Poll: TF2 UPDATE, do you think the Razorback is real?

[grinklehi]

It's going to be real alright, and I can understand why it was made. The Huntsman is designed for snipers who want to get near the thick of things, where the scope kinda gets in the way. The Razorback is better for Area Denial Snipers, as hey just gained one more way to hold the area from the enemy with the razorback giving them a 2nd chance vs Spys so as to provide better area denial after the offending spy is dealt with.

I really REALLY don't have the slightest clue of what you are talking about, could you elaborate? Really sorry.
What do you mean by "Area Denial Snipers" or with "area denial"?

What he means in a nutshell:

1) The Huntsman is better for close-range fighting because unlike the sniper rifle you don't have to worry about trying to "no-scope" an enemy.
2) "Area Denial" is pretty self explanatory. It means your denying the enemy from entering an area, usually by killing them. Fairly simple.
3) Thanks to the Razorback a Sniper can survive a sneak-attack by a Spy, meaning they can kill their would-be killer and keep suppressing an area.

Thank you Vanguard, you explained it better then I could have, that probably has to do with the fact that I'm currently in a Networking class with all of these computers running hot while its 85 degrees outside, so I'm a little cloudy.

Back OT: the revolver argument is pretty shaky IMO, mostly because A). The standard revolver is too inaccurate to do sniper-killing effectively, and B). The Ambassador has a shot cool down, so by the time it does enough damage to kill the sniper he might just slice you to bits with the Kukri. (NOTE: this entirely depends on the cooldown timer on the Ambassador, as well as if the new pistol does any extra damage, and as such is currently in the realm of Theory.)

 

[Gerkuman]

We have no confirmation on what the achievements are for, so we can't really use that as an argument. However, I still consider the Shack News confirmation enough for me. If both classes are being updated, why would they lie to us, then switch to other sniper weapons? It makes little sense.

 

[VZLANemesis]

Back OT: the revolver argument is pretty shaky IMO, mostly because A). The standard revolver is too inaccurate to do sniper-killing effectively, and B). The Ambassador has a shot cool down, so by the time it does enough damage to kill the sniper he might just slice you to bits with the Kukri. (NOTE: this entirely depends on the cooldown timer on the Ambassador, as well as if the new pistol does any extra damage, and as such is currently in the realm of Theory.)

Mmmm... if I understand the new gun correctly the whole point of it is that you can crit shot at the head a la sniper. Like in the vid against the engie.
"There are two sorts of men in this world: the sort with blood pouring out of a hole in their heads, and the sort holding the Ambassador."

 

[Goldeneye1989]

im still confirmend that the Razorback will be the melee unlock...

 

[grinklehi]

Back OT: the revolver argument is pretty shaky IMO, mostly because A). The standard revolver is too inaccurate to do sniper-killing effectively, and B). The Ambassador has a shot cool down, so by the time it does enough damage to kill the sniper he might just slice you to bits with the Kukri. (NOTE: this entirely depends on the cooldown timer on the Ambassador, as well as if the new pistol does any extra damage, and as such is currently in the realm of Theory.)

Mmmm... if I understand the new gun correctly the whole point of it is that you can crit shot at the head a la sniper. Like in the vid against the engie.
"There are two sorts of men in this world: the sort with blood pouring out of a hole in their heads, and the sort holding the Ambassador."

Nah, it doesn't say anywhere that it headshots like a sniper rifle, just that it is as accurate as a sniper rifle. The quote there is mostly fluff designed as an attention-getter. I don't have the blog post right now as a refrence because the campus blocks most Game sites, (I was fairly surprised that The Escapist was allowed), but my memory rarely fails. If it says anywhere that it does extra damage with a headshot, post a link here and when I get back to my dorm in about an hour I'll have a look.

 

[not a zaar]

No, it's not real, and neither is the bow. This is the spy update, not the sniper update.

 

[VZLANemesis]

We have no confirmation on what the achievements are for, so we can't really use that as an argument. However, I still consider the Shack News confirmation enough for me. If both classes are being updated, why would they lie to us, then switch to other sniper weapons? It makes little sense.

Oh yeah, btw, the clock of the spy, that works against the Razorback (you are invisible and appear dead while the knife recharges back) and it works well when anybody else shoots at you. THAT is an useful weapon, another reason why I think the razorback is either fake or a crappy crappy weapon.
EDIT: "the sort with blood pouring out of a hole in their heads" I really think it kills with a headshot. Maybe I'm biased towards that because a. it sounds cool, and b. I liked how the engie died in the video, but yeah that's my impression and in no way am I sure or defending my position.

 

[jboking]

The Razorback is real and is good for any sniper who likes to... well snipe I suppose. If you want to be in the thick of the fight, you are not playing the role of the sniper. Really, when you think about it, it is intensely useful. The only character that is able to breech your teams defenses without the slightest bit of alarm and systematically kill everyone one at a time with a knife can now be stopped and easily killed with the addition of one new weapon. the Razorback has a shock apparently that either slows or stops the spy, perfect opportunity to get a free shot with either the Machine gun or the sniper. Not exactly sporting, but neither is backstabbing while I'm trying to snipe damn it!

TL;DR It's real and useful for real snipers.

 

[Blind0bserver]

Nah, it doesn't say anywhere that it headshots like a sniper rifle, just that it is as accurate as a sniper rifle. The quote there is mostly fluff designed as an attention-getter. I don't have the blog post right now as a refrence because the campus blocks most Game sites, (I was fairly surprised that The Escapist was allowed), but my memory rarely fails. If it says anywhere that it does extra damage with a headshot, post a link here and when I get back to my dorm in about an hour Ill have a look.

Here, let me save you the trouble...

