Everything You Need To Know About TF2

Is there something in TF2 you're not sure about? Do you want to know more about crafting, trading, unboxing, Mann vs Machine, Community servers, gamemodes and so much more? This guide covers almost all the basic information you need to know about Team Fortress 2.

Introduction

This guide is for new and old players alike! It provides detailed information about almost all of the basic things you need to know about TF2. If you want to skip to a section, scroll down the menu on the right of the screen.


[If you are a new player, I advise you read this guide all the way through from the beginning. If you skip sections, some things might not make sense!]

The Classes

There are 9 different classes in TF2, each with a different role to play on the battlefield.

These classes are:

• The Scout
  
• The Soldier
  
• The Pyro
  
• The Demoman
  
• The Heavy
  
• The Engineer
  
• The Medic
  
• The Sniper
  
• The Spy

The Scout, the Soldier and the Pyro classes are designed for offense and aggression; pushing directly into the enemies' frontline.

The Demoman, the Heavy and the Engineer are defensive; specialising in protecting an area from the enemy.

The Medic, the Sniper and the Spy are supportive classes. They help their team from the side-lines, rather than direct combat.

Each class is equipped with different weapons to help them fulfil their role. Every class has at least 3 weapons; the primary, secondary and melee.

• Primary weapons are the main source of damage, and the weapon you should be using most of the time.
  
• Secondary weapons are weaker than primary weapons, but are useful if you run out of ammo in your primary.
  
• Melee weapons are for very short range combat, and are normally your least used weapon. Although each class has a different melee weapon, they mostly work in exactly the same way (Except for the Engineer and Spy).

Some classes have more than 3 weapon slots, such as the Spy and Engineer. (This will be mentioned later in the Spy and Engineer's own section).

When you join a game, you will either be on the Red team (Reliable Excavation and Demolition) or the Blu team (Builders League United).
In most games, these two teams fight each other to achieve glorious victory!

The Scout

The first offensive class is the Scout.



He is armed with:

Primary: Scattergun (a very powerful Shotgun)

Secondary: Pistol

Melee: Metal Baseball Bat


Base Health: 125


Good Points:

• The Scout is the fastest of all the classes.
  
• He has the ability to double-jump, reaching high areas.
  
• His speed makes him very useful in some game modes, such as Capture the Flag.
  
• He captures Control Points twice as fast as other classes.

Bad Points:

• His health is very low.
  
• He has limited long-range damage.
  
• Almost useless against enemy Sentries.

Basic Gameplay:

• Reaching the frontline first.
  
• Stealing enemy intel (or flag).
  
• Using your fast speed to your advantage! Keep jumping and strafing to avoid enemy fire.
  
• Flanking the enemy.

The Soldier

The second offensive class is the Soldier.




He is armed with:

Primary: Rocket Launcher

Secondary: Shotgun

Melee: Shovel


Base Health: 200


Good Points:

• The Soldier has a large amount of health.
  
• He is the most versatile class, suiting most situations on the battlefield.
  
• Decent long-range damage.
  
• Reliable secondary weapon.
  
• Has the ability to "rocket jump."

Bad Points:

• He moves quite slowly.
  
• His rockets can be deflected by an enemy Pyro.

Basic Gameplay:

• Can provide long-range support or be at the frontline.
  
• Rocket jumping (shooting the floor with a rocket as you jump) allows the Soldier to reach high areas.

The Pyro

The third offensive class is the Pyro.


(S)He is armed with:

Primary: Flamethrower

Secondary: Shotgun

Melee: Fire Axe


Base Health: 175


Good Points:

• Excels at close-range combat.
  
• Is quite fast.
  
• Has the ability to airblast (Mouse 2).
  
• Very good at finding invisible enemy Spies.

Bad Points:

• Ineffective at long-range combat.
  
• Almost useless against enemy Sentries.
  
• Cannot use flame-based weapons underwater.

Basic Gameplay:

• Hide around corners and wait to ambush enemies.
  
• Keep an eye open for enemy Spies! Your Flamethrower is brilliant at tracking them down.
  
