Home Strategy Tactical Tuesdays and Thursdays – WindPower’s Gunslinger Antics

Starting today, Top Tier Tactics will be kicking off its first regular feature:

Tactical Tuesdays and Thursdays

Every Tuesday and Thursday, T3 will highlight videos and articles from the darkest recesses of the ‘net, exposing the most devious, well-executed tactics and strategies out there. From bunny-hopping hilarity to all-in SCV rushes, if it works and it’s entertaining, you should see it.

While I originally planned to spend 90-300 hours a week mastering every game in existence and composing guides for them, I ultimately decided my time is best spent curing diseases and/or nitpicking the work of others. Realistically, I’m terrible at most games that don’t involve hats (yes, they exist), and there’s only so much to be said when arguing the benefits/risks of assorted headwear.

But when it comes to game-winning maneuvers, there are so many other geniuses out there, many of whom simply don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Tactical Tuesdays and Thursdays is about answering questions with elusive answers. How do I beat Puzzle Quest on Hard difficulty? What’s the best way to hit tanks with bombs in Battlefield 1943? How the fuck do you win anything with Makoto, ever?

Yesterday I talked about the invaluable tactical applications of the Engineer’s Gunslinger unlock. With semi-credible logic, I established the strategic, humorous, and potentially moral superiority this device bestows upon its wielder. If only there was an easy way to illustrate my ingenious points…

But, little did I know: one of the article’s commenters would be WindPower, a talented Ninjaneer and video editor.

I’d like to kick off the first iteration of Tactical Thursday with WindPower’s two-part Gunslinger guide:

For the time being, I’ll ignore the fact that WindPower is about twelve times better at video composition than I am. After all, there’s not much I can do about that other than track him down and slash his car’s tires. But there’s more to say than that…

I think what WindPower really captures well in both videos is how useful the Mini-Sentry is as an instant deterrent, distraction, and adorable death-dealing doohickey. Of note is the fact that he never bypasses an opportunity to lay down a Mini-Sentry. While the old, boring Sentries required thought, care, and time to use to their full potential, Mini-Sentries are much more valuable when they’re constantly popping up unexpectedly and pestering foes.

Additionally (and to my preference as seen in my Spy Videos), I appreciate that WindPower shows his successes and failures. Too often are “strategy” videos online merely a compilation of kills from which little application can be gleaned. For every failed attempt, after all, there’s a lesson. Usually the lesson is don’t suck so much, but often there are particular pitfalls one can avoid moving forward. To that extent, this video is incredibly helpful in both the Dos and the Don’ts facets of strategy.

While I could prattle on incessantly, I’ll let WindPower’s video speak for itself.

Good job, WP, and I hope you tune in for Tactical Tuesday next week!

6 replies to this post
  1. Wow, I didn’t think you’d go as far as featuring it in an actual dedicated blog post, thanks :D

    This is actually my first TF2 montage/composition thingy. It took me a whole month to create (over the vacations), and I didn’t even have the game because I had only brought my laptop with me (not my gaming PC), so all I had to work with was the raw frames (as JPGs) from that demo. It turned out pretty good~

    I don’t believe I’m the most talented Ninjaneer out there, though. For instance, as some people pointed out (yourself included), I am using a questionable loadout in this video.
    I’m better at things like wiki editing (I’m an admin on the TF Wiki), but us Wiki folks actually do play the game sometimes, seriously! :D We also have a team for ETF2L’s Community Highlander Challenge. Should be fun~ But hey, I’m getting completely off-topic now so I should stop rambling. Thanks again for the post!

    • No problem. Thanks for making it.

      And sure, I know you’re not the *best* but if you haven’t noticed, I have a penchant for mild exaggeration.

  2. WiNG, or WindPower–any suggestions for good keybinds for combat engies? Particular fast build/fast destroy binds. What do you guys use?

  3. Awesome post WING and awesome videos Wind… I normaly used old school offensive engineering and did use the new drops somewhat ok, but after these tips I’m itching for some texas style :P (And kudos for the medic credit team.. I main medic and most people don’t recognize the medics usefulness for some reason, or rant about medics in teams >_>)

    So anyways, thanks for the post WING, for the links and videos Wind and here’s waiting for next tuesday videos(s) =D

  4. Otaku, I feel you – Medic is the one class nobody ever seems to want to play (especially in Arena) but for some reason whenever you try to play medic to alleviate the team’s healing deficiency, you become prime scapegoat for any winning deficiencies. Blows the mind.

    Also: lol stupid fall deaths, those happen to me all the time, even when I’m not trying to ninjaneer. Also, good to know about the Wrangler, though the fact you didn’t need to be right next to the sentry to use it should have been obvious to me; maybe I should give it a shot sometime, setting my love for my Engineer’s pistol (planned rename is “Bacon-saver 9000”) aside.

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