While Team Fortress Classic has nowhere near as much characterization as its sequel, there is still enough to warrant a page explaining the Player Party of the game.
The Scout (Greg):
Identifiable via his camouflage suit, boots, gloves, radio cap and visor, the Scout is the Fragile Speedster of the team, able to move at awesome speed via his enhanced running, bunnyhopping and Concussion Jumps. While he may not be the most durable of the mercs, he compensates by his unique ability to instantly locate the flag on any CTF map with the push of a button, can disable a Spy's disguise or a Demoman's Detpack at a touch, and can use unique Caltrops and Concussion Grenades to hamper and slow a enemy. However, he is mainly built for flag running and as such all his weapons are built around self-defense if necessary and are more annoying than threatening, so a Scout's main purpose to rush past a enemy defense and bag the flag rather than partaking in a charge.
Armed with: Crowbar (a Joke Weapon that should be disregarded, although the Scout can use it a bit more effectively with his speed), Single-Barrel Shotgun (good damage and effective at long-range, but not powerful to kill most enemies who aren't badly wounded and need to be finished off), Nailgun (Only useful if you're good at circle-strafing, where it can quickly tear most enemies to pieces, or if used against a Sentry Gun), Caltrops (cuts a enemy's speed in half and deals a little damage when dropped on the floor), Concussion Grenades (can be used to send you flying into the air or to disorientate a enemy pursuing you, or can be used to simply annoy enemies by dropping one into their spawn)
- Cherry Tapping: His main method of attacking if he's not finishing off an enemy already injured by a teammate.
- Cut the Fuse: He can disable an enemy Demoman's Detpack by just touching it.
- Designated Point Man: His speed makes him the best first choice to, well, scout the enemy lines for the team.
- Fragile Speedster: Even more so than his Team Fortress 2 successor.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Interface Screw: Via his Concussion Grenades, which can mess with the other player's movement or aim, depending on the version.
- Lethal Joke Character: In the hands of an inexperienced player, he is next to useless, as his weak weapons and fragility put him at a major disadvantage that his speed can't compensate for. However, if you learn how to use to circle-strafe and use Concussion Grenades, he can be a damn useful flag runner and offensive support.
- Nail 'Em: Via his Nailgun, which can be pretty effective at taking off a bit of a enemy's health via circle-strafing, although attempting to kill a enemy by yourself with this weapon isn't recommended.
- Ranged Emergency Weapon: His Single-Barrel Shotgun, his strongest weapon (for comparison's sake, the Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy and Medic only have it as a backup weapon).
- You Don't Look Like You: In the Team Fortress 2 comics, he's depicted with a mustache his TFC model doesn't have, even when depicted as his younger self.
The Sniper (Virgil)
Identifiable via his desert camouflage suit, grass camouflage headgear, colored stripes and boots, the Sniper is the one class you never want to be in the sights of. His legendary Sniper Rifle is capable of headshotting and charging up for strong bodyshots, both of which can be a One-Hit Kill to even the Heavy with a Medic backing him up. However, he is weak at close range and has little power in a direct firefight, so he should always try to stay away from close combat as he has a huge advantage over all other classes from a distance, assisting his team by taking down enemies from afar and dealing with key targets.
Armed with: Crowbar (a Joke Weapon that should be disregarded), Sniper Rifle (the Sniper's bread and butter, and what you will have to become one with to be a effective Sniper), Automatic Rifle (can be pulled out to deal with an ambusher with its high rate of fire and decent damage but uses the same ammo as the Sniper Rifle), Nailgun (Only useful if you're out of rifle bullets or are trying to conserve them), Hand Grenade (useful to taking down an enemy Scout or Spy trying to kill you or as a distraction against a stronger enemy while you run)
- Boom, Headshot!: The ability to zoom in with his sniper rifle makes this his speciality.
- The Bus Came Back: His Sniper Rifle is an available weapon in Team Fortress 2 as the Classic.
- Charged Attack: The Sniper Rifle does this. Hold it down long enough, and a simple bodyshot will suffice to One-Hit Kill nearly all targets.
