Guardian Guide to Class composition!
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:28 pm
Intro:
There no doubt that Team fortress 2 is a team game, I mean... it's in the title. The many different classes have different roles, but what are those roles and how do they fit into team.
Most of the time I notice teams fail because they have terrible class composition and not all the time it's because nobody wants to play medic. So here I'd thought I'd make a quick guide to how the different classes fit into a team.
It should be noted that I mainly base my guide based mainly around TVX and other vanilla spawn timer servers but I feel this applies to all maps.
The medic:
Everyone should know that the medic is his own type of class.
He's essential to every team, he heals the troops, buffs their HP, he pushes through with ubers, and without him the entire team falls apart. However keep in mind the medic depends on others more then any other class and that means both his enjoyment and his performance. If the entire team is composed of scouts, pyros, snipers and spies, then your going to say screw it and go some other class.
Which brings me to my next point.
The heavy classes
The heavy classes are the meat of a team. They shoot stuff, they're the last ones to retreat and their presense indicates that that team is in control of an area. They can also be called the combat classes. A medic is nothing without them and in part you could say that these classes depend on the medic. You always need these guys to have a good team, and in good amounts as well. You'll want at least 2 around a medic at all times. The heavy classes are:
The Heavy: Who's more of a heavy class then well the heavy. He's slow, he can't run from the group and shoot stuff, he has to stay with the medic and push up. Admittedly unlike other heavy classes, there can't be many heavies on a team since he's so dependent on the medic, even with the sandvich. You generally want 1 per medic. This doesn't make him a weak class just a tad situational. He may be slow and he may need a medic nearby in case he gets in trouble but he'll kill any baby who comes near him!
The Soldier: Unlike the heavy, the soldier can be a bit more independent. He has much greater mobility thanks to the rocket jump and he can fight with any class man to man, and a good solder can protect a medic just as well as his heavy friend. A soldier on any team is a boost to that team, have you ever heard someone say "We have too many soldiers" outside of the soldier update? I didn't think so.
The Demo: The demo is a rather strange class. He's slightly dependent on his team since at close range, he doesn't fair very well. He can't be depended on to take out scouts harassing a medic and yet he perfers to be with his teammates then to be independent. Yet he's one of strongest class in the game making up for these small weaknesses with pure firepower, area denial and the ability to take out sentries with ease. He's almost a "medium" type of class but for simplicity of this guide we'll call him a heavy class. You'll definitely want 1 demo on your team, just make sure there's also a soldier or a heavy to deal with the dang scoots.
The light classes
The light classes are a lot different then the heavy classes, they don't need medics in combat except a quick heal. They move around, picking off enemies or ambushing groups to deal the maximum amount of pain. Some would argue they aren't essential to a team, but remember the heavier classes and the medic can't do everything. Sometimes you need the speedy light classes to sneak behind enemy lines to get the job done.
The Scout: The scout is a very good light class. He has everything he needs, a good amount of firepower and some speedy legs, all he has to deal with is a low amount of HP and having no allies that can keep up with (except for maybe a partner scout).
The Pyro: The pyro can hang out with the medic longer then the scout but he needs to be able to wander out on his own burning unsuspecting victims. He has less speed then the scout but he can also attack groups of players easier, making him more ideal for crowded situations.
The Utilities
Last but not least we have the utilities, they can either be the strongest classes or the weakest, the most useless or the most essential, it all depends on the map and the person controlling them. Most utilities benefit from being the only one of their kind on the team due to the uniqueness of their work.
The engineer: The engineer is probably the best example of a utility class, you'll either need him because of his sentry gun or teleporter, or he'll be too slow to keep up with the pace (unless he's a ninjineer). Sometimes you need just 1 level 3 teleporter and sometimes you need at least 2 sentry guns. It all depends on the map.
The sniper : The sniper can be one of the cornerstones of a team given a nice open map, picking off key targets and ruining the enemies plans. At the same time, 1 sniper is great, 2 is ok because everyone misses but 3 is too many. Be sure to watch out for spies and scouts if your one too.
The Spy: Quite possibly the most unique class in all of team fortress 2, he has the same job as the sniper only instead of using distance, the spy relies on the lack of awareness of the enemy team to strike fast once they drop their guard. As such either a spy works or doesn't work, 1 good spy can carry team, 3 bad ones can't do anything. As such if your struggling as a spy it's always a good idea to switch for a while to become incognito. Once they think the spies have given up, it's time to get revenge.
