The Unbalanced Infinite-Hitscan-Range-Man

Walking along Frontier, trying to actually do the objective, and then bam. Sniper headshots you from across the map, and proceeds to taunt, because “Snipin’ gud job m8.” I’m sure everybody who has ever played TF2 has experienced this pain at least once. My opinion has always been that the Australian Camper Van Man has been unbalanced, and some people could argue that he isn’t unbalanced because his weakness is close range, well heads up, the Jaratewacka combo exists. OK, enough talk, let’s get into why he’s unbalanced. 1. Sniper effectively counters everybody Really the only class that moves fast enough on the ground to… [Continue Reading]

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Grappling Hooks would be balanced in Medieval Mode

Grappling hooks would be balanced in Medieval Mode. Seriously. Alright, why are we discussing this? Why bother considering balance in a stupid game mode? Why bother discussing Medieval Mode at all? Because 1. it’s fun and 2. it’s currently a very one-sided game mode because the only classes with mobility are Scout and Demoman, and the only classes with range are Medic and Sniper. Of course, Medieval Mode’s one single official map doesn’t help. It has giant walls. Really high walls. The RED team are locked up safe inside until they venture outside, and once they do, there’s no way… [Continue Reading]

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A Different Gamechanger

Dedicated healers in games generally get the short end of the stick. Whether it’s having to rely on the skill of your team mates or your inability to keep up, being a healer is generally a thankless job, hence why many games go with the Combat Medic, someone who can heal but can also look after themselves, capable of surviving in a one on one fight just like anyone else. Turning back to the Team Fortress 2 Medic, he seems a tad out of line. A designer at Riot, the company behind League of Legends, once argued that it’s no… [Continue Reading]

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Soldier is overpowered and we don’t care…

In any class-based video game, you generally have some form of balance. Agile classes come with a lack of health, while power classes exchange speed for pure power, with other classes scattered between them. So the idea of a mobile, strong ace of all trade class appears to spit in the face of all this. In any other game, people would say that Soldier is overpowered. What few consider is that he may actually be so. If you look at his base stats, Soldier does seem rather mundane. High health, low walking speed, high damage weaponry with average reload times.… [Continue Reading]

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Phlogisticast Episode 5

Hey look! A SPUF-related pod cast that has lasted more than a couple of episodes! Yes, really. Seriously. Anyway, the Phlogisticast has got its 5th episode out. In it, Dekky, Thunder and I talk about goodness knows what, mostly Pyro stuff. There’s also some really awful French accents, a chat with a real life Pyro and discussions about the normal Pyro stuff. On top of that, there are plenty of tips for playing Pyro. And on top of ALL of that, we discuss Black Mesa. Yay! You want to listen? Click here! Please excuse the fact that Dekky believed the… [Continue Reading]

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Remember those bots?

Most people hate the AI-controlled bots, that were based off the AI for the Left 4 Dead AI survivors and infected. It’s not hard to see why, as many servers rely on bots to entertain the few people in the server during quieter times of the day. They’ve become the pawns of those who run servers only to make a profit. Everyone’s favourite teacher of TF2 tricks, AngrySockPuppet, even made a video about how the abuse of bots is making life a misery for people who just want to play a game of Team Fortress 2. These bots came in… [Continue Reading]

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Why you should heal Shotgun Heavies

Most gag classes are not getting any sort of love from my Medigun. Trolldiers can go find their health somewhere else. Demoknights usually are in charge of taking care of themselves, what with the medley of health-returning swords at their disposal. Gunspies will get the same treatment as regular spies, i.e. a spritz behind friendly lines or a long-range crossbolt if I have a split-second and line-of-sight. And don’t get me started on so-called combat medics. But shotgun heavies, on the other hand, are always treated by me as lovingly as any other legitimate class, and they can look forward… [Continue Reading]

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Evolution of the Spy

Let’s face it; TF2 is very old in video game terms, especially for a multiplayer FPS. It’s been going strong for almost seven years now, even though in the last two years Valve has been winding down on updates and general attention-giving to it in favor of DOTA 2, their new moneymaker, as well as their own console and probably some super-secret projects with their names written in indecipherable coding which just translates to “HL3”. In these seven years, TF2 has gained a fanbase and with that, people have learned things about the game and its classes, and how to… [Continue Reading]

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Sandviches for (not quite) everyone!

The Sandvich is overpowered. It allows one of the easier classes to play in the game to hide around a corner and heal himself or, worse, heal his team mates while he continues to tank damage and do massive damage in return. But here’s a thought, how would the Sandvich work on other classes? We’ll start with utility classes and work our way back. Of course, every class can benefit from what is essentially a free health pack, but since you have to taunt to use it, how effective would it be on every class? Spies, who are normally sneaking… [Continue Reading]

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