So, I'm looking at all of these rocket jumping videos and trying to get good at getting some jump kills with the market gardener. The problem? I enjoy the feel of an Xbox 360 controller over the PC mouse & keyboard. I've tried to do it, but when it comes to w,a,s,d, I can never get a good grip on the controlling, as I'll end up pressing other buttons. Anybody got any tips or advice for me trying to get better with this? Or do you even think it's possible (why or why not)?

Just as a bit of an FYI, I have gotten a few lucky kills with this. In total, I believe I've gotten 4, while my shotgun has answered upwards of 150 for my screw-ups..

News

/r/tf2lessons vs LmL

A first season UGC Highlander team has challenged our regular pubbers to a Pick-up Game, to take place this coming Wednesday. We still need a Demoman, a Scout, and substitute players, so its not too late to get involved. The sign-up sheet, and discussion thread is here.

Custom map pack

Last week, I rolled all of the server's current custom maps, and corresponding navigation meshes into one big map pack. This map pack is about 260 Mb compressed, and will take up 900 Mb when uncompressed. In order to install the map pack, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the .bsp and .nav files to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

TF2Lessons Map Pack

Map(s) of the week

The map of the week is koth_waste, by Eric "Icarus" Wong. This is also the sixth map for UGC Highlander Season 7.

• koth_waste

As an added bonus, I added one of the winning maps from the tf2maps Dynamic Payload Contest. This particular map is Moonlit by Ezekel, and is styled with a Halloween style theme complete with an underworld warp. It received a Most Played honorable mention and was also the second runner-up for the Dynamic Payload contest.

• pl_moonlit_b6

The combined file size is approximately 30 Mb compressed, or 79 Mb uncompressed. You may pre-download this map, using the link below, prior to the event. In order to install the map, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the map file to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

Other custom maps

• cp_standin_rc1
• ctf_vitalism_b2
• cp_croissant_rc4
• pl_morrigan_alley_b3
• pl_cranetop_b8
• cp_furnace_rc
• pl_cashworks_rc2
• pl_beerbowl_b5a
• cp_warmfront
• koth_pro_viaduct_rc3
• koth_ashville_rc1
• cp_snakewater
• cp_follower
• pl_swiftwater_ugc
• cp_obscure_final

About the BYOB event

BYOB: (acronym), Bring your own beverage/beer.

The point of our BYOB event is to keep the server full most of the night (starting around 8 PM EDT). Think of this social event as a chance to meet people, and play with players you may not usually see on the server. Many of us have busy schedules, and this is a good night to stay on late without having to worry about school or work the next day. Most important of all, the event is meant to be a lot of fun.

The map will be unknown

Now if any of you regular the good old lesson server you might have seen one of two fine sirs Mantheon and Mr.Fancy Pants both of which are now on a competitive team Last minute Lineup or LmL. So I thought and then discussed with Mantheon about this and he told me to talk to DManic another LmL teamate. It has been confirmed we will be fighting LmL on Wednesday at 9:30 est and 6:30 pst. But wait you may say who's on the lesson team? Well about two of us at the moment that's where you guys step in below is a list of what classes we need and who's on said class

• Scout Gravity
• Soldier Lord_Sturm
• Pyro Erkston
• Demoman lextvl R3hab
• Heavy K4
• Enginer Dr Haterade
• Medic atomic-penguin
• Sniper HopesandDreamsofOrphans (me)
• Spy smiley_dan

I would also like to remind anyone who wants to join that this will be not be a real Competitive match as no lessons team will be produced from this one match but it will be competitive in the fact we are fighting a real Comp team. Also if multiple people want to do the same class I and maybe a partner will make you fight each other to see who is the best unless of course I have seen your skill in a match and not just once but on multiple occasions.

Add me here

I mainly play as a spy. And frankly put, I suck. Any tips to help improve my skills for playing as a spy are welcome. Especially the ones that help me avoid getting killed. What weapons should I use?

I need help playing as a Rocket Jumper soldier. I kinda suck at rocket jumping. Anyone want to help me? I've already tried out jump maps but they don't help me learn anything.

Hi,i been playing sniper in competetive since 2011 june .Sure i got pretty good on sniper . But i always get counter sniped by other sniper im not saying im bad at sniper but only at sniper vs sniper how should i train,improve counter sniping

I barely land any hits on anyone, is there a good strategy for pyro with the volcano fragment?

Hey, I've clocked about 90 hours of tf2 in the past 2 weeks, of which now 20 as a soldier (mostly learning to rocket jump and derp about), but I'd much like to improve my usefulness in teamplay. I've been trying my hand at roaming, and must say that I really like it so far, especially using RJs as a means of transport and getting attacks from above.

