Team Fortress 2

The double-edged class update Valve is rolling out for the Demo Man and Soldier has a little extra spice in the form of a collective frag competition. Whichever class nukes more of the other will receive a special, extra weapon unlock at the close of play.

At the time of writing the Soldier had edged out to a small lead: 4666558 to 4441214 - but the Demo is the first class to get a heads up as to their update goodies:

A badass sword called "the Eyelander":

Made with pattern-welded Damascus steel, this melee-slot weapon offers a guaranteed decapitation with every killing blow. Unfortunately, because it's haunted, it will suck away some of your soul: expect a decrease in your max health at the outset. However, once the blade feeds on neck, you’ll receive a boost in max health and speed. With each new protesting head you cleave (up to four), you’ll get healthier and faster.

...and of course, what good's a sword without a shield. Namely, the "Chargin' Targe":

The targe replaces your tried-and-true sticky bomb launcher, but offers some unique capabilities in return, especially when used with the Eyelander. Just equipping the Chargin’ Targe provides automatic +50% fire damage resistance and +65% blast damage resistance. But the Chargin’ Targe’s main perk lies in its name. Alt-firing will hurtle you toward an enemy at a punishingly damaging high speed (far faster than a Scout can manage).

The two have been designed to give the best results when equipped together.


Wait till the Classification Board gets a hold of this

There's a sweet multi-page comic strip detailing the angst and drama: check it out.

The Demoman Update

From the "day old news" department - Valve has unveiled The Ambassador - a fancy handgun for your suit-wearing Spy kin:

We'll let Valve explain:

There are two sorts of men in this world: the sort with blood pouring out of a hole in their heads, and the sort holding the Ambassador. It has the ammo count of a revolver and the pinpoint accuracy of a sniper rifle, even at long range. (But remember, a gun that packs this much heat needs to cool off between shots, so make every shot count.)

We wouldn't mind Valve making liars out of us, but if our calculations are right, the next step is to release the update.

And for those who haven't seen the Meet the Spy video, note the Spy achievements are also online (and linked after the jump). They're not spelt out on the page, but with titles like "The Melbourne Supremacy" you're encouraged to let your imagination run wild.

The Ambassador

Meet the Spy + Achievement listing

Perhaps anticipating the tears from Spies who felt the Razorback sniper add-on was targeting them, the Team Fortress 2 team has released a "takeover" over the sniper update page.

Going to http://www.teamfortress.com/sniperupdate/ automagically redirects you to http://www.teamfortress.com/spyupdate/. Very amusing.



And what do you see on this page, which cheekily crosses out "sniper" replaces it with "spy"? Perhaps the coolest update ever: feign death for spies!

Upon taking a (non killing) hit the "Dead Ringer" will cloak your spy, leaving a fake corpse on the ground. It lasts for eight seconds, more than enough to swoop on a sucker for the stabby stab.



The "Cloak and Dagger" is just as juicy (and arguably also World of Warcraft inspired): your cloak will regenerate when you stand still. Move, and you drain it. Now that is sure to anger the rest of the TF2 community just fine.



Top marks, we say. Well played, Team Fortress 2 gang.

The Sniper Spy update [Team Fortress 2]

As we play catchup with the Team Fortress 2 team's update schedule, the latest reveal *today* US time, is Payload Race.

Payload Race takes the existing Payload mode where teams take turns in pushing a cart of explosives through checkpoints to a final destination...and doubles it. Two carts, so teams will have to figure out their division of labour accordingly. Accompanying the new mode is a map to play it on - Pipeline. The existing Payload map - Gold Rush - is obviously tuned for only one cart track.

Accompanying the new mode and map are two new arena maps: Sawmill, featuring the first ever inclusion of weather effects, and Nucleus, which features a "doomsday device" suspended over a void. Both are sure to be a favourite amongst players who like being "killed by world" - aside from falling to your doom in Nucleus, Sawmill will feature "two deadly saw blades near the cap".

Out any day now, so bring that on we say.

Sniper Update [T2 blog - thanks Wally3K]

Moving targets are hard work for a TF2 sniper, so what better way to make your job easier than to pin them into place?

Enter day 1 of the Team Fortress 2 Sniper update info bleed, The Huntsman:

From the official blog:

One headshot from the Huntsman can mean an instant crit, in addition to a bolt-riddled corpse hanging from a wall that's gruesome and funny.

And even if you don't kill them, they'll carry around a certain arrow-shaped something as a living testament to your awesome archery skills and their frankly unawesome dodging skills. Comes with 18 arrows and a one-second charge for full power shots.

Looks hilarious, and probably a gift from heaven if two snipers work *gasp* together. As Robin Walker points out in a subsequent post - "the Huntsman doesn't stun. It pins dead/dying players."

The Huntsman [TF blog]