Mann VS Machine! What do you think so far?

[flying_whimsy]

I tried playing it, but the game crashed when it tried to load a stage. I'll give it another go this weekend, but in the meantime I've been very dissatisfied with how it's affected the normal game, particularly time for the game to start (from clicking play on steam) including loading times. Stability and efficiency have suffered immensely and I'm hoping that when I get around to playing the new game mode I'll see why.

Considering I mainly play surf maps, I'm fairly certain I'll be awful at this new mode: my fault, not the game's, though.

 

[Legion]

I am not sure what they have done but they finally seem to have fixed the joining problems, I can actually get into a game within 1-3 minutes each time now no problem.

Pros:

- Getting to learn new ways to use classes.
- It's nice to have a challenging game for once.
- It requires a lot more team work than your standard TF2 game.
- I like the weapon/class upgrades you can buy, they make a nice touch.
- It's nice to have a horde based game mode with a bit of variety.

Cons:

- No ability to respec/Upgrades are saved in between rounds. Pretty much forcing you to play as a single class if you want to be able to do anything in later waves.
- Medics are almost worthless really because all classes have two healing upgrades available, and power up canteens allow you to be ubered up to three times. Plus each medic takes away another fighter which you need badly on this game mode.
- The Sniper is also pretty worthless. Except against enemy snipers if they appear. They would be good if the game offered any decent vantage points where the enemy can't annihilate you from half way across the map.

 

[8bitmaster]

I've been having a ton of fun with it. I hated the queue times at the beginning, so I just made my own server. Something I found out the hard way, you need minimum 5 people. Period. Heres a good example of when things go wrong:
[youtube]ulOhLOZww4k[/youtube]
and apparently I fail at embedding, so heres the link http://youtu.be/ulOhLOZww4k
I have finished 2 of the campaigns on normal, and nearly one of them on advanced, so I'm having a ton of fun.

 

[DustyDrB]

I've found some decent UK serves but i still have some trouble with waiting time. Usually only 10-15 minutes but that's till quite a while to wait for a game. Once I'm on though i load fast and so can keep my slot.

Major problems i have found;

1. Defeat can cause MAJOR bug issues on most servers i've played on
2. If a couple of players drop out your game can go to shit for quite a few rounds.
3. If you get one terrible player/ people playing the wrong class it can ruin your whole game.
4. Sniper, Spy and Scout and worthless 90% of the time unless you get a really really good player.
5. A bad engineer is a recipe for a sentry buster cluster fuck.

For point #4, bad players will screw up no matter what the class. Bad Demoman will allow themselves to get overrun. Bad Soldiers won't make use of higher ground. Bad Medics will waste Kritz/Ubers on mooks. Bad Pyros will never airblast and die constantly. Bad Snipers will...well, actually Sniper is probably the least useful MvM class in my experience[footnote]I know that statement will cause buttclenching. Snipers can take out Medics before they uber. But so can Spies, Scouts, and Demoman. And those three classes can provide even more utility in the process. Spies and Scouts can pick up lots of money. Demoman can seriously hurt huge enemies and wipe out entire groups in one detonation. Spies can slow down giants and Sentry Busters. Scouts can provide healing (through Mad Milk) and mini-crits (through the Fan of War). The best use of the Sniper is going with explosive headshots. You can take down a few enemies at once with that, but I still say other classes do what the Sniper does far better.[/footnote]. Heavy is kind of hard to screw up, I guess, but they can prioritize targets incorrectly as well.

 

[Slaanesh]

4. Sniper, Spy and Scout and worthless 90% of the time unless you get a really really good player.

I have to disagree with that.

Scout with FaN, Mad Milk, and Fan-o-War is probably one of the best things to have on your team. Better at collecting money, FaN can knock back the giant bots who are about to deploy a bomb(this is a life saver when the giant has a ton of health and your team can't kill it quickly enough), Mad Milk with the slow upgrade can slow down big crowds of enemies and those pesky giant scouts(while giving your team some more health), and the Fan-o-war can mark targets, which makes dropping giants easier.

And I'm hardly a "good" Scout player.

 

[Zenn3k]

Still haven't been able to get into a game.

No longer trying either. For as much money as TF2 prints in hats...you'd think they would have more servers.

 

[DustyDrB]

Still haven't been able to get into a game.

No longer trying either. For as much money as TF2 prints in hats...you'd think they would have more servers.

For regular MvM: You don't know anyone hosting private MvM servers? That's what I do. I've already played tons of it as a result.

For Mann Up: The last five days or so, my longest wait time has been five minutes. That's enough to go to the restroom, grab a beer, and come back. You can also use the wait time to organize your team.

 

[njrk97]

i would of like mann vs machine if RED AND BLU ACTUALLY TEAMED UP LIKE IN THE FREAKING PROMO but nooooooo.Huge nitpick for me,yes i get it basic tf2 logic shoot blu but it not that hard to change too shoot grey and change back.

