It seems like the quality of the weapons Valve is adding is going down overall IMO. Sure they aren't all useless (The Huntsman looks good but I don't have one for testing yet) it just doesn't seem as good as the earlier Medic/Pyro ones. Here are my opinions on the update weapons and which ones I use...
I always have these equipped:
The Blutsauger: The vampire ability of this gun lets medics survive and fight better period.
The Ubersaw: Turn spies' botched backstabing attempts on you into precious uber juice.
The Axtinguisher: Instant crits after lighting your opponents on fire are very useful. Chops heavies down good. The regular axe is only better for water fights and people who expend all their flamethrower ammo easily (which is hard to do).
The K.G.B: Honestly I very rarely have the opportunity to punch people as a heavy however if I need to I use the K.G.B. for the crit effect. If you prefer the fists it is no big as you won't be using either often.
These are situational or up to preference:
The Kritzkrieg: If you want to take down a sg use the regular healgun's uber. If you want to kill a group of tightly packed together enemies use this on a heavy or soldier (demos can be useful too if they know what they are doing.)
The Flare Gun: If you are going to be in water at all don't use this, use the shotgun, as the flare gun does not work in water. The shotgun's finishing properties are better hands down 90% of the time. Only use this if you are going to be fighting enemies at range and are a good aim. I also like it for it's annoyance factor
and occasionally use it for that. It's basically a good support weapon for your team but not what you want to have for one on one fights.
The Backburner: Its not nearly as utilitarian as the regular flamethrower but if you are behind a large group of enemies this is much easier to use than the flame/Axtinguisher combo. It's easier for newbies to use too if you are good at sneaking around and circle strafing.
The Sandvich: Although I ALWAYS have this equipped I can see the use for the regular shotgun if you have problems rationing the Minigun's ammo. I just find myself alone without a medic a lot more than without ammo.
Bonk Energy Drink: Useful solely if you want to run by enemies or their sg's. I never have it equipped unless I know I am going to be using it.
The Force of Nature: Useful if you must cross a gap and use the Sandman at the same time or if you need the extra height on top of the double jump. Right now though it seems weaker than the Scattergun. I 'd like to use this weapon because I like triple jumping and knockback but it's a trade off I am unsure of.
These weapons I would only use for the novelty or for a very rare situation. Valve has nerfed them into uselessness compared with their alternatives.
The Sandman: Only worth it for stopping ubers right now. It's been nerfed the in the wrong manner IMO. Double jumping for dodging is way more useful right now.
Natascha: Natascha is highly situational. If you are the sole main offensive class around I would never use it. Even against scouts the gun can be inferior if the scouts know what they are doing. It is useful for spy checking if you are firing continually off a dispenser though (slow effect is noticeable on disguised spies). Like say if your intel is in a spot gettable by the other team, AND you have a dispenser next to you, Natascha can be useful for stopping spies trying to touch it. Honestly though I never use it unless It's just for fun.
As far as the new weapons go I am still forming my opinions on them/collecting them but from what I have so far...
The Cloak and Dagger: The only possible use I have for this is surveillance (and maybe sniping once I get the Ambassador?) . Basically if your timing is good enough the regular invisible watch can do everything this can, better, faster and with much higher kill counts. Want to stay invisible forever? Just use an enemy dispenser/ammo packs and the regular watch.
The Dead Ringer: At first I though it was useless. Then, after some more testing, I though it was a novelty, kind of neat but not as good as the regular watch. Now with the new Valve nerf I think it is useless again. Basically Valve seems determined to artificially slow down the opportunities a spy has to stab. The regular watch gives more opportunities than either replacement watch hands down making the new watches mostly useless T_T. I do imagine I'll use them on occasion just for kicks.
The Razorback: Having gotten one it is actually MORE useless than I thought. Let's make a list here...
1. You trade out the regular SMG for this.
2. It only works once then you have to get a new one.
3. The noise it makes when it's been used is so quiet you can hardly tell it has been.
4. There is no way to tell if it has been used if you miss the noise.
5. It only stuns the spy's knife for a split second and does no damage to him.
6. The new Jarate goes in the same slot so you cannot use both.
7. It is only useful against one attack of one class and useless against all others. Spies can just shoot you yeeesh.
8. AND the grand kicker is you get a 15% speed debuff on top of all that.
I have no idea what Valve was thinking with this item and I keep thinking I must be missing seeing a function. It is hands down the most useless of all the new weapons and I fully expect Valve to improve it since it is so obviously so.
