1. Optimize your settings

This first tip can be followed before you even start a match. As we all know, Team Fortress 2 is an old game, 16 years old as of writing this article, and that means the default settings aren’t as optimized as today’s games are. If you play a game without changing anything, you’re putting yourself at a massive disadvantage. With the default settings, you have a low FOV, your viewmodel takes up a quarter of your screen, the network settings have it so that you’re playing with a slight delay, not to mention a bunch of useful options that you aren’t using! Luckily, all of these things can be easily fixed

• Open advanced settings and select any options that sound useful
• Open console (`/~ key) and copy+paste the following commands
• fov_desired 90, viewmodel_fov 90, tf_use_min_viewmodels 1, cl_ interp 0.0325, rate 97000, cl_cmdrate 66, cl_updaterate 66

2. Download a custom HUD

Like Team Fortress 2’s default settings, the default HUD isn’t up to par either. It’s a cluttered mess, and all the useful information is around the corners of your screen instead of in the center. Also like the default settings, this is a problem that has an easy solution. The TF2 community has made several custom HUDs that improve on the default in just about every way. Whichever one you use is up to preference, but personally I recommend budhud, it’s simple, straightforward, and puts all the useful information exactly where it should be

• Go to a site that has custom HUDs, like tf2huds.dev or gamebanana.com
• Browse until you find one that you like, and download it
• Go to where your game is located, and copy+paste the HUD folder into the game’s tf folder

 3. Choose the class your team needs

Now that your settings are fixed and you have a HUD that’s easier on the eyes, it’s time to finally play, and make the first big decision of the game; who do you want to play as? The answer is simpler than you might think, it’s whatever your team needs at the moment. I know we all have our favorite classes, but rather than being the third sniper or fourth spy, you’ll have better luck if you fill the role that currently needs to be filled. If you’re not sure what that is, just look at what everyone else is playing right now, and try seeing what your team doesn’t have enough of

• If your team is made up of mostly light classes (Scout, Engineer, Sniper, Spy), then pick one of the power classes (Soldier, Demoman, Heavy)
• If your team doesn’t have an Engineer or a Medic, then pick either one 
• Try to consider the enemy team composition as well, and choose a class that best counters their lineup

4. Experiment with different weapon loadouts

Each class in Team Fortress 2 has a large arsenal of weapons to choose from. Your stock items are going to be good in just about every situation, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be times where another option will be better, and there’s even some weapons that completely change the way your class works! You won’t know which weapons work in what situations, which items synergize with each other, or what suits your playstyle until you try them out, so I encourage you to experiment with your loadout

• Items like the Iron Bomber, Tomislav, and Bazaar Bargain are just as reliable, if not more so than their stock counterparts
• Items like the Direct Hit, Kritzkreig, and Backburner provide sidegrades that can be better or worse than stock depending on the situation
• Items like the Gunslinger, Shields, and the Huntsman change the way your class works and their role in the game

5. Be adaptable

There are times when certain strategies work, and times when they don’t. For example, if you’re playing as scout on offense then you can come in clutch capturing the last point when there isn’t much time left, but at the very start of the round when your spawn doors open, good luck surviving for more than five seconds! At different points in the game, you might want to change your loadout or even what class you’re playing as, if it seems like today just isn’t your lucky day then a change might be all it takes for things to get better

• Before you switch off, consider the sidegrades you have available, one of them might give you the advantage you need
• If you’re dying too quickly play someone who’s bulkier or has better movement, if you can’t get any kills play someone who’s more aggressive
• If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! If you’re doing just fine, then you don’t have much reason to switch

6. Use your ears

I know that at least one person reading this likes to listen to music while playing games, and I get it, but in Team Fortress 2 you’ll miss out on a lot of cues if you’re playing on mute. Things like the sound of spies decloaking behind you, weapon sounds alerting you of what class is around the corner, voicelines from your teammates, and the sound of ubercharge are all lost when you aren’t paying attention to them. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the sounds of the game and what they mean

• Fun fact! You react faster to audio cues than visual cues, so listening can make the difference between life and death!
• At first, it might sound like a total warzone, which it is, but soon you’ll learn what each noise is trying to tell you
• The most important reason to keep your sound on is so your team can communicate with you

7. Communicate with your team

Team Fortress 2 is a team game, it’s in the name, and as such communication is very important! Even just using quick voice commands like calling for a Medic or calling out an enemy Spy can be very useful, but if you have a microphone it’s encouraged to use it. A well coordinated team is a team that wins, and all it takes is one person to speak up

