Horrible and Great Popular Weapons of TF2 Part 1: Scout

It's been a while, really, but I've only been playing the game for three quarters of a year at most. Even at that, I can tell what a huge influence weapons have on gameplay. Having or not having a certain weapon can almost make or break gameplay in certain cases. Sure, Robin Walker and his gang of developers need some cash, but forcing it out of people to pay for weapons (I say this because certain ones elude me; I only recently got the Loch-N-Load from a drop) is just wrong. As oink will be saying/has said in his TF2 art post, the game used to be more dependent on shadowing.


I suppose I'll start off with the ridiculously horrible weapons, the ones that people use just because they see others doing it. They never even bother to check the buffs or penalties of using such a weapon, and more often than not, the weapon's penalties far outweighs the buffs.


Then I'll take a look at the buffs and give it a verdict.

Scout
Primary Weapons

Scattergun: Typical run-of-the-mill weapon. By far the best one, so it doesn't really need to be covered at all.


Force-A-Nature: Taking the Scout's Scattergun and reducing the bullets from six to two, but adding a larger kick to it when it hits enemies. It seems great, doesn't it?





...Yeah, okay, nice cheesy advertising there. Seriously, though, it's not that great. Sure, it has a greater knockback, but that just prevents a Scout from being up close to the target (which is how shotguns are supposed to be used in the first place). Debatably, the damage modifier is greater, but it still does 10% less damage per shot. However, unless you're a good shot or can get up close, missing can prove deadly with only two rounds of fire before reloading for a good amount of time. It's also good to mention that reloading while one bullet is still intact makes that bullet vanish for eternity.


On the plus side, this weapon is perfect for Scout jump maps on TF2. It allows Scout to be able to have a third jump while in the air. It's a great nuisance, especially from behind. Fast shooting and knockback can knock unsuspecting victims into hazards.


Verdict: It's a nicely balanced weapon, but besides TF2 jump maps, Scatter is the way to go.


Shortstop: Taking the Scattergun and reducing six bullets to four inside of a pistol fac simile (peppergun). Only difference is that it is loaded in the primary slot.

Oh, man, that looks sweet! So, wait, what's wrong with it? To start with, it replaces the Scattergun, remember, so that limits the Scout to having two pistols and a bat. The primary pistol shares the same ammo as the secondary, so that's also a loss. Reduced ammo and no more Scattergun. It just sounds stupid and it is. There's absolutely no reason to use this crap weapon, go use the already given secondary pistol. Oh, I forgot, the class bonus. That's for another time though.


The pistol functions horribly as a primary weapon and no matter what it is in conjuction with it still sucks, regardless of whatever its name is.


Verdict: Hunk of junk; waste of space; useless.


Soda Popper: Hey! Look! It's the Force-A-Nature! Only now it has a can of Crit-a-Cola underneath and it looks like some maniac kid ripped it apart, then sloppily put it back together. Six shots are replaced with two shots again.
What are the gains over Force-A-Nature? Two; no random critical hits, no knockback, no additional damage done. All it has is faster reload and if Scout runs enough to fill the "hype" bar he will perform mini-crits. Sounds pretty bad.


The benefits of this gun are too minimal to name, so the verdict is obvious.


Verdict: ...Why was this gun even made?

Secondary Weapons

Pistol: Already given to Scout by default, so it has to be good.


Lugermorph: There isn't a difference. Just a promotional item for Sam & Max, then later for Poker Night at the Inventory.


Bonk! Atomic Punch: Who doesn't love a drink full of caffeine and sugar? I know Scout does.

This is cool because it has team colours. Not only that, but it's not half bad. In place of pistol, Scout receives a short-term invincibility boost (what we modern kids now-a-days call a "drug trip") which is useful to get past sentries, disable fire hurting for a short time or to escape certain death. The only downfall is the two-three second cutscene required for Scout to be able to use it. If this is interrupted, the can is still used but Scout does not get any effect.


While immune to damage, Scout will still experience knockback. There is a cooldown feature on this weapon to limit use and Scout cannot carry out objectives while "under the influence".


Verdict: It's a hard choice to make, considering it's very situational, but a good Scout will never need to use it.


Bonk! Crit-a-Cola: It's like the Bonk! Atomic Punches only it is purple. It could be an amalgamation of the two to show how the world would benefit by teams BLU and RED working together, or it could be just another energy drink.

