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1 Classes

One interesting aspect of TFC is the interdependence it breeds amongst teammates. After picking a team (i.e., the red team or the blue team), players pick a " class". After dying (which happens often), players can pick a new class. Each class, listed below, has its own advantages and shortcomings.

• Scout
  Fastest class, weakly armed and armored, can strip spy of its disguise.
• Sniper
  Deadly sniper rifle with zoom; notice lack of any other abilities.
• Soldier
  RPG launcher, heavily armored.
• Demoman
  Can lay pipebombs and detpacks (large, timed bombs).
• Medic
  Can heal teammates and infect enemies.
• HWGuy (Heavy Weapons Guy)
  Heavy armor, powerful Gatling gun, slowest class.
• Pyro
  Has flamethrower and napalm missiles.
• Spy
  Can disguise as a member of another team and remove enemies' disguises; can kill in one stab with knife.
• Engineer
  Can build automatic sentry guns, teleporters, ammunition dispensers, can repair teammates' armor, has EMP grenades.
• Civilian (only in VIP games and other special modes)
  Weak character who must be protected by his teammates in order to win, armed with just an umbrella.

For example, the scout is the fastest class in the game, but can easily be fraggedFrag is a term from the Vietnam war, most commonly meaning to assassinate an unpopular member of one's own fighting unit by dropping a fragmentation grenade into the victim's tent at night. The idea was that the attack would be blamed on the enemy, and, d (killed) by an HWGuy. But an engineer can lay waste to an HWGuy with his EMP grenades, which won't really affect medics. But snipers can kill a medic before he gets close, but is vulnerable to getting stabbed in the back by a spy. But the spy's identity can be revealed by a scout, and the interdependence goes in loops like this again and again.

Although this works in theory, reality is nothing like it. Games where professional players fight it out (clan matches and public servers where clan members play seriously) are dominated by Soldiers and Medics. This list will try to objectively describe the flaws of each class:

• Scout
  This class is the fastest and most mobile class, his normal running speed can take him anywhere. Coupled with his ability to concjump it makes it very hard to defeat a skilled Scout unless you have a sentry gun or something to block him with. The problem with this class is that he cannot fight back, no chance at all against an Engineer + Soldier combo. There is often one on each team in clangames, generally employed for flag-capturing and little else.
• Sniper
  Not used in clan matches, often limited, said to slow games down. The sniper is powerful, having both a one-hit kill weapon and a very good auto rifle he can stand a chance at the longer ranges. At close range however, he is easily defeated by most any class. His only defense in close combat is his grenades which will often kill both players thanks to their large radius. Almost never played in clangames thanks to the limitations. In casual / non-clan games, the Sniper is very popular due to his insta-gib weapon; the best defense against him, however, is another Sniper, and they will often become too involved in shooting each other to take on their intended targets: everybody else. Some servers limit the number of Snipers for this reason.
• Soldier
  The best overall class, lots of armor and health, great weapons, acceptable speed, many grenades, very mobile thanks to rocketjumpingIn an game The technique of pointing a rocket launcher at the ground then firing and jumping at the same time. Rocket-jumping can be used to reach great heights and if executed correctly can result in only a minimal loss of health. In some maps rocket jum. Very common in games, almost never limited. The majority of the team in clangames.
• Demoman
  The Demoman can break through defenses with his powerful explosives, he can also defend with them. His weakness is close combat though, in most cases he will lose against a Soldier. One exception if is the Demoman has mastered the grenade launcher which is very powerful when mastered. Each team in a clangame might have one, offense or defense.
• Medic
  Has great weapons, great speed and great mobility. Almost as fast as the Scout. Can stand a chance against the Soldier, especially when relying on grenades. Despite his profession and the bright red cross on his chest, he is the offense in clangames. His ability to poison enemies can also be an enormous distraction, but only in games where Medics do not see (much) use.
• HWGuy
  Very powerful and hard to kill, a master will kill any class at close range, most classes at medium range and some at long range. Often limited in games thanks to that. Not intended for offense, but still quite effective at it. In clangames each team will have one at defense, possibly more if allowed.
• Pyro
  Not best at anything, and not better than the Soldier overall. Has flaming grenades which temporarily deny the territory to opponents, and his flamethrower will cover an enemy player's display with large pixelated flames, but these can be gotten around with a little determination. An inferior Soldier. Rarely played in clangames, works at defense and offense.
• Spy
  The single use of the Spy is getting past/destroying sentry guns. In clangames this class is often used on the offense, rules often forbid defending with the Spy.
• Engineer
  The backbone of any defense, as his Sentry Guns are practically infallible defenders; most teams have at least one. Clangames are no exception. His EMP grenades, which detonate any explosives within their radius, are practically instant death to bomb-happy classes like Demomen and HWGuys--probably why those classes seem to prefer defense, as the Engineer (unlike the Medic) has few offensive applications and is rarely found in the enemy base.

Patches have been released to try to fix these issues by increasing the Pyro's firepower and decreasing the HWGuy's firepower. This hasn't really helped though.