aabicus – Page 41 – The Daily SPUF

Killing Floor 2 Disappoints Again

November 25, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments cosmetics, crates, criticism, killing floor, non-tf2

Tripwire has announced that its upcoming content pack will include a crates and keys system completely lifted from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a move that is becoming increasingly popular with similar models now existing within Payday 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2. As you play you’ll receive cosmetics (that you can sell on the Steam Community Market) and crates (that you can open by buying keys). Said cosmetics come in six shades of rarity (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Exceptional, Master Crafted, and Precious) and while they’re currently cosmetic-only, Tripwire says: “In the future we may be adding weapons with new gameplay for sale, but this will appear in… [Continue Reading]

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What if Pyro had a shotgun primary?

November 24, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments pyro, shotgun, suggestion, weapon, yert

This article is dedicated to Yert, one of the winners of the 900th Article raffle. What’s so interesting about the Pyro is that he’s a dedicated short-range class in a midrange game. Flamethrower, Shotgun, and Fire axe are all heavy hitters up close but rapidly run out of steam the further away your opponent is, and that’s kinda weird in a game where most secondaries are designed to fill a niche where the primary weapon is weaker. But that leaves open the tantalizing possibility of replacing the Flamethrower with an incendiary shotgun of some sort. Pyrophoricity Level 1 Incendiary Shotgun… [Continue Reading]

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On Ladders

November 21, 2015January 15, 2017 aabicus 0 Comments criticism, design, mechanics, On Shooters

Abandon all gravity ye who enter here. You think you’ve tackled the toughest foes first-person shooters have to throw you? Do you evaporate bullet sponges, quickscope flying speedsters and melee tanks to death without thinking? Then I present to you the one enemy who doesn’t care. The foe whose only strategy is to use your own weight against you, the foe who can morph the game into a platformer at the worst possible time. Not only is it seemingly impossible for any shooter to make ladders that don’t suck, they also can’t agree on the mechanics. Do you latch on by facing… [Continue Reading]

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How to Explore Your TF2 Early Years

November 18, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments history, items, weapons

I only recently noticed that Valve revamped the backpack system at some point. Perhaps the rest you already knew this, but you can now sort your backpack by date. If you’re ever feeling pensive, I encourage you to do so temporarily, and go check out the oldest things in your backpack. It’s been a long time since you first played TF2. What’s the oldest weapon you still possess? For me, apparently it’s a self-crafted Vita-Saw, the third oldest item in my backpack. I have no idea why this Vita-Saw has survived this long, except I guess Valve has never given… [Continue Reading]

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Best Civilians to Tie Down in Payday The Heist

November 15, 2015October 5, 2016 aabicus 0 Comments Civilian, guide, payday

This guide assumes you’re playing solo and only have two cable ties. It gives the best and (if applicable) second-best civilian I’d generally recommend using those ties on. Sometimes you shouldn’t take hostages right away. Shout them to the ground but keep the cable ties off because Hostage Rescue teams will prioritize cable-tied hostages, and sometimes it’s best to wait until the objectives move you in the right direction anyway. I generally don’t think Extra Cable Ties are needed on any heist except certain achievement runs like ‘Crowd Control’ and ‘Blood in, Blood out.’ 1. First World Bank Your first… [Continue Reading]

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The Benefits of Sharking

November 9, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments Filler, strategy, TFC, tips, trading

Sharking is an old but solid technique that shows up a lot in Valve games. Anyone can do it, and it can really give you a legup in some unprofitable situations. Originating from the original GoldSrc engine and surviving even to today, ‘sharking’ involves keeping the jump button (probably space bar) held down while landing in or entering deep water. The character will ‘surf’ along the top of the water maintaining their momentum, instead of sinking and blimping along underwater. Great for avoiding the dreaded slowdown of swimming. As an avid sticky-jumper I love sharking, its one of my favorite mechanics… [Continue Reading]

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Payday: Global Offensive

November 1, 2015June 19, 2021 aabicus 0 Comments crimefest, dlc, Not TF2, payday 2

I wasn’t going to write this article at first, because I knew it’d probably be received poorly and I don’t want to develop a reputation as a corporate white knight. After all, I keep finding myself on the wrong side of the angry fanmobs, having defended paid mods, droppable Ubercharges and now PD:GO. But I just truly don’t see why the Black Market update is so heinous based on Payday 2’s entire design philosophy. Unlike TF2 or CS:GO, Payday 2 is entirely Player-versus-environment. The reason Overkill can release DLC after DLC introducing entirely new weapon concepts and even an entirely… [Continue Reading]

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A Truly Random Topic of Conversation

October 25, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments engineer, history, pyro, soldier, spaaaaaace, weapon

I couldn’t decide what to write about, so I hit “Random Page” on the wiki, and I’m gonna write about whatever pops up. Huh. Okay then. Grockets have by and large exited the public conscience ever since Valve removed them from the maps in which they crashed, but for a time they were the closest thing TF2 had to extraterrestrial contact. Birthed from a collaboration with Weta Workshop and Valve, the first Grockets crashed into 2fort, Badwater and Barnblitz on July 18, 2011. Two days later they were revealed to be teasers for the new Grordbort Victory Pack, which came… [Continue Reading]

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The Amputator: Not Really for Amputating

October 24, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, medic, medieval, melee

I was looking over my favorite two loadouts in TF2 and realized I’d dedicated articles to every individual weapon except the Amputator. Well, that’s just weird, so let’s just fix that right now. The Amputator is not an unpopular weapon but it’s certainly not the average Medic’s first choice. I know of far more people who main the Ubersaw, and after that I’m pretty sure the Solemn Vow is second place. I totally get that; the Ubersaw’s reward for landing even a single melee hit is incalculable, and if you’re going to sacrifice that you might as well grab a… [Continue Reading]

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The Wrap Assassin: Christmas at 70 MPH

October 21, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, melee, pass time, scout

Yeah, I know it’s not meta but I happen to really like the Wrap Assassin. Most of the people who complain about this weapon either find it annoying or point out that it doesn’t really fill any niches. The Sandman shoots a much more powerful projectile, the Boston Basher deals more consistent bleed damage while serving as a mobility tool, and if you want to go full utility nothing’s going to beat the Atomizer. There’s just not really a reason to use the paper tube. But there’s also no reason not to use it. It’s downside-free. You gain a projectile bleed attack… [Continue Reading]