to it
because I've only played it a few times, and I usually always leave
the server if Hunted comes up. In Hunted, there are three teams; The
Hunted (one person, who looks like Marlon Brando and carries an
umbrella), The Assassins (a team of up to five Snipers) and the
Bodyguards (a team that consists of Medics, HW Guys, and Soldiers),
who's job it is to protect the Hunted. They have to get the Hunted
into this truck in a garage across the map. The Assassin's jobs are
to prevent this from happening.

The Hunted-There's not much you can do in terms of offense. The best
route to take is through the sewer, then up the ramp (hide behind
the boxes ) and wait for your teammates to open the garage door.
Then, under the cover of your teammates, run into the truck. That's
about all you can do.

The Assassins-This map is essentially custom-tailored for Assasins.
Just about everywhere is a good place to stay. My favorite is the
area above the first alleyway.

The Bodyguards-At least one Medic should stay with the Hunted, to
heal him up as much as possible and to act as a last-line-of-defense
bodyguard. Soldiers and HW Guy, kill Assassins wherever you see
them. A smaller group of bodyguards should be aware of the Hunted's
route, and stay ahead of him, to perform tasks like opening the
garage door.


WELL-"Camper's Delight"

Well is a well balanced map (pun intended). It has plenty of
benefits to offer all classes, even Pyros (to a lesser extent). It's
another capture the flag map. This, along with 2-Fort, seems to be
one of the most popular maps. And, if done correctly, about three
people can make this map a Campers Delight with a defense that's
very hard to penetrate.

Scout-You can conc.jump from the bridge near your base to the bridge
near the enemy base, bypassing that middle section. The best entry
into the enemy base is through the underwater passage, which a Demo
must blow open. Once in the flagroom area, you can perform a conc.
jump to the upper ledge, and thus avoid the agonizing trip up.
Another option is to go out of the water, behind the wall, up the
enemy ramps, past the Sniper balcony, and onto the resupply floor.
Once there, start to prime a conc.grenade. Time it so that soon
after you take the elevator up (to the flagroom) it will detonate,
and you can thus jump across the entire flagroom onto the platform
near the flag. If an Engie has built an SG in the area around the
flag, you may be able to see the SG from the elevator that leads
from the resupply floor to the flagroom...if convenient, kill it from
there, before conc.jumping. After you get the flag, stay underwater
as much as possible. If someone sees you going into the water, leave
a conc.grenade behind you, which might disorient them. Also strafe
back and forth.

Snipers-The Sniper balcony is one good place. Another is the area
above your base, accessible through a ladder outside your base. It's
also possible to stand on top of pipes that are largely submerged in
water, for a well-disguised Sniping spot. However, perhaps the most
well-disguised spot is in a small area UNDER the ladder that leads
to the top part of the outside of your base. In the doorway to your
base and crouched on the outside of the middle part of the middle
tube. Also see the end of this strategy guide for the impenetrable
defense.

Medic-Poisoning works pretty well on this map. Go for it.

HW Guy-Yes, even HW Guys have some strategy in this map! See the end
section for the "impenetrable defense".

Demo-Plenty for the Demo to do on this map. First off, blow the gate
to the enemy base. Very useful. Second, the Demo has the potential
to do mass damage if he gets in the enemy base. Once inside the
enemy base, make your way onto the area above the Sniper deck. If
you're in the right area, you'll be in an oval-shaped room with a
oval-shaped hole in the middle, with two elevators and four supply
backpacks. One of these backpacks will restock your grenades. This
location is conveniently located above the two enemy respawns! So,
you're in an ideal position to shell the enemy respawn with Scatter
Grenades.  This actually usually does surprisingly little damage,
aside from the occasional lucky shot. But this intends to incense
the enemy team, and they will come after you. Line the elevator
exits with Weapon #5. When enemies come up the elevator, detonate
the weapon. Even if it doesn't kill the enemies, it will often knock
them away. Repeat this process. If you can get an Engineer friend up
there with you, the pair of you will be very hard to destroy!

Engineer-Good places to build SGs are inside the entance to your
base, and in the tunnel that leads to your base. There are also
plenty of opportunities for offensive SG placement (for an example,
see Demo section).