• Your E key is automatically assigned to call for a medic, but your Z, X, and C keys have a list of voice commands as well
• If you are using your mic, the most important things to call out are when important targets are dead and warning your teammates of incoming threats
• If you don’t have a mic, then using chat is another useful option. You can send messages to either the entire server or just your team

8. Look ahead before pushing forwards

Don’t just rush blindly into the enemy team! Before you push up ahead, it’s always a good idea to see what you’re going up against. Take note of any enemies or buildings you see, and decide if it’s a good idea to face it head on or if a different approach will work better. If you don’t, you might find yourself fighting the entire enemy team at once without any escape, so make sure you know what you’re getting into

• Some corridors have windows, where you can look ahead without putting yourself in harms way
• There’s strength in numbers, if you have a teammate going with you then you can face more dangerous enemies with better odds
• The same thing applies when turning blindly around corners, stop and listen for any enemies who might be on the other side of that wall

9. (Scout) Pick your battles wisely

These next tips are all going to be about specific classes, starting off with the scout. As the fastest class in the game, you have the unique privilege of being able to say “no” to certain fights. If there’s a heavy+medic combo you’d rather avoid, there’s no shame in running away and picking on a better target

• Sometimes you can deal a few points of chip damage before running away, so your teammates have an easier time fighting them
• If you run out of ammo mid-fight and don’t have a pistol equipped, it’s a better idea to run away than to reload
• You don’t always have to ditch the fight completely. You can run around the corner, reload a couple shots, and catch your enemy off guard for round 2!

10. (Soldier) Give yourself the high ground

Obviously, every class has an advantage when they’ve above their opponents, but Soldier has the unique ability to take the high ground every time. Even when there’s no high ground to take, rocket jumping above your opponent and shooting them from up in the air is a winning strategy. Also, thanks to splash damage, you can overwhelm your opponents from above and drop down to kill a distracted enemy

• Watch your health bar, if it’s too low then rocket jumping might leave you too weak to fight
• If you’re in a closed corridor, take advantage of having splash damage in a limited space instead of trying to take a non-existent high ground
• The Air Strike is a weapon that caters to this playstyle, providing resistance to damage from rocket jumping and increasing your fire rate while mid-air

11. (Pyro) Ambush your opponents

As a Pyro, you deal great damage at close range, but the thing is you’re limited to that close range. If you come charging in at your opponent, all they need to do is keep their distance and they’ve already won the fight. Instead, try to go around your enemies and make sure that they notice the fire before they notice you. If you’re already in their face, there’s not much that they can do

• Try to mind your short effective range, you’re powerful inside it, but very weak outside it
• Keep your flamethrower focused on your opponent, many pyros like to fling their mouse around erratically, but you do way more damage when your fire is concentrated on a single target
• If your opponent manages to get outside your flamethrower’s range, follow it up with a shotgun or flare combo

12. (Demoman) Stay one step ahead of your enemies

Demoman’s weapons are powerful, but they’re also slow. Your stickies take time to arm themselves, and your pipes need to connect with your opponents to deal damage. However, all of this can be mitigated by trying to stay one step ahead of your enemies. Always keep a sticky trap somewhere, and use them to limit your opponent’s range of movement. When it comes to pipes, the best way to aim them is to predict where your enemy is about to go and fire them so that they connect at the right spot. Once you master staying ahead of your opponents, it’ll feel like you opened your third, er, second eye actually

• Demoman’s specialty is area denial, if you can limit your opponents’ range of motion you can make them much more predictable
• Keep your distance from your opponents, but don’t go too far away. Mid-range is your sweet spot
• If you manage to launch your enemy, either with aiming a pipe at their feet or with a stickybomb, you can follow it up with an airshot (and a taunt for the killcam) 

13. (Demoknight) Pick on lonely enemies

Yes, I know I just talked about Demoman, but Demoknight functions so differently that he might as well be a completely different class. When playing as Demoknight, your swords have bonuses that activate after getting a kill, but you need at least one kill to get that ball rolling, and you’ll not have much success going where most of the action is. Instead, find an enemy who’s going on their own and remind them why it’s called TEAM fortress 2. Some good examples would be a flanking scout, snipers on the back line, or a Spy trying to blend in with your team. Even if you already have a couple heads, these loners are a consistent source of kills

• If you’re playing as a Hybrid Knight (Equipping the Grenade Launcher instead of the boots), try to play as a normal Demoman until you spot an enemy flying solo
• Your charge is a limited resource, try to use it only when you need it. If you’re not sure if an enemy is within your charge’s range you’re better off finding someone else, and if you can kill an enemy without charging then save it for another time
• Enemies are sure to notice you while you’re charging, you’re basically screaming at the top of your lungs while doing it, so if you’re making a play make sure you also have an escape plan

14. (Heavy) Positioning is key

Heavy is one of the slowest classes in the game, but also one of the most powerful. When you’re revved up, you move even slower too, so you better make sure that you’ve chosen a good spot! You need to find a position where you can easily shoot the enemy, and they have a hard time shooting you. Somewhere with cover nearby and a sightline on the opposing team would be the best, but of course it still needs to be somewhere you can defend the objective from. The kind of spot you want to avoid is somewhere that’s open, that the enemy team has an advantage over you from and you don’t have any cover or anywhere to retreat to.

