The first step in all of this, is accumulating minigames. After talking to the past 30 owners I found that average numbers of dueling minigames used to claim the Dueler was a little less than 400. For the sake of simplicity we will assume that you will only need 400 duels, but in reality this number varies greatly.

For those of you without calculators, 400 duels = 80 individual minigames. In the current state of the market, you can comfortably purchase an unused dueling mini game for 1 reclaimed metal[www.tf2outpost.com]. So, the total metal cost if you buy all 80 at 1 reclaimed each will be 26.66 refined, or 26 refined and 2 reclaimed. That translates out to around 8 keys, or $10.60.

There are a few routes you can traverse down in order to obtain your dueling minigames.

You can trade for your duels in the same way you would trade for anything else. It is sometimes possible to find sellers who sell in bulk, but more often than not you’re going to be looking at trading piecemeal for most of the items you need. While this initially may seem a bit daunting, I assure you it will go by fast. Post on trading sites (TF2Outpost[www.TF2Outpost.com], http://www.Bazaar.tf, TF2TP[www.TF2TP.com], etc) stating that you’re buying dueling minigames for 1 reclaimed, and just sit back and let other people do the heavy lifting.

If you value your time more than your pocket change, you could just buy all the dueling games you needed. Usually there is an undeniable amount of risk in There are many ways to go about doing this without putting yourself at risk. Using TF2Shop[tf2shop.net] to buy dueling minigames in bulk will save you time and a potential headache. The advantages to using a web service are purely convenience. Not having to wait for a seller to be available saves time, and eliminating the potential risk of dealing with shady cash traders saves your peace of mind.

Do note that web stores do note that these web services do charge more than a cash trader. On average dueling minigames sell for 0.10 - 0.20, on Hexide and TF2Shop they can go upwards of 0.20 - 0.25.

Now for the best part. Once you’ve accumulated your duels, you’re going to need either a friend or an alt account to help you (it doesn’t need to be a premium account). Download the map Achievement_Duel[tf2.gamebanana.com] and create a server with it. Once the server is up, hit the ~ key and type in these commands in the order listed:

• mp_timelimit 0
  
• sv_password butts
  
• sv_pure 1
  
• sv_lan 0
  
• map achievement_duel

These commands will turn off the level rotation, set the server to be an internet server, enable it to be VAC secured, and set the server password to “butts” so you won't have any unwanted guests. Once these are all done, have your friend (or alt account) connect, and kill him until you run out of duels. Aaand congratulations! Now just wait until 12am GMT to see if you outplayed your fellow hat wearing man and won the Dueler hat!

• All 3 hats use GMT. The hats are rewarded, and taken away at 12am GMT. Make sure to check what time 12am GMT is in relation to your own timezone, or you might end up splitting your duel total across 2 days.
  
  
• The median number of dueling minigames needed to be awarded the Dueler is 400 (80 full 5-use minigames)

• TF2 Shop[tf2shop.net]
  
• TF2Outpost[www.tf2outpost.com]
  
• r/TF2Trade
  
• http://www.bazaar.tf
  
• http://www.backpack.tf