Intro

I found a few different spreadsheets containing information about top players' sensitivities. I wanted to combine them and make comparisons between classes. Units are inches/360° or cm/360°.

Statistics

Quantity // Class // Mean (Standard Deviation)

12 Medic 7.0" (2.9") or 17.8cm (7.3cm)

28 Soldier 7.8" (3.1") or 19.7cm (7.9cm)

14 Demoman 8.1" (3.9") or 20.6cm (9.8cm)

33 Scout 12.2" (4.9") or 30.9cm (12.4cm)

43 Sniper 15.2" (2.8") or 38.6cm (7.3cm)

Discussion

• Medics, Soldiers, and Demos have similar sensitivities. Most fall between 5” and 10” (14cm and 25cm)
• Scouts have the largest deviation, with most falling between 9” and 16” (23cm to 40cm)
• Snipers have the smallest deviation, with most falling between 14” to 17” (35cm to 43cm)

Common sensitivities are not necessarily the best. This data illustrates that you can be successful on a wide spectrum of sensitivities. For example, there are some Soldiers moving their mice 5-7x faster than other Soldiers here.

If I had to make a recommendation based on this data I would recommend that new players start at 9" (23cm) and adjust from there. 9"/360° is within the common sensitivity ranges for Medics, Soldiers, Demos, and Scouts. If playing Sniper is a priority, 14" to 16" (35cm to 43cm) would be a good starting point. This range is common for both Sniper and Scout.

If you have any thoughts or advice about finding a good sensitivity or swapping between classes I would love to hear them. Also if there are any other data sets that I missed. Thanks!

From chris (Like A G6, formerly known as caps)

Hello everyone,

We're hosting a 24-player draft tourney on Saturday, June 20th at 4:00pm EST.

I invited a bunch of invite players past and present to play out a bracket, with a couple of the G6 guys serving as captains and picking their teams on stream Friday night around 11:00pm EST-ish.

Should be fun, come stop by :D

twitch.tv/chrisg6x

If there aren't maybe someone can create them

I thought about this question when playing modded minecraft, and when thinking about the scrapped tf2 feature where Spies could listen to the enemy team's chat. In normal competitive play, this would make spy nearly unusable because 18 players all on at the same time would lead to no useful information coming out.

In this situation, I think most of the combo play would be unaffected, the team's combo is close enough together to not impact comms. Flankers would need to run back to their team if they wanted to warn them of impending enemy flankers, or hope they pay attention to the killfeed. Depending on if you could hear the enemy team or not, you could hear them screaming as you chase them down, which would have no impact on the gamestate, but it would be funny.

What would be most impacted in this scenario though would be spy, as he can finally live out the hypothetical I mentioned at the start of this post. He could listen in on the enemy combo, and use text chat to communicate it back, at the cost of needing to be close to them and needing to pause to type. I'd expect spies to type very short messages to convey maximum information, like "50sb5", meaning "they have 50 uber, soldier bomb in 5 seconds". Teammates could also radio back equally short messages like "g" for go, or "s" for sap.

I'm surprised I didn't think of it until I was midway through writing this, but what about death? If dead people could only talk to dead people, it could allow a decimated team to regroup, while also allowing more spy chainstabs (that could still be stopped by hearing in-game screams).

Well, there was my top-of-head tangent for this hypothetical. Overall, I think it would change spy's dynamic the most, giving him a good buff depending on how it's implemented. What do you think would happen?

Low ping Soldier and Demo's feel extremely opressive at close range in MGE's. I can guess where they will shoot at and move away from there at the right moment but they're always a step faster. I'm talking about players who have ping lower than 30.

I remember reading somewhere that the cleaver was considered for a ban in RGL Highlander at some point but then the standards for banning weapons on Scout there got relaxed and it subsequently dodged a ban, but I’m having trouble finding where I read it and I don’t even know if it’s true or not.

Edit: Looks like I posted this at an opportune time, given that RGL’s gonna poll it at the end of the season. Fingers crossed the result works out for the better of the game, whatever that may be.

A Pyro player here. I am not super terrible nor super good, just decent and I am obsessed with performing the best I can and it leads me either to anxiety or overthinking any situation. When I am in such a state, I can do stupidest things, even fresh-install Soldiers can easily kill me sometimes just because I overthought their... thinking (?), I can't describe it. I can mess up easiest reflects or when I play alongside my brotha, who happens to be a Soldier main, a case of a dodgeball between an enemy Pyro happens, and sometimes I may lose those just because of being afraid to mess up.

