Team strategy

In Team Fortress 2, it can be very hard for a single player to effectively combat the enemy team. Working with the other classes on your team is important for success. This article is designed to help you and your team achieve that victory. For a guide on improving your own game, see Strategy. For map-specific strategies, see the individual pages for each map.

General Strategy

Communication

Communication is a key element in Team Fortress 2, especially due to the absence of the mini-maps found in other first-person shooters. The Class-based nature of the game also means that there will often be situations that a player simply cannot handle alone. Coordination between different players and classes is usually needed to win a game (even if that coordination was accidental). It's so important that a team with low average skill level with mics can often win over a mute team of more skilled players. Effective team communication and coordination is especially welcome/desired in the more competitive venues of the game.

Voice commands and text messages are better than nothing, but microphones are strongly recommended for anyone who wishes to play Team Fortress 2 beyond a purely casual level (that is, someone interested in winning over just playing). Information such as the location and Disguise of enemy Spies, the location of enemy Sentry nests and Sticky Bomb traps, and the timing of attacks and Übercharges simply cannot be communicated as easily without voice chat. While the voice commands can often help out your team, they are also often abused, and the corresponding text is often diluted by any status recording mods. Microphones are hands down the most efficient method of in-game communication between teammates.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that many servers use the AllTalk feature, relaying all voice communications to every player, including the opposing team, though this is generally only enabled on less competitive servers.

Team Composition

Team Fortress 2 is a class-based, team game in which players on a team usually have to cooperate and coordinate to some extent in order to achieve victory. The nine different Classes have their own strengths and weaknesses and their own unique styles of play based around maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses -- however it is impossible for any one player no matter how skilled to completely compensate for the weaknesses of the class they are currently playing. One player may be less skilled than another but still win in an encounter due to being a Class that has a natural advantage over the other, such as a less-skilled Pyro beating a skilled Spy. This not only makes the choice of what Class to play very important and rewards players who are willing to learn and play different Classes, but also makes playing cooperatively equally important.

A mistake many new players make is to view Team Fortress 2 outside of a team context, focusing instead on the Class(es) they prefer to play and thinking of strategy only in terms of a series of one-on-one match-ups against the other Classes they will meet in battle. However most combat in Team Fortress 2 is between groups of players playing as different Classes, and part of being a skilled player is paying some attention to overall team strategy. This can include being aware of what Classes currently make up your team and the opposing team, or what is referred to as team composition. It is often possible to gain an advantage over the opposing team by having several players play as Classes that the other team is currently ill-equipped to deal with. One of the most obvious examples would be running several Spies to counter an enemy team that has several Engineers, Snipers, and Heavies but few, if any, Pyros. Paying no attention to what Classes are currently giving your team the most trouble and how best to counter-attack is a fast way to lose. However, over-compensating can also happen, for example if a team is having trouble with enemy Spies too many players might decide to switch to Pyro depriving your team of offense. View the scoreboard (default Tab on PC) periodically to keep an eye on your team's current classes and recommend adjustments accordingly -- and be willing to change your Class as well from time to time.

The Classes

The heart of Team Fortress 2's gameplay are the nine different Classes and how they interact with both friend and foe. Even if you play only one or two of them on a regular basis, it is still enormously helpful to learn about the role of each Class in the overall context of a game. Each Class has unique attributes that determine their strengths and weakness: health, movement speed, and weaponry, and other innate abilities such as health regeneration or the ability to Double Jump. This section categorizes the different Classes and is meant to draw attention to how the different Classes can work together to become more powerful in groups than they would be functioning alone. NOTE: this categorization is different from the "official" class roles of Offense, Defense, and Support defined by Valve, and is meant to draw attention to strategic and play-style similarities as opposed to an arbitrary "theme."

