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Posts Tagged ‘matchmaking’

TF2 Smissmiss 2016!

Posted on: December 21st, 2016 by Obey

By the way, 2fort servers #04 (and sometimes #05 and #18) have been regularly starting up most evenings, usually around 6PM EST/3 PM PST, and are active for a few hours. If you’re looking for some 2Fort action without hackers or grossly unbalanced teams, just type “connect server4.tf2newbs.com” into your console; no password required.

Meanwhile, the ever-expanding adventures of the Newbs’ XCOM 2 saga can be found on our forums. Read up while you’re powering through all that fruitcake.

Speaking of fruitcake, server admin Packhead is streaming free Christmas music! Find that link on our forums as well.

Winter 2016

The short version of the latest Holiday Update:

  • The Steam Winter Holiday Sale started today!
  • No new contracts, maps, or weapons this season. Definitely a simpler update this holiday season.
  • Logging in to TF2 during this event scores you a Gift-Stuffed Stocking tool item.
    • If used, it contains 2-3 random weapons, paint can, name tag, description tag, backpack expander, giftapult, and occasionally other random items such as cosmetics. These items are untradeable.
  • The keyless Winter 2016 Cosmetic Crate drops new community-made cosmetics.
    • Instead of buying a key and dropping/buying a crate, you just buy the unlocked crate.
    • Crates don’t expire, but they can only be bought for a short time.
    • Crates have a chance of also dropping a Festivizer tool that makes an item festive.
    • Festivizers now work on more items.

Festivizer

  • Mann Co. Store is having a 20%-75% off sale, highlighting tools and cosmetics.
    • Sale now thru January 11th.
    • Valve Winter Sale hasn’t started… yet.
  • Matchmaking changes (see below)

 

 

Matchmaking Changes

At the end of a Comp or Casual match, the following happens:

  1. Players are automatically formed into a rematch with the same teams of players.
  2. Server then prompts map vote of current map or two others, based on searched maps of player prior to match.

Casual now has a new, voluntary version of the old autobalance system. During a match, you may be prompted to switch sides if teams become unbalanced because of players leaving games. If you volunteer, you will earn bonus XP during the match; you are not required to switch, and no one will be forced to switch sides.

Also, you can now set a maximum accepting ping for Comp or Casual matches but selecting the gear icon in the Matchmaking lobby.

 

Full Patch Notes: Dec 21, 2016

As always, full patch notes courtesy of the excellent Official TF2 Wiki.

  • All players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Stuffed Stocking as a gift! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries.
  • Added the limited-time key-less Winter 2016 Cosmetic Case to the Mann Co. Store
  • Added 3 new taunts to the Mann Co. Store
  • New weapons for the Festivizer!
  • Mann Co. Store winter sale!
    • Look for 20%-75% off selected unlocked cosmetic crates, taunts, and tools in the Mann Co. Store through January 11th, 2017
  • Matchmaking Improvements
    • At the end of a Casual match, players are automatically formed into a new match with the same players and teams
      • Players get to vote on which map the new match will take place on
        • There are 3 maps to vote on, chosen based on the maps everyone in the match had selected when they began searching for a match. The current map is always the first option.
      • This replaces the Rematch system
    • Players can now set their maximum acceptable ping by clicking the new gear icon in the top right of the Casual and Competitive matchmaking lobby screens and choosing “Ping Settings”
  • New autobalance system to help with balancing teams when players leave a match. The system will ask players to volunteer to switch teams.
    • Automatically enabled for all Casual match servers
      • Players who switch will be able to earn bonus XP as a reward
    • Community servers can enable this new feature by using “mp_autoteambalance 2″

General

  • Fixed security issue reported by Justin G. (sigsegv) and Linus S. (PistonMiner)
  • Fixed not clearing the teleport condition for players who have their teleport interrupted before the teleport is complete
  • Fixed PASS Time exploit related to bonus points
  • Updated mat_monitorgamma so it can be adjusted in Competitive mode
  • Fixed the ShouldPreserveSquad flag not being parsed correctly in Mann vs. Machine mode
  • Fixed a bug related to bot Engineers and teleporters in Mann vs. Machine mode
  • Fixed not being able to transfer Strange stats between versions of Jarate and the Sapper
  • Fixed incorrect particle position for Unusual taunt effects when using the Racho Relaxo(sic)
  • Added the ESA Rewind tournament medals
  • Added the Winter Wonderland 2016 community medals
  • Updated the Dalokohs Bar to fix a bug related to the health buff
  • Updated cp_metalworks to fix a texture problem
  • Updated pd_watergate
    • Respawn times will now change depending on which team is in the lead: 8 seconds to leading team, 4 seconds to trailing team
    • Moved the current beer amount to the center of the HUD
    • Added a jump to low spawn route to give respawned players something to do en-route to mid
    • Added a light to illuminate roof-snipers better
    • Adjusted some clipping[N] Obey 

Matchmaking Fixes: Sept 27 2016

Posted on: September 27th, 2016 by Obey

Here’s what’s up:

  1. More matchmaking improvements
  2. {N} Olse’s fictionalization of his fellow Newbs’ exploits in the world of XCOM 2 continues to update almost daily.
  3. Updated with minor Sept 28 patch

 

Casual Matchmaking: Rematches

When your Casual game ends, you can opt for a rematch. On the results page, you have 30 seconds to opt into a rematch. If at least 6 players from each side opt in, a rematch will begin, using the same teams, same map, and same server. The game will then draw in replacement players for any open slots.

If you don’t choose to opt-in to a rematch, you will automatically go back into the Casual Matchmaking queue. Leave the queue by manually removing yourself.

Team-Fortress-2-Competitive-Matchmaking-Featured-Image

Casual Matchmaking: All ‘Bout Dat XP

Had too many teamstacked Casual games? Valve continues to work on it:

Your Rank (which is partly a measure of your skill, and partly your playing time in Casual) is now a stronger factor when building teams.

Now, you no longer lose XP for leaving a Casual match early. You’ll earn it after the match ends. And at the end of the game, the chart will show you how you earned the XP you did.

 

Comp Matchmaking:

When a player leaves a match, a bot will replace that slot, and will play in that player’s place until the player rejoins the match. The substantial penalty for leaving a match remains the same.

Matches no longer end when the first player leaves, but they grant proportionally less XP as more players leave the match. But if a second person on the same side leaves the match, the match is still terminated.

