Why Valve was smart making this new method

[Mozilla]

I'm guessing by now Valve has gotten thousands of complaints via forums, emails, etc. about this new method of getting weapons. Although we may not like it, it could be one of the smartest moves so far for TF2 on their part. Here's why:

1. Sales

Valve's free weekend gets players to try out the game, and maybe unlock some weapons along the way. My guess is they won't unlock everything, since they don't have anything. After the free weekend's over, many people will buy the game wanting more weapons. This usually happens with their free weekends anyways, but this is another incentive.

2. More users playing

The new system of getting weapons for Spy and Sniper means all you have to do is play. Since it's random, people will play the game more than usual. Meaning more promotion for the game and helping TF2's popularity.


Sure, this new method is not favorable for the TF2 community, but it gets people playing instead of achievement farming. Not only that, it bring down the amount of people playing Spy and Sniper since the new weapons can be unlocked playing any class. We might be impatient, but we still are gonna play some TF2!

Now stop reading this and go unlock stuff!

MOZ

 

[TheZaw]

Haha...no.

 

[Andeby]

I agree with this, even though we may not like the system that much, it's very good for Valve. They have to get more players to.

 

[Synn]

They should have just kept the Milestones and have both systems. Jeeez what was Valve thinking... Probably thinking (''\($_$)/'')..

 

[Gryphon Osiris]

To be honest, with the milestone system you had people grinding away in servers just to get these milestone weapons. They'd spend a few hours just working at it and have the new equipment without earning them. Mind you, in this system it isn't 'earned' either, but it keeps people from grinding to get stuff.

 

[NoHitter]

Valve did annoy many old players, but new players who haven't played tf2 before will just get used to the new method.

 

[Dan2025]

People keep complaining about how Valve is turning TF2 into an RPG, but "earning" is what RPG's are all about. This system is not ideal, but I don't think an ideal solution will ever be found. Achievements are supposed to be special things you earn for their own merit, but because of their relationship with unlocks people would just grind (HA! And we talk about TF2 turning into and RPG. If anything this is a step away from that direction) the achievements, which would cause them to lose their value as they were no longer unique; an achievement isn't notable if everyone else has also achieved the same feat. This system is essentially grind proof. Whether you're deliberately trying to get the weapons or playing the game normally, you're getting them at the same rate, so achievements have some actual value again.

 

[Mozilla]

That's pretty much what Valve said, achievements should be fun to get, not just farmed on servers. I'm as frustrated as the next guy because in 8 hours of playtime I haven't gotten any new weapons, but I'm still having fun playing. Just w/o the new stuff.

MOZ

 

[Tattis]

They should have just kept the Milestones and have both systems. Jeeez what was Valve thinking... Probably thinking (''($)/'')..

I'm sort of in agreement with this. It sounds like Valve has some big plans for this system, stuff that will address a lot of the complaints. However, in the meanwhile, we have a system that is not finished and unsatisfactory. I went from feeling like I could work on a goal to just feeling like I'll randomly be rewarded, and getting frustrated every time I get a duplicate.

When the system is changed so people can trade weapons or when you can influence the drop rate, it'll likely be much better. They should've just held off on changing the system from one to the other completely until they had things more fully fleshed out.

 

[blizbiggy]

I wouldn't mind the system if it didn't give me weapons that I already have... I have yet to get anything for the spy/sniper

 

[Frazar]

I like where it might be going. This is huge change, and change sometimes is good

 

[PuddinPop]

They should have just kept the Milestones and have both systems. Jeeez what was Valve thinking... Probably thinking (''($)/'')..

I actually agree with the part that Valve may have only been thinking about money and I think that's a good thing. Because, if Valve keeps making money off of TF2, they can continue providing me with free updates that are more than just bug fixes. Otherwise they have to abandon the game in search of other money making ventures or Valve disappears forever.

 

[Dan2025]

I actually agree with the part that Valve may have only been thinking about money and I think that's a good thing. Because, if Valve keeps making money off of TF2, they can continue providing me with free updates that are more than just bug fixes. Otherwise they have to abandon the game in search of other money making ventures or Valve disappears forever.

Not only that, but recently Valve's financial statistics apparently, and there not doing so good as you would think. I'm fine with them getting as much money as they require to continue business.

 

[Ryken]

While I don't like that they released the system without finishing it completely, I do really like the system.

The old system encouraged achievement servers and people playing the game to get the achievements instead of playing to win the round. This was annoying as crap to everyone who just likes to play the game.

