How to annoy Enemy Snipers.

What's the best way to piss off a Sniper?
What’s the best way to piss off a Sniper?

Snipers. A lot of people don’t like them. Understandably so, considering that Sniper is the only class that can not only attack enemies at any range, but instakill them with said range as well. That being said this article isn’t about the Sniper himself, but how to make their lives miserable as payback for all the times you fell victim from afar to the Australian Assassin.

Read more

Pyro melees and you!

A Spy's worst nightmare.
A Spy’s worst nightmare.

Another day begins! Many adventures await you and your fellow Pyromaniacs.  You set off to good old 2fort. You take your flamethrower. Pick up the old Shotgun, or perhaps your favorite Flare Gun. Put on a hat or two, maybe three, when you find yourself wondering; Should I set my nemesis on fire and hit him with an axe, or with a garden rake?

Read more

Curse of Sudden Death! Arena!

There's no respawning in Arena Mode, so don't die!
There’s no respawning in Arena Mode, so don’t die!

Arena is a gamemode that came long ago to TF2, back in times of Heavy Update that introduced the horribly broken Natasha (back then it was, it so was…), underpowered sandwich and KGB that no one wanted to put aside for simple fists. The times changed as did the weapons, and so changed Arena.

Read more

Regarding the Homewrecker

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, lend me your hats! I am about to share with you the best Pyro melee weapon in existence!

Is it the Axetinguisher?

The Powerjack?

Perhaps the Back Scratcher?

Nope. It is none other than the Homewrecker.

Binary 1

“WHAT!” You may exclaim, “The Homewrecker is the most broken Pyro unlock in history. It’s a pain to Spies, and completely worthless otherwise.”

Yep.

And that’s why it’s a perfect side grade.

Read more

Some tips for playing Doomsday

Picture by Gen. DeGroot.
Picture by Gen. DeGroot.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I have something of a fondness for horrible unbalanced maps. With the right loadouts, you can become the undisputed king of these horrible spamfests, it just requires a significant amount of time playing them with an open mind, and always trying new things.

For example, when I’m flying around this map with my Sticky Jumper, for once my trusty Locomotive Pain Train is no use considering there are no control points. So instead I bust out the Ullapool Caber for this first tip:

Read more

Minuscule asymmetries in official maps that make a difference

Last time I wrote, I mentioned that the ramps on cp_orange_x3 were unevenly spaced apart from the spawn rooms, allowing BLU team to jump back into spawn from the railing but not RED team.

Well, I’ve since learned about a number of other extremely small differences between sides of supposedly symmetrical maps that favor one team over the other. Let’s go over some.

Read more

Some tough spots to get to (that aren’t that hard!)

Heights and ledges are a major part of any map. Everybody who isn’t a scout, soldier, or demoman is going to find something that limits their movement, and learning to find a way around that is a part of every learning curve.

Except when it isn’t. Sometimes there is a trick to reaching faraway places. Here’s a few of them.

Read more

Some Other Reasons the Crusader’s Crossbow is my favorite primary

When I first made this blog, I was planning on having a lot of posts just dedicated to single weapons, like how the first post ever was about the Half-Zatoichi. However this hasn’t really happened, so now I’m going to try to incorporate more of them into our standard rotation. Because Valve has added some very cool weapons with unique stats into TF2.

My favorite is the Crusader’s Crossbow! Unique from the Syringe Gun unlocks in the Medic primary slot, it fires a single bolt (which recently became a bolt and not an arrow during the July 10th Update) that can heal teammates or damage enemies, dealing/healing more the further it flies. If this sounds like a long-range healing tool, you are right. But there are several other uses for it that people don’t give enough credit, and here are my favorite:

Mildly relevant picture made by FeelGoodInc.
Moderately relevant picture made by Nethero.

 

Read more

Acting 101 for Spies: “Play the sniper a bit more effeminately, please.”

Nowadays, a lot of players say the disguise kit is useless, that it exists only for slipping past sentries. Poppycock, I say! These players could use a little class, I think. To use disguises effectively, one shouldn’t pop one on and hope that their foes won’t randomly shoot them, but they must act. Yes, friends, welcome to Acting 101 for spies.

Caption: Alas, poor Heavy. I knew him well. Picture by Huff.
Alas, poor Heavy. I knew him well. Picture by Huff.

Read more