The General Advice Thread: Because You Were Too Afraid to Ask. - Games

Howdy! Basically, if you have any questions about the game ([b]hopefully more about playing the game than trading[/b]) just ask them, and hopefully you'll get an answer. And if you get an answer, hopefully it's not an answer from someone looking for zings and funnies. This is a thread to give and receive advice from other players, because as a community we can at least pretend to help others improve.

Why don't my backburner crits, crit when I burn them from behind? Why doesn't my backstabs register, even when I am behind them? Why am I stunned for 4 hours when I'm hit by a sandman ball point blank, but when I do it they're only stunned for like, half a second? Does a reflected sandman ball calculate from the pyro to scout, or from the scout to pyro to scout? Does a reflected Crossbow bolt calculate from the pyro to medic, or from the medic to pyro to medic?

why does the enemy have the best teamwork ever, while my team sucks and try to go solo [editline]12th August 2013[/editline] how do you get awesome hats

[QUOTE=light dasher;41814930]Why don't my backburner crits, crit when I burn them from behind? Why doesn't my backstabs register, even when I am behind them? Why am I stunned for 4 hours when I'm hit by a sandman ball point blank, but when I do it they're only stunned for like, half a second? Does a reflected sandman ball calculate from the pyro to scout, or from the scout to pyro to scout? Does a reflected Crossbow bolt calculate from the pyro to medic, or from the medic to pyro to medic?[/QUOTE] 1. The backburner crit angle is too small. Also, hit registration is off, especially with particles. 2. Melee hit registration is horrible and lag compensation doesn't help. Backstabs register by the way the player is facing, not the way the model is facing (and, yes, sometimes they are different). This means that something can look like a backstab but not be. Facestabs work the same way. 3. It likely takes the same time for both you and the other scout to recover from stun; it might just be that it seems longer to you because you're the one stunned. Half a second can feel like a long time. 4. [QUOTE=TF2 Wiki]When these projectiles are deflected, they are not simply "reflected" as if from a mirror; rather, the Pyro can redirect them. Deflected projectiles are essentially stopped and fired again from the Pyro's current position, aimed directly at the object the Pyro's crosshair lies on at the time.[/QUOTE] From this, it seems that it calculates from pyro to scout. 5. Using above reasoning, it probably calculates from pyro to medic. [QUOTE=YourBreakfsat;41814962]why does the enemy have the best teamwork ever, while my team sucks and try to go solo [editline]12th August 2013[/editline] how do you get awesome hats[/QUOTE] 1. This isn't always the case; you only seem to notice when it is happening. 2. You can find hats through uncrating, drops, or trading with the [sarcasm]nicest online trading community you will ever see[/sarcasm]

oh wow you're serious.

[QUOTE=YourBreakfsat;41815217]oh wow you're serious.[/QUOTE] srs liek tf2lobby

As medic, do you heal disguised spies? Or leave them be to not ruin their disguise? If a medic with kritz is about to die and I have the regular medi-gun, should I pop uber on him to save him but lose my uber in the process?

[QUOTE=light dasher;41814930]Why don't my backburner crits, crit when I burn them from behind?[/QUOTE] Check your ping, flame particles rely heavily on a decent internet [QUOTE] Does a reflected sandman ball calculate from the pyro to scout, or from the scout to pyro to scout? Does a reflected Crossbow bolt calculate from the pyro to medic, or from the medic to pyro to medic?[/QUOTE] I can confirm that it is from the pyro to scout and medic, much as a reflected black box will restore the pyro's health rather than the soldier.

[QUOTE=Darth Doc;41815425]As medic, do you heal disguised spies? Or leave them be to not ruin their disguise? If a medic with kritz is about to die and I have the regular medi-gun, should I pop uber on him to save him but lose my uber in the process?[/QUOTE] Do not heal spies. Personally, I equip the Crusader's Crossbow for spy-checking; if I'm unsure, I'll shoot a crossbow shot. If it heals, I have a teammate on my hands. If not, they're a spy. But to answer your question, never heal a spy. As for the second one, yes, pop uber on that medic. It's very important to keep medics alive, as they are oftentimes the most important members of your team. -edit- Oh, shit, looks like I read your post wrong. If they're friendly, yes, give them a buff. If they're decent they should be able to still get behind enemy lines through means of juking and other spy stuff

[QUOTE=Magic Scrumpy;41815605] As for the second one, yes, pop uber on that medic. It's very important to keep medics alive, as they are oftentimes the most important members of your team.[/QUOTE] yeah pop it dont drop it :v:

i once saw a guy with a shiny hat and i really wanted it so i traded him and put two really good guns, but he called me a dumb loser and i was sad. how do i get shiny hats.