This system also has successfully prevented the team of 7 spies, 7 snipers, and 2 people actually trying to play the game. I love that you can get weapons for classes that you wouldn't normally play. I'm sure it will convince many to try new classes.

Finally, I wish that there was still some reward for the achievements. It should be stuff like the hats, fun taunts, etc. Stuff that doesn't affect actual game play, but is fun to show off in game. I played a lot of WoW back in the day, and pulling out a snowball from Christmas in the middle of July was super fun, and something I think TF2 could benefit from.

 

[Savoc]

The only thing that should be changed is the whole duplicate thing. Getting fifteen of the same weapon isn't fun for anyone XD

I'm hoping they'll also fix that up. I like the new system, even if it is a little strange, but it still has a few kinks to be worked out. It's kinda disappointing when the game pulls you aside, says you've unlocked something, and it happens to be another Natascha D:

And plus, the anticipation for the new weapons has gotten me to play more spy, and less sniper (Which I totally needed to do, since I'm often outmatched as a sniper and spy's the only real effective way to get rid of good snipers XD)

 

[Foxhound]

I actually agree with the part that Valve may have only been thinking about money and I think that's a good thing. Because, if Valve keeps making money off of TF2, they can continue providing me with free updates that are more than just bug fixes. Otherwise they have to abandon the game in search of other money making ventures or Valve disappears forever.

Exactly. And everyone in eGO should be thankful for Valve trying to get more money (see: players). As the biggest FPS gaming community who, oh by the way, has a massive support for TF2, this means the community stays alive. This means more members. More members means higher ranking servers which leads to sponsors which leads to free stuff and more servers. It's win-win for everyone and a great company like Valve deserves that extra buck or so. For a $10 game with FREE online play and user created content and ongoing support/fixes/changes to the game, how can you honestly complain?

You can't please everyone and everyone has something to gripe about with every patch they release. Just chill out and play the game. It's supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun, re-evaluate what exactly you want out of a game.

...also, its barely been 48 hours since the patch release. I don't know about you, but without farming, not that many people should have the unlocks. Nothing has changed aside from the fact that now you cannot control how and when you get your weapons. But they will come. Just play the game, try the new maps, get some achievements, and enjoy the game. There's enough new content that the weapons shouldn't be the only important thing.

If you're not having fun, you're doin' it wrong.

 

[SScagnetti]

I like this system A LOT more than the old one because it encourages people to just play the game. I was on Pipeline for about three hours last night and saw quite a few of the new weapons found by a lot of people. And even better then that, we weren't swamped with Spies and Snipers trying to get every achievement they could. People were just playing as they always did and occasionally getting weapons. It was far more enjoyable overall than updates of the past, in my eyes at least.

 

[Captain Ashton]

I don't like this new method, but it does at least stop people from getting the weapons unfairly (ie a hack that gets you all the achievments thus unlocking the weapons (not anymore of course)). Now we all have a grueling test to endure should we want the new items. I really envy all of you who currently have the marksman and/or the ambassador. I don't know if it makes a different, but I was lagging for the whole 2 hours I played today, thus badly affecting my gameplay (I got 40 points in 2 hours). Is it possible that you are more likely to unlock an item if you're scoring higher?

 

[xenophek]

I'm all for the random drops. I think it makes the game much more fair and balanced. Just yesterday I was in Valve Maps playing as medic, and some guy got the Ubersaw. He was like, "Wow, that's the first time I got anything" and he was overjoyed. I was happy for him, and I remember thinking, "Wow. That took me two weeks to get in the old system..."

I'm glad that the weapons are randomly handed out. It's completely fair for those of us who got ours the other way, because now we too can get randomly assigned weapons. I, for one, am glad to have gotten three Blutsaugers since the update. You can never have too many.

 

[JHeat]

Is it possible that you are more likely to unlock an item if you're scoring higher?

No, Valve has said that the system works primarily on time played. From the website:

That new system watches the amount of time that players are playing TF2, and gives them a chance to find items at regular intervals. They aren't guaranteed to get the item at those points, but they have a pretty good chance. We based the system on granting items on the amount of time played because we don't want players to have to do weird things like join achievement grinding servers to get new content. Basing it off time also has the benefit of ensuring that if you play a lot of TF2, you're going to get more items than players who don't.

Also, to those complaining about duplicate weapons...

Like everything else we build, we'll be iterating on this system for a while, and have a lot of features planned. Some of the next things we have planned are:

- Item trading. This is why you're finding duplicates.