comp.tf - User contributions [en]

Offclass

2013-10-17T16:10:19Z

207.144.99.5: /* Spy */

In 6v6, an '''offclass''' is a player of any class apart from the standard line-up of [[Scout]], [[Soldier]], [[Medic]], and [[Demoman]]. These are situational classes, most often switched to by a [[Scout]] or [[Roamer]] when holding or pushing last in [[5CP]].

== Heavy ==

The highest potential DPS (damage per second) class in the game. Heavy is best played in highly defensive situations. His lack of mobility, compounded with the fact that he is focused greatly once his presence is known, makes him difficult to utilize to great effect during offensive pushes. The best way to use him offensively requires great positioning so that the opposing team cannot run away. If a team is able to keep the enemies all in one place and in the Heavy's line of sight, said Heavy can be highly effective.

Places where he is best used include, but are not limited to, last points on 5 CP, defending on A/D maps, defending the point on KOTH maps, and pushing into certain last points. Additionally, having an Ubercharge is almost necessary when using a Heavy to fight. Once a fight has begun, there is no way for a Heavy to disengage. His low mobility and large size make him an easy target, contrary to Scouts, Soldiers, and Demomen, who all have the ability to escape in some capacity. Once he the Heavy is engaged in a fight, tanking him with the uber is almost a necessity. If played correctly, Heavy is one of the strongest offclasses.

== Engineer ==

Similar in use to the Heavy, but even more situational. He is run almost every single round on defense of Gravel Pit, the primary A/D map, for his Sentry Gun, Dispenser, and Teleporter that can all be set up before the round starts in order to hold a point, usually point B. Being able to defend the buildings is crucial, and moving them as pushes begin is the only way to keep them from going down. If the Engineer works with his team, this can all be done smoothly.

On an average, more often-played 5 CP and KOTH maps, effectiveness of an Engineer is limited. The time it takes to set up even a single Sentry Gun with only one Engineer often offsets its benefits. It can be used to guard the last point, but it is much easier to destroy than a Heavy, and has no mobility unless moved (taking away all of its firepower). A team can sometimes also opt for an Engineer offclass if they know the enemy will be pushing with the Kritzkrieg, as crits do not affects damage on buildings, and the Kritzkrieg does not protect the affected players from incoming damage in any way.

The Engineer is the most situational of all the off-classes, and must be played at only the best times on the best maps.

== Pyro ==

Once again, a class mostly used defensively. The Pyro has underwhelming damage, a very short range, and moderate mobility at best. His utility and usefulness come almost entirely from his airblast mechanic. He can be used in certain situations to flank and deal damage, but this ability is considerably weaker than a Scout's.

Because of this, a Pyro is usually run only when defending a last point on 5-CP. The airblast is used to deflect projectiles and hold an uber push in place. This is most useful when at an uber disadvantage. While the enemy team ubers in, the Pyro moves forward to airblast the combo backwards, stalling the push. The player may often die in this scenario, but it can be enough to delay the majority of their invulnerability, evening out the playing field considerably. Pyro isn't weak in and of itself; the other classes are simply stronger. If caught alone, a Pyro can easily be killed by a Scout or Soldier, making positioning very important.

== Sniper ==

One of the most commonly used utility classes. The Sniper's very long range and very high damage can be used to pick off important classes, lock down specific areas, and deny jumping, rushing and suiciding players with ease. Positioning is the most important thing on Sniper, besides pure aiming ability.

The Sniper has base movement speed, 125 HP, and poor close range capabilities. If caught out by any other combat class, the Sniper will usually die. The best places to stand are those in which there is as long a sightline as possible towards wherever it is that the enemy will be coming out of, and somewhere where the Sniper can either escape very quickly or can be protected by teammates. A Sniper is not usually run at all times, so when switching to it, there is almost zero threat of being countersniped for the first life. This allows the player to take certain actions and positioning decisions that would be harder if there were a long range threat.