Spy-Plenty of places to feign death and cause later mischief. As
usual, take out any problematic SGs, and clear the Sniper areas with
your Knife or grenades. Since you can get more grenades in the enemy
base, if you can avoid detection, theres potential for causing the
enemy some long-term problems.


ROCK2-"Ultimate Defensive Map"

Rock2 is a variation of a 'capture the flag' map. In this map, you
must grab a key in the enemy base, and bring it to a separate area
in the enemy base. Notice that all of this takes place INSIDE the
enemy base. In addition to penetrating the enemy base, you must
cross over a large courtyard twice, going past the enemy respawn
twice, along with a series of narrow tunnels. In short, it's pretty
hard to score. And even when you do score, it can kill your
teammates, too. Go figure.
Rock2 is also an ideal map for...teamwork! But good luck trying to get
any form of teamwork going on a public server =/

Scout-The Scout is one of my favorite classes. But I just can't
advocate being a Scout in this map; too many opportunities to get
killed. If you're playing a team of fools who don't build SGs in the
courtyard, then you can use the Demo-blown tunnel to get access to
the enemy base, grab the key, conc.jump across the courtyard and run
into the Gas Chamber. But this won't work unless you have incredible
skill or your opponents are incredibly stupid.

Sniper-The Sniper balcony faces the wide gap between the
fortresses...you'll need to take an elevator to reach it. Other
favorite Sniper spots are under the ramp on the outside of your base
(in the water), and at the end of the Demo-blown passage. If you're
patient enough, then wait along the upper-railing of the courtyard,
near one of the towers.

Medic-A good alternative to the Scout on this map, since the Medic
has great SG-destruction potential (Super Nailgun, grenades). If you
can survive long enough, Rock2 is a pretty good infection map. Try
for the cap.

Demo-Blow the passage to the enemy base, which is located under
water and through a passage. Once you blow the passage, use the
Grenade Launchers to take out ay convenient SGs. Walk through the
long passageway and across the plank of wood to emerge in the enemy
fortress, roughly around the area of the gas chamber. Enemies rarely
go back in this area unless someone has the key, so it will be safe
for you to do a little scouting. Specifically, look for a SG built
around the flagroom. When your team has the enemy key and is near
the gas chamber (not before), take out the SG if there is one. After
that, be sure to go into the gas chamber with your teammate, so you
survive too :)

HW+Soldier-Getting the key from the drawer to the chamber is often a
process that involves the death of many team members. A lot of
bloody grunt work. Who better to keep the key moving than these two?
Likewise, these two make good defenders.

Engineer-The best places to build are above the entrance to your
base on the inside, on the bottom level of your courtyard
(preferably under one of the lookout towers) and in the room before
your gas chamber. SGs make life a big pain for your foes in this
level.

Spy-Spies work great in this level, as long as you can get into the
enemy base undetected. The best use of Spies, I think, is to throw
grenades at any SG in the courtyard, then grab the key and make a
run for it.


EPICENTER-"The Test of True Team Dedication"

Epicenter is a variation of a capture the flag map, but in this case
you must bring a flag that starts out in your base to a vehicle in
the enemy base. The catch is, you don't get your 10 individual
points for capping. Thus, many people lose their incentive, and this
map often degenerates into a big Deathmatch on public servers. How
dedicated are you to the team?

Scout-If the enemy doesn't have SGs up, this will be easier than
usual. Grab the flag and walk across the bridge in the center of the
map, into enemy territory, until you reach a balcony where straight
ahead is a rough slope down, and there will be a dark area and an
enemy respawn to your left/right. From here, it's possible to
conc.jump straight to the ACV (your ultimate goal).

Snipers-Useful on this map. Favorite areas are before the slope that
leads down from your base, in the raised area to the left of that
slope, the bridge on your side that faces your open courtyard,
behind the boxes directly below that point, the bridge in the middle
of the map, and the dark area that I mentioned in the Scout section.
If you're in the right place, you should be able to manuver your aim
between the two respawn exits with only a little movement.

Soldier-It's possible to perform a rocket jump in order to get
access to the ACV. Maybe you can take out some SGs while you're up
in the sky.

