Jumping

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A frolicking Scout.
Hey, I can see my base from here!
The Scout after a Quad Jump

Jumping is a basic ability that every class is capable of, which moves the player 50 Hammer units vertically and can potentially reach 72 Hu via crouch-jumping. Jumping can be used to reach elevated positions, shorten walking distance, or avoid enemy fire. By default, jumping is performed by pressing Space on Windows, Mac or SteamOS/Linux, Xbox Button A.png on the Xbox 360, or PS Button X.png on the PlayStation 3.

In addition to this basic innate jumping ability of limited height, most classes have means of technical jumping that can exploit weapons or other effects to reach much greater heights.

Associated weapons

Basic maneuvers

Crouch-jumping

At any point during a jump, the player may crouch by pressing the pre-assigned button. This causes the classes to bring their legs up in world view and move an additional Hammer unit up, as well as reduce their height by 27 Hammer units from the bottom of their hitbox. This allows them to reach higher surfaces or shrink their hitboxes to dodge enemy fire. By default, a player may only crouch and uncrouch twice while in the air to prevent several exploits.

Crouch-jumping is also used to boost the effect of explosive knockback. By design, any jump involving an explosive goes farther with a crouch-jump than a regular jump.

Air strafing

Air strafing allows players to curve in mid-air to change their trajectory. While airborne, it can be performed by simultaneously strafing and turning smoothly in the same direction. Attempting to move forward with the movement keys (such as holding W) during the maneuver prevents the player from strafing, while attempting to move backward also results in an extreme decrease of speed.

Advanced maneuvers

Knockback surfing

All weapons deal a small bit of knockback; this is practically none while on the ground. However, when in the air, the knockback is significantly more noticeable. While retreating under fire, it may prove useful to keep jumping and gain some extra knockback from enemies shooting at you (if timed correctly). A similar effect can be achieved by using an enemy's explosive knockback to escape, similar to a blast jump.

Scout jumps

Using the Force-A-Nature to augment jumps.

The Scout is the only class with the innate ability to double jump. This can be augmented with the Force-A-Nature, Boston Basher, Winger, or Atomizer, thus creating a wide variety of jumping variations.

Double Jump

By pressing the jump key a second time while in midair, the Scout can perform a second jump in any direction. The extra height and distance this ability grants can be used to access areas which other classes cannot. This can be useful for avoiding enemy fire and ambushing incoming enemies. A careless double jump, however, has an easily predictable trajectory, allowing competent players to make a kill.

It is possible to execute the second jump at any time while in midair. This can be used to negate fall damage by performing the second jump just before hitting the ground.

Triple Jump

Equipping the Atomizer allows the Scout to perform a triple jump while fully deployed. With this ability, the Scout can jump across larger gaps that would otherwise be inaccessible through double jumping. Scouts with this ability are distinct from other Scouts, as the third jump emits a purple cloud beneath their feet.

Force Jump

With the Force-A-Nature equipped, the Scout can use the recoil from a shot while in mid-air to propel himself even higher for an effective triple jump. The third "jump" produced by the Force-A-Nature shot has more horizontal force and is slightly more difficult to aim and predict than a double jump. By jumping forwards and firing the Force-A-Nature downwards, the Scout propels himself higher than a double jump, but still has the second jump available in reserve. This acts as a trade-off; horizontal momentum is lost in order to provide greater vertical displacement. As firing the Force-A-Nature while in the air pushes the Scout in the opposite direction of the fired shot, he can launch himself in any direction, even downwards.

Bonk! Jump

With the Bonk! Atomic Punch equipped, the Scout is impervious to all damage. Because of this, the Scout can use the recoil from enemy fire, such as from an opposing Sentry Gun or explosives, to propel himself up in the air. The closer to the source of the knockback, the more explosives, or the higher the Sentry level is, the longer and faster the jump is.

Basher Jump

By hurting himself with the Boston Basher or Three-Rune Blade while in midair, the Scout can use the self-damaging properties of these weapons to get to places otherwise inaccessible. Such a maneuver is risky, however, as it only takes four missed swings to bring a non-overhealed Scout with full health to exactly one hitpoint. The overall height gained is also not often a worthwhile trade, being significantly less efficient than using the Atomizer. Extensive use of medkits is therefore required. Much like rocket jumping, crouching while in midair greatly increases the distance a Basher-jumping Scout can travel. The Boston Basher can be used in conjunction with the Force-A-Nature to achieve maximum height or distance as the Scout in a single jump.

