Half-LIfe 2: The Orange Box Team Fortress 2 Strategies

The Ultimate Team Fortress 2 Guide

Written by |CBW|Spive
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Version 1.0
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E-mail: Spive@CBWGaming.com
Website: http://www.CanadianBlackWatch.com 
Website: http://www.CBWGaming.com 
Copyright 2007 |CBW| The Canadian Black Watch Clan
Team Fortress 2, after years of waiting and a few detours along the way, it's 
finally here. Here at CBWGaming.com, we're hoping to assemble the ultimate TF2
guide and keep it updated with the latest information, tips and strategies. At
this point we've broken our guide into 3 parts:

The Game

TF2 is a online only multiplayer game developed and published by Valve
Corporation. The game is team-based and currently has two game modes, Capture
the Flag and Control Point. In Capture The Flag, each team tries to capture the
other team's "Intelligence" which is in the form of a briefcase full of
documents. The intelligence can be captured and score a point for their team by
moving their player over the intelligence and running back to your own team's
intelligence room. If the player dies with the intelligence, it lies on the
ground for 1 to 2 minutes before being returned to it's original location. If
your team's intelligence is lying out in the open, protect it from being picked
up again by the other team - if they touch it again before being killed, the
1-2 minute clock starts all over again and you'll need to protect your
intelligence that much longer before it is returned to it's home. Control Point
gametype has teams trying to capture and hold 3 to 5 control points on the map
- control them all and your team scores a point. Each gametype has an overtime
mode where if the team score is tied after the game time runs out, it's sudden
death. Players don't respawn during this period and the way to win for your 
team is to either eliminate all the enemy players or complete the map 
objectives before your opponents or the sudden death time runs out.
 
The whole gang

What do I need to play TF2?
Can your PC play TF2? Valve's recommended specs are...

Minimum: 1.7 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX? 8 level Graphics Card,
Windows® Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

Recommended: Pentium 4 processor (3.0GHz, or better), 1GB RAM,  DirectX® 9
level Graphics Card, Windows® Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet
Connection

If your PC meets the minimum requirements, then you need to pick up a copy of
Team Fortress 2. (You can also get Orange Box for the XBox 360 now and for 
PS3 later in 2007) You can get it a couple of ways right now. First is via
Valve's online store on their Steam platform 
( http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=440&cc=CA ) .  The
standalone game is $29.95 or you can get it in their Orange Box package which 
contains Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two,
Portal and Team Fortress 2. Orange Box costs about $50. Either way, you will
need to install the Steam application which manages all the games you've
purchased from Valve. Steam can automatically keep your games patched up to the
latest version without you have to go searching around the internet for update
files. Once your Steam account is setup and TF2 is installed, now you need to 
get online...

 
Heavy Weapons Guy vs a Scout

How do I play TF2 online? Easy - fire up Steam, click on your Games tab at the
top and double click on Team Fortress 2. Once the game loads, you see you have
an option to "Find Servers" - click on that. On the "Internet" tab, click on
Refresh button and wait until the server lists loads. You can click on any
server that looks good to you - maybe one that is currently running the map you
like or more importantly one that has low latency (ping).

CBWGaming.com runs some excellent servers that are well administered and low
latency to most gamers in North America.
http://www.cbwgaming.com/index.php?pg=server  You can find those servers in
your Internet tab if you sort alphabetically and scroll down to
http://www.CBWGAMING.COM or in the Favorites tab, enter their IP:Port
information directly.

This should give you a basic guide to the game and how you can get up and
running. Next we'll move onto the player classes and how to play them.

Team Fortress 2 Player Classes: Part 1

Classes - TF2 has built upon the class system introduced in the original Team
Fortress Classic. The classes are a great example of "rock - paper - scissors"
in that each class has it's strengths and weaknesses that can be exploited by
other classes. For example, the Heavy Weapons Guy is very strong and has a
powerful weapon, however he is slow and can be easy pickings for a sniper or
spy. The best teams will be well balanced between classes to achieve the
objectives of the map and gametype. There are 9 classes that can be played....


Scout

Health: 125
Weapons: Shotgun, Pistol, Baseball bat

Strengths: Fastest moving player in the game... by far. This is the perfect
class for  running intelligence back for the score or to run ahead of your
team to start capturing  control points. His speed makes him a hard target to
hit (snipers) and he can often run right around enemy players before they get
a shot off. The scout can double jump  which can allow him to clear large gaps
and change direction in mid air.

