TF2 trading guide: getting started in Valve's hat based economy Team Fortress trading essentially comes down to this: you have a hat, and someone else has a hat. You want their hat. You open the trading window and you swap hats. Everyone is happy and hattier. That really should be the beginning and end of the Team Fortress 2 trading system, but the fans have taken it and turned it into something much more complicated. There is now a fluid economy based on item rarity and their own desire/greed. It's no longer a case of just swapping them like football cards. And we think it's something you should get involved in. For fun and for profit. The language in Team Fortress 2's chat channel is slowly changing. I've noticed more and more people talking about their backpack contents. There's a worth to what you find or craft: people someone somewhere will want it, and that gives you some power. The reverse is true as well: if you want something, you'll have to negotiate for it. An economy has sprung up in the last year: before it was really about what the item was worth to you, but after millions of trades and data mining the community is realising that not all hats or crates are created equally . So when people say things like "Vintage xx" for sale, what they mean is they have an original game item, not promo or purchased. The base currencies are metal and keys: with