Ode to the Second Banana

Boy howdy, haven’t made an article in a long while. In fact, this is the first article I’ve ever made on the new domain here. And who would’ve guessed that what drove me to it would be a simple yellow tropical fruit? Yes. I’m talking about the Second Banana.

The banana is by far my second favorite new weapon of the Jungle Inferno update; right behind the Thermal Thruster. It’s so simple, yet so fucking good. In the dark, banana-less age of when the banana had not yet been brought into existence, the Sandvich was the undisputed champion of Heavy secondaries, as it had always been since its introduction. I actually opted to use the Dalokohs Bar more often, as the extra 50 max health broke a lot of barriers for Heavy (extra pipe, extra rocket, extra headshot, etc), but I still knew that it was rather inferior in the healing aspect, both for yourself and your teammates. And finally, the Buffalo Steak Sandvich, while unique in its abilities, is best suited to the “Fists of Steak” subclass, as I like to call it.

Then along came the Second Banana.

This simple, stupid fruit is by far the most game-changing item that Heavy has received since the release Tomislav, which was in 2011. It’s just a simple stat change compared to the Sandvich, but it’s the simplicity of it that makes it so good. While by no means a major step to making Heavy a more Medic-independent class, it’s definitely a good step in that direction. I’ve been having a blast recently just playing a roaming Heavy playstyle where I can finally sustain myself without camping health packs or tagging a Medic along, all thanks to the Second Banana.

The banana lets you heal yourself by 200 health every 10 seconds. And because it starts recharging as soon as you start eating it, and the eating animation is 4 seconds, it’s more like 200 health every 6 seconds. Compare that to the Sandvich’s 300 health every 30 (practically 26) seconds, and it’s clear which item is more beneficial to the Heavy himself. There are still some Sandvich elitists out there (you know who you are) that would argue that the Sandvich is still superior because it drops a medium health pack and can effectively upgrade a small health pack into a medium when the Heavy is at full health, but I simply disagree. I see rapid small healing every 10 seconds better in the long run than slow big healing every 30 seconds. But the Sandvich definitely still has its place. That said, if the Heavy Update turns out to be Second Banana: The Update, then you can bet I’m looking forward to it.