 

 

Full Patch Notes: Sept 28 2016

  • Fixed some players not being able to click on the new rematch UI elements
  • Fixed the end of round music not playing in Casual matches

Full Patch Notes: Sept 27 2016

Matchmaking

  • Players can now form rematches at the end of a Casual match
    • At the end of a Casual match, players will have 30 seconds to opt-in to a rematch
    • If at least 6 players from BLU and 6 players from RED have chosen to rematch, then a rematch will begin
    • A rematch will use the same teams, map and server
  • Players can now re-queue into Casual Matchmaking during the end of a match
    • Players who decline a rematch or simply don’t vote in the rematch voting period will automatically be re-queued
  • Updated the way XP is earned in Casual matches
    • Players will now be awarded more XP based on their team’s performance at the end of a match
    • XP is no longer lost for leaving a Casual match early
    • A breakdown of XP sources is now shown when your XP bar fills up
  • Casual matches now more strongly prefer to distribute players to teams based on experience, in order to better avoid creating one-sided matches
  • Casual matches are now more likely to start with fewer than 24 players in lower population game-modes or regions, wherein the wait time for a full match would become excessive
    • The current minimum allowable match size in such situations is twelve players
    • The matchmaker will still attempt to place late-joiners into these matches as they become available
  • Competitive matches no longer terminate when any player abandons the match
    • Bots will now fill in for players who have abandoned, or temporarily disconnected from, Competitive matches
    • Matches that finish at an advantage or disadvantage (e.g. 6v5 or 5v6, not counting any bots) will now result in smaller or larger skill rating adjustments for advantaged wins or disadvantaged losses, respectively
    • Competitive matches that lose more than one player per team will keep the current behavior of ending the match
    • Players who abandon Competitive matches still receive a large skill rating penalty and Competitive matchmaking cooldown, regardless of whether a bot was allowed to take their place
  • Greatly improved the reliability of client ping estimates when placing users into matchmaking servers
    • The game client now periodically checks in with the matchmaking server network to estimate ping to each region, and feeds the information back to the matchmaking system
    • This should greatly reduce cases of players being placed in regions to which they have poor ping, even when said regions are geographically nearby
  • The scoreboard now shows the connection status for missing and connecting players

General

TF2 Patch, Sept 12, 2016

Posted on: September 12th, 2016 by Obey

A few assorted things here….

  1. Terraria’s desert-themed patch is now live
  2. 2K Games offering free copies of its remastered Bioshock games to owners of original versions
  3. TF2 patched

Terraria Patch 1.3.3 Is Now LIVE

Sandstorm

In this major patch, deserts get some love and attention. Now every newly-created map will feature a pyramid, and there are new biomes for (hardmode) underground desert, underground corrupted desert, and underground hallowed desert. And a bunch more stuff; here is the patch notes.

 

Bioshock Games Have Been Remastered

Ahead of the official launch of the Bioshock Collection, 2K Games has made owners of the older versions of the games a free copy of the remastered games that they already own, whether on Steam or not!! The gaming news site Rock Paper Shotgun did a write-up about how to acquire the remastered versions.

 

Full Patch Notes: Sept 12, 2016

  • Fixed an exploit related to not respawning in the spawn room at the beginning of Casual and Competitive matches
  • Fixed Pyros griefing teammates by attacking them with the flamethrower
  • Fixed Medics getting a permanent speed boost after healing a charging Demoman
  • Fixed Medics getting the Demoman’s charging speed when using Mediguns other than The Quick-Fix
  • Fixed the Strange Razorback double-counting the number Spies shocked
  • Fixed a bug related to the Sniper‘s zoom and taunting
  • Fixed players being able to pick-up the PASS Time jack while they are stunned
  • Increased the matchmaking system’s preference for matching large pre-made parties against each other in Casual Mode. This should result in more balanced matches, but may cause a slight increase in queue times for larger parties.

[N] Obey

TF2 Matchmaking Changes

Posted on: July 30th, 2016 by Obey

When TF2 suddenly introduced their casual and competitive modes and removed quickplay, a lot of problems became immediately apparent. Two weeks have passed since the launch, and I can say that both modes have much improved. Let’s dig into what has changed now that quickplay no longer exists–and see what else is going on:

  1. Heavy vs. Pyro ends Sunday, August 14th. Pyro is winning, 55% to 45%, at this time.
  2. {N} Olse has a signup on the forums for his next Newbs XCom 2 write-up.
  3. Terraria patched
  4. Short tutorial on TF2 Matchmaking
  5. Full patch notes from July 28

 

XCom 2: Newbs Edition!

It’s that time again: {N} Olse will write up an account of how us Newblets will save the world in 2038! Just sign up on the forums by creating a character according to his guidelines. Olse will play thru the game with characters designed by Newbs’ specifications, and then fictionalize that outcomes for a story for you to read!

 

Terraria Patch 1.3.2 is now Live

So what’s new in Terraria? Here you go:

  • Having a Party Girl in your town will occasionally cause town members to throw a Party. Party Girl and Clothier sells different stuff during a Party, including a piñata that looks like a pig.
  • You can now choose what kind of evil corruption is in your world during world creation, as long as you have a world savefile that has unlocked Hardmode.
  • A lot of bugfixes.

This isn’t much of an update, but developer ReLogic says that a future patch will create a biome out of the Underground Desert, and its hallow/corrupt/crimson hardmode variants, so there’s that to look forward to.

Also, they have been hard at work on Terraria: Otherworld for some time. The game is going to be a more RPG-centric game with more concrete goals, skill trees, NPCs with deep personalities, etc. They’ve hired a new art director and have decided to rework much of the game, so I don’t think you’ll see it enter beta in the next two years.

I continue to mention Terraria news because a lot of Newbs players own and play Terraria.