- Crosshair Aware: If his Sniper Rifle's dot dances over your vision, you will explode into a pile of giblets unless you move FAST.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: While charging his rifle.
- Grenade Spam: Since he's the only class (barring the Civilian) to have only one type of grenade, it's inevitable for a Sniper player to spam their grenades to deal with enemies.
- Glass Cannon: Can potentially One-Hit Kill any enemy with his Sniper Rifle, but has low health and weak armour.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Laser Sight: The Sniper Rifle uses this in place of crosshairs. Just like in Team Fortress 2 (and real life), the laser itself is invisible — all that can be seen is the dot of light on walls, or unfortunate teammates.
- Ranged Emergency Weapon: The Automatic Rifle, which uses up sniper ammo and is primarily meant to damage an ambusher while getting away. The Nailgun can also become this if you're trying to conserve rifle bullets by using it to kill a Scout or Spy.
- Sniper Duel: A given considering that one of the Sniper's main jobs is to kill the enemy team's Snipers who are giving his teammates trouble.
The Soldier (Ross)
Identifiable via his combat fatigue suit, armored vest, military helmet, and camouflage face paint, the Soldier is capable of spearheading the attack on enemy territory, using his trusty Rocket Launcher to take out any obstacle, big or small, that might stand in his path. His Nail Grenades enable him to hold down any area, preventing enemies from entering without suffering constant damage, and he is strong and durable enough to take down even the toughest enemies with his powerful weaponry and legendary Rocket Jump. However, he's not only pretty slow, but he's also a Jack of All Stats, with nothing he beats his teammates in (The Scout, Pyro, Medic and Spy are faster whereas the Demoman, Heavy, Engineer and Sniper can deal more damage), so he must learn to adapt and utilize his enemies' strengths and weaknesses to his advantage.
Armed with: Crowbar (a Joke Weapon that should be disregarded), Single-Barrel Shotgun (An Emergency Weapon that should only be used to conserve Shells on a weakened enemy), Double-Barrel Shotgun (makes a great sidearm to your Rocket Launcher due to its decent accuracy, good damage and having plentiful ammo), Rocket Launcher (Very powerful and accurate at long range, but has a slow projectile speed and slow reload speed), Hand Grenade (Useful to dealing with a enemy who can dodge your rockets), Nail Grenade (spews nails everywhere before exploding, shredding apart any enemy before killing them with the final blast)
- Achilles' Heel: His biggest concern is keeping his rocket launcher loaded, since it only has a capacity of four rockets and takes an excruciatingly long time to reload.
- Bullet Hell: His Nail Grenades induce this by firing nails everywhere.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Jack of All Stats: While he lacks many exploitable weaknesses, he is not the best at anything really - the Scout and Medic can move faster without the need of the Rocket Jump, the Demoman and Heavy can deal more upfront damage in a firefight, the Pyro and Spy are better at area control with their Grenades, and the Engineer and Sniper can be better defenders.
- Nail 'Em: Via his Nail Grenades.
- Rocket Jump: Coming off the heels of the Trope Namer Ur-Example from Quake, it's obvious that he has access to this ability.
- Splash Damage: His primary weapon of crowd control.
- Unorthodox Reload: His rocket launcher is the same single-shot launcher that Gordon Freeman uses, but with a four-rocket clip — Soldier just plays the reload animation four times, inexplicably stacking four rockets on top of each other.
The Demoman (also named Greg)
Identifiable via his riot helmet with a lowered visor, armoured jacket and knee pads, the Demoman is the master of explosives. While he is a little slower than other classes, he more than makes up for it with his incredibly deadly and powerful Grenade Launcher and Pipebomb Launcher, which are useful for fights with enemies in close quarters and setting up deadly traps respectively. He is also capable of planting a Detpack, an extremely powerful explosive that can open up alternate routes on certain maps for those who closely observe their surroundings (and instantly kills anyone within the blast radius). However, not only does he lack serious armour and thus be more at risk than a stronger class like a Soldier or Pyro, but his weapons are also inaccurate and require practice to master, requiring him to plan his attacks and make sure he deals with enemies breaking in.