 

[Aprilgold]

Scout it useless, sure, you can shoot through guys for 50 damage, good on you. You see that entire group of fisicuff heavies right there? Yeah one shot from my rocket launcher will kill them instantly, nice try though kid.

50? Even without Upgrades it goes for 60-80 depending on range, try ~150 without crits with max damage + a friggin fast firing speed. This kills about everything except Metalfist Heavies and Giants. But I'm not here for killing enemies, in most cases I ignore them.
You know what a good scout does? He increases the damage of every member on giants to minicrit range while keeping every possible threat at bay + guarantees the bonus without even breaking a sweat. I also distract Giants because they can't do shit to me, I run with ~500-700 health there in front. Did I write distract? I kill them. No better distraction than just plain out fucking them up.

Spoiler

But since you only play braindead mode...

Pyro is bloody ridiculous and if your a W+M1 pyro your pretty much god here.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... If there is something that is utterly useless than it is a W+M1 pyro. A pyro is a class you need to make it easy but not for his damage, you need his airblast.

PS:

I hear Mann Up mode is harder but oh my gawd that is another can of worms entirely, I'm not paying to play on servers which may or may not have people just for added difficulty that should have been there in the first place.

You don't need to pay to play Mann Up difficulty. Read up.

I wish I could tell you to fuck off but I can't or else I'll get a warning, so I'll put it simply.

150 damage is not as much as 300 damage per shot. Scout is by far the weakest class and no matter what you say his role in it is to get money. Infact, that is exactly what Star is saying. Pyro could easily be the one to collect money, or spy since he can grab money while disguised. Scout is not the single best in anything and is outclassed by everything.

Secondly, yes you do. You can edit the file so that it is as difficult as mann-up or load the mann-up server, however how many server admins are going to host those eh?

Also, Pyro is a toaster, it has no gender.

 

[Aprilgold]

I wish I could tell you to fuck off but I can't or else I'll get a warning, so I'll put it simply.

150 damage is not as much as 300 damage per shot. Scout is by far the weakest class and no matter what you say his role in it is to get money. Infact, that is exactly what Star is saying. Pyro could easily be the one to collect money, or spy since he can grab money while disguised. Scout is not the single best in anything and is outclassed by everything.

Secondly, yes you do. You can edit the file so that it is as difficult as mann-up or load the mann-up server, however how many server admins are going to host those eh?

Also, Pyro is a toaster, it has no gender.

150 dam is still 3 times more than what you blurred out. I did not say that Scout is the single best but overheal through money, instant respawn and bigger area to collect it makes him better in this role as any other class. I did this job by now as Pyro, Demoknight and whatsnot, all of them failed utterly because unlike Scout they have to rely on health upgrades and resistances to survive.

And to the second one: It does that enough that I can play Mann Up difficulty when I don't feel in the mood to try and find tickets that are not overpriced on tf2tp on a regular basis.

I beat all of three or four MVM modes without upgrading my character and only weapons [soldier, spy and then scout] and all I can say is no, anyone who says that they are reliant on resistances or buffing themselves is really, really bad at the game. Have a normal person who plays medic or engineer who actually gets upgrades that matter [dispenser range, dual teles and sentry gun speed or another sentry] and your solid.

Also, almost forgot, beat it as a demoknight with a singular upgrade for himself, +2 health regeneration.

 

[Easton Dark]

upgrades that matter [dispenser range, dual teles and sentry gun speed or another sentry] and your solid.

You think dual teles are important? Why? In maps that take about 10 seconds to traverse, what's so important? I never understood why people like them.

To get back to base to help with the bomb? You should be back there already if the bomb's that close.

 

[TimeLord]

My Sentry is credit to team!

Loving MvM. Some of the tactics you have to employ are so different that it really changes up the game for me.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

I detest MvM.

Every, single time my friends and I set up a server for Mann Up mode, in the hopes of obtaining one of the fancy new items, we hit a brick wall on the final wave. The sheer amount of units they throw at you is absolutely ridiculous. 18 giant mechs? 24 medic bots? Are you fucking kidding me? Oh, and they're all supported by Jarate-Snipers and 3 tanks. Sitting through the atrocious wait time for a group, then working our way through the waves only to hit such a severe ramp in difficulty pisses me right off.

On top of that, we have the final two people in our group just drop out when we can't get past the final wave after the third or fourth try. What is the fucking point of sitting through both the matchmaking time and playing through the waves if some jackass is just going to jump ship and ruin the entire experience for your team, even when you have a Squad Surplus Voucher activated along with three others? Oh, and this isn't just "one bad group," oh no. This has happened every single time I have set up a lobby for my friends and I. Every. Single. Time.

Fuck MvM. I've never been so pissed off at TF2 then I have playing this mode. I have much more fun playing the standard RED vs BLU modes. I just went and traded somebody for the robot hat I wanted outside of MvM. No way am I sitting through that shit again.

 

[Aprilgold]

upgrades that matter [dispenser range, dual teles and sentry gun speed or another sentry] and your solid.

