[update 3]
Looks like they put back Achievement based unlocks for the Sniper/Spy!
[update 2]
Erik Johnson from the Official TF2 Blog made a post regarding their intentions on the new system. The system is intended to be time based, which should give more items for players who play more. Items are to be made tradable, which explains the duplicates (thought so). There were “issues that prevented the system from working properly, so that timeframe was not indicative of the system as it’s designed”.
Well, at least the weird drop inconsistency wasn’t intentional. I do hope that they fix things soon as I’d like to see how this affects those who don’t play TF2 as a full-time job.
[update]
RockPaperShotgun emailed Robin Walker (a “lead-guy” for TF2) and explained that this total randomness is not exactly how they intended it, which I believe. IMO, high concept might be the same, but there’s probably a bug or two somewhere (a TF2 update was released to fix several bugs as I was typing this update. Weapon drop related fixes not included). Details on this be found here, with an official TF2 blog announcement on the way, hopefully soon.
— [original post] —
Valve really put a lot of work into this double-whammy update. The Sniper gets new toys. The Spy gets new toys, new maps, people who don’t have the game get to play it this weekend for free… And, if for some reason you have Steam and you still don’t have Team Fortress 2, you can get it at 50% off! Now that’s quite a wallop for a free update.
The thing that steals the show, though, is the new method of earning the special weapons. Previously, you earn the weapons by attaining several achievements specific to the class in question. I got my Flare-Gun after around 6 Pyro Achievements, my Natascha after 16 Heavy Achievements. The drive to get these weapons forced me to really know what each class can do, particularly since the achievements are designed for you to learn to maximize a certain class. Hell, it even made me like classes I didn’t know I’d enjoy (like the Heavy) Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a grind.
Now, the items are no longer tied to your achievements. You can now earn items by… well… doing anything really. Based on the last few hours of gameplay since the patch was released, people have been getting items with no discernible pattern. Some would play for hours and get nothing. Others would play for 3 minutes and get something. A lucky few keep getting new stuff left and right, while some get the same item 2-3 times in a row.
With all the changes made, there’s bound to be complaints. Normally it’s a balance thing, as players get used to using and dealing with the new weapons. Now though, quite a lot of players who spent a lot of time and effort in earning their items feel their efforts were for naught as noobs earn items on the spot.
As frustrating as this is for the players who spent a lot of effort to get those items, I see this as an attempt to make the game more approachable to people who don’t have hours to spare playing games. I’m willing to give this system a shot. I have spent quite a lot of effort to earn the weapons I now have, but I also don’t have the time to keep doing that, so this update helps alleviate things somewhat.
Still, the randomness is frustrating. Nobody seems to know if there is any system at all, most players agree that it’s practically random. I played for 3 hours straight and got nothing. Then I got 2-3 items, then nothing again for several hours to come. Some of the players online get the same thing, and given that you can’t trade it for things you’d rather have, this becomes a test of patience.
It’s not the concept of drops that annoys me. It’s the lack of control over these that makes it frustrating. I’d prefer if there was at least some logic to the weapon drops, that it ain’t as fully random as it currently appears to be. It seems to random, in fact, that it’s like winning a raffle when someone gets a weapon. There’s an announcement of your prize on the chat log, a weapon you may or may not like, and people congratulate you for being so fortunate in “winning” something.
I’m sure Valve is keeping an eye on the players reactions. I’m willing to be part of the experiment and will hold-off any final judgments until I get more plays (after all, I am earning some weapons). In the meantime, I’ll just pray that I get more stuff that I don’t already have.
SOURCE: Team Fortress 2 blog and forums
UPDATE: The TF2 Unlock Teacup-Storm
UPDATE 2: Official TF2 Blog
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