TF2 Workbench

Told you I'd check in on February 1st!

So, I'm not really feeling like I can feasibly start updating the blog this month, but I'm thinking I'd like to make at least a start at resuming regular updates. I've managed to build up a decent store of ideas that I'd like to consider.

As I'm sort of soft-rebooting the blog, I'd also like to experiment with new types of posts. Map balance (per my November Dustbowl post) is something I'm definitely interested in doing, but I was also thinking of pursuing stuff along the lines of "game tips" to encourage newer TF2 players. That'd certainly be a bit of a departure from my standard, although I know it's been received pretty well in the past.

Note: I accidentally queued this to post in the far-flung future and didn't figure it out until now. Sorry!

Well, I said I'd check back on January 1st, didn't I? (Note: I did say this, but as mentioned above, time has no meaning to me anymore).

At the moment, I'm still not feeling up to working on the blog; life is extremely busy and for the moment I've been interested in other games than TF2. I'm sure I'll be back - just not sure exactly when.

Oh no, he put "hiatus" in the title!

Good news: it's just for December. I'll check back on January 1st, and until then I'm always accessible here and on Steam.

I've found that:

Work is taking up a lot of my time, especially as I try to move up to a more permanent position. I love my job, don't get me wrong, but it takes a lot of energy.

I've felt a general lack of inspiration lately re: TF2, and I'm realizing that I may have treaded most of the ground that I can tread regarding new weapon unlocks. My November post about Dustbowl was well-received, and I'm planning to do more posts about map balance in the future. But for now, it's time for a brief reset.

This is something a little new for the blog that I'm hoping will be enjoyable. I'm going to talk about individual maps in the game, especially those known for being unbalanced. What better way to start things off than with Dustbowl, one of the original six maps?

Dustbowl tends to be very difficult for the attacking team to win. This is in large part due to the way the map is set up. Let's take a look at some key spots on the map.

As we go through these pictures, I'll ask you to bear one thing in mind: if a team has to go to somewhere, the goal is to minimize the damage they take while getting to the point. This is something that is a major problem on Dustbowl: there are many areas where BLU will have to expose themselves to sentry fire, explosive spam, Sniper shots, and more if they want to even have a chance to kill the defending team.

18 November

The Soldier has the Direct Hit, so it's no wonder that one of the more common suggestions for a grenade launcher is one that mini-crits blast-jumping (or knocked-airborne) targets. Curiously, this has never been added, even on the Direct Hit-ish Loch-n-Load. Why might that be?

(+) Getting an airshot is a great moment, and having the positive feedback of a mini-crit feels wonderful. It's a huge high moment for the person who hit the shot. This is a big part of why we'd want this grenade launcher in the first place.

(-) Grenades are harder to aim than rockets, and grenade launchers can't take projectile speed attributes without altering their effective range, which can really disrupt enemy players. So a grenade launcher with +70% projectile speed is a no-go - although you certainly don't need that to hit airshots.

(-) The Direct Hit's airshots are not its only selling point and are mostly icing on the cake for advanced players. What users will notice the most are the other attributes: the projectile speed, blast radius, and damage. As we've discussed, the projectile speed has to be toned down a lot, and as I noted in the Direct Hit post last month, high-damage point-blank explosives can often frustrate opposing light classes.

So if we're to design a grenade launcher that can get mini-crits, we'll want to include something else to make it really unique - but we probably won't be able to do a high-speed, high-damage build like the Direct Hit.

Hey, wait: there is a grenade launcher that can get mini-crits. It's the Loose Cannon, and it's really fun to use. Is there another way to do our mini-crit launcher while still using regular grenades?

Mini-Crit Grenade Launcher (+) While blast jumping or knocked airborne by an explosive: grenades mini-crit (-) -25% blast radius (-) -25% clip size

I've found that the only thing as satisfying as an airshot is landing grenades when you yourself are in the air, whether it's a stickybomb jump or an enemy rocket that knocked you airborne.

(+) This weapon gives huge positive feedback for the user and rewards them for cool tricks, but it's also not terribly hard to activate. (+) Because the mini-crit boost disappears once you touch the ground, there's no reason to spam grenades while airborne, hoping that you'll get a mini-crit later. (+) Because of the high health cost of sticky jumping, this weapon has pretty clear limitations that the enemy can play around (although the Sticky Jumper does sort of offset this). (-) 135 damage on a direct hit is a lot, especially since it one-shots light classes. Granted, the Loose Cannon can do this too, but it usually is more predictable because it doesn't often come from above. (-) There's no visual indication that grenades are mini-critical, which means opposing players can't as easily tell how much damage they're about to take. (-) Like the Air Strike, a lot of playing with this weapon is trying to get yourself in situations where you can use its upsides. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because of how easy it is to reap its benefits, but it doesn't necessarily add as many new interactions as the Loose Cannon.