• Help your team by airbasting! Airblasting can reflect enemy rockets and grenades away from your team.
  
• Similarly, airblasting can extinguish friendly players who are on fire.

The Demoman

The first defensive class is the Demoman.



He is armed with:

Primary: Grenade Launcher

Secondary: Stickybomb Launcher

Melee: Bottle


Base Health: 175


Good Points:

• Can "stickybomb jump" (similar to the Soldier). This allows the Demoman to reach high areas and move around the battlefield quickly.
  
• Can provide indirect fire against enemies around a corner.
  
• Can lay bomb traps.
  
• Has a high damage output.

Bad Points:

• Direct combat requires good aim.
  
• Is quite slow.
  
• The Grenade Launcher doesn't have much reserve ammo.

Basic Gameplay:

• Lay traps on Control Points or objectives to surprise enemy players.
  
• Shoot grenades at enemy Sentries from a safe distance or angle.
  
• Grenades can bounce off walls! Use this to shoot around corners.
  
• Cover a choke-point in stickymines to slow the enemy.

The Heavy

The second defensive class is the Heavy.




He is armed with:

Primary: Minigun

Secondary: Shotgun

Melee: Fists


Base Health: 300


Good Points:

• He has the most health of any class.
  
• He has a very high damage output at close range.

Bad Points:

• He is the slowest class.
  
• He is vulnerable when his Minigun isn't spinning.
  
• He is a big target.

Basic Gameplay:

• Heavy should be on the frontlines to deal maximum damage to the enemy.
  
• Protecting friendly Medics.
  
• Watch out for enemy Snipers! Heavy is an easy target.

The Engineer

The third defensive class is the Engineer.


He is armed with:

Primary: Shotgun

Secondary: Pistol

Melee: Wrench

Fourth Slot: PDA (Allows the Engineer to building Sentries, Dispensers and Teleporters).


Base Health: 125


Good Points:

• Can build Teleporters to help his team reach the frontlines quickly.
  
• Can build Dispensers to provide his team with health and ammo.
  
• Can build automatic Sentry Guns to protect an area.

Bad Points:

• Has low health.
  
• Relies heavily on his buildings for support and healing.
  
• Quite weak in direct combat without his buildings.

Basic Gameplay:

• When making an offensive push, pick up your buildings (mouse 2) to move them further up the battlefield.
  
• Watch out for enemy Spies! They will try to destroy your buildings with their Electro-Sappers.
  
• Use your wrench to remove an enemy Spy's Electro-Sapper from your building (hit the Sapper with mouse 1).
  
• Hit your buildings with your wrench to upgrade them to a higher level. Buildings of a higher level work more effectively and have more health.
  
  

The Medic

The first support class is the Medic.



He is armed with:

Primary: Syringe Gun

Secondary: Medigun (your main weapon!)

Melee: Bonesaw


Base Health: 150


Good Points:

• The Medic is one of the fastest classes.
  
• He is the only class to have health regeneration.
  
• He can heal wounded teammates with his Medigun.

Bad Points:

• Enemy players might make you a priority target.
  
• He is one of the weaker classes in direct combat.
  
• His health is reasonably high, but a lot lower than some classes.

Basic Gameplay:

• Heal teammates to charge your Uber! When it is fully charged, activate your Uber for a few seconds of invincibility.
  
• Don't forget to heal other Medics!
  
• Try not to heal enemy Spies disguised as your teammates.
  
• While using an Ubercharge, you cannot capture Control Points.
  
• Let your team know if you're about to activate your Uber.

The Sniper

The second support class is the Sniper.



He is armed with:

Primary: Sniper Rifle

Secondary: SMG

Melee: Kukri


Base Health: 125


Good Points:

• Excellent at long distance killing.
  
• Can kill enemies in a single shot.
  
• Not the fastest class, but he has good speed.

Bad Points:

• Vulnerable while aiming down scope.
  
• Has low health.
  
• Weak at close ranged combat.

Basic Gameplay:

• Stay near the back of the battlefield to avoid being targeted.
  