Weakness: Low health and lack of a big time weapon is his weakness.

Tips: 
1) Don't hang around for a fight... keep moving. If you need to duke it out,
use your speed  to your advantage - a circle strafe is your friend against
anyone who is packing more firepower than you are... which is just about
everyone!

2) Every map has a couple of spots where your double jump can be used
effectively. A  key one is the middle bridge on 2Fort. Head out to the
battlements and double jump onto the  center bridge roof and then again onto
the enemy battlements. With any luck you can slip  right into the ramp doorway
and be on your way to grab the enemy intelligence. 


Soldier

Health: 200
Weapons: 4-shot Rocket Launcher, Shotgun, Entrenching tool (Shovel)

Strengths: Possibly the best all-round class. The Soldier has above average
health which  makes him durable in a firefight and his rocket launcher can dish
out some real damage.

Weakness: Relatively slow moving class makes him sniper bait as well as taking
a while to  get into the action on those control point maps. The soldier's
rockets travel slowly so that if 
you are trying to hit someone at range, your target has plenty of time to get
out of the way.

Tips: 
1) This class can "rocket jump" by pointing your rocket launcher directly down
to the ground,  hit the jump and fire key at the same time. You can jump higher
if you crouch while performing  this maneuver. If you time it right, you'll
find yourself able to "jump" up to second story levels -  for example the
Battlements in 2Fort. This takes some health off your player so you will want
to execute properly the first time.

2) When using the rocket launcher, don't aim at the player's body - instead
aim at their feet.  The blast damage will hurt nearly as much and with any
luck you can launch your enemy into the air in time to have a second rocket
waiting at their feet when they land. You can also use  the rockets to blast
players off ledges and walkways by aiming at the walls behind them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbZOeGyd61E 


Pyro

Health: 175
Weapons: Flamethrower, Shotgun, Fire Axe

Strengths: The flamethrower has a very short range, but great for getting
people coming  around corners and groups of enemies. You can see the fear in
your enemies as they flee from your 20 foot flame. Once you light your enemy
on fire, it continues to burn them,  removing about 5-10hp every couple of
seconds until the victim dies or the flame gets extinguished. In a recent
update, Valve made the pyro's flamethrower more potent which  now gives him
the killing power of any other main class in the game. Although the character
model for the pyro is pretty fat the character moves fast so he's up to the
front lines in a hurry.

Weakness: You may become frustrated at the lack of kills you get with this
class. As mentioned it's great for spreading fear among the enemy, the
flamethrower's lack of range and instant killing power may frustrate you if
you're used to dealing out instant death via the soldier or heavy.A medic,
health packs on the ground and more obviously a good dip in the water will
extinguish the the Pyro's flame on the victim.

Tips: 
1) If you're traveling in the open, break out the shotgun until you get back
into tight quarters where the flamethrower's full potential can be dished out.

2) As mentioned above, as Pyro you'll want to avoid hanging out near water
where your victims can extinguish themselves.

3) If you see multiple targets of opportunity, take out medics first as they
can put out flames with their healing gun. 

4) Pyros are the #1 spy detecting class. With friendly fire off, Pyros should
be flaming everyone in their vacinity to help reveal enemy spies.

5) As a pyro you cannot be set on fire, although you still take damage for a
enemy pyro's flamethrower you will not burn afterwards. So when fighting
another pyro it is usually best to take out the shotgun.
 

Demoman

Health: 175
Weapons: Grenade Launcher, Sticky Grenade Launcher, Whiskey Bottle

Strengths: Great class in tight quarters and for defending/attacking
bottlenecks. The grenades explode on contact before the first bounce with an
enemy or after a few seconds on the ground  so this class can keep a key
doorway or opening packed with explosions for a long time. Their secondary
weapon, the sticky bomb, can be used to defend control point/intelligence
or any key bottlenecks. Load the area up with sticky bombs and detonate them
as your enemies pass by them by pressing the alternate fire key.

Weakness: Lack of a long range gun is his biggest weakness - makes the demoman
extremely vulnerable in the open. He is defenseless at far range.

Tips: 
1) Since the Demoman's sticky bombs can stick just about anywhere, put them on
the inside or doorways and ceilings (off the ground) to make them less obvious. 

2) Your stickies can be shot at and moved by projectile weapons (shotguns,
rockets, pistols) so guard against your traps from being tampered with. 

3) Another tip is to use your sticky bombs as a full time weapon... launch
them at your enemy and as they fly towards your target, detonate them.