Armed with: Crowbar (a Joke Weapon that should be disregarded), Single-Barrel Shotgun (A Emergency Weapon that should only be used to deal with a weakened enemy or one who is capable of dodging his explosives), Grenade Launcher (great for taking out Sentry Guns, fighting on offense if you want to cause confusion and/or to break up defence), Pipebomb Launcher (useful for defending a area with traps or bouncing at enemies when attacking), Hand Grenade (use mainly when you have run out of MIRV grenades), MIRV Grenade (explodes and releases a cluster of smaller bomblets which all explode after three seconds)
- Big, Bulky Bomb: His Detpack is an explosive device (a modified backpack in the original Quake mod) that can be set up to cause large explosion.
- Demolitions Expert: He is equipped with a Grenade Launcher, Pipebomb Launcher, two different grenades, and is capable of arming and detonating a Detpack.
- Eyepatch of Power: His old model
◊ has one (Hilarious In Hindsight, eh, ya git?). His revamped model◊ replaces this with a visor. - Glass Cannon: While he has more health and armour than the Scout, Sniper, Medic, Spy and Engineer, he can still be easily brought down by a barrage of attacks or a grenade or two. That is, if a enemy can get past his massively damaging explosives.
- Grenade Spam: Even more so than the other mercs, since nearly all of his weapons rely upon grenades.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Made of Explodium: The MIRV grenade. It's a grenade that first causes a massive explosion, then splits into six normal grenades.
- Ranged Emergency Weapon: His Single-Barrel Shotgun, which should only be used against opponents that you know you won't be able to hit with your explosives or if you find yourself caught with your grenade launcher unloaded. It can also be used to save grenade ammo, as weaker classes that have been hit with a grenade can then be killed by one shot.
- Rocket Jump: He can use his Pipebombs to achieve a similar effect to the Soldier's rocket launcher's knockback jumping.
- Satchel Charge: The Detpack a high-power explosive that is used in some maps to open or close one of the routes.
- Smoking Is Cool: His old model has him smoking a cigeratte.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Most of his weapons are explosion-based.
- Suspiciously Cracked Wall: If you see one of these, put your Detpack there - nine out of ten times, you'll make a new path there.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Utilizes a lot of grenades and explosives.
- Trap Master: He can lay down a set of Pipebombs that he can then set off at the right moment.
The Combat Medic
Identifiable via his combat helmet, balaclava, breather mask, bulletproof vest and camouflaged combat slacks, the Medic is essentially the Scout's bigger, stronger brother. His higher than average speed and decent weaponry, combined with his concussion jumping and deadly infection, make him a prolific killer, and he is even capable of instantly and completely healing a teammate at a touch with his Medkit. However, while he is pretty powerful and fast, he can be easily outclassed and brought down by the other classes, enforcing his role as the team's main source of healing and curing of infection while assisting his team's fighters in bringing down enemies.
Armed with: Medkit (a melee weapon that heals teammates and infects enemies), Single-Barrel Shotgun (A Emergency Weapon that should only be used to fight a enemy from a distance), Double-Barrel Shotgun (the go-to weapon in order to fight enemies, with good damage and decent accuracy), Super Nailgun (basically a stronger Nail Gun - still often not enough to actually kill enemies, but very effective against Sentry Guns), Hand Grenade (can be useful to bring down a crowded cluster of enemies), Concussion Grenades (used for concussion jumping all over the place, or in rarer circumstances, disorientating a chasing enemy)
- BFG: The Super Nailgun, although it pails in comparison to the Heavy's Assault Cannon.
- Bio-Augmentation: Via his Medkit, which can heal any wound and even give a teammate a extra 50 or so health points.
- Combat Medic: Emphasis on the "combat".
- Cool Mask: So cool in fact that it was added into Team Fortress 2 as the Berlin Brain Bowl.