Quad Jump

By combining the Atomizer's triple jump with the Force-A-Nature's knock back, a Scout can perform four jumps in quick succession, allowing him to get to hard-to-reach spots and maintain a massive height advantage over the enemies. This technique can be amazing for flanking and finding flank routes. The safest method to perform a successful quad jump is to swap weapons to the Force-A-Nature just after having used the Atomizer; the reverse is more difficult due to the Atomizer's long switch speed, and would leave the player with their melee rather than damaging primary out after a jump.

Winger Jump

While having the Winger as the active weapon, the Scout gains 25% additional height in his jumps. This is useful for jumping onto or over things that Scouts normally cannot. This also pairs well with the Force-A-Nature, increasing jumping distance even further, although one would have to swap weapons mid-air to utilize the extra jumps obtained from the Force-A-Nature.

Hype Jump

After filling and activating the Soda Popper's Hype meter, the player can perform up to five additional air jumps for a brief period. This allows for reaching areas normally inaccessible by Scouts, allowing players to cover much greater distances and reach much higher areas. The weapon is also good for flanking and heckling enemies, as five extra jumps can make the Scout much harder to predict. Note that Hype jumping replaces the Atomizer's third jump; however, the Winger, while deployed, can be used to increase the height of each jump, further increasing the Scout's mobility.

Soldier jumps

Basic rocket jump

A rocket jump is any jump assisted by the explosive knockback of the Soldier's own rockets. A Soldier can propel himself to great heights and distances, usually at the cost of some health. This technique is often used to reach unusual locations on the map, cover ground quickly, bypass barriers, and surprise foes. To assist with rocket jumps, the Soldier has a 40% damage resistance against any rocket he fires that hurts him while he is in the air. This resistance takes effect even if an enemy was hit with the same rocket used to rocket jump, unlike the Gunboats. Critical hits do not deal extra self-damage or extra knockback to the Soldier, so they do not propel him further. Any rocket jumping Soldier displays burning, smoky boots until he lands, similar to the Demoman.

To execute a rocket jump, simultaneously jump and fire a rocket at the ground below. The angle of the shot and distance from the explosion determine the velocity and height of the jump, meaning that a rocket aimed directly at the ground below you will send you directly upward. Crouch-jumping before firing the rocket launches the player significantly farther. The sooner the explosion is made after jumping, the farther and faster the Soldier flies.

The Market Gardener deals lethal Critical hits (195 damage) when the user is rocket jumping. Landing one of these can sometimes lead to a very impressive and satisfactory kill. Enemy rockets, grenades and stickies count as an explosive jump if the player is not killed by the explosion. Experienced players can sometimes use this to land Critical hits against enemies. Players can also bunnyhop on the ground very precisely before hitting someone to gain a Critical hit. The B.A.S.E. Jumper can also be utilized by keeping the player airborne while they attack people with the Market Gardener.

For consistency, self-inflicted damage caused by rockets always uses the same base damage and blast radius no matter the rocket launcher used, giving consistent launch force for all weapons for a given rocket jump, with self-damage reductions on weapons like the Liberty Launcher applied afterwards and not affecting the force of the jump.

Overload jump

An Overload jump can be achieved by jumping while overloading the Beggar's Bazooka. This form of rocket jumping is unique in the fact that it can allow the Soldier to perform up to three rocket jumps in mid-air, without worrying about having a surface to propel from, and allows the Soldier to achieve heights often denied to other Soldiers. Practice is required to time when to jump and where to aim while Overloading, but the technique is not too difficult to learn. Due to the self-inflicted damage resulting from Overload jumping, especially if the Soldier plans on overloading three times per 'jump,' the Gunboats are highly suggested for this technique, as it decreases the amount of damage from overloads. Knowing where medkits are on the map is also a necessity, as the multiple overloads and fall damage often leave the Soldier at very low health.

