TF2 Competitive Thread - Games

[b]Are you tired of this?[/b] [QUOTE=YourBreakfsat;41140886] [IMG]http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560918546336390481/E6A9A0B00C5098ADF560CC1AC62E243D27EB1EF6/[/IMG][/QUOTE] [b]Does the word "teamwork" excite a long-lost part of your Team Fortress 2 experience?[/b] [b]Does the thought of your every kill and action counting for something make you ooze a clear liquid?[/b] Enter competitive TF2. There are two flavors of competitive TF2: Highlander and 6v6. Highlander is a style where, as the name suggests, there can be only one of each class. 18 players square off on almost every gamemode in TF2: payload, KOTH, 5cp, and even attack/defense and CTF. Each class has a role that he must complete in order for his team to be successful. And unlike in pub servers where you may have 3 engineers and 6 spies, in highlander you can be sure that when you kill an engineer, there will be no sentry going up anytime soon, and when you kill a spy, your team doesn't have to worry about backstabs for a little while. Getting a kill means eliminating some function of the other team's strategy. Highlander represents all that TF2 has to offer very well. In addition to each class having a part, competitive leagues allow almost every item in the game to be used, in order to explore and show off the variety of the game. 6v6, or 6's, as it's called, is a tighter, more DM-focused game. The standard lineup is two soldiers, two scouts, a demoman and a medic, and the vast majority of 6's matches are on 5cp maps. These classes are used because they can all put out pretty consistent damage (and heal it), which is what 6v6 is all about. However, many times a scout or soldier will "offclass" to heavy, sniper, engineer, pyro, or spy in certain situations. Since there are fewer players in 6v6, strategies and clever positioning is heavily used, and staying alive is even more important than it is in highlander. Due the focus on DM, 6v6 players generally have a higher skill level than highlander players. (I.E. the top-level HL players are roughly equivalent to intermediate-level 6v6 players). In 6's, many items are banned to maintain damage parity between teams. Most classes just use the stock loadout with a few standard unlocks which server specific purposes. [b]How do I get into competitive TF2?[/b] By now I hope you are intrigued by this concept. It really is fun working as a team to accomplish an objective. The good news is, it's easy to play in the competitive formats. [url]http://tf2lobby.com[/url] is a great place to start playing some non-serious matches. People host hundreds of highlander and 6's lobbies each day in Europe and North America on TF2 Lobby, and anyone can join and play any class. I would recommend doing this awhile before joining a team on a league. It's a big shift from pubbing to highlander and (even more so) 6v6 games, so getting a little casual experience under your belt will help a lot. Just don't play medic when you have fewer than 10 lobbies; people usually don't take too kindly to super new players playing one of the most important classes in lobbies. Here's some helpful websites and IRC channels that Axem Blue contributed: [quote][url]http://atf2.org[/url] is also a great resource for highlander/sixes pugs. It's a website that runs on the GameSurge chat network and links you to the five major tf2 ircs: #tf2.pug.nahl (for high-level highlander), #tf2mix (a good start for sixes), #tf2scrim (for finding scrims), #tf2.pug.na (high-level sixes pugs), and (I believe) #eseapugs (for IM or invite players). If you want to play some highlander but are sick of lobbies, I'd also suggest #tf2.mix.nahl (just type /j #tf2.mix.nahl in the chat window). If you want to get into sixes too, I'd try playing some Newbie Mixes ([url]http://steamcommunity.com/groups/na6v6newbiemix[/url]). They're played every Saturday night and they get coaches from ESEA to help you understand the sixes format.[/quote] pugs are good for a higher level of competition and coordination than lobbies, but not as high as an actual team. I believe captains pick each pug team, so there is an element of selectivity that isn't present in lobbies. Another way to get used to the style is to just watch a lot of competitive games. [url]http://twitch.tv/teamfortresstv[/url] streams casted games, and there are a lot of casters on youtube that upload casted games. I got into competitive first by watching a lot of games. Here's a video of two of the best teams in highlander (the syndicate is led by stabby) on a payload map, pl_swiftwater_ugc. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byJMFMXK0rg[/media] [url]http://youtube.com/CommFT[/url] uploads many casts, and [url]http://youtube.com/Fatmop[/url] is also a great solo caster. For the actual leagues, the big ones are [url="http://ugcleague.com"]UGC[/url], [url="http://play.esea.net"]ESEA[/url] and [url="http://etf2l.org/"]ETF2L[/url]. UGC hosts both highlander and 6v6 teams, but it is mainly known for highlander. It's pretty much the place to go for a highlander community and a team. The best highlander players (stabby stabby, hein, Hei, Jake, TMP, and many more) play on UGC Platinum teams. ESEA is a paid league, so usually people of pretty high skill level who are already committed to competitive TF2 join it. It only hosts 6's as far as I know. ESEA "Invite" level is home to the best TF2 players in the world; some of you may have heard of b4nny, ruwin, clockwork, TLR and Platinum. Here's a video of b4nny. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1hh0kbtKY0[/media] ETF2L is for European players. I don't know that much about it, but it is definitely a nice league if you're in Europe. Its games get casted frequently, too. [b]These people are pretty fucking good. I'm probably not good enough to join a team, am I?[/b] You are. I guarantee that if you're experienced enough to be fed up with the idiots and lack of teamwork in every pub, you're good enough to play on an Iron or Steel team. There are crazy skilled people, but they're in the upper levels. UGC is free and has five levels in its highlander division. They go, from least experience to most, Iron, Steel, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Anyone can join a team in Iron or Steel. Just find a team looking for players, or get some friends (I really recommend this, it's so much more fun with people you know) and get a team going. Both UGC and ESEA also give you in-game medals for participating, which is pretty cool. [b]I have a lot of other things to worry about, what's the time commitment for a competitive team?[/b] This can completely vary from team to team. In UGC, teams have official matches once a week. Monday is Highlander day, Wednesday is 6's day. Beyond that you aren't [i]required[/i] to play at all, and it's up to your team and you to figure out what kind of time you want to put into it. Of course the time commitment goes up as the skill level goes up, but at the lower levels you might just have a few scrims or lobbies each week before your team's match. It's good to at least get an overview of each week's map with your team and determine what each of you is going to do come match day. But a lot of people with jobs, school, etc still find time to play on UGC teams. My team's co-leader is in grad school and still leads an HL team and a 6v6 team, for example. In terms of the length of seasons, UGC seasons last for 8 weeks of normal play, followed by several weeks of playoffs. However, the current season, the "summer fun season," is just 8 weeks with no playoffs. Summer is a great time to get started if you aren't sure how much you can/will commit, because it is less competitive than the Spring and Fall seasons. You don't get medals though but each week the teams have a choice among three maps: a map from the standard competitive lineup, and two other ones which can range from koth_nucleus to pl_beerbowl. So I hope my post has educated you on competitive TF2, and gotten you interested in playing a different kind of game than pubs (they're still pretty fun, of course). Also, feel free to add me to ask questions or play a lobby together or something.

