MagnaCentipede

This open letter is addressed to Robin Walker of Valve Software.

Sir:

First, I introduce my qualifications. My first-person-shooter experience began with Doom, and includes Goldeneye 007, Unreal Tournament, Quake 3, and Counter Strike Source, amongst many other titles. As for Team Fortress 2, I wasn't particularly interested by class-based combat, and pre-ordered Orange Box because I knew I wanted to play Portal, I wouldn't mind playing the Half Life 2 expansions, and because of my faith in both my friends' recommendations and the quality level I am accustomed to by my experiences with Valve Software products, Half Life, Half Life 2, and Counter Strike Source.

Team Fortress 2 became, within one week, the only FPS I cared to play. It was just that good. At this point I must admit that I am a "career spy" -- of my 469.5 hours of game time, 316 are as the skinny chain-smoker -- and I am certain you are at the point of tuning-out when someone mentions a problem with Spy, so I ask that my intended message be not ignored due to this association. I speak as a discriminating* FPS player, not as someone hoping to get a truckload of buffs for a preferred class. (* The Grey Poupon type, not the Archie Bunker type.)

As I see it, Team Fortress 2 must satisfy two gaming styles to be successful. Some people enjoy finding the optimal class to play given a particular enemy force, and using that class' talent to triumph. (Key point.) Others prefer to choose a class that fits the player's style and find how far they can push the envelope of the class' limitations through perfecting technique. To satisfy these two archetypes requires that some classes have a clear, but NOT insurmountable, advantage over others, and that each class is ALWAYS useful. (Key point.) I regret to say that recent developments are disrupting this balance, and if the trend continues it will continue without me, or players of my ilk.

Team Fortress 2 is different from nearly all FPS games of this era because it isn't wholly skill-based. This is a good thing; the user base is expanded and its quality increased by allowing the less-than-elite to play along and make a significant contribution to their team's performance. However, while ensuring that novice players can contribute is good, a system that makes equal the combat prowess of the novice and the skilled veteran does no favor to the novice and emasculates the veteran. (Key point.)

Balancing the classes is a challenge because each class will weight various FPS skills differently, and to be balanced the weight of any class' most important skill must not be so great that it gives an expert in that class the ability to dominate all other classes. Id est, to violate the clear-but-not-insurmountable-advantage key point.

I agree with the emotion behind the first achievement package. A medic, even a novice one, is worth one-and-one-half weapon-based players on any team that doesn't already have one (or two) medics, and Medic's being not a glory class suppressed the class' popularity and by extension the quality of game-play in the average public server. However, I must disagree with the implementation. Adding Kritzkrieg is purely strategic. The medigun is unchanged, but you trade one special ability for another. This is GOOD and this was really all that was needed. Ubersaw is okay, because it doesn't come into action very often and it is a fitting reward for completing the achievement package. But Blutsauger causes trouble.

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.

Pyro was selected second for a re-tooling. Just as with the medic, most of the achievement pack's changes was amazing and great, while one in particular simply causes trouble. The air burst ability is awesome; it is a unique ability, it fits with Pyro's aggro-disruption style, and it is a good reason to play the class. A pyro can, in theory, lead a charge with a demoman and soldier behind him, knocking back incoming crit rockets and bullying heavies while drawing their fire so the other attackers can push. Like the Ubersaw, the Axetinguisher is a fun bonus that doesn't make a big difference. The Flaregun, like Kritzkrieg, is a strategic choice letting you trade generic medium range damage for a less-deadly but more-disrupting and more skill-based attack. But the Backburner is even more shameful than the Blutsauger in terms of upsetting game-play balance.

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. Backburner does only one thing: trade the air burst for +50HP, and +50HP is huge in this game. The air burst is the best thing to happen to Pyro and it is practically ignored, excepting Pyro Tennis servers, because +50HP is better for everyone, while the air burst is only useful in the hands of moderately skilled players. Now stronger than Soldier, who used to be the offensive tank class, Pyro can simply charge at people and hold MOUSE1 down and expect a kill/death ratio of at least 1.9. Shouldn't the Offensive classes be about Soldier attacking enemy combatants, Scouts capturing control points, and Pyros securing the perimeter? All Soldier has going for him now is the blast-jump ability and 6.2% crit rockets.

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'm not having much fun in Team Fortress 2 these days. I want to, but it just isn't happening. Classes that reward skill -- Demo and Soldier must predict enemy motion, Spy must find blind spots and aim his revolver, Sniper must have swift reaction and maximal precision -- all suffer quick deaths from the 225/335HP Pyro bum-rush. Shouldn't Scout be the one who flies out of nowhere and executes hit-and-run attacks? It certainly isn't that way anymore.


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?

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.)

