If you're seeing this, you enjoy a bit of TF2 and want to get your hands on some free, fancy head clothes. I know your plight and have decided to lend a hand to all hat-lovers who are on the crusade for free stuff. Let's get right into it.

The Flamingo Kid.
This hat is obtained by reaching Agent Level 5. Now, this has proven to be confusing for some people, so I'd like to make it clear. When you join a match and kill some bots or players for experience, you will begin to level up. This, however is NOT your Agent Level. Your Agent Level can be viewed in the main menu of the game, and you level this up by completing matches. I'll get to the best way to increase your Agent Level later in the guide.



The Triclops
This hat is obtained by reaching Agent Level 20, and is also the reason why I downloaded SMNC in the first place.

If you're in a huge hurry to snag these hats, just follow this part of the guide and you should have both of them within 3-4 hours of gameplay. A more concise analysis of these strategies can be found further down in this guide.

Step 1:
Use the free XP boost code: 4070-9098
The code can be redeemed by clicking on the store (from the main menu) and then clicking 'redeem a code'. This code will help you in your quest, as it will increase your end-of-match XP, thus making your Agent Level increase faster.


Step 2:
Play Blitz.
Seriously, if you're looking for quick, easy XP that a rookie can just dive right into, Super Blitz is definitely the way to go. Blitz is a gamemode in which you fight against large waves of bots as opposed to the usual teams of players and some bots. Blitz can involve up to 5 people, and I recommend getting as many people as possible to help you (The easiest way is to simply ask for an invite in the global chat). A few good games of Blitz (upwards of 35-ish rounds) can easily level you up a few times, especially in the early levels. Blitz also has a few Pros (that's classes, for the TF2 lovers) that stand high above the rest in their sheer simplicity and effectiveness, which leads me into step 3;

Step 3:
Play as Cheston
That's the gorilla guy.
If you're going to be playing a lot of Blitz, it is definitely worth learning the basics of Cheston and focusing on getting better at playing as him. He is incredibly versatile in blitz, with high-damage skills, decent mobility and high hitpoints. Cheston is, in my opinion, the easiest Pro to simply pick up and play as with decent results. Trust me, if you're going to follow on with the previous steps, Cheston will take you places.

The goal in Blitz is the same as that in any other gamemode: protect your moneyball.
The key differences, however are:
-> there is no enemy moneyball to destroy
-> there are no enemy players
-> there are powerful blitz related items

Therefore, in Blitz, your aim is to protect your moneyball from the unending waves of bots.
It's that simple.

Here are a few tips and strategies for an effective match of Blitz.

1. Play your role.
A good, well-rounded roster is the best way to play Blitz. You want a few strikers (I reccommend Megabeth or Karl), one or two support, an enforcer and MAYBE an assassin. (only if they're really damn good). Having enforcers and strikers keep lanes clean while supports fix/build turrets and keep everyone's health in check is the way to go.

2. Don't build Lasers and Longshots.
Laser Blazers and Longshot turrets are simply inneffective in Blitz. They are cheap, sure, but a good team can last the first 10 rounds with just themselves and the outer Longshots (they are already built when the game starts. Don't neglect them though, they are helpful.) Maximum potential for turrets in Blitz is to have the inner ring of turrets (where the Moneyball is) comprised entirely of Rocket turrets, and the outer ring an alternating number of Ice turrets and Rockets.

3. Don't Hesitate, Annihilate.
Shelly, The Fuzz and The Annihilator are excellent when you're being overwhelmed. The big mistake many people make, however, is waiting too long to activiate them. They aren't too expensive, and they can all be used again, but they all take a while to reach maximum effectiveness. Shelly especially, can easily miss the bots on the moneyball for a while, meaning if you used it as a last resort, the match may be over before Shelly hits them.

4. Grapple the damn Jackbots.
Jackbots are the really big puckers that show up late in the game, trust me, you'll know 'em when you see 'em. They output huge damage and spawn 4 at a time. Grappling them will stop them from whatever they're doing (which is usually destroying every single turret you have) and deal a fair amount of damage to them. There are also a few Pro-specific skills that can stop them for a while, but grappling can be performed by any class. I would not reccommend doing this as a support, however, as you are unable to do anything else whilst performing a grapple, meaning you're wasting precious turret-fixing time.

This is the part where I'd normally beg people to stick it out for a while, see what the game has to offer them, and then make a decision, but I realised something.
I first downloaded SMNC for the TF2 hats and I've come to enjoy it for much more than that. It's actually a pretty damn good time for when I want to take a break from my usual roster of games.
I strongly reccommend you give SMNC a chance, you might just like it.


Anyways, hope this helped y'all.
Keep on keeping on.