Group 1 - General Combat

• Classes: Demoman, Heavy, Pyro, Scout, Soldier
• Characteristics: All the members of this group possess high average firepower, survivability, or maneuverability and in some cases a good mix of all three. All bar the Scout have a Health range of 175-300 without overhealing, and receive the vast majority of ÜberCharges due to their powerful Primary weapons, with high rates of damage. Another defining characteristic of this group is that almost all abilities that impeded enemy movement are found in this group: Natascha, the Force-A-Nature, the Shortstop, the Sandman, the Rocket, Grenade, and Sticky Launchers' ability to "juggle" opponents with detonations, and the Pyro's Compression Blast. The vast majority of the abilities in the game that can buff movement speed and mobility are also found in this group: the Force-A-Nature, the ability to rocket, grenade, or sticky jump, the Equalizer, the Eyelander/Chargin' Targe, the Gas Jockey's Gear item set, and the Heavy's GRU. The general combat classes do not require much prep time or positioning before entering combat, which can be important in situations when time is limited.
• Team Role: These classes make up the majority of most teams, and engage in the heaviest and most direct fighting on the front lines. The members of this group are generally the ones responsible for spearheading pushes into enemy territory and securing objectives, and should play as aggressively as a situation allows. Their success is usually measured in kills made and damage dealt before dying. Members of this group are usually capable of holding their own in one-on-one matchups against other classes; a team entirely consisting of Group 1 classes won't have any critical weaknesses and can often do fairly well over short periods, but experience difficulties breaking down tough defenses and may run into problems during sustained firefights: help from Groups 2 and 3 becomes necessary eventually. One of the most vital roles that these classes perform is to protect the other Classes, particularly the less well armed Support. Medics and Engineers need to be kept alive as long as possible to benefit the team fully, and need protection from Group 1 and 3 enemies, who will often target them specifically and constantly. Buildings are constructed and maintained by Engineers, but they help the entire team, so should be considered "public property" and looked after by all, especially Pyros. In order to help out the Support Classes even more, it is important to leave Health and Ammo pickups to them as much as possible. Even the Group 3 Assassins, the Sniper and Spy, rely on the front line combatants in Group 1 to provide them with cover and distract the enemy team while they get into position to eliminate key enemies. Their job becomes much harder if there are no heavier classes to preoccupy the enemy.

Artillery

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The Soldier and Demoman, the artillery of the team.

• Classes: Demoman, Soldier
• Strengths: Both of these Classes have a high amount of damage potential, range, resilience, and mobility, and they possess similar weapons. The Rocket, Sticky, and Grenade launchers fire highly damaging rounds that deal a large amount of "splash" that can damage multiple enemies at once. Not only that, but these weapons are the only consistent form of indirect fire in the game, able to score damage and kills without needing a direct line of sight to a target. This combined with the ability to "fire and forget" allow the Soldier and Demoman to make excellent use of cover to enhance their already formidable staying power. They also excel at demolishing the Sentry Gun positions of Engineers, as they can both attack from a safe range and each attack can simultaneously damage multiple Buildings plus any Engineers trying to repair. Both classes also possess the ability to trade some of their health for the ability to perform explosive jumps that can cover huge vertical and horizontal distances quickly and allow them to make sudden and devastating attacks from unexpected angles, or to escape tough situations.
• Weaknesses: While the Artillery classes don't have very pronounced weaknesses, the weapons of these classes carry some disadvantages as well. The Soldier and Demoman can easily hurt and kill themselves when firing point-blank. Most importantly however, all of the "launcher" weapons have limited clip sizes and lengthy reload times. How to manage reloads is an important skill for playing the artillery classes -- being too trigger-happy can be fatal. The need to reload can often make holding positions against a constant stream of enemies problematic without support. It is also important to note that because explosive projectiles take time to travel, they can often be dodged especially at mid to long range by agile and skilled foes, regardless of how well they were aimed when fired.
• Team Role: Dealing huge amounts of damage at medium ranges, forcing enemies out of cover and entrenched Sentry positions, and punishing enemies that are tightly packed together; these are the classes the most commonly accused of being "overpowered". Consistent damage in any situation is their role however, and failing to provide enough of it can quickly lead to the team being overpowered by the opposition. Other than this, the main strengths of the Soldier and Demoman are their sheer lack of huge exploitable class weaknesses.

