Reset the TF2 statistics

You can always play in offline mode and hone your melee skills vs. the computer players there. While they wont mimic the true skills of people you meet online, it's better than nothing at all.

Additionally, learn the different speeds, ranges and hit timing of each weapon. You can swing the scout bat much faster than the heavy can punch, for example. The demoman's "Eyelander" sword has a much larger range than most weapons and can hit from what feels like a non-melee distance, compared to most other classes melee that requires you to be much closer. Also, each weapon has a slightly different "delay" between when you click and when the swing actually has the window to connect. It's minor, but worth getting a feel for.

Lastly, learn your limits. It's not wise to melee certain classes if avoidable. Pyros and heavies are dangerous targets to melee, and scouts tend to be too fast to hit reliably in melee range.

Here is an instruction on how to create a server and put bots on it:

1. Make sure you have the port 27015 accessible for connections.
   ^{How? Look here.}
2. Open the game console.
   ^{How? Options⇨Keyboard⇨Advanced...⇨Enable developer console. Press ~ / ` to open the console at any time.}
3. Type sv_lan 0 if you want the game to be public, or sv_lan 1 for LAN only.
   ^{Public server is recommended}
4. Type map <mapname>, replacing <mapname> with the name of the map you want to play.
   ^{Or press the [+] to the right of BROWSE SERVERS in main menu instead.}
5. If the server is public and you don't want anyone to intrude, you can set a password:
   Type sv_password <pass>, replacing <pass> with some simple password.
   _{(e.g. sv_password 1234)}
6. Set the bot difficulty: tf_bot_difficulty <x>, where <x> is from 0 (the easiest) to 3.
   ^{(e.g. tf_bot_difficulty 0)}
7. Add bots: tf_bot_add <team> <class>
   <team>: red | blue
   <class>: scout | soldier | pyro | demoman | heavyweapons | engineer | medic | sniper | spy
   ^{(e.g. tf_bot_add blue heavyweapons)}
   To remove all bots: tf_bot_kick all

Here are some ways for your friend to connect. If one fails, try the next one.

• Join the game via Steam.
  ^{In Steam Friends list press ▼ and Join Game.}
• In console: connect <ip>:27015, where <ip> is your (server's) IP address.
  ^{(e.g. connect 11.22.33.44:27015)}
• Try the same thing with your (server's) local IP address (find it in Windows/Linux)

If nothing works, see the step 1 of server creation instruction.