Team Fortress 2's Best Class - Which Class Should You Play?
Team Fortress 2 is a very chaotic game. The moment a match starts, everything ranging from gunshots to shouting to taunts are thrown all around and across the map. It can be a confusing experience for new players, especially for those who have little to no experience playing video games or shooters, not to mention that there are nine classes with drastically different and unique playstyles.
However, it is possible to find your way amidst this chaos! And the first step is finding a class that suits the situation best. In this article, I’ll be showing you the ropes of each of the nine classes of Team Fortress 2, their pros and cons, and when you should play them. After reading this, you’ll know exactly which class to play, and a general sense of how to use them!
1. The Scout
Confident, decisive and uncaring; the Scout’s personality matches his playstyle. Equipped with their fast speed and shotgun, the Scout rewards a risk-oriented, fast-paced playstyle. You’ll often find yourself closing the distance with the enemy at an opportune moment, quickly deal damage, then run away before the enemy can respond.
The Scout demands that you correctly assess risks and situations, then make the right decisions at a moment’s notice, all under the heat of a fight. It’s difficult to get the hang of this class if you’re new to the game, but you’ll find exciting and rewarding gameplay as you get to learn it.
What Scout Excels In:
- Having the luxury to pick their fights and punish enemies who are isolated or out of position, while avoiding the same pitfall themselves.
- Utilizing their speed to pick off key enemies.
- Catching enemies off-guard by going through flanking routes.
- Preventing enemy scouts from doing the same!
Pick Scout If…
- Scouts from the enemy team need to be kept in check.
- The map involves many open areas that allow the Scout’s speed to shine.
- If you feel like it! Scout is considered a “generalist” class by the TF2 community, meaning that he can fit into virtually any situation.
2. The Soldier
The Soldier is the go-to head-to-head fighting class of TF2; equipped with a rocket launcher and a shotgun, he is built to be on the frontlines, aiding his team through team fights and chokepoints alike. The Soldier is one of the most versatile classes in the game and is usually recommended for beginners.
He may be slow on foot, but don’t let that fool you! The Soldier is one of the most mobile classes in the game. By shooting a rocket at his feet, he can propel himself into the air, essentially “rocket jumping” to compensate for his otherwise slow speed. It’s one of the game’s most innovative features and is arguably the Soldier’s main appeal!
What Soldier Excels In:
- Using the rocket’s splash damage to gain an advantage in team fights and to attack/defend chokepoints.
- Utilizing rocket jumping to quickly flank the enemy and deal damage.
- Holding and defending points of importance.
Pick Soldier If…
- You’re playing a map with many chokepoints and flanking routes.
- Your team is lacking classes that can hold their own in head-to-head fights.
- Soldiers are also generalist classes, so you can play them whenever you feel like doing so.
3. The Pyro
The Pyro is considered a support class, using their flamethrower to set enemies on fire to deal gradual fire damage, while using its airblast to reflect enemy projectiles, or knock back the enemies themselves. However, it’s these same abilities that allow them to earn their place in the thickest of the fighting! Provided they use their weapons smartly, they can stand toe-to-toe with soldiers and demomen, whose projectiles won’t be able to hit the Pyro.
What Pyro Excels In:
- Using its flamethrower and airblast to support teammates, either by reflecting enemy projectiles back at the enemy or extinguishing teammates who are on fire.
- Using the Pyro’s airblast to deflect projectiles and help the team push through chokepoints.
- Using the range of its flames to check for or chase enemy spies.
Pick Pyro If…
- An enemy spy is harassing the team.
- The enemy team has several soldiers or demomen, whose projectile weapons can be nullified by the Pyro’s airblast.
4. The Demoman
The Demoman is arguably the highest damage-dealing class in the game, with their grenade and sticky bomb launchers, capable of dealing heavy amounts of splash damage in a matter of seconds. This makes him a monster in head-to-head combat; reaching the point where the community often complains how “overpowered” he is.
At any first glance, many would think that the Demoman is a defensive role, even being labeled as a “defense class” by the game itself. However, in the right hands, the Demoman’s abilities make him just as lethal when attacking an objective as he is defending one.
What Demoman Excels In:
- Using his explosives in head-to-head combat, dealing major amounts of splash damage to support his teammates. Sometimes, he even wipes out the enemy team himself! Guarding chokepoints or objectives, laying traps with the sticky bomb launcher, and attacking any enemy advance that falls into it.
- He can use his sticky bomb to propel himself into the air in a similar fashion to rocket jumping. Using this, he can arrive at objectives earlier than other classes, giving him time to set up explosives and ambush enemy teams.
Pick Demoman If…
- The Demoman is a highly versatile “generalist” class, providing a huge advantage to a team in most tactical situations. The only situations I can think of where you shouldn’t play Demoman are ones where the enemy team has many scouts, spies or soldiers, the Demoman’s natural foils.
