Oh shiit! They added a referral system, being the massive tool that I am, I'm going to want every single one of you to use my link and play the game until you reach rank 6 (couple of hours at most).
Clicky the click on this link and get playin' the best FPS game currently available!
I should mention that rank 1-5 players are in their own little bracket, so the skill level in there is pretty low and you should have no trouble just messing around learning controls and basic dueling. Once you get out of that bracket and play with "everyone else" the fun starts.
If you're going to try the game out, I encourage these 3 things:
1) Play until you get out of the newbie bracket, you can't really judge the gameplay from those early games against other novices.
2)in CTF pick a position and stick with it. I suggest on-stand flag defense or flag offense. As they're easy and straightforward.
Flag defense: Stand on the flag as a Soldier, watch for incoming enemy cappers, and shoot/splash them with your thumper as they touchdown to grab your flag. You have a split second to do this, it's hard but very very important for a team to have people trying to deny flag grabs at all times.
Flag offense: I don't mean capping, that is another role. Flag offense means disruption, your job is to remove forcefields, turrets, mines and claymores from the flagstand, and of course enemies. You are not there to grab the flag (no matter how enticing it looks)! You should be destroying the enemy defense as much as you can to allow your own teams capper to get a clean grab and exit. Any class can do this.
[Once you're in the >rank 5 bracket it's common for your cappers to yell "I have the flag!", this actually means "I'm going for the flag, right now, at high speed, clear the fucking flagstand asap because here I come!"]
3)Take your time learning. The maps are large, there are many classes and weapons, there's a lot of unwritten rules. Don't try to understand everything at once, your first goal should be to understand the jetpack and skiing. Once you can move around the map at a decent pace you can start experimenting. But movement and positioning is KEY in this game.
A helpful tip: Suiciding (default: K) is a valid strategy in this game. The maps are so large, and the spawn timer (6 seconds) is so short, that if you get stuck in a odd/flat place of the map, with no speed, you might as well kill yourself and start over. You often spawn on top of a hill or other height to get going again. Defenders also use it to get back in position quickly or to restock ammo/grenades.