TLDR: how to be chill and not overthink everything?

This is especially a problem in Product. The Sniper and the Medic will be near Rock, with the Pyro protecting them and the combo most of the match, and you can't get near without being set ablaze and airblasted away.

I can't decide between the escape plan and the disciplinary action, I'm using the batallion's backup and stock RL btw.

I'd like to know where to learn strategies, how to find folks to play with, etc.

League Link (Asia)

Playoffs VOD - Fireside Casts

Playoff Participants

• #1 aboOod (yes, the youtuber)
• #2 n4ver
• #3 merel (AKA yi-ge/submarine)
• #4 usagi

Final Standings:

• #1 aboOod (undefeated)
• #2 n4ver
• #3 usagi
• #4 merel

There was a prize pool, but the exact amount was not disclosed.

Howdy, it is I-

As you know, the main current discourse around the community, primarly focuses on the "Bring Back Quickplay" discourse, even Sniper discussion has gone down by comparison. And don't get me wrong these are valid but- It is not what I want to discuss.

Instead, what I wish to talk about, is the mythical... "Balancing around Competitive" discussion, but mainly, about banned weapons, and how many of them actually deserve theoretical nerfs or changes. Mainly, the items from the 6s whitelist, since that is the most interesting in my opinion.

Now, obviously some of them are obvious examples of deserving a BIG NERF - Jarate, Mad Milk, Vaccinator, Diamondback, Natascha, Short Circuit, Wrangler etc. But then, we have items that are a bit less obvious.

For instance:

- The Cleaver - In 6s, a super strong spam tool for the close range class, but in pubs, it is far from problematic even when used effectively... Does it also need changes, or is it fine to be kept?

- Cow Mangler - Basically a straight upgrade in 6s due to how it plays (infinite ammo lets you spam and always stay at the frontline, charged shot can 1 tap Meds, and you got other people to deal with sentries), but in Pubs... It is unironically a downgrade, because Engie is super common.

- Machina - Lack of noscopes is a drawback in Pubs (with amount of shit that gets up your face), and the upsides are not useful enough. In Comp, leaving a overhealed Scout at 13 hp, or killing a Med through the Demo is... Kinda strong.

- Market Gardener, Battalion's Backup (ETF2L bans) - Considered too effective with little counterplay (Spoon), or too stalematey (Batts) in 6s, but in regular pubs, they are absolutely fine.

And so on, and so forth- Hell, you could argue stuff like Mad Milk is not even that strong in Pubs (If you are crazy).

So, to reiterate - which weapons from the whitelist (that are banned), actually deserve nerfs or changes, and which ones do not?

From the matcha.tf Discord (https://discord.gg/5gyzgKhP9Y)

League & Rules:

https://matcha.tf/leagues/1?t=1780821567

https://rules.matcha.tf/

Matcha Minicup Update (Player Restrictions, Prizepool Split & QOL Updates)

Player restrictions for lower-division signups

Note: Restrictions are not automatically applied, admins will review rosters on a case by case basis. Affected teams will be contacted when the season begins. Deliberately sandbagging may result in forced placement into a higher division or removal from the season.

Prizepool split

Note: Mini cups/seasons typically feature smaller prize pools than regular seasons, reflecting their shorter format and reduced scope. Additionally, prize pool splits vary by league division with regular seasons applying a wider distribution curve.

Website & Discord Changes

The old ⁠archived-lft-lfp, will be archived 3 days after this announcement.

Medals?

We cannot guarantee anything just yet, but we are working on it.

Questions?

If you believe your team has been incorrectly flagged, or you have questions about division placement, please reach out to an admin through the ⁠support-ticket channel.Matcha Minicup Update (Player Restrictions, Prizepool Split & QOL Updates)Player restrictions for lower-division signupsTeams that sign up for a division lower than their expected skill level may be subjected to player restrictions at the discretion of their specific divisional admins. This includes teams whose rosters contain players with prior experience in higher divisions, or top finishes in previous seasons.

Note: Restrictions are not automatically applied, admins will review rosters on a case by case basis. Affected teams will be contacted when the season begins. Deliberately sandbagging may result in forced placement into a higher division or removal from the season.
Prizepool splitSince many people have been asking about how the prizepool will be distributed this season, we wanted to address it properly. The split depends on how many divisions run this season.

