strategy

Taunt Situations

by

The G key. What a mysterious creature, the G key. What does it want from us? What does it even do? Be careful, dear readers… Be careful. Taunting was a feature that existed in the very first release of Team Fortress 2, and has since grown into somewhat of a staple of SPUF’s favorite game. The Sniper’s Wave, KABOOOOM!, The Medic’s Oktoberfest. Some of these taunts form the very backbone of characters, too, like the Spy’s many revolver taunts where he takes the time, in the heat of battle, to adjust his tie and brush off his coat. The Medic… [Continue Reading]

Sniper’s Parental Predicament

by

Note: The following story is set in the past, back when Sniper’s foster parental units were still alive and kicking and living in a nice house in the middle of nowhere with a purple dog and a talking computer. Then that TF2 comic happened and everything changed. But this story still makes sense as long as you set it before the time the TF2 comics are set in.

Read more

How to Fight the Short Circuit as an Explosive Class

by

Initial disclaimer: As you probably already know, there’s not a hell of a lot you can do as an explosive class against an intelligent (or even a braindead) Short Circuit engineer. He’s basically got the love child of the flamethrower and the deflector and it was hand-crafted at birth to screw you and only you. But as a diehard Demoman main I can do little except attempt to adapt to this new challenge, and I’ve slowly found what I believe to be the best possible strategy to use against a turtling level 3 sentry nest guarded by the Short Circuit.… [Continue Reading]

Bumper Cars and You!

by

The new Halloween map has decidedly one of the funnest post-game grudge-matches ever. Learning from their mistakes with hell from last year, Valve has taken the concepts and turned them into two very fun mini-games and one which will probably get more fun once Valve finds a way to stop perpetual stalemates on the 9-Square grid. The Doomsday_event bumper cars are not exactly the most strategy-laden game modes TF2 has to offer but there are still some strategies quick-witted players can use to give themselves the edge. To wit: 1) Bind a key to suicide. The second you’re about to… [Continue Reading]

Phlog Updates: The Builder, the Sharpshooter and the Filmmaker

by

Everything is now back on track with the PhlogistiCast, our new YouTube show tasked with educating players of TF2! Episodes 3 and 4 have recently been released, with our first News Network video uploaded today. In Episode 3 we got Sn8wman on board to talk about the Engineer in all his glory. There was much laughter, cosmetic talk and gnashing of Pomson-rusted teeth. We also discussed the beta maps, Asteroid and Cactus Canyon, finishing with a few notes on low-gravity gameplay. Episode 4 was the first without Nommy around, but I managed to find just the chap to keep things… [Continue Reading]

Loved For What You Are: It’s Okay To Be Situational

by

It seems to me that many people are of the opinion  that certain pieces of weaponry in Team Fortress 2 are underpowered or useless by the nature of not being optimal at all times.  If something is generally going to serve you better than all the other options available, why would you ever bother to use the alternatives?  Is it really worth it to attempt to engineer a situation where your situational alternative will potentially outperform the typical best choice? I would argue that yes, it is, and my reasoning is as follows: First of all, there are many times where… [Continue Reading]

What Use Are Friendly Disguises?

by

That above question has bugged me for years. Why would you disguise as something that does nothing but inspire the enemy to shoot you? I knew there must be a reason to it, else Valve wouldn’t have added it, but serious thought only produced “trigger Dead Ringer while looking like something else, so they don’t keep spychecking after that.” Which is a decent use (and clearly intended by Valve, as the fallen corpse will remain that of a non-spy enemy) but were there any more? Turns out that, after speaking to some spy friends of mine, the answer is yes.… [Continue Reading]

ACTUAL Training Weapons

by

Put that Rocket Jumper down. This article is designed to cover weapons that actually do the job of training somebody who hopes to get better with a class in TF2. These weapons encourage (or force) the player to learn things that translate well into regular loadouts, and don’t force the player to become reliant on them to do well. So put your Front Runners on, it’s training time! 1. Candy Cane. The Candy Cane is a depressingly low-poly melee weapon that grants Scout health kits on kill, at the cost of 25% explosive damage vulnerability. It’s this second half that… [Continue Reading]

How to Jump Safely in a Wrangled Universe: Adaptability, Self-Preservation, and You

by

As fun as it can be, the viability of sentry jumping — undoubtedly one of the flashiest tools in the Engineer’s arsenal — is severely limited in comparison to the other two forms of self-initiated explosive mobility, rocket- and sticky-jumping. The setup and positioning demands, not to mention the unforgiving health cost — all the more dangerous for a light class — can leave players scratching their heads and asking, quite reasonably, what possible use sentry jumping could have outside of gimmick plays in artificial or highly unlikely situations. No matter how you spin it, sentry jumping will always require… [Continue Reading]

Synergy In Every Medic Loadout Combination

by

Medic has very few unlocks, it’s true, but this really is because almost every niche he’d need filled is already in there somewhere. The lion’s share of discussion on this topic is dedicated to his secondary Medigun, but what about his options in primary and melee? Well, for a change of pace I thought I could cover every single available weapon combo in Medic’s Primary/Melee slots, how they synergize, and their viability and effectiveness as a combo. I’m leaving out the bonesaw because it should never be used ever. Crossbow/Amputator: If you’re going to use the Amputator, this is the… [Continue Reading]