You think dual teles are important? Why? In maps that take about 10 seconds to traverse, what's so important? I never understood why people like them.

To get back to base to help with the bomb? You should be back there already if the bomb's that close.

3 seconds to a scout is 1 minute to a heavy. My point is that 10 second traverse is without enemies. The reason dual-tele is important is because you may need to upgrade while in a battle. Leaving for 10 seconds, in the store for 15 then running back 10 is 35 seconds. Within that time 1) Sentries could have been broken 2) Soldier, Demo or Heavy could have been killed and losing those game-players could hurt your chances of survival in the long run. Not only does being able to get there in under a second, 15 in shop and then under a second back the above could have happened however its much less likely.

I beat all of three or four MVM modes without upgrading my character and only weapons [soldier, spy and then scout] and all I can say is no, anyone who says that they are reliant on resistances or buffing themselves is really, really bad at the game. Have a normal person who plays medic or engineer who actually gets upgrades that matter [dispenser range, dual teles and sentry gun speed or another sentry] and your solid.

Also, almost forgot, beat it as a demoknight with a singular upgrade for himself, +2 health regeneration.

Did you beat it on normal difficulty? Because it's really hard to die there, it is that easy. Mann Up, though it is not that hard as many make it out to be (found meself some guys random where we beat the first advanced in one try and made it a regular group), is an entirely different thing. Our CC Pyro relies on health regen and resistances to stay alive in those mobs (and since they like to throw in 8 giants nearly at once in our face supported by a fuckton of medics and a tank he also nips his Uber cantine).

Really, try getting to play advanced. I don't say that Scout is "dah best" but he is far from that useless as you make him out to be.

Being a money grabber is not useless. I really hate how people associate "Running around grabbing all the cash which gives you a bonus at the end for upgrades" with "useless." It is the most important thing about the scout, all of his standard buffs reflect that. Sure, 300 damage a second is nice, 900 damage a shot is a hell of a lot better.

Secondly, I'm not spending .90$ to play it on a bloody more difficult mode. I'd rather rip off a piece of skin from my testicles then to do that.

 

[dfphetteplace]

I like it now that they seemed to have fixed the lag issue and the server issue. It is hard as hell though, and it is harder to just jump in and play for a little bit like I usually play TF2. I normally jump on my favorite 2Fort server and play a round or two, then leave.

 

[Lonely Swordsman]

Fun little diversion but it doesn't really hold up to playing against real people. Not because it's easy or shallow, I find it definately more challenging than most regular TF2 matches, but when the enemy lacks the human element, victory just isn't as satisfying.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

I would have an opinion if I were able to get into a game as anything other than a spectator.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I detest MvM.

Every, single time my friends and I set up a server for Mann Up mode, in the hopes of obtaining one of the fancy new items, we hit a brick wall on the final wave. The sheer amount of units they throw at you is absolutely ridiculous. 18 giant mechs? 24 medic bots? Are you fucking kidding me? Oh, and they're all supported by Jarate-Snipers and 3 tanks. Sitting through the atrocious wait time for a group, then working our way through the waves only to hit such a severe ramp in difficulty pisses me right off.

On top of that, we have the final two people in our group just drop out when we can't get past the final wave after the third or fourth try. What is the fucking point of sitting through both the matchmaking time and playing through the waves if some jackass is just going to jump ship and ruin the entire experience for your team, even when you have a Squad Surplus Voucher activated along with three others? Oh, and this isn't just "one bad group," oh no. This has happened every single time I have set up a lobby for my friends and I. Every. Single. Time.

Fuck MvM. I've never been so pissed off at TF2 then I have playing this mode. I have much more fun playing the standard RED vs BLU modes. I just went and traded somebody for the robot hat I wanted outside of MvM. No way am I sitting through that shit again.

I just finished a wave similar to what you just described. It really depends on the people you get paired up with. My last group had some issues as well, a few people left, we got an F one wave etc. But when we FINALLY killed that last bot, well that's what MvM is about.

 

[3asytarg3t]

Played about 10 hours or so of it, had fun, now, got to say, I'm already finding the repetition boring. An amusing diversion, not unlike picking up indie games on steam now and again when on sale.

Hey, it got me to reinstall TF2, that's saying something right there, I removed it about a year ago, even a game as great and as well supported as TF2 gets a tad old after 5 years.

So it was fun to jump back in again.

 

[Not Matt]

i don't just get why they didn't just call it 'retarded zombie mode'' (probebly cause that wouldn't sell) it's either far too easy or ballcrunchingly hard. and there is something about it that does make me feel like i am not having as much fun as i thoght i was having. all the enemys just run past me and the snipers are too well trained so you got to jump around all the time. and an other problem with it is that there is no engi bot. i enjoy not being killed by sentrys but i sort of miss him. when the head designs for the robots was on steam workshop my favorit was the engi bot.
but really. the mvm mode is fun but i feel its missing something. and its not the engi bot its the, well the heart.



also: i was told it was going to be red and blu team up. all i have seen so far is red flesh and blood vs blu bots.