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Class guide:The class system is one of the things that makes TFC great. We get toffs, layabouts, doctors, roadsweepers... different people from different social classes all playing together. No, hang on, this isn't what we're on about. We're talking about the classes within TFC. Oh yes, now I remember... soldiers, engineers, scouts, and that fat one with the big gun. But which to choose? Ah yes, tricky isn't it? What shall I be today... small and quick, fat and slow, medium and... er... fairly fast (eh?). Which is the best one, which is the one that no one likes, which one will make me into a better player (gawd knows, but do let me know if you find out). Settle back as we take a trip through the guts of each class (ewwwww....) and find out which ones can do what and why on Dustbowl. 
Let's start off with the reds:Defending Scout:Blimey, you're desperate. A soldier can kill a scout with two rockets, so don't expect to last long. But one thing a scout on defense can do is to reveal spies by removing their disguise. Quite amusing when you do it as they are standing in front of a sentry about to drop a grenade (er, but stand back quick as the sentry instantly locks on. You don't want to get caught in the rocket blast). Anything else? Well, you can drop caltrops to slow down flag carriers (or other attackers for that matter), but for defence it's a bit el crappo.
Defending Medic:A rarely seen class, and when it is, it's usually in the hands of a cretin. Yes, you can go and stand in the attackers respawn and infect everyone as they respawn. Yes this will almost certainly get you removed from the server quickly, and possibly banned for some time (so I'll just make it totally clear for you: it's probably not worth doing this as the only person who loses out is... yourself). If you insist on playing as a defending medic (lordy knows why), then be nice and infect people away from the respawn a bit. Try about half way up the map. But it's incredibly dull just running around infecting people, so why bother. There are far better ways of enjoying yourself on Dustbowl. Oh hang on, there's one good thing you can do, and that's go around and top up your fellow defender's health.
Defending Sniper:Stand around and shoot people in the distance. Gosh.
Bit anti-sniper, are we...? Okay, here we go then. Sigh. Defending Sniper:Dustbowl has loads of places for snipers to stand and shoot. Ledges, windows, darkened corners... find yourself a good location and start shooting. I'm not a great fan of the class myself (really?!), but one thing I have noticed that people don't do is to move around. When you shoot someone, there's a good chance that that person will have spotted you and will now know where you are, so when they come back they'll make a beeline straight for you. Why don't snipers move to a new location after a couple of kills? Also, snipers need to keep an eye out for dropped flags, since by keeping an eye on any attackers approaching it, they can possibly stop the attacking team from touching the flag, eventually causing it to return to their respawn. But one request please: don't shoot every red player you see and then say 'Spy check'. It's the height of bellendedness. If you are going to check for spies, read the spy detection tips so you know what you're looking out for. When you shoot your own team, you instantly take away all their armour in one shot, resulting in a quicker death for them. Now that's just not going to make you popular, is it?
Defending Soldier:Ah, now this is more like it. The soldier is the backbone of both the attacking and defending teams. Armed with a rocket launcher (good for both long, medium and short range), shotgun and grenades, he can hold up attackers almost single-handedly, possibly only coming unstuck when he meets a skillful HWGuy. You'll need to learn how to 'lead' your rockets (fire where the attacker will be when your rocket reaches him, not where he is at the moment you fire), and you can damage yourself badly from the rocket blast at close range (watch any nearby walls, ceilings, floors, sentries, or other players... that's just about everything really). You can also rocket jump your way around the map quickly to reach roofs and ledges, and use the rocket blast to propel attackers into the sky (for the ultimate kill, shoot someone into the air then kill them in midair before they touch the ground again). I like this class.
