Serious response time. I wouldn't mind helping you out with TF2 at all. I have to sleep for a bit before class, but I'll be on after 7pm central time.
There are tow main game modes: Capture the flag (CTF) and Control Point (CP). Capture the flag is exactly like it sounds, with the flag being called "intelligence." It helps to know that you do not need to currently possess your own intelligence in order to capture the opposition's. Control point is like king of the hill. There can be anywhere from 1-5 points of the map that are up for grabs. Some of the time both sides fight it out for control over all the points, and in other games it is a one sided assault-defense setup.
There are nine classes.
Scout. 125 hit points and 133% move speed. The fastest class and lowest hit points. They also are the only ones who can double jump and they capture points twice as fast as other classes. Due to their speed they can be a bit unwieldy. You want to run in with them, get behind an opponent, shoot them at close range with the scatter gun, and run out when you have to reload. For long range use their pistol (though the accuracy is not great).
Soldier. 200 hit points and 80% move speed. An easy class to start out as. They are a little slow, but have the second best health and rockets can be easier to hit people with due to the aoe. Try to aim at people's feet instead of their character directly (as rockets are quite slow and easy to dodge). They are also good at pining down opponents in narrow areas and taking out sentry guns from afar. They can also rocket jump, more on that later.
Pyro. 175 hit points and 100% move speed. They are a close range class that in addition to massively burning those directly in front of them, also light opponents on fire who then take additional damage over time. Try to get people from around corners or in narrow pathways. You don't have to completely burn them to death, as if you just set them on fire at low health and walk away they will die from the DoT. They are not good in open areas where people can avoid them and fight them at mid-long range.
Demoman. 175 hit points and 93% move speed. Their primary weapon, the grenade gun, lobs explosives that detonate after four seconds or on contact with the enemy. Their advantage is that they can bounce grenades around corners or shoot over walls. However it can be difficult to hit someone directly with a grenade in an open area. Their second weapon is a sticky grenade launcher which can shoot up to 8 sticky mines around an area. By pressing the right mouse button they can detonate these at any time from anywhere. These are useful in guarding certain places you know enemies will come to such as capture points. They can also grenade jump, more on that later.
Heavy Weapons Guy. 300 hit points and 77% move speed. The most durable and slowest class. Continuous fire of their minigun will decimate opponents at close to mid range. They often work in conjunction with medics to become near unstoppable. Their weakness is their dependency on ammo, which they are cosntantly low on.
Engineer. 125 hit points and 100% move speed. Different than the rest of the classes and requires a little explanation. Their main role is to build things, most notably the sentry guns (which can be upgrade twice by hitting it with their wrench). Fully upgrade sentry guns are nearly impossible to take out in direct combat. They can also build a teleporter entrance and exit, as well as a dispenser which provides additional metal and heals nearby allies. All their structures cost metal, which can be obtained from storage lockers, ammo crates, or nearby dispensers. They can only build one of each structure, but you can repair other engineer's buildings. Good on defense.
Medic. 150 hit points and 107% move speed. Their primary weapon is not a weapon, but a healing gun. Just target a nearby ally and hold down the left mouse button to provide a constant stream of plot holelish medication to your friends. So long as you are in range the beam will track to the person you are healing, and will even bend around corners to an extent. You can even heal allies above maximum health up to 150% of their total, called overheal. As they heal a gauge called "uber charge," which when full will allow you to unleash ten seconds of invulnerability to you and the target you are healing with a click of the right mouse button. Note that healing injrued allies fills this gauge faster than overhealing.
Sniper. 125 hit point sand 100% move speed. Not much to say. They are good at sniping people from long range. Press the right mouse button to zoom in with the scope. You should notice a little charge gauge being filled up. The longer you stay in the zoom the more powerful your shot becomes. Most classes will go down with a fully charged shot to the upper torso. Every class will gown down with a fully charged head shot.
Spy. 125 hit points and 100% move speed. Their job is to get behind enemy lines and take out people like medics, engineers, and snipers. Their knife will kill anyone with a backstab, but you of course have to get behind the player. Spiss have two methods for infiltrating the enemy. The first is a short invisibility that can be turned on and off at will with the right mouse button (but slowly drains a gauge). You cannot attack while invisible, but neither can you be seen (not even a blur). However if you bump into anyone or are short you will become translucent and are probably going to die shortly after. There is a slight fade to take into account, so you cannot simply pop up, stab someone, and recloak instantly. Their other tool, which you will use a lot, is to take on the appearance of an enemy class (or ally if that behooves you in some way). When they do so they also take on an enemy player's name with that class. The only way to distinguish a spy from an ally is to shoot them (as friendly fire is off only spies would be injured). Beware of pyros especially, who are a very good counterspy. Their last tool is the sapper, which can be placed on engineer's buildings to disable them and slowly kill them. You can use the sapper while invisible or disguised, but nearby engineers will try to repair their buildings and you will likely be instantly suspected.
Additional notes: Rocket/grenade jumping. This is done by using the explosive force in conjunction with your own jumping momentum to propel yourself to great heights/distance. Demoman can jump further than soldiers. To rocket jump simply target the ground, jump, crouch, and fire at the same time. The vector between you and the center of the blast, as well as your initial momemtum, will determine your trajectory. As a demoman simply shoot a sticky grenade onto the ground, jump, crouch, and detonate simultaneously. Crouching is an important part of the process that will significantly increase your distance. Uses include ambushing enemies from places they would not expect you to be and reach high placed capture points quickly.
Edited, Oct 23rd 2007 11:27am by Allegory
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