Respawn
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The term respawn may be used to refer to either the act or event of respawning, the place in which it occurs, or the reappearance of map pickups after they have been used, such as Ammo and Health packs. The game respawns players in waves in order for them to appear together with other players who died at a similar time, thus forcing them to work together.
The initial entry in which you first join a map simply goes by the term spawn.
In Arena Mode, or when Control Point matches turn to Sudden Death Mode, players that die will not respawn until the next round has begun.
Contents
Respawn times
- For exact timing measurements on all official maps, see Respawn times.
The time it takes for the respawn wave to occur after being killed, or respawn time, is variable, and a countdown is shown at the top of your HUD when your character has died. Respawn waves occur on regular intervals and are based on the map settings. Most official maps use a 10-second respawn wave time. Those 10 seconds are then modified by the map state, generally reduced for the team that controls the most capture points. Each team's respawn wave time is then scaled down when the team has less than 8 players in it. The minimum respawn wave time is 5 seconds, occurring when the team has 3 or less players in it. When you die, you are assigned to the respawn wave after the next one. Therefore, if the respawn wave time is currently 10 seconds for your team, you will respawn somewhere between 10 and 20 seconds after your death. Your individual performance does not affect the respawn wave time in any way.
Respawn wave time on a server can be altered by changing the mp_respawnwavetime variable.
Instant respawn times
Some servers feature instant respawn times where the waiting period for players to respawn is drastically reduced or even eliminated for all players. Servers can use either third-party custom plugins to enable this feature or the in-built command mp_disable_respawn_times. The amount of time between death and actual respawn can vary if the server forces the Deathcam to be displayed.
Areas
Respawn
The respawn area refers to where newly-joined and resurrected players are placed. On some maps, this may be a separate room from the resupply area. Frequently, the two areas overlap and there is no visible distinction between the two. The use of the respawn area as a separate room is frequently found on Capture the Flag maps. In this case, there are sometimes automatic double doors leading to the resupply area. These doors frequently may only be opened from the inside, and when present provide one of the few safe places during Humiliation.
You may change your class within the respawn area without committing suicide. On most maps, it is also safe to change class within the resupply area, even if they are separate rooms. The point where you respawn is randomly chosen, but on Control Point maps, it is often determined by which control points your team has control over. Note that changing classes may at times instantly place you in a different respawn area if more than one is present.
In the VPK files of Team Fortress 2, and in unused sound effects, there is a turret that may have been intended to guard the respawn area rather than the eventual invisible wall, similar to Team Fortress Classic.
Resupply
The resupply area is a room which is generally safe from opponents and provides you with Resupply lockers to replenish your health and ammunition. Depending on the map, this area may be adjacent, separate, or even overlapping to the respawn area. Most resupply areas contain one or more Resupply lockers which instantly provide full health, metal, and ammunition (including refilling all of your weapons' magazines) upon opening. They also are able to remove the effects of Jarate and Mad Milk, stop bleeding, and extinguish afterburn. Using a Resupply locker also allows players to switch between hats and/or weapons if they have already respawned, therefore eliminating the need to switch between classes in order to update your weapon loadout (unless you have the option 'Automatically respawning when you change your loadout' checked). Using a Resupply locker as a Spy using Your Eternal Reward or the Wanga Prick will also remove your disguise. As an honorbound Demoman or Soldier with the Half-Zatoichi out, touching a Resupply locker will allow you to switch weapons without losing health. Finally, using a Resupply locker will recharge the explosive in the Ullapool Caber, and give another Razorback to a Sniper who has been backstabbed while wearing one. To open a Resupply locker, the player must simply walk near it. Note that Resupply lockers cannot be opened during Sudden Death or by the losing team during Humiliation. Ammo and Health kits take around 10-20 seconds to respawn.
Other purely decorative objects within the resupply area may include lockers in which the various classes keep their personal belongings, free weights, and targets for practice.
Gallery
Resupply lockers, found in resupply areas, return players to full health and ammunition when used.
An open Resupply locker.
The Medieval Mode Resupply locker used on Degroot Keep.
An open Medieval Mode Resupply locker.
The resupply locker used on Suijin.
An open resupply locker from Suijin.
Related achievements
Spy
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Update history
- Fixed teleporter/spawn doorway exploit.
- Fixed exploit where spectators could spawn into the world without actually joining a team.
- Fixed an exploit allowing players to spawn into the enemy territory at the start of a round.
- Fixed Bonk! ammo count exploit after using a regeneration locker.
- Fixed being able to respawn during the chat time before a level change.
- [Undocumented] Players will automatically be respawned with their loadouts if they switch weapons while in a spawn area.
- Fixed players not being able to fire their weapons right after spawning.
- Updated honor-bound weapons so they can be holstered within a second of touching a supply cabinet.
April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)
- Items in the action slot no longer swap before returning to a supply cabinet.
- Fixed supply closets regenerating players while they are taunting.
- Fixed the grapple still being connected to players after they die and respawn.
- Fixed an exploit related to Highlander mode and changing teams with instant respawn.
Bugs
- Rarely, the player will be stuck in the respawn wave after dying. The time will reset whenever it reaches "Prepare to respawn". This can sometimes be fixed by re-selecting one's class.
- When reloading a Clip-based weapon, and touching a resupply locker before the animation completes, it will cause the reserve ammunition to decrease depending on how much ammo the weapon intended to refill.
- When joining a game, if the player selected a team, the player can be kicked out of the class selection. When going back to the class selection and choosing class, the player will not respawn. Leaving the game and rejoin the server can fix this issue.
See also
External links
- TF2 Official Website, October 8, 2008 blog post – Explains the reasoning behind the respawn "waves" system.
