Just got banned from a TF2 server...

[Zyquux]

This probably isn't the best thing for my first post on Escapist, but I had to come out of lurking to say this:

In the words of the Heavy: Cry some moar.
All of us were new and were getting backstabbed/headshotted when we started.


With that out of the way, I'll give some actual advice.

Rule 1 when playing TF2: EVERYTHING is a Spy. EVERYTHING. Spycheck EVERYONE. Even if it's obvious they're not a Spy (revved up Heavy, scoped-in Sniper, etc.) just get into the habit of it. Every 10 seconds or so, turn around. Even when your disguised.

Not having a mic is a non-issue. I don't have a mic and was in the top three of the past few games I've played.

Even though you like to play Spy, if you're new, DON'T. Spy requires extensive knowledge of the game, maps, modes, and (most importantly) classes. You need to know how each class is supposed to act, where they are likely to be, and so on. Some advice as Spy, though: If you ignore spychecks from non-Pyros (since you will burn your team color) most players will move on. Just think about what you do when your teammates are checking you.

While you are getting used to the different classes and maps, play Medic (even if it doesn't sound like you like that), Heavy, and especially Pyro. Another relatively easy one is Engineer on a CTF map. Just hide in a corner of the Intel room and build up and spycheck everyone that comes in with at least three shotgun blasts, preferably the whole clip. Also, don't go for melee kills as the Demo until you get a Chargin' Targe.

But the best advice I can give you is find a friendly server and spend time reading the Wiki. There is A LOT of useful information there. If you don't want to "waste your time," just read the Class Strategies part. (Also, it helps if you just play to have fun and not "to win." Personally that just causes me RAEG.)

Anyway, that's my advice. Feel free to ignore or embrace it. Once you get some drops and a friendly server, it'll get better.

 

[qeinar]

Check steam for a user named "Blignorance"

If you're still willing to give it a try, I'll give you the basics on the game that you'll want to know and little tips that help you get better. I'm not /that/ good myself but I make a pretty damn dangerous heavy, a decent soldier and a tricky spy.

So how well can you rocket jump? I've reached the ends of my ropes when repetitively failing to do a simple long-rocket jump.

As for medic? Are you kidding? Never have I played an FPS where I've had to manage my positioning to the umpteenth degree, while keeping my team healed, while scouting for spies and other flankers, while ubering with precise timing, while leading the target player of whom I've leashed myself to, while slowly getting better at using the near impossible syringe gun... How the hell is the medic boring?

go do some jump maps and you quickly get better at rocket jumping. ^^ Also i enjoy playing medic and it's as all other classes something you can get verry good at. some people find it boring, other's don't.

 

[Chibz]

...for asking for help changing teams from 'spectator' to 'actually playing'. Then I got muted, then insulted by someone who must have seen that I couldn't defend myself. And then I was kicked.

Wow, that don't seem right. A lot of the older players seem to have a rather large dislike of new players. Especially since it went free to play.

I know a couple o' friends I could hook you up with. They'll set you right & proper.

 

[Farther than stars]

I was driven away by my lack of PC shooter skills. I'm just outright terrible playing them on the PC and it makes me sad.

It seems like you ran into a group of unkind people, keep trying, there are nice people still playing that game I swear.

Yeah, I'll second that. I don't actually talk to people a lot in TF2, but when I do I can usually have a perfectly nice conversation.
Also, it just takes practise. I was never any good when I started out, but then I've always had fun when playing TF2. I guess I've always felt that if there were people out there better than me, that certainly wasn't going to stop me from having fun on the same servers.
Which servers do I think are good? Well I pretty much learned the basic in "Badwater - payload", but there are other payload maps I've come to love. It all depends on what you like to do and if anyone ever annoys you, just ignore them and try to make them your target.
Also, once you learn which classes and items match up against the weaknesses of anyone you want to take down, start using those efficiently. For instance, if some guy's backstabbing you a lot, switch to Pyro and turn the tides with excessive use of your flamethrower.