• Try to hit enemies in the head while using your Sniper scope; this will inflict much more damage than shooting at an enemy's body.
  
• Use your SMG for close-ranged combat.
  
• When aiming down your scope, your Sniper Rifle will slowly charge up the next shot. The longer you charge, the more damage your next bullet will do.
  
• Watch out for enemy Snipers and Spies.

The Spy

The third support class is the Spy.


He is armed with:

Primary: Revolver

Secondary: Disguise Kit

Melee: Knife

Fourth Slot: Electro-Sapper

Fifth Slot: Invisibility Watch


Base Health: 125


Good Points:

• He can disguise as someone from the enemy team.
  
• He can become invisible!!!
  
• He can kill enemies instantly.

Bad Points:

• He has low health.
  
• Enemy Pyros will be looking for you.
  
• Weak in direct combat.

Basic Gameplay:

• Sneak behind enemies to stab them in the back! This will kill them instantly.
  
• Stabbing enemies in the front does little damage.
  
• When disguised, try to act like someone on the enemy team.
  
• Use your Electro-Sappers on an enemy Engineer's buildings. This will disable them while slowly destroying them.
  
• Try to be sneaky when disguised as an enemy; for example, a Red Soldier wouldn't ever leave from a Blu spawn! Something like this makes you an obvious Spy.
  
• While disguised, you can change the weapon that others will see you holding (to do this, the default button is B).

Your Backpack

Your Backpack is used for storing all the new items you find. Initially, you only have 6 pages (300 slots) for new items, however, you can increase this number with a Backpack Expander. (If you acquired the game for free, you will only have 50 Backpack slots).

To find your Backpack, click on "items" from the main menu or the pause menu. Your Backpack should look something like this:



From here, you can see everything currently in your inventory. Your Backpack will become very important if you plan on playing a lot of Team Fortress 2.

To move items around in your Backpack, press and hold your mouse pointer over an item, and then drag it to wherever you want it to go.

If you right-click an item in your Backpack, you will see a list of things you can do with that item. For example; right-clicking on one of your weapons will give you the option to "trade to another player."


If you run out of space in your Backpack, you will need to delete some old items if you want to be able to keep new items (or use a Backpack Expander).

To delete an item in your Backpack; right-click the item and select "delete."

[Warning: deleted items will be lost forever! You cannot get them back.]


Has your Backpack become too messy, with items all over the place??

Your Backpack can automatically sort and organise your items for you! Just use the drop-down menu in the top right of your Backpack.

Finding New Weapons

Weapon Basics

When you play Team Fortress 2 for the first time, you will not be able to change the weapons that your classes have equipped. This is because you (most likely) haven't got any alternative weapons.

However, your limited arsenal of weapons does not mean you are at a disadvantage while fighting other players. In theory, the "stock" weapons (those you start with) are the strongest in the game. New weapons that you acquire are not upgrades, but instead side-grades. This means that an alternative weapon will always have a negative attribute to counter a positive attribute; for example, your new Minigun might inflict more damage against enemies, but it will cause your character to move incredibly slowly.

Alternative weapons help to create new gameplay styles. For example; the Pyro was originally very ineffective at long range, so a Flare Gun was introduced to the game. This gave the Pyro the ability to damage enemies from a long distance.




How Do I Get New Weapons?

The main methods are:

• Buy them from the in-game store.
  
• Unlocking achievements.
  
• Trading (see the "Trading" section for more information).
  
• Playing the game!

Team Fortress 2 is a very generous game. Every week, random items will "drop" for you, which you get to keep (forever, for free!). To find these new items, simply play the game! (I know, it's a win/win, right?). These items may be weapons, cosmetic hats, crates or tools. (To find cosmetic items and hats, you must have a TF2 premium account - i.e. you've paid for the game).

Similarly, every time you unlock an achievement milestone for a class, you will be awarded with a free weapon. (However, you can only get a maximum of 3 weapons for each class with this method).

You can also get new weapons from unboxing (see the "Crates and Unboxing" section).