• Make sure that your position has both cover and a good vantage point, as well as support from your team
• Open areas away from your team and positions without cover are generally the worst spots to be as a heavy
• Try not to rely on it, but a good flank can be very effective when stopping the enemy team from pushing

15. (Engineer) Put your buildings in good places

As an Engineer, your buildings provide your team with the much needed infrastructure they need to win, and it’s up to you to find the best places to put them. Your teleporters quite literally carry your team to victory, the entrance should be right next to the spawn doors and the exit should be close to the front line, but not close enough for the enemy team to destroy it. The Dispenser should be in a spot where you see a lot of teammates, if it seems like your team is scattered then put the Dispenser somewhere with some cover and your team should naturally congregate around it. Where you should put your sentry gun depends on if you’re attacking or defending, if you’re attacking then put it somewhere that’ll help your team hold the ground they captured, and if you’re defending then it should be on the capture point

• If you see a teleporter outside of spawn that’s at level 1 or 2, quickly switch to engineer and upgrade it 
• Your dispenser is a lifeline for retreating teammates, make sure it’s somewhere close to the front lines
• Soldiers and Demomen will be targeting your sentry gun, make sure it’s away from any walls that might provide a surface for splash damage

16. (Medic) Your life is valuable, act like it

When you’re playing Medic you might as well have a massive target on your back. Every single enemy will be gunning for you, and the only thing standing between them and you is whoever you’re healing, so healing power classes should be your priority. If your team has an Engineer make sure you’re in his Sentry Gun’s range, and when you can make sure you’re healing from behind cover. Once you finally have Ubercharge, the enemy will be trying even harder to take you out, so you’re better off finding an opportunity to use it sooner than later

• Sometimes, you’re in a situation where it’s either you or your teammate who makes it out alive, every time you should make sure that it’s you. They’ll understand.
• After reaching 100% Ubercharge, you will automatically play a voiceline that alerts the enemy. You can mask it by timing another voice command once you max out Ubercharge
• Pocketing a power class might be a good strategy to survive longer, but make sure it’s not at the expense of your other teammates

17. (Sniper) “You miss every shot you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky

Let’s face it, not every shot is going to be a headshot. Most of them won’t even land, and that’s ok. You have plenty of ammo in your reserve, so no worries if you end up missing a bunch of shots, the important thing is that you take them in the first place. Why? Because even a missed shot can kill somebody! Eventually, you’ll start accidentally landing bodyshots, and those can be just as fatal as a headshot

• Understand the way your rifle deals damage. It deals a base damage of 50, and while you’re scoped that shot charges, increasing the damage until it reaches 150. Whenever you headshot, that damage is dealt as a critical hit for a max of 450
• Make sure to change positions after a while, if you stay in one spot for too long the enemy will notice you
• You don’t have to stay scoped all the time. When you’re unscoped your rifle is just as  accurate, and you get a view of the entire battlefield

18. (Spy) You are an actor, and the battleground is your stage

Your disguises only do half the work, you need to act the part as well. Learn the role the class you’re disguised as plays, and try to mime that out the best you can. Keep in mind that you also have a few tools to help sell the part, you can call out voice commands, with the B key you can switch weapons to the slot you have equipped, and with R you can fake a reload. If you can deliver an oscar winning performance as Spy, you’ll eventually find the perfect opportunity to strike

• Make sure that the enemy team has a player who is the class you’re disguised as, and if you see the person you’re impersonating, run
• If possible, try not to be seen in the first place, but if you do run into an enemy try to be inconspicuous
• Cloak before disguising, your disguise kit leaves a trail of smoke, but if you’re invisible there won’t be an effect

19. Learn how to surf damage

Inevitably, you’ll find yourself in a sticky situation that you want to get out of ASAP, and the quickest way out is usually by surfing damage. Think of it like rocket jumping, but instead of your own rockets it’s an enemy soldier’s. What you do is you jump and let the enemy’s attacks propel you forwards, it’ll take some practice to get the technique down, but it’s one of the most useful skills to learn in Team Fortress 2

