analysis – Page 8 – The Daily SPUF

Spies – Out of Place?

September 13, 2015 Medic 0 Comments analysis, balance, criticism, spy

Spy has always been a tricky class to balance. He’s designed to be a pick-class, someone who takes out key targets – generally a Medic or Sniper – so the rest of his team can gain the upper hand. But unlike our other pick-classes, Scout and Sniper, Spy really struggles to do his job effectively. Really, when you think about it, Spy is incredibly out of place in the world of TF2. While Sniper sits on some ledge a mile away making his amazing picks (often baiting his team to distract the enemy so he can get those tasty tasty… [Continue Reading]

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TF2’s Unlock System is Truly Unique

September 5, 2015July 27, 2017 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, balance, comparison, unlock, weapon

Can we take a moment just to explore how revolutionary TF2’s unlock design is? Think back to the days before the Gold Rush Update. TF2 was a complex and nuanced game, with 9 classes and 25 weapons, and then Valve announces that there will be unlockable weapons added, starting with the Medic class. What would you predict these weapons will be like? Taking the standard dev theme for designing alternate weapons for a slot, probably something like this: I’m running through a list in my head of shooters with swappable inventory unlocks, and I’m seeing a very tedious trend where the closest thing to… [Continue Reading]

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PASS Time – Pass, or Worth The Time?

August 24, 2015 Caldoran 2 Comments analysis, beta, game mode, new, pass time, strategy, Ultiduo

I almost heard the collective groans and sighs from TF2 fans all over the world when the update notes dropped. Another Beta gamemode?! Not even a single map has been completed since the Beta started, yet Valve has apparently been busy at work creating yet another thing to be “tested”. What are they thinking? Well, simmer down there. Valve works in mysterious ways – At this point, are you still surprised at Valve making yet another mind-boggling, logic-defying decision? But let’s move on to the topic at hand. What is PASS Time? Think American football – with guns. There is a single ball… [Continue Reading]

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A Comprehensive 100 Tour Review of Mann vs Machine

August 20, 2015 Dan 0 Comments advice, analysis, criticism, game mode, MvM, strategy

$429.84 Over the past 3 months, I’ve spent over $400 on Team Fortress 2: Mann vs. Machine. I want to provide an honest and accurate reflection of Mann vs. Machine, in addition to clearing up some of the misconceptions about the game mode that many of the newer players have. For those of you that are looking to continue or start playing MvM, this guide will lay out the basic details that you’ll need to determine whether or not MvM is right for you. You will not profit A lot of players start playing MvM in hopes of turning a… [Continue Reading]

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Sharks and Minnows (aka You)

August 18, 2015 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, Depth, Not TF2, shark!

Unless you play on tc_meridian, TF2 has a depressing absence of sharks. This holds true for the rest of my Steam library as well. Luckily, Depth recently had a free weekend, and I got to fill this void, just like the sharks in that game got to fill themselves up with me. I’ve always had an intense fascination with underwater combat in video games, partly because I’m mildly terrified of water in real life. I dedicated a whole article to what little of it exists in TF2, I can’t resist leaping into bodies of water whenever my gameplay crosses them, and… [Continue Reading]

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Salvaging an idea – The Uber-Syringe Gun

August 8, 2015 Medic 0 Comments analysis, balance, medic, suggestion, unlock, weapon

There’s always been several ideas that are tossed around the Medic sub-forum of SPUF. The Overhealer, a Medi Gun that makes you invisible, Vita-Saw reworks, all sorts. One of these ideas is a Syringe Gun or other primary weapon that works alongside the Ubersaw. On hit, you get Ubercharge. But nine times out of ten, the suggested ideas just don’t pan out. I believe otherwise. I think the idea of an Uber Syringe Gun could be made to work. But it quickly becomes a bit complicated. Our first step is to see what problems such a weapon would create. Ubercharge… [Continue Reading]

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The Addicting Tyranny of Idle Games

July 27, 2015November 14, 2017 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, Exploit, Not TF2

It wasn’t until this gif popped up on my Steam Community overview page that I had even heard of the thriving genre of idle games. Games designed to not be played, instead to play in the background while you go about your life. Getting work done, sleeping…in the best examples you don’t even need the game running, it’ll automatically update itself when you next crank it up. This goes beyond games that incorporate being AFK into its design, like the skill-leveling system of EVE Online, or games like Animal Crossing that guilt you with spoiled crops and sad villagers if… [Continue Reading]

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Arena Respawn – Not at all serious fun

July 12, 2015 Medic 0 Comments analysis, arena, arena respawn, event, fun, SPUF

On Saturday 11th of July, Confusion hosted the SPUF Arena Respawn event with some help from Sham and Davjo and I got to try out Arena Respawn for the first time. Now, I’m a bit of a purist, I like things unmodded in TF2. Plus, Arena was my original game mode after 24/7 Junction, and I was quite good at it, particularly the Arena-only maps that no one else really plays. Not great, since I’ve always been bad at Deathmatching, but I’ve played safe and strategically and also know when to go “who gives a fuck”. So let’s have a… [Continue Reading]

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TF2vOW: Scout versus Tracer

July 8, 2015January 25, 2017 Answers 0 Comments analysis, balance, class, comparison, Filler, fun, matchup, overwatch, theory

Welcome to the first-ever edition of the “TEAM FORTRESS 2 VERSUS OVERWATCH” series. Inspired by the ongoing flamewars between the two fandoms and Screwattacks own “Death Battle” series on Youtube, TF2 vs OW is where I theoretically pit one or more of your favorite TF2 classes against their counterparts from Blizzard’s upcoming TF2 rip-off (and revenge for Valve stealing DOTA): Overwatch! We’re probably never going to be able to see this in this reality, so doing it here will be the next best thing! I will try to go through each characters weapons and abilities as objectively as possible in order to decide who would win… [Continue Reading]

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Stupidly Simple Fixes – Part 2

July 5, 2015 Medic 0 Comments analysis, criticism, demoman, medic, opinion, pyro, suggestion, weapon

A note before I start: these are just ideas and thoughts, both my own and combined with other people’s thoughts, particularly SPUFers. Do me a favour and don’t take them as absolutes or anything. Should have put this at the top of the previous article, really. And probably should have published this before the Gun Mettle update, but oh well. Bad timing and all that. Still, I like my ideas better. Anyway, considering that Valve hasn’t really been doing much lately when it comes to balance changes, I’ve decided to take things into my own hands and try and fix… [Continue Reading]