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 where players can learn the basics of the different classes by fighting against AI-controlled bots. Aimed towards inexperienced players, training mode demonstrates gameplay mechanics and teamwork within a 'safe' environment, by allowing the bots to play alongside players as they fight against enemies.

At present, only Soldier, Demoman, Engineer, and Spy training for the Control Point game mode is available in the offical game. An achievement called Ready for Duty can be unlocked by finishing all of the training courses.

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 you destroyed the target 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 these trainings, you'll be instructed on how to use certain skills and what kind of special abilities each class has. During Spy training, you'll first be guided by a friendly Spy bot, instructing the player of the uses of Cloaking, to sneak past a Sentry Gun. The player will then be guided about disguises and sapping, which will instruct the player to employ these techniques on the unfriendly Sentry Gun. After the sentry has fallen, the player will be given three live targets, facing away from the player. The player will be guided on the proper usage of backstabbing and will be given the opportunity to use it on the targets. After completing this, the player will be prompted to the main menu.

• 

  A Scout Target

• 

  A Soldier Target

• 

  A Pyro Target

• 

  A Demoman Target

• 

  A Heavy Target

• 

  An Engineer Target

• 

  A Medic Target

• 

  A Sniper Target

• 

  A Spy Target

• 

  A successful hit!

Dustbowl Training

After the player "graduates", they will be able to proceed to a training version of Dustbowl, where the player is instructed on the basic rules of CP, or Control Point. The first round gives the basics of Control Point play, instructing the player to control the points to move on. The second round introduces the Medic and how the class works. The final round introduces the Engineer and how the class benefits the team, and how they can be just as effective for the enemy. After you capture the final point, you "graduate" Soldier training and return to the main menu.

Offline Practice mode

Offline Practice mode allows the player to play the game, with no class limitations, against Bots. The bot difficulty can be scaled between Easy, Medium, and Hard, and the amount of players that can be entered is up to the trainee, though the game recommends 16-24. At the moment, the only Offline Training maps available are Viaduct, Nucleus, Dustbowl, Gold Rush, Badwater Basin, and Sawmill. Stats and achievements are turned off while in offline practice, 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.

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.

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

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