Close Combat

• Classes: Heavy, Pyro, Scout
• Characteristics: While also belonging to Group 1, the "general combatants", the members of this group are distinguished by a few things. Namely, they have more pronounced strengths, but also more pronounced weaknesses than the Artillery Classes, creating trade-offs, along with a few more specialized roles such as Spy-checking and objective-grabbing. The Heavy has the highest Health of any Class but also the lowest mobility especially while attacking; the Pyro is devastating at close range and when appearing unexpectedly, but conversely has very low damage potential at mid and long range, and is usually not as much of a threat without the element of surprise. The Scout by contrast is the fastest and most agile Class but has the lowest health out of the Group 1 Classes, and if the Sandman is equipped, the lowest base Health (110) in the game. All three Classes in this group can do tremendous damage over time, however in order to do so they must usually 1) be at close range and 2) have line of sight to their target. This in turn means that they often take as much damage as they receive, requiring these classes rely on flanking and ambushing, and keep their health topped up between engagements, preferably with some help from Engineers and Medics. The reliance on line of sight attacks also makes this group much less effective overall against Sentry Guns than the Artillery classes. The Pyro is the most effective Spy-checking Class on the team, able to expose both Cloaked and Disguised Spies with ease, as well as assisting with Electro Sapper removal. The Pyro and the Heavy are unique in that their Primary weapons, the Flamethrower and the Minigun, never require reloading, and can fire continuously until depleted. This can enable them to provide invaluable support to the other Classes during prolonged fights where enemies are streaming in constantly. This can also make them very effective Übercharge recipients being able to utilize the entire period of invulnerability to the fullest possible effect.
• Team Role: This group of classes is the most easily held at bay by enemy Sentry Gun positions. Teams that are relying too heavily on the classes in this group often have a difficult time defeating a team that is "turtling" or defending. Once enemy Sentry Guns have been eliminated however, they can freely enter enemy territory and wreak havoc. This group is also effective working with and protecting allied Support classes -- Pyros work synergistically with Engineers and both Pyros and Heavies work very well with friendly Medics. This group is also very good at punishing enemy teams that neglect having enough Group 2 classes to heal and restrict their movement with Sentry Guns. Without enough healing, fire can deal a huge amount of damage through afterburn, and the "hitscan" bullet damage of Heavies and Scouts with good aim cannot be easily dodged, so can quickly erode enemy health. Finally, all three Classes in this group are very effective at contesting objectives of various types. Heavies have the staying power to defend dropped Intelligence, Capture points and Carts and lay down suppressing fire; Pyros have unique abilities to keep Spies away from objectives and can also physically prevent enemies from contesting objectives by using the Compression Blast to push them back, while the Scout can use his natural speed and extra capture force to accomplish objectives faster than any other Class. While Soldiers and Demomen usually make up the damage "backbone" of a team, a sprinkling of the close combat classes can help them hold their ground, counter unexpected threats, contest objectives, and make a devastating coordinated push when the time comes.

