Slender Fortress is a recent modifcation for Team Fortress 2, created by Kit o' Rifty and running since February 8th, 2013. It is availible on the following servers (as of now) :

U.S :

Lunar Republic Gaming: Slender Fortress - 198.12.122.131:27015
Lunar Republic Gaming: Slender Fortress (2) - 198.12.122.136:27015

Europe :

[EU] TF2 Outpost | Glubbable's Slender Fortress! - 188.165.198.6:27026

In this mod, 8 players are transfered in the RED Team, while the others players stay in the BLU Team, fighting against eachother or waiting for a chance to become a proxy. The mod uses a point queue system to choose which players get to play (rather similar to Versus Saxton Hale)

As the name obviously implies, these 8 players are thrown into a maze and forced to find 8 pages (or equivalent thereof) while avoiding the boss (Slender, or equivalent thereof) and the proxies (BLU players teleported into the arena to damage the RED Team, number based on difficulty. Certain servers removed this feature as of the latest version of the mod)

Any class can be chosen while on RED, and all classes have a few bonuses (the boss will un-prioritize you, you can sprint longer, your flashlight holds longer) and drawbacks (you will resist few hits and be more affected by interface screw, the boss will prioritize you, etc...). RED players are locked with their melee weapon of choice and no utilities, and have access to a few abilities to help them out (seen below)

BLU players do not matter in the resolution of the round. They may otherwise wait around or spectate the RED players by using a special command (!slghost)

The RED Team is the "participants" team. From the start they are thrown into the arena at a pre-defined location (generally in a corner of the map, or near to the escape zone). While they may face proxies in older versions of the mod (BLU players with melee weapons and a damage reduction), the most dangerous threat they will encounter is undoubtabely the boss(es)

The main objective of the game is to pick up all the pages (or any placeholder item) that have been scattered randomly around the map and then find the escape zone within a set time period. The main difficulty of this mod resides in some obvious questions : Split up or stay together ? Rush it or go quiet ? Kite (lure) the boss or avoid him at all costs ? Most of these depend on the boss, and sometimes the map

The RED Team is stripped of all ranged and utility weaponry and limited to their melee weapon, they however get a few special abilities to help them survive the encounter with the boss :

(B)link (Reload) : While not an ability by itself (you can force yourself to blink if you need to), this meter is particularly important in most situations, and double so when fighting some special bosses (mainly SCP-173 and the Weeping Angels). It will short out in short intervals and force you to blink, causing your screen to black you for about half of a second

While playing against any boss other than SCP-173 or the Weeping Angels, this matters very little apart from the temporary blindness you will experience (none of the teleporting bosses to my knowledge are allowed to move in front of you when you blink). If you are fighting these two however, by all means do not blink when directly confrontated with them. You may disegard this tip if there are at least 2 other teammates looking at the boss (since it can only move when no-one watches), but unless you have already moved behind a solid wall you will be killed on the spot

Melee attack (Primary Fire) : While it will do you no good against most bosses (swinging your weaponry will increase the chances of the boss spotting you or chasing you), a select few will get stunned if you hit them (mainly bosses that will attack you directly) allowing you a short window of time to round the corner and possibly hide

This function otherwise allows two more actions : Picking up pages (just hit them, you may need to repeat a few times due to the melee hit detection) and breaking any breakable surface (mostly bars and breakable floors, if you see an odd texture or pages behind a blocked-off room, hit away and try to listen for fracture sounds. Recently all breakable surfaces have been canned out, but it's still a good thing to remember)

Flashlight (Secondary Fire) : Without any doubt one of the most important features in the mode. It can save your life or doom you depending on the usage you make of it