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


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. Kukri will give me up to 90 damage, and 195 on a crit, compared to a damage range on balisong that runs from didn't-count-ha-ha to about 50 at best, excluding the rare face-stab and backstab-that-actually-registered. If I'm going to need to swing two or three times to kill someone with a melee weapon, at least I will kill them if I live long enough to swing kukri two or three times, while balisong is still waiting for a strike to count, or it missed three times because the oblivious target keeps walking away from the silly backstab animation. Thus, I've been driven off my preferred class because, aside from the cloaking device, Spy is strictly inferior for ambush/CQC and mid-range combat when compared to Sniper. Furthermore, 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. Today? It's crit or die. That extra 50HP means I need to get two magnum rounds into the be-masked porker to down him. With an average damage of around 40, killing a Pyro vs. killing a Backburner is five shots versus six shots and a reload and a seventh shot. Ergo, crit or die. The same applies to Medic, who used to be four shots to kill. A blutsauger need only get a half-dozen needle pokes into me to make bullet number five a requisite, and if you miss his speedy ass twice, you're reloading while he's killing you and going back up to 150HP. Oktoberfest indeed.

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.


I feel Team Fortress 2 is moving away from where it was and where it should be. Medic should be able to defend himself but not turn into a temporarily offensive tank. Pyro should easily kill scouts and spies that come near him but not go charging towards long-range classes like Sniper knowing his huge health gauge will carry him through. 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.

Thank you for your audience and consideration.

Sincerely,
[TG] Magna Centipede
Tactical Gamer Team Fortress 2 Server Administrator
http://steamcommunity.com/id/magnacentipede

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Headshot Yoshi

/signed
10char

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TheSkudDestroyer

We can only hope for a proper response from valve.

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|TG-6th|Skud
BMT Graduate - 320th Training Squadron, Flight 024 - MSgt Romero - "Kids no more!"
30 weeks Keesler AFB, 1W031 - Weather

RandomGuy

I'd replace the blutsauger with tranquilizer needles that briefly slows down enemies. That keeps the defensive advantage but removes the offensive advantage. It also makes some kind of sense to a rational mind. The whole unlockables system and it's associated "rebalancing" is also bad for newbies in some ways. Who would assume that their opponent takes more hits to kill depending on what gun he is holding? The whole thing creates confusion.

The backburner is worse because it creates a balance dependency between two unrelated things: health and crits. Now everything else must be balanced against the two different kinds of pyros: those wielding the backburner and those not.

MagnaCentipede

If the weren't tranq specifically (slowing them down means the medic will just run up and charge his ubersaw) but did cause a short-term disorientation effect, that would be really good for Medic. It would allow him to halt an attack before running out of HP providing time to escape, get his heavy to turn around and fire a bullet, etc.

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cstealth

Wow i hope they respond
I know what you mean though.
They are altering classes dramatically changing their strategic uses
Valve releasing one at a time creates problems
Maybe when they have done them all it will be balanced like they promised
Who knows...


P.s. please show us his response i beg of you

kevlarorc

Well written magna. Lately I've discarded the sniper because I keep getting pyro rushed and instead I just run around as medic with my bonesaw hoping to get some people before a pyro incinerates me.

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Fish #641

I like it, save for the parts about Soldier and Scout being useless.

cstealth

And that damn flare gun.....

ROCKS

I agree. However, I am holding out on my final decision when all the classes are updated and the endgame is reached. Only then will their be a true balancing act that can be fully judged. Maybe they should have done it with a one time update instead of this roll out system. It would have been a lot more painless and they could have tested the game with all the classes updated.

Atra

/signed

Valve better listen up, Magna has something to say.

When did you send it in?

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Young Man approached the black monolith that emitted a faint glow and humming noise, and it became clear to him that he should fire not where the alien ship is, but where it is going to be. -Magna Centipede

MagnaCentipede

I submitted it here, then I changed tabs and submitted it to Steamforums, then I changed tabs and sent it to Mr. Walker.

By the way, the email sent includes links to this thread and the Steamforum thread, so there is a miniscule chance he will read this conversation.

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Razcsak

Well, I approve. Nicely written.

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Atra

I see you're on the receiving end of a bit of flame on the steam forums. And at least 40% of it has to do with the fact that you wrote it using 'big words' and 'proper grammar'. Sometimes the internet disgusts me. I honestly can't understand how some people can be so critical of other people. Hypocrisy and stupidity reign in the Steam Forums it seems.

I honestly can't wait for the response. I'm excited.

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Young Man approached the black monolith that emitted a faint glow and humming noise, and it became clear to him that he should fire not where the alien ship is, but where it is going to be. -Magna Centipede

MagnaCentipede

Well, we all know the nature of Steam forums, and trolls are mostly ignored anyway. I'm mostly interested in the number of people who didn't read it, how they admit that fact (from tl;dr to blah blah I just skimmed it blah blah you're wrong, paragraph you write too much paragraph), and which part of my argument the respondant focuses on. Some take me to task on something they only half-read. Others argue against my opinion with their opinion, which is funny in itself, and a few people there actually have something constructive to say.

Most interesting to me is how my expression of my history, which I include for reasons explained in one of my response posts, was taken as a bold, arrogant assertion of self-proclaimed importance, rather than an expression of context that I am not a novice and that I've experienced the balance issues, combat styles, and design decisions of many relevant games. I guess if I played more MARIOKART.bsp I would have forseen that.

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