Medic-Same as the Scout and Soldier, the best thing you can do here
is to conc.jump to the ACV with the flag. Poisoning doesn't work as
well in this map.

Engineer-Just about the only really good places to build are around
your ACV. Anywhere in that area, just make sure it's in a place not
easily accessable by rockets or Snipers.


CASBAH-"Hope Your Team Is Good"

Casbah is the only main map that has only one respawn point for each
team. Worse, in order to get out of this respawn, you must run down
this long, open passageway, which can easily become "the hallway of
death". If your opponent is skilled enough, they can set up defenses
at the end of this hallway that will prevent your team from ever
getting out, while they cap at will, in an ultimate domination
scenario. Being on both ends of this, I think that this is a
fundamental error of this map. Casbah is also the only main map I
can think of that is NOT a mirror image. Both of these factors, I
believe, are fundamental flaws in the map. Nonetheless...

Scout-The enemy defenses are fairly formidable in this map. It's
best to have another teammat take out SGs, but do what you must.
Once you get the flag, the best strategy is to conc.jump onto the
balcony, and then run to safety.

Sniper-The best area to Snipe is in the middle area, near the exit
to your base. Other good places are the windows above your base or
the enemy base, or the balcony above the enemy base.

Soldier-Good at both offense and defense, although you shouldn't try
capping unless the other team is pretty bad at defense. Where
Soldiers are particularly useful on this map is in the upper tunnel
that connects the two bases. A few Soldiers guarding this can make
life very difficult. Another good place is right outside the tunnels
that lead to the respective bases.

Medic-Go for the cap! This map is a pretty good one for
conc.jumping. But since it's also a good map for SGs, just watch
your step.

Demo-Plenty of places for pipe bomb traps, the best place being on
top of your own flag. Whenever the enemy grabs it, then detonate,
and repeat the process.

MURDERBALL-"Soccer gone wrong"
This is a map that does NOT come with the original TF package, you
have to download it separately. But since it has risen to a high
popularity in TF circles, I figured I'd put down my strategies here.
Keep in mind that I've only played this a few times myself.

Scout-Never attack unless you absolutely have to. A better strategy
is to roam around the center (and I do mean, ROAM...chances are likely
that you'll be killed if you stay in one spot. When the ball is
dropped and appears in the center, prep a conc, grab the ball, and
conc jump to the safety of your base. Good places to hide with the
ball are UNDER the ramp, behind the boxes in your health room,
inside the elevator (keep going up and down), in the side tunnel
that leads to your base, on the ledge near the main entrance across
from the lower elevator, and in other people's bases (you'll still
get points, although this is dangerous for obvious reasons).

Sniper-The best function that Snipers have in this map is to pop
anyone of the opposite team that grabs the ball once it has been
dropped. Stay on a friendly balcony, and shoot away. If someone gets
the ball in your base, guard any of the three entry points into the
bases; the side passage, the main passage, and the balcony itself
(which is accessible through rocket-jumps and conc grenades). For
alternate Sniper spots, you can try going to another team's balcony,
behind the wall in front of your base, or in the corners of the
outside of the map.

Soldier-The Soldier's main function should be attacking whoever has
the ball. Just charge after whoever has it, and try to kill them,
even if you have to suicide to do it. Remember that you can rocket-
jump into a team's base via their balcony. Know the good hiding
places, and check those first. If your team has the ball, then you
can either stay in your base and defend, or roam around the outside
of your base, harassing people before they even get inside. This
does not work as well if the other team has good Snipers (although,
as of this writing, I haven't played on a server that has allowed
Snipers on Murderball).

Demoman-The Demoman is most effective on defense, as pipe bombs are
very useful on this map. There are three good places to pipe; the
main entrance to your base, the side entrance, and the center of the
map (where the ball appears when it is dropped). When piping the
center, just observe from a safe distance, and if the enemy grabs
the ball, then detonate. Also, if you do attack, throw a scatter
grenade into the good hiding places, you might get lucky.
Additionally, the Demoman is a decent candidate to grab the ball, as
he has fairly good armor and decent speed. It's risky, but you could
also perform a pipe-bomb jump to propel yourself towards your base.