Advanced rocket jump

There are multiple variations of the basic rocket jump. Most are regularly used on jump maps, but they can also be used in a normal game to gain great speed or height.

  • Faster rocket jumps can be made off a combination of a wall and ground. Aim down at the corner where the wall intersects the ground, crouch-jump, and fire. These jumps tend to have a low angle and high velocity, and they often go farther than regular jumps.
  • Wall jumps can be made while in the air and against a wall. Continue to hold crouch and fire down below yourself on the wall. The explosion produces a second jump. Rocket jumps and wall jumps can be chained together to gain great distance or height.
  • Pogo jumps are secondary rocket jumps made against the ground to increase your airtime. The explosion should keep you airborne and potentially increase forward momentum. Skipping is the high speed variant. You must predict your location and sometimes aim ahead to ensure that the rocket lands directly beneath you, or you might fail and touch the ground. You must always be crouching during these jumps, as failure to do so makes your jumps far less powerful.
  • Double rocket jumps, also known as sync jumps, require two rockets to detonate as you jump, and can only be performed on a few maps. If you fire a rocket downwards and fall after it, you eventually fall faster than your own shot. After landing, you then rocket jump as your first rocket strikes the ground. The combined explosions send you much farther and higher than is otherwise possible. Looking up at the rocket to see when it will reach you makes timing the jump easier. Using the Liberty Launcher or Direct Hit is inadvisable, as it makes this technique far harder, requiring a greater distance to catch up to your rockets.
  • Triple rocket jumps are a harder variant of the jump described above. They use three rockets instead of two and can be performed by either shooting two rockets in quick succession after dropping down, or by shooting a second rocket after having caught up with your first, then rocket jumping as they hit the ground. The force obtained from a triple rocket jump is extreme and comparable to a double sticky jump, allowing you to soar through entire maps.
  • Flicking is rapidly turning around and firing the rocket mostly behind you. This can be combined with any other technique to fine tune the direction and power of a jump. An easier equivalent is to face backwards while you make your rocket jump. Always turn in the direction of your weapon. Doing this results in a faster and more precise jump, as projectiles in the Source engine are spawned at the end of the player's viewmodel, not in the center of their screen. There are two other versions of this jump, called a Quad, in which you fire your rocket after your third one, which can lead into a Quint (five rockets) which propels you very high from the floor upwards into the air from the quad. There are many jumps like this in jump_sync.
  • Water jumping is using the water physics of the Source engine to gain extra momentum. Players that are in the process of surfacing in deep water receive a minor boost upwards; rocket jumping during this time (likely against a wall) augments this force into a very strong jump. Well is the most likely place to find this kind of jump. Ctapping in shallow water results in an incredibly strong jump.
  • No damage is dealt to the Soldier when rocket jumping if he has the Rocket Jumper equipped, although he still receives fall damage. To avoid fall damage when using the Rocket Jumper, the Soldier can launch a rocket just before landing the initial jump just in front of his feet. This does not launch him into the air again (as seen with a Pogo jump), but cancels out the momentum, thus stopping fall damage from being dealt.
  • Rocket jumping off of enemies or buildings allows the Soldier to scale small barriers without going too high.
  • Rocket jumping can be made more efficient with several items such as the Liberty Launcher and Gunboats, which decrease self-inflicted damage and allow for more rocket jumps without depending on health packs. When rocket jumping, the Mantreads increase air control and deal damage to enemies upon landing on them, while also nullifying any fall damage the Soldier would have gotten.
  • A bounce is when a player touches a teleportation system on a floor or platform on the same frame that they shoot their rocket, launching them up and preventing them to be teleported back to the beginning of a level. This is similar to a Bouncehop, in which you use the same technique, but you only use Space and do not require the use of a Rocket Launcher. There are various maps that include this type of jumping method. Including jump_bounce, jump_bouncerific and jump_bouncehop. Another variation of a bounce is a powerbounce. This is when you bouncehop using a Rocket Launcher on a teleport surface. to rocket jump higher then a normal bounce.
  • Edgebugging is when you land on the very edge of a block and you slide off it slightly. If done correctly, you maintain your falling state and horizontal velocity, but take no fall damage. You can also edgebug on surfaces with teleports on them. In addition to this, you can also edgeshot - which is when you shoot a rocket when you are edgebugging.
  • Crouchtapping or Ctapping is when you tap crouch a split second before you jump. This makes you get extra height when you do a rocket jump. Ctap rocket jumps are higher than normal rocket jumps because crouching puts you closer to the ground (closer to the epicenter of the blast) and sends you further when you rocket jump. Some maps require this type of jump to be completed, such as jump_legion.
  • Speedshots are done when you have a large amount of horizontal speed, you are close to the ground, and your rocket explodes 90 degrees below you. The timing is strict, but it allows for you to gain large amounts of speed and is necessary for certain rollouts and jump maps.
  • Jurf, or jump surf, is an extension of Surfing, but it is done with the inclusion of rockets. Combining surf ramps and rockets allows for you to gain more speed and abuse ramp slides. Jurfing is necessary for certain jump maps such as jump_jurf, and is very helpful in certain rollouts.