 

A Short Tutorial on the New TF2 Matchmaking

Helpful links:

Note that the option “Quickplay” no longer exists. Now, you can choose from the following options when you hit “Find a Game”:

  • Casual: After a short wait, you’ll join a game (occasionally in-progress) randomly selected from the map options you’ve checkmarked.
    • No penalties for leaving in the middle of a match.
    • A typical match tends to take 10-30 minutes.
    • You can level up your Casual Rank by scoring points and winning matches.
  • Competitive: After a short wait, you’ll join a 6-on-6 match on a randomly selected control point map.
    • Big penalties (in Rank, cooldown before joining next match) for leaving in the middle of a match.
    • A typical match tends to take 5-20 minutes.
    • Your Competitive Rank can go up or down depending on the match results.
  • Mann vs. Machine: After a short wait, you’ll join a team of players that fight a bunch of computer-controlled robots.
    • Boot Camp is free-to-play, and some servers allow more than 6 players.
    • Mann Up requires tickets, limits the party to 6 players, and provides rewards for completing missions.
  • Community Servers: Opens the Server Selection window so you can select a Favorited server, one you’ve played in your History, or search for one on the Internet.
    • This is how you can find our TF2Newbs servers!
  • Training: Complete solo practice missions to learn how to play TF2.
  • Create Server: Launch your own server, choosing any map that you have preloaded into your TF2 files. You can have players join and/or bots can play as well.

Casual Play

Casual Play replaced Quickplay for the following reasons:

  • You will typically (but not always) join a game before the match has begun. A Valve server identifies 24 players (or up to 32, depending on the server) currently searching for a game, then starts the game by pulling them all in at the same time.
    • I’m not sure if Casual Rank is a variable in which players will join you in a match, so players of all levels of Casual Rank may be lumped together in a server.
  • The server will attempt to pull in players a little while after a player abandons the server or disconnects.
  • Autobalancing is disabled, but votekicking was enabled once more after the July 28th patch. So you can complete an entire match (each team gets to attack and defend once, or best two-out-of-three rounds on symmetrical control point maps, for example) with the same team of players.
  • If you want to play with your friends, you can Create a Party beforehand. Your entire party will then be on the same team.
    • If you invite them to a game after the match has begun, there is no guarantee that they will join your side–they cannot join Spectator, and will be assigned a team when they arrive.
  • There is NO penalty for leaving a Casual match. You can join another match at any time, and you get credit to your rank, based on your play up to the point of leaving/disconnection.

Oh, and you do get to choose the map and game modes you wish to play! Under each play format, you can click open a window to enable/disable specific maps. Use this function when you want to play on a specific map right now, or you only want to play on a list of your favorities. Note that only official Valve maps, unlike the beta map Asteroid, are available.

casual(In the above picture, slightly fewer players are searching to play Hoodoo than Borneo. If I begin the search, I may ended up at a Hoodoo or Borneo map, but not an Upward map, and never at a Payload Race map.)

 

Competitive Play

competitive

This has come around because serious TF2 players have wanted this option for years. Valve’s Comp Play is still quite different than the competitive leagues out there, but they are much more accessible, since you don’t have to join a team, organize practices, discuss strategies, or work around item restrictions. So consider it Comp Play Lite if you wish. But here are the features:

  • TF2 Comp Play still revolves mostly around 5CP maps, so only the following maps are available (randomly selected for the match):
    • Badlands 5CP (not KOTH)
    • Foundry (just added!)
    • Gorge CP (not 5CP)
    • Granary (just added!)
    • Gullywash
    • Metalworks
    • Process
    • Snakewater
    • Sunshine
    • Swiftwater (just added!)
    • Vanguard (just added!)
    • Viaduct KOTH
  • You can Create a Party–and it is recommended that you do so–but you can also jump in with solo or with a partial party.
    • There are no class limits, no item restrictions, and no votekicking or autobalancing. But if you choose Sniper, you better be good, or you’re going to hear about it from your party.
    • Currently only 6v6 is supported, but other modes such as 9v9 may be supported in the future.
    • You don’t get to choose your map.
  • Random critical hits are disabled. You only get critical hits when a buff or uber grants them to you; this is typical of most comp leagues out there.
  • This is Ranked Play: your party will face a party of similar average Rank.
    • Your Rank can go up or down after a match depending on match won/loss, points scored, and other elements of your play.
    • There is a hidden ELO in the game, which is represented by your Rank. If you were to always play at the same relative skill level, your Rank will rise to that level and then stay roughly the same.
  • There are penalties for abandoning a match.
    • You will receive a greater loss of Rank than if you had merely lost the game (since the July 28th patch).
    • A “cooldown timer”, which won’t let you join another match after an Abandon, is enforced.
      • If you have played only a few games, the cooldown timer is much greater (hours’ and days’ cooldown).
      • Each Abandon increases this cooldown timer before you can play the next match.
      • All of this is designed to prevent the player who tries to leave a match in order to avoid incurring a loss. A player with lots of losses has an accurate Rank; a player with lots of Abandons is not a team player that ruins the game for everyone.

Community Servers

Don’t want to play on a Valve server? Join a community server for any of the following reasons:

  • You want to play on our TF2Newbs servers! Of course you do.
    • To join server #04, a 2Fort server: open your console, and type the following:
      • connect server4.tf2newbs.com
    • Then, Favorite us so you can find us again quickly!
  • You want to play on a server with alltalk, class limits, randomizer, or other options
  • You want to be able to join spectate, change sides, vote for an autobalance, or just wander around exploring
  • You want to play on a server with admins that can help when there is a problem, or you want a family-friendly server
  • You want to find a trade server, a Sniper-friendly server, a jump server, or an MGE server
  • You like to play on a server that has regulars that frequent the same playing space, and can chat with while gaming

Playing games is a social act, and so it makes sense to build and support a community where people can gather to play their favorite games.

 

Create a Server

Can’t find any active server to play on the Asteroid map? Feel like practicing your Soldier skills against a bunch of Engineer bots on Dustbowl? Do you want to invite your friends to a map you’ve made yourself? Use “Create a Server” to do all of these and more.

It is necessary to be familiar with console commands to load bots, use cheats, and otherwise make changes to the server. Hit the tilde (~) key to open the console, where you can type in commands.

Bots need a navigation mesh to be able to play a map; without one, they stay in spawn. If you’re using a map other than one of these, then you will need to generate a mesh for the bots with a command, which may require several minutes and will restart the server.

