TF2 Tips

So a few TF2 related posts back, someone wanted me to post some tips for TF2. Now by all means, these are tips are not "professional" by any means. They are just little tricks I use (and probably a lot of other experienced players use) but should be helpful to new/F2P people.

Some of the stuff I will talk about applies to various classes or they are just class specific. I won't go over everything, just some things to start people off.

First thing first, rollouts. You probably won't need to know these for pub servers, but once you play lobbies or more competitive games, you need to understand what the most effective rollout is. For those that do not know what it is, a rollout is essentially the process of getting to the middle point/spot of the map from your spawn point; the faster (and more health you end up with at the middle) the better. Rollouts are unique for each class and for each map and there are many tutorials on video hosting sites you can check out to learn them.


Next comes sniper. Sniper is not my main class, but I play sniper in pub servers just to work on my aiming. But sniper gets really addicting once you start popping those heads.

Once you pop, you just can't stop

 Although I'm saying this is a tip for snipers, this can be applied for all classes. Get to know the map.
This can be especially useful for snipers as you can use landmarks to know where to aim. Take for example ctf_turbine (see below). I'm aiming at my enemy's garage door, but more specifically, my crosshair (or dot) is aiming exactly at the level of where an enemy head would be. So when an enemy pops out, I just need to pan left or right and it will be a guaranteed headshot. I know I'm at that "head" level is by using the "Gate 1" sign to the right. Looking at that sign, where the red meets the white wall (I added that yellow line in paint just to emphasize where it is) I know I'm already locked and loaded.

 Another tip for sniper is to aim your crosshair/dot where it can't be seen by the enemy, and at last minute, move your crosshair at their head. In the picture below, I'm aiming at this structure where enemies can hide behind. If they're behind it, they can't see my dot but right when they move to the right, I can just move my crosshair for a well place shot. Not having your dot seen can put your enemy at ease so they move freely out of cover whereas if they see a sniper aiming for them, they may be more reluctant to move out of cover.

 Next are the "TF2 Advanced Options". Under combat options, make sure you tick off "play a hit sound everytime you injure an enemy" and "display damage done as text over your target". I'll explain the "play a sound one" later but for "displaying damage done" is simple. You know approximately how much health they have left and you can replay this info to your teammates so they can also target weaker enemies.

Now for the last bit, the soldier. This is really a rudimentary skill, but immensely useful, shooting around corners. Your rocket deals splash damage within a fixed radius so you can injure enemies you cannot see.  Used in combination with the "play a sound when you injure an enemy" tip, you can now know if there is actually an enemy around the corner. This will help you decide whether or not you want to proceed or fall back and wait for backup.

Hopefully these tips will help some of you out. Do you have any tips for videos of TF2 you'd like to share?