TF2 Item Whitelist

LeSwordfish

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Aug 8, 2010
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I skim-read through quakes post. Then i read the last line.

anyway, short answer:
every class has it's place

A equally skilled scout and heavy meet each other in a one-on-one. Of course the heavy is going to win. But if that same scout meets an equally skilled medic, or soldier or demoman, it'll kick their ass. Each class has situations they excel in, and situations they fail at. That's the drawback of class variety, and one of the best things about the game. Saying that there is a problem with the game because you cant kill a heavy as a medic is like saying that bricks should be wrapped in bubble-wrap because it hurts to use them as pillows.

You seem to be saying this yourself- "Best way to kill a heavy is with a one-hit-kill" but you are ignoring it, somehow. A scout will lose against a heavy, but a spy will win. That spy can do nothing against a good team or a pyro, and that pyro will have a lot of trouble taking out a sentrygun, which is vulnerable to demomen, who are vulnerable to soldiers, and please let me stop continuing this metaphor.
 

Trotim

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Jul 14, 2009
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Huntsman, gives the sniper good (albeit lucky) midline power.

And because I love my huntsman :3

I don't see why the Sniper needs more mid-range power though. Gotta admit I also like the Huntsman for screwing around but honestly that's pretty much all it can do. If you want someone who's good at mid-range, go Soldier, Demo or Heavy and you'll do much better. If you want a long-range class, go Sniper. Going Sniper and then wanting a mid-range weapon just doesn't make sense to me.

Scout : none of them
Soldier : The buff banner (somewhat hard to use well, promotes teamplay at the expense of personal versatility)
Pyro : The flare gun (it's a completely different 'vanilla' weapon that fits the class), the axtinguisher
Demoman : none of them
Heavy : He could us a secondary weapon that is less redundant than the shotgun and less of a no-brainer than the sandvich, IMO. Currently, none of them.
Engineer : The gunslinger (it's a different way to play the class, with pros and cons, yet it doesn't introduce any new convoluted mechanics)
Medic : The kritzkrieg
Sniper : The sydney sleeper (makes the less skilled players less of a liability), jarate (see buff banner)
Spy : none of them

This is kind of the post I expected, even if the explanations are a little lackluster. Not sure I agree with Jarate or the Sleeper but I can discuss these in a bit. Da_Man's and LeeWSabo's posts were fine, too, thanks. I would discuss the unlocks now but I wanna say something first... (at end of this post)

Thats exactly why it can be added :p

What reason is there for reskins to be in the game? Frankly I don't see one, all it does is cause some confusion and clutter up the game a bit

All of them.

Because I love my big, weird, hat-loving world of TF2, and there's nothing I'd like to get rid of.

This is not a blacklist, you're not getting rid of anything
2007 when the game was released when you're asked what unlocks to add to the game you couldn't really have said "all of them" now could you

Fixing actual problems, instead of creating sub-classes

There, that's a good point and if you apply that argument to all unlocks, half of them already fail

what about , all?

i mean i see lot of people whit diferent loadout and if we keep this therad enough long , all the items will pass.

I highly doubt all items would get listed and even then... I think I worded my OP weirdly or something but guys. Just listing unlocks doesn't help at all, the reasons are the big part here. I expected something like

Post #1: Well, Kritzkrieg because <> and also Ubersaw because <>, not sure about Blutsauger actually
Post #2: I agree with Kritz and Ubersaw (because <>) but the Blut should be in too because <>, additionally the Equalizer because <>
Post #3: I actually want to contest the Ubersaw because I don't see what it adds to the game

etc.

More like a big discussion round instead of a random list of lists. Although these were helpful too as most players here seemed to only want a select few unlocks. The reason I asked for reasons is that I realized most unlocks just don't seem to have one anymore e.g.
Jarate+Bushwacka gives Sniper extremely high damage at melee range, why? Why does the long-range class need to be more deadly at short range?

So please keep the reasons in mind and I'd like people to expand on their lists now, arguing for or against others' and saying why.

If I had to make a little list of items that would probably be added to the whitelist as of now, it'd look like this (with some of my own opinion):
Kritzkrieg, yes - binary choice of huge firepower vs invulnerability. adds element of surprise, Kritz uber and normal Uber can counter each other so neither are really comparable to one another, both have offensive as well as defensive capabilities. Kritz rewards good aim and good timing to get multiple quick kills but the Medic becomes even more vulnerable so it can be countered before and during the charge.