 

Full Patch Notes: July 28, 2016

  • Matchmaking
    • Competitive Mode
      • Abandon penalty times are now longer for first-time abandoners with a low number of games played
      • Abandoning a game now results in significant rank loss. This loss is always greater than losing a given match.
      • Fixed an issue where players could drop and reconnect too many times before triggering an abandon
    • Casual Mode
      • Matches can now start with fewer than 24 players when there are not enough compatible players in queue
        • The match will still add additional players (up to 24) as they become available
        • This should improve queue times for low-population regions and game modes
      • Added maps cp_gullywash, cp_snakewater, and koth_probed
      • Fixed not being able to cycle between spectator modes
  • Weapon viewmodels
    • The field-of-view slider has been re-added to Adv. Options menu (range: 54 to 70 degrees)
      • This feature is now allowed in Competitive Mode
    • Improved and fixed many animations when using a higher viewmodel field-of-view
    • Removed custom animations from the sv_pure whitelist because it was being exploited
    • Adjusted The Cow Mangler(sic) and Black Box reload animations to be slightly faster (they now match the default rocket launcher)
  • Your class portrait will now always be the innermost in the match status HUD (top center) and will have a slightly brighter background
  • Added the Prinny promo items to the Mann Co. Store
  • Added the Florida LAN 2016 community medal
  • PASS Time update
    • Fixed achievement items (e.g. Civilian Grade JACK Hat) not cloaking with the Spy
    • Tweaks and fixes for all maps
    • Fix pack speed not being updated sometimes
    • Aiming players will no longer receive pack speed bonus
    • Some adjustments to reduce average round length
      • Overtime will end immediately if the winning team touches the ball
      • Overtime won’t happen if it’s impossible for the losing team to win
  • Fixed players being able to avoid a vote-kick by reconnecting to the server at the right time
  • Fixed the pd_watergate HUD not drawing
  • Fixed Engineer teleporter exits sometimes detonating when used due to invisible geometry
  • Fixed getting a black screen if the chat window was open when the match stats were being shown
  • Fixed weapons not being hidden during some taunts for the Engineer, Medic, and Soldier
  • Fixed Spy cloak causing the HUD 3D Character to cloak for the player the Spy is disguised as
  • Fixed a client crash related to the animation system
  • Fixed a bug where players in looping taunts could sometimes cause other clients to drop from the server
  • Fixed not seeing particle effects for Unusual versions of Baseball Bill’s Sports Shine, Ritzy Rick’s Hair Fixative, and Texas Slim’s Dome Shine
  • Fixed hearing the “team wipe” Announcer audio at the incorrect times

Undocumented changes

[N] Obey

A TF2 Newbs Guide to Getting More and Better Items

Posted on: July 4th, 2014 by Obey

The following is a beginner-level guide describing all of the ways to earn weapons and cosmetic items in TF2. For details on items, gameplay, or anything else Team Fortress related, be sure to bookmark The Official TF2 Wiki.

 

 

trophy Over 25k lifetime hits!

Updated 11/2/16:

  • Simplified information about item qualities
  • Compared rocket launcher prices with differing item qualities
  • Added links to Halloween-themed items where necessary
  • Added more pictures for easier reading
  • Hit 25,000 lifetime hits by November 1st

Updated 7/31/16:

  • Added links to recent tutorials on class rebalances and matchmaking changes since Pyro vs. Heavy patch

Updated 4/23/16:

  • More info about free hats you can earn
  • More info about Australium and Graded (contract) Weapons

 

So you’ve just started playing TF2, learned some maps, captured some points, and found a couple of nifty items. But other players are blowing you up with awesome weapons while wearing ridiculous hats.  How can you get more weapons and cosmetic items?  That’s what this guide is for, so read on!

Similar bloglinks useful to you:

 

Table of Contents

0. Being Free-to-Play vs. Being Premium

1. Earn Items By Playing TF2

  • Achievement Items
  • Free Cosmetics You Can Earn
  • The TF2 Item Drop System
  • Rewards for Playing Mann vs. Machine, the Players-vs.-Bots “Horde Mode”
  • Earn TF2 Items While Playing Other Steam Games

2. Crafting Items: What To Do with Metal, Crates, and Robot Parts

3. Buying Items From the Mann Co. Store or the Steam Market

  • Explanation of Item Qualities like Stranges and Unusuals
    • Updated: Rocket Launchers as example of price comparison
    • Updated: Typical item prices of each quality
  • Decorated Weapons, earned by contracts
  • Trading-Up Items

4. Trading Items With Other Players

5. Free Unusuals!

6. What To Do If You Have Too Many Items

7. Helpful Links

Cold_Snap_Coat

0. First: Are you Free-to-Play?

There are two kinds of TF2 accounts: free-to-play accounts and premium accounts.

  • Free-to-play (or “F2P”) accounts only get one page of 50 inventory slots, limited crafting options, can only drop some basic items, and most importantly, have limited trading options.
  • Premium accounts start with six pages of inventory slots (300 total), have full crafting options, can drop basic and rare items, and have normal trading options.

Why aren’t all accounts Premium? The reason is to reduce the number of spammers and cheaters on Steam by attaching a small monetary cost to each account, so that thousands of accounts cannot be used by a single person for these schemes.

So if you are free-to-play, you will not have full access to all of the kinds of items out there. There are a couple of simple ways to gain a premium account:

  • Buy something in the Mann Co. Store, anything at all, no minimum. A single US$0.49 weapon is all you need.
  • Buy the Orange Box from the Steam Store for US$19.99, which grants you a Premium TF2 account as well as two other Valve games: Half-Life 2 and Portal.
  • Have someone trade or gift you an Upgrade to Premium Gift, which is a tool item that makes your account premium when used.
    • However, your Steam Account must be premium to be able to trade from the Steam Client, which means you’ve made at least $5 worth of purchases. Steam Trading and Steam Chat are two features disabled if you’ve never bought anything on the Steam Account you’re using.

Upgrade Premium

Why would someone give you a Premium Gift? Doing so grants the giver a Professor Speks accessory, or adds to the counter of their existing Professor Speks.

If you make a purchase that upgrades your account to premium, you are asked to refer one person on your friends list as someone who has helped you in the game.  That is how a person is awarded a Professor Speks or ranks up its counter.

 

Now that you know your status, here are all of the ways that you can acquire new items:

 

1. Earn Items By Playing the Game

Earn “Achievement Items”

trophy

There are hundreds of achievements to earn in Team Fortress 2. Just play the game, and if you complete a specific task, the achievement will unlock and announce it to everyone on the server. You can check which achievements you have or haven’t learned in your Steam Client.