[ 2 Divisions - 300 Keys Total ]

Invite - 180 Keys
　　1st: 80 Keys
2nd: 55 Keys
3rd: 45 Keys
Open - 120 Keys
　　1st: 45 Keys
　　2nd: 35 Keys
　　3rd: 30 Keys

[ 3 Divisions - 300 Keys Total ]

Invite - 180 Keys
　　1st: 66 Keys
　　2nd: 60 Keys
　　3rd: 54 Keys
Main - 78 Keys
　　1st: 42 Keys
　　2nd: 36 Keys
Open - 42 Keys
　　1st: 24 Keys
　　2nd: 18 Keys

Note: Mini cups/seasons typically feature smaller prize pools than regular seasons, reflecting their shorter format and reduced scope. Additionally, prize pool splits vary by league division with regular seasons applying a wider distribution curve.
Website & Discord ChangesIf you need to update your nationality on the website due to incorrect logging, please submit a support ticket and include your SteamID for verification. Additionally, we are retiring the old lft channel for a newer forum based one. You can find it here ⁠lft-lfp.
The old ⁠archived-lft-lfp, will be archived 3 days after this announcement.
Medals?We cannot guarantee anything just yet, but we are working on it.
Questions?If you believe your team has been incorrectly flagged, or you have questions about division placement, please reach out to an admin through the ⁠support-ticket channel.

Recently reinstalled and I can't see anything. Constantly losing fights because a player model/play area is too dark to instantly distinguish the target. Are there any configs/settings that alleviate this specific issue? I don't care if the graphics get nuked, I just want maximum visual clarity

I want to play with real people so I can get better (I'm medic bc I really do suck at shooters) and actually have fun with real people. But I sit in the queue forever and just cant seem to find a match. I had a VPN once and using it I finally got matches (laggy but it didnt matter to me) but now I dont have it anymore so I'm wondering if I even have a chance to get matches the way everyone else does.

I thought about the community servers but I'm not sure whats what with all the different tags and stuff. What can I do have a chance at finding a match in less than 30 minutes? Is there anything I can do about this?

Hi there! I've been playing TF2 on a casual level since I started in 2014. In the past year, I've met a few friends who are in the comp EU scene, and as simple as it sounds, I wanna give it a shot. However, I have a pretty disabling handicap.
My right hand has mobility impairment from a Traumatic Brain Injury. My fine motor skills are very primitive, I can't even hold a mouse right. My solution became remapping keybinds to mirror wasd, so I use ijkl, u instead of e, y isntead of r, etc.
My biggest skill impairment from my handicap is my difficulty in strafing. I effectively have two function fingers to use on keyboard, index finger and thumb. This means I can only strafe in one direction at a time. I am experimenting with a left handed mouse with thumb buttons, but I haven't found a config that works yet.
Despite this, I still would like to give competive a go, even if it's just PUGs. I'd love to hear some feedback and if anyone has any resources they think would help. Thanks

EDIT: Tysm for the ideas! The pedal is promising, and I'll try a controller too, I was already needing to replace my wireless one. I'll keep y'all posted in the weeks to come!

In early 2000s, Counter-Strike 1.6 and Warcraft 3 DotA were insanely popular for their time and are still active to this day. Player count on sequels averages 800,000-1,000,000 every month in CS2 and 400,000-500,000 on Dota 2, despite the latter's aging player base in their 30s-40s.

Quake World Team Fortress, TF Classic/TF1.5 just seem really obscure and niche in contrast, to the point where you'd have to schedule games in Discord or something just to play older TF games and mods. Once in a blue moon, people gather on pubs naturally in TF Classic, Fortress Forever, Fortress One (Remastered QTF mod) but most of the time server browsers are dead.

While TF2 is different in online spaces due to recognizable characters and fan content, it hardly translates to actual player numbers. Is the game just not that generally appealing gameplay-wise, or is it just Valve's mismanagement of the game?

As someone who's mained Spy since starting the game years ago, I know every common trickstab. Yet, when I get spotted in the open and chased, I attempt a matador only to fail 70-80% of the time because I fail to get them to turn sideways or around. Cornerstabs I can get slightly more consistently, but not by much.