Defending HWGuy:The newbie's class. Yes he's got loads of health and armour and can take a lot of hits, yes he's got a big gun that will get you loads of kills, yes it makes a nice noise and (it has to be admitted) is great fun to use. But he's not nicknamed 'HWGay' for nothing. In short, he's got a reputation of being an easy class to play, requiring no skill. But how true is it? Well, certainly you need more skill to play as soldier, for example, but I'm never quite sure how playing as an engineer is considered more skillful when all he does is to stand around and let a sentry do all the killing. I mean, at least the HWGuy has to actually press a button to kill someone... Anyway, let's not get involved with such tedium, for the only aspect about the HWGuy which I don't like is when there's too many of them because it can make for a dull game. On defence he's good for anything as long as it doesn't involve moving quickly. Enjoy playing him, but be prepared to move onto other classes later. Half the fun is in learning new skills, and just pointing a crosshair and pressing fire gets a bit dull after a while.
Defending Demoman:I always think this class is very underused on defence. For starters, you can have some fun sticking a detpack down just as the grate is about to open and then see how many you can kill at once. Secondly, and more useful, lay down a pipebomb trap around a dropped flag. Not only will this get you lots of kills (er, not that we're playing for lots of kills of course, teamgame and all that), you can keep the flag from moving for ages, although you might not be able to stop them touching it and keeping it from returning to their respawn. If you can get to a grenade bag, you'll find a couple of MIRVs inside for you. These are little cluster bombs that burst open with a big explosion revealing four smaller bombs inside, each of which then explodes a second after that. Spammy, but good to watch. Ah, hang on now, spamming. Don't make yourself unpopular by throwing loads of pipebombs around and simultaneously dropping a MIRV or two. This will slow everyone's connection down and annoy folks somewhat. And we don't like annoying people on Dustbowl. You'll need to practise hard to make best use of the blue pipebombs the demoman can fire. These have a somewhat erratic flightpath and it can be tricky to hit anything (or perhaps that's just me. Yes, probably).
Defending Spy:Not really designed for defensive duties, the spy has two main jobs. The first is to unmask attacking spies (like the scout). Very useful. The second is to use the tranquiliser gun to slow down attackers. Give them a shot with your puny little gun and they'll move much slower. Very handy. Of course, you can also disguise yourself as an attacker and blend in with their ranks. Very sneaky. Then find the flag carrier and give him a knife in the back. It's a bit desperate, but if you fancy a change, give this a go (but not too many of you please. One per team is more than sufficient).
Defending Pyro:I've had quite a lot of success with the pyro on defence. You need to run around a lot and you'll also die a lot too, but you can slow up the attack quite nicely. Use the rocket launcher at long range to set fire to incoming attackers (particularly useful against annoying snipers), and then when you're up close, switch to the flame thrower and let them have it. The best method is to run round them in a circle, keeping them in the middle, firing all the time. When they are alight they'll have trouble seeing, so if you keep moving they'll have trouble even spotting you, let alone getting a shot on target. The pyro's fire grenades are useful on dropped flags, so chuck one down to lay a carpet of fire around it. Also, the pyro can be used as spy defence, but it replies on the rest of your team knowing what to look for. If you fire at a suspect red player and they catch fire, then it's a spy (and conversely if they don't, you've made a mistake so say sorry quickly). Hopefully the other defenders will work out that a red player on fire is a spy and start shooting. As long as Trim isn't playing of course (for a full explanation of the whole spy detection/Trim thing, see the Spy Detection section)
Defending Engineer:You will need sentries. Make no mistake about this, on Dustbowl sentries are your key defence. The Sentry Locations section covers all the key locations, so I won't go over them again here. Remember to keep hitting your sentry to keep it topped up with health and ammo, and don't forget to hit your teammates too to keep their armour topped up (hardly anyone remembers to do this for some reason - not reading the manual most probably, tsk). For some real fun grab some EMP grenades before the grate opens, then as attackers are coming through, throw one down into the grate area and take out three or four at once. And don't forget that you can build dispensers too. Either put them somewhere useful where defenders can make use of them easily, or even better, use it to block off a passageway or attack route. You'll get a message saying an enemy is using your dispenser, so when you see it, detonate it quickly. At the very least you'll hurt them a bit, and with luck you'll kill them outright. Bonus shot.