Spy achievements

If you earn enough class-specific achievements, you will earn one of three weapons available for each class. These items significantly change the role or options available for that class, such as a Sandvich healing item for the Heavy, or a Huntsman bow that replaces the Sniper’s rifle!  Here is the full list of 27 achievement weapons in TF2.

Note: These achievement-reward items have the untradable trait, so you can’t trade them away later. And if you use them to craft metal or another item, the resulting item will carry that untradable trait, and the game will warn you that that will occur.  This is to keep players from having dozens of separate Steam accounts just to farm for items. Only achievement-reward items will have the untradable trait.

There are “achievement servers” in the TF2 community, but TF2Newbs doesn’t have one; they’re frowned on by Valve.

 

All-Class Cosmetics You Can Earn

Professor SpeksAs stated above, earn the Professor Speks all-class cosmetic by gifting someone an Upgrade to Premium Gift. It cannot be painted or traded.

Ghastly GibusEarn the Ghastly Gibus all-class hat by earning a domination on a player wearing their own Gibus. There are multiple, slightly different versions (the Ghastly, Ghastlier, Ghastlierest, Ghostly, and Galvanized), and dominated any player except for the Galvanized will earn you your own Ghastly Gibus (the other versions were awarded earlier). You can earn this achievement at any time, and it can be worn at all time, unlike many Halloween-themed items. It is paintable, but cannot be traded.

You can also get the Pyrovision Goggles by dominating a player that is wearing them. Pryovision items changes the scenery on most official maps so that you play in a pastel-painted world of balloons and laughter instead of the screams and gibs of your enemies. You can change its vision in your Advanced Options menu.

Mann Co CapEarn a Mann Co. Cap all-class hat the first time you buy anything at the Mann Co. Store, regardless of amount spent. (You can only earn one.) It is paintable, but not tradable. You can also buy a real-life version from New Era. There is a second hat, the Mann Co. Online Cap, which you can earn by buying something from the Mann Co. Online store, which sells real-life Valve merchandise like posters, T-shirts, and hats!

World Traveler's HatEarn the all-class World Traveler’s Hat by buying your first Map Stamp, which is not an item, but a donation that goes directly to the author(s) of the Community-made map you choose. You can level it up by buying more Map Stamps. When you play on a map where you’ve purchased map stamps, you can give your hat unusual effects! This hat is paintable, but not tradable.

Other cosmetics you can earn by playing TF2:

  • There are lots of other cosmetics that can be earned during the annual Halloween or Winter Holiday events! See my Halloween Items FAQ to learn how to earn Halloween-themed items. Some can be earned at any time, like the Ghastly Gibus.
  • Director’s Vision: Earn this all-class taunt by recording a replay of yourself playing the game, then enter the video editing window. It’s that easy.
  • Frontline Field Recorder: Get this hat by uploading a replay video to YouTube from within TF2, and earn 1,000 lifetime views.
  • Proof of Purchase: By being gifted the game, or buying TF2 yourself, like in the Orange Box from the Steam Store, earn this hat.
  • Party Hat and TF Birthday Noisemaker: Get an all-class hat and an action item by playing the game on August 24th, TF2′s anniversary launch date. The Noisemaker can only be used on August 24th (or any server that has Birthday Mode enabled).
  • Spirit of Giving: Earn this accessory playing during the annual Winter Holiday. Rank it up by gifting, such as using a Secret Saxton tool item.
  • Horace the Bear Mask: Be an RPS Supporter (for the gaming news website Rock Paper Shotgun).

 

Earn Items by Playing the Game

Team Fortress 2 wants to reward you for playing, and does so by granting you periodic “item drops”. Approximately every hour you play in a week, up to roughly 10 hours a week, you will earn a random item, usually a weapon but rarely (perhaps a 3% chance) a cosmetic item such as a hat. Most, but not all, craftable weapons can drop via this system, and if you don’t play much one week, that extends the playing time where you can earn items in the next week only. “Weeks” for this purpose begin on Wednesdays at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time (which is also Thursdays at midnight Greenwich Standard Time; doesn’t change for Daylight Savings Time).

Item_drops_frequency_graph

The list of possible weapons available is roughly the same as the craftable weapon list plus the achievement-reward weapon list (i.e. almost all non-stock weapons). “Stock” weapons are the default weapons and action-slot items of each class, which are also the only weapons that most computer-controller bots use, and they’re the only weapons you can access in those rare, unfortunate times when your server loses connection to the item server :(  Stock weapons never drop, and you can’t lose access to them by crafting or trading.

By a similar but separate system, crates (and rarely, other tool items such as Name Tags instead) can drop for you as well, and they are NOT limited by your weekly playing time.  Of course, you need keys to open crates; they are basically opportunities for Valve to make money by selling you keys. Crates always provide a random item out of a list, and the series number relates to the list of items available to drop; most crates drop Strange-quality weapons (with a 1% chance for a random Unusual item instead!).

Crate drops are rarer than in years past; players got annoyed by having too many crates.  Sometimes, such as during the winter holiday, crate drops will occur more often. You may also get a crate once a week in your account just for logging in. They’re simply “opportunities” to spend money on keys for virtual items.

 

Earn Items by Buying and/or Playing Other Games

Many cosmetics can be earned just by buying certain games. Some were only available during pre-order, but many are still available if you buy the game today. Here is the current list of games that award TF2 items, maintained by the Official TF2 Wiki. Note that many of these items will be Genuine quality.

For example, the $4.99 game Poker Night at the Inventory features five unlockable items (some of which may be difficult to do so), as you play Texas Hold ‘Em against the Heavy, Strongbad and other characters. You need to get good at playing poker, but you can earn:

dangeresque

Its $4.99 sequel, Poker Night 2, features five more unlockable items, as you play Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha Hold ‘Em with Claptrap, Ash Williams and others! Earn the following:

 

See this link to learn how to earn TF2 items by playing these free-to-play Steam games:

 

Earn Items by Playing “Mann Up Mode” in MvM

500px-Mvm_logo

Mann vs. Machine, or “MvM”, is a horde mode where you and five other players form a RED team that defends against an onslaught of class-specific BLU robots.  The free-to-play “Boot Camp” mode does NOT earn you items, but is good for practicing the game. The real rewards can be gained by completing “Mann Up” missions, which require a brown Tour of Duty ticket that costs US$0.99 in the Mann Co. Store (not to be confused with the white Surplus tickets). Tickets are used up and rewards are earned only when you successfully win an entire mission.

