Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic guide
written and copyrighted by bad wolf
e-mail: smit_hot27@hotmail.com
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Legal Notes: You may not reproduce this anywhere without my permission. So far,
cheatcodes, The
Cheat Empire,If you do want to
place this on your website, just make sure you e-mail me first to ask permission.i
am soon producing credits sections where the best comments ,helps ,corrections etc
are always welcomed [howlers not counted] ahmm…
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Revision History:
v.5: Changed my Legal Notes a tad. Added some general and class tips, and placed a
bunch
of screenshots on my website. These screenshots are of good SG places for
three maps; it took a lot of time to get just these done, and I don't like
working.
3: Added some Generic Tips, and more map tips. Saturday, August 12, 2000
v.2: Added some map tips, and TFC Terminology. Thursday, August 10, 2000
v.1: First, consisted of class tips only.
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Half-Life: Team Fortress Classic (which I will refer to as TFC from now on) is, in
my
opinion, one of the best, or at least most fun, multiplayer games out there. It
involves
you choosing a team, and then a class, and then working with your teammates towards
a common
goal. Usually this is capturing the enemy flag, while defending your own flag from
capture.
At least, this is the ideal way to play. Most of the online games you have will be
cowboys
who go on flag runs by themselves, or five-year-olds who think it's funny to attack
their
teammates, thereby removing their armor. Before I go into gameplay, let's cover the
technical
aspects.
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2.0--Being the Master of Puppets
Now you will learn how to set up your control configuration. I'll give you
the
control setup that I use. Feel free to change it if you don't like it though.
Mouse: Moving the mouse controls the direction I face. That is to
say, I use
it to aim.
Left Mouse Button: This shoots the gun that I have drawn.
Right Mouse Button: This uses my class's special skill, such as building a sentry
gun, or
detonate pipeboms.
Middle Mouse Button: This reloads the gun that I have drawn.
Mouse Wheel: This changes weapons.
Shift: This causes me to jump.
Ctrl: This causes me to duck.
Enter: This "uses" an item in front of me, such as a button for an
elevator.
N: This brings up the "change teams" menu.
B: This brings up the "change class" menu.
X: This drops unneccesary ammo for others to pick up.
Z: This emits an audible call for a medic.
F: This throws the first type of grenade for my class.
G: This throws the second type of grenade for my class.
D: This sets a demolition pack, if I am a Demoman.
J: This feigns death, if I am a spy.
C: This drops the flag, if I'm carrying it.
Y: This allows me to type a message for everyone to see.
U: This allows me to type a message for only my team to see.
~: This brings up the console, to type certain commands.
Like I said, feel free to change this a little if you don't like it; but
this works
very well for me. That being said, let's review the classes, after we get some
general tips.
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3.0--General Tips to Remember
*Don't go cowboy. Work with your teammates; never attack the enemy base
alone.
Even a spy should go in, through a different entrance than the main group.
*If you're entering your own flag room to defend it and you have other
teammates in
there, don't carry your original weapon as you enter. That is to say,
whatever
weapon you're holding when you respawn is one you don't want to be carrying
at
this point in time. The reason for this is that **SPIES IN DISGUISE ALWAYS
HOLD
THE ORIGINAL WEAPON OF THE CLASS THEY ARE DISGUISED AS**. Alert your
teammates
of this fact as well. Often.
*Likewise, don't shoot someone just because they might be a spy--do a quick
check to
see what weapon they're holding. Remember though, spies give a fake ID
when aimed at.
*If you're about to die, toss a grenade. Even if you die before you throw
it, the
grenade will still be primed, and will still go off. This will ensure that
you
get a good chance at hurting the person who killed you.
*Don't shoot your teammates. If you must spy check, shoot them with a weak
weapon.
If TK is on, there won't be much of a way to spy check, so just be careful.
*If you're trying to get by snipers, don't stand still or run in a straight
line.
Strafe side to side, jump a little, etc. It's harder to hit a moving
target.
