Team Fortress 2

[Katuko]

The Degreaser was long considered to be the best Flamethrower since quick-switch is better a few measly points of afterburn. With the recent damage buff to the stock flamer (and not the Degreaser) it and the stock are about equal for different reasons.With the loadout you got there, you will want to take advantage of the switch speed to heckle your enemy. Usually, a Scout (for example) would be able to heckle by spamming his pistol - making you draw your secondary weapon - and then rush in for a scattergun shot while you're too slow to get the flamer ready in time. Hitting a Scout at close range with your shotgun is hard, after all.Getting the 22 achievements for an Axtinguisher shouldn't be too hard, since the Pyro achievements have a lot of "ignite"-related ones. Simply puff a qualifying target with your flame and you are a step closer. It'll take some time, perhaps, but not too long. I believe I had it within a few days when I first started playing.Anyone want to add me; I'm "Noxious" on Steam, though the account name is "KatukoTheMage". I'd be happy to teach people who are new to the game, so long as I have the time for it. Rather hectic school work lately.

[Voltex]

I always use the Degreaser as my Pyro primary, athough if I'm feeling the rainbows I may switch to my Rainblower every now and again. As for my secondary, I almost always have the Scorch Shot in nowadays. That knockback from the flare has saved either me or my team mates many a time. As for the melee, right now I use the neon annihilator, although I'm rather partial to the axtinguisher too.-ibrow

[SgtPanda]

As a Pyro, I used to use the Backburner until the +20% damage perk got cut. I'm back on the default.I usually carry shotgun, as a non-flame weapon comes in very handy.I use the Powerjack. Enough said.

[PDPsi HAN]

I always use the Degreaser as my Pyro primary, athough if I'm feeling the rainbows I may switch to my Rainblower every now and again. As for my secondary, I almost always have the Scorch Shot in nowadays. That knockback from the flare has saved either me or my team mates many a time. As for the melee, right now I use the neon annihilator, although I'm rather partial to the axtinguisher too.-ibrow

Neon Annihilator definitely sucks imo. The crits could be easily gained by puff n sting instead.

As a Pyro, I used to use the Backburner until the +20% damage perk got cut. I'm back on the default.I usually carry shotgun, as a non-flame weapon comes in very handy.I use the Powerjack. Enough said.

Eh, powerjack is like the Black box. More on survival than damage..

Could someone add me? I'm Festus in the game, and I'm usually a Pyro. I tried everyone else, but I just can't use them as well as I used the others.My arsenal is the Degreaser and usually the Shotgun or Scorch Shot as my secondary. I'm aiming to get an Axtinguisher, but it's taking way too long. Do you think this is a good build?

If you get a Phlogistinator with the Scorch shot, it's a good combo.

[Tenebrae Invictus]

As a Pyro, I use Degreaser and Strange Axtinguisher. Fun times, but it's just I think that wouldn't work well in MvM.

[shadow pridak money gang]

Attention all MvM players: please stop switching to Sniper and Spy just before Wave 1 starts. Contrary to popular belief, you're not a credit to team and all you're doing is messing with the proper order of things.-Teezy

[25K Now!]

Attention all MvM players: please stop switching to Sniper and Spy just before Wave 1 starts. Contrary to popular belief, you're not a credit to team and all you're doing is messing with the proper order of things.-Teezy

My patriotic fervour forces me to play as Sniper sorry.But anyway, I actually have basically no idea what to really do in TF2, other than: kill the enemy before they kill you.It's a rather useful strategy.

[JiMing]

Sorry I can't contribute anything to the Pyro discussion, I haven't tried playing as him yet.But I'm asking people to tell me how good my weapons I've gotten from drops are.I have the Market Gardner, the Powerjack, the Your Eternal Reward, the Righteous Bison, and the Eviction Notice.Which weapons are good and which ones should I avoid?

Edited September 15, 2012 by XIV. Xion

[Voltex]

If you know how to actually rocket jump, start using market gardner now. Your Eternal Reward can be a very useful Spy knife, but you also have to risk entering areas infested with the other team un-disguised.As for the Neon Annihilator comment, I enjoy it because of the water crits. And it just so happens that most of my TF2 games take place on 2Fort. And, while I'm getting crits on people thanks to the water, I can also remove sappers almost instantaneously when around.-ibrow

[JiMing]

The thing is that I don't know how to rocket jump, so the Market Gardner is probably not going to be effective with me. And I don't think I'm nearly skilled enough to play regular Spy, let alone a Your Eternal Reward Spy.Anyways, I also got the Flare Gun, the Sandman, and the Dalokohs Bar. Could anyone give tips for them as well?

