How to Get Free Items in Team Fortress 2

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: June 11, 2021

There are a lot of items available for purchase in Team Fortress 2, but if you have patience and dedication, you won't have to pay for any of them. You'll earn random items automatically as you play throughout the week, and you can earn some special items by completing certain achievements. If you can't seem to get what you want, you can trade away your junk and duplicate items for the item of your dreams.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Earning Items while Playing

1
Play the game on a VAC-secured server. These are server's running Valve anti-cheat measures, which most major servers do. You'll see the VAC symbol in the TF2 server browser. If you don't play on VAC servers, you can't earn free items.
2
Actively play for 30 to 70 minutes. You'll receive an item sometime within this timeframe, with the average being every 50 minutes. This doesn't have to be all at the same time. For example, playing 15 minutes here and there will eventually total up to enough time spent playing.

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3
Accept the notification to receive your item. In an effort to combat idling, you'll need to accept the notification that you've received an item before you can start earning your next one. This will add the item to your inventory.
- The item you receive is completely random, and items have varying chances of appearing based on rarity.
- You may receive a weapon or equipment drop, or you may receive a locked crate. You'll need to obtain a key to open the crate, either by purchasing one or trading for it.
4
Play 10 hours a week to cap out your limit. While the exact time is unknown, you'll stop earning items after about 10 hours of play. With an average drop time of 50 minutes, this means you'll earn about 12 items a week. The weekly counter resets on Thursday at midnight (00:00) GMT.^{[1]
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- If you don't play the full amount, that time is carried over to the next week, up to 20 additional hours. For example, if you don't play for a week, you can earn up to double the items in the next week by playing for around 20 hours.
5
Avoid idling servers. Because of the changes to the drop system, you'll want to be around to accept your new item so that you can start earning the next one. Try to just earn items regularly by playing the game.
- You cannot run multiple instances of Team Fortress 2 to try and gain items faster. This will prevent you from earning items at all.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Earning Items from Achievements

1
Complete Milestone achievements with each character. Each of the nine characters has three Milestone achievements. These are earned after completing a certain number of other character-specific achievements. Each Milestone achievement will earn you an item for that character.
- Soldier, Demoman, Engineer, Sniper, and Spy earn Milestone achievements at 5, 11, and 17 character achievements.
- Scout, Pyro, Heavy, and Medic earn Milestone achievements at 10, 16, and 22 character achievements.
2
Earn items through specific achievements in Team Fortress 2. Several of the achievements in Tf2 will earn you a special item:^{[2]
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- Ghostly Gibbus - Dominate a player wearing a Ghastly or Ghostly Gibbus.
- Frontline Field Recorder - Get 1,000 YouTube views for your TF2 replay movie.
- Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head - Defeat the Horseless Headless Horseman on the Mann Manor map.
- MONOCULUS! - Defeat the MONOCULUS boss on the Eyeaduct map.
- Full Head Of Steam - Complete seven of the Foundry Pack's achievements.
- Gentle Munitionne of Leisure - Complete seven of the Doomsday Pack's achievements.
- Skull Island Topper - Reach Skull Island in the Ghost Fort map.
- Bombinomicon - Reach Loot Island in the Eyeaduct map.
- Pyrovision Goggles - Dominate another player wearing Pyrovision Goggles.
3
Earn achievements in other supported Steam games. Several games on Steam will allow you to earn special items by completing specific achievements:
- Alien Swarm Parasite - Earn the "Hat Trick" achievement in Alien Swarm.
- Black Rose - Earn the "1st One Down" achievement in Alliance of Valiant Arms.
- Bolt Action Blitzer - Earn the "Key to the City" achievement in CrimeCraft Gang wars .
- Iron Curtain, Enthusiast's Timepiece, Lugermorph, Dangeresque, Too?, License to Maim - Earned by completing the "Special Item" achievements in Poker Night.
- Long Fall Loafers, Necronomicrown, Samson Skewer, Bloodhound, Dapper Disguise - Earned by completing the "Personality Goes a Long Way," "Book 'Em," "Orb 'n' Legends," "Banjo Hero," and "Trophy Wife" achievements in Poker Night 2.
- Spiral Sallet - Earned by completing the "Mission Accomplished" achievement in Spiral Knights.
- Triclops, Flamingo Kid - Earned by completing the "All-Star Agent" and "Rookie Agent" achievements in Super Monday Night Combat.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Trading Steam Items for TF2 Items

1
Open your Steam inventory to see items you can trade. You can trade a variety of items you may have earned playing games on Steam. You can trade items earned in Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike GO, DOTA 2, and a variety of other games. You can also trade Trading Cards which can be earned for most games on Steam.
- Not all items can be traded. Look for the "Tradable" tag in the item's description.
- Trading is one of the best ways to get keys to open locked chests without spending any money.
2
Determine the value of your items. Knowing the value of your trade items can make it easier to create an offer or make sure your trade is fair. You can see the market value of an item by selecting it in your inventory. Check the "View in Community Market" section for the lowest starting price of that item.
- If you'd rather, you can sell you extra items on the Community Market and then buy the TF2 items you want with the money you earn. This requires a few more hoops to jump through, and may be less lucrative than trading directly with another player.
3
Find people willing to trade for the items you want. In order to trade with someone, you'll need to be Steam friends with them. The exception to this is if you start a trade with another player in TF2 that's on the same server you're playing on.
- You can see what people have available for trade by opening their Steam profiles and clicking "Inventory." The other person's inventory needs to be set to "Public" if you are not friends with them.
- You can find people to add to your Friends list by visiting various TF2 trading communities.
- There are many servers that are dedicated to matching you with other traders.
4
Open a Trading window with the person you want to trade with. You can do this by double-clicking a name on your Steam Friends list, clicking the arrow, and then selecting "Invite to trade." If you're playing TF2, open the Customize Items (M) menu in TF2 and select "Trading." You'll then be able to select another player on your server.
5
Discuss the terms of the trade with the other player. Tell the other player what you're looking for, and what you're offering in return. Make sure that your offer is fair and based on current market values.
6
Offer the items up for trade. Drag the items you want to trade into the trading grid. Once you are satisfied with what you are offering, click the "Ready to trade" box to lock your offer. Once the other person does the same, you can complete the trade.
7
Click "Make Trade" to complete the trade. After both parties have accepted the trade offers, the "Make Trade" button will become available. Press this to confirm the trade. The items will be traded as soon as you both press "Make Trade."^{[3]
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Community Q&A

Question

Are unusual items rare in crate opening?

Community Answer

Yes, in fact they are extremely rare. They have an unboxing chance of about 1%, so good luck. It is probably easier to trade, but you might get lucky from a crate.
Question

Can I get hats from the item drop in VAC server?

LawnBoi

Community Answer

Yes, but on rare to very rare occasions. So just hope for the best. I found a few hats about once a few weeks. That's how I got a few, anyways.
Question

How do I get free keys?

Community Answer

You can't. You have to buy them. You could beg a friend for one, or go on scrap.tf raffles, but that's about it.