Under the effect of Crit-a-Cola, Scout deals and receives min-crits on anything that hits him or his enemies. It's a very risk idea to use this weapon as a Pyro could easily incinerate Scout very quickly with mini-critical hit fire.


Same negative effects with Atomic Punch due to the cutscene when drinking it.


Verdict: Even more situational and extremely risky. Mini-critical hits really aren't worth betting on when Scout is the squishiest character out there. Stick with pistol.


Mad Milk: Of the situational weapons, this absolutely has to be the best one.

The first thing about this weapon to mention is that it's a white version of Jaraté. If Jaraté is full of Sniper's piss, then Mad Milk could only possibly be filled by Scout's...eugh...


That aside, this weapon is brilliant. It can put out fire on Scout or a teammate, as well as indicate a Spy's presence. Unlike Jaraté's critical function, Mad Milk returns 60% of damage done to an enemy back to Scout in the form of health. This can be quite useful.


Verdict: Situational, but a legitimate choice to make based on how many Pyros are in play and if the Scout in question often takes too much damage.


Winger: Like the pistol, this is a good choice as a farther-ranged weapon.

The clip size is reduced from twelve to five and there is a fifteen percent damage boost. Not that big of a boost for such a huge clip reduction. That's all there is to this weapon.


Verdict: Same as pistol but requires more reloading. Stay away unless looking for set bonus.

Tertiary Weapons/Melee

Bat: Just a traditional aluminium bat.


Sandman: Fairly interesting weapon choice. Wooden bat, not aluminium.

It gives the Scout the ability to hit a baseball with M2 and damage or stun (if far enough away). The effect increases the longer the shot is. The baseball has a cooldown as well. Besides that, the bat decreases a Scout's health by fifteen, which really isn't good. Scout is squishy enough as it is and the Sandman only makes it easier to kill one.


Verdict: If that Scout is good enough, this might be okay. Stunning is valuable, but life is more important.


Holy Mackerel: Just a fish in newspaper that does the same damage is the bat. Only difference is that the fish gives off the death notice "FISHKILL!" Fish are also better than bats, this is obviously the better choice.


Candy Cane: Surprisingly useful for a Christmas-themed item.

Besides looking pretty, the candy cane drops a small health pack for Scout on any enemy kill, regardless of what was used to kill the enemy. Additionally, the candy cane decreases Scout's defense against explosions by 25%, which is not good if Demomen or Soldiers are around.


Verdict: Quite useful, really. Makes the healing powers of Mad Milk look a bit worse.


The Boston Basher: Well, Scout does come from Boston. Gotta represent.

This weapon is different than anything else so far. Scout can either hit an enemy and make them bleed for five seconds or miss, hit himself and bleed for five seconds. Sounds like a creepy BDSM tool to me. Anyway, it's insanely useful on jump maps as damage in mid-air allows Scout to almost glide when constantly regenerating. Not so great otherwise.


Verdict: Depends if the Scout is a masochist.


Sun-on-a-Stick: A promotional item for RIFT which isn't that good.

This weapon deals 25% less damage but 100% guarantees a critical hit if hitting a burning enemy. Not useful unless paired with a Pyro.


Verdict: Not really a practical weapon. Most Pyros can handle burning opponents themselves and 25% less damage really sucks.


Fan O'War: Again, a promotional item from Total War: SHOGUN 2 that sucks.

This looks pretty snazzy and in reality it isn't even worth using. 90% of damage decrease over the regular bat for a fifteen second effect that every subsequent hit on that person will be mini-critical hits. Useful mostly on Medieval Degroot Keep maps.


Verdict: Keep it away unless it's on the Medieval map.


Three Rune Blade: Lazy Robin Walker is lazy. Identical stats to Boston Basher.


Saxxy: Distributed to the most popular replays in TF2. Turns target into a gold statue on their death and has no other effect.


Atomizer: A cool new aluminium bat to try out.

More team colours! Woo! Also, this bat is useful on jump maps in that in can help Scout perform a third jump at the cost of ten health. However, bat speed is dropped by 30% and damage dealt is dropped by 20% so it's not a great choice outside jump maps.


Verdict: Keep it to the jump maps.