• Damage surfing is useful as every class, but it’s especially useful as Medic or Spy
• While it’s most effective to surf off of explosives, you can surf bullet damage as well
• Don’t get it confused with surfing off of ramps in surf maps, which is a completely different mechanic

20. Stick with your team

There’s strength in numbers, and you’ll do much better when you stick around your teammates. Whether you’re covering a support class, taking advantage of a power classes’ strength, or fighting an enemy who’s distracted by your teammates, your team will be supporting you whether they know it or not and an effective player is one who takes full advantage of that

• When your team is pushing make sure you follow them, your presence alone makes it a much more effective push
• When your team is defending help them hold the line, again, your presence is enough to make both you and them more effective
• Sometimes you’re not the only one relying on support. If you see an injured teammate retreating, fight off any enemies who might be chasing them 

21. Know when your target’s life is worth more than yours

Many of the tips on this list are about how to survive for longer, and that could mean running away from a fight that isn’t worth fighting. However, there are fights that you need to face head on, and sometimes that means dying an honorable death. Know what your priority targets are, and when killing your target is more important than surviving the encounter

• Support classes like Medic and Engineer are the most valuable targets, if you can manage to drop an Ubercharge or take out a Sentry nest it’s more than worth laying down your life
• If you can manage to kill an enemy right before dying, you’ll have a shorter respawn time. Take advantage of this to get back into the action faster!
• This isn’t an encouragement to willingly go on a suicide mission, your life is important too, but recognize it when the time arises

22. Different strategies for different gamemodes

There are 5 main gamemodes in Team Fortress 2, Attack/Defense, Capture the Flag, Control Points, King of the Hill, and Payload. Each of these gamemodes have their own key differences and different maps to play on, so I encourage you to try out each one and see which one is your favorite and what strategies work best. Below is a general overview of how they work

• In Payload and Attack/Defense, there’s an attacking and defending team fighting over capture points and after each round the attacking and defending teams switch. Make sure your loadout is suited for attack or defense, depending on what team you’re on
• In King of the Hill and Control Points, there are capture points that can be controlled by either the RED or BLU team. The attacking and defending team can change at moments notice, depending on who’s at the point, so make sure your loadout is versatile enough to work with these changes
• Capture the Flag is a unique gamemode, one that you’ve almost certainly played in other games. Both teams have a flag that the other team is trying to capture, but in practice this gamemode is more like a team deathmatch where everyone is just trying to get the most kills. This one is more casual, so it’s a good place to experiment

23. A good flank can work wonders

Sometimes the best place to attack is from behind, classes like Scout and Spy are centered around attacking from behind the enemy team, but almost every single class can make an effective play by flanking. A class like Soldier or Demoman with a lot of firepower being somewhere they shouldn’t be can do a lot of damage!

• A flank can be a good way to break stalemates and give your team the advantage they need to push forwards
• While it’s a good strategy, try not to rely on it. The reason it works is because it catches the enemy off guard, and if you do it one too many times they’ll be expecting you
• If the enemy team has a Lvl. 3 Sentry guarding the point, a flank could be the best way to destroy it

24. Make sure you have enough HP

Team Fortress 2 is a chaotic game, with bullets, explosives, and fire going everywhere at once. It’s impossible not to take a hit or 2, so you’re going to be making plays while you’re below full health. A good rule of thumb is to try to keep your HP above 100 health, which is enough to tank a grenade or a rocket and live to tell the tale

• Learn how much damage each class is capable of dealing. It’s the key to knowing who to engage and when
• Try to keep damage falloff in mind, basically means that both you and your enemy deal more damage when you’re closer to each other
• Memorize the locations of health and ammo packs for the map you’re currently playing, they could save your life

25. Shoot first, ask questions later

Don’t think about every shot, just shoot! Shoot the enemy team from far away, shoot your teammates, fire into the abyss for all I care! In a fight, getting the first shot in can give you an advantage, and if you shoot at retreating enemies you might just chip away what’s left of their HP and get a free kill. Randomly firing at open areas and at your team has more strategy than you might think too, it’s a good way to expose spies, whether they’re disguised or invisible. Sometimes an itchy trigger finger is a good thing!

• Don’t forget to reload, when you’re done emptying out your clip make sure you fill it back up! This applies every time you’re about to jump into battle, every shot counts!
• Shooting at enemies from long range won’t always kill them, but it’ll scare one of them off more often than not
• When you’re running away, don’t turn your back to the opposing team. Walk backwards and keep firing, it’ll get them off your trail

You may also be interested in

• Team Fortress 2 Best Classes to Play
• Team Fortress 2 Tips and Strategies
• Games Like Team Fortress 2 (Games Better Than Team Fortress 2 In Their Own Way)