Jumping

Jumping, like with other games, is a core ability of players in Team Fortress 2. Jumping is used to reach elevated positions, shorten walking distance or used tactically for many other reasons. You can jump by pressing default "A" for the Xbox 360 version, "Space" on PC and "Cross" on the PS3.

There are certain states a player can be in that prevents them from jumping, players cannot jump while:

• Playing Sniper when:
  • Scoped with the Sniper Rifle or Sydney Sleeper
  • they have an arrow pulled back with the Huntsman
• Playing Heavy with your primary weapon revved.
• While stunned by the ghost on koth_harvest_event.
• Another player is on their head.

Crouch-jumping

At any point during a jump, the player may crouch. This brings his legs up, allowing the player to reach higher surfaces or shrink his hitbox to dodge enemy fire. By default, a player may only crouch and uncrouch a few times while in the air. This prevents several old crouch-jump exploits.

Crouch-jumping is also used to boost the effect of explosive knockback. By design, any jump involving an explosive will go further with a crouch-jump than a regular jump.

Scout jumps

The Scout is the only class with an innate jump ability, the double jump. This can be augmented with the Force-A-Nature, creating a triple jump or force jump.

Double Jump

By pressing the jump key a second time after the initial jump, the Scout can perform a second jump in any direction. The extra height and distance this ability grants can be used to access places which other classes cannot.

Strategy

Main article: Scout strategy

Triple-Jumping

• Double jumping disregards air physics, so the Scout can quickly shift from one direction to another by holding the respective directional key as you jump. Use this to dodge enemies during combat or to quickly peek around corners with out taking damage.

• Use Double jumping to avoid fall damage. The Scout can fall great distances and avoid taking extra damage by using the second jump just before landing.

• If your timing is right, you can Double jump over enemies' heads. Use this to confuse your foes.

• Care should be taken when dodging Snipers, as a careless Double jump (such as at the peak of the first jump) will leave the Scout falling through the air in a smooth, easily traced path, a prime target for a skilled Sniper.

Triple Jump

With the Force-A-Nature equipped, the Scout can use the recoil from a shot to propel himself even higher into the air while airborne from his second jump for an effective Triple Jump. The third 'jump', produced by the Force-A-Nature shot has a more horizontal carry, and is slightly more difficult to aim and predict than a double-jump. However, the Triple jump allows the Scout to reach all sorts of places even Scattergun equipped Scouts cannot reach by Double jumping alone.

Yet another jump, similar to the Triple jump is the Force Jump. By running into a jump and firing a shot downwards 'against' your jump, you propel yourself upward more significantly than a Double jump, but with your second jump still usable. Doing this kills your horizontal momentum in trade off for the vertical height gain until your make your normal second jump.

Rocket jumps

A rocket jump is any jump assisted by the explosive knock back of the Soldier's own rockets. A player can propel himself great heights and distances, usually at the cost of some Health. This technique is often used to reach unusual locations on the map, cover ground quickly, bypass barriers, and surprise foes. To assist with rocket jumps, the Soldier has 40% damage resistance against any rocket he fires that does not damage an enemy. Critical hits do not deal extra self-damage or extra knockback to the Soldier, so they will not propel him further. Any rocket jumping Soldier will display burning, smoky boots until he lands.

Basic Rocket Jumping

Simultaneously jump and fire a rocket at your feet. The angle of the shot and your distance from the explosion will determine the velocity and height you reach. Crouch just after you jump and just before you fire, and the explosion will launch you significantly further. The sooner you set off the explosion after you jump, the further and faster you'll fly.

Advanced Rocket Jumping

There are multiple variations on the basic rocket jump. Most are regularly used on jump maps, but they can be used in a normal game to gain great speed or height.

Rocket jumps can be made off a wall or column instead of off the ground. Aim down at the corner where the wall intersects the ground, jump, crouch, and fire. These jumps tend to have a low angle and high velocity, and often they can go further than regular jumps.

Wall jumps can be made while against a wall in the air. Continue to hold crouch while in the air, and fire down just below yourself on the wall. Rocket jumps and wall jumps can be chained together to gain great distance or height.

Pogo jumps are secondary rocket jumps made against the ground to increase your airtime. On a jump map, you will often find an area where you must fire down repeatedly at a surface just below you, thus holding yourself in the air. On a regular map, you pogo by firing almost entirely down as you approach the ground, popping you back up in the air and generally gaining even more velocity. This technique is difficult and requires a lot of practice.

Double rocket jumps can be made by having two of your own rockets detonate as you jump. This is only possible on jump maps because of the extremely long distances required. If you fire a rocket downwards and fall after it, you will eventually fall faster than your own shot. After landing, you then rocket jump as your first shot strikes you. The combined explosion sends you much further and higher than is otherwise possible.

Flicking is rapidly turning around and firing the rocket mostly behind you. This can be combined with any other technique to fine tune the direction and power of a jump. An easier equivalent is to face backwards while you make your rocket jump.

All rocket jumps can be augmented with air strafing.

