Spam
Valve software has decided to reduce the number of MIRV grenades carried by the Demo and HW class from 4 to 2.
— GHOB
As I'm sure you're all very well aware of, in the upcoming patch, Valve
software has decided to reduce the number of MIRV grenades carried by
the Demo and HW class from 4 to 2. This decision was apparently made, so
as to reduce the amount of spam that happens in games. Now I'm speaking
here not only as the Administrator of the TFC section of the Online
Gaming League but also as a player who has played the HW class for as
long as TFC has been around.
I have participated in many clan matches. And in almost everyone of
them, there has been a certain degree of spam involved. But what are the
factors that cause spam? And which class is mostly responsible for this
spaming? Well I can say with absolute confidence ( and I'm sure many of
you who have in fact played any TFC will confirm) that the spam is
usually caused by bad map design. Narrow corridors, few respawn rooms,
usually lead to spam. They make spaming a strategic necessity, causing
clans to resort to it in order to win. Now who is it exactly that does
this spaming? There are only two classes that carry MIRV grenades in
TFC, the demo and the HW. So it has to be one of them. From experience
(again anyone who has played any TFC will easily confirm this) the HW
class is very rarely used in clan matches. And most of the players in
public servers who do play the HW are in fact less experienced players
who can easily get killed at the hands of a scout as an HW. The reason
why no clan uses the HW in their matches are very simple . There are
very few players out there, who know how to play the class. I have seen
only 2 people in all the time I have played TFC capable of playing the
HW class well. The HW is simply too slow. If you put him on Defense, he
can't get to the point that needs covering fast enough. If he gets
conced when at his post, he becomes useless. And when it comes to
Offense, the HW is too slow with the flying medics and scouts. It does
not have the ability to rocket/grenade jump like the soldier and the
demo have. So it's not very versatile on Offense. All of the above lead
to the HW being excluded almost by all clans as a class they would
choose to have in their matches.
So if the HW is not being played in matches, because of these so called
weaknesses, then that only leave one other class that can be the cause
of this spam, and that is the Demo. The demo is speedy, he carries a
very massive arsenal of grenades of all types. It can be a very potent
asset not only on Defense but also on Offense. On defense, it can put
pipe bomb traps and kill incoming enemy. On Offense, it can grenade jump
to unreachable places. It can take out Sentry Guns with it's grenades
from afar, it can blow up computers and grates with its detonation pack
and on and on. These of course lead to the Demo being played in almost
every match by almost all clans. So here is what puzzles me. Why did
valve reduce the number of MIRV grenades on the HW as well as the Demo?
If the HW is not being played in clan matches, then why weaken it as a
class even further?
At the moment, the only class out there that is capable of fighting and
winning against the Soldier class is the HW. And this only applies to
players who are experienced with the HW class (which there are very few
of). As someone who has experience with the HW class, I can tell you
right now, that those 4 MIRV's are what make a good HW. When going
against soldiers, who are far more maneuverable when firing (compared to
the HW which becomes a turtle when firing his AC), the only weapon that
can give the HW the edge he needs is the MIRV. A single MIRV to the face
of a soldier and he is down, and not likely to get up. MIRVs are also
the only weapons that the HW has when he is conced. A good HW, always
saves one MIRV for emergencies of such. When conced, a good HW can
simply start running after the medic/scout...while priming his grenade.
Then simply throw it at the enemies back. Destroying him completely.
These are all very simple examples of course, but I think everyone gets
the picture here.
I think the decision to limit the number of MIRV grenades carried by the
HW was a very ill advised one. I don't know whom decided on this
particular detail, but I would like to ask him/her the following
questions. Do you actually play the game you make/modify? Do you
actually play it in the way it was meant to be played? In a clan? Do you
know how things work in real life in a gaming environment? Your
decision will lead to the Soldier class becoming the supreme gods of
TFC. Making the game more of DM craporama than the strategy game many of
us play it for. The HW class is already a very hard class to play for
the newbies, why do you intend to make it harder on them to learn it?
And if it is in fact your intension to have the HW class become a
useless class (like the pyro and sniper are), then why not simply remove
it from TFC as a whole and get the whole thing over with, so that
experienced HW's like me can go and play something else rather than
waist their time with TFC? I don't know if the people at Valve will ever
read this, but I ask of you (if you do read this) to please reconsider
this change that you have made. You are further limiting the number
classes being played in clan matches by taking this approach and are
pushing TFC into becoming a game dominated by concing medics/scouts and
Death Matching Soldiers. *sigh*
Think the author was right on target or completely off the deep end? Let us know -- mail us or post in the forums!
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