About two years ago, I tried to overhaul the Reserve Shooter, but ultimately couldn't come up with a design that could work well for both the Soldier and Pyro. I'm gonna take another crack at it. Let's start by giving some details on the Reserve Shooter:

It gives great positive feedback if used well because of the satisfaction of landing a tricky shot and getting mini-crits for it.

But it is far less useful on Pyro than Soldier, because the Pyro has no ways to force enemies to take the mini-crits.

In either case, we have to reckon with the fact that most players don't like having their movement controlled, especially not when they die because of it. This is a primary reason why the Reserve Shooter (especially on Pyro) has been nerfed so much.

The first and easiest solution would be to bring back mini-crits on airblasted enemies. This might be viable because of post-Jungle Inferno airblast mechanics, which are much more forgiving to be hit by and as such might not be as frustrating for targets. But since you're here for interesting ideas, I'll suggest a bigger change:

(+) Knocks user back if fired while airborne

This makes the weapon more versatile, and I feel it improves the user experience.

You can now get the benefits of increased mobility on the Pyro without having to equip the Detonator or Thermal Thruster. It's not a huge jump, but it's always fun to have more mobility, and you have more control over this than you do over whether opponents blast-jump at you.

With the Soldier, using the Reserve Shooter mid-rocket jump can help you move unpredictably and adjust your direction midair.

The bad news is that the weapon still plays differently for Pyro and Soldier. It's less pronounced than it was before, but there are definitely differences, and the Soldier can almost certainly get better utility from it. However, that's not to say it isn't fun on both classes, which is the most important thing.

Some users may not want the airborne knockback, since it makes it harder to fire indiscriminately while airborne. However, I'm betting that this is a relatively unlikely situation.

A few years ago, I designed a version of the MvM projectile shield for regular gameplay. In that post, I focused mostly on mechanics without talking about how the shield would feel for its users and their opponents. This time around, I want to talk more about that gameplay experience.

Mechanically, let's assume that this shield is identical to the MvM one at its first level, with the exception that it doesn't damage enemies who touch it, just bounces them back. We'll consider it as an alternative to the Ubercharge, building with healing done and lasting roughly 8 seconds.

(+) This shield gives great high moments when used in coordination with the rest of your team. When the whole team stands behind a strategically deployed shield, it's a powerful moment for everyone. I really can't underscore how awesome it is.

(+) The design of the shield is intuitive, meaning enemies will know exactly how to deal with it: going around. This is also best accomplished with a coordinated team, encouraging smart counterplay.

(+/-) Flamethrowers can go straight through the shield, giving Pyros an opportunity to serve their team in a unique way. However, it also isn't terribly intuitive to the user, who doesn't get the immediate impression that they should beware Pyros in particular.

(+/-) Because the shield turns with the Medic, a lot is riding on that Medic's ability to move their cursor around. Small movements can make or break your team. This isn't a deal-breaker - compare it to a Heavy having to pay attention to where they're looking - but is worth keeping an eye on because of how powerful the shield is.

(-) Because the shield blocks enemy movement, it has the potential to turn tight spaces into fish-in-a-barrel scenarios where enemies flat-out can't advance for 8 seconds. Most maps have flank routes to prevent this, of course, but deploying the shield is still a powerful defensive tool, especially because it can also protect your sentries. We want to make sure it isn't like fighting a stone wall.

It's November, but you already knew that, probably. If you're reading this blog, you're probably a well-put-together, competent adult who always knows what the date is.

If you see a red or blue line fading out of the air, usually accompanied by a death scream, it's probably the Machina. I discussed this weapon a long time ago, but it seems time to give it an update.

Machina (+) +15% damage when fully charged (+) Fully charged shots penetrate players (-) Cannot fire unless zoomed (-) Fires tracer rounds

You might also be familiar with the fanfare that plays for the whole server upon scoring a penetration kill. It's good fun to replace the sound file with the intro of your favorite pro wrestler. Anyway:

The tracer shots are an excellent design choice because they require players - both users and enemies - to think. Almost anything that encourages players to think about the game is a good attribute.

Although the Machina gets its best results with fully-charged shots, it can be just as useful as the other rifles without charging. This keeps your gameplay options more open than, say, with the Classic.

The extra damage on charged shots doesn't usually make a difference against players who are at or near full health. There are a few specific cases against specific weapons (mostly the Vaccinator and Battalion's Backup) where the bonus damage makes a difference, but for the most part, opponents aren't suffering unduly from facing the Machina.