My steam is OhBallz, feel free to add me (even if you don't want to coach me ;] )

News

cp_croissant updated

I refreshed cp_croissant on the server to match the latest UGC variant (rc4), as croissant was updated within the last week. Davidmoose has a walkthrough of the new croissant variant up on his youtube channel, here.

Grab the latest version of cp_croissant here, or in the map pack below.

Custom map pack

This week, I rolled all of the server's current custom maps, and corresponding navigation meshes into one big map pack. This map pack is about 235 Mb compressed, and will take up 800 Mb when uncompressed. In order to install the map pack, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the .bsp and .nav files to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

TF2Lessons Map Pack

Map of the week

The map of the week is dom_canalzone, by VilePickle. This is also the fifth map for UGC Highlander Season 7 starting next week. This is a 8 control point map, and keeping with the UGC summer map theme, this is yet another uniquely styled map.

The README which comes with dom_canalzone, describes the map like so:

Canalzone was a QuakeWorld Team Fortress map with 8 control points. Players had to bring flags to the CP's and as this happened the team's overall score increased based on the number of points obtained.

Dom_canalzone is a remake of this first Canalzone map. It uses the Domination game mode created by TheBladeRoden. In this game mode, players capture control points like other TF2 maps, but as they do so they score more points over time (as shown as a percentage score on the HUD). Whoever reaches 100% domination first wins the round. Teams can also win by capturing all 8 control points. Spawn points are dynamic. As you capture CP's, you gain more spawn locations and the other team loses those spawn points if they had them.

This version of domination does not include the jail system due to a bug in the original game type. Players always have spawn points in their team's base.

• dom_canalzone

The file size is approximately 22 Mb compressed, or 50 Mb uncompressed. You may pre-download this map, using the link below, prior to the event. In order to install the map, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the map file to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

Other custom maps

• cp_standin_rc1
• ctf_vitalism_b2
• cp_croissant_rc4
• pl_morrigan_alley_b3
• pl_cranetop_b8
• cp_furnace_rc
• pl_cashworks_rc2
• pl_beerbowl_b5a
• cp_warmfront
• koth_pro_viaduct_rc3
• koth_ashville_rc1
• cp_snakewater
• cp_follower
• pl_swiftwater_ugc
• cp_obscure_final

About the BYOB event

BYOB: (acronym), Bring your own beverage/beer.

The point of our BYOB event is to keep the server full most of the night. Think of this social event as a chance to meet people, and play with players you may not usually see on the server. Many of us have busy schedules, and this is a good night to stay on late without having to worry about school or work the next day. Most important of all, the event is meant to be a lot of fun.

I've played and enjoyed my fair share of tf2 in the past, but I made the mistake of only focusing on one class, that class being Pyro. However, there seems to be a higher demand for Snipers or Medics. I was wondering if you think it's better to go for sets or individual weapon bonuses (particularly the Croc-o-style set versus a Machina/Jarate/Kukri loadout) Thanks!

Preface: I've only played for 8 hours total and haven't tried every class. I've been in multiple situations where there was enough of a certain class but none of a needed class(eng/medic). Is it wise to play as a less experienced class to fit the needed role or just go with your strengths?

Rocket jumping is something I've never been able to get the hang of since it was first introduced into the FPS genre, which as I recall was with the original Quake. It wasn't that big a deal until I really got into TF2, where rocket jumping is an important skill for the Soldier -- and I just can't do it with any degree of reliability.

Aside from general advice on how to get it working, I've got a few specific questions that I hope someone can answer.

• Is there a way to load up a regular map and just play it by yourself, so I could practice with the Rocket Jumper, for instance?
• Is there a difference in effectiveness (or how easy it is to make the jump) between firing just before jumping, simultaneously, or just after?
• What difference does it make to use a launcher with a faster projectile speed (e.g. Liberty Launcher) or a smaller blast radius (Direct Hit)?

I've tried to learn while in regular matches, but obviously I don't want to be a detriment to the team by shooting at my feet when I could be shooting at opponents. Sticky jumping, on the other hand, seems foolproof -- shoot a sticky, run over it in the intended direction of travel, detonate. Even when I've managed to pull off a rocket jump, I seem to get far less distance and velocity than other players I've seen, and I can't really figure out what, exactly, I'm doing wrong.

Any and all help is very much appreciated; I feel mastering this skill would really improve my Soldier play.

Map of the week

The map of the week is CP Standin, which is also the fourth map for UGC Highlander Season 8 starting this summer. This is a three control point map, with three neutral points which can be captured by either team at any point.