mannworks

  • Each completed mission earns you an item drop, in exchange for your Tour of Duty ticket, if you did not previously have credit for that mission on your current Tour.
    • If playing the “Two Cities” Tour, you will instead earn some robot parts, and possibly even a Fabricator, after each mission.
  • Each completed Tour of missions will earn you different rewards, on top of your usual mission rewards:
    • “Two Cities” Tours reward Killstreak Kits, and one or two higher-tier Fabricators.
    • Other Tours reward one of several kinds of Strange Botkiller weapons, depending on both random luck and which Tour had been completed.
    • Completing any Advanced or Expert difficulty Tour also has a small chance (~2%) of getting an Australium weapon! (You won’t have any chance to drop them on Intermediate Tours.)

fabricator rl

For more information on MvM and the items you can earn by playing in “Mann Up” Mode, please refer to the TF2 Newbs’ Guide to MvM Item Hunting.

2. You Can Craft New Items

Crafting_anvil

You can take undesired items and turn them into metal, which is used to craft other weapons.

two weapons of same class  —> one scrap

 

                                          three scrap  <—> one reclaimed

 

                                                     three reclaimed <—> one refined

 

metal

What Can You Do with Metal?

  • Use as a trading currency (see Trading, below)
  • Craft cosmetics, such as hats
  • Craft weapons

 

Crafting Cosmetic Items

There are two ways to craft cosmetic items such as hats. Here is the first:

three refined  —> one random cosmetic item

The above menu says the output is a “random headgear”, but in reality the output is some kind of cosmetic, such as a hat or an item that equips elsewhere on your person, and are never weapons. For instance, you might get a Football Helmet for a Heavy, or an Itsy-Bitsy Spyer that hangs on the hip of your Sniper, or a Big Mann on Campus sweater for a Scout. These items are always Unique quality; you’ll never get Stranges or the like. Almost every non-Limited cosmetic can be crafted, but of course, what you receive is randomized.

Crafting

But if you want to ensure that you get an item that a specific character can use, consider the next formula:

four refined + class token  —> random class-specific cosmetic item

With the above formula, you apply some extra metal and a token, but you ensure that you’ll get an item wearable by the token’s class (and possibly other classes also, depending on the item you receive). Use this formula if you really want more cosmetics for your favorite class.

See this page for a list of many other crafting recipes, which are also found in your Crafting menu.

 

Crafting Weapons

There is a list of craftable weapons under the second tab, “Common Items”. Simply follow the recipe to craft a desired weapon. If you lack the items, you can’t make the item, but you may be able to trade someone for the parts you need (or just buy it from the Mann Co. Store instead).

The top recipe reads, “Fabricate Class Weapons” with the following recipe:

scrap + class token + slot token –> random matching weapon

The above formula will generate one random weapon out of the possible craftable weapons that match both the class and weapon slot of the tokens. For example, following this recipe with a Pyro token and a Secondary token can generate a flare gun, detonator, reserve shooter, manmelter, scorch shot, or panic attack. See the “Crafting Weapon Classifications” heading in the the TF2 Wiki Crafting page for the full list.

 

What Are Crates For?

Crates are opened with keys (usually Mann Co. Crate Keys, but special crates require special keys), and they can be purchased from the Mann Co. Store for US$2.49, traded, or bought and sold in the Steam Market. Opening a crate provides you one random item (usually Strange) from its short drop list, but rarely (about a 1% chance) grant you an Unusual hat!

Mann_Co._Supply_CrateOh, if you have too many crates, you should probably just delete any duplicates you have. You’re unlikely to sell any on the Market, as you’d only get one cent, and there are thousands of them for sale already. You’ll always have more crates than you’ll ever open–they’re simply opportunites to buy a random Strange item.

What Are Robot Parts For?

If you have robot parts in your possession, you have probably been playing some Mann vs. Machine “Two Cities” missions. These are used for crafting certain Killstreak Kits.  See this MvM Item FAQ for more information.

Reinforced_Robot_Emotion_Detector

3. You Can Buy Items

Access the Mann Co. Store within the TF2 game itself. You can’t while you’re playing in a server, however.

 

Items You Can Buy from the Mann Co. Store

You can buy most Unique-quality items in the Mann Co. Store.  Unique is the standard item quality that doesn’t do anything special, and signifies something that is probably not rare. Want a different kind of rocket launcher for your Soldier?  It’s probably US$1 or less. Want a new community-designed hat? Snap one up for US$2 to $10. Just look at the catalog of items in the in-game menu, and purchase with your Steam Wallet funds.

Starter Packs

Don’t want to bother with crafting or trading, but you want all the possible options available for your favorite class? You can buy a Starter Pack the gives you one of each Unique weapon for that class! They run between $2 and $7, depending on the class; some classes like the Soldier have more items, so they’re more expensive.

You can also buy (from either the in-game Store, or from the Market) an Unlocked Class Crate, which will drop you one random cosmetic equippable by that class. You could get just about anything. They’re $2.49 in the Mann Co. Store.

You can’t buy everything at the store, such as an Unusual hat… but there’s lots to buy on the Steam Market!

Items You Can Buy on the Steam Market

  • You can’t buy most plain Unique-quality weapons in the Market, but you can buy Unique Tools such as crates, keys, robot parts, and killstreak kits.
  • Also, almost all Strange, Haunted, Vintage, Collector’s, or Unusual item can be bought and sold on the Steam Market.
  • Unique items that are also Limited can also list on the Market. Limited items cannot be crafted, item dropped, or bought from the Mann Co. Store anymore.
  • Decorated weapons can also be bought and sold in the Market.

 

A Short Explanation of Item Qualities–and Rocket Launchers!

“Wait a minute. Why do I need an explanation of item qualities?” you ask.

Not all rocket launchers are created alike. (Set aside the Black Box and the Liberty Launcher and all those others; we’re talking just about the stock Rocket Launcher.) The stock Rocket Launchers are all alike, of course.

GadCIcM

But there are many kind of reskinned rocket launchers. They’re all functionally the same. How they’re different is that they might be promotional items, have different colors on the weapon itself, or have a counter to track kills or other statistics. (The pictured Rocket Launcher is a Decorated weapon; scroll down to the next section to learn more about Decorated weapons.)

Here’s a comparison for the different rocket launchers out there, and the cheapest price for one on the Steam Market (as of this writing):

All of the above rocket launchers behave identically in play. But they’re also a show of status: players may assume that if you’re using the stock rocket launcher, that you haven’t been playing very long. Sure, it’s a silly game, but it stands out all the same.

 

Item Qualities

Okay–here’s the different item qualities out there:

  • Stock items are items that every TF2 account has access to; they cannot be removed, sold, or traded.
  • Unique items are common items, often found via the TF2 item drop system or from certain older crates.
    • They can typically be traded, but not marketed.
    • Achievement items and some Halloween-themed items are untradeable Uniques.
  • Limited items are uncommon; they can no longer be purchased or crafted, such as retired hats.
    • They can be traded or marketed.
  • Vintage items are simply items that were crafted before March 15, 2011.
    • These are cheap to buy on the Market.
  • Strange items track total kills (on weapons) or points scored (on other items) while the item was equipped.
    • Most commonly, Stranges are dropped from a crate; the item is randomly chosen.
    • A few Strange items are rare, such as the Kritzkrieg.
    • A few Strange items have been made so by Strangifier items, which are also sometimes rare.
  • Australium weapons have a golden sheen, but are otherwise Strange weapons.
    • They are a rare reward for completing Mann vs, Machine tours, and are valuable.
  • Haunted items are usually Halloween-themed cosmetics.
    • In some cases, they can only be worn during Halloween/Full Moon times.
    • They can be purchased cheaply on the Steam Market.
  • Genuine items are promotional items, often given away for (pre)purchasing another Steam game.
    • Many of these can be purchased on the Steam Market.
  • Collector’s items are rare, requiring a rarely-dropped Chemistry Set plus two hundred identical copies of the item to craft.
    • They can be purchased on the Market, but are usually expensive.
  • Killstreak weapons show in the killfeed how many kills the player has earned since their last death.
    • The killstreak property only modifies the weapon, and doesn’t change its quality color. But it does add value to the weapon.
    • Specialized Killstreak kits also add a temporary visual sheen to the weapon after five kills are scored during the same life.
    • Professional Killstreak kits add the visual sheen and an eye effect to your character as well.
    • Killstreak kits and fabricators (used to craft the kits) are Mann vs. Machine rewards.
  • Unusual items are rare, with a visual effect centered near the head of the character.
    • They are very rarely (1%) dropped from a crate, and are always valuable.

See my MvM Item FAQ for more information about Australium weapons and Killstreak Kits.

 

Decorated Items

decorated item is a weapon, cosmetic, or taunt that has been reskinned with different visual effects (and rarely, different sounds). Below is the Warbird, a rare decorated rocket launcher from the Tough Break season:

Warbird

A ”season” is a period of weeks, directly after a major content patch such as the Tough Break Update, that allows players to complete missions/contracts in order to earn random items with randomly generated paint jobs. A decorated weapon or item includes the following:

  • One of six Grades of rarity, which determines the text color of the item. Civilian is very common; Elite is rare.
    1. Civilian:                contracts only
    2. Freelance:            contracts only
    3. Mercenary:          contracts or crates
    4. Commando:        contracts or crates
    5. Assassin:                                    crates only
    6. Elite:                                           crates only
  • Each item Collection (of item skins or “paint job” themes) has many weapons in a variety of Grades.
    • For example, items from the Concealed Killer Collection are generally camouflage-themed.
    • Some Collections are only Grades 1-4, and some are only Grades 3-6 (see above).
    • Each skin is tied to its specific grade. For example: The “Warbird” above is always a Grade 6 Elite.
  • Each Weapon has one of five random levels of Wear, which changes the look of the weapon skin somewhat. All are equally as common, but the more Wear variations are less popular because the weapon skin is less visible. (The wear patterns are also randomly positioned to give a further uniqueness to each individual item.)
    • Factory New (most popular and valuable)
    • Minimal Wear
    • Field-Tested
    • Well-Worn
    • Battle Scarred (most of the paint job has worn off)
  • NOTE: Weapons DO NOT increase their Wear when used. They have a set level of Wear when dropped which does not change. A weapon’s Grade, Skin, and Wear is entirely cosmetic and does not change its gameplay whatsoever.
  • Also, these Weapons and Cosmetics are Limited quality. Unboxed Weapons and Cosmetics will have a chance of being Strange (and in a few cases, being Unusual, or both!)
    • Also, items exist that can Strangify these items.
  • These weapons will be tradable and marketable. If you wish to trade or sell a weapon, look up its worth on the Market or another site like backpack.tf first, so you don’t get scammed. Unusual items are always valuable and very rare.

How to earn Graded items:

  1. Buy-in to the current update Season by purchasing the appropriate pass from the Mann Co. Store. This will grant you a fixed number of contracts to complete over a set period of time (even if you join late in the Season). Completing these contracts (with tasks such as completing objectives on a certain map or getting kills while playing a certain class or weapon) will earn you a graded weapon OR one of several Weapon Cases.
    • NOTE: You can purchase these Weapon Cases from the Steam Market also, as the cases, their corresponding keys, and the items obtainable within are all marketable and tradable.
  2. Or, you can simply buy Cases and the appropriate Key for the Case, and use the Key in your TF2 inventory screen.

 

How to Trade-Up Graded weapons:

300px-Civilian_Stat_Clock_Menu

Some items can be used in a trade-in, much like crafting, into another item.

  • 10 Graded items of the same Grade level, regardless of Collection or Update, can be traded in for 1 random item of the next higher Grade.
    • Example: 10 Freelance items for 1 Mercenary item.
    • You may collect ten decorated items from all of the different collections ouut there, but the formula will only work if they are all of the same Grade.
    • BEWARE: The possible output item is from all available Collections, not necessarily the same Collection.
  • 5 qualifying items can be traded into a Civilian Grade Stat Clock, a tool item similar to a Strangifier for Graded items only.
    • Qualifying items include any Freelance Grade or higher item (of any Collection), and any Strange item (Graded or not).
    • ANY item with the “untradeable” trait also qualifies, but the resulting Stat Clock will also be “untradeable”.
      • Yes, this means you can use your untradeable Achievement items to create a Stat Clock!
  • During the annual Halloween event, you can trade-in three qualifying items for a random, untradeable Halloween cosmetic.
    • Find this function by right-clicking your Soul Gargoyle tool item.

How can you tell the difference between a Strange Graded Item, and a vanilla Graded Item with a Stat Clock attached? Look at the item name: one will be Strange, and the other will say “Stat Clock”.

 

4. You Can Ask Others to Trade or Give You Items

Yes, there are gifters who play TF2 regularly. Very few players just go around looking for Newbs who need items. But there are plenty of players wiling to give a couple of weapons or an odd hat to someone who has none.  The important thing is to be nice and civil. Spamming chat with demands for free items will annoy anyone who would have been willing, and that behavior can get you banned from the Newbs servers.

250px-Backpack_Pile_o'_Gifts

If you want people to trade or gift you, show some proper etiquette:

  1. Be gracious and don’t make demands.  Don’t spam the text chat or the voice chat.
  2. Many players are willing to trade away a spare copy of a weapon (not cosmetics) for a single scrap metal, or its equal value of any two weapons. Likewise, if you happen to have extra copies of an item, you can offer to trade two of them to someone for one weapon you need.
  3. If there is an item you want to trade for, or to ask for free, you should ask people in chat if they have specific items you’re looking for.  But don’t spam the chat with constant messages.
  4. Look at your friends’ profiles, and click on Inventory to see their TF2 items.  Unless their profiles are private, you can find out what spare items a friend has, which can help you make them a trade or gift offer.
  5. When you really want to trade items, go to a trade server, such as Newbs #2 and #18 Trade Servers. You won’t be interrupting anyone’s game with trade offers or chatter, and you’ll meet up with others actively looking to trade.

 

Trading Items for Items

Trades do not involve the exchange of Steam Wallet funds (that’s what the Steam Market is for). So how do you trade items for other items and know one of you isn’t being cheated out of value? Over the years, players have established a de facto economy by using certain common and uncommon items as currencies, specifically metal, keys, and earbuds.

Metal is the crafting ingredient discussed above to create random cosmetics and weapons. Because of these uses, metal also has worth in the economy.

Common item prices are discussed in “ref”, an abbreviation for refined metal. A refined metal is 1.00 ref.

A reclaimed metal is .33 ref, since it takes three reclaimed to make a refined.

A scrap metal is worth .11 ref, since it takes three scrap to make a reclaimed (nine to make a refined).

For example: A hat worth 1.33 ref is worth a refined and three scrap.

If you play TF2 10 hours a week and smelt all of your non-cosmetic drops into metal, you’ll average one refined metal in three weeks.

Keys, or standard Mann Co. Crate Keys, cost US$2.49 in the Mann Co. Store. Since they’re tradable (after a week) and the price doesn’t change, they are good for trading valuable items. Popular, in-demand items that are not very rare are often measured in keys, such as taunts or popular hats.

How much ref a key is worth changes based on the demand in the economy (how bad people want keys, or metal). Refined metal is also useful for making “change”, since a key cannot be broken into smaller values. As of January 2016, a key is worth about 20 ref.

Buds, or Earbuds, are a somewhat rare, Limited cosmetic item. Buds were often used as currency for rare, high-demand items, such as Unusuals. They’re not used for trading much anymore.

 

5. Where Can I Get Free Unusual Hats?

The following is a list of phrases people enter into their search engines:

how to get easy hats in tf2
tf2 free hats
tf2 easy unusuals
tf2 item giveaway
tf2 free keys
free tf2 unusuals

…and so on.  I know this because the blog dashboard shows me certain search engine terms that bring readers to this blog. Lots and lots of TF2 players want free unusual hats, keys and items.  New players beg for free items, and sometimes start raging when they don’t get what they want.

The TF2Newbs community, like many other public gaming communities out there, frown on begging. Repeatedly asking for items disrupts the game and can lead to a permanent ban on Newbs servers.  Would you want your games interrupted by beggars?

My point is, earn or buy items yourself. Trading exists so that you can meet other players and swap items. It’s a metagame–a game within a game–to collect desirable items. Don’t disrupt a good game by begging; go to a trade server if you’re looking for something specific.

TF2Newbs’ Trade Servers (type these into your console to jump right in):

connect s2.tf2newbs.com
connect s18.tf2newbs.com

 

6. Too Many Items?

Well, that’s embarrassing: it is certainly possible to fill your backpack with so many crates, weapons, tools, and cosmetics that you cannot hold more. When this happens, you won’t receive more items from the item drop system; it “stops the clock”, so to speak.  What do?

Backpack_case

  1. Delete worthless items: crates and untradable duplicate items are the only ones I would advise deleting.  You’re not likely to sell them on the Market or trade them for any value. (The only crates that have a value are crates numbered in the 20s–because each class has one that only carries items for that class–and crates #30, #40, #50 and #60, which are rare and may drop high-demand Strange weapons.)
  2. Condense your metal: 18 weapons <-> 9 scrap metal <-> 3 reclaimed metal <-> 1 refined metal.  Refined metal can “carry more value” in a smaller space, and is faster if you want to trade for a valuable item. Condense your space further by trading for keys or more valuable items.
  3. Buy a Backpack Expander, or several, from the Mann Co. Store (US$0.99) or the Steam Market. Each one gives you 100 slots (two pages) more, up to a maximum of 2000 slots or forty pages. This is very necessary if you’re collecting robot parts from “Two Cities” MvM Tours, or trying to get one copy of every weapon.
  4. Check to see if you own a Summer Adventure Pack, Summer Starter Kit, or a Gift-Stuffed Stocking tool item. A Backpack Expander is inside, among other items.
  5. Put items up for sale on the Steam Market. While on the Market, the item is removed from your inventory, so you can fill those slots once more. You can remove the item from the Market if it doesn’t sell, and then you will receive the item once more.
  6. Check the Crafting List and see if there are any desirable weapons or cosmetic items you can craft. For example, if you don’t have a B.A.S.E. Jumper parachute for your Soldier, you can craft one at the cost of a Sticky Jumper, a Buff Banner, and a reclaimed metal.

 

7. Other Useful Links You Should Bookmark in Your Browser:

 

I hope this blogpost has helped you learn about the wide variety, and multiple functions, of the items of Team Fortress 2.  The item-acquisition game within the “war-themed hat simulator” keeps players coming back. If I have helped you in your quest for mighty loot, feel free to say so in the comments, or post in the forums.

[N] Obey