A Sniper can be run in many situations depending on the place the team holding on the map and the uber status. Snipers are most commonly run defending against an enemy with uber advantage, during an equal-uber stalemate, or defending/attacking a point with a particularly open sightline. There is no damage spread in competitive play, so a fully charged bodyshot will instantly kill a Medic and an unbuffed Scout. The primary target in 99% of situations will be the Medic. After that, there are few targets worth holding a shot for. The Demoman is the next most important, but wasting other potential shots and kills is not worth it in most situations. Knowing what maps to snipe on and when the best time to switch is can win games for the team, so long as someone has the aim to backup the decision making.

== Spy ==

Similar to the Sniper in his single-target killing power, the Spy is a highly situational "pick class" that excels during stalemates. The Spy lacks a lot of the utility that the Sniper provides, but can be more effective at times where a Sniper has little vision or killing capabilities. The Spy also has excellent scouting power through use of the Cloak and Dagger item.

Choosing Spy at the right time is the most important part of the class. Once played him once in a game, the enemy will be much more careful for the rest of that game. The first stab is the most effective. In an ideal situation, the Spy won't even be seen by the enemies until an enemy player is killed. Because of the high levels of communication and low amount of players in a game, disguises are very unreliable and will not fool most players. Additionally, it is unwise to disguise as anything other than the main 6v6 classes (Scout, Soldier, Medic, Demo). Disguising as Soldiers and Demos will cripple the Spy's movement speed, and a team usually knows where their Medic is, and it's very suspicious to see a Medic but not have him healing anything, so generally, Scout is the best disguise, even though the Spy is slower, this can be disguised with spamming jump and crouch, or just sneaking around with cloak and the small body of the Scout.

Due to all of this, the best watch to take when going for kills is the standard Invisibility Watch. It will get the Spy behind them the furthest and fastest. When trying to scout out the enemy position, attempting a back cap, however doing anything that requires more than 15 or so seconds of invisibility, the Cloak and Dagger is best. This can be used to invade the last point on a map and simply watch, or wait for them to push out and attempt a cap. Going spy at the right time in a game is the primary deciding factor in its usefulness. The Dead Ringer can be used while holding last to fake a death with friendly disguises and instigate an enemy push, but can be detected by listening to the Spy's death cry, or if they have ragdolls on, as the Spy's corpse is dropped, not the disguise.

Roaming Soldier

2013-10-17T03:27:35Z

207.144.99.5: /* General */

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[[File:25Roamer gullywash mid.jpg|framed|The Roaming Soldier [http://comp.tf/images/3/3b/Roamer_gullywash_mid.jpg (Full Size)] ]]
== <big>General</big> ==
The Roaming Soldier ("roamer") is the more aggressive Soldier in 6v6. The primary objectives of a roamer are creating advantages off of which their team can push, aiding the Scouts defending the flank and getting behind the enemy as a decoy, to hide for a pick or to relay information about the enemy's location. Being the most "disposable" unit of the team, a roamer is free to jump into the enemy, trying to get a important pick (e.g. the Demo or the Medic) to prevent (delay) a hostile push and/or enable the own teams push. The roamer usually tries not to stay with his team's own medic, preferably leaving the heals to the pocket and the rest of the team. Roamers mostly rely on health kits to maintain their Health.
If the enemy Medic is 100% charged, a roamer wants to either kill him or force him to use his uber in a safe distance from the own team, typically as the enemy Medic passes through a chokepoint.