Gunslinger, yes - speeds up Engineer gameplay considerably (upgrading and babysitting buildings is the most boring part and most frustrating considering they can be taken down in an instant) and gives him slightly better frontline capability. easy to see being used at a glance. minisentries are less frustrating to fight against and assist more than kill, promoting use of Pistol and Shotgun. good escape tool - an engineer going with a medic and throwing down his minisentry when an enemy, especially scouts, arrive can really counter a medic snipe. only problem I see with it is that teleporters and dispensers still go to level 3 which kind of contradicts the gameplay it promotes

Jarate, maybe - trades personal firepower for potential team damage. maybe a bit too simple to use (essentially a grenade) and heavily favored but that's because the SMG is not very good. other problems I see is that it allows Snipers to counter Spies more easily and that its... concept still just can't be taken seriously (jar of piss). it also requires the Sniper to be at mid-range, again, and I'm not a huge fan of that. I'd much prefer something like giving the Sniper a Sleeper-like secondary that still applies jarate but has a long cooldown and requires good long-range hitscan aim, there are already enough projectile weapons (and classes)

Ubersaw, yes - actually gives Medics a reason to melee and rewards risky hits with a lot of Uber, allowing for sick clutch plays that can turn the tide of battle altogether. not as much synergy with Kritz (because the Medic gets hurt in the process) unless the other team is not as good as yours, you usually run in to Ubersaw a few times, pop Uber and run away/push in farther.

Gonna wait for some responses and post more I'd actually like to add to the whitelist next time. But yah, more actual discussion, please
 
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LeSwordfish

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What i like is the big change stuff. The flaregun, the Sandvich, Bonk, Jarate... technically the targe, yes. The banner, the kritzkreig, the gunslinger, and i'd have to sulkily include the Dead Ringer.

I LIKE subclasses, i LIKE the idea that when i get bored playing one kind of sniper, i can play another that rewards me for staying within a stones throw of the action, or if i get bored with soldier i can trade my close-range damage for a team boost. Those, to me, are far more interesting weapons than the other stuff.

Dead ringer and targe make it in there since they are the gamechanging ones. The targe changes TOO much- the skills required have been almost completely overwritten, rather than changed, or dialled up. The Dead Ringer changes the game most dramatically of the spy's unlocks, but otherwise i wouldnt really want it in. Fake death is so unintuitive it really only causes problems. Maybe the knife-i-cant-remember would be better, but its kind of useless, and exacerbates the spys problems. Then again, exacerbating existing problems makes use of existing skills, so... *shrug*

The "Fixing Problems" stuff- we shouldnt have extra weapons for those. We should fix the problems. If my house is subsiding i dont shrug and buy a tent.
 
Mar 23, 2010
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i think it was more "heavy is slow, so let's give him something to give him mobility at the cost of something"

basically creates a subclass/alternate way to play, but with reason unlike targe/tr0llringer.
 

Sgt Frag

L14: Epic Member
May 20, 2008
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I can take down lvl 3 sentry as pyro easy


IF

it's in a corner by a door, I can sneak in and strafe it while not being shot at buy others or wrench wacked.


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I can kill heavy one shot as spy easy

IF

he doesn't see/hear me and gun me down

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Scouts often kill me when I'm heavy. They can shoot, run to health, come back while I'm trying to crawl to health, shoot again, jump on my head, run circles around me, double jumping, etc...

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IMo the classes balance each other out quite well.

The one combo that's hard to beat is the kart+heavy+heavy combo.
 

honorum646

L6: Sharp Member
Oct 9, 2009
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A equally skilled scout and heavy meet each other in a one-on-one. Of course the heavy is going to win. But if that same scout meets
an equally skilled medic, or soldier or demoman, it'll kick their ass.

Scouts are soldier's easiest target... The solly should hands-down beat the scout with even skill level.
 
Mar 23, 2010
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Scouts are soldier's easiest target... The solly should hands-down beat the scout with even skill level.

it's a soft counter, but ya soldier's generally have advantage over scouts.
 

Trotim

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Jul 14, 2009
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i think it was more "heavy is slow, so let's give him something to give him mobility at the cost of something"

basically creates a subclass/alternate way to play, but with reason unlike targe/tr0llringer.