4) Hold your primary fire button down to launch your sticky bombs further.

5) Similar to the soldier, the Demoman has his own version of the "rocket
jump". The procedure with the demoman is to lay a sticky bomb (or two... 
careful - this is going to hurt) on the ground where you want to jump from.
Step on the stickies then jump and detonate them at the same time... you
won't be able to reach the same heights as a rocket jump, but this will help
you get into a couple of nice positions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua1eAxHTPpk

Team Fortress 2 Player Classes: Part Classes - 
TF2 has built upon the class system introduced in the original Team Fortress
Classic. The classes are a great example of "rock - paper - scissors" in that
each class has it's strengths and weaknesses that can be exploited by other 
classes. For example, the Heavy Weapons Guy is very strong and has a powerful 
weapon, however he is slow and can be easy pickings for a sniper or spy. The 
best teams will be well balanced between classes to achieve the objectives of
the map and gametype. We covered the Scout, Soldier, Pyro and Demoman in the 
previous page - now the remaining classes.
 

Heavy Weapons Guy

Health: 300
Weapons: Minigun, Shotgun, Fists

Strengths: The most health in the game (300)... by far. This guy can take a lot
of damage before he goes down. His Minigun can dish out a lot of rounds for an
extended period of time although accuracy really drops off at any sort of range.
A good class for defending or plowing through a bottleneck.

Weakness: Very slow moving class makes him cannon fodder for snipers. His
minigun takes a couple of seconds to spin up to speed before the bullets start
firing so those pesky scouts have a  fighting chance to run right around you
before you get any rounds off.

Tips: 
1) If you pair a Heavy up with up a Medic, they can be a nearly unstoppable 
force. Get a medic's attention by pressing your "Medic!!" key and if the good 
doctor is worth his salt, he'll hook up with you to go do some damage.

2) If you sense that enemy contact is inevitable, spool the minigun up to 
speed by pressing the alternate fire button - this makes sure that you can 
start unloading rounds into the enemy without waiting for the gun to rev up 
to speed from scratch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY5qJHZCz2I 
 

Engineer

Health: 125
Weapons: Shotgun, Pistol, Wrench

An extremely versitile class that is a necessary part of any good defense. The 
Engie can has a few special abilities at his disposal - he can build a sentry 
gun, a dispenser and a teleporter. The engineer spawns with 200 "metal" and he
can spend this metal to build and/or upgrade his creations. To build, scroll 
through your weapons until you get to the Build menu where you will be able to
select "1" to build a sentry. Position your sentry, keeping in mind that it 
can only cover an angle of about 90 degrees. Once you position your sentry and 
click build, it takes about 10 seconds for it to auto build. You can now begin 
the upgrade process... the first upgrade gives your sentry double machine guns 
and the second upgrade gives it a rocket launcher. To upgrade your sentry, 
select your wrench and hammer on your gun with it. Each strike of your wrench 
takes metal from your engineer and goes towards upgrading your gun and it takes
200 metal to upgrade your sentry gun to each successive level. Your engineer 
can collect metal from weapons lying on the ground, dispensers and destroyed 
sentries, dispensers and teleporters. After your sentry has been upgraded to 
the third level, your only concern is to protect your gun and keep it "alive".
If your gun takes damage, have some metal on hand and bang it with your wrench 
to repair it up to full health.

Dispensers are built in a similar manner as sentries - cycle your weapons to
the build menu and select dispenser. Once you build your dispenser (which costs
100 metal), it can give the engineer metal as well as all players health and
ammo. An ideal location for your dispenser would be close to your sentry gun
and in an area where you teammates can easily access it. One strategy you see
often, if you have time as an engineer, is to build your dispenser first and
your sentry gun second. By having the dispenser up first, you have a steady
supply of metal to keep your gun upgraded and repaired - as well as a steady
supply of health and ammo for yourself as you build.

The last build item is a teleporter which costs 125 metal. The engineer needs
to build an entrance and the exit before the teleporter will function. Ideal
entrance positions are near your spawn with an exit location as close the front
as possible without risking the destruction of the exit half of your teleporter.

Once you've got your builds in place, now you need to watch over your 
creations and keep them healthy. Spies are a dreaded enemy of the engieer 
because spies have a "sapper" weapon which they can place on your builds 
and destroy them after 5 seconds. Sappers take longer to destroy higher level 
sentries. Once a spy has laid the sapper, you'll hear an audio alert and see 
your sentry gun/dispenser flashing in the top right hand corner of your screen.
Imediately bang the effected build a few times with your wrench to eliminate 
the sapper but watch your back while your doing it - a spy is close at hand.

