Weapons
The scout's primary weapon is the nail gun. Though having a rate of fire less than that of the medic's super-nail gun, one should not take a scout's nail gun lightly. I have seen scouts take down much heavier armed opponents in mere seconds. Read below on how to do this.
The scout also carries a single-barrel shotgun. This weapon will do in a bind, but it is ineffective. Always use the nail-gun first before switching to the shotgun. Keep in mind you only have eight shots before you have to reload.
As with all classes use the crowbar as a last resort.
Special Skills
Hitting the special skill key (right mouse button by default) will give you the status of the flags in capture-the-flag (CTF) maps. This isn't really a special skill since any class can hit the 'i' button and get the same info. More important is the skill of a scout to remove the disguise of an enemy spy. Touch a spy from the other team and his disguise will disappear. This can be useful if your teams sentries are constantly getting destroyed by Spies, just check every teammate that comes into the room and the sentry will do the rest. Also the scout can disarm an enemy demoman's detpack by standing on top of it.
Grenades
The scout is unique in that none of his grenades explode for damage. His selection of grenades helps the scout to run away from his enemies. The first grenade is not really a grenade but are sharp spikes of metal called caltrops. The scout will disperse these spikes behind him as he runs away. His enemies will walk over these caltrops causing damage and halving their foot speed.
The concussion grenade rounds out the scout's arsenal. The intended use of these grenades is to stun and disorient enemies. The scout will throw these boxy little green grenades at enemies to cause confusion. Enemies affected by the blast will find it hard to aim and run. More enterprising scouts, however, will use the concussions grenades (concs as they are often called) to propel themselves high into the air at great speeds. Conc jumping allows the scout to enter an area before the enemy can even begin to aim at them. More on this below. Note that concs do not harm the enemy for any damage.
Strengths
Understand that the scout is best used to make runs for flags or carry flags to command points. Don't play the scout if you want to defend your own flag or hold an area for your team. Running is the best thing the scout can do, don't be ashamed to high-tail it if you see some heavies coming on the other team. And when they do chase after you, drop some caltrops behind you. The best places to do this is in narrow hallways where they have no room to maneuver around them. And don't forget, you can even toss concs their way to stun them momentarily. Use everything you have.
If you have to fight it out and can't run, you must fight smart or you will lose (badly). Since you are so fast use it to your advantage. Arm yourself with the nail-gun and circle strafe your opponent. Circle strafing is where you run around in a circle, all the while you are pointing towards the center of the circle. You want to keep your opponent in that center. Hold down the primary fire button and he'll be ripped to shreds in seconds. The other classes are not fast enough to keep up with you.
I mentioned conc jumping above, this is an excellent method of surprising enemies and getting to where you need to be. It does take a bit of practice to get right, but when done correctly, the enemy will be helpless to stop you. Start a conc jump by holding down the secondary grenade key ('g' by default), and running forward. Start counting immediately when you press it. One-two-three.... and right before you count four, jump into the air. If done it right, you'll be propelled forward and high into the air at great speed. Remember to not let go of the button before you get to four. This method is great for getting to high spots like roofs and sniper decks. I know some scouts like to toss the conc on to the ground and then jump near where the conc lands to get their super jump. I find this method quite unpredictable. Also, some people use automated scripts that count out loud the time until the conc goes off. While it works, I think most people can count to four without having the computer do it for you.
Weaknesses
The scout's primary weakness is his lack of armor and health. This class simply cannot take a lot of damage. Even one moderately placed rocket from a soldier can turn a scout into a red stain. In fact, I consider the soldier to be the scout's mortal enemy.
How To Kill A Scout
In general, if you want to take down a scout, keep firing at him (if you can keep up your aim) and he'll soon go down.
Weapons
The sniper's primary weapon is, of course, his sniper rifle. Using a laser sight to accurately place his shot, a sniper can take out opponents with a single bullet.
The rifle can also be used to as an auto-rifle (like a machine gun). These rounds do less damage than in sniper mode, and works best during close quarters combat.
The sniper also carries the nail-gun used by other classes.
As with all classes use the crowbar as a last resort.
Special Skills
Hitting the special skill key (right mouse button by default) will give you the sniper rifle's zoom mode. Here you have a zoomed in look to line-up your unsuspecting targets.
Grenades
The sniper can only use the fragmentation hand grenade. The sniper is the only class that carries only one type of grenade.
Strengths
Without a doubt, the biggest strength of a sniper is to use his zoomed in sniper rifle and take out enemies with a single shot to the head. While this sounds easy, no one just becomes a good sniper on their first day. Successful snipers will need patience and accuracy. The first key is to find a good sniping perch. Look for somewhere high. Make sure this place overlooks a well traveled area and that you can look a fair distance away. Remember, you can harm them well before they even see you. Once you have found your perch, switch to the sniper rifle and zoom in. Hold the primary fire button down and the red dot should appear. The longer you hold down the button, the more damage your shot will do. After three seconds, the shot will be fully charged. A good sniper will hide his dot so that his enemies won't see it until it's too late. Opponents will be on the look for the tell-tale sign of a red dot. Hide your dot behind walls, on columns, or even into the water. When the bad guys appear, aim for the head (this will do the most damage) and let the button go. Note that a shot to the leg will halve their foot speed.
Another key to being a good sniper is stealth and surprise. The first time an opponent should hear the sharp report of your rifle is when the bullet is almost into his head. Sometimes, you've charged up your shot only to find you want to move your perch. Letting the shot go will let the enemy know that a sniper is around and where you are potentially. Keep the element of surprise by jumping in the air and letting go of the button. A message will pop up about only sniping with two feet on the ground and your shot won't go off. Now high-tail it to where you can get a good shot off!
