Sorry for the repetition. Good advice precedes this reply.
More likely is that i am just a idiot who does not bother with teamwork, instead opting to be mute, and charge head first, die, rage-quit.
As others have commented, teamwork, teamwork.
Muting? I do not recommend. There is an abundance of useful information from other players about opposing sentries, spies, heavy/medic combos. You need to be hearing it.
But if you are good enough you can get a few kills in before you die,
In this kind of match, “killing” is not the goal. Capturing the point or defending the point is the goal. Achieve those goals in any way possible. Sometimes it means killing, sometimes not. For example, scouts can quickly capture a point without killing anybody. Or they can be a major distraction while pestering the opposing team. Pyros can be an annoyance by flaming a whole group, but not killing anybody – but creating momentary chaos – and opportunity. So, start imagining the game on a more cerebral level, thinking about how to weave your class’ set of skills into a more sophisticated approach to a match.
For example, when I play pyro on BLU, I die a lot. But in each life I gradually chisel away at RED little-by-little and help advance the front.
Perhaps it is knowing the map, all the load-outs, all the good sentry spots, and so forth.
ABSOLUTELY! Especially knowing where the health packets are… so you become less dependent on medics. Pyor-pyro flamethrower duels are frequently decided in favor of the one pyro who gets the health pack first.
Maybe it is the need to have the twitch reflexes of a nine year old.
For me, the reflex thing is more a function of ping – which changes continuously. When it is low, reflecting rockets is easier. When its high, I don’t even see the rocket and I’m dead. But I don’t blame it on the equipment entirely. Some tricks are just plain hard to do, no matter how much experience you have.
Maybe it is purely based on how well you are doing that particular day, which would make TF2 a terrible terrible game....
Definitely. Sometimes it is the peculiar mix of players on both teams. I don’t know why, but I have the same experience… some days are better than others.
but of my crippling fear of using the built in voice chat function. i really really really REALLY hate using it, and not for any practical reasons, i just do not like talking to people i barely know.
By talking to them, you will get to know them, and they you. But you don’t have to talk to anybody specifically. Here are some examples of general statements that are quick and low risk…
“uber left”, “soldier right”, “sentry down”, “spy is engie”. When starting out, keep your comments short, informative and flat until you get more comfortable to start giving your voice chat more personality. And never ever, ever listen to slutty_pilgrim. He is evil and his voice chats will make you crazy. And slutty, that’s not meant to be personal.
When i use it I get feelings of abject terror every time i open my mouth. I do not know why...
Natural. If you have all team speak voice chat muted, un-mute it and listen to the tone of the voice chat. If you are on a team with regulars, you should perceive it as friendly, playful and forgiving. In my experience, all players, regardless of experience, contributing useful information are accepted. Sometimes, there are critical and judgmental statements, but they are usually global, not targeting individual players – except maybe hewasaFLUTE.
And because my typing is abysmal, and slow, that is out of the question.
I almost never read the text chat during a match – which can be frustrating to some of my team players who are trying to communicate to me. I think your bandwidth is much broader using team speak.
I also tend to switch classes almost constantly which may be a determent.
Constant switching might be a problem. But it’s reasonable to switch to be more effective. I support the recommendation to pick one or two classes that you like and stick with those classes. Some aspects of each class are organic, skills that only come with continuous experience.
So how does one become a "pro" player? Teamwork? Brute force practice? I would like to know...
It depends on what you mean by, “pro.” If you want to be “proficient,” pick two or three of your favorite classes. Practice these classes offline (use the “create your own server” option). Not all maps have active bots, but many do. Become familiar with these maps. Practice your skills on BLU and RED. Try out different tricks.
This game is full of tradeoffs. There is no single formula for success. You will always experience some mix of success and failure. Your work is to find the best mix of success/failure that gives you the most gratification.