Now taking applications for the division 6.5 league, for when even div 6 is too good for you.

I've been trying to get myself in competitive TF2 for a while. Now i know where to start. Thanks.

I'd love to get out of public servers for all the reasons above, but shit the feeling of playing in these matches make me feel like I have to be on 'A' game lol. I'm almost always finishing in top 3 for the CTF server I always play on but I still feel like competitive is too fancy. I'll give it a try though, thanks for the info. Edit Also [url]http://tf2lobby.com/[/url] is down for me

[QUOTE=Ice Tea;41148813]I'd love to get out of public servers for all the reasons above, but shit the feeling of playing in these matches make me feel like I have to be on 'A' game lol. I'm almost always finishing in top 3 for the CTF server I always play on but I still feel like competitive is too fancy. I'll give it a try though, thanks for the info.[/QUOTE] Don't worry about how you do at the start, I went like 2 and 33 in my first lobby. Remember that it isn't always your fault if you do bad. In competitive format teamwork matters a lot more, so if your team isn't doing what they're supposed to, there isn't really much you alone can do. Except yell at them, that is.

Could you post a video of a Platinum match?

The lower divisions of UGC aren't very competitive, especially Iron, which serves as a gateway for players new to the scene. Join up with some other aspiring stars and have some fun. If you get into it, move up the divisions and keep working to get better.

[QUOTE=R.M.T.B.;41148881]Could you post a video of a Platinum match?[/QUOTE] The video in the OP is one of my favorite Platinum matches, but I'll post a few more. cp_steel [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lDXA1JFd1k[/media] cp_gullywash [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQEsQyisqic[/media] koth_lakeside [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd_DrgaYZcM[/media] Sorry that pretty much all of them have The Syndicate in them, they were very popular/good so there is an abundance of their casted games around.

So unless you have contacts in UGC you have to make your own team? ):

Nah, there are plenty of teams that need players. You generally just add them and talk a bit, and lobby/scrim with them as a tryout. That's how I found my team. See this section: [url]http://www.ugcleague.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?5-TF2-Recruiting[/url]

Oh, here's a video of the second Spaghetti Bowl (iron 6v6) if anyone's interested. [video=youtube;_lOEB-VsF9c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lOEB-VsF9c[/video] The third is planning to be this summer, I'll provide links if they're wanted

I don't believe I have the skill nor the responsibility of joining a team for anything serious, which sucks.