[Katuko]

Flares are perfect for finishers and general long-range harassment. Since the flare does 90 damage guaranteed on any target that is already on fire, you should learn to aim it in order to gain a proper long-range weapon. It is generally considered a perfect sidegrade to the shotgun, in that they both excel in different situations. Igniting a medic or a sniper can hinder them temporarily, while those foolish enough to stay in your sights can be dropped by another shot if you're lucky. The flares can also bite into the health of soldiers, heavies and demomen, who are often the worst you can face because they out-range you.On the other hand, having the shotgun handy is good for fire-resistant demomen, enemy Pyros and maps with tight spaces in general. Learn to use both, and switch between them as necessary. For aiming flares, just practice. You got projectile hitboxes (a bit larger than normal) and an arc that isn't too sharp, so after a while it becomes rather easy to aim flares. The hardest part is predicting where your target will go so that they don't move out of the way of your shot. An aware opponent is a lot harder to hit.The Sandman isn't too good after the (well-deserved) nerfs it got, but it can still be somewhat useful. If you carry it, however, make sure to actually use it, otherwise you are giving up some health for nothing. The stun ball can be paired with the new Cleaver to cause devastating crits, but if you haven't got that one you'll just want to hit people from medium-long range, then get closer to shoot them. If they recover, retreat.The Dalokoh's Bar sounds good on paper, but it's mostly useless. In order to use it, you must eat it right before combat, and preferably have a Medic overheal you too. Eating in combat can be a death sentence, and eating first then traveling leaves you with less of the 30 seconds left before the extra health is wasted. You're better off with the Sandvich, which potentially packs healing worth 299 health into the same period of time as you get 60 from the Dalokohs.

[Voltex]

The thing is that I don't know how to rocket jump, so the Market Gardner is probably not going to be effective with me. And I don't think I'm nearly skilled enough to play regular Spy, let alone a Your Eternal Reward Spy.Anyways, I also got the Flare Gun, the Sandman, and the Dalokohs Bar. Could anyone give tips for them as well?

I would wait then and just keep your default shovel. However, if the opportunity arises for you to get the Equalizer or Escape Plan, use one of those. Equalizer gives you devastating crits at low health, so if you're good at maneuvering or surprising people that'll be good. However, if you'd prefer speed that can rival a Scout while at low health, go with the Escape Plan.-ibrow

[TLhikan]

My steam name is, shockingly enough, TLhikan. The Scout is my favorite class, but I'm better at playing as the Heavy and I have more playtime as the Pyro (Trying to get achievements). Spy and Sniper are my worse classes.My current pyro loadout is the default flamethrower, flare gun, and default ax. I only have the one ax, but I have all the flamethrowers except the Rainblower, but the Degreaser's damage penalty is just too much for me. Question: What do you guys recommend as a good Scout loadout? Right now, I have the Scattergun, Mad Milk, and Holy Mackerel. I experimented a little with mixing in the Shortstop, Crit-a-Cola, and Sandman, but can't find a combo with those that I like. I also have a Winger, but I don't use it much.

[Phovos]

Best Scout Loadout is generally stock (pistol and scattergun) with the Atomizer (triple jump, but you lose 10 hp when you do it) or the Sandman. Bonk is good if you have a good team to work with, as is Crita~Cola and Mad Milk is great against Pyros, but the Winger is not worth your time. The Pretty Boy‘s Pocket Pistol has a great upside but is insta~death against fire.The Dahlokas Bar isn‘t really that useful. The Sandvich is much more useful since you can throw it to team mates, especially Medics, to help keep them alive.You need to be careful with the sandman. It is a scary weapon in the hands of a good scout but the less health DOES mean you are more vulnerable to everything.Flare Gun is amazing. It is poor against other Pyros but it does 30 damage on hit, plus burn damage, plus 90 damage if you shoot them while they are already on fire. A common trick with Pyro is setting someonon fire, airblasting them then shooting them with a flair.But even better than that is the Degreaser Axtinguisger combo. Set them on fire, switch to the Axtinguisher and hit them for 190 damage.Anyway, I am a dedicated Medic here. I have over 1000 hours playing Team Fortress 2. I‘m not a great Sniper or Spy (except in Mann Vs Machine, apparently I am a Beast Enginner and a Good Spy in that mode) but I am a good Engineer and Pyro and average at the other classes.