- You can switch it on and off as you please (it does however run on a battery, indicated by a "S" like icon on your HUD, so remember to alternate between teammates and turn it off in sufficiently bright areas).
- When turned off you will quickly adapt to the nearby darkness, creating a significant light-blue halo around you. This is more than enough to see in a room but maybe lackluster in an hallway or a gigantic warehouse (the flashlight cone is rather small however, and as such night-vision should be your default stance most of the time)
- Unlike some other games, your teammates can clearly see the flashlight beam and the zone it is aimed at which makes it beneficial in groups, but so can the boss (turning on your flashlight will be enough to allow the boss to teleport around the corner, you have been warned). It may be useful to flash it to try and warn your teammates to your location (if you are alone however, you should wait until you actually see a teammate to attempt that)
- Aiming your flashlight at the boss will immediately get you detected at a significant range and will not have any benificial effects. If you see the outline of the boss turn it off and keep it at that
- The range of the flashlight is not impressive by any means and aiming it too far will cause you to be plunged into utter darkness. It is recommended to aim down slightly to focus the beam in front of you and only aim up when you near a wall, as this may save your life if the boss is in the distance
- Your battery will slowly regenerate once turned off, but it may take a significant time to do so. Keep at least half of your battery intact should you need to run into a dark alley to escape the boss

Sprint (Taunt key, "?") : Another interesting feature. When held your character will quickly pick up the pace, allowing him to avoid an untimely death and possibly outrun stalker bosses (note that most of them are extremely fast and persistant, and as such "outrun" should be understood as "rounding the corner and hiding before he also does"). Your character will generally have a decent stamina, but it is recommended to only use it when you are certain the boss is after you and that sprinting blindly will actually help

- Sprinting will cause your screen to wobble significantly and make you lose most of your steering controls much like a Charging Targe. You may as such end up running into a wall if timed badly
- As said earlier, your character can run for a surprinsingly long time compared to the games from where the monsters are taken from. However running will only help if done correctly
- Running away from the boss is never a solution by itself, especially if you got spotted. Against teleporting bosses it should only be used to clear a room/hallway in which the boss is camping and run past him, against stalker bosses it should be used to run out of sight and hide (or run while another teammate ends up becoming a pinata of sorts)
- Some gear gives players a sprinting boost (instead of a simple speed boost), don't forget to check those up as the default running speed is rather low (about Soldier speed)
- As you can imagine, sprinting makes you much more noticeable to the boss (and also drains your stamina, making any escape even harder). Avoid sprinting around for no reasons if stealth is your objective

Scare Run (triggered) : Not an ability by itself, but if you actually end up meeting the boss (looking at a teleporting boss until a jumpscare is triggered or you hear his theme, or being detected by a stalker boss and hearing Amnesia : The Dark Descent's chase theme(s)), you will gain a small speed boost. This should be coupled with a well-timed sprint to avoid the worst, and should otherwise not be seeked (for extremely obvious reasons)

You may finally jump (which will allow you to escape or dodge the boss, but will obviously be rather loud) and crouch (can allow you to duck under a very few select objects, and otherwise allows you to sneak around stalker bosses but slows you down terribly)

So, you have been chosen for the RED Team, and after reading the last section you now know how to... run around and do fancy stuff (hopefully boss strategies will be covered a bit later). But maybe you'd like to know what every class on the team can do ?

Hopefully, every class is different ! Not by much, sure, but still enough to actually bring up the question of team composition and class choice, as there is no "all-around class"

The Scout :

Sadly for you, the Scout has recently put up on weight (or broke his knees, or something...) which means that he can only go at the same speed as his other teammates. However, he is able to run a bit longer than other players which makes him a good class to fetch pages and -if you have the guts to do so- kite a stalker boss

The malus (which is shared with all 125 HP classes) is that he is really fragile and will be terribly affected by interface screw (mostly from teleporting bosses and actions that screw over your HUD like... sprinting)

The scout has no specific advantage outside of those 2 points, although he still retains some of his running and dodging skills (and if not mistaken his double-jump) which makes him a good class for first-grade cowards

The Soldier :

An odd one. The Soldier gets a few tools to help his team (notably the Disciplinary Action that will boost both his walking and running speed). He is otherwise the second strongest class and can possibly survive a boss encounter if sufficiently seasoned

The Pyro :

The Pyro retains his main ability (he is fireproof). This is an extremely situational perk as only one boss in the whole mod uses fire to damage players (Namely BENDROWNED). It can otherwise be used just for the sake of it

The Demoman :

His main ability allows him to capitalize on the Scare Run ability to make it more efficient, which makes him a good scouting class (just find the boss and keep it away from your team, or look for the pages altogether if fighting a stalking boss). Otherwise he can take a few hits if needed

The Heavy :

