Training Mode

“

Do you own Team Fortress? Did you play it once or twice, but found it too complicated? YOU ARE A COWARD. But there IS a solution! — The Soldier to new trainees

”

Training is a single-player only game mode that helps players learn the basics of the different classes available in the game. The mode is aimed towards inexperienced players and demonstrates gameplay mechanics and teamwork within a 'safe' environment. A series of specific scenarios are given for each class.

At present, only training is available for the Soldier, Demoman, Engineer, and Spy. Each revolves around the Control Point game mode.

Target

Target starts off the player in a small booth. In Demoman and Soldier training, the player is unable to move from the booth, but is constantly supplied with ammo and health, should they harm themselves or run low on ammo. A small tutorial will appear, guiding the player along, and will direct the player on how and when to use weapons. The player is then instructed to use the weapons in tandem against wooden painted targets. Upon destroying the target, a special "HIT" particle will appear, indicating it was destroyed correctly. Otherwise the target will reappear until the player destroys the target with the correct weapon. After the player succeeds in the first Soldier lesson, they are then given live targets, which will move around, attempting to fool the player. There are no weapon restrictions in this portion, so it is up to the player how they destroy the targets.

In Engineer and Spy training, the player may be allowed to move freely from the booth after a certain event. During this period, the player is instructed on certain skills and special abilities inherent in each class. During Spy training, examples are given by a friendly Spy bot, demonstrating the use of Cloaking. The player will then be educated on disguises and sapping, and will have the chance to employ these techniques on the unfriendly Sentry Gun. Live targets are then provided for training the backstab abiility.

Dustbowl Training

After the player "graduates", they will be able to proceed to a training version of Dustbowl. Once there, basic instructions are provided on the rules of the Control Point gamemode. The first round gives the basics of play, the second round introduces the Medic, and the final round introduces the Engineer. After the final point is captured, the player "graduates" the Soldier training and is returned to the main menu.

Offline Practice mode

Offline Practice mode allows the player to begin an independant round with no class limitations and against only Bots. Certain aspects of the game can be configured before setup, such as Bot difficulty and the amount of total players (recommended to be set at 16-24). Currently only the maps Viaduct, Nucleus, Dustbowl, Gold Rush, Badwater Basin, and Sawmill can be played in offline practice. Stats and achievements are turned off during the round, though item drops still occur if connected to Steam.

Training maps

Training maps carry the tr_ prefix.

Name	Picture	File name
Target		tr_target
Dustbowl	160px	tr_dustbowl

Related Achievements

General

Ready for Duty Complete each class to unlock the next.

Update history

June 10, 2010 Patch (Mac Update)

• Added Training, with support for General gameplay & Soldier class training for now.
• Added Offline Practice mode, with support for KOTH maps and Dustbowl.
• Fixed training servers showing up in the server browser for other users

March 9, 2011 Patch (Beta)

• Added training for the Demoman, Spy and Engineer

March 11, 2011 Patch (Beta)

• Training:
  • Fixed issues in Spy training

April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)

• Added 3 new training courses for the Demoman, Engineer, and Spy
• Added the Ready for Duty achievement for completing all of the training courses
• Added Payload maps to Offline Practice.

April 18, 2011 Patch

• Fixed listen servers sometimes not authenticating with Steam (not being able to use Offline Practice)

April 20, 2011 Patch

• Added more instructions to the Engineer training regarding metal resources

Trivia

• On the day Training Mode was added, it was possible to join other player's training sessions through the server browser. It was fixed in a patch later that day. This allowed players to potentially ruin others training sessions, as seen here.

Gallery

• 

  A Scout Target

• 

  A Soldier Target

• 

  A Pyro Target

• 

  A Demoman Target

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  A Heavy Target

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  An Engineer Target

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  A Medic Target

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  A Sniper Target

• 

  A Spy Target

• 

  A successful hit!