Help:Style guide/Community Strategy

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The following page is a style guide (Community Strategy). Strategy pages are pages detailing tips and tricks as well as helpful gameplay advice for classes, maps, achievements, etc. These pages are meant to be separate from the main articles, linked together from a small section within the main article. The pages can be more informal than a main Wiki article; for example, use of second person can be more appropriate. However, Community strategy articles must still measure up to a certain standard of quality.

Writing strategy

  • Strategy submissions should be easy to read, informative, and follow the writing style of the existing strategy pages. As strategy pages are Community-created, submissions may be more casual in writing style, just so long as they are compatible with the styles of prior submissions.
  • This is not to say that any existing examples of awkward or poor writing should be perpetuated. All strategy text should adhere to the rest of the style guide. This includes grammar, spelling, and formatting, and any such errors in existing pages may be freely corrected.
  • Strategy should be recommendations on how and when to use (or not to use) certain weapons, tactics, or classes. Unless entirely non-functional (such as a flamethrower underwater), it's better to explain the situations that the weapon does and does not excel in rather than to state the weapon or class should not be used.
  • Strategy should not be how you perceive the weapon (e.g. "The Flare Gun is the best out of all the Pyro's secondaries"), rather it should be how this weapon excels over the others (e.g. "The Flare Gun is capable of dealing more direct damage on burning targets than the Scorch Shot").

Removing strategy

What if my strategy is removed?

If your strategy was removed, do not immediately add it back into the article. First check the page's history to see who removed the item, and whether they left a reason in the edit summary. If the person did not leave a reason or if you do not agree with their reason, consider asking them for an explanation or elaboration on their Talk page. If the matter is not resolved, make a new topic on the strategy page's Talk page and state your case as to why your submission is valid strategy. As strategy is subjective, many submissions may be edited.

Guidelines for strategy

The following is a set of guidelines to follow when writing strategy. Before making an addition, try to make sure that your submission follows these guidelines.

What is strategy?

  • A Community Strategy or Strategy submission is typically a single piece of advice or suggested tactic, usually set under a bullet point with other related submissions in a bullet list under a collective heading.
  • Strategy should be descriptive and informative. Strategy submissions can be as long as they need to be as long as it is easy to read and follow. Try not to make run-on sentences, and don't be afraid to split your submission into more than one bullet point or section if it's very in-depth. Remember that all manner of players will read these pages, so try not to use obscure or confusing terminology.
  • Strategy should follow a common writing style with the rest of the page. As strategy is more lax, anyone can write the page the way they wish, so long as it follows the rest of the Wiki's guidelines. Future submissions from other users should follow the first editor's writing style to make the page appear as if it was written by one person.
  • Strategy should be current. If a submission contains information that was changed from an update (such as a map structure change, or weapon re-balancing) then update it.

What is not strategy?

  • Strategy should not use bugs or exploits. Exploits are not a useful strategy as they may not have been intended to be in the game, and may be removed in future updates. Focus on helping the players to improve their basics so that they can excel at the game without relying on tactics that may be rendered useless.

See also