*Don't hop around like a deranged rabbit in fights. Moving around is fine,
and even
advised, but jumping lowers your accuracy, makes you more vunerable to
explosives,
and makes you look like an idiot.
*Don't do the same thing every time. If you keep getting shot by snipers
when you
try to go through the main entrance, go through the side entrance. If you
go one way
from the enemy flag room and meet heavy defense, go the other way next time.
*If an enemy medic infects you, don't go back into your respawn. Use team-
talk(U)
to alert your medic of your location, then hide in a corner until he gets
there.
If your team doesn't have a medic, well, you're screwed, so go on a suicide
mission
and try to take out an SG or a sniper.
*Find a good server. warpcore.org(my favorite), T3 OWOL.com 2 and 3 are all
good
servers, but feel free to try some other ones if you want to.
*"Refresh" a server before you join, to check and see if they are full or
running a
map you don't have. It's usually not worth it to spend 15 minutes
downloading the map
that a server is running, since the match will be half-over with by the
time you're
done.
*Groups of TFC players are called clans. ImP(Imperial Marine Platoon, 2MC(2
Man Clan),
FF, and NoXC are four examples of clans. Most clans such as the ones
mentioned only
let good people in, and probably won't let you in even if you're doing
well.
Basically, what I'm getting at is, try not to mess with these clans.
Especially 2MC,
since I'm a member(heh heh). However, you can usually be sure that people
in these
clans will play fair and not act like jerks, so try to find a server with a
couple.
*Finally, the most important rule: HAVE FUN! Don't get upset over doing
poorly, and
don't brag about doing well. Try to make sure a fun time is had by all.
It should
be noted that there are some jerks out there who "spam" the chat lines with
racism,
sexism, perversion, etc. These are usually twelve-year-olds with no social
lives
who think they're being funny, so try to avoid them, and whatever you do,
don't get
incredily mad. That's their intention(sometimes).
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4.0--Choosing a Class That's Right for You
Scout
The Scout is a flag runner, pure and simple. This is the worst class for
fighting
in all of TFC. However, this class is also the fastest runner. The Scout uses weak
weaponry
and carries very little armor.
*Be a hippie, and avoid fights. Chances are, if you fight, you'll lose.
Use your
speed to your advantage, and get past your enemies as quickly as possible.
*Use the side entrances. The main entrance is the most heavily defended,
and you
might not be able to break through.
*Use your concussion grenades. If you see a Heavy Weapons Guy, try to hit
him with
a concussion grenade("G" on my setup) before he sees you. Dizziness makes
it harder
to aim.
*Avoid sentry guns at all costs. They aren't affected by concussion
grenades, and they
shoot you mercilessly on sight. You can peek around the corner and try to
shoot it
with your nailgun, but chances are if they have a good engineer he'll be
there to
prevent such things. If you see a sentry gun, call in a soldier or someone
else who's
a good fighter.
*You can be important on defense. By touching an enemy spy who's disguised,
you can
remove their disguise. If you stay on defense, help guard your engineer's
sentry guns.
*Use your caltrops. If that huge(fat) Heavy Weapons Guy is chasing you, lay
some
caltrops("F" in my setup) in a narrow corridor to cut his running speed in
half.
*Once again, DO NOT FIGHT!! I cannot stress this enough. You as a scout
are so weak
that you literally cannot even hurt a soldier who has full armor. Your
nailgun
removes one point of armor from a soldier and does no damage to health--
meaning that
you don't even carry enough ammo to hurt a soldier.
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Sniper
The Sniper is a distance killer. This is the epitome of long-range
fighting, as a
sniper can easily take out an enemy before he even gets near his base. However, the
sniper
will lose to most other classes at close range, because of the lack of armor and
offensive
weaponry.
*Learn how to use the sniper rifle. Your special skill zooms in for better
aiming, and
a shot to the head does a lot of damage. A shot to the legs is like
stepping on
caltrops, and by holding down the fire button, you can charge the rifle for
more power.
