List of official tips

Tips are official suggestions that appear on the screen as you connect to a server. Below is a list of all currently viewable tips.

All keys shown are the default keys and may be different for your configuration.

Scout

• As a Scout, jump again in mid-air to change direction, and avoid enemy fire.
• As a Scout, you capture control points twice as fast as other classes.
• As a Scout, you're most effective when you stay moving and use your speed to your advantage.
• As a Scout, your Scattergun is lethal at point blank range.
• As a Scout, your Pistol is great for picking off enemies at a distance.
• As a Scout, your Scattergun can kill most classes with two hits.
• As a Scout, you can use the Force-A-Nature to give yourself an extra boost up while jumping.
• As a Scout, you are most dangerous when you attack from the side or behind. Use alternate routes to flank the enemy.
• As a Scout, use your Sandman's alt-fire to stun an enemy.
• As a Scout, your Bat provides 15 extra health compared to the Sandman. Use your Bat if survival is a top priority.
• As a Scout, the Force-A-Nature causes enemies at close range to be knocked back.
• As a Scout, the Sandman's stun ball will stun longer the further it flies.
• As a Scout, the Sandman's stun ball will render the target immobile if hit at maximum range.
• As a Scout, remember that the Sandman's stun ball doesn't stun at close range but still does slight damage to the target.
• As a Scout, use the Bonk! Energy Drink to distract a Sentry Gun and allow other teammates to destroy it.
• As a Scout, use the Bonk! Energy Drink to avoid Sentry Guns and other damage.

Soldier

• As a Soldier, you can rocket jump to great heights by simultaneously jumping and firing a rocket at the ground.
• As a Soldier, aim rockets at enemies feet to ensure they can't avoid the explosion damage.
• As a Soldier, make sure you keep your Rocket Launcher loaded. Hit "reload" to reload it at any time.
• Hit E to call for a Medic if you get hurt. Nearby Medics will be notified of your need.
• Damaging yourself during Setup time does not increase your Medic's ÜberCharge rate.
• As a Soldier, a crouch-jump will increase your rocket jump height!
• As a Soldier, switch to Shotgun for enemies at extremely close range to avoid damaging yourself.
• As a Soldier, if you're paired with a Medic take advantage of safe opportunities to damage yourself to build ÜberCharge faster!
• As a Soldier, you can use your rockets to pop enemies into the air.
• As a Soldier, your Shotgun can be useful in combat if you need to reload your Rocket Launcher.
• As a Soldier, angle your rockets slightly behind you to propel yourself forward faster!
• As a Soldier, the Direct Hit rockets have a very small blast radius. Aim directly at your enemies to maximize damage.
• As a Soldier, the Buff Banner's rage meter will reset if you die. Don't be afraid to use it for yourself to make a push or escape!
• As a Soldier, the Buff Banner, once charged and then activated, provides Mini-Crits for you and all teammates nearby.
• As a Soldier, the Equalizer's speed bonus when at low health can also be used to quickly escape.
• As a Soldier, the Equalizer does a lot of damage when you are at very low health.
• As a Soldier, Medics cannot heal you or activate ÜberCharge on you if you have the Equalizer out.

Pyro

• As a Pyro, your Flamethrower does more damage the closer you are to the enemy.
• As a Pyro, ambush enemies to catch them in the short range of your Flamethrower. Use corners to your advantage.
• As a Pyro, your Flamethrower chews up a lot of ammo. Pick up fallen weapons to refill your supply.
• As a Pyro, switch to your Shotgun if enemies retreat beyond the short range of your Flamethrower.
• As a Pyro, you can often set enemies on fire and retreat, leaving them to die from the burning.
• Hit E to call for a Medic if you get hurt. Nearby Medics will be notified of your need.
• As a Pyro, your flame thrower can ignite enemy Spies disguised as your team. Spy check teammates that act suspicious!
• As a Pyro, utilize the bonus damage on the Axtinguisher by igniting your foes.
• As a Pyro, help protect an Engineer's Sentry Guns by pushing away sticky bombs and checking for Spies.
• As a Pyro, you can neutralize an ÜberCharge by pushing the Medic or his heal target out of range of each other using the Flame Thrower's compression blast with MOUSE2!
• As a Pyro, push enemies out of your way using the flame thrower's compression blast with MOUSE2.
• As a Pyro, the flame thrower's compression blast MOUSE2 can extinguish burning teammates.
• As a Pyro, you do not ignite from fire. Use your Shotgun or Fire Axe against enemy Pyros to counter this.
• As a Pyro, the Backburner is more useful for ambushing the enemy as it gets bonus damage when attacking from behind!
• As a Pyro, the Flare Gun can do Mini-Crits if fired at enemies who are already burning if hit at medium to long range. (Slightly incorrect; it Mini-Crits at medium range and Crits at long range)
• As a Pyro, your flame thrower or Flare Gun will not work underwater.
• As a Pyro, hit MOUSE2 with your default flame thrower to let out a blast of compressed air. Use it to reflect incoming projectiles, put out burning teammates, and push enemies back!
• As a Pyro, use your flame thrower on friendly Snipers to light their Huntsman arrows on fire. Flaming arrows can ignite the enemy.
• As a Pyro, use MOUSE2 to reflect projectiles back at the enemy team! This includes rockets, grenades, Jarate, and more!
• As a Pyro, remember, the flame thrower's compression blast MOUSE2 can use up a lot of ammo. Use it when you need to!
• As a Pyro, utilize the flame thrower's compression blast MOUSE2 to push sticky bombs out of the way. Help out your Engineers or clear a Control Point!

