Highlander

Gunslingers vs. Highlanders: an analysis

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There was recently something of an upset when the Highlander team swept the Gunslingers in the recent tournament, and it rightly seems to have attracted something of an interest in the SPUF community. (I notice there hasn’t been a single thread arguing the Gunslinger is OP since the event…) Since I’ve participated in two of these events, playing Medic for Season 2 (the first time the Gunslingers won) and the most recent Season 5, I’ve got a pretty good perspective from which to analyze the two teams. On a fundamental level, the first major reason that Highlanders performed so much better… [Continue Reading]

Demoknights VS Highlanders – The Results!

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When they said “Demoknight” they didn’t mean what I saw in tonight’s Demoknights VS Highlanders match. Demoknight implies some bastard Demoman using the Booties, the Targe and one of the swords. Demoknight implies Sword-using-moron. No, what I saw tonight was NOTHING BUT GRENADES WHICH BLOCKED OUT THE SUN. Hybrid Demoknights VS Highlander was even more hell than Gunslingers VS Highlanders when it came to spam. At any one time, there were as many as 36 grenades at once, all flying towards the hapless Highlanders. Originally, I hadn’t planned to play in the Demoknight VS Highlander match, but a lack of players… [Continue Reading]

Gunslingers vs. Highlanders V results!

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Season 5 of Gunslinger vs Highlander has come and gone, and once again SPUF’s longest-lasting circuit has surprised everyone with a Highlander sweep. After securing pl_swiftwater by preventing the Gunslingers from capping second and then capping first in fewer seconds, Highlander secured the midpoint and pushed all the way into last, winning 3 times in a row for best 3/5. While this technically ended the event, both teams decided to play koth_ashville anyway, and here’s where the matches really got close. Several could have gone either way, but ultimately Team Highlander won the first three matches, taking king-of-the-hill and becoming… [Continue Reading]

Gunslinger versus Highlander 5

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It’s been too long since we’ve done a SPUF event, and this one was always popular. The minisentry has also been nerfed since the last time we did these, so I think now is an appropriate time to do this. DATE 2014-11-16 (Sunday) at 1:00 PM EST. SERVER The server will be located in the central US. I will provide an IP a few hours before the match. RULES+ That’s right! Unlike previous seasons, we actually have rules! Organization! Can you believe it? • Stay positive and have fun. Don’t be that guy screaming over the mic because your team lost mid… [Continue Reading]

What Use Are Friendly Disguises?

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That above question has bugged me for years. Why would you disguise as something that does nothing but inspire the enemy to shoot you? I knew there must be a reason to it, else Valve wouldn’t have added it, but serious thought only produced “trigger Dead Ringer while looking like something else, so they don’t keep spychecking after that.” Which is a decent use (and clearly intended by Valve, as the fallen corpse will remain that of a non-spy enemy) but were there any more? Turns out that, after speaking to some spy friends of mine, the answer is yes.… [Continue Reading]

An Engineer’s Guide to Engineering

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As an Engineer main who has several seasons of competitive under his belt, I am often approached by numerous newcomer Engineer players with various questions such as “What loadout should I use?” or “Where should I build in the map X?”. I would love to say I know all the answers after all my time of playing, but the reality of it is–Engineering is dynamic. It can differ from Engineer to Engineer as well as their playstyle strengths and weaknesses. It can also differ from team support and team dynamics. When it comes down to it, between variables of the… [Continue Reading]

10v10 “Mirrored Maps” Tournament

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===============IMPORTANT INFO========== Where: The SPUF Server When: Saturday March 22 at 6pm GMT Rotation: pl_retawdab, cp_tiplevarg, cp_lwobtsud ======================================= It’s been a while since we had a SPUF server event, so for this one, we’re keeping it simple. 10v10 Highlander on these mind-bending takes of your favorite maps! Best out of three wins, but even if one team wins the first two we’re doing the third, because half the fun is trying these maps out! Rules: -damage spread and random crits disabled -It’s highlander+bootieknight 10th player. Bootieknight player must equip a shield and booties (Why are we having him? So two… [Continue Reading]

World Champions – The Cream of the Crop

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Perhaps one of the more prestigious accomplishments that a person may be able to claim is being able to compete directly against the best of the best with the world’s eyes locked upon you. In the new world of e-sports, it somehow becomes more prestigious when you’re sitting right next to them as opposed to not even in the same city. In any case, we call those who emerge victorious champions of the world. Team Fortress 2 is a curious case among e-sports of the modern day – it doesn’t have a recognized worldwide competition of its own which can… [Continue Reading]

6v6, 9v9… 4v4?

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Competitive TF2 comes in many forms, including relatively niche ones like Ultiduo (a 2v2 duel of Soldier/Medic combos) and BBall (rocketjumping CTF — dunk that intelligence!). For the most part, however, the main competitive leagues have stuck to the old standbys of 6v6 and 9v9/Highlander. Come January 24th, this will no longer be the case. The 4v4 format has been picked up by UGC, one of the biggest competitive TF2 leagues (certainly the biggest in the North American Highlander scene!) — and the first match of the season will be here by the end of January. The format isn’t entirely… [Continue Reading]