Medic-Like the Scout, it's important to know the good hiding places.
Also like the Scout, the Medic is a good class to try to get the
ball with. Unlike the Scout, the Medic can also be a good attacker.
Infections work decent in this map, but since a class with lower
armor is most likely to have the ball, your Grenades and S.Shotgun
can often make quick work of the ball carrier. Along those lines,
the S.Nailgun can also take out the inevitable SG's in the enemy
base.

HW Guy-Good on attack and defense. Just don't expect to get the ball
too often.

Pyro-Not too bad on this map. Once the ball is dropped, especially
if FF is off, use whatever you can to set the middle of the map on
fire. This causes a lot of confusion, and since people often get
quite injured when going for the ball, the residual damage from the
fire is sometimes enough to kill them. When on defense, make sure
that you use your grenades and Incendiary Cannon to set your
entrances on fire as often as possible, as fire will again cause
confusion in the attackers.

Engineer-A staple on defense. Good places to build your SG are: the
ledge by the side entrance (have it face forward, towards front
door), in the tunnel itself (not as effective), in the side area
near the main entrance (go up a ladder, build it there), inside your
health room, and somewhere on the upper floor of your building. SGs
are very useful in this map, just be sure to guard it carefully. A
good place to build a Dispenser is in the tunnel. When the ball is
dropped, then it could be a good idea to load up on some EMPs and
get ready to take out whoever grabs it (provided it's not your
teammate, of course).

Spy-Things are generally too chaotic, and teams too small, for Spies
to be much use on offense. If your team is having a lot of trouble
taking out a SG, then you can try Spy, although since teams are
generally smaller (4 teams as opposed to 2), you will be easier to
spot. Another use for a Spy is if you can somehow backstab a Demo
who has piped somewhere, which will get rid of all the pipe bombs he
layed. However, oddly enough, Spies are quite useful on defense.
Throw your gas grenades at the entrances to your base. This will
deter enemies quite a bit. Also throw grenades and use you
S.Shotgun, as you would as a Medic.

VI. 12 THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT TF

1. SGs ARE EASY TO KILL-Although when you first begin you will
likely despise SGs, the fact is that SGs are actually pretty easy
to kill. The secret: you will always be able to see the SG before
it fires on you. There isn't much of a margin here; you will
likely only be able to see a small portion of it. But aim at that
portion, preferably with a nailgun, and the SG will die. SGs are
effective when an alert Engineer or other enemy teammate guards
the SG well. But if no one is around, just inch up to the SG
slowly, putting a wall between you and it, and then let loose.

2. HW GUYS ARE EASY TO KILL-Scouts can't kill HW Guys very well, but
everyone else can. Snipers, aim at the head and legs. Soldiers,
aim at their feet and keep moving. Medics, use your conc.
grenades to knock them away or poison them. Demo, use scatter
grenades. Pyro, use the Incendiary Cannon and stay mobile.
Eningeers, use EMPs. Spies, stab them in the back (anybody hear
that X-Japan song?).

3. HOW TO GET THE IP ADDRESS OF A SERVER-Go to console (default
key:~) while playing on a server, and type 'status'. Then press
PgUp until you can see the IP address, and write it down
somewhere. Whenever you want to connect to that server, go to
console and type "connect", then press space bar, enter the IP
Address and press return. If the server is full, you can type
'retry' to try to connect again, as opposed to typing the whole
thing again.

4. HOW TO DETECT A BOT/CHEATER/HACKER-Look for players with a ping
of 5...that usually indicates a bot. As for cheaters/hackers, they
are usually Snipers. Look for a Sniper that always gets
headshots, and be weary if you are apparently Sniped through a
wall. If you suspect someone is cheating, go to spectator mode
and observe them. If you have clear signs that they are cheating,
the wisest course of action is to contact the server's
administrator, who can take the appropriate actions. Be careful
before you accuse someone of cheating, however, especially if you
are new to the game. Even if you keep getting killed by the same
person, and you think you shot them like 20 times, chances are
you missed. People really DO get that good, especially Snipers.
It's better to have solid proof before you throw out accusations.

