Teleporters
Teleporters are a type of building that can be constructed by an Engineer using the PDA: Teleporter. While non-functional individually, the construction of both a Teleporter Entrance and a Teleporter Exit activates the buildings and allows players of the same team to teleport between the two. When active, both the Teleporter Entrance and Exit emit a circular glow of their team's color.
The Teleporter Entrance allows for unidirectional teleportation to the Exit. A player of the same team must stand still on the Teleporter for a short time before being teleported, arriving with team-colored particles that persist and leave a short trail behind them as they move. Once a player uses the Teleporter, the building must recharge for a short period before another player can use it. If multiple teammates or the Engineer stand on the Teleporter Entrance at the same time, the player who stepped onto the Teleporter Entrance first will be teleported first, like first-in-first-out queue.
The Teleporter is often a core component to a successful team, as it allows players to reach the frontline quickly and skip long traversals across the map. The Teleporter can allow for a faster flow of players into the fray or bring teammates to more advantageous positions, so they are also an important target to pursue. A shrewd Engineer can also use the Teleporter to influence teammates through a particular route of the map.
Functionality
Placement
Both the Teleporter Entrance and Exit require 50 metal to build. While carrying and placing Teleporter ends, the Teleporter Entrance blueprint shows a large yellow arrow pointing down to the Entrance while the Teleporter Exit blueprint shows a similar arrow pointing up from the Exit. These are to make each end visually distinct from each other while placing.
The Exit blueprint has an arrow labeled "Exit Direction". This arrow indicates the direction the exiting teammates face when they arrive at the Exit. By default, this arrow points away from the placing Engineer. However, the Teleporter Exit can be rotated by clicking the Engineer's secondary attack button (default key: MOUSE2) before placing the building, with the blueprint arrow rotating to indicate the changing exit direction. The Teleporter Entrance can be rotated, too, although this has no effect on gameplay.
A Teleporter cannot be placed on an objective, such as the control point.
Construction
Once placed, the end goes through a construction animation during which the building's health increases, reaching completion at 150 health. When completed, a Teleporter Entrance is instantly charged and ready for teleportation if there is an Exit available and constructed, but subsequent recharges take ten seconds (or faster as the Teleporter's level is upgraded).
Upgrading
Once an Entrance and Exit pair is completed, the Teleporter can be upgraded by any friendly Engineer, using 200 metal to upgrade the set to Level 2, and an additional 200 to upgrade to Level 3. Upgrading a Teleporter decreases the Entrance's recharge time by approximately half each level. Upgrading also further increases the set's health (to 180 and 216).
Upgrading one end of the Teleporter automatically upgrades the other end. However, if one end is destroyed, the remaining end reverts to Level 1. Although the model itself does not change when upgraded, the particles surrounding the Teleporter become faster and more intense, and the sounds it makes increases in pitch and volume. Higher level Teleporters can be heard from farther away and the number of beeps each Teleporter makes indicates the upgrade level.
Operation
A charging Teleporter spins with increasing speed until completely recharged. Once recharged, any one teammate (or enemy Spy) standing on or stepping onto the Entrance is immediately teleported to the Exit. The Teleporter then automatically begins recharging.
Players who have recently teleported are surrounded by a distinctive, team-colored glow for eighteen seconds after teleporting. This effect can reveal a Teleporter location to the enemy. The effect is visible to the player when looking at their feet. spies who are disguised or cloaked are not affected by this.
Players cannot normally use the enemy team's Teleporters. However, Spies can use enemy Teleporters, even while cloaked or undisguised.
Standing on a Teleporter Exit when it is used by an enemy (whether it is an enemy Exit or a friendly Exit used by an enemy Spy) results in a fatal telefrag.
Players who are carrying the Intelligence cannot use a Teleporter.
Destruction
Teleporters are destroyed when accumulated damage received by either end reduces the Teleporter health to zero. Destroyed Teleporters leave 48 metal worth of scrap on the ground (24 metal at each end), which can be collected by teammates for metal and/or ammo.
Sapping
If a Spy places a Sapper on one end, another Sapper is automatically placed on the other end, if it exists. In turn, any team Engineer can remove both Sappers by destroying the Sapper on either Teleporter. Team Engineers may then proceed to repair either or both ends of the Teleporter system by using his Wrench. However, since the Spy can place an infinite number of Sappers on either the Entrance or the Exit of the Teleporter, an Engineer may not be able to fully repair the Teleporter system before another Sapper is placed upon it. This results in the entire system being destroyed unless the Spy is disposed of.
The Spy can use the Teleporter of opposing teams. Placing a Sapper on either the Teleporter Entrance or Exit will place a Sapper on both the Entrance and Exit.
Telefrag
- Main article: Telefrag (Official Team Fortress Wiki)
A telefrag is a type of death that occurs if a player is too close to a Teleporter exit as an enemy player uses it. Any players that occupy the same space as the teleporting enemy are instantly killed and the teleport completes successfully. Multiple players can be telefragged at once if they are all inside the teleporting player's bounding box.
Telefrags are indicated with the unique kill icon, with the person teleporting being credited with the damage and the kill; since telefrags are relatively rare and there are almost no signs as to one having taken place, many of them go unnoticed by bystanders (although bilaterally-unexpected telefrags are likely to be humorously noted).
There are only two known ways for a telefrag to occur:
- A player is too close to an enemy Teleporter exit as an enemy uses it, and
- A player is too close to a friendly Teleporter exit as an enemy Spy uses it
It is not possible to telefrag allies even when friendly fire is enabled. Players can be telefragged even if they are ÜberCharged or under any other damage-reducing effect.
A particularly devious Spy strategy involves sapping an Engineer's teleporter entrance and then standing on it. If the Engineer is careless and is standing too close to the exit while removing the Sapper, the Spy will instantly teleport the moment the Sapper is removed, telefragging the Engineer and allowing the Spy to sap the Engineer's remaining buildings at his leisure. This tactic can also work in reverse; careless Spies sapping an exit may wind up being telefragged by an Engineer repairing the entrance. Similarly, Engineers can place their Teleporters at chokepoints and telefrag enemies as they walk over.
Update history
- Active Teleporters now emit a heal particle when they get repaired from the other end and also emit spark particles when the other end gets damaged
Gallery
PDA: Teleporter backpack icon
Telefrag kill icon