Demoman

• As a Demoman, hit MOUSE1 to fire sticky bombs and then use MOUSE2 to detonate them later.
• As a Demoman, the longer you hold down the fire button, the farther the shot will go.
• As a Demoman, set off sticky bombs beneath your feet to pipe bomb jump up to great heights.
• As a Demoman, shoot sticky bombs onto walls and ceilings where they're hard to spot.
• As a Demoman, detonate sticky bombs at any time regardless of which weapon you're currently using.
• As a Demoman, crouch in the air when jumping for a sticky bomb jump to achieve maximum height.
• As a Demoman, sticky bomb jump at an angle to propel yourself in a certain direction rather than just up.
• As a Demoman, use your Grenade Launcher for direct combat. Grenades detonate upon impact with an enemy unless they touch the ground first.
• As a Demoman, your Bottle does the same amount of damage whether it is smashed open or not.
• Sticky bombs can be destroyed by shooting at them with any weapon that uses bullets. Explosions won't destroy them, but will knock them out of the way.
• As a Demoman, the Scottish Resistance is great for defense. Place multiple sticky bomb groups to defend a lot of territory. Your sticky bombs also destroy enemy sticky bombs!
• As a Demoman with the Scottish Resistance, keep a line of sight to your sticky bombs so you can detonate them when needed.
• As a Demoman, the Chargin' Targe's explosive and fire damage resistance in addition to its charge ability compliment the Eyelander's lower max health and inability to cause random Critical hits.
• As a Demoman, the Chargin' Targe's charge ability doesn't grant a Critical hit until near the end of the charge. Your weapon will glow when the time is right!
• As a Demoman with the Chargin' Targe, you can't change direction during a charge. Try to line charges up with where an enemy will be rather than where an enemy is.
• As a Demoman, the Chargin' Targe's charge ability is also perfect for quick getaways!
• As a Demoman, your Bottle has no negative attributes compared to the minus 25 health on the Eyelander. Use your Bottle if survival is a priority.
• As a Demoman, collect heads by killing enemies with the Eyelander. Each head increases your maximum health as well as gives you a speed boost!

Heavy

• As a Heavy, hold MOUSE2 to keep your Minigun spinning, ready for approaching enemies.
• As a Heavy, you're a great Medic buddy. Keep a clear line of sight to your Medic to keep the Medi Gun on you.
• Hit E to call for a Medic if you get hurt. Nearby Medics will be notified of your need.
• As a Heavy, your Minigun chews up a lot of ammo. Pick up fallen weapons to refill your supply.
• As a Heavy, your Sandvich can be a life saver. Try to find a safe place before eating your Sandvich or you may be rudely interrupted.
• As a Heavy, you have the most health on your team.
• As a Heavy, you don't lose momentum while spinning up your Minigun in the air. Use this to surprise enemies around corners.
• As a Heavy, use your Sandvich to heal up! Use MOUSE2 to throw it on the ground for friendly players to pick up as health. Don't worry, it comes with a plate to keep it clean.
• As a Heavy, your Fists swing 20% faster than the Killing Gloves of Boxing. Equip them with the Sandvich to quickly dispatch lunchtime attackers.
• As a Heavy, the Sandvich can be dropped by hitting MOUSE2. A dropped Sandvich can heal a teammate 50% of their maximum health.
• As a Heavy, be sure to get another Sandvich if you drop yours. Sandviches can be replenished from health kits, but only if your current health is full.
• As a Heavy, your Minigun's spin-up can waste the Killing Gloves of Boxing's 5-second critical buff. Carry your Shotgun with the K.G.B. to maximize the critical boost!
• As a Heavy, the Sandvich can be dropped by hitting MOUSE2 and can extinguish burning teammates. Use this to save your Medic.

