I Forgot How Fun MvM Was
It’s been ages since I last played Team Fortress 2. But after a shorter-than-normal Sea of Thieves session, my great friend Bacxaber suggested that we play a round of Mann VS Machine, because why not? So I loaded up Team Fortress 2, reset all my key binds because they had all reverted to default settings, then joined Bacxaber and Metz. Together, we played a game of Mann VS Machine, on the Manhattan map. We were only playing on intermediate in boot camp, no Mann Up or anything, but damn, from the moment we started, it was all so much fun.
Oddly, I was playing Soldier. Medic had already been taken, so I took Soldier because he’s nice and simple. Metz took Engineer while Bacxaber played Heavy, his best class. The three randos with us took (the aforementioned) Medic, Sniper and Scout. There was a Demoman somewhere along the way, but I don’t really remember. What I do remember is how weird it felt to even be playing Team Fortress 2, let alone playing with friends.
Either way, the match was splendid. It was only intermediate, so we weren’t really in much danger of losing, but it was so much fun. Not only did I forget how fun TF2 and MvM are, I also forgot how fun it was to blow things up as Soldier. There’s a reason why he’s my second most played class. Even if I’ve only spent 1/4 of the time on Soldier that I spent on Medic. I used the Original, not for any real reason, mostly because that was just the loadout I had since I last properly played Team Fortress 2. I did switch to the Buff Banner for the mini-crits, which fill really easily in Mann VS Machine. But I was mostly just shooting rockets at robots.
There’s nothing wrong with that though. We had a good team and everyone knew how to do their jobs, so the mission actually went by pretty quickly. The Scout managed to get pretty much all the cash, so we also had plenty of money for upgrades. I couldn’t remember what upgrades were best for Soldier, so I mostly just guessed. But I did get blast damage reduction and crit damage reduction, and they helped keep me alive. Our Medic was pretty good and also managed to keep us all alive. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do whenever the Medic died, but we were all competent enough to not die while the Medic was gone. I’d forgotten that Medics can actually revive you in MvM, which is nice.
The MvM match ended up going really well. We didn’t fail any of the waves and our team was super competent. And it all brought back happy memories. We ended up only doing the one match, because it was super late (it was about 4am for me) but I am glad I played. And, more importantly, I want to play MvM again. With friends, of course. It’s much nicer having someone to talk to as you slay robots by the dozen. But honestly the public experience isn’t that bad either when it comes to MvM.
I forgot how fun Team Fortress 2 and MvM are. But I’m glad I got a chance to remember why it’s all so fun…