As discussed above, the extra damage on charged shots isn't often all that useful for the user. A regular 450-damage headshot is enough to kill most targets, meaning the Machina's bonus damage (total of 518 on headshot, 173 on bodyshot) only changes the outcome against a few specific targets using specific weapons. Moreover, it's difficult to guess exactly how much health a wounded player has, making it hard to tell when the Machina will make a difference.

Because the Machina gets its bonuses only with full charge, it encourages you to stay zoomed in for longer periods of time, which can be boring and sometimes dangerous. However, it's worth noting that it doesn't at all require you to do this, and there's a definite risk/reward dynamic associated, making it more of a choice than a mandate.

As I've alluded to, most of the Machina's issues are situational and don't really make it such a bad weapon. There are a few places where it's a little bit clunky, but overall it offers a reasonably pleasant experience for the user and their opponents. There is, however, a thing that I'd like to experiment with at some point:

What if all Machina shots pierced enemies? This is a huge upside and would certainly change the way the weapon plays, but would also be able to hit targets who were using the otherwise-valid strategy of hiding behind teammates, giving them an unpleasant shock.

If you're anything like me, you've spent the last week and a half playing the Scream Fortress maps. And if you're anything at all like me, you giggle like a hyena whenever you use a magic spell. If you're actually me, you deleted your spellbook ten years ago when you were new to the game and now can't use the spellbook pages you get from every new pumpkin.

My traumas aside, I notice that several of my friends aren't super fond of magic spells. Although it's obvious that they're objectively wrong, I figure I might honor their sad little feelings by talking a little bit about the good points and bad points of each magic spell.

"This is makin' me feel... really dirty." -my friend !!, on his seventh Phlogistinator kill this life

Regardless of how you feel about it, there's no denying the damage a Phlogistinator Pyro can do. A crit-boosted flamethrower, after all, does a lot of damage.

Phlogistinator (+) Build Mmmph by dealing fire damage [about 300 to fully build]. At full Mmmph, taunt to get an 8-second crit boost for this weapon. (+) Invulnerable and immune to knockback while Mmmph taunting (-) No random critical hits (-) No airblast

Speaking of how you feel about it, I happen to notice that the Phlog gets some flak. Hey, even from me sometimes. It can really sting to get rolled over by a critical flamethrower, and it hurts even more when the rest of my team gets caught in the same. What's to do?

Sometimes dubbed "the best melee weapon in the game," the Direct Hit kind of plays against type for rocket launchers.

Direct Hit (+) +25% damage (+) +80% projectile speed (+) Mini-crits targets knocked airborne by explosions, grappling hooks, or the Thermal Thruster (-) -70% blast radius

The skies aren't safe, and neither is the ground: a Direct Hit rocket has a base damage of 113, and in close range, it can deal enough damage to one-shot light classes. A mini-crit will deal at least 151 damage, making it very dangerous to most blast-jumping enemies.

The Direct Hit can give delightful positive feedback to a skilled user because of how satisfying its shots are to land.

It plays very differently from any other rocket launcher, giving it a unique niche and letting users diversify their gameplay.

However, being caught in a Direct Hit explosion can be brutal for a target, especially if it feels like almost random firing. I've seen frustration from light classes who happen to get blown up suddenly in close-range combat - a little like how taking a Sniper headshot at point-blank range is a very unpleasant surprise.

Because the rockets fly so fast, they are more difficult to dodge and as such can threaten at longer ranges. While regular rockets can be safely avoided at middle range, dodging a Direct Hit is more difficult to do, meaning that within its effective range, you don't dodge so much as make your opponent miss by messing up their prediction. Although this is handy for Direct Hit users, it means that opponents have to be much more wary.

In short, the Direct Hit is a pretty cool weapon that sometimes can feel frustrating to its victims. If I were going to tweak it, I'd add the following attribute:

(-) Not affected by damage ramp-up

This means that close-range shots no longer deal bonus damage, meaning there's no more one-shotting light classes. 113 damage is still a hefty chunk and can make a difference in a lot of situations, but approaching a Direct Hit is no longer such a risky proposition.

If you've played against a Spy, you've probably seen the Diamondback. It's an awesome-looking revolver that stores crits with each backstab or sapped building.

Diamondback (+) Stores 1 guaranteed critical shot for each backstab or building destroyed with Sapper attached (-) -15% damage (-) No random critical hits

I've also noticed that it's sometimes received with frustration by many victims. Why's that, and does it need a change?

The Diamondback provides a powerful positive feedback system for its users, who are rewarded handsomely for playing well.

It's possible for enemies to guess how many Diamondback crits a given Spy has simply by watching the kill feed (although this does require a high level of attention and/or good team communication). This transparency is good and lets all players understand the capabilities of the Spy wielding the Diamondback.

