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I've seen countless jump map videos where players effortlessly glide in midair, through long distances as a soldier.

How do these players perform these jumps? What different kinds of rocket jumping techniques are there for the Soldier class?

Note, I'm not talking about basic point down jump crouch and shoot, I'm asking about how to perform different jumps. I've heard some jumps called bunny hopping, and some jumps called wall riding.

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For a list of terms, see http://tf2jump.com/articles/view/27
I've picked out the most common and basic ones from the article:

  • rj/rocketjump
    Shoot a rocket at the ground, it explodes and boosts you. using jump and crouch makes you go higher/further.
  • walljumps/wallshots
    When you rocket jump off a wall instead of the ground. also used for rocket jumps off walls after the original RJ.
  • pogo
    Holding yourself up with explosions from rockets shot at the ground (hold fire)
  • wallpogo
    Pogoing on a wall instead of the ground
  • skip/speedshot [some people consider these different, some don't]
    When you barely tap the ground and skip off it, the timing is pretty hard but it gives you a huge boost.
  • syncing [doubles/triples/quads]
    When you jump off of multiple rockets that explode at the same time

Not common, but what you might be looking for:

  • ducktap/ctap
    Type of rocket jump that goes further than a normal RJ crouch/shoot/jump. considerably harder.

To learn more about these, see http://tf2jump.com/articles/category/5

Bunny hopping of some sort is in most Valve games, but is fairly useless in vanilla tf2.
I don't know what wall riding is, but it sounds like a part of wallpogo.

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First the basic rocket jump. I also recommend using the gun boats while you try this.

Soldier

Technique To do a basic rocket jump crouch, aim the rocket at your feet then fire and jump at the same time. When you aim at your feet try aiming behind you so that the blast will push you forward. If you shoot directly under you, you will go straight up. If you shoot in front of you, you'll be shot backwards.

Uses The rocket jump has tons of uses, getting a view of the battlefield. A way to reach enemies quickly, once you master rocket jumping your maneuverability can best scouts! Also not everyone looks up so you can surprise a lot of people. Finally it can also be a great way to escape if you don't think you will when a fight. Be warned that it makes you a prime sniper target.

Demoman I suggest using the sticky jumper while you practice.

Technique The uses are fairly similar to those of a soldier, but the technique is slightly different because you will be using stickies instead of rockets. Simply put the sticky on the ground, run over it and the second you pass it 1. Crouch 2. detonate the stick 3. and jump.

Finally once you have mastered the basics you can try to rocket jump by hugging a wall so that you never touch the ground. You can also search for rocket jumper training maps/servers.

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  • Also useful for Demoman practice is the Sticky Jumper: wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Sticky_Jumper Mar 15, 2013 at 16:17
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    Thanks! that is what I meant under demoman. I have made the edit. Mar 15, 2013 at 16:18
  • One can also use the Engineer's Sentry to be pushed up to previously out-of-reach areas as detailed here. This is not rocket jumping per se, but a method of reaching high places that would be useful for the team. Mar 15, 2013 at 18:16
  • If we are talking reaching high places. Scout can also use the force-o-nature to get a "3rd jump" if you shoot down with it. The atomizer melee weapon can also allow the scout extra jump. The pyro can use the detonator for a tiny rocket jump. More of a rocket hop. Mar 15, 2013 at 18:25
  • Isn't the order jump then crouch not crouch then jump? You can't jump while crouched.
    – jw013
    Mar 15, 2013 at 21:23
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The official wiki lists the basic rocket jumping techniques. Here's a non-exhaustive list in the order that I think they are best learned:

  1. Pogo Jumps (probably what you've heard as bunny hopping) - repeated rocket jumps off the ground without landing.
  2. Wall Jumps - regular rocket jumps off a wall instead of the ground giving you more speed than height.
  3. Wall Pogos / Wall Riding / Wall Climbing - repeated wall jumps to either get higher or further.
  4. Water Jumps - rocket jumps timed to coincide with the boost of speed that jumping out of water gives. These can give a lot of speed if done properly.
  5. Double/Triple Rocket Jumps - jumps made with the explosions of multiple rockets. When falling you'll eventually fall faster than the rocket's speed, so you fire on the way down, get underneath it and do another rocket jump timed to coincide with the falling rocket's blast.

I think those are all of the basic mechanics for rocket jumping. Most jumps will be a variation or combination of those jumps. Speed sometimes changes the way a jump is performed so drastically that a person will refer to a high speed jump differently than a low speed one, e.g. 'pogo' vs. 'skipping' in the wiki.

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