Super Monday Night Combat Starter Guide - Tips for every Pro

Defender Pros

Every team needs at least one Defender: the guys who get the most satisfaction out of scoring assists, but can snag some pretty sweet kills if underestimated. Combining the Engineer and Medic classes in TF2, theyre the primary backup for pushes into the enemy base, and excel at laying down covering fire and establishing mini-bunkers using their turrets. If youre playing as a Defender, youll often be the primary target in large fights - but you can use this to your advantage, trapping over-zealous enemies in your nest of turrets.

Support

As you mightve guessed, Supports second greatest asset to his team after healing is his Firebase turret. This deployable machine gun is equally effective at denying enemy advancement or harassing the borders of their base; just be sure you set it up at an angle where it cant be rocketed down from afar. Itll fire even faster when you activate Overclock, which has a ridiculously short cooldown at level four and reduces your other cooldowns as an added bonus. Air Strike helps you control space and provide some cover for your Enforcers, but dont target it beneath structures or itll simply detonate on the roof.

Combat Girl

Her Combat Kitty turrets are what make Combat Girl so great at locking down a position: rapid-fire turrets thatll adhere to whatever surface you throw them on. At max level, you can deploy a whopping four Combat Kitties; try to stick them on ceilings, and position them so that theyre not clumped together and will catch unsuspecting Pros in crossfire. Fortify significantly boosts their firing rate and range, and should be used whenever someones trying to clear your turret nest. The Combat Laser acts like a DragonBall Z Kamehameha, shooting a huge, scary laserbeam - line it up against bot waves or groups of Pros to do some serious damage. At level four, Combat Girl will be a force of nature at long range.

Leo

Leos skill suite is also about using your abilities at the proper time. Hes at his best when youre pushing down a lane alongside each bot wave, whittling down turrets and pressuring the enemy base. Youll want to activate Bot Code-X during huge pushes for additional bot damage, especially when a giant Jackbots barreling down a lane. Adoration of the AI mind-controls an enemy bot; at max level, you can take over the Fuji bots (giant apple-shaped baddies) for an instant kill. His Venice Defense rocket turret is best used on the frontlines, where itll boost allies armor and do wonders for keeping yourself alive.

Commando Pros

High risk, high reward is the name of the Commando game. A skilled Commando will endlessly frustrate the enemy as they get picked off one by one. An unskilled Commando will repeatedly run in, die almost immediately, and give the enemy team a sizeable advantage. To contribute successfully while playing one, youll need to be adept at knowing when to enter and exit fights, and which targets youll be able to kill before escaping as quickly as you arrived. These hit-and-run kills are made easier by some beefy close-range damage and a low-cooldown lunges performed by reloading while wielding your melee weapon. With multiple high-damage grapple moves and crowd-control debuffs, Commandos are absolutely deadly when played to their full potential.

Assassin

Her Cloak abilitys been slightly nerfed from the original MNC: Pros will still be able to see your outline, so youll only be invisible to turrets and bots, but the trade-off is that you can now score some hits without breaking your stealth. Similar to the Tank (and for that matter, other Commandos), you should prioritize the Offensive and Defensive passives over your utility skills. Mega Jump is a portable jump-pad of sorts, launching you into the air immediately to initiate or escape fights. Smoke Bomb will daze Pros and stun bots, so use it in the middle of enemy pushes to maximize the effect.

Captain Spark

Arc Flash is Captain Sparks best friend, letting him confuse enemies, ignore defensive structures, and take shortcuts all around the map. Youd be surprised how rarely lone Pros will watch their backs when theyre alone, so you can use Arc Flash to blink behind them and whittle their health before they even know whats happening. It can also teleport you through floors, so you can reach the neutral jungle area in an instant or completely escape death. Flip Switch acts a little like Veterans Ka-Claw: a throw designed to toss enemies into a group of teammates (like Singed in LoL) or hurl them off the map arena entirely. Megahurtz is a flashbang of sorts, letting you get out of a jam whenever its available. It will also make people hate you.

Wascot

Youll feel just like Spider-Man when you master Wascots Crook Hook, which shoots out a claw thatll pull Wascot to whatever it hits (sort of like a reverse version of Veterans Ka-Claw). Hitting a Pro with the Crook Hook will stun them, but you can also aim it and walls and ceilings to make quick getaways or spring up to another level on the map. Shifty Shuffle is amazing in close-quarters combat, giving you lifesteal and countering any incoming grapples with a grab of your own. Party Pooper is a fairly straightforward debuff that reduces attack speed and nullifies health regen - use it when you want to take down an Enforcer one-on-one.

Sharp Shooter Pros

These Pros are for pros only - all of their damage depends on your aim, so practice up on nailing headshots consistently. That said, a skilled Sharpshooter is a huge headache for the enemy team, who will grow to fear fighting in the open and may die before they even know whats hitting them. Youll have to get used to the fact that you wont be one-shot-killing people from across the map, but once you correctly combo these Pros abilities, youll be a map-dominating force to be reckoned with.

Sniper

Traps are your bread-and-butter, freezing enemy Pros in place so you can nail them with two or three guaranteed headshots. Lay them down whenever you can, in the highest-traffic lanes where bots will camouflage the trap. Flak is an AoE bomb thatll pepper enemies with bullets and slow them; interestingly, itll also trigger any nearby Traps, which is amazing for group fights. Lastly, Grapple will discourage Commandos from getting in your face, and has a separate cooldown from your melee grab - chain-grabbing your would-be killer feels awesome every time.

Lucas Sullivan

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them.