Closing and Recommendations

Ultimately, it's up to you what goes in your loadout, but based on this article, I would recommend:


Primary Slot: Scattergun 

Secondary Slot: Pistol/Mad Milk
Tertiary/Melee Slot: Candy Cane I hope you enjoyed this review and I hope to do more in the future!

So, It's Been Four Months...

...and I've got some things I'd like for you to look at.


But first, what have I been up to? What have I been doing?


Well, in July I was a Junior Counselor at a YMCA day camp for four weeks. Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Anywhere from three-to-eleven-year-olds.
Children are exhausting things, you know that?


This month I haven't had a lot going on. On Saturday I'm going up to Grand Marais for the week and I'm extremely excited for that.
I've been doing Cross-Country at my high school again. Early morning practices are tiring but I'm loving it so far.


What have I been watching? What have I been listening to?


I saw Inception for the first time a few weeks ago. It blew my mind and kind of creeped me out. My mind re-blew when I learned that the opera song that plays so the dreamers know to leave is the only song in the soundtrack - the really slow, boomy, dramatic music is just the previously mentioned song slowed down by about four times.
What, don't believe me?

I've also been listening to a lot of:

Right Said Fred - Dance/Pop.

The Prodigy - Electronic.

Dubmood - Chiptunes.

Dave Brubeck - Jazz.

Boards of Canada - Electronic. Look at Pete Standing Alone. I just found it today!

Recession Music - Hip-hop. It's a free album that's actually decent rap. "Rocketman" is a particular favorite of mine. I love how he speaks in his tunes.

Random things that catch my eye

I've also got some Youtube videos I think you should watch.

First, some fantastic Team Fortress 2 clips from consistently great editors:

bang bang... [by p1nkytf2]

Coming Home [By siN]

SPY FACE [By siN]

And, of course, just some darn good gameplays/low-edited frag videos:

Youtube channel - Alecandstuff

Point people there if anyone tells you that the Pyro is a horrible class and that you simply can't go above noobish with it.

And here's my channel -

Shameless self-promotion, ahoy!

What have I been playing? What silly games have I been keeping myself busy with nowadays?

Monopoly. Quoridor.

Frozen Synapse.

(I'm going to try to get a few screenshots throughout a game and try to explain what I'm thinking, so expect me to elaborate on this later.)

It's a mind-blowing squad-based, turn-based top-down shooter in which, since people die extremely quickly, thinking is far more important than firepower. It's gotten rave reviews and fully deserves them all. It's made by mode7 games, and you can pick it up here (The official website) or here (Though Steam). Their official website can be found here. Keep in mind that you can only buy two-packs, but that's all for the better - the multiplayer is wonderful and this guarantees you a partner - or nemesis. 

 Green's in trouble unless they can get behind cover and fast.

                                                   Out for PC and Mac. 
Team Fortress 2.

I love the game, which is why it infuriates me so often - I don't like where it's going and am a stron believer in change though complaining construcive critisism. Expect rants on this fantastic, tooth-grinding game within the next few weeks.

Damn right he's that intimidating.

Out for PC and Mac.

From Dust.

Or at least I've been trying to. Every time I try to launch it I get this extremely vague message:
"From_Dust.exe has encountered an error and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvienence."
I'm working on fixing it and may need to contact support. I'd love to play the game and I really want to enjoy it - but enjoying it involves playing it and that's not happening.

And its DRM makes me cry. Read about the port and all its failures here, since I can't go into detail quite yet.

A PC gamer's reaction to the game's port.

Out for PC.

Proun.

Where am I supposed to start with this? It's an abstract racing game that does a fantastic job of instilling a sense of speed. Its soundtrack is phenomenal. It has single-player and multiplayer. It has gorgeous art (in the form of the tracks). You can make your own maps, given you have the tools for it. You can install custom tracks and mods (making up for its meager offerings of four or five tracks.) 

Its slowest speed is "Fast" and its fastest is "Speed of Light".

It's free. Or not. It's out now, and you can pay what you want.

Since an image wouldn't do it justice, here's the trailer:

Go download it now.

Out for PC.

And here's the website.

Expect updates on all previously mentioned items within the next few weeks. I'm going to Grand Marais for a few days tomorrow, though. I'll be back on the 25th of August and I'll do my best to hit the keys while I'm there, but I'm not making any promises.

Out.