Upvote Upvoted 3 Downvote Downvoted
Do comprehensive competitive/class guides exist?
posted in Q/A Help
1
#1
1 Frags +

Edit Important Note: Keeping this up top so hopefully people read it first. Unless you have the IQ of a goldfish it's blatantly obvious to anyone who wants to play competitively that you have to practice a lot if you want to be good (it's kind of how most things on planet Earth work). So please spare me the "YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE, PLAY PUGS, SCRIM, PLAY MATCHES, REVIEW DEMOS, BLA BLA ETC." I KNOW I have to practice, but instead of tanking through years of competitive play on my own, I'm hoping to capitalize on the fact that people have been doing this for over half a decade and will probably have more nuanced information that they've come across over the years. Believe me, I'm aware that I could eventually do it myself even if it meant practicing the wrong things for a long time before I figured out how to do the right things, but clearly I'm trying to mitigate the learning curve by using the wisdom of people who have already been through it. I will still practice I just want to practice the most effective things and save myself a lot of trouble!

After playing soldier very exclusively for the past, maybe half a year, I decided to start looking for a really comprehensive soldier guide for competitive.

!!!KEY WORD COMPREHENSIVE!!!

I really mean a guide that doesn't necessarily NEED to include the basics. Like, there are jumping guides out there and whatnot and knowing game modes isn't what I'm talking about either.

In regards to soldier:
I'm talking about a guide that includes all but is not limited to:

    Different soldier roles
    Different loadouts (their pros and cons/when to use them and on which maps and situations)
    Different rollouts for different maps, different goals of rollouts
    Goal in team structure
    How to play in different maps, different points, offensive, defensive, neutral
    How to pick good positions to hold
    What to look for in enemy teams
    How to pick/prioritize targets
    How to most effectively use ubers, how to most effectively counter ubers
    What calls and comms are important to make, and which should be neglected
    Which teammates to work with and how
    Different methods of protecting a medic
    Roamer strategies and locations
    How to work on DM (comprehensive guide, including aiming strategies, when to use shotgun, when to use rocket launcher, when to conserve ammo, HOW to aim in general)
    Maybe even strategies for best way to go for an airshot (or maybe when shotgunning is better?)
    How to identify which fights you should run from
    How to best review demos
    And anything else an experienced player might think of
    Edit: Possibly netcode settings, or settings in general that might be important (someone said having shadows on could help a lot, things like that or settings in general that aren't publicly known)

If anyone knows of any good resources or guides I haven't seen that are fully comprehensive on the role of a certain class, I would greatly appreciate it if you shared the link.

If not, if you could spare any information that is preferably more involved or more nuanced than the general things you might pick up by googling how to play soldier, I will try and put together a more organized list of anything people have to share.

Thanks a lot to anyone who has any constructive contributions!

Edit Important Note: Keeping this up top so hopefully people read it first. Unless you have the IQ of a goldfish it's blatantly obvious to anyone who wants to play competitively that you have to practice a lot if you want to be good (it's kind of how most things on planet Earth work). So please spare me the "YOU HAVE TO PRACTICE, PLAY PUGS, SCRIM, PLAY MATCHES, REVIEW DEMOS, BLA BLA ETC." I KNOW I have to practice, but instead of tanking through years of competitive play on my own, I'm hoping to capitalize on the fact that people have been doing this for over half a decade and will probably have more nuanced information that they've come across over the years. Believe me, I'm aware that I could eventually do it myself even if it meant practicing the wrong things for a long time before I figured out how to do the right things, but clearly I'm trying to mitigate the learning curve by using the wisdom of people who have already been through it. I will still practice I just want to practice the most effective things and save myself a lot of trouble!

After playing soldier very exclusively for the past, maybe half a year, I decided to start looking for a really comprehensive soldier guide for competitive.


[b][b][b][u]!!!KEY WORD COMPREHENSIVE!!![/u][/b][/b][/b]

I really mean a guide that doesn't necessarily NEED to include the basics. Like, there are jumping guides out there and whatnot and knowing game modes isn't what I'm talking about either.

In regards to soldier:
I'm talking about a guide that includes all but is not limited to:
[list]
Different soldier roles
Different loadouts (their pros and cons/when to use them and on which maps and situations)
Different rollouts for different maps, different goals of rollouts
Goal in team structure
How to play in different maps, different points, offensive, defensive, neutral
How to pick good positions to hold
What to look for in enemy teams
How to pick/prioritize targets
How to most effectively use ubers, how to most effectively counter ubers
What calls and comms are important to make, and which should be neglected
Which teammates to work with and how
Different methods of protecting a medic
Roamer strategies and locations
How to work on DM (comprehensive guide, including aiming strategies, when to use shotgun, when to use rocket launcher, when to conserve ammo, HOW to aim in general)
Maybe even strategies for best way to go for an airshot (or maybe when shotgunning is better?)
How to identify which fights you should run from
How to best review demos
And anything else an experienced player might think of
Edit: Possibly netcode settings, or settings in general that might be important (someone said having shadows on could help a lot, things like that or settings in general that aren't publicly known)
[/list]

If anyone knows of any good resources or guides I haven't seen that are fully comprehensive on the role of a certain class, I would greatly appreciate it if you shared the link.

