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[JoshuaFH]

I MAY actually be able to run a TF2 server. Not sure if my specs are good enough, and it wouldn't have 100% uptime, but it could work.
Hmmmm. That means I should have to get around to it, though :V

Well I'll join if you do put it up.

[EnigmaticHat]

I've faced a few master snipers and IME they're as annoying to face as the level lets them be.  Facing them as attack on the final map of Dustbowl?  Leave and play something else.  If you're on something more sane its entirely possible to flank and kill them as long as you know where the long lines of fire you need to avoid are.  Remember, if they're zoomed in they have the same pathetic FOV as every other sniper, while if they're not the most damage they can do in one shot is 150.  That might seem like a lot but remember A if you're a combat class on a good team you should be overhealed and B even if they unscope they'll still move at 1/3 speed for the time it takes to reload, so you'll get your own hit in for free.  Also well designed TF2 maps have only a few places where snipers can engage at a range and not be firing down extremely narrow lines of fire; its entirely viable to rush and occupy those positions from the beginning as scout unless you're playing an attack/defense mode.

Master soldiers and scouts on the other hand there is no trick, you're just going to die 1v1 unless you're a comparable skill level.  They're also more common because those classes see more use in competitive play.

A good enough sniper can still stand against that. I've had a couple of times were some group of offense classes (generally a pyro, soldier and scout) come running towards me with the intent of flanking me. I just turn around, and headshot, headshot, headshot, and they're all gone.

By "flank" I mean approach from a direction where you enter their line of sight close enough that you are already in range to shoot them.  So approaching the enemy battlements on 2fort from their own spawn as an extreme example.  Or rocket jumping onto the first cliff in Badwater and then emerging to kill the snipers on the ridge.  In CP maps which typically have 2-3 ways to advance at all times, its often as simple as advancing down one path, then circling around and shooting them in the butt with your scattergun.

[Egan_BW]

I just got TWO random hat drops in as many days.
I think the hat gods have given me a sign.

[JoshuaFH]

I just got TWO random hat drops in as many days.
I think the hat gods have given me a sign.

Quick, craft'em together for a new, different hat!

Or not, you don't have to listen to me.

[EnigmaticHat]

I've heard if you give hats to people who have "hat" in their name, the game gives you an even better hat as a reward.

[Egan_BW]

I might try that...
do you have the same name on steam?

[Spehss _]

I just got TWO random hat drops in as many days.
I think the hat gods have given me a sign.

One time I got a tyrant's helm in a random drop. My soldier always wears it now.

[EnigmaticHat]

I've heard if you give hats to people who have "hat" in their name, the game gives you an even better hat as a reward.

I might try that...
do you have the same name on steam?

Spoiler: Just so everyone's clear... (click to show/hide)

...the joke here was that I was pretending to con you out of your hats.  You shouldn't give away hats unless you're ok with not having hats.

[Iceblaster]

I might try that...
do you have the same name on steam?

Go here instead and get refined metal for said hats so you can get hats you might want more!

[miauw62]

I don't think there's a better feeling than playing demo and panning demoknights that charge at you to death.

E:
Also, there are quite some people willing to do hat4hat trades.

[sambojin]

Mini-Sentries with the Wrangler is a good counter to many classes. Except heavy.

I tend to consider the Gunslinger as the best item in the game. One of those items that can change a class's gameplay around entirely, yet still be a fun all-rounder. Combat engineer is great.

Drop dispenser, go running, drop mini-turret, go killing. It's the most low-key engy you can play, is a great excuse for not being any good at engy, and still gives you all the basic engy skills (but encourages fluid play).

To the questions a couple of pages back of what you should buy as your only purchase:- Buy a Gunslinger. Expanded inventory, a cool turret, a reasonable melee weapon, more HP, no random crit (which gets you better at shooting) all-in-one. Some great builds can be made from it, and you can switch your focus from aggressive to defensive play by switching the item in and out as you wish. It's also like a scout-play training platform, just totally not.