Pyro jumps

Deflected rocket jump

The Pyro can take advantage of the knockback effect of reflected projectiles to jump. By aiming the compression blast at their own feet whilst an explosive gets close to them, the Pyro can redirect these explosives from either the Soldier, Demoman, or a Sentry Gun into a powerful rocket jump. Because the Pyro has no resistance to self-inflicted damage, this jump generally sends the Pyro farther and higher than what a Soldier could accomplish, however this forces the Pyro to take considerably more damage than a Soldier would in the same situation. Whilst jumping with a reflected grenade is possible, the force exerted by the compression blast in conjunction with the smaller window of time before the detonation make it very tricky to properly utilise this specific type of jump. Sentry Gun rockets can also be used to jump; they launch the Pyro higher into the air than the Soldier's rockets could, however they deal significantly more self-inflicted damage.

Flare jump

The Pyro can use the explosive flares shot by the Detonator or Scorch Shot to gain additional jump height and distance. It can be used to clear gaps or jump to higher areas that are normally unreachable by the Pyro, which can prove useful for ambushing. The Detonator jump is significantly more powerful than the Scorch Shot jump. While incapable of damaging enemies, the explosion created by the Detonator's flare colliding with the world boosts the Pyro who shot it, preventing a necessity of timing a difficult manual detonation.

Due to a bug, the Flare Gun can also be used to flare jump when shot close to a wall under a specific angle.[1]

Thermal Thruster jump

The Pyro can use the Thermal Thruster's charge to launch themselves in the direction they are looking at. When activating the Thermal Thruster, the initial liftoff sends the Pyro up a short distance in the direction they are aiming. The weapon's mobility greatly outperforms that of the Detonator and Scorch Shot, but it lacks offensive capability outside of its stomp effect akin to Mantreads. Its slow switch speed makes it more useful for sneaking into higher levels of the map than for making quick escapes or jumping into an attack.

Demoman jumps

Basic sticky jump

A sticky jump is any jump assisted by the explosive knock back of the Demoman's own stickies. Compared to the Soldier's rocket jump, the Demoman pays more health, but jumps much higher and farther. This technique is often used to reach unusual locations on the map, cover ground quickly, bypass barriers, and surprise foes. To assist with sticky jumps, stickies deal 25% less self-damage. Critical hits do not deal extra self-damage or extra knockback to the Demoman, so they do not propel him farther. Any sticky jumping Demoman displays burning, smoky boots until he lands, similar to the Soldier.

To execute a successful sticky jump, place a sticky bomb on the ground and wait for it to arm. Jump over the sticky and detonate it. Your distance from the sticky's wide explosive radius determines height, velocity, and damage taken to a significant degree. Crouch-jumping causes the explosion to launch you significantly farther.

Advanced sticky jump

Advanced sticky jumping techniques are similar to a Soldier's rocket jumping techniques, but the mechanics are somewhat different because of the sticky's arming period.