I might add some more later.
There no doubt that Team fortress 2 is a team game, I mean... it's in the title. The many different classes have different roles, but what are those roles and how do they fit into team.
Most of the time I notice teams fail because they have terrible class composition and not all the time it's because nobody wants to play medic. So here I'd thought I'd make a quick guide to how the different classes fit into a team.
It should be noted that I mainly base my guide based mainly around TVX and other vanilla spawn timer servers but I feel this applies to all maps.
The medic:
Everyone should know that the medic is his own type of class.
He's essential to every team, he heals the troops, buffs their HP, he pushes through with ubers, and without him the entire team falls apart. However keep in mind the medic depends on others more then any other class and that means both his enjoyment and his performance. If the entire team is composed of scouts, pyros, snipers and spies, then your going to say screw it and go some other class.
Which brings me to my next point.
The heavy classes
The heavy classes are the meat of a team. They shoot stuff, they're the last ones to retreat and their presense indicates that that team is in control of an area. They can also be called the combat classes. A medic is nothing without them and in part you could say that these classes depend on the medic. You always need these guys to have a good team, and in good amounts as well. You'll want at least 2 around a medic at all times. The heavy classes are:
The Heavy: Who's more of a heavy class then well the heavy. He's slow, he can't run from the group and shoot stuff, he has to stay with the medic and push up. Admittedly unlike other heavy classes, there can't be many heavies on a team since he's so dependent on the medic, even with the sandvich. You generally want 1 per medic. This doesn't make him a weak class just a tad situational. He may be slow and he may need a medic nearby in case he gets in trouble but he'll kill any baby who comes near him!
The Soldier: Unlike the heavy, the soldier can be a bit more independent. He has much greater mobility thanks to the rocket jump and he can fight with any class man to man, and a good solder can protect a medic just as well as his heavy friend. A soldier on any team is a boost to that team, have you ever heard someone say "We have too many soldiers" outside of the soldier update? I didn't think so.
The Demo: The demo is a rather strange class. He's slightly dependent on his team since at close range, he doesn't fair very well. He can't be depended on to take out scouts harassing a medic and yet he perfers to be with his teammates then to be independent. Yet he's one of strongest class in the game making up for these small weaknesses with pure firepower, area denial and the ability to take out sentries with ease. He's almost a "medium" type of class but for simplicity of this guide we'll call him a heavy class. You'll definitely want 1 demo on your team, just make sure there's also a soldier or a heavy to deal with the dang scoots.
The light classes
The light classes are a lot different then the heavy classes, they don't need medics in combat except a quick heal. They move around, picking off enemies or ambushing groups to deal the maximum amount of pain. Some would argue they aren't essential to a team, but remember the heavier classes and the medic can't do everything. Sometimes you need the speedy light classes to sneak behind enemy lines to get the job done.
The Scout: The scout is a very good light class. He has everything he needs, a good amount of firepower and some speedy legs, all he has to deal with is a low amount of HP and having no allies that can keep up with (except for maybe a partner scout).
The Pyro: The pyro can hang out with the medic longer then the scout but he needs to be able to wander out on his own burning unsuspecting victims. He has less speed then the scout but he can also attack groups of players easier, making him more ideal for crowded situations.
The Utilities
Last but not least we have the utilities, they can either be the strongest classes or the weakest, the most useless or the most essential, it all depends on the map and the person controlling them. Most utilities benefit from being the only one of their kind on the team due to the uniqueness of their work.
The engineer: The engineer is probably the best example of a utility class, you'll either need him because of his sentry gun or teleporter, or he'll be too slow to keep up with the pace (unless he's a ninjineer). Sometimes you need just 1 level 3 teleporter and sometimes you need at least 2 sentry guns. It all depends on the map.
The sniper : The sniper can be one of the cornerstones of a team given a nice open map, picking off key targets and ruining the enemies plans. At the same time, 1 sniper is great, 2 is ok because everyone misses but 3 is too many. Be sure to watch out for spies and scouts if your one too.
The Spy: Quite possibly the most unique class in all of team fortress 2, he has the same job as the sniper only instead of using distance, the spy relies on the lack of awareness of the enemy team to strike fast once they drop their guard. As such either a spy works or doesn't work, 1 good spy can carry team, 3 bad ones can't do anything. As such if your struggling as a spy it's always a good idea to switch for a while to become incognito. Once they think the spies have given up, it's time to get revenge.
I might add some more later.