I actually disagree with that though in retrospect, yeah I supported the GRU (before all the unwarranted Heavy buffs) but to be honest I don't like the whole GRU concept anymore.
Heavy is supposed to be slow, relying on positioning a lot, but has a lot of health. The health drain on the GRU doesn't really change anything, you just need to use Sandvich which is another probably simply OP unlock, but... being slow is the weakness of Heavy. Getting rid of that will just never work, and giving Heavy an unlock that makes him faster but reduces health is just screwing up his class definition.
To be frank if anything he should get an unlock that makes him even slower but stronger so the Brass Beast at least goes in the right direction. Maybe the Fists of Steel would even be okay if they slowed Heavy to revved speed when out so blocking incoming damage would actually have a downside and need some skill.
A tweaked Fists of Steel I'd actually prefer to the GRU is what I'm saying.
 
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grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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The health drain on the GRU doesn't really change anything, you just need to use Sandvich which is another probably simply OP unlock...

The past few servers i've played on, dropping the sandvich wouldn't allow me to grab it for half health. So didn't it get nerfed? I only ask this because these were heavily modded servers (6 demo grenade launcher ammo for instance), i can't seem to find a vanilla EU server for the life of me since the Replay update.

The sandvich is a very OP unlock but for a team without a medic it's the only unlock that makes the heavy worth playing. The lack of mobility and the capacity for most classes to corner strafe shoot him (especially demo/soldier/scout) the heavy is incredibly vulnerable to most classes that catch him un-prepared. Without a medic and his overheal/kritz combo he's a very weak class and this couldn't be more obvious when he's largely ignored in competitive play.
 
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Trotim

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The past few servers i've played on, dropping the sandvich wouldn't allow me to grab it for half health. So didn't it get nerfed? I only ask this because these were heavily modded servers (6 demo grenade launcher ammo for instance), i can't seem to find a vanilla EU server for the life of me since the Replay update.

Our/my old private server disabled picking up Sandvich for self-heal (it only refilled the Food meter so you could throw it again), yeah, which I feel balanced out Sandvich a lot.
 

grazr

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...Just listing unlocks doesn't help at all, the reasons are the big part here. I expected something like

Post #1: Well, Kritzkrieg because <> and also Ubersaw because <>, not sure about Blutsauger actually
Post #2: I agree with Kritz and Ubersaw (because <>) but the Blut should be in too because <>, additionally the Equalizer because <>
Post #3: I actually want to contest the Ubersaw because I don't see what it adds to the game...

Oh, and i missed this post, but if you ask for a white list then you get a bunch of lists.

That said, i'll reply with a more in depth response later. I didn't really wanna just throw a plain list down anyway, but it was hard not to just go "i like a lot, but the Black Box gets on my fucking tits".

I would agree that refilling your food meter makes the sannie more balanced. Because it's basically like carrying a medium health pack with you at all times and the 150 re-heal makes the chocolate bar +50 max health mostly redundant.
 
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Feb 14, 2008
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Scout: Bonk!

I use Bonk! almost exclusively, given the amount of A/D maps in which the scout is less useful.

Soldier: Equalizer, Black Box, Buff Banner, Gunboats

Equalizer is great for escapes; I like to use the Black Box now and again because there's a different playstyle there; Buff Banner is great fun to pull off; and Gunboats are just good for letting soldiers be more mobile.

Pyro: Axtinguisher, Attendant Set

Attendant set is probably the strongest community made set in the game (and art styliest!); and well, the Axtinguisher really completes the modern Pyro. I'm not a fan of the Flare Gun though.

Demo: Skullcutter

I like to use this over the bottle because it's better, for the sticky jumping demoman.

Heavy: GRUs, Sandvich

GRUs/Sandvich combo is my Heavy playstyle, use the GRUs to rush quickly between battle and use the Sandvich to support me and my medic.

Engie: Frontier Justice

Gunslinger is useless in my view, and the Wrangler is just annoying to play against. Frontier Justice is a neat mechanic though.

Medic: Kritzkrieg, Ubersaw, Blutsauger

The classic combo, what more is there to say. I'm tempted to throw the Amputator in there as well, but decided not to.

Sniper: Jarate, Bushwacka, Razorback

I use either Jarate or the Razorback, never use the SMG. I love the Jarate mechanic, it's probably one of my favourite weapons in the game, and when combined with the Bushwacka, it's lethal. The Razorback is good for when I just want to sit back and snipe, and have to worry less about spies.

Spy: Everything

I think every Spy weapon is nice and unique, and has a place in the game. The Spy's weapon pool is probably the best in the game, because of how the Spy can use them in combination. It's also fun to switch it around too. The Spy Update was definitely my favourite class update.

And there you have it.
 
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Trotim

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Oh, and i missed this post, but if you ask for a white list then you get a bunch of lists.