Why do people always turn around at the very second I am about to backstab them?

[QUOTE=OriginalSpace;41817246]i once saw a guy with a shiny hat and i really wanted it so i traded him and put two really good guns, but he called me a dumb loser and i was sad. how do i get shiny hats.[/QUOTE] When you find a hat, it has a 1 in 8192 chance of being shiny. a la pokemon

[QUOTE=MissingGlitch;41817299]Why do people always turn around at the very second I am about to backstab them?[/QUOTE] I can answer this one! People are too damn paranoid.

[QUOTE=YourBreakfsat;41814962] how do you get awesome hats[/QUOTE] you give tf2 your wallet

[QUOTE=Darth Doc;41815425]As medic, do you heal disguised spies? Or leave them be to not ruin their disguise? If a medic with kritz is about to die and I have the regular medi-gun, should I pop uber on him to save him but lose my uber in the process?[/QUOTE] I heal disguised spys only until they're overhealed all the way, then I let go, so the enemy team doesn't see me healing him.

I always wanted to know this: Does capturing a point with two people (x2) is twice as fast as with one guy, and with three people (x3) three times as fast and so on? And what about payload? I only know pushing the cart with three people is the fastest you can get. And: Does the +10% bullet vulnerability on the pain train even make a big difference? In terms of how many shots someone needs to kill you?

[QUOTE=Prollgurke;41819209]I always wanted to know this: Does capturing a point with two people (x2) is twice as fast as with one guy, and with three people (x3) three times as fast and so on? And what about payload? I only know pushing the cart with three people is the fastest you can get. And: Does the +10% bullet vulnerability on the pain train even make a big difference? In terms of how many shots someone needs to kill you?[/QUOTE] Let's say that capping with one person puts you at 100% capping speed. Having 2 people on the point gives you 150%, meaning that having two people on the cart is 1.5 times faster than having one. Having three people on the point gives you 183%, being 1.22 times faster than two people and 1.83 times faster than one person. But these are just the base rates, and these base rates alone slightly deviate based on map. The timing on the point/cart depends on the map. For example, it takes one person 20 seconds to cap mid on cp_badlands. It takes 13.33 for two people, and it takes 10.9 with three. The fastest you can have is four, which takes 9.6 seconds. Meanwhile, capping on mid takes 24 seconds with one person on cp_coldfront, while it takes 16 with two people (which is 1.5 times faster) and 13.091 with 3 people (which is 1.22 times faster than 2 people). Coldfront complies with the base rates while Badlands does not. Payload carts act like capture points with no cap time limit and instead capture based on cart progress. It would stand to reason that since payload carts are, in the game's sense, control points, that the base speed (which deviates based on map) is the same; having two people is 1.5 times faster than having one, and so on. As for the pain train, it makes a difference. Melee damage is also bullet (valve's melees are powerful, short-range, short-lived bullets) so you take more from that. It's a viable sidegrade but leaves you much more vulnerable to scouts and snipers. A powerful player of either class will have an easier time killing you, and the difference is certainly not negligible. However, since most points are protected by projectiles and the sort it is often a better choice if capturing a point is in high priority. Fun fact: huntsman arrows and medic syringes are classified as bullets :v:

-snip i'm late-

How do resistances work against critical hits? I.E., if I have 40% Explosive resistance and eat a crit rocket to the face, how much damage will I take? How about a mini-crit rocket?

[QUOTE=light dasher;41814930]Why doesn't my backstabs register, even when I am behind them?[/QUOTE] If this still counts, [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO1hbjr-QGM[/url] [video=youtube;DO1hbjr-QGM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO1hbjr-QGM[/video]

[QUOTE=9600bauds;41820178]How do resistances work against critical hits? I.E., if I have 40% Explosive resistance and eat a crit rocket to the face, how much damage will I take? How about a mini-crit rocket?[/QUOTE] I believe it is like the old Vaccinator. It resists the original damage but the crit damage stays. Unless you were using the Battalion's Backup, in which case crits would be shut down.