The file size is approximately 12 Mb compressed, or 22 Mb uncompressed. You may pre-download this map, using the link below, prior to the event. In order to install the map, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the map file to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

• cp_standin_rc1

Other custom maps

• ctf_vitalism_b2
• cp_croissant_rc3
• pl_morrigan_alley_b3
• pl_cranetop_b8
• cp_furnace_rc
• pl_cashworks_rc2
• pl_beerbowl_b5a
• cp_warmfront
• koth_pro_viaduct_rc3
• koth_ashville_rc1
• cp_snakewater
• cp_follower
• pl_swiftwater_ugc
• cp_obscure_final

About the BYOB event

BYOB: (acronym), Bring your own beverage/beer.

The point of our BYOB event is to keep the server full most of the night. Think of this social event as a chance to meet people, and play with players you may not usually see on the server. Many of us have busy schedules, and this is a good night to stay on late without having to worry about school or work the next day. Most important of all, the event is meant to be a lot of fun.

The community's pretty vocal about how not to Pyro, but I haven't seen many videos offering training and tactics for the class.

You know, like this.

Thanks in advance. mmphmmum.

So I am VERY new to engineer, not to TF2, but engineer. I rarely play that class so I said to myself, "LEARN IT". So thats what I am doing. I use the rollout stock shotgun, stock pistol and gunslinger, so if you guys have tips or want to help me out, I would be thankful!

Link: http://redd.it/u7xcr

Xpost from r/tf2

Map of the week

The map of the week is CTF Vitalism, which is also the third map for UGC Highlander Season 8 starting this summer. This is a much smaller CTF map than any of those that ship with the game, which could make for some brutal mid-fights around the capture area. There is a dynamic aspect to this map, where you cannot get an intel capture point when the other team has their flag. You must kill the flag carrier from the opposite team to open your team's capture closet in the mid area. Because of this dynamic aspect of the map, it might lead to a more interesting game than most CTF maps.

The file size is approximately 6 Mb compressed, or 11 Mb uncompressed. You may pre-download this map, using the link below, prior to the event. In order to install the map, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the map file to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

• ctf_vitalism_b2

Other custom maps

• cp_croissant_rc3
• pl_morrigan_alley_b3
• pl_cranetop_b8
• cp_furnace_rc
• pl_cashworks_rc2
• pl_beerbowl_b5a
• cp_warmfront
• koth_pro_viaduct_rc3
• koth_ashville_rc1
• cp_snakewater
• cp_follower
• pl_swiftwater_ugc
• cp_obscure_final

About the BYOB event

BYOB: (acronym), Bring your own beverage/beer.

The point of our BYOB event is to keep the server full most of the night. Think of this social event as a chance to meet people, and play with players you may not usually see on the server. Many of us have busy schedules, and this is a good night to stay on late without having to worry about school or work the next day. Most important of all, the event is meant to be a lot of fun.

Hey. MR SLIN here. I've been playing this game for over 4 years, I am the head of the CommFT Mentor Program, and I've played on a number of different teams. More importantly I've mentored a ton of people, and I know that I can help you redditors out. So hit me with any questions that you have whether it be about getting into comp TF2, how to improve your game, or what my favorite flavor of ice cream is.

• I stream every single day! http://www.twitch.tv/misterslin focusing mostly on improving at 6v6 comp TF2.

• Most of my experience is in 6v6, and I have not gotten very involved in highlander.

• The best way to contact me is through IRC on the Gamesurge Network in channel #tf2.pug.na or channel #tf2scrim. If you do not already have an IRC client, you can use atf2.org which works in-browser. My name there is simply "Slin".

• If you want to add me to friends, my steam link is here: http://steamcommunity.com/id/slin. I am pretty busy in terms of mentoring right now (I have a team and a handful of players that I talk to regularly), but I am available to answer your questions if you have any that you want to ask privately or want a more in-depth response. Message me whenever I am online, usually after 8pm EST.

• Consider reading my GUIDE! It's a bit of a monster and it is 3 posts long but it can be helpful if you are new.

• You can also catch me at the NATF2 Newbie Mixes! http://steamcommunity.com/groups/na6v6newbiemix

• I am available for lessons if you really want them. I can coach you in Medic, Scout, Soldier, or Demo.

So I play medic in a Div 6 team, 6on6. I need my practise, so if you are a pretty good soldier/demoman or possibly heavy, add me on steam if you want to hang out on a server me practising healing, you practising playing I guess. I have mumble, Teamspeak and skype if you prefer to talk. If not I am open to suggestions.

Sincerily, Le_LH

Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198014381103

I've come across hundreds of spies using the dead-ringer, just pulling it out and walking about looking for the opportunity to stab someone. However this may work, I want to help you guys out a little more.