You'll know how much more powerful it's getting by how opaque the red dot
is.
*Use the nailgun at close range. Using the auto rifle wastes bullets, and
many good
sniping spots are nowhere near a resupply point.
*Take out enemy snipers first. They will be doing the same thing, and if
they get you
first, you won't be able to take out that soldier coming towards your base.
*Take out Heavy Weapons Guys second. They are the strongest class, and
spell mayhem
if they reach the sniper deck.
*Hide the laser sight. Enemies can see it, and they will try to avoid it.
*Hide yourself. If you are somewhere that the enemy can't find you but you
can still
get to them, you'll be able to survive a lot better.
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Soldier
The Soldier is the meat-and-taters class, the kind that does everything and
anything.
The soldier has powerful weaponry and heavy armor, and the price of speed. The
solider is a
resilient class that is indispensable for any team.
*Aim for the ground. If you're at close range, the enemy will probably be
running
around in circles, trying to avoid your rockets. Hitting the ground next
to them
might not do as much damage, but it will at least hit them.
*Learn to rocket jump. Aim stright down, run forward, then jump and shoot
at the same
time. This will get you high into the air, and allow you to get into the
enemy base
much faster at the price of about 15 health and 40 armor. This is one of
the soldier's
most useful techniques--spend time perfecting it.
*Pin enemies down with a nail grenade(G). Throw one onto the enemy
battlements and
watch the snipers scramble, or throw one into the lobby and they'll wait to
leave their
resupply. Everybody knows that the nail grenade is easily avoided damage,
but that
knowledge can allow you to pin the enemy down while your faster classes run
by.
*Use your nail grenade to take out sentry guns. Going mano-a-machino with
an SG is not
a wise idea for any class. So throw a nail grenade to weaken the SG right
around the
corner, and maybe some regular grenades to help out a bit.
*Reload. Often. Always. Don't run around with two or three rockets in
your launcher,
reload up to the full four!
*Run like a chicken with your head cut off when facing HWs(Heavy Weapons
Guys). If you
stand still, you'll probably be able to shoot them pretty easily, but they
will do the
same to you--and in a toe-to-toe fight, HW will beat even a soldier.
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Demoman
The Demoman is a strategic class--one of the few that can be used on both
offense and
defense. With very explosive weaponry, good armor, and the ability to destroy some
barriers,
the demoman is quite useful on any team.
*Lay traps if you're on defense. The manual pipebombs detonate when you
right-click, so
lay 4-8 of them at a strategic location to blow up anyone who runs through.
*Don't place them all in one little area. The pipebombs work much better if
you spread
them out a bit, which makes it less likely that an enemy can dash past.
*Lay detpacks in certain areas. By holding "D" for a few seconds, you can
lay a
demotlitions package, which can destroy some barriers, such as the grate in
Well,
the underground tunnel in Rock2, or the tunnel in Crossover2.
*Stay at close range. You can't do anything at long range, so make sure you
take an
in-your-face attitude.
*Destroy SGs with your MIRV grenades. If you nail a sentry gun with a MIRV,
there's
nothing an engineer can do to save that SG. Bad engineers will run up to
the SG to
repair it after the first blast, only to be killed themselves after the
other four.
*Learn the pipebomb jump. Similar to the rocket jump, but harder. Stand a
short
distance from where you want to jump to, knock a pipe bomb off the wall,
run, jump,
and detonate once you're just past the pipebomb. This is much harder than
rocket
jumping, and costs more health and armor. Still, it can be useful.
*Don't just point and shoot. As someone once told me, "sure, you can just
point and
shoot as a demoman, but you'll do jack @#$%". That is to say, the manual
pipebombs
can actually be better for fighting than the automatic grenades.
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Medic
The Medic is exactly that--a healer. Only slightly slower than the Scout,
and slightly
stronger, the medic is useful for offense, defense, and flag running.