  • Double sticky jumps begin by setting two stickies on the ground instead of one. You lose vastly more health, but you jump much farther and higher. It is best to only attempt this jump while a Medic overheals you or ÜberCharges you. In regular games, this is often used to leap across an entire section of the map.
  • Triple sticky jumps use three stickies. They should not be done without an overheal, ÜberCharge, or the extra health from the Bootlegger/Ali Baba's Wee Booties. Because the player often lands with extremely reduced health, their destination should either be very high or far or have a Health Pack. No official maps are big enough to need this; a double sticky jump can get you to the same place with some health to spare.
  • Like rocket jumps, more powerful sticky jumps can be made by launching the sticky at the intersection between a wall and the ground. These jumps generally give you more speed and distance at the cost of some height.
  • Wall jumps can also be made with stickies. Because of the arming delay, the Demoman must launch a sticky at the wall and rapidly detonate the sticky under his feet before the wall sticky arms. Then he must detonate the wall sticky as he passes. The height and distance gained from this technique is extreme. It is possible but quite difficult to chain farther wall stickies together, but this can only be done on jump maps which heal you during your jumps.
  • Pogoing is also possible with the Demoman. To pogo, you must fire a new sticky at your destination and detonate the old one beneath you just before the second one arms. You repeat this combination over and over to remain in the air. Pogoing can also lead into a wall jump by placing the second sticky onto a wall. This often propels the Demoman at great speeds and can be useful to transition into a surf (negating fall damage).
  • Mid-air pogoing is one of the hardest Demoman jumping techniques. You place one sticky below yourself, fire another sticky upwards or outwards, and then jump after the airborne sticky. Alternatively, you can jump first and shoot the sticky in mid-air. If done correctly, you catch up to the sticky while it arms in mid-air, and you can detonate it for a further boost. While incredibly hard, it is possible to chain several mid-air pogos by continuing to shoot precise stickies in the air and detonating them, but is normally not possible outside of a jump map, as the Demoman sustains too much damage and dies.
  • No damage is dealt to the Demoman when sticky jumping with the Sticky Jumper out, although he still receives fall damage unless you shoot a sticky at your landing spot and time the detonation correctly.
  • By jumping over the sticky (whilst crouching) and detonating just before you hit the ground, you can sticky jump at a shallow angle with much forwards momentum. This is useful to speed through corridors with low ceilings - examples of such corridors include the sewers on 2Fort and the Payload tunnels on Hoodoo.

Grenade jump

Much like rockets, stickies, and other explosives, a Demoman's Grenade Launcher can be used to jump. The explosion has power and damage comparable to a rocket jump, but is far more difficult to time and execute. They are rarely used in actual play, but are a niche for Demomen wielding the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen, or Tide Turner, which can also give a boost while jumping and is similar to rampsliding. This allows for Demoknights to perform trimps without a ramp as they jump before charging and strafing (to recieve extra height). This form of jumping may also be preferable if you have stickies already placed and do not wish to detonate them to jump somewhere. Grenades deal 25% less self-inflicted damage. This is done best with the Iron Bomber as the grenades have little bounce and roll.

There are three rules of thumb for executing a good grenade jump.

  • Fire straight down or against a wall or corner to control grenade positioning. Firing it forward makes it very difficult to track, and it may explode before you have reached it.
  • Crouch-jump over the grenade roughly two seconds after you fire it, absorbing as much of the explosion as possible. Jump too early, too late, or without good timing, and the jump has little power or control.
  • Vertical jumps require you to crouch-jump without any lateral motion. Proper grenade placement gives you the proper momentum to bypass a high barrier.
  • Shooting a grenade at an enemy if he is very close while jumping allows higher jumps.

To perfectly time a grenade jump, immediately reload after deploying the grenade and jump after the second audible click plays. A visual clue is to watch the rings around the grenade, which pulses increasingly faster as it nears detonation.

The Iron Bomber is useful for performing grenade jumps, as its projectiles do not move far from where they land. This lets you position yourself over your grenades much more easily.

Caber jump

The Ullapool Caber can be used to jump; by striking the ground or a nearby wall, the Demoman is launched directly upwards, making it useful to reach some high locations. However, caber jumps are more damaging than sticky jumps or grenade jumps and, while easier, are not as effective. It is also possible to use caber jumps in combination with sticky jumps and grenade jumps; by striking a wall while airborne, the Demoman gains a significant boost. In addition to this, it is possible to combine a surf (gliding over a ramp at high speeds) with a caber jump by crouching and striking the ground with the caber at the end of the aforementioned ramp. This often means that the Demoman has more airtime and momentum.

