Some Other Reasons the Crusader’s Crossbow is my favorite primary

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When I first made this blog, I was planning on having a lot of posts just dedicated to single weapons, like how the first post ever was about the Half-Zatoichi. However this hasn’t really happened, so now I’m going to try to incorporate more of them into our standard rotation. Because Valve has added some very cool weapons with unique stats into TF2.

My favorite is the Crusader’s Crossbow! Unique from the Syringe Gun unlocks in the Medic primary slot, it fires a single bolt (which recently became a bolt and not an arrow during the July 10th Update) that can heal teammates or damage enemies, dealing/healing more the further it flies. If this sounds like a long-range healing tool, you are right. But there are several other uses for it that people don’t give enough credit, and here are my favorite:

Mildly relevant picture made by FeelGoodInc.
Moderately relevant picture made by Nethero.

 

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SPUF vs. Discussions results!

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Two weeks ago we announced SPUF vs. Discussions II: Requiem, where the two Valve TF2 forums pit each other in a 3-map highlander match to determine who was better. The results are in: SPUF won the first round of koth_badlands, but Discussions rallied and won the next two, taking badlands. After that Discussions won cp_granary twice in a row. As that’s two maps out of three to SPUD, they win the tournament. Thanks for joining in everybody! We’re not sure what the next SPUF event is going to be, but stay tuned, there are more coming your way!

Yesterday’s blog post wins WordPress award for quality writing

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Our blog post for September 19, 2013 was certainly a winner, wasn’t it? Probably the best thing I’ve ever written. Not a word of it was anything less than Shakespearicles-quality. Some of you may have thought it was a bit short, clocking out at zero characters (with spaces included), but that’s because we are currently working on migrating the blog over to the SPUF server, hosted graciously by thesupremecmdr, who also hosts the SPUF server for TF2. Like last time, the new site is not perfectly finished yet, so I’ll be updating both with any new posts in the meantime.… [Continue Reading]

Acting 101 for Spies: “Play the sniper a bit more effeminately, please.”

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Nowadays, a lot of players say the disguise kit is useless, that it exists only for slipping past sentries. Poppycock, I say! These players could use a little class, I think. To use disguises effectively, one shouldn’t pop one on and hope that their foes won’t randomly shoot them, but they must act. Yes, friends, welcome to Acting 101 for spies.

Caption: Alas, poor Heavy. I knew him well. Picture by Huff.
Alas, poor Heavy. I knew him well. Picture by Huff.

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The Sticky Jumper has been nerfed

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Valve had a small update on September 16th, where some unimportant stuff happened. When I first scrolled through the sparse update notes, seeing ‘bug fixes’ on item descriptions of cosmetic items, I was already thinking, whatever, it’s another one of those updates, nothing to see here. Then I read: “Updated The Sticky Jumper to only allow 2 active stickybombs at a time” Now, needless to say I’m not the only one saddened by this balance move. This innocuous training weapon has sent SPUF into a whirlwind of protest, defense, and general bewilderment. As one user put it, “Why is half… [Continue Reading]

Sir Donald Demoman’s Twenty-Nine Pipes of Gentlemannly Adventure!

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Ho, there, ye wee SPUFers, it is I, Sir Donald Demoman, and I’m postin’ on this here blog aboot a competition ah’m holdin’- a celebration of both the arts and the best hat in the game, the Scotsman’s Stove Pipe. Ye see, the Stove Pipe has defined me world fer as long as I can remember. Me mum says I was born with a band of ribbon in me mouth, hoho!

Anyways, I’m soon to be off on a grand adventure to find the mysterious land of Hydro! The scientists say that it doesn’t exist, that the legends of its past population are simply myth, but what do they know? So, it’s up to ye, the SPUFers, to hang onto my most cherished Stove Pipes until I return, if I do!

Picture by Gen. DeGroot
Picture by Gen. DeGroot

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How to think like a spy: The Art of War from behind the cloak and dagger

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Blades intro

Note: This applies less to playing the spy in small-sided competitive games, as there are different mechanics in play all together, this is a piece on the spy in regular format TF2 play.

Battle is not a concrete, straightforward thing. Many people believe that winning games is all about numbers; kills, deaths. Victory is not merely a body count. In TF2 you can fight battles all day long, and slay hundreds of enemy combatants, and unless that’s your explicit goal (such as in arena mode), they will always return to fight that same battle over the same point or the same target in the next wave of attack. Stalemate. Surely you’ve seen it, where one team is holed up in a defensible position, and the same situation repeats itself, übers are pushed away, advances mowed down by sentry fire, and enemies hammered by critical explosives, all to no avail. This is where the game needs to be changed. This is where we find our friend, the Spy. He doesn’t take the most names, he takes the right ones.

This is not strategy guide on the Spy’s gear, or the finite points of aim or twitch reflexes, but rather a series of observations and treatise on the thinking side of the spy, much of which is done subconsciously while you’re playing, and not really thought over save for what makes sense or what seems to be the best idea at the time, regardless of big-picture strategic value. Let’s explore the mind of a cold blooded killer.

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Is Scout really a “Generalist” class?

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The Team Fortress classes are often listed as “Generalists” or “Specialists”. Generalists, as their name would suggest, are useful in almost any situation, are infinitely adaptable, and are cornerstones of team play. Scout is frequently listed as a generalist, along with Soldier, Medic and Demoman. But after thinking about it, I’m not so sure that’s accurate.

Again, a “Generalist” is supposed to be useful in most situations. That includes offense, defense, different game modes, etc. No matter what’s happening on the field, there is usually a role for a generalist class to play. Then why can I think of several extremely common scenarios where a scout is not welcome on the team?

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Some Tips on Ultiduo

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Competitive Team Fortress 2 is an odd beast. On one hand, its goal is to quantify the most skill-based aspects of our beloved game to create an environment where the most skilled teams can prove it to their peers. Unfortunately, in order to do this they have to contend with the incredible amounts of unbalanced stuff that are hallmarks of the game; the unlocks are designed to be swapped out for the right situations, most of the classes are not designed to be played the whole time, and many of the maps give unfair advantages to offense, defense, or whichever team gains an early advantage. 6v6 deals with this by banning a fair amount of weapons and playing mostly 5CP, Highlander deals with this by restricting class switching and playing mainly payload.

Then there’s Ultiduo. One (specialized) map. One Soldier and Medic per team. The absolute core of the entire game. Can your combo beat the other combo when everything else is balanced to laboratory conditions?

Obviously this is not for everyone, but I’ve always had a blast playing Ultiduo. And considering its the third-most popular competitive format, I’m not alone. But since I can’t find anything on the internet giving advice on how to play it, I decided to write up a guide myself.

Picture from SalTV's Youtube channel
Picture from SalTV’s Youtube channel

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Arena mode: why it failed

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For once, it's not his loadout stopping people from playing with him. Photo by Gen. DeGroot.
For once, it’s not his loadout stopping people from playing with him. All photos this post by Gen. DeGroot.
Arena. We all know it’s a dead mode. Sure, there have been other modes that Valve dropped, like Special Delivery or Territory Control. But Arena was the only one with a considerable push behind it, starting with not just one map, but five: Lumberyard, Badlands, Ravine, Granary, and Well. It even received four more maps after its initial push. But despite this key difference, the mode still died. Why? Well, in short, it’s not very good. Why? There are a few reasons.