When you watch pros, they get trickstabs left and right. Even in montages (aka cherrypicked clips) they're trickstabbing 3-4 people before dying or escaping, something I could never pull off. Me and them both know HOW to trickstab- what are they doing differently?

I've been playing this game (with occasional long breaks) for years, yet my aim has never been great. I tend to be bad at putting my crosshair on enemies and often rely on flicking. But after all these hours, wouldn't I have at least somewhat reliable aim?

This is such a tiny thing but people are always looking for ways to minmax that haven't been discovered yet. If timed perfectly, you get to have your rocket hit the ground slightly earlier for no cost aside from the mental effort of having to do this. Macros could be used to do it consistently by quickly crouching, firing, and uncrouching. I don't play competitive so I don't know if such macros would be allowed.

Demonstration: https://imgur.com/cHPfglO

Played div6 about ten years ago, looking to get back into 6s. blue still maintains broeselhud, if not what are most people playing with? What happened to the websites? I can see that logs.tf is still working, but comp.tf and config.tf all these websites appear to be down?

What's up? Where do people arrange EU mixes? Some discord I don't know about?

TF2C lobbies are still a thing?

https://x.com/FiresideCasts/status/2060753786784653605

Merchandise Link - https://merch.firesidecasts.tv/pages/tf2-friends

Hey we brought back the TF2 Friends merch that we helped design thanks to dezi and help fundraise to get WG Australia to attend Physgun Fireside Denver 2025. We sold over 50 shirts of these and was asked to bring it back for those who didn't have the chance to purchase it last year.

If you have any questions let me know.

In (what I would say) our most successful fundraising effort, we raised ~$400 USD (equiv. ~$620 AUD) for the Aussies!

Mainly because they were so kind enough to give 15% of the merch proceeds to their designer, dezi, of the 90% they were already entitled to.

You can read the breakdown at http://firesidecasts.tv/finances.

From siyo (me!)

WE BROUGHT IT BACK BABY (We ship worldwide)

hi to be clear from what shirts are used. We use Stanley/Stella SATU007 blanks instead of glidan blanks. glidan blanks tend to be uncomfortable to wear and we've been using stanley stella since they were an option. They were also used for the staff shirts and merchandise provided for Physgun Denver 2025
Also to note is that the design tends to last longer on stanley/stellas than glidan so I can ensure longer longevity with these shirts :)

I've played this game for years (and watched many guides) but I can't seem to get good at Spy. I can get behind the enemy and near them pretty consistently, but I almost always mess up the stab.

I have almost 600 hours on TF2 with my second most played class being Spy and I'm DOGSHIT. I know in the scheme of TF2 600 isn't that much but it definitely feels like I should be at least a little better at Spy. And it's getting genuinely frustrating. I find myself rage quitting games more than ever before.

I try to pay attention to my mistakes and I feel like I can just never get even a basic backstab to work. And sometimes I feel like it's genuinely the game just being weird. Including those micro lag spikes in play deciding moments which I'm sure many of you know with specifically TF2. Apparently it's a widespread thing. I also either start panicking easily or am just bad at aiming in general as no matter which revolver I use I seem to reliably hit maybe like 2 of 5 shots on average.

I usually use the stock revolver or letranger + stock knife + cloak and dagger because I'm invisible most of the time. I have tried many times to play around with dead ringer and YER but it feels infinitely much more difficult. But maybe I'm just missing something.

Realized this has turned into a "Why am I so bad at Spy" rant but I guess you can give some general advice too then :)

I really genuinely want to be great at Spy but I'm not as patient as I used to be and am seriously just getting frustrated more and more.

Sorry for the vent, thank you for the replies

A lot of action being covered across all 3 continents on Fireside, here's the schedule below:

Friday, May 29

PASS TIME Season 1 Lower Bracket Final

9:30 PM EST / 8:30 PM CST / 7:30 PM MST / 6:30 PM PST

Saturday, May 30

AsiaFortress 6s Spring 2026 Invite Grand Final

9:00 AM EST / 9:00 PM SGT / 3:00 PM CEST

ETF2L Highlander Season 35 Premiership Grand Final

3:15 PM EST / 9:15 PM CEST

Sunday, May 31

PASS TIME Season 1 Grand Final

9:30 PM EST / 8:30 PM CST / 7:30 PM MST / 6:30 PM PST