 

[Zeema]

me and Wolf were playing it all day today and we were both so BAD. but by the end we were real pro

 

[Fanta Grape]

Check steam for a user named "Blignorance"

If you're still willing to give it a try, I'll give you the basics on the game that you'll want to know and little tips that help you get better. I'm not /that/ good myself but I make a pretty damn dangerous heavy, a decent soldier and a tricky spy.

So how well can you rocket jump? I've reached the ends of my ropes when repetitively failing to do a simple long-rocket jump.

As for medic? Are you kidding? Never have I played an FPS where I've had to manage my positioning to the umpteenth degree, while keeping my team healed, while scouting for spies and other flankers, while ubering with precise timing, while leading the target player of whom I've leashed myself to, while slowly getting better at using the near impossible syringe gun... How the hell is the medic boring?

I actually have a LOT of trouble rocket jumping. I played a lot of jumping maps and they got me to a playable standard, but I still go too high every time... I can get the height but not the length. For now, I find looking backwards while jumping does the trick. "Nooby", but yes...

and I know medic requires quite a bit of skill and all that jazz, and I play it a LOT (just because no-one else wants to) but there's no... moment. Too many times am I flanked by a random enemy from behind and even with mic, they don't help.

For example, once I was healing a demoman as we were pushing the cart but a surprise pyro came up to him and got him. I started running backwards and healed a sniper nearby, but he ran away and the pyro kept chasing after me. Then I healed a spy. Ran away. Then another pyro! RAN AWAY! Then I died.

Medic can be fun but usually with friends. I love going heavy-medic with my buddies, but with strangers, it's painful.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Even though you like to play Spy, if you're new, DON'T.

It's Scout that I main. But thanks for the tips anyway. Thing is, doesn't acting like a 'stereotypical' [insert class here] just make you more suspicious?

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

Try all the classes. Find the one that suits you.

Do you want someone who can at least run in case you get overwhelmed? The Scout is your man.

Do you have sucky aim? The Pyro can help.

ANother tip I can give is always keep moving. Don't stay in one place. Moving around makes you harder to shoot ( I know, obvious.)

Rather than going commando, work with your team. Don't go a anywhere unless you have backup.

Don't worry, I suck too. In fact, I usually die at least twice more than I kill. But I've found the class that suits me, and work at it. I'm mostly good at Pyro, Heavy,and Sniper( I am in love with the huntsman)

 

[Snotnarok]

Weird, I've never had a problem on the many servers I've played on. Well, one, but the admin was a crazy religious nut and didn't want anyone saying the lords name in vain. So "God Dammit" got me banned.

 

[Blind77]

It's Scout that I main. But thanks for the tips anyway. Thing is, doesn't acting like a 'stereotypical' [insert class here] just make you more suspicious?

It doesn't. The really obvious sign that someone is a spy is them heading in a bee line towards someones back.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

-I have no friends to help me get better.

This is not impossible to find. Look at the forums you're posting in - how many people here play TF2?

-Youtube videos don't help at all, because all I think is 'I wish I could do that...' rather than 'Okay, try that next time!'

If you expect anything to suddenly make you capable of something you're not capable of, you're going to be disappointed. Friendly advice can't make you suddenly able to do something you couldn't before and more than youtube videos can.

-People online are all complete douchebags. All. Including myself.

People who say things like this are usually right about the last bit, but there are plenty of nice, friendly people on the internet and there are plenty of nice, friendly people playing TF2.

-Fighting with bots is completely different to fighting real people.

This is true. Unless TF2 is one of your first FPSs and you need to practice aiming with a mouse and moving with WASD, bots probably won't help much.

-I seem to have a piece of paper taped to me saying 'Stab Me' or else I wouldn't be backstabbed worse than Gary 'Roach' Sanderson.

Certain classes attract a lot more backstabs. If you're getting stabbed a lot, try going pyro. You can always spam a tiny bit to check for cloaked spies and remember that lack of friendly fire means you can shoot teammates to check if they're spies.