5. HOW TO DETECT A SPY WHEN FF IS ON-Spies always carry their class'
"default" weapon, which is the weapon they start equipped with
(i.e. Soldier-Rocket Launcher, Spy-Tranquilizer Gun). You can be
fairly sure it's a Spy if you see someone "on your team" who is
equipped with a weapon that IS a class' default weapon, but is
NOT a weapon that they normally use. For instance, if you see a
Spy "on your team" who is carrying a Tranquilizer Gun, they are
probably an enemy Spy. Likewise, you can be sure that someone is
NOT a Spy if they are carrying something other than their
classes' default weapon, such as anyone carrying a crowbar, or a
Engineer carrying a wrench. Also, whenever a Spy uses a weapon
other than a grenade, they will lose their disguise. So if you
see someone on your own team fire a weapon, they are not an enemy
Spy. When FF is on (and even when it's not), it's a good idea to
fire a shot into the wall. This tells your intelligent teammates
(or the ones that read my strategy guide) that you are not a Spy.
Another way to detect a Spy is to bump into them for a little
while, which will remove the disguise (if you're a Spy or Scout).
If someone runs away from you when you get close to them, they
might be a Spy (if people run away from you in real life, try
bathing). Occasionally, you'll find a Spy who picks a disguised
class that your team doesn't have...for instance, an enemy Spy will
disguise himself as a Pyro or something, when your team doesn't
have a Pyro. When this happens, when you focus your aim on that
Spy, his name will pop up as your own name, and no stats (health,
armor) will be beside it. You can be absolutely sure that this is
a Spy. Also look for incongruent behavior, such as a Scout "on
your team" running for your own base, or a Sniper "on your team"
throwing grenades and running for your flag. If you see someone
throwing grenades at your Snipers and SGs, they are probably a
Spy. If not, they're a Tker or just plain dumb, in either case
it's ok to wax them regardless of they're a Spy. Finally, look at
how fast they walk. If you see a HW walking much faster than HW's
normally do, it's a Spy. Likewise, if you see a Scout or a Medic
walking slowly, it's a Spy. BTW, if FF is off, just shoot
everyone you think is a Spy. If they bleed, they're a Spy.

6. INTERESTING SERVER COMMANDS-There are a few things that you can
type that yield interesting results. These are somewhat dependent
on the server...on some servers these commands will work, on some
they won't. Just press the talk key (default:y) and type the
following:
       timeleft-tells you how much time is left on the current map.
nextmap-Tells you the next map in the rotation.
rockthevote-initiates a map vote...sometimes.
vote <mapname>-after someone types rockthevote, you can type
vote, then the name of a map, which will register one vote for
that particular map.
glow <color>-On some servers, if you type glow and then a color,
your character will glow that color. Colors that I have seen are
white, black, red, green, and blue, amongst others. Some players
will try to be cute, and if they're on the blue team for
instance, they will glow red, hoping that they'll blend in or
something. I take special pleasure in killing those people.

7. LEAGUES AND CLANS TUTORIAL-For the more advanced player
(ideally), there are "clans" that you can join. "Clan" is just a
fancy name for "team". You can identify someone who is in a clan
by their 'tag', which is a collection of letters or symbols
before their name. For instance, here's how you'd see my name:
    [UoM]Kyosuke
[UoM] is the clan tag, Kyosuke's the name. Usually, someone who
has a clan tag is pretty good at TF. Although anyone can start a
clan, the only clans that get any respect are those who are
a.)Good, b.)Have their own server/website, and c.) are in a
league.
A league is a bunch of clans together who play organized,
mediated matches against one another. It's kind of like the NFL
of Team Fortress. If you're in a clan and a league, you're
probably a pretty hardcore player. Each clan has different
procedures for taking in new members...the serious ones usually
involve a tryout. In clan matches, maps other than the ones I
have listed in this strategy guide are often used. So you'll have
to rely on pure skill at first, as opposed to knowing the tricks
that are map-specific. Unless you download it and practice on it
ahead of time, of course.
And in case anyone is wondering...[UoM] is a small clan with about
three members, one of which is reliable (me), and a shit server
that is usually broken and, as we speak, it's actually serving as
an Anime FTP. I'm trying to start a college league ([UoM] is the
initials for my college).