The reduced damage makes it so that even critical shots are not one-hit kills, which is important to give players a chance to fight back.

On the other hand, the Diamondback can fire a perfectly accurate shot at any range, pinning enemies with 102 damage from across the map. In 2017, the Ambassador was reworked (see Spy section) to keep the Spy's range more predictable, but the Diamondback wasn't.

This is compounded by the Diamondback being hidden from enemies while the Spy is disguised, meaning that shots can come with very little warning.

If the universe really loved me, I could rewind time and buy a Strange Kritzkrieg while they were still relatively cheap. But I can't, and that's terrible.

It's October 2023, and I am old. To make me feel older, I'm going to do re-analyses of several weapons I haven't talked about in years.

Early in development, each TF2 class had their own unique grenade. Medic had healing grenades, Pyro had incendiary grenades, and so on. Valve eventually cut these. In the developer commentary, designer Adrian Finol explains:

"Team Fortress 2's focus on unique class roles led us to notice that the standard hand grenade was a more powerful combat decider than some of the primary weapons. This made the classes more similar in combat - not a desired effect."

He continues:

"In addition, when we looked at some of Team Fortress Classic's map stalemates, they often resulted from large amounts of grenade spam. Two cases were particularly problematic: that of players throwing grenades repeatedly through doorways, hoping to kill any enemies who might be there, and players on the verge of death throwing all their grenades in rapid succession, hoping to get a kill after they die."

Well, it seems like they later found a way around that: giving you only one grenade at a time, and not making any directly damaging grenades. For what is Jarate but a disgusting grenade?

By that definition, the Pyro, Scout, and Sniper have single-use grenades that they can equip as secondary weapons. I'd like to imagine more grenades, designing with Finol's commentary in mind.

Although the Blutsauger is not a weak weapon, it's an unpopular one because of how easy it is to abuse. A life-steal syringe gun demands to be fired, after all, and any time spent shooting is spent not healing your team.

Blutsauger (+) On hit: restore 3 health (-) -2 health regenerated per second on wearer

Out of curiosity, I'm going to fully reimagine the Blutsauger, building from the blueprint of the Crusader's Crossbow.

Blutsauger Crossbow Uses the same physics and mechanics as the Crusader's Crossbow (+) On hit teammate: Grant a speed boost [duration scales up with range, from 2 to 8 seconds] (+) +25% holster speed (-) Cannot heal teammates

This is a generally useful buff ability that doesn't need to be impeccably timed, so it could see a lot of use and be helpful for supporting the team.

Players often like to move quickly and efficiently, meaning there's a strong positive feedback when they're hit by a bolt, even if they're not getting healed.

Slow-firing weapons like the crossbows tend to have strong positive feedback when they hit, as compared to rapid-fire weapons like syringe guns. Ever hit someone (teammate or enemy) with a crossbow shot from across the map? So satisfying.

However, it faces the constant problem that it does not build Ubercharge, and so the opportunity cost of not equipping the Crusader's Crossbow is significant. I designed it to be easy to whip out, fire, and swap back, but the time spent switching and shooting does add up.

Teammates also have to deal with not getting ranged heals, which - even if the speed boost is satisfying - can be frustrating.

Firing the Sniper's SMG usually feels a little bit like you're a faceless soldier in a horror movie, frantically and erratically spraying bullets at an implacable foe. Hand me a submachine gun, and I will instantly turn into an Imperial Stormtrooper.

But what if you could miss more dramatically instead? I want to convert the Huntsman into a secondary weapon.

Secondary Huntsman Stats relative to vanilla Huntsman (+) +33% reload speed (+) +50% ammo carried (-) Cannot headshot (-) -30% damage (-) Affected by damage falloff

It has nowhere near the stopping power of the regular Huntsman, but it's an acceptable self-defense weapon. Actually, we have to make sure "acceptable" isn't too powerful, since SMGs are usually around "mediocre" instead.

The real hurt here is the ranged damage falloff. At best, you'll be doing 84 damage on a fully-charged shot at close range. Uncharged shots can do up to 35. That's generally weaker than a shotgun, which is what we're aiming (pun intended) for.

With all the work I'm doing to make this a weak weapon, you might be thinking, why bother making this? Couple reasons:

Slow-firing weapons often feel better to use and play against, especially when fast-firing weapons would feel weak or impotent (see: the SMG).

Projectile physics give an inherent learning curve (pun also intended), especially with the charge mechanic of the Huntsman. This gives players more depth than your average SMG. (This is why I don't just give the Sniper a nerfed shotgun).

Granted, these may not seem like solid justifications to you. But I think I might enjoy using this secondary in tandem with my rifle. Am I underestimating the number of people who like to use the SMG? If you're an SMG enjoyer or Huntsman hater, I'm sorry.