Don't be a selfish engineer!! You can help upgrade and repair your teammates 
builds as well.Engineers are fun to play... nothing brings a smile to my face 
like seeing my "baby" rack up the kills.

Strengths: Great defenders of intelligence/control points as well as 
bottlenecks. No defense is complete without a couple of engineers and their 
sentries covering their base. Dispensers can be a critical peice of any defense
with it's ability to heal teammates and supply them with ammo at critical 
points on the map.

Weakness: Low health makes the engineer designed for letting his sentry do 
the fighting.

Tips:
1) Always build the dispenser first, as it will give you more metal to build 
other things, and is a big help in healing medics and teammates.

2) At the very beginning of any level, immediately drop a Entrance Portal, 
run back into the spawn to refill your metal to 200, THEN head out into the
fray.

3) Team up with another Engineer to drop a level 2 sentry quickly then work 
on the second gun.

4) Sentry placement is everything as an Engineer. Pick a poor location and 
the sentry will be easily taken out by a Soldier or Heavy in no time at all.
Your sentry gun has a limited range.. let's say 40 or 50 yards. Don't set it
up where it can be hit from out in the open from a distance without locking
on to the attacker and fighting back. Ledges, just outside of doorways and
in corners are decent starting points for sentries.

5) A good plan is to build your dispenser and sentry gun right next to each
other. This way if you can build the dispenser first followed by your sentry,
you'll be replenished continually by your dispenser and be able to get your
gun up to level 3 in no time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i68cEsALWt0 
 

Medic

Health: 150
Weapons: Medi Gun, Syringe Gun, Bone Saw

The medic is a support class which can be used on offense or defense. Use the
medi gun to heal your teammates from a short distance and try to avoid getting
hit while they deal the damage. After you get about a minute and half worth of
heals in you get the UberCharge (which is activated by your "alternate fire
key") and gives you and your Medi Gun target invulnerability. You get rewarded
for healing by getting a kill-assist for every kill your Medi Gun healing
recipient gets. The syringe gun .... shoots syringes.... they are low damage
and medium distance. The syringes lose height as they travel and are really an
emergency defensive weapon. Medics are primarilty designed to let the heavier
classes do the fighting while they support their teammates.

Strengths: The medic is an integral part of any good team - Combine a medic 
with a Heavy/Soldier/Demoman and the pair can do a LOT of damage. The medic 
has decent health and can also self heal at a slow rate.

Weakness: Has little in the way of offensive weapons... the syringe gun is 
for emergency defense only.

Tips:
1) At the spawn, try to pair up with the heaviest class possible to maximize
your usefulness. No sense in hooking up with a scout when he'll outrun you on
the way to the front lines and his offensive firepower is limited compared to
a soldier or heavy.

2) Use your Ubercharge to make you and a heavy class invulnerable for a push
through a bottleneck. Sometimes this will be the only way to bust into enemy
territory to take out those pesty sentries that have been holding your team
back.

3) Don't wait too long to use your UberCharge. Too many times you will see
medics get their Uber fully charged and not use it in a timely manner only
to die along with a wasted uber.

4) A medic can charge their Ubercharge faster by healing wounded teammates
(vs boosting healthy teammates). In some control point maps, there is a
"Setup" period of about 45 seconds. Hook up with a Soldier or Demoman and
have them injure themselves by firing rockets into the feet (Soldier) or
detonate sticky bombs near themselves (Demo). This will increase the speed
at which you get your Uber on. If you act quickly off the start, you'll have
your Uber fully charged by the time the setup period is over. Once the gates
open up, enable your Uber on a Soldier or Heavy and bust through the opening.

 
Sniper

Health: 125
Weapons: Sniper Gun, Machine Pistol, Machete

When you select the alternate fire key, your sniper gun zooms in through the
scope which leaves you suseptable to surprise attacks from the side and rear 
(did we mention that spies love snipers?). When you are zoomed in, your gun
shines a laser on your target which can alert your firends and enemies that a
sniper is near. If you remained zoomed in, your gun "charges" to full power in
a few seconds which gives your next shot extra power. While zoomed in, your
movement is slowed - which is another example of the ying and the yang in this
game.

Strengths: Head shots to most classes is an instant kill. The sniper is great
for covering choke points from afar - stop the enemy before they can even get
to your side of the map is always a good strategy.