Cannon jump

Similar to the Grenade Launcher, the Loose Cannon can be used to perform explosive jumps without the detonation of sticky bombs, or to retain the use of a charge shield. Cannonballs deal 25% less self-inflicted damage.

  • While burning the fuse with Loose Cannon, fire a cannonball and jump at the moment it is about to explode, while standing near and facing a wall; it shall send you airborne. This can also be done while running and facing the ground; however, the timing is tricky. If the jump is not made with proper timing, you do not achieve a high jump, and only move a few feet.
  • While in the air, you can extend the length of your jump using the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen, or Tide Turner.
  • An alternative way to cannon jump is to burn the fuse until the cannonball blows in the barrel, and crouch-jump in the precise moment of the blast, giving a more powerful boost. When doing so, the Demoman should aim approximately behind him, as the explosion of the cannonball takes place inside the weapon.

Rampsliding

Rampsliding, or Trimping, uses the charging ability of the Chargin' Targe, the Splendid Screen, or the Tide Turner to propel the Demoman off of inclined surfaces.

  • Approach the incline you wish to slide off of at full running speed. Depending on its steepness, this is sometimes required.
  • Jump and charge at the slope simultaneously. If this surface would be too steep to walk on, you likely need to stand as close as you can to the surface before doing this.
  • If you are jumping from a distance, attempt to mid-air strafe sideways into the ramp (this is best done with the Tide Turner). Due to how the Source engine handles air strafing, you gain a significant amount of speed.
  • The strafe keys do not do anything while charging, nor can you crouch. Turn the camera left or right to navigate.
  • Once the charge ends, you regain access to normal air strafing controls. This can be extra useful if you are not using the Tide Turner, since the other shields have limited turn control while charging. You can end the charge manually by swinging a melee weapon.
  • Your speed can have an impact on whether or not the slide works. For example, you can slide a shallower ramp by going faster.
  • Some ramps are a bit steep, but are still barely walkable. In these cases, the amount of speed required for a successful rampslide is not as high. Simply jumping and charging directly at the surface may work.

Engineer jumps

Building Step jump

The Building Step jump utilizes the Engineer's ability to stand on his own buildings in order to reach ledges that are at a medium height. It is executed by simply crouch-jumping on top of a building and using the height gained to crouch-jump up to the target ledge. While Sentry Guns are slightly taller than Dispensers, for this purpose, Dispensers are often more convenient to use due to a lower metal cost; there is almost no practical advantage to step jumping off of a Teleporter. Contrary to some expectations, the building does not have to be fully constructed or upgraded; the height it gives when stood on is constant, regardless of its animation and level.

Examples of potential locations for a Building Step jump include RED's advanced spawn on Dustbowl's stage 3 (which allows Engineers to return to spawn easily) and RED's right side of Gold Rush's stage 1 (which allows Engineers to reach a common setup location from an unexpected direction).

Note that savvy enemies are capable of using a Dispenser for a jump, just as its Engineer can. Disguised enemy Spies can also use Sentry Guns in this way.

Sentry rocket jump

There are two ways to Sentry Gun rocket jump;

  • The easiest method is to wrangle your level 3 Sentry and fire rockets at your feet while you crouch-jump. Since the Engineer receives no resistance to self-inflicted damage, he loses a great deal of health but flies very far. Landing spots must be chosen carefully.
  • A harder method allows the Engineer to jump and carry his Sentry with him. You must fire the rockets, switch away from the Wrangler, and pack-up the Sentry before the jump carries you out of range.

Scripting can automate the hard method, but the technique can be learned manually. While looking at your Sentry Gun, tap the following keys in rapid succession: Crouch-jump and fire rockets simultaneously, switch to your last weapon, then pack-up the Sentry Gun. If you want to avoid crouch-jumping, you can cut out that step by standing on your Sentry instead.

Using the hard method, you can rapidly relocate and redeploy your Level 3 Sentry in unusual and/or aggressive locations. The Rescue Ranger can also be used in place of this technique, as it allows you to haul buildings from a distance, if you have a line of sight to them. When using the Rescue Ranger, make sure that you are able to see the Sentry from your destination, and ensure you have 100 metal to haul it to you. You can also use the Rescue Ranger's building pickup ability in the air.

