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TF2 Sniper Update On The Way

The sniper class gets his turn at an update with a new bow-and-arrow combo.


No Caption Provided
The official Team Fortress 2 blog recently posted some details about their upcoming Sniper update. It looks like they're spreading the info over a couple of days but right now we know the sniper will be getting a new bow-and-arrow combo that allows you to pin enemies to walls. The weapon also comes with a one-second charge similar to the sniper rifle that will allow it to score insta-crits on the unlucky target. No word on which weapon this replaces but I'll assume it's the sniper rifle and not the machine gun. So that brings up some questions.
  1. Will the arrow have an arc trajectory similar to the Pyro's flare gun?
  2. If so, why would you ever use the thing over your sniper rifle?
Not that I'm against the idea of a hunting bow, mind you. And hey, pinning dudes up against a wall with a wooden projectile really hasn't been done well since the original Painkiller. I guess I just sometimes question the use of some of the alternate weapons that get added through class updates. If they use the bow as a replacement to your machine gun and had a medium distance zoom to compliment the rifle's long range one I might get a little more excited. As of now, I just hope it doesn't add yet another highly stylized animation to TF2's noisey airspace. 

As a side note, if you're a TF2 fan and have not checked out the Gang Garrison "demake" do so now. While crude, it totally captures the spirit of the original game.
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42 Comments

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MattyFTM

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Edited By MattyFTM  Moderator

The new game mode looks awesome.

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Miniman

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Edited By Miniman
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thebeast

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Edited By thebeast

For those that missed it; the announcements for day 2 & 3 are now shown.

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baron_calamity

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Edited By baron_calamity

Can't wait for this update.

S2C: i miss TFC as well. I really wished as time went on, Valve would have added more TFC elements back into TF2. I really miss the hunted.

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stephengotlost

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Edited By stephengotlost

Just like the flare gun, I'm sure the sniper rifle is the better weapon, but using the bow will be a lot more fun to use.

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dartagnan

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Edited By dartagnan
snide said:
"The only one that bugged me was the scout update. That's mostly because the baseballs tend to clutter up the screen and seem a bit spammy."
it is also a horribly overpowered/dumb weapon



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Lunarbunny

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Edited By Lunarbunny

"Not a crazed gunman, dad..."

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Bass

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Edited By Bass

item could totally be similar to the crossbow from HL2 in trajectory. Very accurate, but it dips down with distance a little bit.

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AURON570

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Edited By AURON570

HORRIBLE IDEA. SCOUT UPDATE SUCKED TOO.

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Media_Master

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Edited By Media_Master

Neato

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ch3burashka

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Edited By ch3burashka

FUCK YEA! I hope it comes with a new awesome Meet The trailer.

Also, I agree that wooden projectiles haven't exceeded Painkiller, but Half LIfe 2 had a great re-bar crossbow that would nail dudes to the wall.

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Karmum

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Edited By Karmum

Oh man, I really need to start playing TF2 again. Playing with a bow sounds awesome.

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TaintedSun

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Edited By TaintedSun
Not that I'm against the idea of a hunting bow, mind you. And hey, pinning dudes up against a wall with a wooden projectile really hasn't been done well since the original Painkiller.

Uh, remember that Turok remake? Horrible single-player, mediocre multi-player? Get your factoids straight!
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bobpie24

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Edited By bobpie24

Woot! TF2

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Rockanomics

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Edited By Rockanomics

It explains exactly why they did it here http://tf2.com/post.php?id=2477.

But, it sounds super strange, it basically boils down to "it sucks to get sniped because it happens out of nowhere" so they gave the sniper a closer wep.

Buuut, as the sniper, idunnowhyyoudwannadothat.

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RHCPfan24

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Edited By RHCPfan24

Here I am, with my 360 version, no updates. :(

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Snail

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Edited By Snail

OH YESZ.

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Shabs

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Edited By Shabs

Yeah, this is all PC stuff.

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dudacles

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Edited By dudacles

I ought to play TF2 again. Then again, all these updates are only for the PC version, right?

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Shabs

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Edited By Shabs

Such a bow would lead me to be the Sniper more often.

Frankly, I'm a poor sniper.  My reflexes are not quick enough to nail the headshots, and I'm easy target for spies, since I have to concentrate too hard on my aim for me to pay attention to my surroundings.

I think I'm pretty good at engaging other players up-front and positioning myself in the right place.  If this bow gives me some more mobility, cuts down the distance I have to be to engage an enemy, and lets body shots count for a bit more, I could be more effective as a "Sniper".

I'll admit it does beg the question why I'd ever play Sniper w/ bow over a Soldier though.  It would still have to be a long-enough ranged weapon with a quick enough projectile speed to allow me to control a space from far away.

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brydello

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Edited By brydello

Looking forward to this update... I love Sniper.

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subject2change

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Edited By subject2change

O great more people playing sniper!

Glad I don't play TF2 much anymore; would like a Solider update though. Still feel TF2 is still too slow paced R.I.P. TFC.

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Edited By ImperiousRix

I LOVE Team Fortress 2.  I only have the Xbox 360 version, though, andI haven't played since the end of last year.  Having said that, does anybody know if the updates have come to home consoles yet, and does anybody know if this new update will be released concurrently?