If not, if you could spare any information that is preferably more involved or more nuanced than the general things you might pick up by googling how to play soldier, I will try and put together a more organized list of anything people have to share.

Thanks a lot to anyone who has any constructive contributions!
2
#2
0 Frags +

Not really, since most of the concepts need to be learned from experience so reading a guide won't provide much "comprehensive" help :/

Not really, since most of the concepts need to be learned from experience so reading a guide won't provide much "comprehensive" help :/
3
#3
2 Frags +

http://comp.tf/

http://comp.tf/
4
#4
5 Frags +

marxist has these "precepts of" class videos, they are very comprehensive but i would encourage you to try things and grow yourself around your chosen role, one cannot truly understand the importance of his goal without traveling the journey that leads to said goal.

[url=www.youtube.com/medimarx]marxist[/url] has these "precepts of" class videos, they are very comprehensive but i would encourage you to try things and grow yourself around your chosen role, one cannot truly understand the importance of his goal without traveling the journey that leads to said goal.
5
#5
2 Frags +
Kanecohttp://comp.tf/

That's a really good place to start, thank you. Would be cool if it gave a lot of situation based examples of some of the concepts.

AloSecNot really, since most of the concepts need to be learned from experience so reading a guide won't provide much "comprehensive" help :/

Not true, you can learn a lot from reading. If you're reading and not understanding, then there's a problem, but if you understand what people are talking about then you can consciously try to improve on certain aspects without necessarily having to practice doing something wrong for a long time.

[quote=Kaneco]http://comp.tf/[/quote]

That's a really good place to start, thank you. Would be cool if it gave a lot of situation based examples of some of the concepts.

[quote=AloSec]Not really, since most of the concepts need to be learned from experience so reading a guide won't provide much "comprehensive" help :/[/quote]

Not true, you can learn a lot from reading. If you're reading and not understanding, then there's a problem, but if you understand what people are talking about then you can consciously try to improve on certain aspects without necessarily having to practice doing something wrong for a long time.
6
#6
0 Frags +
Saltysally1marxist has these "precepts of" class videos, they are very comprehensive but i would encourage you to try things and grow yourself around your chosen role, one cannot truly understand the importance of his goal without traveling the journey that leads to said goal.

Once again, I plan on practicing a lot, but there are a lot of tidbits of advice that I've gotten here and there that have went a long way and saved me a lot of trouble. I'm still going to practice a lot myself, but I know that there must be some smart people out there who can articulate these little things I'm talking about so I don't have to spend years trying to find out myself.

[quote=Saltysally1][url=www.youtube.com/medimarx]marxist[/url] has these "precepts of" class videos, they are very comprehensive but i would encourage you to try things and grow yourself around your chosen role, one cannot truly understand the importance of his goal without traveling the journey that leads to said goal.[/quote]

Once again, I plan on practicing a lot, but there are a lot of tidbits of advice that I've gotten here and there that have went a long way and saved me a lot of trouble. I'm still going to practice a lot myself, but I know that there must be some smart people out there who can articulate these little things I'm talking about so I don't have to spend years trying to find out myself.
7
#7
1 Frags +

I doubt that whatever I have in mind fits what your bill, but...

I highly recommend Fragga's soldier guide.

http://youtu.be/ZJs9qOr5D10

I doubt that whatever I have in mind fits what your bill, but...

I highly recommend Fragga's soldier guide.

http://youtu.be/ZJs9qOr5D10
8
#8
0 Frags +
JCONNORI doubt that whatever I have in mind fits what your bill, but...

I highly recommend Fragga's soldier guide.

http://youtu.be/ZJs9qOr5D10

Thank you, this video actually looks like a great example of the situation based and general concepts I was talking about, while still including nuances that he worked out on his own.

[quote=JCONNOR]I doubt that whatever I have in mind fits what your bill, but...