[Canama]

Sandman kinda sucks, really. Takes away 12% of the Scouts already-low max HP, recharges too slowly, and if you miss then you just wasted your timeExcept in MvM, but even there it's outclassed by the Fan o' War (first and last time you will ever see those last four words written in the same order)

Edited September 23, 2012 by Canama

[Phovos]

The Fan o War is absolutely amazing in Mann VS Machine. It really is. In fact, you can just run around bashing everyone, grabbing cash then darting away. Coupled with Mad Milk, it's excellent.Anyone else here love playing Medic?

[ShenanAgain]

The Dalokoh's Bar sounds good on paper, but it's mostly useless. In order to use it, you must eat it right before combat, and preferably have a Medic overheal you too.

That is a negative. Eating the Dalokohs Bar doesn't increase how much overheal you get, rendering it entirely useless if you have a Medic on you.The only time you might consider using the Dalokohs Bar is if you find yourself in a defensive position without a Medic and even then the Sandvich would probably help you better.

[Tenebrae Invictus]

I like the Dalokohs bar when I do play Heavy because sometimes I do find my self without a Medic, and you can eat the bar multiple times fairly quickly.

[Phovos]

Honestly, you are better of with the Sandvich 9 times out of 10, simply because you can throw it at Medics. And us Medics always like a nice snack if we're low on health.Even though the sandvich got nerfed so you can't throw it and pick it up to get health, you can still find a corner to eat your sandvich, and it takes the same time as it does to eat a Dalokohs bar.I can never spell that right.Anyone here play on any nice servers?Also, anyone else up for a game of Mann VS Machine one day?

[JiMing]

Well, I got a Postal Pummeler as a Pyro. Given that it has the same stats as the Axtinguisher, my Pyro gameplay would almost be complete, if I had a Degreaser to go with it.Oh well.Anyways, I seem to like the Righteous Bison for the Soldier a ton. Now if only I had a melee weapon for the Soldier like the Equalizer or the Escape Plan instead of just the default Shovel and Market Gardner...

[Tenebrae Invictus]

Also, anyone else up for a game of Mann VS Machine one day?

I'm usually open on the weekends for playing.

[Phovos]

Well, I got a Postal Pummeler as a Pyro. Given that it has the same stats as the Axtinguisher, my Pyro gameplay would almost be complete, if I had a Degreaser to go with it.Oh well.Anyways, I seem to like the Righteous Bison for the Soldier a ton. Now if only I had a melee weapon for the Soldier like the Equalizer or the Escape Plan instead of just the default Shovel and Market Gardner...

I think I have a spare Disciplinary Action if you're interested. +20% range, +speed on hit when you hit an ally. It's generally my weapon of choice when I'm not playing Trolldier (I.e. Rocket Jumper, Manntreads, Market Gardener). I'd give you a Degreaser too but I don't currently have one. If I pick one up, you can have that too. The Pain Train is also a good weapon. Despite the bullet vulnerability, having the extra cap speed os super handy. With it equipped, you capture control points as fast as a Scout.I suppose I'm the only person who cares just a teeny weeny bit about hats, right? Edited September 24, 2012 by Phovos the Raptor

[ShenanAgain]

The Pain Train is also a good weapon. Despite the bullet vulnerability, having the extra cap speed os super handy. With it equipped, you capture control points as fast as a Scout.

Pain Train needs more love. I just don't equip it enough because it's a downgrade in certain modes and I'm too busy whacking Heavies with the Disciplinary Action to change.Love me some Disciplinary Action. Except when I hear the whip but don't get any boost. Which is all too often.

[Phovos]

And now we can talk to each other on two forums at once!Whipping Heavies is fun though. Way too much fun.