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Fosssil

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Edited By Fosssil
BoG said:
"I completely disagree. A lot of the new mechanics really improve gameplay, and make each class more fun to play. You mentioned the compression blast as one, but I also like the Scout's baseball, which really adds a lot, the Krtzkrieg is great, as are so many other bonuses."
Agreed. Normally, I wouldn't want a developer to make so many big changes to a game that I've grown accustomed to playing, but Valve has done a great job so far of keeping everything fun and balanced.
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Hamz

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Edited By Hamz
@snide: I would agree with you in that the baseballs seem to be spammed a lot by Scout players. But I'd say the Pyro update is the most disappointing. The Backburner still isn't working like it should and there isn't much need to use the Flare Gun at all to be honest.
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inkeiren

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Edited By inkeiren
Crono said:
"Will arrows stuck in Spies still show while they are cloaked, or will they cloak with them?  That is what I really want to know."
Same here.
I'm excited for this update.
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Captain_Fookup

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Edited By Captain_Fookup

Looks great, I look forward to using the " bow-and-arrow combo" when the TF2 update comes out for the Xbox 360 version sometime this decade.

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snide

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Edited By snide

The only one that bugged me was the scout update. That's mostly because the baseballs tend to clutter up the screen and seem a bit spammy.

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BoG

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Edited By BoG
Logan said:
"I really hate these updates. TF2 reached it's peak of quality a couple months after release when everything was patched to perfection. Then they started these things and the game gets a little less fun every time. That's not to say all the changes they have made lately are bad, some of the Spy changes are great and the Pyro desperately needed the compression blast, it's just they don't out way all the bad stuff in the game now."
I completely disagree. A lot of the new mechanics really improve gameplay, and make each class more fun to play. You mentioned the compression blast as one, but I also like the Scout's baseball, which really adds a lot, the Krtzkrieg is great, as are so many other bonuses.
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Logan

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Edited By Logan

I really hate these updates. TF2 reached it's peak of quality a couple months after release when everything was patched to perfection. Then they started these things and the game gets a little less fun every time. That's not to say all the changes they have made lately are bad, some of the Spy changes are great and the Pyro desperately needed the compression blast, it's just they don't out way all the bad stuff in the game now.

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Crono

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Edited By Crono

Will arrows stuck in Spies still show while they are cloaked, or will they cloak with them?  That is what I really want to know.

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Edited By MattyFTM  Moderator

It sounds cool, but since I suck with the sniper, I'll not have much use for it. It'll be cool to see people nailed to the wall with arrows though.

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Hamz

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Edited By Hamz

I believe Valve wanted to help balance the Sniper class and make it more versatile for close quarters combat.

So my guess is the arrow fires in an arc similar to the Demoman's grenade launcher or Pyro's flare gun. But at the same time I doubt the Huntsman has any zoom feature so it won't be as precise as sitting there scoped ready to fire like it is with the sniper rifle.

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xxNBxx

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Edited By xxNBxx

" why would you ever use the thing over your sniper rifle?"   I am guessing cause the bow has an arc that you will be able to fire over walls.   None of the Alt weapons change the class that much its just something to use in certain situations.

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Curufinwe

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Edited By Curufinwe

This will get me playign TF2 again.  Sniper's one of my top 3 classes.

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SuperMooseman

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Edited By SuperMooseman

Wow, I was not expecting this so soon. The bow sounds really cool, and an earlier blog states this weapon will get the sniper involved in closer combat. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

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Edited By Mattalorian

The bow will take less time than the rifle to charge a full power shot, and it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that it would minimize tunnel vision.
I'd use that over my SMG for close-range encounters any day.

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GozerTC

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Edited By GozerTC

I SUCK at sniping but I look forward to the update.  Though I wish they'd get to my number one class: Engineer. :D 



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Kohe321

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Edited By Kohe321

Hah this will be awesome

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Fritzerbacon

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Edited By Fritzerbacon

lol i was kinda thinking 'Why would you use a bow, over a sniper'?

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SlowHands

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I love TF2.  I love Valve.

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snide

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Edited By snide

No Caption Provided
The official Team Fortress 2 blog recently posted some details about their upcoming Sniper update. It looks like they're spreading the info over a couple of days but right now we know the sniper will be getting a new bow-and-arrow combo that allows you to pin enemies to walls. The weapon also comes with a one-second charge similar to the sniper rifle that will allow it to score insta-crits on the unlucky target. No word on which weapon this replaces but I'll assume it's the sniper rifle and not the machine gun. So that brings up some questions.
  1. Will the arrow have an arc trajectory similar to the Pyro's flare gun?
  2. If so, why would you ever use the thing over your sniper rifle?
Not that I'm against the idea of a hunting bow, mind you. And hey, pinning dudes up against a wall with a wooden projectile really hasn't been done well since the original Painkiller. I guess I just sometimes question the use of some of the alternate weapons that get added through class updates. If they use the bow as a replacement to your machine gun and had a medium distance zoom to compliment the rifle's long range one I might get a little more excited. As of now, I just hope it doesn't add yet another highly stylized animation to TF2's noisey airspace. 

As a side note, if you're a TF2 fan and have not checked out the Gang Garrison "demake" do so now. While crude, it totally captures the spirit of the original game.