His main ability is indiscutably his large HP pool, allowing him to sustain a few boss hits and ravage proxies (talked about later). He can also use the GRU to sprint much faster. A must-have in any team as he could possibly act as a meatshield

The Engineer :

Our master of tinkering quickly adapted to his new tools. If you are an Engineer your flashlight will hold longer (and you will be able to make hilarious "GOTTAM" jokes if you feel bored and somewhat suicidal). A good teamplayer if grouped as he can show the way and help with his teammate's nerves

The Medic :

Our beloved doctor has, with not much doubt, the best advantages and the worst drawbacks in the entire mod. Outside of being able to heal other players with the Amputator Taunt (which should be used liberally if your team needs a heal badly and the boss is not nearby), he also keeps his precious health regeneration allowing him to shrug off proxies and survive the worst (notably evading a stalker boss after hitting critical health). His main drawback is however also impressive : Bosses will focus on you

This concretely means 2 things : Getting stranded will be your death sentence (and either way the boss will make a beeline for you if he detected you, no matter how many allies are around) and you will beacon the boss on your group. You should still try and stay with allies, but you have been warned : Don't try to be sneaky, you aren't by default

The Sniper :

Hopefully all those hours spent looking at your scope and pumping caffeine into your blood improved your vision somewhat, which means you will have to blink less often. This is a good ability to bolster as it will increase your overall visibility, and will be a lifesaver against SCP-173 and the Weeping Angels if you know what to do

The Spy :

Our last competitor. The Spy is constantly sneaking around, and this translates rather well in this mode as you will be less detectable by the boss. Be careful as this does not mean the boss won't teleport on you, but it certainly means that in close proximity to a stalker boss you may be able to slip past while crouch-walking (at a distance still, and with your flashlight off for obvious reasons)

The boss is the main danger of this mod. One should note at first that he is an NPC and is as such controlled by the AI, and that all bosses can teleport around at will if they are not in proximity of other players. The second point is particularly important, as the boss may not pop up from that room you last saw him in

All bosses are different, but to simplify they can be condensed into 2 categories : Teleporting bosses and stalking bosses

Teleporting bosses do just that. They will teleport around the map, out of view of any players in hopes of getting the jump on them, their mode of operation then varies (Slender and BENDROWNED will kill you if you stare at them for too long or if you get too close, SCP-173 and the Weeping Angels will kill you if you break eye contact when you are in their general area). "Being sneaky" doesn't matter at all (in fact Spies get targeted as often as everyone else) and staying in a large group is a must (if the players are spread out they will get picked off one by one, as the boss will not change target unless it meets another player on the way to it's old target)

Stalking bosses will teleport until they get close to actual players, once there they will proceed to wander around at random with no specific logic. If a player is stupid enough to get himself seen or heard the boss will begin to chase him until he either losses track or kill his target (at which point he will look for the nearest player and follow them, or teleport away after a small wait). Staying in a group can help, but it is recommended to split up the team at least once (to make 2 groups of 4 players, players should not be alone in any case unless they are running away from the boss)

On a side note, stalking bosses can detect the players for the following reasons :
- Being too close depending on running speed. Crouch-walking can allow you to slip past if you are lucky, walking is recommended if the boss is almost out of flashlight range, running should only be used if you already know the boss is on you
- Jumping or swinging your weapons. Picking up a page will get you detected if the boss is close, jumping is not sneaky at all
- Shining your flashlight close to the boss. Can you see the boss ? Can the boss see you ? If you answered both and you start to hear some sort of tune you better run
- Being a Medic or a Spy. Being a Medic will make it much easier for the boss to single you out, being a Spy will help but will only negate the other points so far
- Using voice commands. There are no real reasons for using voice commands (outside of giving your location to other teammates if they are close enough). Don't hit a voice command or the Medic key next to a stalking boss, you'll regret it dearly

Slenderman :

You should know him by now, Slenderman is the very boss this mod is based on, and arguably... one of the easiest

Telltale signs : His outline is easy to spot on a sufficiently light background (model was updated to remove tentacles). Otherwise you may hear a sudden double static note (or just looping static), which not only confirms his presence but indicates he's nearby...