Changing Your Weapons

Have you just found a new weapon, and you want to try it out?


Go to the main menu / pause menu, and click on "items."

Then, click on the picture of the class you want to change weapons.




Which will open a menu like this:


From here, you can change your character's primary, secondary or melee weapon, as well as change your cosmetics (which will be mentioned later, look under the "Cosmetics" section).




Not sure which class your new weapon is for?

If you don't know which class uses your new weapon, click on your Backpack instead, and find your new weapon there. Right-click this weapon, and select "go to loadout." This will show you which class can use it.

(N.B. some weapons are shared by more than one class! For example, the Soldier and the Demoman can both use the parachute! [also known as the B.A.S.E Jumper for you TF2 veterans reading this]).

Cosmetics (Hats)

Team Fortress 2 has jokingly become known as the best "war-themed hat simulator," due to the fact that you can customise your characters with a variety of weird, wacky and wonderful items of apparel.

Although it is a common myth among many TF2 players, these hats don't actually improve your skill at the game (that requires something called "practice," apparently...)

Joking aside, hats are purely cosmetic; they do not change your game experience in any way.

Similarly, hats are not compulsory. You do not have to have them if you don't want to. Unfortunately for new players, you will start your TF2 experience without any cosmetics. However, if you buy the game (instead of getting it for free), you will start with the "Proof of Purchase" hat!

How do I get new cosmetics?

Just like new weapons, hats and cosmetics can be:

• Bought from the store.
  
• Gained from unlocking Achievements (mostly Halloween hats, see "Special Events" section).
  
• Found by playing the game (if you have a premium account).

However, there are other ways of getting new items. You can trade for them (see the "Trading" section) or you can unbox them (see the "Crates and Unboxing" section).

Most hats and cosmetics have what is known as an "equip region," e.g. the head. If you have two hats with the same equip region (both go on your head) they cannot be worn together.


I just found / bought / traded for a new cosmetic item, how do I equip it??

• Click on "items" from the main menu / pause menu.
  
• Click on the picture of the class that your cosmetic item is for.

Which should then show a screen like this:

Clicking on the boxes on the right (beautifully highlighted in red) will allow you to equip your new hat. You can only have a maximum of 3 cosmetic items on your character at one time.

Free Cosmetics!

Some hats and cosmetics in Team Fortress 2 can be found for free. Here's a short list to start you off:

The Ghostly Gibus

To get this hat, you simply need to dominate another player wearing one (kill them 4 times without them killing you).





The Alien Swarm Parasite

Download the game Alien Swarm from Steam (it's free!) and get the achievement "Hat Trick."








Pyrovision Goggles

Dominate another player wearing them
(p.s. they make everything look funny).





















The Mercenary Badge

Play the game for a week.

Crafting Basics

In Team Fortress 2, players can combine certain items together to make brand new items. This is called "crafting."

The main two types of crafting are:

• Weapon crafting
  
• Hat / cosmetic crafting

Crafting Basics

To craft a new item in TF2, you will almost always need something known as "metal."

This metal has 3 common varities:

Scrap Metal - (lowest quality)
Reclaimed Metal - (medium quality)
Refined Metal - (highest quality)

• Scrap metal is made by combining any two weapons together. However, these two weapons have to be usable by the same class, e.g. you can combine a Rocket Launcher and a Shotgun together, as the Soldier uses both of these; but you cannot combine a Sniper Rifle and a Minigun together, because these are used by different classes.
  
  
• Reclaimed metal is made by combining three Scrap metal together.
  
  
• Refined metal is made by combining three Reclaimed metal together.

How Do I Craft Some Metal?

[Note - before you can craft items together, you need to find / buy / trade for them first; you cannot craft items together if you haven't got any!]


Open the pause menu / main menu.

Click on "items."

Then click on crafting, as shown in the picture below:




You should then see a menu like this:


There are four different lists of "blueprints" that you can craft from:

• The first set of blueprints is used for crafting metal (such as Scrap and Refined).
  
• The second list is for crafting new weapons.
  
• The third is mainly used for crafting new hats and cosmetics.
  