- Damage Over Time: Is capable of inducing this through his deadly Medkit, infecting a enemy. Being infected is like being on fire, except there's higher DPS, it spreads to teammates, and it can never, ever be put out, except by an allied Medic (or death).
- Deadly Doctor: He's a medic, but is just as capable of killing as any of the other classes.
- Gas Mask Mooks: Enemy Medics, since their updated models◊ feature gas masks (the original model◊ simply had him in a surgical mask). Friendly Medic are a case of Cool Mask, as stated above.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Idle Animation: If you hold out the Medkit for a while, he'll start pushing buttons on it.
- Interface Screw: Via his Concussion Grenades, which interferes how other players move or aim, depending on the version.
- More Dakka: The Super Nailgun, which is basically a Tommy Gun with Bottomless Magazines. That shoots nails.
- The Plague: Via his Medkit, which can infect enemies with a disease that slowly drains away their health. Enjoy your AIDS!
The Heavy Weapons Guy
Identifiable via his bandana, glowing orange goggles, utility gear and vest, the Heavy Weapons Guy, more commonly known as the Heavy, is the leader of any charge. With his huge amount of health, armour and DPS, the Heavy can tear apart the enemy team in seconds with his ridiculously powerful Assault Cannon and take many hits before needing to locate a Medic or Engineer for health and armour, making him the ideal shock trooper. However, not only is he the slowest of the gang, but due to his slow speed and large size, many enemies, Snipers and Spies especially, will be able to lock onto him with ease, facilitating the need for him to partner up with his team to work as a effective defender and assistant to the Soldier and Medic on offense.
Armed with: Crowbar (a Joke Weapon that should be disregarded), Single-Barrel Shotgun (should only be used to fight a enemy from a very long range), Double-Barrel Shotgun (whip this out if you're in a situation where you need mobility, like if a Spy is trying to Back Stab you), Assault Cannon (has a wack damage-per-second and rate of fire, but slows you down even more and chews up ammo like there's no tomorrow), Hand Grenade (useful if you don't have a MIRV Grenade on you), MIRV Grenade (good for dealing with a Sentry Gun from a distance)
- BFG: His trademark Assault Cannon is a huge minigun.
- The Big Guy: The largest class with the most health and armor.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: When spinning his Assault Cannon, his already unimpressive speed is reduced to a snail's pace.
- Heroic Build: He's as ripped as the game's primitive graphics can showcase.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- More Dakka: His role is to plow through enemies with his Assault Cannon.
- Mighty Glacier: Highest health, armour and damage, lowest speed.
- Sixth Ranger: He was the first new class added to the game, only a few weeks into the newborn Team Fortress's life. He's also a literal case of this since he joined the already existing Scout, Sniper, Soldier, Demoman and Medic.
- Universal Ammo: The only class to follow this, as all his weapons (Single-Barrel Shotgun, Double-Barrel Shotgun and Assault Cannon) use Shells, with the Assault Cannon being capable of using up all 200 Shells he can carry in 20 seconds.
- You Don't Look Like You: The TF 2 Comics depict him with prominent sideburns his in-game model lacks.
The Pyromaniac (Beatrice)
Identifiable via her flame-resistant hazard suit, gas mask, opaque face-plate, and large fuel tanks on her back, the Pyro is the queen of divide-and-conquer. Focused on igniting enemies by any means necessary, she is most notable for her Napalm Grenades which, if they don't kill a enemy in a matter of seconds, ignites them and takes off a good chunk of their health, forcing them to find a Medic in a hurry, and her Incendiary Cannon, which functions like the Soldier's rocket launcher but deals less damage in exchange for igniting the impact zone. However, she isn't very skilled at dealing upfront damage, so she should focus on assisting her team by distracting and weakening enemies with her fiery repertoire.