[The Lord Of Wednesday]

How many times has this happened to you guys?-As an engineer, guarding your buildings, an oncoming spy kills you and then your sentry immediately kills said spy. Or rather, the spy saps your buildings, so you knock off the sapper but as you do so, the spy tries to stab you, but your sentry reactivates and kills the spy before he can successfully stab you.-As a pyro I was firing my Detonator for sake of both suppression and to see if I could hit someone, then out of the blue, a flare hits a fully cloaked spy, dead center, and he dies immediately, as in, there was no short amount of time where he was on fire for a little bit, he uncloaked in his death animation and it was purely unintentional. It was not a death ringer either.

[Blessed Blade]

1. All the time. The annoying times are against the skilled spies, who manage to sap the sentries, backstab you, and get away, all without being seen. ._.' Had that happen on a Minecraft map once; and all the other Engies were elsewhere, or focused on their own stuff, and weren't willing to help out a fellow Engineer. >_<2. Haha, whoops, spy fail. He was probably near death at that point. xD Trying to escape, and epically failed. =P

[ShenanAgain]

How many times has this happened to you guys?-As an engineer, guarding your buildings, an oncoming spy kills you and then your sentry immediately kills said spy. Or rather, the spy saps your buildings, so you knock off the sapper but as you do so, the spy tries to stab you, but your sentry reactivates and kills the spy before he can successfully stab you.

My experiences as of late have been more like this-Set up sentry nest. Deny offending team any progress. Suddenly, Spies everywhere. They rush your little nest with the Red-Tape Recorder. You manage to successfully kill them and attempt to restore your sentry to level 3. The Spies then uncloak from their Dead Ringers and rush you again. Their team then rounds the corner and blows everything to high heaven.I was not a happy camper that day. That said, there's been enough silly Spies attempting to stab my buildings to death that it offsets the pain.

[Blessed Blade]

I'm not sure why some people decide to stab buildings to death. They mustn't've played the tutorial stuff. =PBut yeah, that's never fun. I usually Rage Sniper. =P

[SonicBOOM XS]

SCOUTNot really. I switched to Pyro once I got my Phlogistinator. Annoying I know, but I haven't had this much fun as Pyro in a LOOOONG time.Anyone else here prefer Demoknight over Demoman?

[ShenanAgain]

I like to go Demoknight when I think the other team isn't doing so well or I just want an excuse to flaunt my Unusual Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker. It's all fun until a bunch of Heavies and Engies start showing up.Getting two heads off of one Spy is immensely satisfying.

[Phovos]

I played Demoknight in Mann Vs Machine with a bunch of friends. I was awful. I must have killed only 30 bots in thr entire mission.For Engineer, I‘m normally playing Gunslinger Engineer, and normally the second engy on my team, so I shotgun everything to death, but yeah silly Spies who try knifing your sentry are silly. Some spies do shoot the sentry with their revolver, but they normally taste my wrench. Haven‘t used thr detonator in a while. I just use the normal flamethrower and shotgun.The Red Tape Recorder is a bit of a nuisance. They did slow down the degrading but not by enough, methinks

[Voltex]

I love the red tape recorded when I'm using it. I scream with rage when it is used against me.-ibrow

[Katuko]

The Red Tape Recorder is a bad item, because its degrading happens too quickly. The Engineer, even if fully focused, barely has enough time to save his sentry's level if he's already hitting it with his wrench. If placed on multiple buildings, even by a terrible Spy, it will take at least one level from the ones you did not hit first. With the regular sapper, the buildings take damage that makes you lose some metal, sure, but at least you can save each building if you deal with the Spy quickly. With this one, you are effectively being forced to waste 4 times as much metal on rebuilding, and with a downgraded dispenser you might as well have died.A regular sapped sentry opens an opportunity for the enemy to shoot it down. Removing the sapper allows it to defend efficiently once more, with a metal cost for repairing it. A sentry sapped with the Red Tape Recorder is not just disabled, but once freed from the sapper it is likely unable to defend anymore. Sapping a mini-sentry wit this thing also makes the Engie unable to destroy it as usual, but it takes slower to kill as well. Therefore, the Red Tape Recorder effectively shuts down a combat Engineer instantly.It's too effective, quite simply. Lower the downgrade speed and/or make it slower to place repeatedly and it might work better, but right now it's a direct sapper upgrade. I'm glad it takes 3 Spy-cicles to craft (however stupid that is), or else playing Engineer would cause a lot more popped blood vessels.