• The fourth is mostly for crafting rare hats.

If you are brand new to Team Fortress 2, you won't have any metal. Therefore, the first metal you craft will likely be Scrap metal.

To craft new Scrap metal, select "Smelt Class Weapons" from the first set of blueprints. You will then need to select which two weapons you want to craft together (remember, these weapons need to be from the same class, i.e. two Demoman weapons.)
When you have input both of your weapons for smelting, click "craft."

Congratulations! You crafted some Scrap metal!

New items you craft will be placed at the beginning of your Backpack (in the first empty slot).

Important information:

• Some weapons cannot be used in crafting.
  
• Some weapons are not tradable with other players. If you make Scrap metal with an untradable weapon, your Scrap metal will also be untradable.
  
• Stock weapons (the weapons you start the game with) can never be crafted, deleted or destroyed.

Crafting New Weapons

If you click on the second set of blueprints, you will see a long list of weapons that you can potentially create.

Click on each weapon's name to see what it is and what it does.

To make one of these new weapons, you must first have the required ingredients. By clicking on a weapon from this list, you can see what ingredients you need.

For example; in the picture below, to create the weapon "Homewrecker," you need to craft together 1 Scrap metal and a weapon called the "Equalizer."


If you don't have the necessary ingredients, you cannot craft this weapon.

If you do have the necessary ingredients, click on the two boxes on the right to insert your ingredients. (See below):


You will then need to select the correct weapon(s) or item(s) of metal from your Backpack, depending on the receipe.

When you have inserted all the necessary ingredients, click "Craft."

Congratulations! You just made a new weapon!



"I need a Scrap metal to make a new weapon, but I only have Refined metal. What can I do?"

Is your metal too high quality for the receipe you want to use? Don't worry! You can turn high quality metal back into lower quality metal from the crafting menu. Look for "smelt metal" from the first list of blueprints (n.b. you don't lose any metal through this process; smelting a Refined metal will give you 3 Reclaimed metal - which is what you started with!).


Try to remember

• Scrap metal is made from 2 weapons (from the same class).
  
• Reclaimed metal is made from 3 Scrap.
  
• Refined metal is made from 3 Reclaimed.

Crafting New Hats and Cosmetics

New hats and cosmetics can be crafted in a similar way to new weapons.

From the blueprints menu, select list 3. (Shown below):



Select the top option, "Fabricate Headgear."

You will then need to input the receipe's ingredients, just like when crafting new weapons.

Important things to know about crafting new hats and cosmetics:

• Crafting a new hat or cosmetic item almost always requires 3 Refined metal (so start saving up!)
  
• The hat or cosmetic item you receive from crafting is chosen at random! (Except rare situations).
  
• Free to Play players (those who haven't paid for the game) cannot craft new hats and cosmetics (but you can craft new weapons).

Tools

Lots of items in TF2 are not weapons or cosmetics.

Instead, some items are known as "tools."
These tools usually have a purpose or function (i.e. activating them does something interesting).
Tools can normally only be used once before they are consumed, however, some tools can be used more than once.

Here is a list of some of those items:


Name Tag - Using this item on a weapon or cosmetic will let you write your own custom name for that item (other players can see this custom name too!).


Paint Cans - These are available in many different colours. They change the appearance of your hats and cosmetic items. For example, if you use a yellow paint can on your black pirate hat, your pirate hat will now be yellow.


Killstreak Kits - This tool is applied to weapons. Each Killstreak Kit is made for a specific weapon, so you can't choose which weapon you use it on. For example, if you have a Killstreak Kit for the Pistol, it will be called "Pistol Killstreak Kit" - and will only be usable on a Pistol. Killstreak weapons display your current number of kills on the in-game scoreboard (default button is TAB). If you die, your killstreak is reset to 0, and you must start again. If you use a weapon that is not "Killstreak," your kills with it will not be displayed. "Killstreak" weapons do not affect gameplay.


Eternaween - Using this item will trigger a vote within the server. If the vote is successful, everyone on the server will be able to equip Halloween-restricted items for 2 hours.