What's the best strategy when playing engineer on CP? (Not attack/defense) I'm talking about loadouts and such and when to switch loadouts. Any tactics would be great too.

Which is a better weapon; Cow Mangler 5000, or Direct Hit?

[QUOTE=Wumbo;41820351]What's the best strategy when playing engineer on CP? (Not attack/defense) I'm talking about loadouts and such and when to switch loadouts. Any tactics would be great too.[/QUOTE] roll the gunslinger, build an entrance at the spawn doors and an exit near middle, during the rollout search for metal resources. It all depends on the map but you're a very weak class and any competent players will shut you down if you try to go solo; support your team, sometimes you'll also be able to do some cleanup with your shotgun (FJ isn't really reccomended in this situation). If you win mid, look at the scoreboard and see if your team can afford another push to second, if that's the case, move with them and still play a support role, preferably at long range with either the pistol or wrangler: most second points are in very open areas but again, it depends on the map you're playing. If your team can't afford a push after capping middle, go back to spawn, rebuild your teles and put a mini and a dispenser at mid so you can keep your current position and wait until your team starts to push. After you cap the second point, switch to one of the wrenches and start bulding a big sentry at second, along with a dispenser and a tele, in case your team urgently needs to fall back after a failed push. Stay with the gunslinger if you want to have a more active role in the final push and if you know that it will be a game-winning one (check your scoreboard, etc. etc.). If you don't win mid, and you'll probably die too, switch to one wrench if you see that your team can defend second even without you and then start rebuilding, if your team got a completely wipe-out at mid, don't even try to defend second and start making your own base at final, big-sentries are a must. my personal loadouts for cp are: -shotgun, pistol/wrangler/short circuit, gunslinger (for mobile engineering) -rescue ranger, wrangler/short circuit, wrench/southern hospitality (for defending last) -frontier justice, pistol, gunslinger (for solo engineering) -shotgun, wrangler, jag (for band-aid engineering)

[QUOTE=MissingGlitch;41817299]Why do people always turn around at the very second I am about to backstab them?[/QUOTE] Contrary to popular belief, this is most likely your fault (in positioning). If you follow someone for too long, someone else behind you is likely to notice and call you out, then everybody turns around. Even if you don't get called out, if you follow someone for too long they are also likely to check their back, just in case there was a spy following them for 5 minutes. My advice - don't go for a stab while they're mobilizing. It's the most boring thing to do in TF2 and they have nothing better to do than check their surroundings. Stab people on the front line, preferably while they're shooting your colleagues. They are guaranteed to be more interested in what's happening in front of them rather than behind them, and they also often backpedal. Just make sure you stab the backmost guy, if you miss, don't panic, instantly go for the next closest back and ignore the guy who spotted you. You're very likely to die, you might as well take someone with you.

[QUOTE=Magic Scrumpy;41815605]Do not heal spies. Personally, I equip the Crusader's Crossbow for spy-checking; if I'm unsure, I'll shoot a crossbow shot. If it heals, I have a teammate on my hands. If not, they're a spy. [/QUOTE] for the love of all things right in this world, never go spycheking as anything thats not a pyro, unless you do know where a spy is hidding and cant get a clear shot(corridors, bridges, windows, etc). same applies to meelees. its sad to see most people switch to meelee and start swinging around trying to cut thin air in the hope of hitting anything, leaving themselves exposed to enemy fire. specially snipers. if you need to check if someone is not a spy before healing them, check the scoreboard, or see if they fire/switch their weapons. worst case scenario though, a good spy will catch you off guard and will kill you anyway.

[QUOTE=Metaru;41820848]for the love of all things right in this world, never go spycheking as anything thats not a pyro, unless you do know where a spy is hidding and cant get a clear shot(corridors, bridges, windows, etc). same applies to meelees. its sad to see most people switch to meelee and start swinging around trying to cut thin air in the hope of hitting anything, leaving themselves exposed to enemy fire. specially snipers. if you need to check if someone is not a spy before healing them, check the scoreboard, or see if they fire/switch their weapons. worst case scenario though, a good spy will catch you off guard and will kill you anyway.[/QUOTE] Quicker to shoot them and see if they react suspiciously.

I never really understood all this stuff either: What does the "lerp" show you in the net_graph? Does choke mean that packets get lost? What does rate, cl_cmdrate , cl_updaterate actually mean? How are your fps connected to this all?

How do I avoid axtinguisher pyros?