Team Fortress 2 Strategy Guide

What’s On That Wall

In Team Fortress 2, one of the worst feelings is falling into the hands of the sniper. Instead of battling it out on the trenches like everyone else, the sniper usually stays in his comfy spot, safely far away taking headshots. You don’t want to fall victim to one of these waiters. Here’s a tip to avoid a sniper’s bullet: If you see red or blue dots moving around on the walls , that means a sniper is waiting patiently by somewhere, just waiting for a careless opponent to come into that area. So if you’re on the blue team and happen to notice red dots on the walls near you, watch out or it’s your head.

How you deal with this situation varies; you can avoid snipers easily if you prefer to move further up ahead rather than finding a different route. What you don’t want to do is move slowly in that area where the dots are. If you want to know where and how far the sniper is, find a safe spot where you can quickly take a peek to check, but be careful because their shots are lightning fast and accurate.

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I Didn’t Know A Sentry Gun Was Up Ahead

Even if you shoot well in Team Fortress 2, make yourself better by learning how to use your ears for this game. You can be more careful and dangerous by just listening to the voices and noises around you. It will definitely prevent you from dying more often and recklessly. Get familiar with each of the classes’ dialogues as well as the unique sounds coming from each of their weapons. If you’re a spy and happen to hear flamethrowers nearby, it’s best to be extra careful going further up ahead since pyros do the best job of exposing you.

You should take think twice on rounding the corner if you happen to hear the noises of machine guns or loud explosions; that probably means Engineers, Soldiers, or Demomen, three classes that deal heavy damage in the game, waiting for a poor fellow to carelessly wander into their midst. Get used to the sound of the Heavy’s powerful minigun; if you hear that anywhere, think twice about going down the stairs, going underwater, or turning the corner. A Heavy often travels with a Medic, which makes a formidable pair, and you alone will be no match against them.

How well you listen in the game works both to improve your defense, so you won’t just wander into enemy fire, and to strategize your offense, so you don’t have to always attack your enemies directly. Don’t always be in a rush to capture that flag once you’re in the enemies’ intelligence room; listen and see if you hear any suspicious sounds like sentries up ahead. A disciplined listener in the game will have an easier time to dealing with many situations; it will give you a split second to prepare against your opponents.

Taking notice of what you hear is not just about being cautious. If you’re in enemy territory and happen to hear someone say “Building a sentry” or the sounds of a wrench pounding on something, that means Engineers are around. You can do your teammates a favor and see if you can launch a surprise attack on him before he completely builds his powerful sentry gun. If you hear an enemy yelling “Medic!”, go and finish him off because he is probably low on health.

Where Did You Come From

When it comes to offense, the maps in Team Fortress 2 were not built for Rambo-like blasting of your way through to victory. There are plenty of great spots, like resupply rooms, dark corners, underwater, and under the stairwells, that you can stay by and plan sneak attacks.

If your opponents are busy fighting against your team, they might not be defending their resupply room carefullly; if you get the opportunity to be there, stay and wait for any enemy who has just respawned and is about to come out from there. This is where you can launch a surprise attack on some of them, preventing them from going into the battlefield, which means less opponents for your teammates to worry about. Of course once they realize you’re nearby, more than likely you won’t last long camping there; it’s best to just to get out of the area after that first kill and not get greedy. (Spawn camping is kind of lame anyway. -Ed.)

Attack their Blindside

There are different places on the maps that serve as strong strategic points against the players’ blindsides. It is one weakness everyone has regardless of their class. Since the game is in first person mode, you have a narrow view in front of you, so you are more vulnerable to your left and right side. If you don’t take the time to check what’s there, then an enemy can move right by your side unnoticed and with little effort. When you’re on the attack, wisely use the environment if the opportunity arises when you can attack this soft spot of the player.

For example, if you happen to catch some enemies heading your way, go and wait on either side of an entrance that you expect them to pass through. If they don’t check their right or left blindside when they pass through entrances, they may not notice you there. Since they’re sitting ducks now, you can really hurt them from the back. Pyros are especially effective in these scenarios where its a crowd of enemies that passes you by. If you are equipped with the Backburner, you will do 100% critical damage from behind, and it will be a quick and easy set of kills.

Even in an open area, this strategy can work very well, especially against snipers who act like trees; just be aware of what’s around you first before you make your move. If the opportunity is there, sneak up on those snipers from the left or right and they may not notice you coming towards them.

Is It Paranoia

These strategies on how you should adapt to your environments sound like Team Fortress 2 is a game that encourages plenty of paranoia, but that is just the case when spies are looking to knife you in the back or coming at you from the side, when you think you hear sentries around the corner, and when you’re concerned about Pyros hiding in the corners up ahead hoping you pass them by so they can fry you with ease. That’s what makes TF2 such a hit.