Group 2 - Support

• Classes: Engineer, Medic
• Characteristics: By far the most team-oriented Classes, the Engineer and the Medic are the only Classes that can provide reliable healing to their allies, often several at once, greatly reducing team losses due to simple attrition. For this reason alone, almost any team of any size greater than one on any map will benefit from having at least one Support Class, however the usefulness of the Support classes increases as team size increases. They largely lack powerful combat abilities of their own, having low hitpoints (125-150) average mobility and weak ranged weaponry, and therefore must contribute to their team's success through their support skills. These skills are very powerful however, and have a huge impact on the game -- Medics and Engineers are much more than simply glorified Health and Ammunition pickups for the other Classes. The Engineer's support skills take the form of his Buildings, while the Medic's take the form of the ability to provide overhealing buffs to multiple teammates, and the game-changing ÜberCharge. For both Classes, bringing these assets to bear in a game takes time -- both Übercharges and fully upgraded Buildings can take quite some time to reach their full potential, often a minute or more of game time. In a game as fast-paced as Team Fortress 2, that's a small eternity. Many game-types have a Setup time to accommodate the Support Classes and allow them to contribute at full power right from the beginning of the mission. Good Engineers and Medics will do everything they can to speed up the process of building their Übers and Buildings. The long "build" times of the Medic and Engineer define the success of their gameplay in terms of their own survival and not in getting kills. Both Classes must play very cautiously to avoid death, to survive long enough to provide Übercharges and maintain Buildings. A Support class who dies at a critical moment can cost their team victory.
• Team Role: Providing healing and resupply to allies in the field, reducing team losses due to attrition, and allowing teammates to hold positions while under constant enemy pressure, or apply constant pressure of their own. Sentry Guns and overhealed/invulnerable teammates are very good at absorbing and shrugging off damage. A Medic that is skilled at overhealing can easily increase the health of multiple allies by up to 50%, which can be a game-winning advantage by itself if an enemy team does not eliminate the Medic or does not have Medics of its own. Support is given to any and all teammates, but is most effective when given to the general combat Classes of Group 1 who will usually take the brunt of enemy attacks, and often die and need to return to the battle quickly upon respawning. Medics and Engineers can support each other quite effectively as well and should do so whenever the opportunity arises. For example, Medics can provide Übercharges to allied Kritzkrieg Medics or Engineers under heavy fire, while Engineers can repair, build, and upgrade the Buildings of other friendly Engineers. The Support Classes need to watch out for the attacks of enemy Group 3 Classes, the Sniper and Spy, since they are often the priority targets of these enemies. Help from Group 1 and 3 is often necessary to stay alive. Finally, the Support Classes can break the back of the enemy team on the attack or ensure a successful defense of an objective through a well executed Übercharge or well-placed Sentry Gun. In terms of team composition, a reliance on a large number of Support Classes is almost never a good idea. While they can provide very powerful Support abilities, Medics and Engineers themselves are not effective "go it alone" classes. Every player who plays a Support Class is not playing a Class that can fight off the enemy, and increases the burden proportionately on the smaller number of teammates who are playing a Class from Groups 1 or 3. Engineer or Medic heavy teams can also be a dream come true for enemy Snipers and Spies, whose skills are quite capable of countering the Support Classes. The power of the Support Classes is their ability to help out a large number of their teammates easily, and to take fullest advantage of this it is wise not to have too many team spots devoted to Support.

Group 3 - Assassination

The assassins: the Spy and the Sniper.

• Classes: Sniper, Spy
• Characteristics: While both possessing similarly low Health (125-150) and average movement speed, the most obvious similarity of these two classes is their shared ability to instantly kill any opponent with a single attack, largely regardless of target health. They both rely on good positioning, skillful aim, and patience to get their kills. While the success of the Group 3 Classes is also to some extent measured by how many enemies they kill before they themselves die, unlike Group 1, who they kill is usually more important than how many. A Spy that reveals his position and sacrifices his life to stab an enemy Soldier is of questionable value -- but taking out an enemy Medic with full Über can be game-changing and is well worth dying for. Both the Sniper and Spy avoid the front lines due to their low health, and instead operate behind the lines -- the Sniper behind his allies' lines, and the Spy behind his enemies'. Both classes are also better than any other class at picking off opponents who are trying to hide behind their allies, such as Medics.
• Team Role: Precision elimination of key enemy targets. These can be very talented enemy players that your team is having trouble with, or they can be resilient targets such as Heavies, or they can be high value targets such as Medics and Engineers. The Assassin Classes are at their most valuable when countering the influence of the Group 2 Support Classes. Headshots and Backstabs can cut right through the healing and overhealing of Medics and eliminate Engineers hiding behind their Sentry Guns. The Spy in particular is designed with the ability to disable and destroy Engineers and their Buildings. The Support Classes also try to stay alive at all costs so that they can build up their power and provide constant benefit to their team. Death is a much bigger setback to Engineers and Medics than it is for any other Class, and the Assassins from Group 3 are sometimes the only Classes capable of killing them even when they are surrounded by formidable defenses. The Sniper and Spy also tend to end up locking horns with their counterparts on the enemy team due to where and how they fight. The ability to pick off key enemies can break stalemates, and the psychological effect of Snipers and Spies can split the concentration of enemies and make them reluctant to push forward. The ability of Spies in particular to attack enemies in areas where they expect to be secure can have a huge overall impact on enemy defenses. A team with very effective Snipers and Spies, if left unchecked, can easily run away with a game. However there are several reasons why having too many Snipers and Spies on a team is a very bad idea. Snipers and Spies operate "behind the lines" or at arms length and rely on not being the immediate target of the enemy to kill distracted players who are not expecting them. However, not having enough general combat classes means the enemy team will be less occupied and much more able to focus on eliminating Snipers and Spies. Not only that, but having a lot of Spies has diminishing returns and becomes counterproductive as the enemy team realizes how many Spies are being used. One Spy that still has the element of surprise is much more effective than several that are constantly getting discovered and killed. If you are playing Spy or Sniper and not having a very good day, it may not be your fault. It may be the fault of your team's composition.