Armed with: Crowbar (a Joke Weapon that should be disregarded), Single-Barrel Shotgun (Very good for fighting at long range or finishing off a enemy wounded by your Napalm Grenades), Flamethrower (Don't bother), Incendiary Cannon (Essentially a weaker Rocket Launcher that sets the impact site alight), Hand Grenade (Useful for taking down a single enemy or dealing with a crowd), Napalm Grenade (Can deal good damage, leaves a burning cloud that lasts a while, and ignites a enemy for a easier kill)
- BFG: The Napalm Cannon, which shares a model with the Rocket Launcher.
- Cherry Tapping: Actually killing someone with the Flamethrower qualifies — it deals 8 damage per hit, when even the Scout has 75 health.
- Damage Over Time: The fire damage from her flamethrower makes this her main shtick.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: The flamethrower, but its short range and poor damage makes it a very poor weapon to use.
- Gas Mask Mooks: Enemy Pyros have this as their new model◊ (the original◊ simply had her in a hood and visor). Friendly Pyros are aversions.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: She's canonically female, but due to that being established years after the game's release, her in-game voice is the same masculine voice the other classes have.
- Hazmat Suit: Team Fortress Classic first had the Pyro in a proper hazard suit, in contrast to the Quake mod version's flame-pattern uniform and sunglasses, and are immune to the secondary damage of enemy Pyros.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of her teammates, she only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Idle Animation: Like the Medic with his Medkit, her hands will fiddle with the Incendiary Cannon or Flamethrower if held for too long (coincidentally, these are also the only three held weapons with Damage Over Time).
- Interface Screw: Being set on fire will have the 2D sprite flames cover your screen if you are moving slowly or standing still.
- Kill It with Fire: Her modus operendi. Though since the flamethrower is so underpowered it would be an achievement to actually kill something with it.
- Ranged Emergency Weapon: The Single-Barrel Shotgun - if you're actually trying to kill someone from a distance, the Incendiary Cannon is a better option.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: She has a red visor regardless of whether or not she's on the Red team or Blue team (or Green or Yellow, if the server has them). Shortly after seeing it, you are most likely set on fire.
- Samus Is a Girl: Her name's Beatrice. Yes, really.
- Sixth Ranger: She was the last of the original seven classes to be added to the original Team Fortress - the Spy, Engineer and Civilian weren't added until the 1998 revision.
- The Smurfette Principle: Is the only female character in the game.
- Video Game Flamethrowers Suck: Her Flamethrower is infamous for how horribly underpowered it is - it's slow, has horrible reach, and the lingering flames deal a whopping eight damage, even compared to the Scout's 75 health.
- Vocal Dissonance: She has the same masculine voice as the other mercs. It's most likely Valve made a Retcon on Classic Pyro's gender.
The Spy:
Identifiable via his camouflage suit, balaclava and laser headset, the Spy is the thinking man's class and everyone else's worst nightmare. He is able to disguise himself as any other player on the field and feign his own death, enabling him to instill paranoia in the enemy and keep them distracted before he goes in for a Back Stab, which is a One-Hit Kill against any enemy in the game. While he is armed with some weapons and armor to defend himself if discovered, he is not built for fighting and so must rely upon stealth and deception to assist his team by eliminating critical threats and taking down Engineer buildings.
Armed with: Knife (a One-Hit Kill if it lands in the back, otherwise functions as a stronger Crowbar), Tranquilizer Gun (can slow down a enemy, but deals so little damage and is so slow that it should only be used to slow down a pursuer or secure a backstab - if you get a kill with it, the victim will Never Live It Down), Double-Barrel Shotgun (Emergency Weapon to fight for your life in case you get spotted), Nailgun (Can be used to distract and confuse a enemy, but not of much use for killing), Hand Grenade (Useful for destroying a Sentry Gun or taking down a enemy, since you can throw without losing your disguise), Hallucination Grenade (makes a enemy see and hear things that aren't there, such as grenades or flames, and can be a pain to deal with)
- Ascended Glitch: The idea for him originally comes from a glitch in the original Team Fortress where players would spawn with the wrong colors.
- Back Stab: Trope Namer. His Team Fortress 2 successor is the Trope Codifier.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Interface Screw: Via his Tranquilizer Gun (which slows down enemy players) and Hallucination Grenades (which makes players hallucinate things such as explosions and grenades.)