I highly recommend Fragga's soldier guide.

http://youtu.be/ZJs9qOr5D10[/quote]

Thank you, this video actually looks like a great example of the situation based and general concepts I was talking about, while still including nuances that he worked out on his own.
9
#9
5 Frags +

Anything that meets all of those things you listed with any respectable amount of attention would be a full fledged book, and I don't think anyone is a big enough turbo nerd to write one, especially now that sigma doesn't play anymore

Anything that meets all of those things you listed with any respectable amount of attention would be a full fledged book, and I don't think anyone is a big enough turbo nerd to write one, especially now that sigma doesn't play anymore
10
#10
3 Frags +
narfAnything that meets all of those things you listed with any respectable amount of attention would be a full fledged book, and I don't think anyone is a big enough turbo nerd to write one, especially now that sigma doesn't play anymore

the truths in this post.

[quote=narf]Anything that meets all of those things you listed with any respectable amount of attention would be a full fledged book, and I don't think anyone is a big enough turbo nerd to write one, especially now that sigma doesn't play anymore[/quote]
the truths in this post.
11
#11
0 Frags +

Just watched that youtube video, that was a greaaat example of something I was looking for.

Edit: I've seen the concept of coaching people, I'm talking about something like that, but more of like a wiki or a guide with a lot of sections that is preferably put together by a lot of knowledgeable/great players.

For my own example, I have a friend who started recently, and was very bad at the game. I took the time to guide him through the basics and kept filling him in on any other tidbits I could find out myself, I don't even think he has 40 hours yet as soldier but he's already better than I was after several months.

Just watched that youtube video, that was a greaaat example of something I was looking for.

Edit: I've seen the concept of coaching people, I'm talking about something like that, but more of like a wiki or a guide with a lot of sections that is preferably put together by a lot of knowledgeable/great players.

For my own example, I have a friend who started recently, and was very bad at the game. I took the time to guide him through the basics and kept filling him in on any other tidbits I could find out myself, I don't even think he has 40 hours yet as soldier but he's already better than I was after several months.
12
#12
0 Frags +

I wrote some stuff about roamer:
http://www.ziggyshea.com/roamingsoldier/

I don't know how to play TF2 with 300hp and two primaries so there's not really anything about pocketing.

I wrote some stuff about roamer:
http://www.ziggyshea.com/roamingsoldier/

I don't know how to play TF2 with 300hp and two primaries so there's not really anything about pocketing.
13
#13
1 Frags +
foreverKanecohttp://comp.tf/
That's a really good place to start, thank you. Would be cool if it gave a lot of situation based examples of some of the concepts.

It's a community project so it's only as much as what people are willing to contribute :)

Feel free to add a few more info / guides if you wish. Some classes already have very comprehensive pages on strategies and all that jazz, and some even have examples of rollouts and a compendium of all other external guides

[quote=forever][quote=Kaneco]http://comp.tf/[/quote]

That's a really good place to start, thank you. Would be cool if it gave a lot of situation based examples of some of the concepts.
[/quote]
It's a community project so it's only as much as what people are willing to contribute :)

Feel free to add a few more info / guides if you wish. Some classes already have very comprehensive pages on strategies and all that jazz, and some even have examples of rollouts and a compendium of all other external guides
14
#14
1 Frags +
KanecoforeverKanecohttp://comp.tf/
That's a really good place to start, thank you. Would be cool if it gave a lot of situation based examples of some of the concepts.
It's a community project so it's only as much as what people are willing to contribute :)

Feel free to add a few more info / guides if you wish. Some classes already have very comprehensive pages on strategies and all that jazz, and some even have examples of rollouts and a compendium of all other external guides

Yeah, if a lot of people with knowledge contributed to this site it would definitely be quite possibly the most amazing source of information for learning and improving that's out there.

When I feel that I'm qualified I will definitely help out as much as I can.

[quote=Kaneco][quote=forever][quote=Kaneco]http://comp.tf/[/quote]

That's a really good place to start, thank you. Would be cool if it gave a lot of situation based examples of some of the concepts.
[/quote]
It's a community project so it's only as much as what people are willing to contribute :)

Feel free to add a few more info / guides if you wish. Some classes already have very comprehensive pages on strategies and all that jazz, and some even have examples of rollouts and a compendium of all other external guides[/quote]

Yeah, if a lot of people with knowledge contributed to this site it would definitely be quite possibly the most amazing source of information for learning and improving that's out there.

When I feel that I'm qualified I will definitely help out as much as I can.
15
#15
0 Frags +
zigzterI wrote some stuff about roamer:
http://www.ziggyshea.com/roamingsoldier/

I don't know how to play TF2 with 300hp and two primaries so there's not really anything about pocketing.

Very cool, will read through this tonight!

[quote=zigzter]I wrote some stuff about roamer:
http://www.ziggyshea.com/roamingsoldier/

I don't know how to play TF2 with 300hp and two primaries so there's not really anything about pocketing.[/quote]

Very cool, will read through this tonight!
Please sign in through STEAM to post a comment.