Class Specific Strategies

See below.

Team Tactics

These are the strategies of the game that most players should learn and understand if they want to help their team. Using these in combat will allow you to get a leg up on the competition.

• Flanking

Find alternate routes and use them (even if they take longer than direct route). Don't take the same flanking route too often to avoid becoming predictable -- the enemy will quickly learn to anticipate your strategy.

• Ambushing

Wait around corners and surprise your enemy. You and a few of your allies could wait around corners and ambush any enemies that walk by as a defensive or offensive tactic.

• Übercharging

Communicate with your Medic buddy. Try not to waste your ÜberCharge, but remember that it's better to spend your charge and survive than to die with a charge ready. Have a plan for what you will do when Übered.

The Barrage

• Overview: a creeping hail of explosives moves though an area to clear the way for the rest of the team.
• Details: Demomen and Soldiers fire continually into an area to make it a no-go zone for the opposing team. Attackers follow the barrage by moving into the cleared area and holding it.

The Demomen and Soldiers must use a spread of fire across the intended area to ensure it is all cleared.

Über push

• Overview: the attacking team coordinates a series of ÜberCharges to clear an area.
• Details: Two or more Medics build up an ÜberCharge. The first Medic activates his charge and enters the area; after 9 seconds the second Medic follows and moves into the area. If the situation allows, the second Medic can follow immediately, taking advantage of the distraction provided by the first Über pair and moving deeper into enemy territory before activating the second charge. Communicating who will Über first is key.

Minefield

• Overview: Demomen lay series of sticky bombs over an open area.
• Details: a spread out carpet of Sticky bombs is laid over an open area in sequence by several Demomen. When attackers push forward, detonate each set of Stickies in series to kill multiple waves of attackers. It is important that the other Demomen wait for the previous set to be detonated before detonating the next set. Using the Scottish Resistance makes this strategy more efficient, easier to pull off, and somewhat lessens the need for multiple Demomen, as a single Demoman can have up to 14 stickies and selectively detonate them.

Coordinated Sap

• Overview: Spies sap Sentry Gun emplacements to enable an attack by teammates.
• Details: a Spy or Spies sap Sentry Gun emplacements just before an offensive push, enabling teammates to safely attack the disabled Sentry Guns. Communicate when you have sapped the Sentry Gun to enable the attack to commence immediately. Continue to sap to enable the attacker to take out the Engineer first.

Medic Luring

• Overview: a "Soldier/Heavy" disguised Spy lures Medics into ambush points.
• Details: instead of attempting to kill an enemy Medic, a Spy disguised as an enemy assault class can lure an unaware Medic into an ambush. Thinking you are a member of his team, the Medic may follow you into your team's base, allowing your team to ambush him with a Sentry Gun or a group of allies. Remember that Spies look less suspicious when they appear to be trying to help the team.

Rushing

Main article: Rush

• Overview: All players select the same class to overwhelm the enemy.
• Details: All players choose only one class or a majority of one class. The class usually depends on the situation. For example, a Scout rush allows your team to reach and capture the first point very quickly, hopefully before the entire enemy team arrives.

Tactical Direction

• Overview: In certain maps your team will have to decided whether to go one path or another.
• Details: this decision usually comes into play in 3cp maps such as Gravel Pit.

Practice

It's important to practice both with your friends and your team. Learn your team's strengths and weaknesses. If you are aware of your team's weaknesses you can help remove them, and if you are aware of your team's strengths, you can amplify them. When your team is in need of a certain class, try to find a player who plays that class well, or who is not already fulfilling a vital role -- asking your team's only Engineer to switch to Medic may not be the most effective use of your teammate's ability.

See Also

• Strategy
• Classes