Every other week someone new to or improving at the game comes here asking for the best config, HUD, sensitivity, etc. to use to get better; and they get the same answers every time.
What it comes down to is preference. The players at the top didn't get there by discovering some magical combination of settings (that you're allowed to know about, anyway) that made them godlike. Just like any other sport, hobby or anything else, the best way to get good to is dump hours into the game. There is, however, a series of three easy steps to follow if you want to get better:
1. Find a combination of settings that you like and don't ever change it. Just this season I toyed around with my sensitivity a bunch before just going back to my original one, because I realized that one was the most comfortable.
While HUD and crosshair and other selections are almost 100% subjective, there are some guidelines you can follow.
a) 90 FoV. It's almost required. Some people feel that they can DM better with 75, but you just miss out on so much around you. TF2 is a pretty fast paced game, with players jumping over your head this way and that, so being able to see them all the time is pretty important.
b) When choosing a HUD/crosshair, look for things that are somewhat minimal and out of the way. Having a pretty border around every number is great, but maybe having a small health count closer to the center of the screen will help you manage your HP better. The same goes for crosshairs, don't get too fancy or you'll just end up distracted. Other than that, having a circle won't help you any more than having a plus or a dodecahedron, so just find one that looks nice to you.
Caspian put together a great collection of custom HUDs, though not all of them may work: http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/183/1
Fog made some sweet looking HUD crosshairs that may be to your liking if the defaults aren't: http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/1261-fogs-custom-hud-crosshairs-version-2-0-released
c) Upon your quest for the perfect sensitivity, you'll find all sorts of advice from lower is better to higher is better and everything in between. Some people say that lower sensitivities are better for tracking and higher ones are better for flick shots, while others will state the opposite. Just toy around with it until you feel comfortable, and can loosely handle your mouse while keeping control. Once you find that, though, stick with it. If your aim feels off, take a few breaths and shake your hand out or something, but don't blame your sensitivity and switch it because you'll just break down your muscle memory. Mouse acceleration is also okay to use, though people recommend against it unless you have a smooth framerate, otherwise it gets a bit messy.
(Part 2 below)
Every other week someone new to or improving at the game comes here asking for the best config, HUD, sensitivity, etc. to use to get better; and they get the same answers every time.
What it comes down to is [b]preference[/b]. The players at the top didn't get there by discovering some magical combination of settings (that you're allowed to know about, anyway) that made them godlike. Just like any other sport, hobby or anything else, the best way to get good to is dump hours into the game. There is, however, a series of three easy steps to follow if you want to get better:
[b]1.[/b] Find a combination of settings that [i]you[/i] like and [b]don't ever change it[/b]. Just this season I toyed around with my sensitivity a bunch before just going back to my original one, because I realized that one was the most comfortable.
While HUD and crosshair and other selections are almost 100% subjective, there are some guidelines you can follow.
a) [b]90 FoV. It's almost required.[/b] Some people feel that they can DM better with 75, but you just miss out on [i]so much[/i] around you. TF2 is a pretty fast paced game, with players jumping over your head this way and that, so being able to see them all the time is pretty important.
b) When choosing a HUD/crosshair, look for things that are [b]somewhat minimal and out of the way[/b]. Having a pretty border around every number is great, but maybe having a small health count closer to the center of the screen will help you manage your HP better. The same goes for crosshairs, [b]don't get too fancy[/b] or you'll just end up distracted. Other than that, having a circle won't help you any more than having a plus or a dodecahedron, so just find one that looks nice to you.
[b]Caspian[/b] put together a great collection of [b]custom HUDs[/b], though not all of them may work: http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/183/1
[b]Fog[/b] made some sweet looking HUD [b]crosshairs[/b] that may be to your liking if the defaults aren't: http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/1261-fogs-custom-hud-crosshairs-version-2-0-released
c) Upon your quest for the perfect sensitivity, you'll find all sorts of advice from lower is better to higher is better and everything in between. Some people say that lower sensitivities are better for tracking and higher ones are better for flick shots, while others will state the opposite. Just [b]toy around with it until you feel comfortable[/b], and can loosely handle your mouse while keeping control. Once you find that, though, [b]stick with it[/b]. If your aim feels off, take a few breaths and shake your hand out or something, but [b]don't blame your sensitivity and switch it[/b] because you'll just break down your muscle memory. Mouse acceleration is also okay to use, though people recommend against it unless you have a smooth framerate, otherwise it gets a bit messy.
[i](Part 2 below)[/i]
2. Practice makes perfect. Play pubs (some people will disagree here, but my defense is b4nny on b4dwater), PUGs, DM mod, scrims, MGE if you really want to, just play the game. yz50 spent countless hours in DM, dante spent countless hours in MGE, powah spent countless hours in Ape Escape; just play what you can enjoy and don't force yourself to play for hours on end. The best practice always comes from scrimming with your team, but pugging is almost as good. It also helps if you enjoy playing with your team and keep your head cool, because getting mad never helps anything (looking at you zephyr).
cinq, the god of PUG bots, has started a #tf2mix channel on gamesurge aimed at helping lower level players improve against each other instead of invite all stars: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/tf2mix
Vick and friends started the Newbie Mix group, which is a PUG group to help mentor players brand new to the game: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/na6v6newbiemix
3. Accept criticism from those better than you and focus on fixing mistakes in scrims; on that same note, though, don't be too hard on yourself. Watching demos of invite players helps, but watching your own demos to find mistakes can help even more. If you're not sure what you're doing wrong, ask for help. The TF2 community sometimes gets a bad rep for being mean to new players, but the truth is that we love new people who are willing to learn. If you're going to dedicate yourself to getting better, almost everyone will jump at a chance to help you out, so don't feel afraid to ask what seem like dumb questions; with everybody and their mother streaming now, asking questions while they're live is a pretty good strategy too.
That pretty much sums it up. There's no easy way to the top, no shortcuts to make you a great player, just try to learn as much as you can and practice, practice, practice.
Addendum:
The preference rule applies to hardware, too; aside from investing in a 120 hz monitor (only advisable if you have money you like to throw around), choosing a mouse/keyboard/headset/chair/phone/etc. all come down to what feels comfortable for you. If you're never felt a mechanical keyboard before, don't drop $99 on one just because other gamers use it. While high DPI gaming mice are great, if you have something optical that doesn't die when you move it too fast, stick with that unless you're sure you want something with a different feel.
Helpful startup/console commands and junk:
compton made this awesome tool to generate config files, letting you add binds, change individual class settings, and a buttload more: http://clugu.com/tf2mate/
I was going to post a bunch more but honestly the tf2mate does everything you'll want to start out.
Wow that is a gigantic wall of text that had to go in two posts I'm so sorry what have I done aaaaaaaa
[b]2.[/b] [b]Practice makes perfect[/b]. Play pubs (some people will disagree here, but my defense is b4nny on b4dwater), PUGs, DM mod, scrims, MGE if you really want to, just play the game. yz50 spent countless hours in DM, dante spent countless hours in MGE, powah spent countless hours in Ape Escape; just play what you can enjoy and [b]don't force yourself to play for hours on end[/b]. The best practice always comes from scrimming with your team, but pugging is almost as good. It also helps if you enjoy playing with your team and keep your head cool, because getting mad never helps anything (looking at you zephyr).
[b]cinq[/b], the god of PUG bots, has started a #tf2mix channel on gamesurge aimed at helping lower level players improve against each other instead of invite all stars: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/tf2mix
[b]Vick and friends[/b] started the Newbie Mix group, which is a PUG group to help mentor players brand new to the game: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/na6v6newbiemix
[b]3.[/b] [b]Accept criticism from those better than you[/b] and focus on fixing mistakes in scrims; on that same note, though, don't be too hard on yourself. Watching demos of invite players helps, but watching your own demos to find mistakes can help even more. If you're not sure what you're doing wrong, [b]ask for help[/b]. The TF2 community sometimes gets a bad rep for being mean to new players, but the truth is that [b]we love new people who are willing to learn[/b]. If you're going to dedicate yourself to getting better, almost everyone will jump at a chance to help you out, so don't feel afraid to ask what seem like dumb questions; with everybody and their mother streaming now, asking questions while they're live is a pretty good strategy too.
[b]That pretty much sums it up.[/b] There's no easy way to the top, no shortcuts to make you a great player, just try to learn as much as you can and practice, practice, practice.
Addendum:
The preference rule applies to hardware, too; aside from investing in a 120 hz monitor (only advisable if you have money you like to throw around), choosing a mouse/keyboard/headset/chair/phone/etc. all come down to what feels comfortable [i]for you[/i]. If you're never felt a mechanical keyboard before, don't drop $99 on one just because other gamers use it. While high DPI gaming mice are great, if you have something optical that doesn't die when you move it too fast, stick with that unless you're sure you want something with a different feel.
[b]Helpful startup/console commands and junk:[/b]
[b]compton[/b] made this awesome tool to [b]generate config files[/b], letting you add binds, change individual class settings, and a buttload more: http://clugu.com/tf2mate/
I was going to post a bunch more but honestly the tf2mate does everything you'll want to start out.
Wow that is a gigantic wall of text that had to go in two posts I'm so sorry what have I done aaaaaaaa
synchro's not actually any good though, hehe
synchro's not actually any good though, hehe
Bookmarking this. This is the most helpful guide I've seen, thanks a ton for putting your time into this.
Bookmarking this. This is the most helpful guide I've seen, thanks a ton for putting your time into this.
^ Agree with Zephyrs post
Makes him feel good though.
^ Agree with Zephyrs post
Makes him feel good though.
Mention the console commands so that people can change these settings quickly.
Also viewmodel fov's too because having a larger one can help lessen clutter on the screen.
Mention the console commands so that people can change these settings quickly.
Also viewmodel fov's too because having a larger one can help lessen clutter on the screen.
kigbariomAlso viewmodel fov's too because having a larger one can help lessen clutter on the screen.
It's in the first post, first word after "a)" and in bold... and you missed it?
[quote=kigbariom]
Also viewmodel fov's too because having a larger one can help lessen clutter on the screen.[/quote]
It's in the first post, first word after "a)" and in bold... and you missed it?
DeseankigbariomAlso viewmodel fov's too because having a larger one can help lessen clutter on the screen.
It's in the first post, first word after "a)" and in bold... and you missed it?
He's talking about viewmodel_fov, which changes the model of your weapon to be smaller/larger, essentially. If you use viewmodels (I should have mentioned this), then you may want a smaller or larger viewmodel_fov to change how much of the screen it takes up. A smaller number brings the model closer, a larger one pushes it farther away.
[quote=Desean][quote=kigbariom]
Also viewmodel fov's too because having a larger one can help lessen clutter on the screen.[/quote]
It's in the first post, first word after "a)" and in bold... and you missed it?[/quote]
He's talking about [b]viewmodel_fov[/b], which changes the model of your weapon to be smaller/larger, essentially. If you use viewmodels (I should have mentioned this), then you may want a smaller or larger viewmodel_fov to change how much of the screen it takes up. A smaller number brings the model closer, a larger one pushes it farther away.