Weakness: When your zoomed in, your peripheral vision is nill. This makes
snipers prime targets for spies, and there's almost nothing you can do about
it - expect to get knifed several times a map as a sniper.

Tips:
1) When zoomed in, hide your laser dot where the enemy can't see it. For
example in 2Fort when sniping across to the enemy battlements, keep your
dot on the outside metal wall or the outside of the ledge. When the enemy
moves into view, quickly move your fully charged sniper sight onto the target
for a powerful shot.

2) Keep moving... even if it's just side to side at random. A still sniper
is an easy target - not only for opposing snipers but for spies.

3) Use your ears... when zoomed in, your peripheral vision is gone. Use sounds
to listen for incoming enemy's weapons and explosions to give you time to
unzoom and take defensive action.


Spy

Health: 125
Weapons: Revolver, Cigarette Pack (disguise kit), Electro-sapper, Cloak
Watch, Butterfly Knife

An extremely fun, but challenging class to play. The spy is a purely offensive
character - not by using brute force but cunning. One of the spy's key
abilities is to disguise himself to look like a player on the other team. Open
up the cigarette pack by scrolling through your weapons and choose the class
of player you want to disguise yourself as. To your teammates, you will look
like a spy with a mask over your face - to the enemy you will look just like
them. When the enemy puts their crosshairs over you, the name of a player on
their team will show above your head. While you're disguised, enemy sentry guns
won't shoot at you which helps you get behind enemy lines. You'll stay
disguised as long as you don't shoot your gun or slash your knife - the moment
you do, you lose your disguise. Another ability of the spy is the ability to go
invisible (or cloak) for up to about 10 seconds - use the alternate fire key
to activate/deactivate your cloaking watch. This is great for getting behind
enemy lines. Once you’re in the midst of your enemy, you can start doing your
damage. You have an Electro-Sapper which you can place on enemy sentry guns,
dispensers and teleporters which destroys them after about 5 seconds if they're
not repaired by the engineer. Using cloaking, disguise and your best acting
skills can often get you into the intelligence room where you can grab the
goods and make a run for your side of the map. Spies are primarily for
disrupting the enemy lines by destroying engineer equipment and using your
butterfly knife on the backs of your opponents for a one hit kill.

Strengths: The ability to cloak and disguise yourself allows the spy to get
behind the enemy to take out snipers and sentries. Stealth is their biggest
advantage... use it rather than trying to get into firefights.

Weakness: Don't try to shoot it out with anyone. The pistol is weak and
you'll be overpowered by every other class in the game in terms of firepower.
While cloaked, don't bump into the enemy or you'll lose some of your
invisibility for a moment, giving away your position to the enemy.

Tips:
1) When going disguised, pick a class where there are a lot of those players
on the opposing team. This will help you blend in with the enemy. Two classes
to always avoid - they are easiest to spot as spies - Scouts and Heavies. A
real Scout is extremely quick and a real Heavy is noticeably slow. As a Spy, 
you still travel at your Spy speed which is much slower than a Scout and
significantly faster than a Heavy. The enemy will see a Scout running the same
speed as most other classes and start opening up fire on you knowing without a
doubt that you are a Spy. Same goes for the Heavy. 

Additionally, choose a defensive class that wouldn't look out of place hanging
around near the back lines such as a Pyro, Engineer, Sniper or even a Medic.

2) Disguise is not enough... you'll need to act the part. How many scouts do
you see running empty handed back to your own spawn? It's a dead giveaway.
Always be asking yourself, is this what I would be doing if I was really this
enemy player?

3) Use your cloaking properly. Use it to get past choke points and to run away
after a timely stab or electro sapper. Get behind cover before uncloaking and
change classes after you've been discovered or taken offensive action. Also,
try to use your cloak to get as deep into enemy territory as possible, uncloak
and then start running back to the front lines. You'll be heading in the same
direction as the enemy and it's much easier to come up from behind a player
than way for a quick knife in the back.

I hope you've enjoyed our guide on TF2 player classes. Next update will be on
the maps and strategies.For any questions, please come to our forums at
http://www.cbwgaming.com/forums/index.php

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This FAQ/Strategy Guide/Walkthrough is my own published work, and
copyrighted by |CBW| The Canadian Black Watch Clan and |CBW|Spive. Do not edit
this FAQ nor borrow its contents in any way. If you want to use some
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Copyright 2007 |CBW| The Canadian Black Watch Clan