*Poison your enemies. Hit an enemy with your medkit and he'll be poisoned,
which
slowly but surely drains life. If he comes into contact with one of his
teammates,
he'll spread the disease. An enemy medic can cure this, but chances are,
the enemy
medic is doing the same thing to your team.
*Heal, cure, and boost your teammates. Using your medkit removes any status
affliction,
such as poison, leg injury, dizziness, and such. It will also raise your
teammates'
health to 100%. Using it beyond that gives an extra 5% or so, up to 150%.
*Use your concussion grenades like a Scout. Make that HW dizzy and he's
much easier
for your soldier to kill.
*Go for the flag. You are the second-fastest class in the game, so use it
to your
advantage. However, you don't need to worry about SGs--you can just toss a
couple
frag grenades around the corner to destroy the offending automotron.
*Listen for "Medic!". If your teammates need your help, they can use this
to signal it.
More often than not, it means they have a status affliction that they need
taking
care of. If someone has a red cross over their head, that means they
recently made
the "Medic!" call.
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Heavy Weapons Guy
Commonly referred to as "The Newbie Class", the HW is incredibly powerful--a
walking
tank. Useful on offense or defense, and annoying to its victims, the HW is a
scourge to the
enemy team.
*Defend at the end of corridors. If the enemy has to get past you to cap
the flag, and
you are sitting at the end of a long, narrow hallway, then they have no
choice but to
try to get past you. They won't have room to manuever, and you can use
your minigun
to chop them up faster than a ginzu knife.
*Take out Engineers and other HWs first. The engy's EMP grenades will
pretty much kill
you in one shot, and an enemy HW is just as powerful as you are.
*Don't forget about the MIRVs. Use them to take out SGs, or toss one just
before you
die.
*Use doorways, too. This will allow you to block those annoying scouts and
medics, while
you kill them.
*You're tougher than a $2 steak. The only weapons that do serious damage to
you are
the EMP grenade, Sniper Rifle, and Minigun(aka Assault Cannon--stupid game
designers).
This means you don't have to run back to resupply as much as other classes.
*Try to stay on defense. That's where you can be most useful, like a mobile
SG.
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Pyro
One of the most strategic classes in the game, the Pyro can be used
effectively on
Offense or Defense, without getting a single kill.
*Set enemies on fire. No matter what role you're playing, you should try to
light them
up like a bonfire.
*Don't stick around too long. Even if that HW is blinded by fire, he can
still sort of
see you, and if he can see, he can kill.
*Maim, don't kill. Save the kills for the Soldier and HW. Light up your
enemies, then
leave them to a stronger class.
*Shoot your rockets at walls. The heat from your rockets goes through some
thin walls,
and you can use this to your advantage. If the enemy has an SG built in
the lobby,
fire some rockets at the ceiling below it to destroy it.
*Use your napalm grenades liberally. Set one right in front of the exit to
their
resupply, and be annoying. Set a couple in the sniper deck, or anywhere
else the enemy
walks a lot. Throw one at an SG and you'll probably destroy it.
*Go for the flag some. You have "medium" speed, much like an Engineer or
Sniper.
You're just a bit faster than a Soldier or HW--so go for the flag, and let
them take
out the defenses.
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Spy
A cunning and deceptive class, useful for spreading confusion, terror, and
backstabs
to the enemy team. The expert SG destroyer, and the best way to get rid of snipers.
*Disguise yourself as a member of your own team first. If the enemy sees
one of their
own men running out of your base as part of a group--or even alone--they
will know
something's up. Disguise with the right mouse button(in my setup).
*Disguise yourself as a common enemy class. If the enemy has only one
sniper, don't
disguise yourself as a sniper. However, if they have five or six snipers,
go ahead.
*Use secondary entrances. Water, tunnels, anything that isn't the main
entrance.
*Exit through your secondary entrance. The less you're seen, the less
likely you are
to be discovered.