It is recommended that you jump in the direction the rockets were fired, as the launch angle can be hard to determine otherwise.

Sentry bullet jump

Sentry bullet jumps are more difficult than Sentry rocket jumps, but they can be performed with any Sentry and often do less damage to the Engineer. The Gunslinger's Mini-Sentry is especially useful for bullet jumping. It deals even less damage and fires faster, providing more knockback for the jump.

The technique is deceptively simple. Stand on top of your Sentry Gun, aim in the direction you want to go, crouch-jump, and fire. Your bullets should propel you high into the air. Most bullet jumps fail due to aiming too low or because the angle of the Sentry Gun's fire is not pushing you up fast enough to overcome gravity.

If you have difficulty bullet jumping at angles, a simpler technique is deploy your Sentry beside the location you want to reach, stand on it, and fire almost straight up. Once you are nearly at the height you desire, aim a touch in the direction you wish to go, and the last few bullets shall nudge you horizontally at your target.

Energy Orb jump

An Energy Orb jump utilizes the Short Circuit's self-inflicted damage when in close range of a enemy, giving almost the power of a Rocket Jump.

  • This jump can deal less self-damage than that of the Sentry Rockets jump, as a Energy Orb jump only takes 15-20 Health points.
  • How far the energy orb blast pushes you depends on how much self-inflicted damage the inital jump did to the enemy and you.

Other jumps

Quick-Fix jump

As a Medic using the Quick-Fix, when the player you are healing does an explosive jump, you are blasted with similar force in the same direction, but take no damage (although fall damage is still incurred). This only works with Soldiers, Demomen, and Pyros. It does not work with Sentry jumps. This is useful to get Medics to the front lines faster, to allow them to reach otherwise inaccessible locations, and to make up for the health loss of explosive jumps.

Enemy-assisted jump

While unlikely, it is possible to use opponents' attacks to make jumps. For example, Bonk! Atomic Punch Scouts or Dead Ringer Spies can use the knockback of a high-leveled Sentry Gun or a cluster of stickies to fly across a map, while any class could feasibly jump a fair distance using an incoming enemy rocket or grenade. Attempting to make enemy-assisted jumps often deals high damage and may result in being juggled.

Pumpkin jump

A Pumpkin jump uses Pumpkin bombs to launch the player into the air.

  • Lighter classes should stand far away and crouch-jump while shooting the Pumpkin.
  • Heavier classes can stand beside the Pumpkin bomb and fire for a larger boost. The Heavy can jump farther than the Demoman's sticky jump for almost half his health. Destroying a Pumpkin while using the Fists of Steel reduces the Pumpkin bomb's explosive damage.
  • The Demoman's shields reduce damage done by Pumpkin explosions caused by enemy players.
  • Weapons with a damage vulnerability (such as the Candy Cane) will cause extra damage, stand farther away from the Pumpkin bomb to negate some of the extra damage.
  • When using the Gunboats, destroying a Pumpkin with any weapon reduces the Pumpkin bomb's explosive damage.
  • Could be also done with the Alien Walkers found on 2Fort Invasion and Probed.

Spell Jump

Any class who picks up the spell "Blast Jump" can use it to take advantage of a mild explosive jump with no explosion damage.The spell contains 2 charges by default. High gaps can be cleared, and the spell can be used in conjunction with nearly all other types of jumps.

Inability to jump

There are certain states a player can be in that prevent them from jumping;

  • While charging with the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen and Tide Turner as the Demoman.
  • While spinning a primary weapon as the Heavy.
  • Drawing an arrow while wielding the Huntsman or the Fortified Compound as the Sniper.
  • Taunting.
  • Crouching.
  • While stunned.
  • There is something above the player (if the mentioned object does not allow a full jump, the player jumps, stops, and falls when the model reaches the object).
  • They are underwater.
  • They are in the air (with the exception of the Scout's double jump).
  • They have already performed a double jump, triple jump, quadruple jump, or force jump.

Jump exploits

These jump exploits allow players to perform unusual and unintended behavior.