Gift-a-pult - This item will allow you to send presents to other players! After clicking on this tool, you will then have to choose a different item in your Backpack to send. Gifts can only be sent to players who are currently playing TF2, and the player who receives the gift is chosen at random (so you can't use this to give presents to your friends).


Strangifier - Just like Killstreak Kits; Strangifiers are item-specific (so you can't use a Pistol Strangifier on a Rocket Launcher). Strangifiers are available for both weapons and cosmetics. Using a Strangifier will give your items the "Strange" quality. Strange quality weapons will track your total number of kills (this number is visible in your Backpack, and does not reset when you die). Strange quality cosmetics will track your total number of "Points Scored" (again, this number is visible in your Backpack, and does not reset).


Duelling Mini-Game - This tool will activate a mini-game between you and someone on the enemy team (you get to choose who your opponent is). To win, you must kill this opponent more times than he or she kills you. The mini-game will last until the end of the round. Each Duelling Mini-game can be used up to 5 times.


Festivizer - Using this on a weapon will make your weapon more festive! It covers your weapon in fairy-lights. This is purely cosmetic, and does not affect gameplay.


Backpack Expander - This tool will increase the amount of slots in your Backpack by 100 (or 2 extra pages).

Trading

Got some items you want to swap with a friend? Welcome to the world of Team Fortress Trading!

There are three ways you can trade with someone:

Send them a trade request through Steam (right-click their name from your friends list) and click "Invite to Trade."


Or you can -

Send someone a trade invite through Team Fortress 2. While playing on a server, open the pause menu, and select "items." Then click on trading. (See below).


You should then see a menu like this:


Click on "Current Server."


This will then show you a list of everyone currently playing on the same server as you. Scroll through the list until you find the person you want to trade with.

Lastly, you can send someone a "trade offer" (rather than a trade request).

Trade offers can be sent to people who are offline.

Firstly, you'll need to click on the Steam Profile of the friend you want to send the offer to.

Near the top of their profile will be a box titled "More." Click on this box, and select "Offer a Trade." (See below):





The Trade Menu

When you get into a trade, you should see something like this:


Before you can choose the items you want to trade, you need to select the game that those items are from (In this case, Team Fortress 2). Click on the arrow at the top to open the drop-down menu.

Then navigate through your items until you find what you want to trade. When you've found what you're looking for, drag-and drop the item into the "Offerings" box.

When you're finished offering items, click the little box at the bottom of your offerings to show that you are ready to trade. When your trading partner has added his or her items to trade, they will also click a "ready" box. When both people are ready, click "Make Trade."

Congratulations! You just traded for some new items!


Important Notice!

Do you have Steam Mobile Authenticator enabled on your account? If not, you may have to wait up to 15 days to receive the items you've traded for!

Crates and Unboxing

During your time playing TF2, an item may appear for you that looks something like this:



This is a crate.

Crates can:

• Randomly appear for you (like weapons)
  
• Be bought from the Steam Marketplace.
  
• Be traded with other players.

What does it do?

Crates contain items which cannot normally be found anywhere else.

However, to open a crate, you need to have the correct type of key.



Keys and crates come in many different shapes and sizes (so make sure you have a key that matches your crate if you want to unbox!)

Keys can be:

• Bought from the Mann Co. store
  
• Traded with other players
  
• Bought from the Steam Marketplace.

Keys will never randomly appear for you like weapons or crates.


What can I find in a crate?

Different crates contain different items. While in your Backpack, hover over a crate with your mouse; this will display the crate's contents.

If you open a crate, you will (normally) only receive one item from the list of contents.
Similarly, each key can only be used once before it is consumed.

Sometimes you can find weapons in crates. However, these weapons will have a "Strange" quality (as of 2011). Strange quality weapons will record the number of kills you make over your entire TF2 career (with that weapon). Strange weapons will never randomly appear (or "drop") for you. Weapons you randomly find have the "Unique" quality, which do not record kills.

You can also find hats and cosmetics in some crates.

A few crates contain tools, such as a paint can or a name tag.

