Stein's Guides.
F-Stein
Canada.
I intend on writing these guides over the next few days, so keep an eye out!
9/13/09: Scout Guide Finished!(?)
9/13/09: Soldier Guide Finished! (Except for STEIN TIPSâ„¢, which will come when the Soldier is updated.)
9/13/09: Pyro Guide Finished!
All guides are subject to update and change! Don't be scared to check the Updates, here.
9/13/09: Scout Guide Finished!(?)
9/13/09: Soldier Guide Finished! (Except for STEIN TIPSâ„¢, which will come when the Soldier is updated.)
9/13/09: Pyro Guide Finished!
All guides are subject to update and change! Don't be scared to check the Updates, here.
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First and foremost, allow me to introduce The Scout to you. An annoying little bastard with the second highest killing power in the game, this little guy packs a punch and has speed to back it up. If you're the type of guy to break somebodies knee caps and run away afterwards, this may very well be the class for you!
Keep in mind that with the Scattergun, you're capable of killing "125", "150", "175", and even "200" HP classes in two meatshots. This means that other Scouts, Snipers, Spies, Medics, Demomen, Pyros, and even Soldiers fall to your mighty Scattergun in just two shots at point blanc range. This is adversely dangerous for the Scout, though. As we all know, damage Drop-Off is a system incorporated in TF2 that suggests different ranges make weapons do different amounts of damage. The pyro, for example, can easily decimate you at the same range you can decimate him. But that's where Double-Jumping and Weapon-Heckling come in.
Double Jumping is an incredibly simple technique to use, but an incredibly difficult one to master. A scout that has mastered the Double Jumping technique will bounce all over your screen - and possibly even on your head - all while shooting you! This is something that I can't simply tell you how to do. After all, it's simply tapping Spacebar again once you're at the height of your jump. However, I can give some pointers. When fighting Soldiers, Heavies, and Demomen, your second jump is INCREDIBLY valuable to you! Any of those three classes in the right hands will hit you in the air, and control you with "Juggling", which will be mentioned in later guides. Keep light on your feet, and stay off the center of your opponents screen! Just be careful not to get hit by those pesky airshots.
( Also note: Double-jumping at the very end of a long fall will prevent falling damage entirely. )
And now for Weapon Heckling. This is a technique that is widely regarded as cowardice, or simply deceptive. However the dead guy wants to put it is up to him, because in your hands, it's a killing machine! Let's put this into an example situation: You're a BLU scout on Gravelpit, and you're at "B". Coming from your right-hand tunnel after the spawn, you notice a Pyro on the catwalk to the left, behind the building that "B" is located within. You decide to kill him before he wreaks havoc on you/your team that may or may not be capping right now. So as you run at this poor, defenseless Pyro, you should be firing your pistol the whole way. This little bugger does a lot more damage than most people realize, and it can really change the flow of combat entirely. So now you're about mid-range to the Pyro, and he's pulled out his Shotgun to combat your pistol. This is your time to strike! Move in close, shoot him with the scattergun, and check what he's doing. More than likely, he's trying to get his Flamethrower out. But now that you've got a hit on him, run away! Just go back to mid range, shoot the pistol until he gets out his Shotgun, then go back to close range! You can easily exploit other classes weapons this way, and opponents will get easily frustrated/overwhelmed, and will fall to your itty bitty scout hands.
Let's never forget that Flanking is a great strength that the Scout has. Always try to take the lesser-traveled route, even if it costs you some speed. Your primary targets are Medics and other Scouts, and these two classes are easily wrecked from behind!
Now that you know how to play the class, let's hear some STEIN TIPSâ„¢!
Remember that the Force A' Nature limits you to two shots that do unnoticeably more damage, and only at close range. It's simply not worth the limitations it gives you.
Bonk Energy Drink may seem like a fun choice, but given how it's such a situational unlockable, you'll never use it as much as the pistol! However, feel free to grab it if you need to distract a sentry for your team.
The Sandman was an awful choice Pre-Nerf, and is just as bad now. Giving up your Double-Jump was suicide, and having 95 health is simply a hindrance. Nobody wants to die to a single rocket. However, using the Sandman while practicing The Scout is entirely legitimate. Think of it as resistance training. When you get used to playing with 95 health, and still beat people with that little amount of Hit-Points, the second you turn back to the normal Bat, nobody will be able to kill ya'!
Allow me to tell you fellows about The Soldier. A relentless killing machine that never forgives; never forgets. The Soldier allows you to output high amounts of damage from any range - not suffering from damage drop off with his rockets. This priest of prediction is capable of launching enemies into the air and shooting them again, killing off almost every class just like that!
The Rocketlauncher puts out something nasty around the range of about 100 damage, if it connects directly with it's target. The glory of this weapon is that you may use it as a "Splasher", it hit your enemies even when they're around corners! Heavies are easily victimized this way. As they near a corner, likely already revving, you can easily shoot one or two rockets at the ground right next to where he is, and wear him down to a more manageable amount of health before you have to confront him.
Juggling is a difficult skill to begin with, and even harder to master - but it's definitely worth it! Shooting the feet of an enemy, only to have him fly helplessly through the air is the first step. Then you're going to have to adjust your aim quickly, and fire where he will be sent flying. Once gotten used to, the speed of the rockets is manageable in timing with the gravity that TF2 uses.