Engineer

• As an Engineer, use the build tool to place Sentry Guns, Dispensers, and Teleporters.
• As an Engineer, you need metal to build, repair, and upgrade your buildings. Collect fallen weapons to get more metal.
• As an Engineer, hit your Sentry Gun with your Wrench to upgrade it with metal. Each level adds more health and firepower.
• As an Engineer, build Dispensers to provide your teammates with health and ammo. They also generate metal for you to use.
• As an Engineer, build Teleporters to help your team reach the front line faster. To be most effective, hide them where it is not obvious.
• As an Engineer, keep an eye out for enemy Spies attaching Sappers to your buildings. Use your Wrench to remove Sappers.
• As an Engineer, help your fellow Engineers! Your Wrench can upgrade or repair their buildings.
• As an Engineer, hit your buildings with your Wrench while they are constructing to make them build faster.
• As an Engineer, it can be useful to move your buildings forward with your team.
• As an Engineer, remember to upgrade your buildings. Level 3 Teleporters recharge much faster allowing your team to keep the pressure on.
• As an Engineer, hit either the entrance or the exit of your Teleporter with your Wrench to repair and upgrade both sides.
• As an Engineer, hit MOUSE2 to rotate building blueprints before you hit MOUSE1 to build. Use this to face Teleporters away from walls.
• As an Engineer, you can do more than just maintain your buildings. Use your Shotgun and your Pistol to assist in fights and to defend.
• As an Engineer, Sentry Guns aren't restricted to just defensive measures. Deploy them quickly in hidden locations to aid in an offensive push.
• As an Engineer, remember that disguised Spies can take your Teleporter. Try not to stand on top of your Teleporter exit.
• As an Engineer, check for Spies with your weapons if someone suspicious approaches.
• As an Engineer, use your Shotgun and Pistol to destroy enemy sticky bombs placed near your buildings.

Medic

• As a Medic, use your Medi Gun to heal teammates, and buff them up to 150% of their normal health.
• As a Medic, fill your ÜberCharge by healing teammates. Then hit MOUSE2 to go invulnerable.
• As a Medic, your ÜberCharge makes both you and your Medi Gun target invulnerable for 8 seconds.
• As a Medic, you fill your ÜberCharge faster by healing teammates who are more hurt.
• As a Medic, keep alert for teammates calling for your help. Use the Medic arrows onscreen to find them.
• As a Medic, you build ÜberCharge at the maximum rate during setup time.
• As a Medic, you cannot capture a Control Point while invulnerable.
• As a Medic, heal Soldiers and Demomen at the beginning of rounds so they can use the extra health to rocket or sticky jump across the map.
• As a Medic, you can ÜberCharge without a heal target to save yourself in dire situations.
• As a Medic, it's better to use an ÜberCharge too early than lose it by being killed.
• As a Medic, mess with the enemy by using the "ÜberCharge ready!" voice command to pretend you have an ÜberCharge prepared.
• As a Medic, you can keep multiple targets overhealed allowing them to absorb more damage.
• As a Medic, your Bonesaw swings 20% faster than the Übersaw. Use the Bonesaw in defensive situations where ÜberCharge isn't as important.
• As a Medic, remember that syringes travel in arcs. Aim higher than your intended target to land successful hits.
• As a Medic, remember that Critical hits have no effect on Sentry Guns. Use the Kritzkrieg in areas full of players instead.
• As a Medic, the Übersaw will still gain you ÜberCharge if the enemy being hit is a Scout phasing with Bonk! Atomic Punch.
• As a Medic, using ÜberCharge to be invulnerable to damage does not mean you are free from harm. Watch out for Pyro air blasts and explosive knock back.
• As a Medic, when attacking with an ÜberCharge try to get as close to Sentry Guns as possible so your teammates can get close enough to destroy them.
• As a Medic, your default Syringe Gun automatically heals you over time by 3 health per second compared to the Blutsauger's 1 health per second.
• As a Medic, the Übersaw will not gain you ÜberCharge if the enemy being hit is a disguised Spy.
• As a Medic, the Kritzkrieg's taunt heals 10 health. Use it when there are no health kits or other Medics nearby.
• As a Medic, pay attention to other Medics on your team. Keeping multiple Medics alive will help keep the rest of the team alive too.