-Same goes for headshots, but replace Roach with Jack Carver.

Again, some classes attract headshots more. Generally, the slower you are, the more you're going to attract them. The biggest part of avoiding being sniped however is learning the maps such that you can be wary of common sniping spots. And learning the maps doesn't take anything but time.

-I don't have natural talent.

Pretty much no one has natural talent for video games. If you want to get good at TF2, you have to play a lot of TF2. Watch videos and try to get an idea of what things to TRY and then try them until you get better at them.

Good servers are also a big part of the equation and not all server types are equal. You're much less likely to find jerks in something like a vanilla push server than you are in something like a fast-respawn 24/7 Two-fort server.

It also really helps to (1) stop caring about how much time you spend dead or alive - worry more about having fun instead of trying to get kills and stay alive and (2) start out playing as support classes - medics are virtually ALWAYS in high demand on public servers (worry more about staying alive and getting ubers as a medic rather than sticking with people when they venture too far forward) and engineer (watch where people commonly put buildings on maps and just emulate them, use the wiki and make sure you understand the mechanics of metal first).

 

[Woodsey]

"I spent more time dead than alive"

... in TF2? That's an achievement.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

"I spent more time dead than alive"

... in TF2? That's an achievement.

Well, dead than hitting stuff with bullets.

 

[alucards1hell]

The community can be a bit nasty sometimes but sometimes there are real gems out there,

I was in a large trading lobby attempting to get rid of some of my scrap when I thought, I would love to get that achievement for smacking a guy over the head with the guitar (engineer). I put it into chat and I got a few people who really went out of their way to ensure I could get it done (took a fair few tries thanks to a nasty scout).

If you suck at it, just go a medic

 

[Woodsey]

"I spent more time dead than alive"

... in TF2? That's an achievement.

Well, dead than hitting stuff with bullets.

Roll a Heavy on a noob server. That'll help you break into it, shoot lots of stuff, and know the maps.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

If you are not having fun when you aren't winning well that is a whole other problem than not liking TF2. Just to add to this small point actually have a look at your binds before going into a match and write down the ones you might forget like change team/class on a piece of paper and keep it near you until you learn it.

Next everyone is shit when they start a game for the first time so this point is really irrelevant. Not to sound cold but every single person is shit when they start out especially you me and whoever happens to post above and below. We were all NEWBS(not nOOb) at one point and you are no exception.

On no help I got good or got the tools to be good by looking at the TF2 wiki. It literally took about 10 mins to read the general strategy for class and I mean the more detailed one. If you really and truly need someone to genuinely teach you there is this group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Escapist-Team-Fortress-2-Group-PC] that might have helped you if you searched for it.

This is just a small question but do you really even want to play on a server that abuses users as such? It is better blacklisted anyway.

Yes youtube videos do help but just because you watch one does not mean you will turn into the Jesus of TF2(Saxton Hale). It takes time to learn how to do things as previously addressed. For example it took me about 10 hours of practise to get rocket jumping right and even now after nearly 100 hours I still fuck it up from time to time. You really need to stop focusing on your short term performance.

I shouldn't even have to address this but no not everyone is a douche.

Once again I thought this would be obvious but yes fighting TF2 bots is completely different than fighting players as not only are bots always shit but they can't use the classes full potential. That aside you what killing bots on a server with some other people like the nightteam servers(although these are 24hour 1 map) does help your confidence and skills as early morning you have some bots and some people.

Spy and check and look behind you and on Snipers don't run in a straight line when there is a Sniper. This is simple TF2 stuff so the better you learn this the better for yourself and you may have less "easy" deaths. Also this will give you bad habits start out on an instant respawn server if you really find the downtime that bad.

Everyone has some natural talent and if you want help go to that group and ask others. I would say ask me but I am not the best TF2 player anyway but I am usually consistently above average on scores. I say usually as everyone has bad maps.