*Don't shoot people. Using a weapon besides a grenade removes your disguise.
*Grenade SGs. It takes two good grenades to destroy a sentry gun--just
remember to do
it when nobody's looking, or they'll put two and two together.
*Fiegn death. If you look dead, they probably won't pay any attention to
you.
*Crouch and feign. This will put you under the floor, and you'll be nearly
invisible
and invincible. This is the spy's most useful technique.
*Backstab. If you stab someone directly in the back with your knife, it's
and instant
kill.
*Act like the enemy team. Don't run around abnormally, or enter the flag
room as a
sniper. Maybe you should even throw a grenade at your own teammates, to be
even
more convincing. Pretend to guard the flag, pretend to guard the lobby,
etc.
*Provide intelligence. If you don't have enough grenades to destroy four
SGs, at least
let your team know where they are. Try to tell them everything--defensive
postitions,
the number of HWs, and such.
*Think. Use that grey matter between your ears. On some maps, you can
access some of
the enemy's resupply rooms--use this to your advantage. Get more grenades
to take out
those darned SGs. If you disguise yourself as an engineer, you'll be
holding the
railgun, which most engineers don't do. Pick a class that doesn't have a
trait such
as this.
*Crouch and feign, then wait for an enemy to walk by. Stop feigning, knife
them, then
go back to your original position. Try to pick a spot that the enemy
doesn't walk
much.
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Engineer
Another thinking class, the engy can set up one of those SGs you've heard so
much
about. A purely defensive class that can take out scouts and medics with ease.
*Build an SG. Find a good spot where the enemy might not notice your SG and
build one
there as a trap. Or, build an SG in an obvious spot that needs defense.
As long as
your SG is remotely tough to kill, it's in a good spot. You can build an
SG with the
special skill key("Right Mouse Button" in my setup). I'm working on taking
in-game
pictures of SG locations and putting them on my website. A link will be in
the next
version.
*Upgrade your SG. One hit from the wrench will upgrade your SG if you have
enough
metal, or reload it if not. Each level(up to 3) makes the SG stronger,
tougher, and
faster to shoot.
*Maintain your SG. Hitting it with the wrench reloads and repairs any of
your team's
SGs; remember this.
*Make sure to rotate your SG if it needs it(another "Special Skill"). It
won't do jack
if it can't see the enemy.
*Use your EMPs. They can kill some classes in one shot(HW, Soldier,
Demoman), while
Scouts and such can be nearly unaffected. Use your shotgun for lighter
classes.
Remember though, that a smart enemy will have dropped unnessecary ammo,
which means
the EMP has less to react with.
*Don't use the railgun. Experienced teammates will think you are a spy, and
the railgun
is weak anyway. Use the shotgun or wrench.
*Repair your teammates' armor. Sometimes if a teammates uses the medic call
in front of
you, it means they have very damaged armor. The wrench does this too.
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TFC Terminology
Llama: One who is inexperienced or bad at TFC.
Spammer: One who says a lot of annoying things with little or no purpose, such as
recruiting
for a clan.
Spammer(2): One who throws grenades at the enemy without caring who they hit, or at
their own
teammates intentionally.
Newbie: See Llama.
TK: Team Kill. Refers to shooting your own team intentionally.
TK(2): Team Kill. Refers to a game setting which allows you to damage your
teammates.
FF: Friendly Fire. See TK(2).
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Map Tips:
2Fort
*Screenshots of good SG spots can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/showtime426/2fort.html
*The only good sniper spots are on the battlements, and inside the main
entrance.
*If an enemy has SGs up in their ramp room, use the Pyro's Rocket Launcher
or the Engy's
EMP grenade to take it out through the ceiling. It will take more than one
of either.
*If you're going after the flag, when you emerge from the ramp spiral, go
right and drop
down instead of going through their battlements.
*The rocket jump can get a soldier into the enemy battlements, or into his
own quicker
if he's carrying the flag. Also, a skilled rocket jump can get a soldier
through the
hole in the steel grating, which is above the enemy's main entrance.