Most classes (Including other Soldiers, unless overhealed!) will die after that pop-up & airshot combo. Heavies are a different story. These beasts are hard to get into the air, and they can take 4 direct rockets, when not overhealed. That means if you want to win, you're going to have to hit with every last one of your rockets. If you miss, the time you take to reload will likely be your doom. Keep in mind, however, Heavies suffer majorly from damage drop-off. Even from medium range it feels like a toddler tickling you. Always remember that your rockets are slow - but the heavy is even slower, when revved!
Rocket-Jumping is a tactic that involves varying degrees of self-inflicted damage for a speedier approach to something. Be it jumping up to the Spires of Badlands, or jumping across the open seas of ground on the last point of Granary; Rocket Jumping is useful! Keep in mind that it's far harder to shoot somebody that's in the air, and it's not that difficult to shoot while in the air. So spending one of your rockets to get airborne may very well be worth it, to get the jump on your enemies.
(Note that the video supplied doesn't show every jump possible. Length-jumps can be used for crossing great distances quickly. These are done by looking behind you, crouchjumping, firing, and then turning around to aim yourself. It's not as hard as it sounds!)
There are two types of Soldiers, and teams should have two soldiers at all times! The Roaming Soldier, and The Pocket Soldier. Confused? Most people are. Allow the Doctor to clear things up for you.
- Pocket Soldier - This guy is the one that rolls with the Medic at all times. The Medic's main healing target, this Soldier protects his medic while dishing out the main firepower for his team. Keep with your Medic, and beat the other Soldier/Medic combos, and you should be doing just fine!
Now, this is usually where some STEIN TIPSâ„¢ would go, but seeing as how the Soldier has yet to be updated, I can't really point out what unlockables you should use. At least, not yet. I'll be sure to update him when his update comes around!The Pyro - a creature long since liberated from it's sanity, possessed only for a lust of watching others burn. Of questionable gender, the Pyro spews forth firey destruction, and is a master of deception in it's own right.
The Flamethrower is a weapon that many regard as cheap. Some regard as useless. Others regard as.. 'Fun.' It's outstanding ability to cause mass chaos within a group of enemies is something no other class can do, and tends to keep medics busy. At it's worst, it's held down while running straight at opponents. At it's best, it is strategically launched upon an unsuspecting group of foes, which fall to the ground beneath your boots.
Able to extinguish your own teammates, and kill even Heavies within a mere second or two, the Flamethrower possesses nearly unprecedented killing power, given the right situation. And let's not forget it's ability to deflect projectiles. This is a priceless ability to assist in defending medics, engineers/buildables, and even to obliterate the enemy.
Flanking is the Pyros true challenge. Any foe can fall to his weapon, but positioning and timing are incredibly important variables. Just because you can hit somebody from the range you're at, doesn't mean you're doing the most damage you could be doing. Flamethrowers have a sort of damage Drop-Off that's exaggerated in a short range. Point Blanc, the weapon will -- as previously stated -- even kill Heavies almost instantly. So, always travel the lesser-taken route, and get behind enemy lines. Not too far behind, but just behind their group! As they push to fight your team, bring them to their knees. Even if you fail, the chances are high you've ruined their chances of beating your team!
Shotgun or Flaregun?
This is a very common question, and you'll see me using both of these weapons. The shotgun is truly useful for when you have to confront enemies head-on, and no other choice is viable. The flaregun should be treated as a retreating weapon, similar to the Blutsauger. If you're running away, chances are high you've already lit them on fire, so let the mini-crits roll!
STEIN TIPSâ„¢:
Flamethrower, flamethrower, flamethrower. Although the airblast may seem minor, it's so ridiculously useful that you'd be ludicrous to ever use the Backburner. Sure, you may kill some enemies faster, but the Flamethrower still kills them VERY quickly if you ambush with it, and even faster if you use their own projectiles against them!
As stated above, Shotgun/Flaregun is something that is entirely based on your play-style. If you're more careful to never be caught head-on, then the flaregun is an instant choice. But if you find yourself getting intercepted a lot, the shotgun is more fitting.
Typically, the Axetinguisher is the more viable weapon. There's only one situation in which you might find yourself wishing you had the axe, and that's if you're fighting another pyro, and you have no flamethrower OR shotgun ammo left. If you have to face an enemy pyro with just a flaregun and an axetinguisher, you'll probably lose! However, if you run out of flamethrower ammo while fighting any other class, that axetinguisher might just come in handy.
Remember, kids. If you play with fire, they enemy is gonna get burned.
Ask any competitive league player about it. They'll tell you the same.
disagree, but I probably play the pyro differently than you.
To be honest, if you rely on those crits to do the fighting for you, you need to rethink the way you play the class. More practice is definitely necessary. I can accomplish anything with the Flamethrower that you can with the Backburner. Oh, and I can reflect projectiles. And Extinguish Teammates. And disrupt Ãœbercharges.
Hmn.
Which seems like the better weapon, really? Slightly faster deaths for your enemies when you're behind them, or something that'll kill 'em from behind while kicking their asses from the front, 70% of the time?
I don't see the logic behind using the Backburner. At all.
No it's far easier to shoot someone in the air cause they can't control their movement in air. Exception Scout. Snipers find rocket jumping soldier much easier targets.
Its an alternative weapon and it has its uses.