Sorry edit but on the spy thing you see a spy go down in 1 shot and it is not a crit and above his health he is using Dead Ringer. If you see yourself it is a spy. If you see someone who is running straight towards you or another player he is a spy or if he runs straight towards an engies buildings.

 

[Vohn_exel]

Snip

I had the same problem with L4D. It was so irritating. I didn't know how to play, I couldn't figure out how to get my mic to work, and I had never played the zombies before. It was terrible, and some guy that sounds like Graham from LRR kicked me for being terrible, even though they knew it was my first time. I don't play online with randoms anymore...infact I rarely play the game at all, lol.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Check steam for a user named "Blignorance"

If you're still willing to give it a try, I'll give you the basics on the game that you'll want to know and little tips that help you get better. I'm not /that/ good myself but I make a pretty damn dangerous heavy, a decent soldier and a tricky spy.

So how well can you rocket jump? I've reached the ends of my ropes when repetitively failing to do a simple long-rocket jump.

As for medic? Are you kidding? Never have I played an FPS where I've had to manage my positioning to the umpteenth degree, while keeping my team healed, while scouting for spies and other flankers, while ubering with precise timing, while leading the target player of whom I've leashed myself to, while slowly getting better at using the near impossible syringe gun... How the hell is the medic boring?

I actually have a LOT of trouble rocket jumping. I played a lot of jumping maps and they got me to a playable standard, but I still go too high every time... I can get the height but not the length. For now, I find looking backwards while jumping does the trick. "Nooby", but yes...

and I know medic requires quite a bit of skill and all that jazz, and I play it a LOT (just because no-one else wants to) but there's no... moment. Too many times am I flanked by a random enemy from behind and even with mic, they don't help.

For example, once I was healing a demoman as we were pushing the cart but a surprise pyro came up to him and got him. I started running backwards and healed a sniper nearby, but he ran away and the pyro kept chasing after me. Then I healed a spy. Ran away. Then another pyro! RAN AWAY! Then I died.

Medic can be fun but usually with friends. I love going heavy-medic with my buddies, but with strangers, it's painful.

For long rocket jumps it is best not to use direct hit and aim backwards. Same technique for normal one ie crouch jump thing. For distance you aim it aim from you and not directly under you.

 

[Some_weirdGuy]

I was about to come in to give you some helpful advice, but i read through and it seems that you're just a bit of a prick.

"I mainly play scout, I rage when I get backstabbed/killed however I spend all my time standing still typing instead of avoiding attacks. I then yell at people who tell me to type less"

Like, seriously dude? You lost all sympathy with me right at that point there.

However, because I can't help myself:
1) When you're playing the game stfu and play it. Its idiotic to complain about getting killed because you stood around slowly typing out a conversation right out in the open. Only type whe you're safe(inside your spawn room).
Or get alot faster at typing.

2) Also, find an insta-spawn server. That way when you die you respawn straight away and get to play more instead of having to wait around a lot. When you get better at the game then you can see if you like normal respawns better, but till then just go insta-spawn.

3) finally, if you want friends who play team fortress 2 then theres two easy ways to do it:

1: Find a regular server (see, and this one even ties in with number 2 above^)
If you keep playing on the same server for a while, you're liable to notice a few regulars, and they might even start noticing you. You then add them to your friends list. Done, you've just got a friend who you can play tf2 with.

or
2: start adding people who are in your game with you.
-Did you just have a great round being a solider's pocket medic? add them to your friends list
-Did you have a game with someone who stood out to you as an interesting/fun person to play with? add them to your friends list
-Did you just get utterly dominated by someone (who still came across as good natured/nice person)? add them to your friends list.
-Did someone have a funny name? add them to your friends list. You dont even really need a reason. I get random friend requests all the time.

Worse comes to worse they reject your request and call you nasty names. ohhh noooooooooooooo. Otherwise, you've just scored yourself someone new to play tf2 with.

 

[Blind77]

If you suck at it, just go a medic

O_O

Since when is Medic considered the easiest class?