The rarest items from crates are known as "Unusuals." These Unusuals are always (normally) hats, but with an added particle effect. For example, you might find a Bowler hat with flames coming from the top (don't worry, these flames won't hurt you!)

Unusual effects do not affect gameplay, they only change your cosmetic appearance

Examples of Unusual hats.

The Mann Co. Store

The Mann Co. Store is a virtual shop in Team Fortress 2.

It can be found on the main menu (See below):



What does it sell?

Almost everything that is available for you to use in TF2.

• Hats
  
• Weapons
  
• Tools
  
• Keys
  
• Taunts (these can be equipped by your characters).

What it does not sell:

• Strange weapons
  
• Unusual hats
  
• Crates

Do I need real money to buy things from the store?

Yes. The Mann Co. Store uses money from your Steam Wallet.

Can I sell items to the store for money?

No. However, some TF2 items can be sold on the Steam Marketplace for real money (which can then be spent in the Mann Co. Store).




[Please note; this Mann Co. Store is virtual, you cannot buy real items from here!]

Gametypes

TF2 has lots of different gametypes to choose from.

[Before playing anything else, I'd strongly recommend you play the "Training" if you haven't already.]

To play a gamemode, click "Find a Game" from the main menu.

Before choosing which gametype to jump into, you need to decide if you want to play competitively or casually.



(Community servers and Mann vs Machine have their own sections in this guide.)


Main differences between casual and competitive:

• Competitive games currently only have 6 players maximum per team.
  
• Casual games allow 12 players per team.

• Competitive games allow you to "rank up" a badge to display your prestige. However, if you leave a game before it's finished, your badge's level will lower.
  
• Casual games also allow you to rank up a badge to show your prestige, but there are no penalties for leaving a game before it's finished.

• Competitive games put a stronger emphasis on teamwork, communication and strategy to win.
  
• Casual games can be a more relaxed experience.

What gametypes are there?

Attack / Defend - The Blu team must try to capture all the control points in the map before they run out of time. The Red team must stop them to win.

King of the Hill - Both teams must try to stand on a central point for the longest time to win.

Payload - The Blu team tries to push a bomb into the Red base before they run out of time. The Red team must stop them to win.

Control Points - Both teams fight to take control of all the control points within the map. If one team owns all the control points at the same time, they win the game.

Capture the Flag - Both teams try to steal their enemy's flag, and must return it to their own base to score points.

Mannpower - Capture the Flag, except you can collect power-ups and use grappling-hooks (honest!).

Payload Race - Both teams push a bomb into the enemy base. The first team to reach the enemy base wins.



Plus many more!

Mann vs Machine

Mann vs Machine (MvM) is a co-operative gamemode, where players fight against computer-controlled enemies, rather than each other.

Mann vs Machine can be found on the main menu:

• Click on "Find a Game."
  
• Click on "Mann vs Machine."

In MvM, a team of 6 Red players must fight against waves of murderous Blu robots. Each wave, these robots become more difficult to defeat.

The robots are trying to plant a bomb in your base.

You must stop them and survive the onslaught.

(Pretty scary, huh?)


Before you find a game, you need to decide if you want to play "Boot Camp," or if you want to "Mann Up."


The missions available in these two gametypes are exactly the same, however, there is a difference...

Boot Camp can be played by anyone at anytime.

Mann Up requires "tickets" to play.

These tickets are known as "Tour of Duty" tickets, and can be purchased from the Mann Co. store, the Steam Market, or by trading with other players.

(A Tour of Duty Ticket)




Why would I pay for Tour of Duty tickets if I can play Boot Camp for free??

When you complete a Tour of Duty campaign (a set of about 3 - 6 missions) you might be rewarded with some precious loot! Some of this loot is considered to be very rare and valuable, such as the legendary golden weapons! (Known as Australium weapons).

(An Australium Minigun)

**Loot like this cannot be found in Boot Camp.**

[Please Note: Australium is not a spelling mistake of Australian. In TF2, the precious metal gold is called Australium.]