The Slender music is not a sign, as it always plays for all the bosses, neither are the pages since any boss can spawn with those

How to survive : First of all, stealth is not an option. This boss will just randomly teleport around until he gets near a player, and will then proceed to wait until he meets said player or he gets stranded again. Stay in one full group, make copious use of your flashlight and be careful around corners and doorways. Going at it alone is suicide, if you see a note get your team's attention so that you don't come back out to see utter darkness and the boss on your right

Second of all, this boss has two means to kill (or rather, one with a few special abilites). If you come in contact with him or stare at him for too long (based on the distance between the boss and you), you will enter an animation and be gibbed in short order. While not looking at him is an obvious solution it should be remembered that physical contact can be achieved easily, and cost you your life, so get moving !

Finally, the boss will not stop at one cheap tactic to get you. Getting cornered is an automatic death sentence since the boss will not leave until you are dealt with. If you need to walk around a corner you should do so on the farther end of the corner to make sure you are as far from the boss as possible if he is right around the corner, if walking through a doorway nudge into it slighty, and if you hear a jumpscare backwalk out of it and don't come back until you get teammates to help. The boss may also phase in and out regularly so stay on your toes

BENDROWNED :

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you ?

This glitched Link statue will be your worst nightmare, and an one-up to your usual Slenderman (except possibly for the Pyro which will have an easy time if he is careful). He is otherwise similar to Slenderman

Telltale signs : If you hear some sort of sarcastic laughter, one of your teammates has just been killed by him, now you know

Otherwise you can spot him (he is about chest-height which may make it harder) or hear a rather peculiar ballad (the Song of Healing from Zelda : Majora's Mask played backwards) which should indicate you he's... a few meters away from you and about to kill you

Teammates catching on fire also counts, it's his special ability if you get close but not close enough to be insta-gibbed

How to survive : First of all, apply basic Slenderman rules (BENDROWNED tends to be less invasive if you just look at him, but it can still get you killed quickly). Being a Pyro or Medic is priceless since he will set you on fire and whip out about half of your health with ease. You should not panic as it will not help you the slightest : Find a medic and get healed (after the boss is out of view of course)

SCP-173/Weeping Angels :

*Containment breach siren*/I. HATE. PEARS.

SCP-173 and the Weeping Angels are the two teleporting bosses in this mod, they are alike as they need to be kept in sight if you wish to survive. They will both teleport around the map liberally until you actually find them, and then the fun begins

Telltale signs : SCP-173 has no intro speech, if you hear a soldier talking over the intercom this is not this boss. Weeping Angel has a very telltale intro as you will get the famous monologue of Doctor Who explaining you how to get out of here alive

There's only one way to tell if SCP-173 is actually present. You may glimpse sounds of rustling stone and possibly the sounds of a cracked neck. If you didn't hear the Doctor Who intro this. is. him. Prepare for a loud and obnoxious siren jumpscare

How to survive : Never split up, ever. If a group consists of less than 3 players it will be picked apart instantly (even if one person watches the group's back, he'll blink eventually, and the boss won't reset if he doesn't get looked at)

The only way to safely deal with this boss once he is in sight is to keep him in direct sight by at least 2 players (with unsynchronised blinks, remember to blink manually at least once) and keep him as such until every single player entered a doorway or turned a corner (even if you look back at said player, the boss can still lunge at him since he's not looked at anymore)

A good idea would be to have 2 groups of 4 players rolling around the map looking for pages. If the boss happens to get in your sight keep steady, look at him and have only one player get the nearby pages while the 3 other players keep him perfectly locked. You may keep him like that for as long as you wish

Oh dear, looks like "playing smart" won't save you now, right ?