That said, i'll reply with a more in depth response later. I didn't really wanna just throw a plain list down anyway, but it was hard not to just go "i like a lot, but the Black Box gets on my fucking tits".

I guess that makes sense, sorry. I was thinking more along the lines of everyone collaborating to settle on ONE item whitelist everyone can at least mostly agree with.

I like to use the Black Box now and again because there's a different playstyle there

...

Demo: Skullcutter

I like to use this over the bottle because it's better, for the sticky jumping demoman.

...

Heavy: GRUs, Sandvich

GRUs/Sandvich combo is my Heavy playstyle, use the GRUs to rush quickly between battle and use the Sandvich to support me and my medic.

...

Sniper: Jarate, Bushwacka, Razorback

I use either Jarate or the Razorback, never use the SMG. I love the Jarate mechanic, it's probably one of my favourite weapons in the game, and when combined with the Bushwacka, it's lethal. The Razorback is good for when I just want to sit back and snipe, and have to worry less about spies.

What different playstyle does the Black Box offer? Afaik all you do is shoot feet, get kill, while its heal mitigates self-damage. You have a lower damage output, enemies need more shots to take you down. It just slows everything down in my opinion, and the flat +15hp on hit (ignoring that I don't feel that's a Soldier mechanic) just promote spamming and should probably be tied to damage dealt instead at least?

Skullcutter is better... well I guess it can be sometimes, but there you have it. If you only use it because it's better then why is it there? Could you do the same with the Bottle? Probably. It's not an interesting unlock either way.

Same with the GRU/Sandvich "playstyle". It's just like the old Heavy playstyle, just faster and with more health. It is pretty much the staple but did Heavy really need all these upgrades? Nobody likes the Scout getting more health with the Milkman, and nobody liked losing Double Jump with the way old Sandman. I think taking away class specifics (like the slow speed and the slow rev-up time) really just hurts the variety... Sandvich, see a few posts above this. Would be fine if nerfed, I feel. It should focus on Heavy's (original...) focus on careful positioning more instead of just being his own Dead Ringer. Would you still use the GRU if it drained twice the health (12/s)?

Razorback I can understand, honestly. It's not as bad as some make it out to be especially because Spies can still counter it quite well.
But the Bushwacka... again, why on earth did the Sniper of all classes need an instagib melee attack? I thought that was supposed to be the Pyro's thing. When you get in close-range combat with a Sniper, you should have a huge advantage, end of story. Bushwacka really screws that dynamic up.
 
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NinjillaX

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Apr 4, 2011
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Personally I love the Blackbox, because it goes so well with the Batallion Back up. It keeps me healthy and fighting when there are no medics near me, and has saved my life more than a few times.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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Personally I love the Blackbox, because it goes so well with the Batallion Back up. It keeps me healthy and fighting when there are no medics near me, and has saved my life more than a few times.

The BB is a crotch for a class that is already considered the most powerful in the game. You join a server and out of 4 soldiers 3 will be using the BB and the other wont because he doesn't have it yet.

It's a weapon for bad soldiers who can't aim or play the class properly (at mid-range). Or real soldier's who feel like trolling a public server. The self heal makes the soldier incredibly difficult to deal with in close proximity as it negates large chunks of self damage, especially as another soldier who'll have to fire off his third rocket because some twerp got 2 glancing blows on you during combat that bruahgt him 30hp above your damage output while you end up dead.

It's a soldier's anti-soldier weapon that when combo'd with a medic makes you quite impervious to all mid-range combat and most close combat.
 
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NinjillaX

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Apr 4, 2011
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As long as I'm staying alive and racking up kills, call it a crutch or a noob weapon or what have you, because I like it :p
 

LeSwordfish

semi-trained quasi-professional
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Aug 8, 2010
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It's a weapon for bad soldiers who can't aim or play the class properly (at mid-range).

*Raises hand*

Ok, i'll flat out admit it. I play using the black box because i am bad. Same reason i use the brass beast. I am bad at this game, and should not use these weapons, but frankly i doubt they make me a killing machine.
 

tyler

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Sep 11, 2013
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If you use the Brass Beast you aren't just a bad Heavy, you're a bad player, because you aren't thinking about all the aspects of your own class or other classes.

If you want to play a good Heavy, the vanilla minigun is your best bet.
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
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Sep 5, 2010
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If you use the Brass Beast you aren't just a bad Heavy, you're a bad player, because you aren't thinking about all the aspects of your own class or other classes.

If you want to play a good Heavy, the vanilla minigun is your best bet.

in the VERY VERY rare cases people catch me as a heavy, I use my iron curtain.