- Master of Disguise: Can disguise himself as any of the other classes.
- Mistaken for Spies: A given considering that both teams cannot see who he truly is when disguised - his disguise appears the same to all of them. Some server mods manage to avert this by letting his team know that he is a friendly Spy.
- Ninja: Both his models have a minor ninja theme to them, befitting his stealthy nature.
- Playing Possum: Via Feign Death. It's rarely ever useful, since most players get paranoid while dealing with a Spy and will tend to resort to Beating A Dead Player.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: If he needs to fight for his life, the Double-Barrel Shotgun is his go-to weapon.
- Sixth Ranger: He wasn't added to Team Fortress until the 1998 revision.
The Engineer (Fred Conagher):
Identifiable via his hardhat, overalls, body armor, work shirt and work gloves, the Engineer can fortify his base with the all-powerful Sentry Gun, supply other defenders with ammunition and armor via the Dispenser, or use his Teleporters to quickly transport his allies across their base or even to the enemy's fortress. In addition to these incredible structures, he is also notable for his deadly EMP Grenades, which in most circumstances can be a One-Hit Kill via detonating a enemy's entire ammo repertoire. However, his low health and armor prevent him from being a true offensive powerhouse and land him neatly in the defensive category.
Armed with: Wrench (can repair buildings and a teammate's armor at the cost of metal, and can also be used as a Joke Weapon like the Crowbar), Railgun (not very powerful and has a terrible rate of fire, but quite effective if fighting from a distance and has a unique ammo supply), Double-Barrel Shotgun (useful for self-defense if caught away from your sentry or if you need to kill an enemy trying to mess up your buildings), Hand Grenade (should only be used if you're out of EMP Grenades, as they're less powerful and not as ranged), EMP Grenades (a One-Hit Kill if you know how to use it properly)
- Drone Deployer: He is capable of building Sentry Guns.
- Gonk: His original model◊ was ugly even compared to the other low-polygon models of the other mercs. His updated model◊ is significantly easier on the eyes, though.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Percussive Maintenance: Much like his successor, he fixes and upgrades his equipment by smashing it repeatedly with his wrench.
- Ranged Emergency Weapon: The Railgun, which is useful for fighting from a distance but near useless at any other range.
- Shock and Awe: His EMP Grenades.
- Sixth Ranger: The final merc to be added to the game in the 1998 revision.
- Smoking Is Cool: He is the only class to have a cigarette in his mouth on both his models (the Demoman's original model had one, but it was removed when the models were updated).
- Teleporters and Transporters: He can build teleporters which can transport teammate to one area to another.
- The Turret Master: His Sentry Guns is his primary way of dealing damage and defending the base.
- You Require More Vespene Gas: His metal supply, which is required for repair and upgrading his Sentry.
The Civilian:
Identifiable by his mustache, purple suit and weight, the Civilian is a man with a price on his head and a target on his back. To protect himself, he has hired one team of the mercs to protect him against the other team, who have been paid to assassinate him, as he tries to get to the safety of a evacuation truck. The Civilian himself is incredibly weak and near-defenseless, requiring the other players to make sure to guard him as he darts from place to place, desperately trying to get to the safety of his truck.
Armed with: Umbrella (useful if it rains)
- Escort Mission: One team has to lead him safely to an evacuation truck before the other team can assassinate him.
- Heroic Mime: Like the rest of his teammates, he only ever says "Medic!" and "Excuse me, I'm in need of medical attention!", as well as a few grunts.
- Joke Character: Unlike the Scout, he can't become a Lethal Joke Character in the right hands, and his only purpose is to be escorted.
- Oh, Crap!: He's the only character to have a facial expression beside calm and/or focused, and he's got a perpetual expression of this. Entirely justified by his situation.
- The Load: Literally his only purpose is to be carefully escorted around the map by his team, as he has no armor, almost no health, no grenades, only a melee weapon and isn't very fast.
