CommunityFortress

Before I get started, a bit of bad news - a computer failure removed the text files containing the responses to the emails I sent out however long ago. Unless there's a big want for them, I'm just going to move on and talk about some of the changes that the TF2 Beta has made and how they could affect the gameplay.

Yes, there's been a decent amount of tampering with the Misc. slots. No, the Noh Mercy shouldn't have been made a misc. Moving on!

The Reserve Shooter can now be equipped by the Pyro. This is an interesting decision. On paper, it appears to be a median between the Flare Gun - one shot, guaranteed crits - and the Shotgun - six shots, no crits. In-game, it's essentially another excuse for a Pyro to use M2 to blast enemies back before ripping them a minicrit shot. The problem I see is that, if you're close enough to airblast and shotgun, you're close enough to airblast and crit flare. The damage output isn't high enough, though you do still have a simple Shotgun to fall back on. I'm 100% onboard with sharing weapons but I doubt replacing the Flare Gun will happen soon.

The Tomislav now reduces the Heavy's health by 50. This is a much-needed nerf to the Tomislav, which absolutely wrecks pubs and gonks comp play enough. However, I fear that the nerf will instantly alienate any Heavy that isn't on defense / being pocketed, which is the exact opposite purpose of the fast spin-up. Will this mean a return of the Dalokohs Bar? The answer to this is still a resounding NO, unless the Sandvich gets nerfed or the Dalokohs gets a throwable. A different, more suitable nerf to the Tomislav would be much better appreciated.

The Widowmaker now reduces the Engineer's reserve metal by 30 instead of 60. While I love the idea of the Widowmaker, this is a serious about-face on Valve's part. A 60-metal blast is only reliable in small bursts with a solid Pistol backup, or with good metal supplies, because you're not perfect. A 30-metal blast is a godsend if you've got any sort of safe place to build - jump out, fire into the crowd, deal more than 30 damage (not difficult), gain ammo. Additionally, at close-range, if you can maintain a decent metal amount / hit targets reliably, you can pump out shells like there's no tomorrow, even with a miss or two, because of the low cost. I think it goes a bit too far, and should be leashed out to 45 metal for further testing.

The Shortstop, in an effort to further make this weapon difficult to use, reloads 50% more slowly. Honestly, there was nothing wrong with it as-is, it champions at medium range but lacks stopping power at point-blank. Why are we still muddling with it?

The flamethrower changes are something to reckon with. Here's a quick rundown:

• The default Flamethrower gained a 10% damage increase. Remember, because the other two flamethrower's stats are derived from this, both damages also increased.
• The Backburner lost its 10% damage bonus entirely. This means that it's dealing roughly the same damage that it was pre-patch, but the Flamethrower is also dealing the same damage.
• The Degreaser now carries -10% damage, but deals full afterburn damage. This means that it's almost exactly where it was pre-patch, along with the pre-patch Flamethrower - but now deals the least direct damage.

What does this mean? It means the Backburner is once again basically useless - back-crits aren't reliable enough to warrant a 50 ammo airblast cost. The Degreaser has essentially been buffed - it deals fractions-of-points less damage than it did prior to the patch, and has full burn damage. Flamethrower is now the alternative choice for raw damage, unless you really think you can be sneaky with a Backburner. Just a simple power shift, and really I'm fine with a little Pyro buff. Anything to take away from the powerhouse called the Heavy.

And one last small note: Spies that are disguised now show unusual effects on their hat. If you've ever been caught for this, you know how annoying it can be, so rejoice!

Questions? Concerns? Corrections? Comments, if you please!