Meet the Medic or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love TF2

Fruity Snacks

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I originally made this a blog, but seeing as no one reads those/cares much about them, I tossed this here for a better discussion. These are opinions on the current state of TF2...

Meet the Medic or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love TF2

Since I've been playing TF2 (Sept 09) there has been a LOT of changes to game, mostly through the massive influx of hats and weapons, but also Maps and that stamp system. And, before the uber update, I was confused onto why some of these weapons were being added to the game. Now, since I am not valve, I can't not say exactly why these updates to the classes occured, but I hope this allows for some sort logical reason for it. I also wanted to make a blog, so there is that too.

The Uber Update was the "big revelation" for me in my quest to understand why the hell valve was putting weapons like the Claedhmor or the Kunai. It introduced a lot of new weapons that seemed well balanced and surprisingly... good. Pyro got the long anticipated Detonator, Heavy got a new Minigun and (surprisingly) a new shotgun, Soldier got 2 new packs, of which I will mention and talk a little bit about later. Even the demoman(knight) got new melee specific items.

A New Take on Medicine
The first big "A-Ha!" moment for me was with The Quick Fix:

90px-Backpack_Quick-Fix.png

The Quick fix: Ubercharge inceases healing by 300% and grants immunity to movement-impairing effects. +40% heal rate +25% Ubercharge Rate Can't Overheal
Initially, I did what everyone else tried to to do with The Quick Fix, and that was to run it through the paces of determining how effective it was as a way to Push (Stock Medigun) or defend (Kritzkrieg). Surprisingly (yet understandable), I found that it could do neither of these as well as the other Medi-guns. Then, I had an idea. Why not try it as a direct healer? He is the Medic afterall. Just use The Quick Fix to dish out massive heals at chokes or while under pressure (You know, kinda like in Meet the Medic) Even with the lack of overheal, I found this extremely efficient. This made me realize, "Wait second, I'm not ACTUALLY a Supporter now, I'm a DIRECT healer."

Look at the other items from the "Clinical Trial" set, I saw a clear connection to this claim. Specifically, the Solemn Vow. Although being the worst skinned item ever, I feel that it is a powerful tool. Now, while healing you can judge who should attack who, and whether or not to run or not, a typical tool of a healer in most cases, to watch over their team, and make sure they are at their highest level of performance and health.

And based off what I saw with the Quick Fix and the Solemn Vow, I came to a conclusion about the current state of the game. There are classes which are shifting,transitioning and expanding into a new role/personality/gameplay style.

Now, you are probably thinking "what the hell, how are you realizing this now, the Demoma- err Knight, has been doing the same thing? what about him n00b!1?" Well, you're right, I did not realize this until this update. Previously, I had acknowledged and welcomed the demoknight transition, but this update made it clear that there wasn't just 1 class in transition/expansion, but at least 3.

Demo demoknight, demoknight knight demo
Everyone knows of the Demoknight. Since the sticky jumper was added all o d the updates for the Demoman have been moving it towards a melee based class, which seems odd. Why would there be a melee based class (besides the spy) in TF2, a shooter. Well, take a step back and look at what the demoknight uses.

DemopanFad.png

A demopan, in all his glory.
(Now pardon me if I screw something up here, as probably everyone knows, I very rarely play demoman, so if I make some super controversial mistake, it'll probably be here.)

The main parts of the Demoknights arsenal is his sword and shield. His sword being either, The Eyelander, The Claidheamh Mòr, The Ullapool Caber, Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker, Frying Pan or the newly added Persian Persuader and Nessie's Nine Iron. Each of these have their own stats, and if you are not familiar with them, I have provided links to each one. These swords are "powerful" melee weapons which are used to replace the stock bottle. For shields though, we only have The Chargin Targe and The Splendid Screen (again, links provided). There is also the newly added (and aptly named) Ali Babba's Wee Booties, which replace the Grenade Launcher and provide increased maneuverability whilst charging.

A demoknight charges into groups, disrupt enemy movements with his melee weapon, then either die while taking a couple people down, or fall back and charge again when they have the chance. To me, this seems more like "one of those crazy blokes who bludgeons people with a golf trophy." Rather than a Explosive Ordinance expert who lays traps and can cause mass AoE damage. As of the Uber Update, this transition/expansion has been completely cemented in my mind, as now people don't call the Demoman, "The Demoman" anymore, but names like "The Demopan", "The Demoknight" and (my favorite tbh) "The Demorabian."

Tom Bui's: Future Soldier
With the recent Uber Update, I believe the soldier is not beginning to slight transition. The Uber Update introduced 2 new packs and 5 New weapons. Of these new weapons, we have Disciplinary Action, the Market Gardener and The Mantreads. These open up the current gameplay style of the Soldier. Instead of that front lines, "get it done maggots!" Spray and pray, type mentality, he can now be almost like spy, taking the back ways and high grounds as a way to get the perfect Rocket jump to goomba that medic with (although, this is somewhat difficult to do.)