Sticky jumps

A sticky jump is any jump assisted by the explosive knock back of the Demoman's own stickies. Compared to the Soldier's rocket jump, the Demoman pays more health but jumps much higher and further. This technique is often used to reach unusual locations on the map, cover ground quickly, bypass barriers, and surprise foes. To assist with sticky jumps, the Demoman has 25% damage resistance against any sticky he fires that does not damage an enemy. Critical hits do not deal extra self-damage or extra knockback to the Demoman, so they will not propel him further. Any sticky jumping player will display burning, smoky boots until he lands.

Basic Sticky Jumping

Place a sticky on the ground and wait for it to arm. Jump over the sticky and detonate it. Your distance from the sticky's wide explosive radius will determine height, velocity, and damage taken to a significant degree. Crouch-jumping will cause the explosion to launch you significantly further.

Advanced Sticky Jumping

Advanced sticky jumping techniques are vastly similar to a Soldier's rocket jumping techniques, but the mechanics are different because of the sticky's arming period.

A double sticky jump begins by setting two stickies on the ground instead of one. You'll lose vastly more health, but you'll jump vastly further and higher. It's best to only attempt this jump while a Medic overheals you or ÜberCharges you. In regular games, this is often used to leap across an entire section of the map.

A triple sticky jump uses three stickies. This cannot be done without an overheal, ÜberCharge, or the extra health from an Eyelander. Because the player will often land with less than twenty health, his destination should either be very high up or have a Health Pack. In practice, this is almost exclusively used in jump maps, with the exception of using an ÜberCharge at the start of a map to jump across a region of the map at an extremely rapid rate.

Like rocket jumps, more powerful sticky jumps can be made by launching the sticky at the intersection between a wall and the ground. These jumps generally give you more speed and distance at the cost of some height.

Wall jumps can also be made with stickies. Because of the arming delay, the player must launch a sticky at the wall and rapidly detonate the sticky under his feet before the wall sticky arms. Then he must detonate the wall sticky as he passes. The height and distance gained from this technique is extreme. It is possible but extremely difficult to chain further wall stickies together, and this can only be done on jump maps which heal you during your jumps.

Pogoing is also possible with the Demoman, but it is almost exclusively used in jump maps. To pogo, you must fire a new sticky at your destination and detonate the old one beneath you just before the second one arms. You repeat this combination over and over to remain in the air.

Mid-air pogoing is also possible but exceedingly difficult. You place two stickies below yourself, fire a third sticky upwards or outwards, and then jump after the airborne sticky. If done correctly, you will catch up to the sticky while it arms in mid-air, and you can detonate it for a further boost.

All sticky jumps can be augmented with air strafing.

Sentry jumps

File:Sentryjump.png

A RED Engineer sentry-jumping on Gravel Pit.

A Sentry jump is any jump assisted by the knockback of Sentry rockets or bullets. In general, an Engineer must use the Wrangler to control his Sentry and fire at himself. However, in rare cases a Pyro can Sentry jump with reflected Sentry rockets, or enemies can jump and allow the Sentry to push them out of range to safety.

Sentry jumping is often used to reach unusual locations for Sentry nests and Teleporters.

Sentry Rocket Jumping

There are two ways to Sentry rocket jump. The easy method is to wrangle your level 3 Sentry and fire rockets at your feet while you crouch-jump. Since the Engineer receives no self-damage resistance, he loses a great deal of health but flies very far. Landing spots must be chosen carefully.

The hard method allows the Engineer to jump and carry his Sentry with him. You must fire the rockets, switch away from the Wrangler and pack-up the Sentry before the jump carries you out of range. Scripting can automate the process, but the technique can be learned manually. While looking at your Sentry Gun, tap the following keys in rapid succession. Crouch-jump and fire rockets simultaneously, switch to your last weapon, and then pack-up the Sentry Gun. The default keys would be Spacebar, Ctrl, and right-click simultaneously; then Q; then right click again. If you want to avoid crouch-jumping, you can cut out that step by standing on your Sentry instead.

Using the hard method, you can rapidly relocate and redeploy your level 3 Sentry in unusual or aggressive locations.

Sentry Bullet Jumping

Bullet jumps are more difficult than Sentry rocket jumps, but they can be performed with any Sentry and often do less damage to the Engineer. The Gunslinger's Mini-Sentry is especially useful for bullet jumping. It deals even less damage and fires faster, giving more knockback for the jump.

The technique is deceptively simple. Stand on top of your Sentry Gun, aim in the direction you want to go, crouch-jump and fire. Your bullets should propel you high into the air. Most bullet jumps fail because you aim too low and fire the gun beneath you, or because the angle of the Sentry Gun's fire isn't pushing you up fast enough to overcome gravity.

If a player has difficulty bullet jumping at angles, a simpler technique is deploy your Sentry beside the location you want to reach, stand on it, and fire almost straight up. Once you are nearly at the height you desire, aim a touch in the direction you wish to go, and the last few bullets will nudge you horizontally at your target.