An engy buying a Gunslinger in TF2 is sort of like an engy buying an AV turret in PS2. You get a free shotgun, a reasonable basic kit anyway, and you can do pretty much whatever you please from that point onwards.

[Myroc]

Mini-Sentries with the Wrangler is a good counter to many classes. Except heavy.

If you are using a Wrangler with mini-sentries you are Doing It Wrong^TM. Grab your pistol and just shoot them along with your sentry instead. The number one thing that makes the Gunslinger so good is that between your sturdier self with shotgun/pistol and the mini-sentry, you are more or less counting as two people. And most of the time, if an enemy focuses on one of you, he's going to get killed by the other. By using a wrangler, you've made all your damage come from a single source; An enemy will just kill you while you're trying to wrangle him, then take out the sentry while it's disabled.

[WealthyRadish]

Gunslinger's an achievement unlock, so you really shouldn't buy it. The most value for money item is usually going to be special keys during an event, followed by regular keys any time.

Spoiler: mandatory minisentry tirade (click to show/hide)

If minisentries lost half their health (100->50) and half their DPS they'd still be viable. In their current state, the average player fighting a gunslinger engie often needs to destroy 2-3 minisentries before they can even fight the engineer, making it one of the best aim-optional pub choices. It may be fun to play, but it really isn't fun to play against in a pub. I've sometimes seen entire teams of 12 afraid to advance at all because 2 random players of questionable skill on the other team went gunslinger engineer. With regular sentries there's at least some required consideration for positioning and supplemental skills necessary in defending it, but with a minisentry, you can experience success doing nothing but building mini after mini.

But that's not really why I hate it... there are tons of weapons that are easier to use than others, and none that are unbeatable by someone with a basic plan. What's really annoying about minisentries is that the maps aren't designed for them (and, I think, can't be designed for them). There are areas in every map that are naturally defensible and make for good sentry spots, and were (hopefully) designed with that in mind. Often one team will work to hold the spot for the engineer, while the attackers are forced to work together around the corner, even if only because they can't wander off further and find themselves near other teammates. With minisentries though, places where building a regular sentry would be incredibly dumb (due to the time required to build and their larger hitbox) are now viable, so any part of the map can be turned into a chokepoint. And, often, the result is ridiculous, with half the team stopped by what should be a weaker sentry, but isn't, because Valve just stuck with the arbitrarily high stats they entered in years ago without thinking twice. Dealing 100 damage to something that shoots back with comprable DPS to other sentries (with none of their drawbacks), has a tiny hitbox, the same long range, and is guarded by whoever's milling around this newly created chokepoint is way beyond the capabilities of the typical begibus'd player, and whole teams have a hard enough time as it is clearing sentry nests without some coordination. Don't get me wrong, anyone who knows how to deal with them can easily enough, but can they simultaneously also deal with the enemy players around it, and kill the engineer before he builds another in 3 seconds? Even as scout, it's easy enough to run right a mini and hit it twice with the scattergun, but you'll take 100 damage yourself and now have to fight the engineer with that handicap, while they even get a health bonus!

Obviously they vary in insanity from map to map, but it's one of those things would just be so much more fun to play against if they made even minor changes. I think people only tolerate them because they've been in the game so long, much like how annoying the dead ringer is (and how surprising/refreshing it was to finally see a minor nerf). I've heard of some servers removing them, but I have a hard enough time just finding a populated no random crit server running real maps, let alone balance tweaks.

[EnigmaticHat]

Yeah, people who use mini-sentries are basically TF2 satan.

Before they came out, there was all sorts of fun shit you could do because the game required situation awareness.  Now doesn't matter how ninja you are as scout, if you don't have a soldier helping you, you aren't going to be able to get kills within the radius of the mini-sentry.  Just like, period.  No point in trying.  True of normal sentries, but getting one of those up is actually somewhat challenging.

What it really needs is to not turn beyond its 90 degree ark.  Tiny gun, tiny area denial.

[Egan_BW]

What it really needs is to not turn beyond its 90 degree ark.  Tiny gun, tiny area denial.

I like this idea.