There are two sorts of men in this world: the sort with blood pouring out of a hole in their heads, and the sort holding the Ambassador. It has the ammo count of a revolver and the pinpoint accuracy of a sniper rifle, even at long range. (But remember, a gun that packs this much heat needs to cool off between shots, so make every shot count.)

With its rosewood grip and likeness of your enemy?s mother (please send photo) engraved on the barrel, the Ambassador is eight motherloving pounds of steel your enemies won?t want to negotiate with.

It doesn't say anything about critical headshots. From what I gather it just does more damage more accurately than the regular revolver at the cost of a slow firing rate and probably some wicked bad recoil (which really isn't going to matter because of the aforementioned firing rate).

 

[Gerkuman]

No, it's not real, and neither is the bow. This is the spy update, not the sniper update.

Ahem.

Update: Valve's Doug Lombardi has confirmed to us that the update will include both the Spy and Sniper unlockables.

Original story: The upcoming Sniper update for Team Fortress 2 will also include new weapons for the Spy class, developer Valve announced today.

The Spy announcement fittingly uncloaked during the week set aside for the Sniper revelations, the spook himself using a classic feign ability (below left) to steal the spotlight from the unwitting Aussie.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58658

I'm sorry if that breaks any sort of linking rules, but it needed to be posted.

 

[VZLANemesis]

The Razorback has a shock apparently that either slows or stops the spy, perfect opportunity to get a free shot with either the Machine gun or the sniper. Not exactly sporting, but neither is backstabbing while I'm trying to snipe damn it!

TL;DR It's real and useful for real snipers.

It doesn't shock nor slows the spy, it puts the knife on a cooldown, so it can't be used again inmediately.

 

[Cheesebob]

I think its kinda useless...it makes the knife unuseable for a while...but what stops the spy from just switching to a revolver or the Ambassador and shooting him in the face?

 

[Gerkuman]

I would hazard a guess that if it works, the sniper would be alerted in some way and proceed to gut you like sheep. That's how I'd do it anyway.

 

[VZLANemesis]

I'm just going to post this just in case the damn thing is real indeed.
Even if it IS real, it fucking sucks.
(cool avatar cheesebob).

By the way, thanks to all the posters. So far, it has been a very neat discussion, all very valid points, and I'm enjoying myself with it ^^

 

[VZLANemesis]

...This post will show that I suck at spying and therefore I never do.
Is the revolver inaccurate? How much so? How much more powerful do you guys think the Ambassador is in order to justify the lower shoot rate?

 

[Blind0bserver]

The Razorback has a shock apparently that either slows or stops the spy, perfect opportunity to get a free shot with either the Machine gun or the sniper. Not exactly sporting, but neither is backstabbing while I'm trying to snipe damn it!

TL;DR It's real and useful for real snipers.

It doesn't shock nor slows the spy, it puts the knife on a cooldown, so it can't be used again inmediately.

I don't know, that sounds pretty useful to me. In my experience when just about any Spy "failstabs" at you they either still try to attack you with the knife or they make a break for it, sometimes shooting at you as they make their getaway. In the case of the former the Spy isn't going to be able to use the knife for a bit, giving you just enough of a window to unleash all holy hell upon him.

Your trying to look at this logically. I'm not saying there isn't anything wrong with that, but your forgetting one major thing: panic. Failing at a backstab and then having their knife be unusable is bound to make a Spy player panic and then make stupid mistakes. Same deal with the Sandman, the Spy's new "Dead Ringer" and, to a lesser extent, the Flare Gun.

As far as the Razorback being only one use, I imagine a simple ammo pick-up gives you another one, and in my experience Snipers make enough runs for ammo that it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

 

[jboking]

The Razorback has a shock apparently that either slows or stops the spy, perfect opportunity to get a free shot with either the Machine gun or the sniper. Not exactly sporting, but neither is backstabbing while I'm trying to snipe damn it!

TL;DR It's real and useful for real snipers.

It doesn't shock nor slows the spy, it puts the knife on a cooldown, so it can't be used again inmediately.

Eh, whatever. Still useful for stopping the only useful weapon a spy has. However, I often play the spy and am wondering. What kind of idiot would backstab a sniper after seeing that he is wearing the razorback?

 

[oliveira8]

*snip*

The knife has cooldown when used agaisnt the Razorback.

Maybe if the shield zapped the spy and his gadgets would stop working and knife cooldown. But theres still The Ambassador.

The Razorback probably has another bonus probably concearning the 3rd unlockable.

Or not...

 

[R0flberryPwncake]

It's going to be real alright, and I can understand why it was made. The Huntsman is designed for snipers who want to get near the thick of things, where the scope kinda gets in the way. The Razorback is better for Area Denial Snipers, as hey just gained one more way to hold the area from the enemy with the razorback giving them a 2nd chance vs Spys so as to provide better area denial after the offending spy is dealt with.

I really REALLY don't have the slightest clue of what you are talking about, could you elaborate? Really sorry.
What do you mean by "Area Denial Snipers" or with "area denial"?

Someone defined it in an earlier post, but I want to give an in game example to illustrate. Picture the final point on CP_Steel. During the initial stages of the map, when everyone is busy at points A, B, or C, it's common for BLU scouts, soldiers and demomen to try to quick cap point E, or for RED engineers to set up on the prime real estate to make life hard on BLU when the time comes to cap D and E. On either side of the room, there are 2 windows that look out over the point which make ideal sniper nests. Sniping from these alcoves at the early-comers to point E, is denying the area to the enemy.

 

[Gerkuman]

You wouldn't believe that some people would be willing to sit down and try to calculate the calibre of the weapon, but calculate it they did. (It's about a .5.) Then they extrapolated it to suggest that it'll take off quite a lot more health than the gun it's replacing. I'm not sure about the exact numbers however.