[Phovos]

Nothing is more strange than 8 Jarate to craft a Solemn Vow...You are right about the Red Tape Recorder (RTR for short ). The idea is good but in it's current state, bloody Bahrag is that downgrade fast! It's fine against Mini-Sentries, but against Level 2-3 Sentries, you might as well die.

[Tenebrae Invictus]

I'm slightly angered when the Red Tape Recorder is used against, but one time a spy RTR'd all f my buildings. I managed to kill the spy, unsap it all and eventually fixed it all. I dunno, I have mixed feelings on it. It sucks that I lose levels so quickly, but at least it doesn't blow up soon after it gets sapped.

[JiMing]

Wow, this game has been keeping me from posting on BZPower. That's how fun it is.But today I come to you guys with a question, which Secondary should I use as a Scout? I've got quite a few, Crit-a-Cola, the Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol, Mad Milk, and the Flying Guillotine.Oh yeah, and as for Melee Scout weapons, should I use the Sandman or Fan O'War?

[ShenanAgain]

Wow, this game has been keeping me from posting on BZPower. That's how fun it is.But today I come to you guys with a question, which Secondary should I use as a Scout? I've got quite a few, Crit-a-Cola, the Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol, Mad Milk, and the Flying Guillotine.Oh yeah, and as for Melee Scout weapons, should I use the Sandman or Fan O'War?

Depends on what you like to do as Scout. Personally, I'd choose the Mad Milk or the Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol as they increase your survivability. Crit-a-Cola's new speed boost is a welcome adjustment but if you want to spit out mini-crits, you could just use the Soda Popper (unless you prefer Scout's other primaries). And if you're good at throwing projectiles, the Flying Guillotine is a handy replacement for the stock Pistol, especially when coupled with the Sandman.Between the Sandman and the Fan O'War, I'd pick the Sandman. Sure, marking people for death is a neat way to help your team nail targets, but if you're already in melee range of the enemy, you're probably better off meatshotting them. In the time you mark someone for death and then switch to your primary, you could've already killed them.

[Phovos]

Wow, this game has been keeping me from posting on BZPower. That's how fun it is.But today I come to you guys with a question, which Secondary should I use as a Scout? I've got quite a few, Crit-a-Cola, the Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol, Mad Milk, and the Flying Guillotine.Oh yeah, and as for Melee Scout weapons, should I use the Sandman or Fan O'War?

Glad I'm not the only one.It really, really depends. Honestly, I generally play Vanilla Scout (the three default weapons). I find I often need that extra 15 health as a Scout. But if you do have good projectile aim and you're fairly good at dodging, then the Sandman is a wise choice. Stunning opponents is always a huge advantage to your team. The minicrits (Marked For Death) provided by the Fan O'War are very good and are less risky than using Crit-a-Cola, but if you're that close to your enemy, why not shoot them in the back with your Scattergun (which can do LOTS of damage at point-blank)? The Fan O'War is for Hit-And-Run Scouts, and they normally also use Mad Milk too.As for Secondaries, normally, I use the Pistol. It's reliable and it does more damage over a longer distance. You can use it for heckling enemies and slowly weakening them until you get into meatshot range. The Pocket Pistol is a great weapon too, but that 50% fire vulnerability means death should you come across a Pyro. Two flares and you're dead.If you want a good all-rounder secondary rather than the Pistol, I suggest going for Mad Milk. Nothing like being able to heal from the damage you do.

[Voltex]

Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol is good if you're the type of Scout that is almost always jumping everywhere, and it can be good on maps like Hightower as well. However, I don't feel that it's worth it if you're dead the second you see a Pyro. I generally stick with the default pistol and scattergun, with the Sandman as my melee.Sometimes, if I'm having a good day of TF2, I'll switch to the Boston Basher and send the other team into a frenzy for health packs.-ibrow

[Benton Kabrinsky]

I really love my strange Direct Hit. Running up to scouts and blasting them in the face never gets old.Also, none of you will believe me, but one time I was have a nice sniper duel on 2Fort, I fire... And I get a headshot kill on a cloaked spy. Needless to say, I was quite thrilled.My name on steam is Kabrinsky, if any of you want to add me, just don't expect to see me playing.