Well, you could still try some lobbies just as a change from the normal craziness of pubs and to see how you do. Also, UGC teams aren't that big of a responsibility at a lower level. Matches are once a week, every monday for Highlander. And then it's up to you and your team how many practices/scrimmages you do in between matches. My team just does a scrim or two on Friday and then something on Sunday or Monday before the match. It's not too bad when it's on weekends. Another thing you can do if you're unsure or don't have the time is ask to join a team as a backup. That way you might get some play time, but there's less of a load to carry. And you get to correspond with/watch your teammates closely to learn.

Is [url]http://tf2lobby.com[/url] down for anyone else?

Yes, it's down for me too. It does that sometimes. It'll probably be back up tomorrow.

Highlander matches are much more entertaining than regular 6-6 matches

Imagine I sign up for a UGC team. How often does one team play against the other? I'm very interested but I have work and other things that could get in the way of me competing. Also are there any guides for actually signing up? I get to the website but it doesn't really explain anything.

Your ETF2L.org link is broken on the op.

Any good comp huds?

[QUOTE=Rageguy;41151227]Any good comp huds?[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.rdyup.org/huds/[/url] [url]http://whayay.github.io/yA_HUD/[/url] [url]http://www.deascrea.com/hudas.html[/url] [url]http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/183-collection-of-custom-huds[/url] closed caption options my work or they may not, it is not important though.

[QUOTE=Rageguy;41151227]Any good comp huds?[/QUOTE] I recommend KNhud: [url]http://www.rdyup.org/huds/[/url] (the left one). Very minimal, only bars and numbers and it comes with different crosshairs. I am also currently trying to form a highlander team. Its kinda hard to find good players who arent in a team yet. If theres a good german Sniper or Engineer among you who is interested, write me a pm.

I'm okay with just seeking pubs where ETF2L people play, but comp is a nice supply of overedited frag videos. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDwu4uNTZc4[/media] I love overedited frag videos.

[QUOTE=Teenage Dirt;41150324]Imagine I sign up for a UGC team. How often does one team play against the other? I'm very interested but I have work and other things that could get in the way of me competing. Also are there any guides for actually signing up? I get to the website but it doesn't really explain anything.[/QUOTE] UGC Highlander teams play every Monday. UGC 6v6 teams play every wednesday. And there really isn't a process to sign up - just sign in with Steam by clicking the green button and that's all you need to do. I believe you can sign into the forum that way as well, but I'm not completely sure. If not there's a register link on the forum. [editline]23rd June 2013[/editline] Added info about the time commitment to the OP.

Played around 6-7 lobbies with my friends, for some reason we keep getting steamrolled :v: If we become good enough, I'm pretty sure we're going to sport either Iron or Steel UGC badges soon enough

Played 1 Year of Highlander Dont know what Div Anymore and we didnt get our Badges :( Currently Looking for a Team which searches a decent-good Scout but nobody wants me for some reason :/ (funny how it says i use chrome even though its Opera Next)

If you can't follow basic orders or listen to your teammates, then you are just pretending to be good. :v:

[QUOTE=Drury;41152207]I'm okay with just seeking pubs where ETF2L people play, but comp is a nice I love overedited frag videos.[/QUOTE] I beg to differ

[url]http://atf2.org[/url] is also a great resource for highlander/sixes pugs. It's a website that runs on the GameSurge chat network and links you to the five major tf2 ircs: #tf2.pug.nahl (for high-level highlander), #tf2mix (a good start for sixes), #tf2scrim (for finding scrims), #tf2.pug.na (high-level sixes pugs), and (I believe) #eseapugs (for IM or invite players). If you want to play some highlander but are sick of lobbies, I'd also suggest #tf2.mix.nahl (just type /j #tf2.mix.nahl in the chat window). If you want to get into sixes too, I'd try playing some Newbie Mixes ([url]http://steamcommunity.com/groups/na6v6newbiemix[/url]). They're played every Saturday night and they get coaches from ESEA to help you understand the sixes format. ^if you could add this stuff to the op that would be great TeamFortressTV also has a website that has tons of tf2 streams on it: [url]http://teamfortress.tv[/url] edit: it's also a ritual for me to watch pop culture at least once a week to remind myself how good cla is at editing

Added. I want to get into pugs soon, perhaps after the summer season ends or something.

[QUOTE=NitronikALT;41155085]If you can't follow basic orders or listen to your teammates, then you are just pretending to be good. :v:[/QUOTE] Oh baby im the Guy who always Listens :v: