This isn’t a rant for or against Team Fortress 2 Achievement servers. It’s a recounting of the bizarre/hilarious/terrifying experience I had on one of them – yes, my personal reactions to what I encountered do inevitably slip in, but mostly it’s a portrait of this unique facet of gaming subculture. Whether you agree or disagree with their existence, these beat-the-system servers are fascinating enough to be worth talking about.
“Were you beaten as a child?”
“FOR FUCKS SAKE DONT SHOOT THE FUCKIN ENGI”
“Scout need 2 kill scouts someone spawn scout”
“Retards ur all retards omg retards!!!!”
Having been away from the TF2 scene for a few months until very recently, I wasn’t previously aware of Achievement Servers. I heard about their existence come the release of the Pyro update, and the idea that there were legions of TF2 players grinding away like Lineage players on special maps for impatient unlock-hungerers was so curious that I had to see it for myself. As the sampling of chat-channel quotes above might imply, I wish I hadn’t.
The server I elected to play witness on was an odd, unsettling place. The tiny, custom map placed the red and blue spawn points right next to each other, removed the wait period between respawns, dropped a single capture point in the middle and placed intelligence briefcases at either end. A small pool of water was placed awkwardly in a corner, and health packs scattered in bizarre columns. No-one could ever win this map – it was set up to repeat forever.
From the narrow strip between the start points spawned a constant stream of Pyros – a silent, infinite army. Half the time, it wasn’t possible to escape this six foot starting area, as I’d be toasted into nothingness within milliseconds. Other players screamed time and again that those attacking each other were ‘retards’, oblivious or unconcerned that their unchecked use of this most stereotypical of Angry Internet Man insults made them even more detestable than those they lambasted. Perhaps these kill-crazed interlopers were simply childish troublemakers, but more likely they were chasing the 1m points of fire damage and 1000 kill Achievements.
Once I finally managed to sneak to a safe-ish corner, I couldn’t help but join the fray. There’d been no explanation as to how this server worked, and the only communication between players involved the word ‘retard’. So I presumed mega-death was the done thing here – certainly, that steady stream of disorientated spawnees were fish in a barrel, a Pyro’s wet dream. Stood next to a supply cupboard, with my health and ammo infinitely replenished, I spent a few minutes clocking up kill after kill after kill – forever twisting my TF2 stats. In TF2 proper I play a Heavy almost all the time, but my permanent record is now dominated by Pyro points. They’re just numbers, but they make me oddly sad – it’s as though someone’s stamped LIAR on my Steam page.
As TF2’s achievement system gives only the vaguest sense of progress towards its more long-winded, uber-grindy tasks, my interest and blood lust soon diminished. So my eye at last drifted to the bottom left of the screen, where I noted that I too was now a ‘retard.’ One player on the other team had taken a specific objection to me – a cursory check of the score screen revealed he was one of the six or seven players I was currently Dominating – and was unleashing a storm of horrific invective, predominantly about parental abuse he claimed I’d suffered. Tired of the senseless, joyless carnage, I tried to leave the starting strip to investigate the rest of the map, but he followed me, using his compressed air blast alt-fire to knock me off course, preventing me from reaching anywhere I wanted to go. During my attempts to escape I was killed a few times by other players, and every time Compressed Air Guy was waiting for me upon my respawn.
Meanwhile, a Heavy had spawned. The Pyros circled him excitedly, believing him there to help ‘em reach the MAKIN’ BACON Achievement (roast 50 Heavies). Instead, he let rip. Standing just far away enough from the spawn points to dodge the flames, his amazing cannon was able to shred any and every Pyro before they could get to him. No Pyro on the server was Achieving anything. The chat channel went mad. Fortunately, it did mean Compressed Air Guy finally stopped hounding me.
The banhammer eventually fell on the Heavy, and I took advantage of the brief lull in spawn-point genocide to finally slip into the rest of the small map. At last the nature of this place became clear to me. The map was designed specifically to make certain Achievements easier rather than simply to clock up the kills for the PYROMANCER and FIRECHIEF grinds, as the two or three dozen instant deaths I’d suffered I had initially implied. It was carefully designed as an obstacle course, not the infinite dance of death I’d been swept up in at the spawn point. That’s why there was such vitriol on the chat channels.
Gazing around, left more or less in peace now I was away from the fury of the spawn point, the rest of the place was like a series of surrealistic art installations. To the left, three Pyros forever danced around the capture point, gently roasting but never killing each other. Ding! CONTROLLED BURN.
To the right, a lone Heavy stood by the water’s edge, allowing a half-dozen Pyros to set him ablaze then leaping into the pool to extinguish himself. Then he’d haul himself out and the process would repeat. Burn, douse, burn, douse, burn, douse. Ding! BAPTISM BY FIRE.
Just ahead of me was a Spy, waiting. As I approached him, he coolly flicked his cigarette up from and back into his hand. I waited, unsure whether I should attack. “Come on then”, he said in Chat. I moved closer. He flicked again. This time I emptied my flamethrower onto him. Ding! GOT A LIGHT.
Beyond was a BLU Engineer, also surrounded by a throng of RED Pyros. Planted firmly next to a supply cabinet, he had infinite metal at his disposal. So he built and built tirelessly, seemingly unconcerned that each of his dispensers and turrets and teleporters were destroyed the second they appeared by the mute, masked horde. Ding! ARSONIST. As I watched, a further RED Pyro ran in, paused, then turned his flamethrower on the Engineer. As the helpful BLUman’s charred corpse slumped to the ground, the Chat channel again erupted in outrage.
We waited a while, but the Engineer didn’t return. Who could blame him? The other Pyros said nothing, but I could sense their disappointment. So I changed team, picked Engineer and stepped into the fallen man’s shoes. I built and I built and I built, all of it turned to rubble the second I created it. Sisyphus in a hardhat. I felt slightly pleased to be helping, though no-one thanked me – as I hadn’t thanked those that had assisted me. This was not a place of etiquette. Some 70 or 80 destroyed Teleporters in, I had a moment of horrible self-awareness about exactly what it was I was doing. I had to stop.
And so I climbed back into my red Pyro overalls and continued, reaching the map’s last bizarre setpiece – a concrete bridge atop which were health and ammo packs. A single BLU soldier was beneath it, and I joined a small queue of three or four RED Pyros waiting in front of him. The Soldier looked down at the ground, jumped and fired a rocket. As he sailed smartly into the stratosphere, the first Pyro in the queue let off a jet of flame. Ding! PILOT LIGHT. The Soldier landed neatly on the bridge, replenishedhis health and ammo and was just embarking on his next rocket jump when a sudden shotgun blast from behind me disrupted his manoeuvre. As one, we Pyros turned to look. As we did so, an axe-weilding newcomer charged past me and duly dispatched the poor jarhead. Ding! LUMBERJACK. Good for him. Bad for the waiting Pilot Lighters. Once again, there was much wailing, gnashing of teeth and bellowing of ‘retard.’
By now, I’d ‘earned’ 14 Achievements – enough to unlock the Flare Gun. Woo? I didn’t feel good about it. It wasn’t that I felt like I’d cheated. I was sad because I was not in a place where a team-mate would congratulate me for achieving the unlock – on this server, I was just one more feckless dope grinding away. I didn’t feel good that, though fun in concept, the current nature of the Achievement system seemed to make so many people want/need to shortcut it this horrible, artificial way. And I felt slightly sick at humanity, or at least more so than usual – this server promised altruism, a perfect barter system where good-natured strangers would help each other attain these hallowed Achievements. Instead, it was a mess of self-interest, abuse and griefing. (I’ve since been informed that other Achievement servers are more amiable places, but still – I’m sticking to TF2 vanilla myself). I took one more look at the endless slaughter by the spawn point and logged off, just one achievement shy of the Backburner.
I sated my curiosity, but I’ll never do it again. It’s even made me briefly wish TF2 had never introduced unlocks. I know the Achievement servers weren’t part of Valve’s plan. I know that some people genuinely see them as necessary and even enjoy them. I know that most servers are entirely free from the horrific attitudes I encountered. I know that it’ll all calm down in a little bit when everyone who wants the unlocks has got them. But, to me, the game currently seems grubbier and sadder for this mass obsession with statistics, and I’ll be glad when it’s died down. Yeah, I’ve got my Flare Gun, and it’s certainly a fun toy that expands the possibilities of the game, but I don’t want it. I’m going back to my Heavy. My pure, untainted Heavy – just a big man with a big gun. That’s what I play TF2 for.
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Valve could do two things to rectify it:
1. Allow the new weapons for free but only for a week or two. This allows everyone to try them without grinding. After the newness has worn off, only the dedicated players will be trying for the achievements.
2. Make the achievements long term based. This won’t stop the grinding, but again, if point 1 works, then only very dedicated stat wh0res and career players will gain the new unlockables. Want the new gun? 2000 kills. Want new kit? 5 million points.
My top three classes are spy, pyro and medic in that order, and it peeves me no end to play 120+ hours with them, only to have some weeny grind for a few hours and gain all the unlockables. My spyder-sense tingles because I just *know* the next class upgrade will be spy, and despite the fact it’s my career character, idiots will be running around with stupidly powerful powerups, while I have to slowly work my way up, unbalanced against the rest of them.
Outside of MMORPG, this grinding-when-you-least-expect trend started (as far as I know) in Battlefield 2. Not only did you have grinding for levels (unlocks), you also had it for the bazillion medals and ribbons and everything else. EA wipes the accounts of people reported to be engaging in such behavior, which makes it even more hilarious.
And yeah, it works pretty much the same there, except god help you if you get caught in an endless shot-revive cycle and they don’t care if you can get back into the game. That’s a good thing about TF2 – no chance of some guys fooling around with your gametime to keep you immobilized indefinitely.
Flaregun? I’d never give up my shottie, until compression blast it was usually my default running around weapon.
Backburner? Sorry, compression blast is just too awesome.
Axtinguisher? Yeah actually, i’d probably use that. But Not that fussed about it.
The compression blast really DOES change things. Engineer nests have a new best friend in the form of a class that sit on a dispenser toasting anything and everything that comes near, blow away stickies with ease, and halt ubers in their tracks (or better, launch them into the air so the Sentries propel them to the far corner of the map).
Once again though, the lack of backdating does irritate me. The incidental one off achievements I can live with, like Weenie Roast and such, but i’ve got over a DAY of time clocked as Pyro, so starting with 0 fire damage just feels like a kick in the teeth. I think the adverse effect of the unlocks will decrease as the number of expanded classes increases. Obviously right now there are loads of Pyros, but still lots of Medics. It’s probably going to be Spy or Engineer next, and when that does come out the balance will shift again, but with less severity.
To quote Flubb:My spyder-sense tingles because I just *know* the next class upgrade will be spy, and despite the fact it’s my career character, idiots will be running around with stupidly powerful powerups, while I have to slowly work my way up, unbalanced against the rest of them.
Hmm, I feel I must disagree with the notion that the newer weapons unbalance the play between vanilla players and achievement players. I’ve found that as a Pyro not using any unlocked (only got the flaregun so far) that I can more than hold my own against a Pyro that’s using the full range of unlocks, it’s just a case of adeptly using the air blasts and shotgun to good effect. I get the feeling that many people forget they can air blast now, as I still rarely see it being used by other players yet when it is used effectively it can keep your team safe by knocking back those backburner Pyros amongst other neat abilities.
Judging by this it is doubtful that in the Spy update that they’d give their unlocks a massive advantage over the regular equipment, there will most definately be drawbacks for using a more specialised tool ala Pyro and Medic unlocks.
I suspect you’re right about the Spy being next though, either that or they’ll do a defensive class next:
i.e. Support->Offensive->Defensive->Repeat
I can’t wait to find out, I really hope it is the Spy as then I can easily grab more of my Pyro achievements, just as I’ve been getting my Medic achievements whilst all the Pyros are around!
Neither these unlockable, nor those available for the Medic significantly unbalance the game. Which makes me wonder why so many people seem so desperate to get their hands on them.
@Malagate
Last night I found myself consistently run over by pyros at a speed which I never had using the generic pyro weapons. It might have been my perception about the situation, but it seemed like pyros were steamrolling me regardless of what class I had (I presume the backburner option had much to do with it). My experiments with the heavy fared a little better but I was shocked at the takedown time. Even toe to toe with an unlocked pyro, I came away worse for wear.
But roll on spy unlockables :> I’ll have my vengeance on you all!
@Flubb
I suspect that part of the effect you’re seeing is due to the flamethrower (both normal and Backburner) no longer having any damage fall-off. Since the damage fall-off towards the tip of the flame was previously very significant, this makes Pyros extremely effective at the kind of mid-range they normally flame at…
Why is everyone surprised about this? TF2 is just a horrible dumbed down console version of the original for the masses.
@Sam & Flubb
Yes, flames are full power as long as they touch you, when this is combined with the slippery back-hit detection it can make a backburner quite nasty. You have to keep your distance these days, if you let them get in range then you will die quickly with or without backburners, which I think is fine as it’s wasn’t exactly hugely deadly before unless you were right next to the target.
I’m a bit confused by the suggestion that there aren’t any normal TF2 games.
I’m one of the noobs that got sucked in by the free weekend.
Every server I visited was a normal game. I saw a ton that said “achievement server” – I avoided those, knowing what they were. I played on the Old Timer’s Guild server a lot, and on server labelled “Noobs only” and had a blast – so much so that my wife and I bought the game, and continued to play in to the night.
I found that I actually prefer servers that have a limit of 3-6 of any one class. It forces a diversity, and teaches you how to fight other folks….
Also, I found pyro to be a delightfully useless class when I played them. Anyone care to point me to a good source of guides on how to play classes well?
Also also: @cockles: Thank you. I was surprised it took that long for someone to point out how aewsum they were and bash a game because it’s “dumbed down for consoles” and not nearly as good as the original or the one they play.
Oh man, you think it’s bad now. Wait for the sniper pack. It’ll be like CS all over again.
it’s as though someone’s stamped LIAR on my Steam page
Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like. Eventually the excitement over each new set of achievements and unlocks will die down, and people will decide for themselves whether they want to be cheaters or enjoy the game properly.
CoD4’s “unlocks” are so easy to get by just playing the game, everyone has them in a couple weeks at most there’s no need for “achievement servers”. There are lots of other interesting and fun Challenges but they’re just they’re own reward — they don’t “get” you anything. I’m working on my “golden assault” rifle — when I get it — it won’t shoot any better than the drab brown one they handed me when I first booted the game. I think CoD4 has got it right on this one. I used to play Killzone on the PS2 “ranking up mania” and glitching killed that game after about a year.
Good article. Those achievement servers are pretty awful. I went on one to get my axe achievement, and earned the rest of my achievements through almost normal pyro play (almost because I normally don’t kill people with taunts). The pyro achievements are MUCH more in line with ‘good’ gameplay than the medi achievements, and I earned all 23 that I was looking for within 20-25 hours of play.
Alec – RPS should have a list of solid servers for different games. What server(s) do you frequent? I’ll humbly suggest my group’s server, Focusedgaming.com TF2, as an alternate server with solid teamplay, good class distributions most of the time, people who actively use VOIP, etc. I’d love to hear about other quality TF2 servers that are managed well with a solid base of regulars.
I’d done achievement servers for the Medic achievements, and waded through these hellholes in that experience. These places are truly unholy places. The epitome of terrible.
I’ve since taken a liking to building Sentries in these servers, not worrying the slightest about achievements, and not tainting my records with another 1335 points in one life. While they were good in theory, the achievements cause almost everyone to go crazy about them, trying to get the weapons as fast as possible. A shame really.
The achivement system is horribly insane, as is the implementation and development of the rewards. VALVE really need to put their thinking caps on, because now I dread any TF2 update that promises new content.
Derek K.: Evildaedalus has a youtube channel where he outlines how to play videos for certain classes. Go have a looksie. Glad you’re enjoying the game :D
They really need to only allow acheivments to be gained on public servers with official maps and put some kind of restriction on servers into it.
I mean, it’s all well and dandy people want to farm them, but what’s the point of putting them into the game in the first place? Hopefully they rectify this, as I do like the idea of acheivements/gamerpoints.
I personally don’t play TF2 anymore and I personally think if they were doing this on a custom server then what’s the crime if this was happening on every server then I can see getting canned for it…
I find myself going back to Battlefield 2 because I enjoy jets and helicopters with ants capturing everything below me. I like the support role but I don’t like trying to time every tactical event in perfect synchronization to the point where I get bored. As previously stated kits are very limiting and now you have to get 1000 kills just to get an augmented kit which probably replaces your previous base weapons. I’m almost tempted to join a server like that just to see if it really is worth 1000 kills as a pyro…
They should add a lot more weapons and gadgets but the time to balance all that would take Valve a good few years…
Is it worth the wait? hrmmm…
Whatever happened to the customer was always right?
From latest TF2 update:
“Reduced Medic’s unlockable requirements to match that of the Pyro’s. Medic players now meeting the requirements will receive their unlockables shortly after joining a server.”
I managed to complete all the Pyro Achievements by myself using a bug with bots which allowed me to record achievements and stats in my own server.
Not much better than going into Achievement Servers, but at least I didn’t have to put up with ‘DURR U R RETARD DURR DURR’ attitude.
Of course, getting it ‘legit’ would’ve been much more satisfying, but I just wanted that Axtinguisher. :D
I haven’t played much TF2, but I enjoyed playing 2142 achievement servers a couple times. If you find a server with people that play by the rules set, something like “pistol and knife only” matches can be a fun alternative to regular game play, regardless of achievements.
I was pleasantly surprised with the latest patch that lowered the Medic achievement requirements for the unlockables. So now I’ve got my Critzcrieg, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out a situation where it’s better than the invulnerability. Any suggestions?
A friend of mine claims it is very effective on defence. if you’re just hanging around the point e.g. Stage 2 Cap 2 on Dustbowl you can deploy it as attackers round the corner, mowing down any enemy your heavy sees. Yes, of course you could use the Ubercharge in that scenario, but i think Kritzkrieg would be fun and pretty effective.
I’ve been actually taking this time with the pyro achievements to go back and work on my medic achievements.
With everyone whoring as a pyro, getting the medic’s “Infernal Medicine” was a snap.
I’m not really worried about people scrambling to get the unlockables, mainly because Valve has demonstrated great attention to game balance, and while the new items look cool, their overall usefulness is affected more by your play style than anything else.
For instance, I got the blutsauger for my medic. I played with it for a few months, realized that I really valued the crits more than the health leeching, and put the blutsauger back on the proverbial shelf.
1. They should have released all of the achievements at once so that you could play a decent game of TF2. It’s been 90% medics in games to 90% Pyros and we will have to go through it 7 more times. At least in the achievement servers you know what your getting.
I am hoping they reenable the stat reset button so I can get back to my true stats.
I hate to say this, but anybody who thinks that Valve should release all the Achievements at once has [a different opinion to me].
In the first place, it’s a LOT of time and work to come up with and code all the Achievements, and it makes no sense to be sitting on them until they’re all finished when they could easily be released in sensible packets, like, say, every class.
Secondly, if they release all the unlockables at the same time, then they will have to try to balance all the unlockables at the same time, a task comparable to the initial balancing of TF2 that we all apparently treasure so much.
Finally, it’s bad business sense. By releasing them one-by-one, they drum up new anticipation for the game. We’ve all seen how well that worked for the Pyro pack, no?
Sir, by that logic . . . why release the whole GAME at once, either? I mean, if you strung out TF2’s release over the course of each map and class, each of which is a lot of work, NOTHING would have to sit there unused for a while and interest would be constantly drummed up!
I agree with Valve releasing these things one at a time. It helps keep updates coming quicker, so we aren’t waiting years for new content, and lets people get a handle on each update one at a time instead of being bombarded with dozens of new factors at once.
But those two factors (which you didn’t mention at all, notwithstanding) there are very good reasons for being DONE with something before you release it, instead of trying to get every bit of code out the door as soon as it’s compiled. The addition of unlockables will, once it’s finished, amount to a complete overhaul of the game, and it’s present, half-finished stage DOES create issues.
Similarly, balancing the unlockables against each other instead of against vanilla TF2 play would result in an arguably better solution. And unless I’m looking at this the wrong way, the actual tweaking isn’t necessarily particularly code-intensive: more damage here, less ammo there, et cetera. And what’s more, Valve has proven that they’re both capable and willing to perform such changes, which means there’s really no downside to doing so once all the cards are already on the table.
And yes, it IS engendering interest incrementally, which is good for business. But stringing players along with breadcrumbs rarely lasts – I’d say it’s only the fact presence of inventive and high-quality content in each release that keeps people excited. It’s less about “Ooh, new content,” and more about itching to see what Valve’s come up with this time.
So, yes. They’re totally going about things in the right way. But not for the reasons you mentioned.
I still cannot believe that Valve could be so oblivious to the desire for achievement maps and servers to match their ludicrously unattainable Medic achievements. All the answers clues were there if they’d asked the right questions of their design:
Q: Who is our playerbase?
A: A wide audience, from casual to hardcore players.
Q: Will all of the players have the ability to get the weapons through normal play?
A: No.
Q: Who will want the new weapons?
A: Almost every single player will feel they have a right to access the content in the game they paid for.
Q: Are there any easy methods to gaining the achievements?
A: Yes. Organisation (a.k.a. farming, a practise not uncommon in other multiplayer games, such as MMOs)
Q: Do these shortcut methods sit happily with the intended TF2 experience?
A: No. Clearly achievement farming is a tedious and self-interested process.
The question isn’t whether they created the monster, the question is more whether they did so through incompetance or ambivalence. They’ve improved how accessible the weapons are for average players, but they also forced their players down the path to achievement farming because it was the only logical option for someone who has limited time to play (which Valve has always stated is the type of player they have tried to cater to with TF2) but a lot of ludicrously randomly-occurring/unintuitive/counter-productive achievements.
As a casual player, I dont like when a hardcore player is “given” improved weapons and health. To make it fair to me they should just unlock my weapons when I have played a certain amount of total time or give me a temporary weapon until I respawn when I kill someone with all the cool toys.
@Noc: Those two points are along what I meant for my first point, because that’s WHY you wouldn’t sit on the entire thing until they’re all done. I just completely failed to make that clear.
That said, I was mainly considering it more from the developer’s perspective. One of the things that really gets me is when people complain and go “Why didn’t the developer do something this way?!” when if they thought about it from the developer’s perspective for even a little bit, they’d understand.
For some other points: You wouldn’t release the game in increments because that, too, is bad business sense [though I think some other game developers have gotten away with making people pay for unplaytested games]. The new unlockables would have to be balanced against the original weapons, as well, and of course it’s much harder to get 27 weapons at once correct than it is to get three at a time.
Honestly, you have to [have a different opinion to me] to play on a pub, and you do, in all fact, deserve to be spawn-camped by an endless stream of mouthbreathers who call you a retard because, congratulations, you didn’t put a lock on the server.
I only got to play for the couple of days it was out for free but, I was still able to follow and that was, well, quite hilarious.
why the fuck should i have to play 1000 hours if i want to play the game with decent weapons? [I am angry that some people have a different opinion to me] im going to achievment server for 30 minutes then play real for 1. better than the alternative. lol am i demeaning the value of the game fuk that.
You’re only showing [that you have a different opinion] really. It certainly doesn’t take 1000 hours to get the achievements and you can certainly play the game with decent weapons right out of the box (or digital download). The achievement weapons won’t make you a better player, nor more efficient, and this kind of mindset shows you’ll never be good at the game if you aren’t willing to sit down and play enough to actually learn the game. But that’s your loss, not anyone else’s. You’re the one who will be bored of or frustrated with the game you paid for. Especially since you get so easily frustrated that you come in here swearing out of the blue. I expect you’ll be doing a lot of that swearing online also but oh well, you’ll just get muted and keep dying miserable deaths :)
“The achievement weapons won’t make you a better player, nor more efficient, and this kind of mindset shows you’ll never be good at the game if you aren’t willing to sit down and play enough to actually learn the game.”
The Medic needler. Explain how the new one isn’t far, far better than the standard one. Or the Pyro’s Backburner. 50 more health and insta-crit from behind?
@Erlam: Actually, since the Blutsauger removes the possibility of crits, it actually does less damage than the normal one, so if a Medic kills you with one they probably had a fair chance of killing you with the Syringe Gun. Besides which, if you are a good offensive class, you should be able to kill a Medic anyway; Medics are still pretty squishy overall.
The Backburner, however, I do think is a little overpowered. I’ve heard a number of suggestions such as lowering the 50 health to 25 or replacing it with a speed boost, and I think those would probably be a better option. Regardless, due to the lack of damage fall-off on the Pyro’s flamethrower now, if any Pyro sneaks up behind you their chances of killing you are pretty good anyway.
I couldn’t care less about the idiots who play on Achievement Servers, I just hate how now most real server boxes have put a class amount limit so I can’t play as the Pyro which I have enjoyed since first played TF2. I unlocked all the new weapons honestly thinking that I don’t care about the new stuff if I get it whoop de do, if not oh well better luck next time. I only asked when the how many achievements where needed for each milestone but that was it and I occasionally checked the number of achievements I had. So now I use the flare gun and Axtinguisher and then switch between the Backburner, on larger maps when I need to be sneaky, and then the regular Flamethrower when I have to be defensive or need to get to point A to B with the most amount of health by using the air blast to clear stickies, missiles and players. Also the Heavy is then next class to get the Achievements for those who want to get started.
Wonder how many people will be caught by surprise when they find out the next pack is actually for the heavy. Damn, the TF2 blog is certainly an interesting source of news. :)
im so pissed! my little bro did one of these to get unlocks and now i hide my steam page in shame…:(
Today I finally started playing Medic, and I did so for about three hours. I thought to myself “I wounder what the “Blutsucker” is like, or the “Urber Saw”. So I went into an achievements server, and did some achievements… only to be extremly disapointed in myself. Now I’ve got two new Medic items, a ruined stats sheet, and a small dislike for the game. I came upon this page (Which, by the way, is brilliently written and enjoyable to read) while searching the web relentlessly for a way to reset my achievements and stats… :’(
What is everyone complaining about? These kind of servers knock out 2 kinds of flamers out of normal gameplay:
1: Normally, if there were no achievement maps, then players would be spamming servers trying to get every single achievement, and nothing else. Yes, we already have them, but in fewer quantities, and now when they come to public servers they have many fewer achievements to spam, meaning they’re done sooner.
2.) Straight up flamers. They’re having a ball pissing off other people trying to get these achievements, rather than joining real servers, and mic spamming, ubering enemy spys on purpose, etc. The more that are spamming these games, are the fewer that are pissing you off in the main servers.
Seems that some of you take this game pretty seriously. This is tf2 not WoW.
how many people do you think bought this game so they could grind achievements? First person shooters are not about completing tasks that are of no use to your team just so you can have access to all of the equipment.
They are about everyone being on the same level using the same gear with skill/teamwork being the deciding factors.
I like how John P. felt the need to point out that they’re all “homophobic 12 year old american halo kids” as opposed to say, the Canadian, German, British, etc. kids who are all well-spoken, well-mannered angels.
I hate achievements.
I bought Team Fortress 2 about one week ago, and I was amazed to see the oh-so-great items my long time playing friends had and I, the newbie, had not.
It really spoils some of the fun for me as some of the items has more advantages than disadvantages, for example the über-saw. Maybe if I had saw each update a time I would’nt be so disappointed, but I bought the game and BAM! One hundred achievments to unlock if you want the whole experience. I mean, some achievements are okay, but the ones like: Got a Light or OMGWTFBBQ are purely circunstancial and useless to get, you end up fucking up your team’s game if you try to get them. I’m not saying that I endorse achievements servers, I think it’s against the objective of a team-based game like TF2, but again, so are the achievements to me.
“you end up fucking up your team’s game if you try to get them”
that’s how i feel sometimes. most achievements seem to be geared towards playing the class how it’s meant to be played, but there are a few thrown in that will end up in the player hurting their team for the sake of a colored icon.
that’s the reason i joined an achievement server. i had already earned enough pyro achievements by playing normally to unlock all 3 weapons, yet i found myself wasting time trying to get achievements i didn’t really need for anything, so i joined an achievement server and took care of them so i could go back to playing the game normally.
so i have no problem with achievement servers if you only use them once you’ve unlocked the items for that class. otherwise it’s just annoying, but whatever, i’ll be happier with my sandman when i’ve earned it.
The Pyro Gun makes Pyros kinda like snipers.. I don’t like it :(.
I read this article soon after having spent about an hour and a half on an achievement server. It had to be the most retarded hour and a half of gaming in my life. Pyro’s my favorite class, and although I’m not in any rush to get those shiny new Pyro weapons, I did grind my way to a flare gun. Wasn’t too difficult, as I only needed four or five achievements to get it. What kept me playing was a sick fascination, sort of like wasting time watching weird video clips on ebaumsworld.com, or something like that. An hour and a half of mowing down bots (something like ten spies and one heavy), and the odd brave soul, or fool, who decided to play for the BLU bots.
Anyway, I’ve got no problem with the achievement servers. They’re a bit ridiculous, somewhat pathetic, and mildly amusing. I just doubt I’ll play on them anymore.
You have to admit GRIEFING on an achievement server is a great thing to behold, though it seems these days people are far more silent and don’t use ‘retard’ at all.
Some whiny people use voteban, and it’s even more fun when they can’t voteban you because other players actually like you.
However, I do use achievement servers sometimes, mostly only for the achievements that you’d fuck your team for if you tried to get them. Also, I already have all of the unlocks so i’m not gaining much.
You’re a pretty decent writer. That was an enjoyable, smart read.