- Otherwise, play him when you feel like it! He’s always a welcome addition to the team.
5. The Heavy
Equipped with the highest health any class has in the game and a minigun, the Heavy is a tank, meant to dominate other classes in close quarters fights. However, contrary to his first impressions, his class requires patience, foresight and clever positioning. Unlike the Demoman and the Soldier, whose slow walk speeds can be compensated by rocket/sticky jumping, the Heavy has no such method.
This means that the Heavy shines the most when he falls onto unprepared enemies, catching them off-guard and using his minigun to mow down a group of panicking targets. Of course, you also have to be alert to falling for the same trap. The threat you pose to enemy teams also means that you’ll be drawing a lot of fire away from your teammates, for better or worse.
What Heavy Excels In:
- Ambushing enemies and capitalizing on advantageous team fights.
- Acting as a tank and drawing fire away from allies and teammates.
- He’s able to take on multiple classes in single combat.
Pick Heavy If…
- The map involves several corners and “covered” entrances that can serve as points of ambush.
- Your team is well-balanced, with classes that can support the Heavy and cover for his weaknesses.
- Your team is in need of classes that excel in frontline, head-to-head combat.
6. The Engineer
Being able to construct buildings that can support the team in different ways, the Engineer may look like a solely defensive class at first. However, playing this class for an extended period of time will reveal that an Engineer has an important role both for the defending and attacking team… and that his gameplay is much more fast-paced than you think!
As an Engineer, you will have to juggle a lot of focus, from managing your buildings, the metal you use to build/repair them, all while reading the situation of the battle at hand. Not only that, but you’ll spend a lot of time collecting knowledge of the several maps of TF2 to learn the best and most optimal spots to place buildings in… and I’ve barely scratched the surface with that. True to his character, the Engineer is arguably the “brainiest” class of TF2.
What Engineer Excels In:
- Using his sentry gun for strong area denial.
- Using his dispenser as a secondary healing source, either in place or in support of a medic.
- Using his teleporters to make sure that classes (especially slow ones like Heavies) can get to the frontlines quicker.
Pick Engineer If…
- Your team is struggling to defend or attack the objective and could use an engineer’s buildings for the extra support.
7. The Medic
As the name suggests, the Medic is the ultimate support class of TF2, often being the deciding factor in matches. If you find that you’re on the losing team, playing as the Medic can often be enough to turn the tide. And conversely, the reason why the winning team is… well, winning, is because they have a Medic playing on their team.
Though, it’s exactly this kind of influence that makes the Medic such a high-priority target. Many players will often sacrifice themselves if it means killing the enemy Medic. This means that you have to do more than just spreading healing around!
What Medic Excels In:
- Spreading healing and “buffing” the health of teammates.
- Using their “ubercharge” ability to turn the tide of team fights.
Pick Medic If…
- A Medic’s role is always needed in any team match. The only situation where you shouldn’t pick Medic is if there’s already enough people doing so (usually two).
8. The Sniper
Those not familiar with TF2 will find the Sniper to be the most familiar class. Like any other shooter, his role is to stay in the back line and support his team by picking off certain players or classes. His ability to land headshots and instantly kill seven of the nine classes make him a powerful class, when put in the right hands.
Due to this, snipers are also high-priority targets since any good Sniper left alone will lock off an area of the map just by having it within their sightline. Scouts, spies and other snipers are often the ones who are expected to combat this class!
What Sniper Excels In:
- Picking off certain classes or players from a distance.
- Blunting an enemy team’s advance by “enforcing” their sightline.
Pick Sniper If…
- The enemy team has valuable players/classes that could be picked off from a distance.
- The enemy team has a sniper that needs to be kept in check.
9. The Spy
The Spy may be arguably the most difficult class to play in TF2 as it requires a lot of knowledge on the game in order to play the class to its fullest potential. The Spy plays a similar role to the Sniper, but he has the ability to turn completely invisible, as well as disguise himself as enemy teammates.
It’s these abilities that make him a dangerous class to play. In the right hands, he’ll be able to crush a team’s effectiveness by sowing distrust and paranoia among them.
What Spy Excels In:
- Infiltrating the enemy team and picking off valuable classes or players.
- Compromising a team’s effectiveness by sowing paranoia among the enemy team.
Pick Spy If…
- If there are certain classes/players of value that need to be picked off.
- If your team is struggling and could use support (though, you’d have to be really good to help out as a spy).
Conclusion
As you can tell by now, each class has its own unique role; this is what makes TF2 very chaotic. This diverse range of playstyles often converge and clash with one another in one ten-minute game and it can be disorienting at first, but that’s exactly what makes the game fun!
Its absurdist comedy featuring things like ragdoll physics and wacky situations are part of its charm just as much as its solid gameplay and mechanics. There’s a lot to enjoy in the game, so embrace the chaos! And remember that having unadulterated fun is how you get good at the game.
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