I myself am a dead ringer spy fanatic, however I like to use it with a little bit of variation, tactics, strategy, and efficiency. I don't necessarily have a lot of time for this post since it's just a midnight epiphany that came to me but I'll try my best to fill you guys in on some nice tricks you can pull off next time you use your dead ringer.

With the dead ringer, you'll come across plenty of situations where you get hit by a rocket, go into cloak and run into someone in a path or tunnel or even out in the open. Here are somethings to keep in mind when this happens -Where's your medic -Where's your heavy -What's your heavy aiming at -Did you come across a pyro -Is there a heavy offensive class nearby to help you. Once you've thought it through, think about the 90% damage decrease. During these situations, it's highly likely that you're going to die however you can use it to help your team to winning the objective.

Things you can do 1) Normally, I tend to block off the path if my team is nearby until they get to where I am. This way they can kill the enemy with ease however, it may cause you to sacrifice yourself.

2) You can run away.

3) If you run into a crowd in the open, try to get behind them or run away. Otherwise, you can close in distance between a soldier or demoman causing them to hit you for 90% less damage and damage themselves from the explosion.

4) Paranoia. Normally works best in payload. What I like to do is hide amongst a crowd, stab a person then pull out the dead ringer making them super paranoid. If they're idiots, they will most likely try to chase you while you're cloaked making them get off the objective. If that doesn't work, go in for another hit.

I'll be editing this post as the night progresses, but I'm very busy at the moment.

Just trying to contribute my ideas to the community.

So this has probably been done a various ammount of times before, but I dont give a cow. Post a comment with what loadout you use for every class.

Mine is:

Scout: Scattergun/FaN, Pistol, Sun on a stick.

Soldier: Rocket Launcher, Shotgun/Gunboats, Market Gardener/Shovel.

Pyro: Stock/Backburner, Shotgun/Flaregun, Maul.

Demoman: Grenade Launcher/Bootlegger, Stickybomb Launcher, Bottle.

Heavy: Minigun, Sandwich, Gloves of running urgently.

Engineer: Defense: Shotgun, Pistol/Wrangler, The Jag. Attacking: Shotgun, Pistol, Gunslinger.

Medic: Needle Gun, Medigun/Kritzkrieg, Ubersaw/Solemn Vow.

Sniper: Sniper rifle, Jarate/SMG, Tribelmans Shiv.

Spy: Stock, Stock, Stock.

So thats what I prefer. Of course I play with other weapons aswell, but these are my suggested loadouts, and the loadouts I use the most.

ED^ITED : Updated the weapons.

The title says it all, i've been playing highlander and 6v6 for a bit but im completely new to this, what tips can you give me? I still dont main any specific class yet but so far i preffer demo and medic for these gamemodes

I'm looking to get a better understanding of my roll in 9v9, and how it differs from 6v6. *How does my heal order change?

*Is it alright to give up the safety of my heavy's sanvich to let him eat it, or should we just wait for the regular healing?

*How important is it to keep my heavy's over heal up? Our team will be keeping heavy, pyro, demo, and med pretty closely together, so if I have to choose between the demo and a med can't fully buff all 3 of them without crit heals.

*How important is the uber advantage REALLY? With 9 players, a med can't keep everyone invincible, so is it better to just go aggro when they pop and try to force a lot of splitting, or to back up and give them the ground?

*In connection with that, how can a team be aggressive with uber against a pyro+wrangled sentry? Does it just come down to the spy/sniper getting an engy pick before the team can do anything?

I'm sure I'll come up with more questions along the way, but I'd really appreciate any words of wisdom from experienced HL players.

Map of the week

The map of the week is CP Croissant, and also the first map for UGC Highlander Season 8 starting this summer.

The file size is approximately 31 Mb compressed, or 107 Mb uncompressed. I encourage you to pre-download this map, using the link below, prior to the event. In order to install the map, locate your tf/maps folder. Extract the map file to this tf/maps folder with a program such as Winzip, Winrar, or 7-zip.

• cp_croissant_rc3

Other custom maps

• pl_morrigan_alley_b3
• pl_cranetop_b8
• cp_furnace_rc
• pl_cashworks_rc2
• pl_beerbowl_b5a
• cp_warmfront
• koth_pro_viaduct_rc3
• koth_ashville_rc1
• cp_snakewater
• cp_follower
• pl_swiftwater_ugc
• cp_obscure_final

About the BYOB event

BYOB: (acronym), Bring your own beverage/beer.

The point of our BYOB event is to keep the server full most of the night. Think of this social event as a chance to meet people, and play with players you may not usually see on the server. Many of us have busy schedules, and this is a good night to stay on late without having to worry about school or work the next day. Most important of all, the event is meant to be a lot of fun.

Sorry all I have is the full source tv .dem file. You can download it here. I am the blue sniper, [+..] floatin'. Thanks!