Every day, new players enter the fun crazy world of Team Fortress 2. The Free-To-Play game has a lot of variability with its nine distinct classes, and its plethora of unique weapons. Because of the game’s complexity, newer players fall victim to making a lot of mistakes that they still make as veterans.
In a game like TF2, there’s always something new to learn. Whether having just installed the game, or reaching a 3000-hour milestone, something will definitely surprise players. Being a Free-To-Play game for nearly a decade, Team Fortress 2 is subject to the mass imperfections of new players. Here are 10 mistakes TF2 players make that everyone should take note of.
10 Not Enabling Fast Weapon Switch
By default, TF2 settings have Fast Weapon Switch disabled. This drastically limits the player’s capability to pick up on battle pacing, and is also just plain impractical. With Fast Weapon Switch enabled, the player can quickly switch between weapons. The added spontaneity gives the player ease in fending off enemies and being a more effective adversary on the battlefield. This also enables players to learn weapon combos, and be a more lethal threat to fight against. The Fast Weapon Switch setting is located in the game’s Keyboard Advanced settings. Make sure to have it ticked.
9 Not Reading Weapon Stats and Abilities
Like in RPG games, some players tend to gravitate towards cooler-looking weapons and armor regardless of stats. TF2 is no exception to this. Some players would choose their loadout based entirely on aesthetic attributes and how powerful they look; without reading the actual stats and abilities. This limits the player from trying other weapons. Sometimes, the “cooler-looking” weapons won’t even be effective in the game mode and situation the player is on. In addition, the TF2 community is knowledgable of the stats each of the 160 weapons have. So if a player hastily decides on a loadout, he would end up looking more stupid than adept.
8 Assuming Everything “New” is Better Than Stock
When players unlock something in games, they immediately want to use it. In TF2 however, new weapons and items are given through a drop system independent of player progress. TF2’s stock weapons are reliable in a lot of situations and are good all-rounders for their specific class. Newer players tend to assume that the item they found is a product of hard work; and is, therefore better. Though non-stock weapons like the Mad Milk and the Dead Ringer are solid choices, the player unknowingly disregards the core playstyle of TF2 by closing himself off from stock weapons
7 Crafting a Wanted Weapon
When new players encounter a weapon that they want to have, they would go to great lengths to achieve it. A lot of the weapons in the game are as common as dirt. Unwary of this, players would attempt to craft it through its in-game blueprint. What this does is it smelts a lot of the weapons that have already been attained just to achieve the one weapon the player desires to have.
This is very wasteful since there are more practical alternatives for the player to get the weapon he wants– 1) He can buy the desired weapon for one scrap through community trading, 2) He can get it through the store’s Test Run function, and 3) He can simply wait for the drop system to take its course.
6 No Attention To Team Composition
This is a mistake both new players and veterans still fall to. As a team-based shooter, class diversity is important. But just like Overwatch’s No Limits game mode, a team can have more than one of each class. This allows players to choose whatever class they wish, leading to situations like eight-man teams having four Spies. An effective team composition should have variety. This diversifies the team with multiple abilities and teaches class chemistry with newer players; leading to victory and learned experiences.
5 Not Trying The Other Classes
Players old and new have a tried-and-tested class that they use for all situations. To have a main class is great, but for their playstyle to be limited by an exclusive use of that class is not so great. In trying out the other classes, players step into the shoes of the other mercenaries and learn how they work. This makes a player flexible to change class when required. But more importantly, learning how the other classes work allows the player to utilize his main class more effectively; whether it be supporting his own team, or fighting against certain classes from the opposing team.
4 Sticking to Game-Determined Strategy
TF2 is a community co-developed game. Any game strategy the game may teach new players, whether it be through the in-game tutorial, or tips on the loading screen, would not be very effective compared to the community’s continuously developing strategies. Among these ineffective game-determined strategies would be the principle of building placement as an Engineer. Though the game tutorial determines that a good strategy is to keep a Dispenser close to the player and his Sentry, in practice, it doesn’t do too well. Because 1) Clumping Buildings and turtling next to them is very high-risk, 2) Dispensers perform more effectively near the action and should not be hoarded, and 3) This doesn’t allow the player to explore an offensive playstyle as Engineer.
3 Kicking Players for Playing Badly
Not only is this toxic behavior, but it also harms the community by suppressing the growth of new players. People who have just installed the game have little to no knowledge of how the classes work; what more the strategies. Everyone’s been new to the game at some point in their life.
Kicking people for not playing too well discourages them, in turn, mitigates the potential for an already flourished community to grow even more. Among the mistakes on this list, this is the worst mistake anyone can make.
2 Buying a Weapon from the Mann Co. Store
The in-game store has very common weapons on sale for vastly different prices. The rarity of items is not proportionate to the prices the Mann Co. Store has. Take for example, The Righteous Bison. A Soldier secondary weapon that goes for $8 in the Mann Co. Store. Alternatively, this could be attained through the in-game drop system, or bought for a scrap via community trading. It is more advisable to buy only once in the Mann Co. Store just for the Free-To-Play account to go premium. Also, buy a cosmetic. In the store, some cosmetics are cheaper than some weapons; yet are much rarer and worth more in the community market.
1 Taking The Game Too Seriously
Playing competitively and for frags is just one small part of what TF2 is about. As a community-centered game, there’s a lot of fun in just joking around. Encountering Conga lines with friendlies and enemies, bumping into non-combative enemy Heavies, and non-serious meme-worthy weapon sets are among the many quirks players encounter in the game. The developers have embraced this amusing culture around their game, and have created taunts and dances for opposing players to engage in. TF2 has such a fun-centered community that a lot of servers have been developed just for goofing around.
NEXT: Team Fortress 2: 10 Weapons That You Should Own