8. IMPORTING YOUR OWN SPRAY-A spray is something rarely used, but
are very fun. I think the default key is T. When you press it
near a wall, a little spray paint logo will appear. Under
Customize, there are a variety of default pictures you can choose
from, along with a few colors. But what many don't know is that
you can import a spray of your own, with little effort. Too much
effort to go into here, though. Do a web search for "Custom
Sprays", that should do it, hopefully that won't bring up porn.
There's a great website out there that tells you exactly how to
do it. Speaking of porn, don't make "porn sprays", they will
often get you kicked or banned.

9. THE AVANTI BELL-In the map Avanti, before CP3, you can see the
entire front of the church. Above the windows where snipers
usually hide, there is a small dark window. Shoot at that window
and you will ring the church bell!

10. CONSOLE COMMANDS- There's some interesting things you can
do in console. To access console during a match, the default key
is ~.
Connect- Type connect and then an IP address, and you will be
connected to that IP Address (as long as it's a TF server). It
will also not connect you if the server is full. This is the most
useful console command, which you can use to access your favorite
servers.
Status-Gives you various information during a match. Most
importantly, it gives you the IP of the server you're playing on.
Use PgUp key to get to the IP.
Ping-Displays ping (ping=connection speed, sort of) of server and
players.
Texgamma-Tells you what your texture gamma is. Default is 3.
Lightgamma-Tells you the game's brightness gamma. Default is 3.
+det20-Demoman sets Detpack for 20 seconds.
+det50-Set detpack for 50 seconds.
Kill-Makes your character commit suicide. Useful if you're stuck
somewhere.
NOTE: It is very easy to cheat using console commands that I
won't put down here. Do not do this...not only will you sometimes
get banned, but it will not help you get any better.

11. HOW TO UNPOISON YOURSELF-I personally hate to be poisoned when
there's no medic around to heal me. I used to kill myself just to
avoid dying from poison, until I discovered this little trick. When
you're poisoned, switch to the other team before you die from
poison. But don't pick a class, instead just switch back to your
original team and choose a class there. When you respawn, your
record won't be affected at all, and the poison will be gone. Medics
get really pissed at this and call it cheating. It sort of is.

 12. FUN AND EASY WAY TO KILL SPIES-if you see a Spy feign death,
stand on top of them. They won't be able to stand up. Kill them at your
leisure.

VII. SKILL

You likely won't be playing Team Fortress for long before a discussion
(or accusation) is made that someone 'has no skill'. There is no
precise, scientific measure of skill in terms of Team Fortress,
although some people claim there is. Here are a few common arguments
for skill, and their flaws.

1. THE POINT SYSTEM: This is what many beginners believe at first,
that the number of points (kills, caps, etc.) determines skill.
While points give an idea, it's not always the best measure of
skill. For instance, what if a Soldier is playing on defense and
no one attacks? Then the Soldier has 0 points, and apparently no
skill. This is not always true. Or, consider a player with 50
points and 70 deaths, and a player with 45 points and 2 deaths.
Is the first player really more skillful? Not likely. Also, in
terms of caps, sometimes if a flagroom is unguarded, a Scout can
easily get 100+ points a game with relatively little effort. Even
an excellent Sniper will usually not get that many points. So,
again, there are situations where the Point system does not
measure skill. Which brings us to the...
2. THE RATIO SYSTEM: Remember 4th grade math? The ratio system
compares the number of kills you have to the number of deaths you
have, yielding a ratio. I think that this system is much more
valid than the point system, but it still has it's flaws. I'll
use an example on one of my favorite maps, Warpath. Since I'm
usually a Scout, sometimes I essentially have to sacrifice a life
to get a CP. As a result, if the teams are evenly matched, I
usually get somewhere in between a 2:1 and a 3:1 ratio. However,
HWs who stay in the base all game killing Scouts (like myself)
can achieve a nice ratio without having to do much at all. Or,
consider if a Sniper is very careful, and gets 12 kills and 0
deaths. This could be considered a perfect ratio. But he did
relatively little, with only 12 kills. Thus, the ratio system is
an improvement, but still not an adequate measure of skill.
3. +/- SYSTEM: Those familiar with sports (particularly hockey, I
believe) know that the +/- system refers to how much points a
team gains while a particular player is playing. In TF, your +/-
rating is your points minus your kills. This is also somewhat
valid, but I find that someone can be overly rated fairly easily,
such as the Scout who caps from the unguarded flagroom. Or if
you're a defensive Engineer in Dustbowl.
4. TEAM POINTS: Your skill is measured by how often your team wins.
This is flawed because no matter how good you are, if your team
sucks, you're not going to win too often.
5. MY POINT SYSTEM: This is the system, which I devised myself, that
I believe is the best measure of skill. It takes a long time, but
when you're bored with college, you will have a lot of time. What
I did was I played on a variety of servers, and then recorded my
kills, my deaths, what class I was, what the server was, and
whether or not my team won. Since servers vary in the skill level
of their clientele, I played on a variety of different servers
ranging from very easy (I won't mention those servers here, I
don't want to offend anyone), to servers that are sometimes easy
sometimes hard (like ThOl, HomeLan, GF Games Dustbowl/Avanti,
Vendetta's Blood Feud) to servers that some of the best practice
in (like Phat Farm). Then I took my scores from those servers,
throwing out the scores where I had too many easy caps or if my
ping went too high, and I compiled my ratio. I also threw out my
top five and bottom five scores. And here is the result:

My ratio is 3.97:1 !!!
My +/- rating is +476!!!
My team wins roughly 7.5/10 times.
   I believe this system is accurate because there are many trials,
well over 50 at the moment, and growing every day I play Team
Fortress. Included in the ratio are both the outrageous scores I get
on Dustbowl (102-5) to the horrible, horrible scores I sometimes get
in Phat Farm (no need to go into that), and everything in between.
Everyone can do very well or very bad in a game; it happens. But by
taking a lot of measurements over time, you get the best idea of how
good you really are.


VIII. FAQ

If you have a quick and commonly asked question, this is the
place to look. Here I've tried to cover all questions I hear
asked most often from players of all different skill levels.

Q. When I'm a Sniper, how do I make the Red Dot appear?
A. Select weapon number 2, and hold down your primary fire button
(default key:left mouse button). The dot will appear.

Q. Where do I put the flag??
A. Read the level summary that pops up before the match begins.
That will tell you.

Q. Why do I keep dying??
A. Whenever you die, it shows the type of weapon that kills you
in the upper right corner of the screen. If you can't tell what
killed you, then it was probably a Sniper or a Spy.

Q. I keep losing health but no one is hitting me. What's
happening?
A. You've probably been poisoned by a Medic. When a Medic uses
his Medkit on the enemy, it poisons them, and they lose health
periodically until they die. Look in the lower left corner of
your screen; if there's a mask-looking thing flashing on and off,
you're poisoned. Don't go near your teammates; it will infect
them. The only way that you can get rid of it is to die or to be
healed by a friendly Medic. Medics can't infect other Medics. You
can also switch teams and then switch back (it gets rid of the
poison), but that's kinda cheap.

Q. Occasionally I see people flying through the air at high
speeds. How do I do that?
A. Medics, Scouts, Demos, and Soldiers are capable of launching
themselves or others. To see how to do this, see the Scout, Demo,
and Soldier sections of the Class Guide.

Q. How do I spray paint?
A. The default key is T. You can change your spray paint in the
Customize menu under Multiplayer when you first start the TF
application. It's also possible to make your own spray...see
section VI of this strategy guide.


IX. CONCLUSION

I'm pretty good at TF, but nobody's perfect...if you see any
mistakes, errors, or have any comments or suggestions, then send
me an email at Kyosuke_66@yahoo.com (That's Kyosuke_66).
For all veterans of this game who are insanely good and have a
problem with this strategy guide, keep in mind that this strategy
guide is designed mainly for beginners, although most people
would benefit from reading it (especially the etiquette section).
So don't flame me about being a newb because I missed your
favorite Sniper spot or left out your favorite Soldier technique
or something.
I'd like to thank Homelan Alliance, |NFK|, and }ThOl{, who
operate my favorite servers. Also, thanks to
www.planethalflife.com for info on a few of the console commands.
Finally, thanks to all my pals at [UoM].

I hope this helps you avoid all the mistakes I made when I was a
beginner. Have fun, and good luck!