Team Fortress 2 is Valve’s popular FPS that paved the way for the class-based shooter genre, encapsulating other games including the likes of Overwatch. Released in October 2007, TF2 has survived with an active player base for well over a decade.
Though TF2 has received countless updates throughout the years, it has kept the same nine characters throughout its long history. Each character contains its unique set of weapons, abilities, and skills. Your favorite character will largely depend on your playstyle and preferences, but we’ve created our own list ranking each of the nine characters in TF2.
All TF2 classes, ranked
9) Pyro
Don’t get me wrong, the Pyro is one of the most fun classes in TF2, though the character’s downsides are impossible to ignore. The most glaring issue with the character is their short rage. The flamethrower will incinerate any enemy in your immediate area, but at distance your only tool is a miniscule flare gun.
For maps with tight areas and chokepoints, the Pyro can certainly work in your favor. For most maps, however, you will likely struggle against other characters with much better ranged options.
8) Sniper
The Sniper has a very high skill ceiling. If you are good at hitting headshots, then the Sniper is your character. There are even plenty of builds, such as the Sydney Sleeper and Machina, that are even built around body shots. However, your team likely won’t need more than one sniper.
Though the Sniper is great for dispatching enemies with minimal effort, the relative lack of utility whenever compared to other classes makes the character rather one-dimensional. Given the character’s vulnerability to Spies, Snipers need plenty of support to be effective.
7) Spy
Similar to the Sniper, the Spy has an incredible ability to hinder the enemy team, though this takes extensive knowledge of the character. The Frenchman has abilities with very specific uses. With cloaking devices and a one-hit kill backstab, this character can quickly create chaos.
The Spy matches up well particularly against the Engineer and Sniper, though other classes will be able to mow through this character with ease. If you aren’t skilled at acting inconspicuous, you might want to pick another character.
6) Engineer
The Engineer is almost entirely restrained to defense, but he is one of the best defensive characters in TF2. His teleporters provide an immense benefit to the entire team, quickly transporting players to the front lines. Fully upgraded sentry guns are almost like having another character on your team, quickly dispatching anyone that steps in range.
Related: Can you play Team Fortress 2 on Steam Deck?
Aside from the sentry and teleports however, the Engineer’s kit is relatively limited damage-wise. Instead, you will need to focus on upkeeping your sentry, dispenser, and teleporters and fending off spies.
5) Demoman
The Demoman is a highly mobile defensive character that has a wide variety of viable playstyles. An explosive specialist, the Demoman provides one of the best sources of damage in TF2.
The character also contains an entire melee option that I think is one of the most fun builds in the game. Whether sticky jumping, charging, or simply unloading tons of explosives, the Scottish explosives expert is certainly a class to pick up if you like dealing a lot of damage.
4) Heavy
Certainly the most iconic member of the TF2 cast, the Heavy is a machine gun toting behemoth on the battlefield. The character’s heavy firepower is somewhat offset by his lack of mobility. But whenever paired with a Medic and set up in an advantageous position, the Heavy can rain bullets on the enemy team, either trapping them in spawn or single-handedly defending an entire objective.
Again, the Heavy is fairly dependent on having an equally competent Medic as a support. The Heavy’s mini-gun, Sasha, is his best tool, however the shotgun and brass knuckles can useful whenever you run out of ammo.
3) Medic
Whether or not your are a typical support class player will determine how much you enjoy playing the Medic, but the character’s contribution to the team simply cannot be overstated. Every team needs a Medic player. Not only does the character’s primary weapon heal up your injured allies back to full health, but the Ubercharge will grant fellow players invincibility and increased critical strike chance for a brief moment.
The Medic pairs particularly well with high-damage classes such as the Heavy, Demoman, or Soldier. The Medic should provide support to their entire team, and pairing up with one of these classes quickly creates a force to be reckoned with.
2) Soldier
The Soldier is the most versatile character in the game. Though particularly effective on offense, the Soldier’s patented rocket launcher gives a wide array of damage options. Different builds promote splash damage, direct hits, or even strictly shotgun approaches.
The Soldier is also a deceptively mobile character. Though not as fast as the Scout, the rocket jump is an invaluable tool for traversing the battlefield and providing a “death from above” approach. Despite costing your character some health, the rocket jump alone is an essential staple of TF2.
1) Scout
The Scout is the fastest character in TF2. Along with the double-jump which allows the Scout routes unavailable to every other character in TF2, the character has an incredibly fast base running speed. The Scout also counts as two players while on Control points, making the Scout almost essential in attack/defense or other related objective game modes.
Comparatively, the class has significantly lower health and deals less damage per hit. As a fast, run-and-gun character however, you should never stick around too long to feel the repercussions. The Scout’s ability to get around enemies and quickly progress objectives alone earns him the top spot on our TF2 character ranking.