Grenade Jumps

Much like rockets, stickies, and other explosives, Demoman grenades can be used to jump. The explosion has power and damage comparable to a rocket jump, but it's far more difficult to time and execute a good grenade jump. These are rarely used in actual play, but they have a niche for Demomen wielding the Chargin' Targe.

There are three rules of thumb for executing a good grenade jump. Fire straight down or against a wall or corner to control grenade position. Firing it forward will make it very difficult to track, and it may explode before you've reached it. You should crouch-jump over the grenade roughly two seconds after you fire it, absorbing as much of the explosion as possible. Jump too early, too late, or without good timing and the jump will have little power or control. To produce a mostly vertical jump for clearing tall obstacles, you should try to crouch-jump without any lateral motion. Proper grenade placement will give you the forward momentum to bypass any barrier.

Pyro jumps

The Pyro can take advantage of the knock-back effect of reflected Projectiles. By aiming the Compression Blast at his feet, a Pyro can redirect a Soldier's or Sentry Gun's rocket into a powerful rocket jump. Because the Pyro has no self-damage resistance, this jump generally sends the Pyro further and higher than a Soldier could manage.

Pumpkin jumps

Pumpkin jumps use Pumpkin Bombs to launch the player into the air. Because the pumpkin explosion has such a wide blast radius and high damage, here are some rules of thumb for using them. Lighter classes should stand far away and crouch-jump while shooting the pumpkin. Heavier classes, including the Heavy, can stand beside the pumpkin and fire for a larger boost. By standing on the edge of the pumpkin, a Heavy with a spinning Minigun can jump further than a Demoman's Sticky jump at the cost of roughly half his health.

Exploit jumps

These jumps have been patched out of the game, but they once allowed players to perform unusual and unintended behavior.

Needle Boosting

Prior to the December 31, 2007 Patch, Syringe Gun needles pushed friendly players a small amount. With enough Medics, a player could be launched very high on a wave of needles.

Bunnyhopping

Prior to the October 31, 2007 Patch, you could jump repeatedly to preserve forward momentum. Rocket jumping, airstrafing, and other techniques could be used to increase that momentum, allowing players to move far faster than intended.

Related Achievements

Scout

64px

Batter Up Perform 1000 double jumps.

64px

Pop Fly Kill 20 players while double-jumping.

---

Old page content

“

Look at you chuckleheads down there! Click to listen — The Scout

”

Jumping is used to get to elevated places that you cannot otherwise reach, or to shorten the distance you must walk in certain places. You can jump by pressing default "A" for the Xbox 360 version, "Space" on PC and "Cross" on the PS3.

Snipers with a scoped Sniper Rifle or drawn Huntsman, Heavies with a revved Minigun, players fleeing from the ghost in the event version of Harvest and those with an enemy player sitting on their head are all unable to jump.

There are several variations of the jump:

• Regular Jump

• Crouch Jump: By crouching in midair after jumping, a player can pull up their feet to climb up onto ledges unreachable by a normal jump, such as Engineer buildings. Available to all classes.

• Double jump: Scouts can press the jump button again while falling or after jumping, resulting in a second jump in mid-air.

• Triple Jump / FAN Jump: Scouts with the Force-A-Nature equipped can, by firing the FAN while in the air, gain can extra height or distance after a regular or double jump.

• Rocket jump: Soldiers can fire a rocket at their feet while crouching in mid-air, using the knockback from the blast to send them flying. This technique can increase both vertical and horizontal jumping distance, at the cost of health.

• Sticky jump: Demomen with a sticky launcher equipped can detonate a sticky under their feet while crouching in mid-air, using the knockback from the blast to send them flying. This technique can increase both vertical and horizontal jumping distance, at the cost of health.

• Grenade jump: Skilled Demomen can crouch in mid-air above a pipe-bomb as it detonates, using the knockback from the blast to send them flying. While much harder to execute than a sticky jump, it doesn't do as much damage to the jumper and can be used by Demomen with the Chargin' Targe.

• Sentry rocket jump: Engineers can crouch in mid-air above a set of rockets from a Level 3 Sentry Gun as they explode, using the knockback from the blast to send them flying. This is easy to accomplish with the Wrangler.

• Sentry bullet jump / Bullet boosting: Engineers with the Wrangler can fire bullets at themselves, propelling them in any direction. While significantly more difficult than the rocket jump, bullet boosting allows the Engineer to take less damage and have more control over the distance and height of the jump.

• Pyro jump: Pyros with the compression blast, while not having any explosives at their own, can execute Soldier rocket jumps and possibly even Demoman grenade jumps by changing the affiliation of an enemy's explosive and redirecting it at their own feet. This is very tricky to pull off, particularly because it requires a specific action from the enemy.

• Pumpkin Jump (Using the knock back from an exploding pumpkin bomb to launch yourself into the air)

• Needle boost (Patched)

• Bunny hop (Patched)

External links

• Valve Developer Wiki: Team Fortress 2 Mapper's Reference compares the heights that can be achieved by various jumping methods