Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

Blutsauger trades crits, which is a random event, with health-gain, which is a sure-thing. This is not a strategic choice. Everyone runs Blutsauger because you go from hard-to-kill to really-hard-to-kill, and that's better than getting a slightly quicker kill on a given enemy 5% of the time. (Steam stats show about 1.2% crit rate for needles, but it may be combing classic needles and Blutsauger.) Thus, Medic received a rattlesnake buff. He isn't really stronger, but you don't want to get near him because he simply kills you now, instead of defending himself and calling for help.

I disagree. The Blutsauger is designed to give the medic more of a chance to run away with a little ubercharge built up after the meat shield in front of him is shot to pieces. I think it does that. If you're playing a class that relies on short-range damage and you're alone, you're probably not going to kill the medic as he backpedals. In any other situation, you should be able to dodge enough of the needles to take him out at medium range. If you're killing heavies 1v1 with the blutsauger, you need to find better opponents.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

The Backburner's highly-limited crit angle means it isn't dependable, and this is its headliner ability. Never mind that sneaking up behind people is supposed to be Spy's job, instead minding that the Backburner is supposed to punish people for turning to flee; skilled players don't behave that way and unskilled players are usually toast anyway, so again the Backburner doesn't do what it says on the tin.

The pyro was originally intended as the ambush-around-corners class, or at least so say the hints on the loading screen. Yes, it is very similar to the spy. It has more hp than the spy, and is more consistent because it deals good damage to the front of the opponent, even though it can't instantly kill from the rear. Now, it deals even better damage when you manage to sneak a really good ambush in, or if your enemy is bad enough to face their back towards you. So, it's now closer to the spy. It's still much worse at surprise kills and much better at frontal assaults and acting as part of a small team.

The rest of your argument against the backburner was nullified with the last update, and I think we're all better off for it. You were right, and Valve agreed. For the record, I almost always use the regular flamethrower because it's one of few weapons that can disrupt an uber, and even though I'm bad at it, I like trying to deflect rockets.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

With Heavy's update on the horizon, I see a trend:

What is the most imbalancing part of the Medic update? Blutsauger. How is it used? Hold MOUSE1 and drive it into someone wearing a differently-colored shirt than the one you wear.

What is the most imbalancing part of the Pyro update? Backburner. How is it used? Hold MOUSE1 and drive it into someone wearing a differently-colored shirt than the one you wear.

Considering the offending weapon always seems to be the primary weapon, and Heavy's primary is already based on holding MOUSE1 and pointing it in the general direction of enemy shirts, I become concerned. We have had two updates in a row that reward farming achievements to get a weapon that rewards simply holding the +attack button down while keeping the enemy somewhere near the center of the screen, and next is a class where that behavior is the most-significant requisite skill!

I think the ubersaw is much more unbalancing than the blutsauger. Two skilled medics can keep each other ubered for a minute or more. This can completely disrupt the opposing team's advances - the usual strategy of hiding until the uber is over is ineffective when you're going to lose a full minute while the other team solidifies their defenses. The blutsauger, for me at least, is pretty hard to hit with because of the inaccurate, slow, parabolic arc, and the difficulty of seeing where your needles are landing relative to where they should be landing.

I get the feeling that the heavy's next weapon will be the opposite. I think that in order to be better without a medic, Sasha will be replaced with something more accurate, better against other solo players, and therefore, less spray-and-pray. But we're both just speculating at this point, so there's really no reason to discuss this until the update is revealed.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

Key point: Players who like to play all the classes should always be finding the right class for the situation. The last few nights I've played, I've only paid attention to two things: Heavy-Medic combos and Pyros. It's quite simple, pyros will force a retreat and you can't do much about it, and Heavy-Medic combos will force a retreat because you can't do much about it. Playing Spy, I used to go in and try to cut either half of a Heavy-Medic combo, but anymore the Medic just kills me because he isn't blind, or the Heavy gets stabbed, doesn't die, and a moment later proceeds to turn around and punch me into the grave. Why bother to consider all nine classes when three are wrecking balls and six are lame fodder that the enemy will hardly even pay attention to?

Heavy/Medic combos on servers with consistently good players (like TG) are tough to stab. The medic's sole job is situational awareness. After pyros, medics are the best counter to spies because they have the time to be paranoid. With the ubersaw, you may be feeding them uber instead of disrupting their attack.

Pyros are the counter to spies. Spies shouldn't be able to stand long enough in a pyro's flame to circle strafe and get a lucky stab. Spies shouldn't be able to use the revolver to take out a pyro from outside the range of the flamethower - the pyro should read the spy's intention, quickly fire a flare at him, and back off to let another class deal with the revealed spy, taking solace in the fact that the spy was slowed from getting to the front lines where other players would almost certainly get stabbed.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

Key point: Every class should have something to do. If Sniper isn't worth playing because a pyro will run at you, eat your headshot, and burn you to death anyway, then there is a problem. If Spy isn't worth playing because stabbing isn't effective due to coding flaws* and because revolver is no-longer useful against all the medic-buffed and backburner-buffed players, there is a problem. If Soldier is getting sidelined and Scout becoming forgotten and/or ignored, there is a problem. (* I omit from this essay three paragraphs written in draft regarding the balisong's technical issues.)