*Going underwater can give you safe passage into the enemy base, although
not much
farther than the main entrance. This seems like an amateur tip, but many
people forget
it.
Well
*Screenshots of good SG spots can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/showtime426/well.html
*The rocket jump can get you over the bunker in the middle of the map.
*The demoman can use a detpack to blow apart the underwater grating.
*If the enemy has many skilled snipers, go through the water when you're
capping the
flag. That is to say, don't come up for air until you've reached the
bunker in the
middle of the map, and you HAVE to.
*Good Sniper spots: behind main entrance, in the bunker, in the sniper deck,
and on
either your roof or your enemies' roof.
*You can get the backpacks in the enemy's attic or respawn, if you can get
there. Go
through the underwater tunnel in the flag room to get to their respawn,
grab a bag,
and leave before the automated turret gets you.
*Demomen can sit on the enemy's roof and lay pipebombs in front of the
enemy's base,
detonate them when the enemy walks over them. Make sure to have an HW up
there to
protect the demoman.
Dustbowl
*Defense needs Engineers, Snipers, Demomen, and HWs more than anything else.
*Offense can only be hurt by having Snipers and Engineers.
*Spies are incredibly useful for taking out the huge number of SGs that the
defense will
have.
*Scouts and medics are useful for capping the flag.
*Soldiers are indispensable for part three on offense, to take out the SGs
from a
distance.
*Good SG spots: near any of the cap points, above the many corridors,
overlooking the
offense's entrance
Rock2
*Screenshots of good SG spots ca be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/showtime426/rock2.html
*Demomen can clear a path in the enemy's underground tunnel, and then a hole
in their
yard with detpacks. They can also seal their own tunnels in this way.
*Don't bring the key back to your own gas chamber. You have to take it to
the enemy's.
*When one team scores, nerve gas is released, which kills everyone. There
are ways to
avoid being killed, however:
Get a suit, located conveniently throught both your and your enemy's bases
Jump into the water(you MUST be underwater!!!)
Be inside the Gas Chamber(whichever one the key was brought to) or either
Warden's
Office
*You can use the bench and lockers in the enemy's locker room/shower to get
on their
deck. Use the crouch-jump method(jump, then crouch).
Crossover2
*Demomen can blow the tunnel to the left of the enemy's main entrance.
*Good SG spots: nearly anywhere in the yard, on the bridge, in the lobby, in
the flag
area.
*Snipers and engineers can benefit from using a "grenade jump" to get onto
their roof.
*It's possible to grenade jump into the rafters of your lobby, but it's very
hard.
*Going through the water entrance takes you right to the enemy's flag area.
*The alcove above the enemy's flag area can be used to snipe from.
*It's possible to rocket-jump twice to go straight from the enemy flag area
to the
enemy yard. The first rocket-jump should land you on the small ledge where
the
water entrance is, and the second(a deft one, not the same as normal) can
take you
up to the yard.
Badlands
*There are many ways to get to many entrances of the enemy base; the side
canyons hold
two side entrances, and a second path to the main entrance.
*This is sniper's heaven. Use the canyons to your advantage; the enemy will
have a hard
time finding you. Likewise, enemy snipers can do the same.
*SGs are best placed in the flag area, and in the main entrance area.
*Soldiers can rocket jump into the enemy flag room; go right from the main
entrance
and you will see a platfrom that you can't jump to regularly. Rocket
jumping onto that
brings you right to the flag.
*Demomen can be useful by laying pipebombs directly on the flag.
*Spies will have a field day with the many side entrances into the enemy
base.
*If an SG outside the enemy's main entrance is giving you trouble, take a
soldier
into the enemy base by going along the canyon walls, and shoot the SG from
the enemy's
own battlements.
These are the most common maps, but there will be more coming.
Thanks!!! And be sure to recommend it in cheatcodes [please].
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