The Sun-on-a-Stick
The Sun-on-a-Stick is a rather unpopular weapon.
It is a rather pointless weapon. I mean, just look at its weapon attributes:
The 25% fire damage resistance was added during the Meet Your Match Update in an attempt to buff it. It seems nice, but when you can outrun the Pyro there is not much point in having fire damage resistance. Besides, the Mad Milk is available to extinguish afterburn. The 100% critical hit VS burning players is the main attribute that people take note of, but there are two main problems with this attribute.
Since Scout has no way of doing so by himself, you need a Pyro around you to set people on fire. And that Pyro has no difficulty setting people on fire but has extreme difficulty in finishing them off. Unless the Pyro is spamming flares from far away and you as a Scout are near where the burning enemy players are, the Pyro is most likely able to kill whoever he could set on fire.
But most of all, it’s this:
A critical hit with the Son-on-a-Streak deals about 79 damage. Meanwhile …
A Scattergun shot in the same range can deal up to 105 damage. Two shots can reliably down most classes except for Soldier and Heavy, while two critical Sand-on-a-Sheet hits deals 158 damage, which downs 5 out of 9 classes. Even if you consider the slightly lower attack interval for the Sing-on-a-Stage, it deals 158 DPS compared to the Scattergun’s 168 DPS. Besides, a Scattergun doesn’t rely on having another player setting others on fire!
The Scout’s melee weapons are generally prized for their utility, since his Scatterguns are much better melee weapons in general. The Atomizer is great because of the extra mobility it grants Scout. The Sandman and the Wrap Assassin gives Scout a ranged harassment option. The Boston Basher lets Scout help Medics build Über. The Candy Cane drops Medkits on kills and the Fan O’War is great on MvM. The Stand-on-a-String’s main feature is to deal extra damage under a rather uncommon situation. And it’s not doing it any better than the Scattergun.
It isn’t even good as a joke! The Holy Mackerel and Unarmed Combat are far better in that regard. And it’s far more humiliating to die to the Fan O’War than to the Sit-on-a-Swing. There is really not much reason to equip it. And it shows.
According to TF2Stats.net, the Slum-on-a-Street has the lowest percentage of owners equipping it. No one bother to use it. Its brother, the Sharpened Volcano Fragment, may have issues on its own, but people still equip it since it looks bloody awesome.
What this weapon needs is not a buff, since its concept is flawed to begin with. It needs a complete rework. Considering its appearance and name, the Stuck-in-a-Fridge should have a fire-based attribute. Maybe have it launch a fireball that explodes on impact, like a fiery Wrap Assassin? Nope, might as well just use the Wrap Assassin. Bleeding is harder to get rid of than afterburn. Afterburn immunity? Could be useful, but Scouts can just abuse it against Pyros by quickly swapping between it an a firearm to bully Pyros to no end. Have hits set people on fire, like the Sharpened Volcano Fragment? Why do that when the Scattergun just kills them immediately? Have it extinguish friendly players and store crits that way, like the Manmelter?
I actually quite like that last idea. Not too sure how well that’ll work, but either way, the Sun-on-a-Stick really needs a rework.