Stalker bosses can not only still teleport around if they need to (and land pretty damn close to you, more than often not right around the corner), but they will kill you if they see you and you don't run. Your only consolation (if you can even call it that) is that the boss will make loud, obvious and upsetting noises when he gets close, and that they alternate from "idle" (just walking around) to "danger" (he's on someone else, or on you, but you should have heard the theme by now)

Most of them play alike (as noted in last chapter), they only differ in a few statistics and obviously their apparence. You'll get to meet them eventually, but here's the general idea

- Hear awkward screaming/grunts ? Guess who's nearby...
- If he's behind you, run like hell, some bosses can be stunned but it should only be attempted by a strong class and if the boss just bowls right into a large group
- He has a very good range, and a very high speed (the slowest run at your sprinting speed), be extra careful
- Stealth actually matters here (until he spots you that is). Running around swinging around and spamming MEDIC! ? Don't expect to last very long...
- The timer isn't counting down for your survival, it's a time limit before you get gibbed. Get those pages
- Splitting up is a decent idea, especially if the whole group keeps spamming voice commands and doing stupid stuff. Just don't go at it alone, it won't work very well

Only a few noteworthy exceptions :

The Mobile Task Force (Gunner) :

*Barely audible gibberish over the invisible intercom system around you*

Telltale signs : His intro, you simply can't miss it

Otherwise gunshots (yes, gunshots) and his miscallenous radio chatter acting like warning growls

Badass music playing ? It isn't for you...

How to survive : The soldier can be stunned if you hit him with your melee, do it if he follows you around a corner

This boss is otherwise incredibly difficult to deal it (he takes about 5 HP out per shot, which stacks up very quickly). Bunch up, get this over with quickly. This is one of the least scary boss, so profit of this and just rush around and take all these notes before they finally get you

Woody :

Someone poisoned the waterhole !

Telltale signs : Stereotypical toy soldiers lines, although they are kinda hard to notice. If he does notice you however, he'll make weird... happy sounds and a very upsetting theme will start to play.

Oh, and if he gets a teammate you'll understand what those "happy sounds" are.

How to survive : Woody is a stalker boss like others, but a main difference is that he is very, VERY good at what he's doing, almost down to the status of a server-cleaning monstruosity. A 8-man wipe isn't unheard off (in fact, very very audible if you'll ask a few players)

Stalker bosses either have to land a few hits to finish you off, or pause after an instant kill to let other runners a chance. He fills in for the "none of the above" category and will instantly kill anyone in his way without stopping. Just run, don't look back, split up to avoid a team-wipe

Also, do not EVER hide in a closet or room. This isn't as much of a pun as a legitimate and very reasoned tip

Paranoia :

♥♥♥♥ this, I'm spectating for this round

Telltale signs : A suprising and eery silence which stops once the boss sees you. You have 3 warnings. The third is the one where you regret to have waited out the first two

How to survive : This boss is VERY simplistic. He spawns in some room and idles there as long as a player is nearby. As soon as he can draw a line to you, he will start giving out a very obvious and telltale grunt. Hear it once ? Back up. Hear it twice ? Back up NOW. Hear it thrice ? It's not the same thing as before... this boss is really fast by the way !

Avoid the boss at all costs, and be wary if teammates are too stupid to get out of the way. Once he's going, he doesn't stop short of anything

Kate :

Hold on, that's not Slenderman ?

Telltale signs : Special mention, this "boss" was added to all Slenderman rounds to make him much more of an experience. She's featured in Slender Arrivals, and will ALWAYS spawn along with Slenderman. If you somehow meet her before you can confirm Slenderman, her voices are naturally feminine yet ghastly. She's also very short like the Sisters, but it's not much "whispers" as grunts

How to survive : The thing to remember at all costs is that Slenderman IS in play when you are facing her off, and vice versa. If you met Slenderman first and hear her coming, switch gear and RUN, preferably away from where Kate appears to come from (she will instakill you, so don't screw it up). If you are facing Kate, or worse running from her, and Slenderman decides to make himself known, remember that Slenderman WILL gib you if you look at him for too long. Look left and right for a good escape if you're stalked by Kate already (otherwise give yourself the luxury of turning around and spotting her idle sounds) or turn arond from Slenderman and attempt to sneak through the way he's blocking by facing the wall (only as a last resort. Slenderman isn't going to stand around while you do that, and might grapple on you. It IS better than attempting to dodge an instakill-on-contact stalking boss in a hallway though)

The BLU team doesn't really have any job apart from waiting for the next round, so that they may be picked to play. You'll generally have a PVP arena at your disposition and whatever kickass scenaries and minigames the mapper was kind enough to give you