== <big>Loadouts</big> ==
The standard loadout for a Roaming Soldier is the Rocket Launcher/Original, the Gunboats and the Escape Plan. This set gives the roamer a huge amount of mobility:
The Gunboats reduce the self-damage taken from rocket jumping, and the Escape Plan can ensure easier getaways. Some roamers prefer to run the Shotgun over the Gunboats. This greatly decreases potential mobility and therefore the unpredictability of a roamer's aggression, since a buff is required to jump without losing too much health. Additionally running the Shotgun forces the Medic to spread healing to the roamer more often, decreasing the amount of healing the other players get. The big upside to the Shotgun is the additional firepower, which is a great relief in combat against Scouts while defending the flank and in general combat.
Another common choice is the Pain Train. With this item, the Roaming Soldier can be used as "a third Scout". The double cap speed allows the roamer to stay behind and cap a point, while the scouts are free to advance forward. More aggressive roamers using this item get rewarded with easier backcaps and the ability to put a lot of pressure on enemy points.
Due to the recent update that nerfed the Escape Plan, some roamers were seen using the Market Gardener. If the soldier is rocket jumping, he is guaranteed a critical hit, which is effective in taking out the opposing team, and most notably, the medic. Roamers using this weapon to great advantage usually get rewarded with picks such as medics which, most of the time, will change the tide of the game.
Generally, the stock Rocket Launcher/Original is the best primary choice for the roamer since it has very reliable splash damage (remember, without the Shotgun it is more difficult to kill scouts) and 4 rockets (allowing the user a double rocket jump whilst still having enough rockets loaded to kill a Medic).

[[File:25Roamer gullywash shotgun.jpg|framed|left|Additional Firepower: Shotgun [http://comp.tf/images/3/3f/Roamer_gullywash_shotgun.jpg (Full Size)]]] [[File:25Roamer badlands escape.jpg|framed|center|Escaping [http://comp.tf/images/9/99/Roamer_badlands_escape.jpg (Full Size)]]]

== <big>Mid Fights</big> ==
[[File:25Roamer badlands mid jump.jpg|framed|Jumping the Demo through Valley [http://comp.tf/images/b/b1/Roamer_badlands_mid_jump.jpg (Full Size)]]]
During Mid fights the goals of a roamer are either:
# To kill the enemy Medic
# To kill the enemy Demoman
# To deal as much damage to the enemy combo as possible
# To distract the enemy.
As the main "weapon" of a roamer on mid is unpredictability, using different rollouts is recommended. When choosing which rollout to take each round, consider the following:
# What did the enemy do last mid?
# What gave you the most trouble?
# Why did your team win/lose the mid?
# What might the enemy Team try differently this time?
A roamer should be constantly surveying the current situation and deciding on the best possible thing to do, and whether there are any good alternatives.
Sometimes helping one of your Scouts in a Scout vs Scout fight is better than trying to force a way through the enemy Pocket, the Demo and possibly a Scout, dealing only 50 Damage to the Medic.
As a rule of thumb, the following applies:

[http://rocketrails.blogspot.ca/2013/04/stop-looking-at-tf2-as-black-white.html "if it's a team-fight, ignore the Medic and go for the fragging classes, and only go for the Demo if there's nothing in the way. If it's a stalemate and you need an advantage, go for the Medic kill/uber force."] - Ziggy Shea

== <big>Defending Last</big> ==

Whilst defending the last point of most 5cp maps, a roamer is often restricted to how mobile they are, due to the often enclosed spaces of the point. Because of this, the roamer will usually be charged with the job of assisting scouts in covering flanks. On certain points, like process last, in which a good scout can be much more effective, a roaming soldier may wish to offclass to heavy or pyro in order to deal out much more damage or counter the enemy team's uber. If the enemy is attacking last with a kritzkreig, then it should often be the job of the roamer to immediately focus the medic or demoman, in order to minimize their damage capabilities.

== <big>Hiding Spots</big> ==
Hiding spots are not-easily-visible, mostly elevated spots in maps.
Using one of these without being seen creates a huge advantage and helps in getting close to the Medic and/or behind the enemy Team. Generally a roamer should know every hiding spot, for usage and for checking.
[[File:25Roamer badlands hiding stone.jpg|framed|left|Hiding to get behind the enemy Team or to kill the Medic [http://comp.tf/images/9/92/Roamer_badlands_hiding_stone.jpg (Full Size)]]]
[[File:25Roamer gullywash hiding.jpg|framed|center|Hiding to help the Scout defending the flank by surprising the enemy [http://comp.tf/images/0/01/Roamer_gullywash_hiding.jpg (Full Size)]]]