Needle boosting

Prior to the December 31, 2007 Patch, Syringe Gun needles pushed friendly players a small amount. With enough Medics using needle boosting, the player could be launched very high on a wave of needles.

Bunny hopping (speed)

Prior to the October 31, 2007 Patch, you could jump repeatedly to preserve forward momentum. Rocket jumping, air strafing, and other techniques could be used to increase the momentum gained from bunny hopping, allowing players to move far faster than intended.
Despite this patch, you still get a small speed boost when air strafing.

Bunny hopping (airborne)

When the player jumps within a very short time span right after landing from an explosive jump, the falling sound continues to play and the player is still considered airborne; consequently, the player is still granted effects like guaranteed Crits with the Market Gardener. This bug is not yet patched.

Cumulative Flare Jumping

On certain props, Detonator flares will not detonate upon impact. Multiple Detonator flares can be stacked on top of each other and detonated simultaneously to launch the Pyro with extreme force.

Related achievements

Leaderboard class scout.png Scout

Batter Up
Batter Up
Perform 1000 double jumps.


Pop Fly
Pop Fly
Kill 20 players while double-jumping.
The Cycle
The Cycle
In a single life, kill an enemy while you are on the ground, in the air, and in the water.


Leaderboard class soldier.png Soldier

Death from Above
Death from Above
Rocket jump and kill 2 enemies before you land.


Death From Below
Death From Below
Kill 10 opponents who are airborne with the Direct Hit.


Duty Bound
Duty Bound
While rocket jumping kill an enemy with the Equalizer before you land or just after landing.
Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare
Get the highest possible rocket jump using jump and crouch.


Wings of Glory
Wings of Glory
Kill an enemy soldier while both you and the target are airborne.


Mutually Air-Sured-Destruction
Mutually Air-Sured-Destruction
While rocket jumping, use a rocket to kill a rocket jumping enemy who also kills you with a rocket.

Leaderboard class pyro.png Pyro

Pilot Light
Pilot Light
Ignite a rocket-jumping Soldier while he's in midair.


Leaderboard class demoman.png Demoman

Double Mauled Scotch
Double Mauled Scotch
Kill 2 people in a single sticky jump.


Highland Fling
Highland Fling
Sticky jump a really long way...
The High Road
The High Road
Sticky jump onto a cap point and capture it.


The Scottish Play
The Scottish Play
Get a melee kill while sticky jumping.


Leaderboard class heavy.png Heavy

Marxman
Marxman
Kill 10 enemies in mid-air with the minigun.


Leaderboard class sniper.png Sniper

Dropped Dead
Dropped Dead
Kill a Scout in midair with your Sniper Rifle or the Huntsman.
Jumper Stumper
Jumper Stumper
Kill a rocket or grenade-jumping enemy in midair with your Sniper Rifle or the Huntsman.

Update history

October 31, 2007 Patch
  • Added anti-bunny hopping code

November 20, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed jump/taunt exploit

December 31, 2007 Patch

  • Fixed Syringe Gun projectiles sometimes pushing players high up into the air, allowing them to reach bad map locations

April 1, 2008 Patch

  • Fixed crouch-jump exploit that allowed players to get outside of the world

December 11, 2008 Patch

  • Added smoke to the feet of a rocket jumping Soldier

March 6, 2009 Patch

  • You can now duck twice in the air. Scout double jumps reset the in-air jump counts
  • Added "tf_clamp_airducks" convar, set to 1 by default
    • Setting it to 0 will remove all constraints on ducking while in the air. Useful for servers running RJ challenge maps
  • Increased the jump velocity to account for the tuned bounding box sizes. Jump height should now match the prior-to-last-update heights

June 3, 2011 Patch

  • Added new community contributed response rules for Scout's double jump

December 15, 2011 Patch (Australian Christmas 2011)

  • [Undocumented] Jumps made with the Detonator are now higher

March 28, 2018 Patch #2

  • Fixed the Scout's double-jump failing when attempted immediately after switching to any weapon (instead of just The Atomizer)

October 8, 2020 Patch

  • Fixed players not being able to rocket jump or stickybomb jump during a truce

See also

References

External links