However you can do two things waiting for the round to end

Spectate, you can type in a special command (generally !slghost) to turn yourself into a ghost and be sent into the RED arena. You will not be able to interact with anything but you will get to see your mates as they also run around. This is a good way to spend the round and get a little bit of experience by seeing how that team just nabbed all the pages in the minute (or how they got murdered in 10 seconds)

Become a proxy, you may be randomly chosen to become a proxy if Slenderman is into play. If this happens you will get a 5 second warning and will then be shot into the RED arena with a melee weapons as a Scout, Heavy or Spy (defaults as Scout unless the two other classes are chosen)

You may get critical hits (or stab the players), and blood will count (as such Boston Basher Scout is a powerful combo). You will also get killed quickly so strike well (Hibernating Bear Heavy can do the trick, however you won't get to use the steak to buff your melee). Spy is a discutable choice but you can easily one-hit a player on the brink of death

Note that a Control timer forces you to act and hit the players (otherwise you will be killed). You may give yourself extra time if you hit yourself with a self-damaging weapon, but otherwise find and hit RED players

A last but obvious tip : You'll spawn in waves and as such the RED Team will want to get rid of you quickly (especially since you are so weak). Locating the boss and luring a player near it can wind up extremely lucrative, especially for teleporting bosses like Slenderman

That pretty much covers it for the BLU team, have fun while it's not your turn in the wicked maze your enemies are wandering into

Note that proxies are not availible on recent versions of the mod, so don't be surprised if you don't become one

A few extra things you should note :

- There can be up to two bosses on the map at the same time, both Stalker and Teleporting. Don't be surprised about it. It tends to follow a page logic (Second boss tends to appear around 5/8 pages)
- If you are on Red, you can vote for the round difficulty. Normal is default and most people consider it easy and even unchallenging. Hardcore is rarely voted for and just makes it a tad harder. Insane is generally requested by hardened players and will make most rounds go extremely fast. If Insane is picked get moving, do not travel in groups and expect to die, it's a challenge like no others
- Special rounds are a fun gimmick that can happen every few rounds (generally every 5 rounds). It consists of Insanity (difficulty automatically toggled to Insane), Lights Out (You cannot use your flashlight, no matter what), Single Player (All teammates become invisible and all hopes of playing together falls apart), Double Players (16 players are shoved onto the map instead of the usual 8) and the player's favorite, Double Trouble (Two different bosses spawn, usually Slender and a custom boss but it rare cases it coincides with a custom boss round and allows for two custom bosses)
- Custom bosses will be picked every few rounds on maps that don't override a boss (A map that ovverides a boss means this boss will play every round, usually a custom one). They can be picked in the entire boss pool, with no real exception. Otherwise Slender will be into play
- Watch out for map hazards. Running into a pit or on a trap is more likely than you think when running away from Slenderman
- Getting cornered is a death sentence, always keep a mental image on all possible escape routes, and be nimble when you need to enter a small room to pick a page
- Always prefer the light to anything else. Bosses can still spawn in broad daylight, but darkness is a serious enemy when both trying to stay on your toes and outrunning the boss. Dark, cramped places should be checked first, and grouping up can be useful if you know how to scatter effectively
- Grouping up isn't a bad idea, but only if done correctly. Think of it as a scatterbomb, you travel in a lump and when the boss starts getting uppity you scatter. This lowers the chance of the boss picking off players one by one and setting back the whole team, but if done incorrectly can lead to a team wipe. Your call.
- Stay away from experimented players if you don't have the slightest idea of what you are doing. Chances are they will aggro the boss quickly (somehow the boss seems to have a frigthening bias for long-time players) and force you into a close encounter. Following a good player when chased is even worse, since you are putting his life and yours in jeopardy (double that if it is a stalker boss, and triple that if he can insta-kill people without stopping)

Those are a few scattered tips, but they can always be useful

Should you take these tips well, you will finally grab all 8 pages (or equivalent thereof) and escape in the nearby door or vehicle (or... equivalent thereoff). Once all living players escaped or once the escape timer runs out with one live member, you will get to wreck havoc on the BLU team and the round will quickly restart

Hopefully these tips will help you lasting more than 10 seconds ingame, although you can open a help menu with the !slender command (just type that in the chat) and the communtiy will generally be helpful

Good luck, and stay sharp ! Gotta go for the last note... down this dark hallway over here !