Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 (abbreviated to TF2) is an online team-based multiplayer first-person shooter. It is also one of the most famous PC games of all time, making it a little more important than you are, cupcake. You get to play as nine different classes on two different teams, each of which deranged in their own unique way, and whatever happens from there is a mixture of violence, hilarity, and an ungodly amount of cosmetic items.

You can download the game through Steam at it's store page here.

Actions per minute
Average APM is 160, with generous movement inputs. A user with less jittery hands may only get around 120, but experienced users can expect higher results.

Grinding
There is no grinding, unless you count sitting in spawn for hats (it doesn't count). The only free way to get items is to play the game and have it give them to you every half-hour or so.

Microtransactions
While most players wouldn't bother with buying weapons from the game's official Mann Co. Store, it is definitely possible to shell out the cash to unlock weaponry earlier. It is usually a smarter idea to buy more valuable items like paint or hats, trade them for in-game metal (a form of pseudo-currency), and then go to an automated banking site to trade the metal for a lot more weapons.

There are also over one thousand cosmetic items to obtain. Most of these aren't available in the official store, but enough trading and a fat wallet will make you go places.

Reflexes
TF2 is a fast-paced action game, so having high reflexes is necessary. Almost every class needs to be able to react to situations quickly to escape getting killed every time they see an enemy. From dueling as Snipers, to avoiding damage as a Medic, to even noticing Demoman sticky traps, pretty much every situation requires sharp reflexes and smart thinking.

Except for Engineers. Those campers are slow as all get out.

Research
There are a lot of mechanics involved in TF2. There are over 200 weapons involved (a little less, excluding reskins), and being familiar with what they all do are important for strategising. Understanding the behaviours of all nine classes is vital for knowing what to do when you fight and cooperate with them. Knowing about pickups, map objectives, speed, health, and critical hits are also vital for moderately serious play.

That's just the beginning. For serious play, you have to know about explosive jumping, strafing techniques, fall damage, status effects, knockback, aerials, and damage falloff, and be able to identify all of these while avoiding being killed. And that's not even counting advanced class mechanics like Medic heal rates, ideal Engineer spots, Spy backstab techniques, explosive radii, and hitboxes. And you'll also need to know the layout and secrets of every popular map in the game. No big deal.

So after all this, why isn't it five stars instead of four? It is because you can learn each and every important game mechanic just by playing the game - even obscure ones like critical hit chances. While reading the official wiki will greatly accelerate the process, it isn't necessary for those who absolutely despite reading (sorry). Still though - if you're playing TF2 and you've understood this much, you should probably consider boning up on your knowledge.

Game mechanics
Not even a summary would be able to fit in all of the game mechanics prevalent in Team Fortress 2. Please read Team Fortress 2:Game mechanics to learn more.

Classes
There are nine classes in the game, each with their own health, speed, and abilities. They are seperated into three even groups:


 * Offensive: Front-line infantry of the team. High-mobility with a focus on pushing the objective. Includes Scout, Soldier, and Pyro.
 * Defensive: Brute firepower defense force. Low-mobility with a focus on stopping enemy progress. Includes Demoman, Heavy, and Engineer.
 * Support: Unique classes that gives their team certain advantages. Terrible fighters, but can change the flow of the game. Includes Medic, Sniper, Spy.

Please read Team Fortress 2:Classes for details.

Weapons
It's easy to choose the right gun for the job - stock weapons. It's always stock weapons. Except for melee, in which case it's always the first released new weapon for that slot. More info at Team Fortress 2:Weapons.

Game modes
There are eleven official game modes in the game, although five of them are particularly popular:


 * Control Point: BLU team tries to stand on the point to get it to be captured. RED team tries to stop this from happening. BLU wins when all control points are captured, RED wins when time runs out.
 * Capture the Flag: Both teams try to steal the opposing team's flag (briefcase) and bring it back to their base while stopping the other from doing the same. Team wins when they get three captures.
 * Payload: BLU tries to push the bomb cart to RED's base, while RED stops them. BLU wins when the bomb is in RED's base. RED wins when time runs out.
 * King of the Hill: Each team stands on a single point to capture it. A team wins when they capture the point for three non-consecutive minutes.
 * Mann vs. Machine: Six RED members fight advancing waves of robots, while the robots try to deliver a bomb to RED base. RED gets to upgrade their weapons. They win if they destroy all the robot waves, while the robots win if they deliver the bomb.

You can learn about all the modes at Team Fortress 2:Game modes, and a detailed article on Mann vs. Machine is at Team Fortress 2:Mann vs. Machine.

Maps
Team Fortress 2 has a lot of maps. The most popular ones are the official maps, which are approved by Valve and are more or less balanced. Other maps are unofficial, and can range from modifications to existing maps (unpopular), serious attempts at making an official map (less popular), maps that are clearly meant for fun (more popular), and terribly-designed maps that are fun anyway (shockingly popular).

Please read Team Fortress 2:Maps for details.

Contributors

 * Lone Scoot for the entirety of the first draft of this page.