Rightio, that's the defenders done, it's attackers up next: Attacking Scout:Ahhh, bless him. This little chap will run around all day long and not get tired. Only problem is that he's low on health and armour. And grenades. He is, in a word, 'weedy'. But since he's the fastest chappie in the game, he's useful for moving the flag up. You can pretty much forget the caltrops on attack, you'll struggle to find a use for them on Dustbowl, but the concussion grenades are top stuff, ideal for those 'l33t' (oh dear) conc jumps right over the defenders heads for a pinpoint landing on the cappoint (or more likely, a mis-timed normal jump with you splattered against the wall by the nearest sentry. At least... that's what I do). The shotgun is okay for close combat, and the nail gun is good at taking out sentry guns from a distance.
Attacking Medic:Now, instead of the scout, why not use this class instead? It's only got a slight decrease in speed, but you've more armour and health, you've still got the nail gun and the concussion grenades, and you're also now equipped with some normal grenades as well. In the right hands, a medic can be a powerful class. Use your speed and conc jumps to move the flag up quickly, take out sentries from a distance with the nail gun, take out closer sentries with your grenades, then move in closer to the defenders and use some more grenades to take them out. And if that doesn't work, try infecting them instead. Oh, and let's not forget that on your way out of the respawn you can give your fellow attackers a lovely top up with health. Ahhh, now that's nice.
Attacking Sniper:Let me get one thing clear here: I believe the attacking sniper has a role to play. Now let me make another point: I don't think we need loads of them. Here's what I think you should be doing if you play this class: take out sentries from a distance. Very useful, and it helps the attackers a lot. Also, have a pop at any HWGuys being a nuisance, although you'll probably need two shots to take him out. What else? Well, here's one that not many snipers look out for. Take a look at any dropped flags and see if there is a pipebomb trap around it that's been put down by a demoman. There's one thing I forget to mention earlier about demomen, and that's when they die, their pipebomb traps automatically detonate. So if you see a pipebomb trap, try and find the demoman since he's almost certain to be nearby somewhere keeping an eye on the flag so he can detonate his pipebombs at just the right moment. Of course, once you've shot the little fellow his pipebombs will go boom and clear the way for one of your fellow attackers to grab the flag. Or, and here's where we get radical, you can go and grab it and move it up yourself. Don't get totally fixated on this whole sniping business. If the flag is sitting infront of you, grab it and start running (remember what the whole map is about). Time after time I see a sniper busily looking into the distance at a blank wall waiting for a defender to walk past and the flag is sitting on the ground in front of him (okay, so he might not be able to see it because he's zoomed in, but they must surely see the flag looming large when they're scanning the horizon). Ah, now we've stumbled into the things I don't think you should be doing as a sniper, so here's a few more to round off with: Don't stand with another sniper in exactly the same place with both of you aiming at exactly the same point. Keep aware of where the flag actually is. If the flag is way up near the cappoint, you don't need to start zooming in and walking really slowly as soon as you get out the respawn - get up to the front and then start sniping. And don't bother taking the grenades either - you don't need them, you're a long range shooter. Finally, and above all, take a look to see how many other snipers there are on attack. You really don't need more than 1 or 2 at most.
Attacking Soldier:Just like the defending soldier, the attacking soldier should form the core of your attack force. You need to get proficient at rocket jumping, as this will then allow you to get onto roofs for better shooting positions, and to jump clean over HWGuys and pipebomb traps. And it will also get the flag moving along quicker too. Use your rockets to take out sentries and snipers from long range, and don't forget that your shotgun is a useful weapon too. The attacking soldier's defining moment however is the trench jump, the ultimate rocket jump on Dustbowl. You need to perfect this, so stop by the Rocket and Conc Jumps section to see what this is all about. On the grenade front, the nail grenade is a useful bit of kit, as you can drop this near to any sentry and watch as the nails weaken it and then the final explosion removes it completely. And your ordinary grenades are pretty darn effective too.