If enemies have gotten to your snipers perch, and a close-in battle is imminent, switch from your sniper's rifle to the auto-rifle. Some really good snipers will try last ditch snap shots with the sniper's rifle (they don't even bother to zoom). This is very risky and best left for experienced players. Instead switch to the auto-rifle and use your grenades.
Snipers seem to be equally effective for attacking and defending. As defending goes, get the sniper to a high spot and cover an entrance. The enemy will have a hard time not losing men to the deadly red sight of the sniper. As attacking goes, the sniper is more effective than most people think. Sometimes, a sniper is a good idea to bring as backup. Move him into position and give cover to a comrade running with the flag. The enemy will never know what hit 'em!
Weaknesses
Strangely enough, I believe the sniper's biggest weakness is ping latency. Even with the newer net code, you still have to be ready for lag spikes. This is caused by several factors and you have to adjust when sniping. Try aiming slightly ahead of your target when you shoot. People with low ping (LPB - low ping bastards as they are called) don't have to worry about this as much.
Another weakness the sniper has is his extreme vulnerability when zoomed in close to a far away spot. At this point, the sniper has no idea what is happening close around him. Any opponent can sneak up to him and get some in close shots before the sniper can react. The sniper's mortal enemy is the spy. A spy can sneak up behind a zoomed in sniper and kill him with one stab to the back. When playing sniper don't stay zoomed in for more than 20 seconds. If no targets present themselves in that time, zoom out and assess the safety of your sniping position. Also, don't snipe from the same position everytime. The other team will know where you are and find you. I recommend changing sniping positions every two kills.
Bottom line as a sniper... be paranoid.
How To Kill A Sniper
Keeping the enemy far away gives the sniper a huge advantage. Remove this advantage by quickly closing the distance between you and him. The best way is to use stealth, so that the sniper doesn't even know you are coming. If he does see you coming, make it difficult for him to get a good shot off. Jump up and down, strafe left and right, and don't run in a straight line toward the sniper. If possible, fire at the sniper while closing the distance and toss a grenade at him.
Weapons
The soldier's primary weapon is his powerful rocket launcher. Many will be familiar with the weapon from games like Doom and Quake 3. And yes, you can still rocket jump in TFC.
The soldier also carries the single-barrel and the double-barrel super shotgun. The single-barrel fires faster, but does less damage. These weapons should only be used in a pinch, if you're out of rockets for example.
As with all classes use the crowbar as a last resort.
Special Skills
Hitting the special skill key (right mouse button by default) will reload your current weapon. You can also reload by hitting the 'r' key (by default).
Grenades
The soldier carries the standard fragmentation hand grenade used by many classes. In addition, the soldier also carries the nail-grenade. This grenade resembles a flat red disc. When thrown, it pops up around knee level and begins to spin and spit out nails in all directions. After a few seconds it explodes. The nail-grenade usually won't kill any enemies (maybe if they are heavily damaged already), but they do act as a deterrent. Use them to keep enemies at bay.
Strengths
The soldier is a good class to play for aspiring newbies and those already highly skilled. This class makes up the core of any squad. The soldier class is an equally effective attacking and defending unit, capable of taking on all of the other classes with a strong chance of winning. Although it does take some skill to learn how to use effectively, once learnt, the soldier can be one of those units that can make or break a match
The soldier's rocket launcher makes him one of the most powerful classes in TFC. Each rocket can do tremendous amounts of damage, and a barrage of rockets certainly means death. A common mistake with beginning soldier players is to aim their rockets directly at the opponents. The rockets can be side stepped, so a better technique is to go for splash damage. This technique involves shooting your rockets at the feet of or on the walls next to your opponent. The rocket will explode near your opponent, causing damage to splash onto them. Also, keep your launcher fully loaded as much as possible. It holds only four rockets at a time. and it's amazing how fast those can go in the heat of battle.
Another ability the soldier has is rocket jumping. Similar to conc jumping, it allows soldiers to get into high areas in a split second. To rocket jump, make sure you have full health and armour. Then run towards the area you want to jump to. Point your aim all the way down at your feet. When you are almost to your target area, jump into the air and launch a rocket. Do this almost simultaneously. If done right, you should have been launched high into the air and into your intended destination. Note, this does a bit of damage to you and rocket jumping does not move you horizontally very far. However, this technique allows you to surprise an enemy quickly, and also by-pass some of their defenses.
Weaknesses
I mentioned it briefly above, but the soldier's main weakness is his small rocket capacity. The launcher holds only four rockets, and these can go quickly during battle. Even re-loading one rocket takes an excruciating long time, especially when you have an opponent bearing down on you. Remember too that the rockets are unguided, once they leave the launcher, they do so in a straight line. Also, the soldier has a slow foot-speed. This makes it difficult to pursue faster classes and to run away from them when you need health or ammo.
How To Kill A Soldier
You would think with such a long-range weapon, that you would not want to engage a soldier from great distances. In fact, this is the safest way to do so. The soldier's rockets do not travel at super sonic speeds. Given some distance, any class will be able to side step a rocket barrage. Along with distance, try to engage the soldier with yourself in an open area. That is, lots of space between you and the nearest walls or objects. This takes away the soldier's ability to inflict splash damage on you. Count how many rockets he has fired at you. After four, he'll have to re-load, this is your time to go on the offensive. To attack him, use shotguns, auto-rifles, or nail-guns. All these weapons have projectiles that travel much faster than the rockets. The soldier's mortal enemy is the sniper. Snipers can side step the rockets and then take two shots and it's all over. The key for all classes is to keep your distance from the soldier.
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