TF2?
 

Does anyone (still) play? Or can this game not be mentioned here? :D

I've just started. Enjoying the game, good to just jump in and give it a go, but I'm a bit confused about the items and crafting. I've gotten a number of random drops including some Mann & Co supply crates (which afaik are just an invitation to buy a key for it and get a random item) but I'm not seeing any pattern of drops on specific events. I can reprocess some excess drops into scrap metal and turn those into hats but that all seems pointless. Are there any crafted items that are more than just a vanity item?

Oh but bugger microtransactions, I'm not putting in a dollar more than what the game cost to buy. :D

TF2 is valve's testing ground.

Drops were made so that idler's wouldn't get more than people playing 1-2 hours a day.

Just go to the tf2 wiki and learn yourself up. Or just play solider and kill stuff, up to you how play the game.

Yep, I play it religiously. SO AWESOME.

You can get almost all the commonly used "unlock" weapons by completing the achievements for the individual classes. Other than that you can craft particular ones you want using recipes from the TF2 Wiki.

Sadly it's turning into more of a RPG with all of the new items but it's still fun to play.

The Wiki is good reading those as Jodi says. Worth have a trawl through there. http://www.tf2wiki.net

Oh, also the hats are purely cosmetic (apart from some of the sets which if you wear everything you get an additional bonus).

Most items simply drop, so there is no need to craft unless you want to save time. Save your items for crafting super rare things such as hats, and the special set hats which are more than just cosmetic but are required for a set of items.

Ah, I think I saw you pwning it up last night Cowboy. It's funny, some days I log on and just hose people, other days I'm cannon fodder.

Are those supply crates worth anything or is it really just a way to try and get you to pay for keys?

Exactly right, the only thing you can do it buy keys to open them. I think I have about 20 clogging up the backpack. I refuse to pay for that kind of thing.

Some good games last night indeed :)

Valve is working on something to do with crates for those who dont want to pay, so keepem round. Hell, takem off peoples hands if you got the space.

It would be nice if you could scrap them. At least then could use them to make other stuff.

So, a few questions, if anyone's in a helpful mood.

Rocket/sticky jumping. I just succeed in implanting shrapnel in my arse more than anything. I see demos flying through the air at 4x running speed with barely a scratch on them, and soldiers landing themselves on platforms far higher than I figure is doable. Is it jump, aim straight down and shoot, then duck? Or some other order?

Spy. I dislike the class, bluntly, but that's probably 'cos I can't make it work. So I'm disguised, go up behind someone, try to stab and just kinda ineffectively hump them until they get suspicious, turn around and blast me. Same if I'm stealthed. I get backstabbed by stealthed spies all the time, do I need to decloak before attacking? I'm not exactly getting lots of time to figure it out in-game. :p

Jumping. Because its valve, crouching is involved. Crouch jumping will result in higher jumps. For soldiers you want to aim a bit behind to move forward vs up as well. Crouch jump then fire to get highest.

Spy takes a while to get used to, but once it clicks...

Once the spies arm raises you can stab, but now and then it wont register. The secret is to strike where players will be focused on something in the other direction. Choke point corners are great for that. Practise with the default invisibility watch on point 1 of badwater, there are 2 corners there and tons of metal to use. Also, declock while standing still, otherwise its to obvious. Pick the classes you know well, and mimic them to best get close.

I've been putting a couple of hours into this most evenings. I love the details and depth, and most classes seem to have a use and be fairly balanced.

I dominated a heavy yesterday as the engineer and it said "Never mind the bullets, how much are them coffins costin' ya?". Had me in stitches. :D

No real competitive scene to speak of anymore :( but check out www.nzfortress.co.nz for the kiwi community

I don't really need anything beyond a quick thrash in the evenings anyway. :p

I'm putting some serious hours into playing Pyro but the "Makin' Bacon" achievement, kill 50 heavies with the flamethrower, isn't progressing at all. It's still on 0. I've killed heavies, even solo, with just the flamethrowers, so I'm not sure if it's bugged or if I'm doing something wrong. Only thing I can think of is that I'm not using the normal flamethrower anymore, mostly the backburner. Does anyone see any progress on this one?

Also, how do pyros use their flamethrower as a melee weapon? I've seen it done but can't do it myself.

"50 heavies with the flamethrower" not with the backburner, would be my guess. Pretty sure melee pyros are just glitching the graphics. I use the flamethrower over the bb, airblast is too good if you can time it right. Great for turning solys into fine red mist.

Yeah recently I've swapped to the Degreaser/Axtinguisher combo for quick melee kills. Killing 50 heavies with the vanilla one without farming it on an achievement server is gonna suck.

I use the vanilla flamethrower 100% of the time. The airblast is just too great a sacrifice to go with the other flamethrowers.

IMO the quick switch isn't really needed as you just quick-flame them, airblast into the air, switch to axe and crit. Still have plenty of juice left.

Backburner's the only one with a massive airblast penalty though. The Degreaser's airblast only costs 10 I think?

Yeah it costs the same but your burn damage is -25% just for faster weapon switch. Not worth it imo.

The Uber Update due on Friday.

Meet The Medic confirmed, along with new weapons for Spy and heavy and a new valve made payload map... and its day 1 :)

Oh, and TF2 is free all this week.

And free completely now!