I would though, like to speak briefly about the Disciplinary Action. This is on the same level now as the GRU's, it increases the mobility of the second slowest class, and allows him to get to the front lines (where he should be) faster. But, the near thing about the disciplinary action is that is also allows for the soldier to almost be a minor support class. See an injured teammate? Whip him so he can run out of the line of fire faster to get health. Making a hasty retreat? Whip everyone you can to help get away quickly. Really, I believe that a Disciplinary Action Soldier, with their choice of rocket launcher, and the Reserve Shooter, can be a very strong supporter as well as offensive entity on the battlefield.

90px-Backpack_Disciplinary_Action.png

The Disciplinary Action: On Hit Ally: Boost both players' speed for several seconds-25% damage done
Conclusion:
In conclusion, this is all probably a pretty big "Duh" blog post, but I felt like I should write it, so I could point out what I see in the game. Everyone wants the game to be like what it was back in 07, or (for me) when they started playing. But sadly, this is impossible. As the years progress, there is a change in the game market and in what consumers want. These changes affect already existing game, and to stay alive, these games need to change. Although TF2 was originally ahead of its time, it now needs to stay up with the market and consumer interests the best way it can. In this case, they are expanding the roles and versatility of the existing classes, either to make them more appealing, or to make them more "fun" for more people. I believe the Uber Update really made this clear, and frankly, showed that the game is starting to get


tl;dr: Valve is adding weapons (slowly) that expand each classes options into new territories. ie: Quickfix makes Medic more of a "healer" rather than supporter.
 
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h3r1n6

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I don't see what you see at all. Vanilla is the way to go, even more so with all those unlocks from the uber update.
 

YM

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DUH...uh, I mean, yeah cool isn't it.


The only thing I reeeeaaaallly still object to is pink as hell and lime green paints.
 

Trotim

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The Quick-Fix and the whip are fine, sure. The new Demoknight? Not fine.

Any of the other weapons? Yeah, no. New weapons are being added to keep people who care about items (the vast vast majority) playing in order to squeeze some more money out of them. Tomislav, Atomizer, Enforcer, the Persian Persuader and probably even the Screen, and the Overdose? Yeah they're upgrades. Better go buy them before they get nerfed (which a lot of people did and then complained about the Tomislav nerf that still wasn't enough). If they get nerfed

It is a completely different game by now and if it had been like this at release I wouldn't have gotten it, sorry

I only really play on TF2M occasionally now for the maps and the community, haven't been on a public server or done a 6v6 in months. Instead of the competitive classic it could've been it was turned into this casualized pseudo-RPG instead. It's as if they took Starcraft and instead of balancing and fixing bugs just added a new unit to all 3 races every month, and playing TF2 now feels more like playing a WC3/SC custom map instead of ladder. So full of useless gimmicks, a mess of a game that completely betrays the streamlining they worked so hard on for release
 
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Fruity Snacks

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DUH...uh, I mean, yeah cool isn't it.


The only thing I reeeeaaaallly still object to is pink as hell and lime green paints.

Well, I hear eveyrone complaining about "Blah balh why these weps" and I'm just trying to put it all together.

If you realized this already, good job.
 

Sel

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Everyone wants the game to be like what it was back in 07, or (for me) when they started playing. But sadly, this is impossible.
What?

I ran a 6v6 server with no unlocks allowed for map testing purposes for several months. It's most definitely not impossible. There are countless plugins that can block unwanted unlocks and/or allow players the ability to toggle hats on and off.
 

Moose

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I don't see tf2 being as popular as it is without constant updates and item additions. After a few years it would just start getting stale, and people would stop playing. Most of the new items are pretty bad, but at least the majority of them are fun and don't feel terrible to play against (tomislav and enforcer being exceptions).

Yeah pretty much just repeating what frozen said in the conclusion, but more often than not I'm enjoying the new weps, so I don't really care if they're ruining tf2 by existing.
 

Trotim

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Yeah you could have fun on WC3 custom maps too but you can't play seriously on them and they get boring quickly, that's the problem I have with the "modern" TF2. it turned the whole game into a custom gamemode basically, it's like taking all servers and adding advanced weaponizer items to them. yeah some people will find them lolfunny but they're designed to fucking badly ugh

have you SEEN the feedback you get from f2p guys, they have no idea what's going on or what to do and how to level up their weapons to do more damage and how to get hats to give them more health

the more items they add the more items they need to add to keep players playing

and that strange weapons are simply weapons you have had for 4 years but need to buy to get a kill count to annoy everyone else with and remind them to also buy keys is obviously not made to make the game more fun but just to keep people farming and grinding long after it stopped being fun, it's just about addiction
 
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Fruity Snacks

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Yeah you could have fun on WC3 custom maps too but you can't play seriously on them and they get boring quickly, that's the problem I have with the "modern" TF2. it turned the whole game into a custom gamemode basically, it's like taking all servers and adding advanced weaponizer items to them. yeah some people will find them lolfunny but they're designed to fucking badly ugh

have you SEEN the feedback you get from f2p guys, they have no idea what's going on or what to do and how to level up their weapons to do more damage and how to get hats to give them more health

the more items they add the more items they need to add to keep players playing

and that strange weapons are simply weapons you have had for 4 years but need to buy to get a kill count to annoy everyone else with and remind them to also buy keys is obviously not made to make the game more fun but just to keep people farming and grinding long after it stopped being fun, it's just about addiction

After all that, there was only 2 periods in there...