Attacking HWGuy:Oh dear, here's fatty again. Don't bother with the flag, you're the slowest class in the game and you'll crawl along. Leave it for other, faster classes to move up (remember it's a timed game). Use your MIRV grenades to take out sentries and groups of defenders, and get cracking with that auto cannon. On no account must you get drawn into deathmatching with defending HWGuys all the time though. Oh, and remember that the cannon isn't too hot at long range, so trying to take out snipers at long range may prove a bit tricky. Once the flag is away up the map a bit, you may want to think about switching to another class as it'll take you a while to get to where the action is each time. You've got to keep the flag moving.
Attacking Demoman:Forget the detpacks, you'll never be allowed to set one off before a defender kills you, and besides which, where can you actually use them on attack on Dustbowl?. Use the pipebombs on sentry suicide missions, and also use the pipebomb jump to move the flag up quickly. To do this, shoot a single green pipebomb out onto the ground, then run over it, and just as you're on top of it press jump and 'detonate' (that's your 'special use' key). You'll get a handy super-jump, quite similar to the soldier's rocket jump. Two other points: remember not to spam please. It's just annoying and won't win you any friends (reminder: this is when you drop a MIRV or two and a load of pipebombs all at the same time in the same area). And finally use your pipebomb trap around grenade packs. If a defender sneaks back to pick some up, send him into the cosmos.
Attacking Spy:Whey hey, here we go, it's Mr Sentry Remover. If you can't work out what you should be doing with this class on attack, you may as well give up now. But hey... I'll tell you anyway, in the simplest terms possible. Disguise yourself and then throw grenades at sentries. Drop hallucination grenades to confuse the defenders. Disguise yourself and then throw grenades at sentries. Lie on the ground and jump up to move the flag when the defence thinks it's all quiet. And don't forget to disguise yourself and then throw grenades at sentries.
Attacking Pyro:Now this chappie can be good fun. Although you may not be able to find a ready use for the flame thrower when playing on attack, the rocket launcher is an excellent long range weapon (if a bit short on actual damageability (hey, new word)). You can weaken sentries and also give any defenders a good kick in the armour department (nasty). Best of all, once someone is on fire, they'll find it difficult to see what's going on, so set fire to as many defenders as you can so that your fellow attackers can run past with the flag. Hang on a minute, why wait for them to do it... the pyro is the third fastest class in the game (behind the scout and medic), so why not use this fellow as a good flag runner? Hmmmm, now there's an idea...
Attacking Engineer:You only need one of these. Got that? Engineers don't carry a lot of weaponry, except the handy shotgun, as his main use is for building sentries, dispensers and topping up his teammate's armour. The question is, do you need a sentry on attack? Well it's certainly a luxury rather than a necessity, as you'll be far more useful to the attacking team if you play another class, but if you fancy a change, you can place a few sentries around here and there (see the Sentry Locations section for the key locations on each map). They won't get a lot of kills, and they won't really be contributing to the attack, but there's nothing to stop you building it and then running forward to try and move the flag up (in which case you're usefullness goes up about three-fold). Oh, and if you can grab some grenades, those EMPs are pretty darn lethal at clearing whole areas of defenders and sentries. Go in after a little while when the defenders have killed quite a few of your teammates and there's lots of ammo bags sitting around. Drop an EMP in the middle of that lot and watch it all go boom. But really, you'd be better off playing another class on attack.
After a while you'll find you're better at some classes than others. I can play soldier, demoman and spy best. Ask me to play sniper or scout and I'm Mr Rooted At The Bottom Of The Scoreboard. Newbies tend to try out the HWGuy and the sniper first, but you should really try all the classes in the game, and on the attack and defence. Find your niche classes, work on them, and become a useful asset to a team. Who knows, one day you may even beat me (is that difficult?). What's next? Ah yes, it's Sentry Locations time.    |
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