Special Events

During the year, Team Fortress 2 sometimes hosts special events. These special events normally include a major content update to the game; adding new hats, weapons, tools or gamemodes.

For example:

• Every year since 2010, TF2 has had a major content-update to coincide with the winter holiday season. (Originally called the "Australian Christmas" update, and later changed to the "Smissmas" update).
  
  
• Similarly, every year since 2009, TF2 has always held a special event to celebrate Halloween. (Known as Scream Fortress!)

Both of these yearly updates regularly add new weapons, cosmetics and other items!

Some yearly special events only add something small into the game. For example, if you play TF2 on August 24th, "birthday mode" will be activated. All players who participate in this event will be given a free "Party Hat" and a birthday "Noisemaker."





Other Special Events.

Not all special events in TF2 are designed to celebrate a holiday or birthday. Special events and major-content-updates can be introduced at any time by TF2's developers (Valve).

For example:

In June 2012, the "Pyromania Update" event was added to TF2.
This was a major-content-update, designed to introduce new weapons for the Pyro and a new map.





Special Event Restrictions

Some items in TF2 are restricted, and can only be used during special events. For example, a lot of the Halloween hats can only be worn at Halloween or during a full-moon.

If an item is restricted, and cannot be used at the current time of year, it will show a red no-entry symbol. When this item becomes usable, the red symbol will disappear.


During the Halloween update:

• You can play on special Halloween-themed maps.
  
• You can unlock Halloween-themed achievements.
  
• You can find many free Halloween hats and cosmetics!

After the event, these will become unavailable (until next year.)

Community Servers

Fancy something a little different from the normal TF2 experience? Try some community servers!

Although there are many community servers that offer the same gameplay and experience as an official server, some community servers are hosting different types of games.

Common community server gamemodes:

Deathrun - One player is chosen to be "Death," and must try to kill the other players through a series of deadly traps! Other players must try to reach the end of the map without being killed! (When searching through the server browser, look for the prefix "dr").

Prophunt - A team of Pyros is put against a team of Scouts; however, the Scouts cannot fight back! Instead, the Scouts are diguised as random items of scenery or furniture, and must blend in with the background and remain undetected to survive. (When searching through the server browser, look for the prefix "ph").

Slender - Based on the popular game "Slenderman," players are trapped in a small area with a deadly monster. To win the game, players must collect enough items from around the map to help them escape. (When searching through the server browser, look for the prefix "sl").

Versus Saxton Hale - One player is chosen to play as Saxton Hale, the mighty Australian from Team Fortresses' expanded universe. This player becomes incredibly strong, and must eliminate the enemy team before they eliminate him! (When searching through the server browser, look for the prefix "vsh").



(The mighty Saxton Hale!)

Can I Have A Free Hat Please?

Sure, take these novelty glasses and moustache.

Disclaimer

All images used in this guide were either taken from the TF2 Wiki, the Steam Marketplace, Valve's website, or my own screenshots.

End.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully you've discovered something new from this guide, or it's helped you learn the basics of Team Fortress 2. If you think I've missed out something important, let me know in the comments below.



"Raaaaargh Awrrr Grrrowr"
- Chewbacca





(This took me 18 hours to make!!)


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Interested in some all-class cosmetic loadouts? (All 9 classes can use these!)
Check out my other guide here:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=796953353

[Flying Soldier]

f

[AmyMialee]

h

[Scout With A Fish]

how do you use noisemakers ahhhhhhh

[LoRDAbeL]

NICE

[Scheming Gremlin]

It's not on the table. Au is the symbol for gold. You've got it wrong.

[AmyMialee]

It isn't on the Table

[rosecatse]

No.

[OldCentury]

I've just had a look, and I cannot see it on there. Are you confusing gold's chemical symbol of "Au" for Australium? If not, what is Australium's Atomic Number on the table, so I can find it quickly.

[rosecatse]

Look at the Periodic table of elements, last time I checked it was there.

[OldCentury]

@ Spacecats - I don't think it is. Look up "Australium" on the Internet, there's only TF2 related web results.