I like the strange weapons. Gives you a reason to play that weapon.
 

A Boojum Snark

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I agreed with the title when I read it, but proceeded to disagree with everything you said, mostly because it's not actually what the title is saying.

The couple hours worth I've played out of boredom in the past week or so have actually be somewhat enjoyable, or at the very least, I wasn't getting annoyed and upset by the time I decided to stop. I think I've actually reached the "stop worrying" point in that I really don't give a damn about what is in the game or what valve does to it anymore. It's already ruined. I suspect finally giving up on trying to map for it (and thus the only reason I had to care) has helped finalize this.

Now it is merely an entertaining thing to eat up an hour of my time the same as firing up Serious Sam or AAAAA!!!
 

grazr

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The thing that i find unfortunate is that my friends that have gotten TF2 within the past year are intimidated by all the weapons, weapons they don't have and greater skilled players, none of my friends who have played TF2 in the last year have continued to play.

I also don't blame them. As Trotim has also said, i'm only really here still for the custom maps and the community. I don't care about the weapon releases anymore because i am fatigued from the continued disappointment.

These days it doesn't feel like any of my deaths are from particuarly skilled players but from stupid weapons that make it feel more like i'm being griefed than anything else.
 
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Trotim

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I guess I am clinging to a lost cause too much, yeah. Because I liked the game too much back then and still want to like it... I guess it is mostly a timesink lately, sure.
 

Fruity Snacks

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I agreed with the title when I read it, but proceeded to disagree with everything you said, mostly because it's not actually what the title is saying.

Well, when I posted in chat... I did warn that it was poorly written most likely...

But it somewhat outlines my thought process for why I'm not really worrying anymore. It obvious now where the game is going and whats changing.
 

Pocket

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and that strange weapons are simply weapons you have had for 4 years but need to buy to get a kill count to annoy everyone else with and remind them to also buy keys is obviously not made to make the game more fun but just to keep people farming and grinding long after it stopped being fun, it's just about addiction

I think this video is relevant here. The thing is, I don't get what Valve's motivation would be for turning a game into this sort of grindquest. A subscription-based MMO, sure, but not a free game where the grind actually rewards you with free stuff you would otherwise have to pay for. Nor how a company who seems to "get" games better than other developers could make such a poor decision.
 

StickZer0

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Well, while like most people I objected to the Mannconomy update, I enjoy TF2 almost every time I play it, because there's so much for me to do. I can play in a huge range of ways, and I think crits and the sandman are like the only things that annoy me at all when i'm in a match.

Yes, there are a few bad weapons, but overall, I'm fine with TF2 as it is. I wasn't happy during the development when they started shitting all over their precious art style, but once it was established that the clean, clear TF2 was gone, I welcomed all the new stuff.
 

grazr

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Well, when I posted in chat... I did warn that it was poorly written most likely...

But it somewhat outlines my thought process for why I'm not really worrying anymore. It obvious now where the game is going and whats changing.

You mean as an F2P game that also plays like an F2P game (stereotypically badly). All their design logic, concept and refinement thrown out the window. A chaotic mess of combat with only 16 vs 16 players is quite a feat, the number of buffs, debuffs and particle representation of said buffs/debuffs becomes increasingly illegible the more TF2 continues to grow. It's like they don't care, the fact that they've made TF2 free i thought had many merits, but i'm starting to feel like they just don't care and without a price tag no one can argue they didn't get their moneys worth.

I've always loved Valve's methodical approach to game design, clear goals in producing interesting interactive narratives, well executed design responses to said aims and excellent capacity for aesthetics. But that doesn't exist anymore. At least not in TF2.

There's a reason i don't play the beta and that's to delay seeing the tripe that gets put into the game.
 
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Trotim

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You mean as a F2P that also plays like an F2P game. All their design logic, concept and refinement thrown out the window.

I've always loved Valve's methodical approach to game design, clear goals in producing interesting interactive narratives, well executed design responses to said aims and excellent capacity for aesthetics. But that doesn't exist anymore. At least not in TF2.

There's a reason i don't play the beta and that's to delay seeing the tripe that gets put into the game.

well it's not like the beta got any meaningful updates, they just put the items in the game a) without putting them in the beta first or b) just like they were in the beta without listening to 1 post of feedback