Every class does have something to do. I'm not a career anything. Given the choice, I like playing sniper or pyro, but almost every time I die, I check the class screen and switch to something else if nobody's playing it and it would be useful.

Solders can easily juggle pyros while taking minimal damage from flamethrowers. Soldiers can kill medics from outside the effective range of their blutsaugers. Soldiers can make snipers take temporary cover so that other classes can push forward. A pair of solders can knock out a turret from long range. Soldiers, like demomen, are primary sources of long-range suppressing fire.

I can't really speak for the role of scouts - I'm pretty bad as one. Compared to Natural Selection skulks (my closest reference point), scouts are too big to dodge, too slow to hit and run, unable to ambush, and don't deal enough damage. I've seen scouts that can own demos, soldiers, snipers, and spies, but I can't do that myself. The only reason I ever play scout is to rush a point, and they certainly fill that role. I hope they're next to get upgraded after the heavy.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

Key point: When skilled players who play skill-focused classes aren't rewarded for applying their skill, they will leave the game. Why work together when half the team is holding MOUSE1 and charging at enemies who are doing the same thing? Why work to master a class when a first-timer can be 95% as effective?

You're consistently top of the scoreboard, and not by a narrow margin. I don't know how you do in clan matches, but for a pubber, you've mastered the spy. That said, you can always improve. To be honest, I was annoyed when said "Spies don't sap, except in emergencies," in response to a pyro asking you to sap a sentry so that he could burn it down. Sure, sappers don't do much damage. That's not the point. They disable stuff. You've effectively one-shotted the sentry the second you put the sapper on it. You just need someone else to do the damage. Furthermore, I'm sure you have no problem sapping a sentry and then stabbing the engineer behind it. Even I can do this, and I haven't played a tenth of time you have as spy. Sappers can't kill sentries when there are multiple engineers around, but if they could, the demoman would be pretty useless.

In addition, have you considered that mastery of a single class isn't enough? I believe not every class can succeed in every situation.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

Shouldn't players become known on their server for HOW they play a preferred class, not simply which class they happen to play?

As someone who switches classes often, I disagree. Each class does have a specific role, and sometimes not every role is needed. Respectfully, You're already known for being that spy that kills half the opposing team by himself. You should be known as that player that can set up your team to take the next objective.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

I'm not having much fun in Team Fortress 2 these days. A week ago I effectively quit playing Spy and started fielding Sniper. And it wasn't to snipe, but to play Spy! Remember that bit about strategic decision with Kritzkrieg? That's what happened. Sniper rifle no-scope does comparable damage to revolver, but because it has no spread cone, it will actually hit where I aim it -- my skill will turn into damage, compared to revolver, where my skill will fly off to the side and crit the skybox.

I completely agree. In Natural Selection, it's not always a joke that a marine's primary weapon is his pistol (which, if you don't know, has perfect accuracy). I was very annoyed when I started playing TF2 that none of the pistols are accurate or damaging at a distance, and in fact, the only way you can make bullets fly exactly where you fire them is using a sniper rifle. That said, 99% of spies people don't play spy for the revolver. They play it for the knife.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

skilled or not, I die in a split-second to someone with hold-the-button-down talent when I'm either class. [...] In the past I would engage a Pyro with confidence that I could triumph by using my skillful aiming and my wily maneuvering to ensure I did 175 before he did 125.[...]I don't argue here that Spy should be a desperado zipping around shooting down everyone he sees, but using a class I know well as an example, any class should be able to at least enjoy a fair fight when he starts with, as a class ability, the higher ground, be it in the form of the element of surprise (Spy v. Medic) or a geographical advantage (revolver bullets against flamethrower's short range, or shotgun's spread) or any other factor that suits the class in question.

And well it should be that you die to these classes when you're not stealthily stabbing them in the back. If you're found out as a spy or anywhere near anyone else as sniper, you should be dead, running, or able to pull off that really lucky, once-a-game kill. The hold-the-button classes are designed to shred anything that comes near them. Skill isn't the question here - class choice and situation are.

Originally Posted by MagnaCentipede

Team Fortress 2 promised strategy and tempered rewards for skill, but it's turning into a frag-fest where the skilled player is being forced to choose classes based on which one Valve Software decided to make the best/popular class for the month, or suffer being soundly defeated by +forward;+attack.

I agree. I thought TF2 would be a strategic game, but it's turned out more like Team Deathmatch Fortress 2 instead of Strategy Fortress 2. The last bit of strategy left in the game for me is class selection. Both teams should constantly be rotating classes in order to counter what the opposing team is playing. On the other hand, I like how Valve is forcing a small amount of imbalance and changing the game about as often as it gets stale. Thus far, the imbalance has tilted solidly away from your favorite class. It will probably get better with the heavy. Solo heavies, in my experience have the worst situational awareness. You should be able to expect many easy stabs once that class becomes the most popular for the month after it's changed.