TF2 Scout updateFollow

Finally. I'm willing to help anyone out with achievements who so desires.

So I finally have all three Scout unlockables.

Force-A-Nature: I'm not sure whether it is an improvement over the scattergun or not. The knockback has been significantly overstated. You can gain jumping distance with the weapon but not enough that it matters, meaning you cannot access any new areas with it like you can with sticky or rocket jumping. The tooltip says it has +20% bullets fired and -20% damage. I don't understand why the development team decided to make this change as community testing has shown the weapon does nearly exactly the same damage per shot as the scattergun. The real difference is in the firing speed and reload. The Force-A-Nature fires 50% than the scattergun, creating a higher burst damage potential. IF you can sneak up on 125 hp classes or even medics you have a higher chance of killing them before anyone can react. The trade off is lower sustained DPS.

The Sandman: Better, no question. Low hp combined with the need for close combat make a scout exceptionally fragile. The Sandman helps counteract this weakness with a grace period where the opponent cannot fight back. The catch is 50% damage to nonstunned opponents, not really a significant loss. I believe they made it more powerful than it should be. Not only does it stun ubers, but it stops players from blocking or capturing points. The ability to take capture points while opponents are still on them is a game winning capability.

Bonk! Atomic Punch: Not what I assumed it to be. This item does not increase your speed as the description suggested and many assumed. Personally I felt that is what the item should have done, and it would have been far more useful that way (with fewer string attached). Instead it gives temporary invulnerability, which is nice, but with a variety of drawbacks. Obviously you cannot capture points or the intelligence. You also cannot attack, which is reasonable for a low cooldown, at will invincibility. The problem is that there are far more strings attached than that which I think make the item not really worth the trade. I has both a start up time and a side effect time. You are punished bother before and after you use this item. The "cast time," of the drink is 1.25 second during which you are still vulnerable, cannot move, and the animation may be disrupted. The invincibility then lasts 6 seconds. After that there are 6 seconds of slowdown where you move at 75% base speed, approximately 56% of normal scout speed. This really hurts the item as an escape tool. Then there is the extreme opportunity cost of losing the pistol, an excellent ranged weapon that makes up for the weaknesses of the Scouts' primary weapon.



Summary: Force-A-Nature about even with the Scattergun, more fun, but slightly worse. Sandman clearly superior to the normal bat. Bonk! probably worse than the pistol.

Edited, Feb 26th 2009 1:44am by Allegory

I had forgotten that. Yes that does significantly raise the cost, but it's a rather fair exchange. Second jump has situational uses, and when you are on a specific mission that requires those usages then it should swapped, but Sandman is the new default.

The TF2 team has been working very hard to make all the new unlockables a horizontal expansion of the game rather than vertical.

Edited, Feb 26th 2009 2:16am by Allegory

The stun definitely seems to be a powerful tool.

Until it wears off and your face becomes a permanent wall decoration.