The addition of new content has obviously been a major factor in keeping Team Fortress 2 fresh. This article aims to analyze the balance of the newest weapons: the Crit-a-Cola, the Scotsman's Skullcutter, and the Tribalman's Shiv.
Crit-a-Cola
The Crit-a-Cola, a replacement for the Scout's secondary slot, give the user mini-crits for 6 seconds, like a miniature, localized Buff Banner. It also turns all damage taken by the user into mini-crits for the six-second duration.
Why use this weapon? Well it certainly provides an advantage when attempting a suicidal Medic takedown, as well as during general combat if you happen to sneak up on someone. But is it worth it?
The maximum damage of the default Scattergun when under the Crit-a-Cola's effects is roughly 80, 20 more than a meatshot without any critical effects. This means it only takes 2 shots to kill a Medic, something that can absolutely matter in fast-paced games. However, a direct hit from a rocket will nearly wipe out the Scout (122 damage), as well as two shots from a shotgun (or some combination thereof). So if the Scout fails to kill anyone, it's absolutely useless... but is there any difference between that and how the Scout normally plays?
The inability to use the pistol certainly is a change, as it removes any ability to harass low-health enemies at any sort of range. However, this situation isn't going to happen in every single match, and if it does, you can attempt to close the distance with the Scout's 133% move speed. Medics will be present in every game and killing at close range as a Scout will also be present in every game.
So to conclude this section of the article, the Crit-a-Cola, while it removes the Pistol, is a balanced unlock, especially in the smaller games of the competitive format.
The Scotsman's Skullcutter
The Scotsman's Skullcutter is a replacement for the Demoman's melee slot. It does an additional 20% damage on every swing (about 78 base damage) but slows the Demoman down by 15%. This speed reduction makes him slower than a Soldier and just barely faster than a Heavy.
Why use this weapon? Well in one-on-one melee fights it will win nearly every time (except for perhaps Equalizer Soldiers low on health). But how often do melee fights occur? Not very often.
It's true that two hits from this weapon can kill a Medic, and either one crit or two mini-crits can kill a Soldier. But a direct hit from the Grenade Launcher does more damage than this, and a sticky does roughly the same amount of damage (depending on whether damage falloff is in effect and how close you are to the explosion). And it still slows you down.
On attack/defend maps, such as Gravel Pit, the slow speed matters a little bit less if the Demoman is on defense, but it still causes problems when sticky jumping isn't an option.
The Skullcutter, while worthy of less serious playtime, isn't balanced for the competitive scene.
The Tribalman's Shiv
A replacement for the Sniper's melee slot, the Tribalman's Shiv deals less direct damage but adds a bleed effect to any target hit.
The Shiv does only 42 direct damage points, 23 less than the Kukri's 65. However, the bleed effect deals an average of 8.5 damage per second over a period of 8 seconds, a total of 68 damage. This added to one single Shiv strike is a total of 110 damage. Assuming you can't find a source of health within 8 seconds, that's over half the health of 8 classes. That's unparalleled by any other melee weapon.
In the competitive scene, of course, you can't look directly at damage values to determine viability. The Sniper is the most-used utility class, so it's not a moot point to discuss these effects. The Sniper tends to play by himself, away from the team (or at least not directly supported by the team). The main enemy of Snipers is other Snipers and Scouts, slipping behind the rest of the team to kill the Sniper. If the Sniper can get one Shiv hit on the Scout, the Scout first has to either kill the Sniper or run away. Medpacks aren't always immediately available, especially in maps like Gravel Pit. If the Sniper is carrying the SMG he can whittle the Scout's health down so the bleeding has a more profound effect at lower health values, even after the Sniper has died.
Of course, the previous paragraph assumes the Sniper sees the Scout coming. Scouts will generally destroy Snipers in close range matches, but why not give the Sniper a larger chance to cause damage?
The Tribalman's Shiv is more powerful than the default Kukri, though still isn't largely effective in the competitive scene.
Conclusions
The three weapons presented in this article are still banned in most competitive TF2 leagues, as far as I am aware. However, after a decent timeframe (as discussed in this article: http://communityfortress.com/tf2/blog/the-future-of-unlocks-in-competitive-team-fortress-2.php ), the Crit-a-Cola and the Skullcutter should be added without additional thought. The Shiv should be added as well merely because it doesn't change the nature of the game particularly, only adding very slightly to a class' killing power.
Comments are very much welcome.