Sniper

• As a Sniper, the longer you spend zoomed in the scope, the more damage the shot will do.
• As a Sniper, aim for the head to do critical damage.
• As a Sniper, zoom with the Sniper Rifle by hitting MOUSE2.
• As a Sniper, use your secondary Submachine Gun to deal with nearby enemies.
• As a Sniper, a fully charged Sniper Rifle head shot can kill most classes instantly.
• As a Sniper, your shot will miss if the Huntsman is pulled back longer than 5 seconds. Reset it by hitting MOUSE2.
• As a Sniper, Jarate can reveal hidden Spies. Be wary, as Spies using the Dead Ringer won't be visible if they Cloak after being soaked.
• As a Sniper, the Razorback breaks after being stabbed. Grab a new one from a resupply locker.
• As a Sniper, your Razorback emits a loud electric sound when a Spy attempts to backstab you. Listen for it!
• As a Sniper, use Jarate to douse flames on yourself and on teammates.
• As a Sniper, all hits on enemies who have been doused with Jarate are Mini-Crits.
• As a Sniper, the Tribalman's Shiv causes a bleed on hit. This can be useful for tracking down Spies.
• As a Sniper, throw Jarate on enemies to provide mini-crits for your team.

Spy

• As a Spy, use your Knife to backstab enemies from behind, killing them instantly.
• As a Spy, disguise yourself as an enemy with your Disguise Kit. Beware, attacking will remove your disguise.
• As a Spy, hit MOUSE2 to Cloak and become fully invisible for a short period of time.
• As a Spy, use your Cloak to get behind enemy lines, and your disguise to move around amongst them.
• As a Spy, try to act like an enemy while disguised. Observe where enemy team members are, and disguise as one of them.
• As a Spy, place your Electro Sappers on enemy Sentry Guns to destroy them. Disguises aren't lost when placing Sappers.
• As a Spy, your electro Sappers disable Sentry Guns before destroying them. Sap a Sentry Gun before attacking the Engineer.
• As a Spy, call for enemy Medics by hitting E while disguised.
• As a Spy, be careful when using voice commands while disguised. The enemy team will see them said in the text chat by whoever you're disguised as.
• As a Spy, the Ambassador does not do critical headshots when cooling down. Make each shot precise and timed to maximize damage.
• As a Spy, try not to be hit by flames when arming the Dead Ringer, or else the flames may hit you again and reveal your location.
• As a Spy while cloaked with the Dead Ringer, your silhouette won't appear when colliding with enemies.
• As a Spy, the Cloak and Dagger can regenerate Cloak while moving around so long as you are uncloaked when doing so.
• As a Spy, pick up ammo and fallen weapons to recharge Cloak when using your invis watch or the Dead Ringer.
• As a Spy, the Cloak and Dagger will only drain if you are moving. Stand still or uncloak to regain lost charge.
• As a Spy, your silhouette can be seen if you move around while cloaked with the Cloak and Dagger for too long. Find a safe spot to sit and recharge.
• As a Spy, the Dead Ringer makes a very loud noise when uncloaking. Find a safe place away from enemies to uncloak.
• As a Spy, disguise as your own team by hitting the - key. Use this in friendly areas or with the Dead Ringer to hide your presence from the enemy.
• As a Spy, hit B while already disguised to change what weapon your disguise is holding.
• As a Spy, hit B to automatically disguise as the last disguise you previously had.
• As a Spy, you can take enemy Teleporters while disguised. Surprise!
• As a Spy, bumping into enemies while cloaked makes you slightly visible to everyone.
• As a Spy, if you're set on fire while cloaked, the enemy can see you and you cannot recloak!
• As a Spy, use your Revolver to pick off targets that are low on health, or to deal with classes that are dangerous to get near, such as Pyros.
• As a Spy, if you are quick, you can stab an Engineer and then sap his gun before it turns around and shoots you.
• As a Spy, The Dead Ringer makes you take significantly less damage from all attacks while you are invisible.
• As a Spy, avoid taking fall damage; it will give away your location!
• As a Spy, your Sappers sap both ends of a Teleporter. Try sapping the end the Engineer isn't at.
• As a Spy, your Dead Ringer can fake a death. Try to use it when you're weak, or else it will be wasted or too obvious.
• As a Spy, reloading your Revolver will mimic the reload action of your current disguise.
• As a Spy, use the Dead Ringer after being burned to extinguish the flames.

Arena

• Keep an eye on the player count at the top of the screen to tell when your team has an advantage.
• With no health kits in the level, Medics are very valuable in Arena, protect them at all costs.
• The capture point in the middle of the map will be active after 60 seconds.
• You don’t respawn in Arena, so don’t die!
• No single class is most important in Arena, focus on countering the other team's entire composition.
• You can change your class at the start of an Arena match before the gates open.
• As an Engineer, make sure you’re building Dispensers to heal your teammates.
• The control point is locked for 60 seconds in Valve's Arena maps.