Hello everyone.

A long time ago I played Team Fortress 2 competitively and was, by almost all accounts, a thoroughly mediocre player. I was cut from at least 1 ESEA team and ruined several playoff games single-handedly due to my inability to execute competent gameplay, in a 1v1, 2v1, or even 3v1 situation. In several situations, especially difficult situations, I ruined the teamwork due to lack of communication, even extending into visible frustration and tilting. More than several times, I "ruined the vibes" in what should have been a totally meaningless low-stakes pick up game, entirely due to my own ego and whiny/insufferable disposition.

That isn't to say that it was all bad; in some moments, I was able to "clutch" a play and contribute somehow to winning the game, or actually elevate my team beyond my own mediocrity simply by upholding good vibes. And, in my thousands of hours of TF2 experience, I did amass a lot of game knowledge and mechanical skill. In addition to all of this, I made many gay shitposts on this forum, a small fraction of which of which were well-received.

After several years of hiatus and being able to reflect on my tf2 "career" (if you could even call it that), I have come to the conclusion: I was always mediocre, and, despite my ego and self-delusion, never once advanced any meaningful distance past my proper station as an entirely forgettable and middling ESEA-O level player.

However. I have recently come across a golden opportunity: my wife and I are having a child sometime in July. My child will be a beautiful healthy baby girl.

And this, this could be my chance. I will never transcend, but perhaps my new daughter could. She has unbounded potential; working from a blank slate, with youthful reflexes and what will assuredly be a great attitude.

So this is my question. If you could do it all over again, to live your TF2 progression out from the top, from day one. What would you do differently? More MGE? PUGs or scrimmages? Starting with Pyro or Solder, or in a support class like Medic or Engineer? Should she ever play Spy or is it a waste of time? Should she use the loch and load or the regular vanilla grenade launcher? Stick to one class in PUGs or try them all out? Should she initiate a push in a 6vs6 situation or wait until the roamer makes a pick? Is it OK to name your weapon something really annoying?

She will have the opportunity to far surpass her father -- to achieve true greatness in TF2.