I won't comment on the other weapons as I do not have them yet. By all means post your opinions.
I always have these equipped:
The Blutsauger: The vampire ability of this gun lets medics survive and fight better period.
The Ubersaw: Turn spies' botched backstabing attempts on you into precious uber juice.
The Axtinguisher: Instant crits after lighting your opponents on fire are very useful. Chops heavies down good. The regular axe is only better for water fights and people who expend all their flamethrower ammo easily (which is hard to do).
The K.G.B: Honestly I very rarely have the opportunity to punch people as a heavy however if I need to I use the K.G.B. for the crit effect. If you prefer the fists it is no big as you won't be using either often.
These are situational or up to preference:
The Kritzkrieg: If you want to take down a sg use the regular healgun's uber. If you want to kill a group of tightly packed together enemies use this on a heavy or soldier (demos can be useful too if they know what they are doing.)
The Flare Gun: If you are going to be in water at all don't use this, use the shotgun, as the flare gun does not work in water. The shotgun's finishing properties are better hands down 90% of the time. Only use this if you are going to be fighting enemies at range and are a good aim. I also like it for it's annoyance factor
and occasionally use it for that. It's basically a good support weapon for your team but not what you want to have for one on one fights.The Backburner: Its not nearly as utilitarian as the regular flamethrower but if you are behind a large group of enemies this is much easier to use than the flame/Axtinguisher combo. It's easier for newbies to use too if you are good at sneaking around and circle strafing.
The Sandvich: Although I ALWAYS have this equipped I can see the use for the regular shotgun if you have problems rationing the Minigun's ammo. I just find myself alone without a medic a lot more than without ammo.
Bonk Energy Drink: Useful solely if you want to run by enemies or their sg's. I never have it equipped unless I know I am going to be using it.
The Force of Nature: Useful if you must cross a gap and use the Sandman at the same time or if you need the extra height on top of the double jump. Right now though it seems weaker than the Scattergun. I 'd like to use this weapon because I like triple jumping and knockback but it's a trade off I am unsure of.
These weapons I would only use for the novelty or for a very rare situation. Valve has nerfed them into uselessness compared with their alternatives.
The Sandman: Only worth it for stopping ubers right now. It's been nerfed the in the wrong manner IMO. Double jumping for dodging is way more useful right now.
Natascha: Natascha is highly situational. If you are the sole main offensive class around I would never use it. Even against scouts the gun can be inferior if the scouts know what they are doing. It is useful for spy checking if you are firing continually off a dispenser though (slow effect is noticeable on disguised spies). Like say if your intel is in a spot gettable by the other team, AND you have a dispenser next to you, Natascha can be useful for stopping spies trying to touch it. Honestly though I never use it unless It's just for fun.
As far as the new weapons go I am still forming my opinions on them/collecting them but from what I have so far...
The Cloak and Dagger: The only possible use I have for this is surveillance (and maybe sniping once I get the Ambassador?) . Basically if your timing is good enough the regular invisible watch can do everything this can, better, faster and with much higher kill counts. Want to stay invisible forever? Just use an enemy dispenser/ammo packs and the regular watch.
The Dead Ringer: At first I though it was useless. Then, after some more testing, I though it was a novelty, kind of neat but not as good as the regular watch. Now with the new Valve nerf I think it is useless again. Basically Valve seems determined to artificially slow down the opportunities a spy has to stab. The regular watch gives more opportunities than either replacement watch hands down making the new watches mostly useless T_T. I do imagine I'll use them on occasion just for kicks.
The Razorback: Having gotten one it is actually MORE useless than I thought. Let's make a list here...
1. You trade out the regular SMG for this.
2. It only works once then you have to get a new one.
3. The noise it makes when it's been used is so quiet you can hardly tell it has been.
4. There is no way to tell if it has been used if you miss the noise.
5. It only stuns the spy's knife for a split second and does no damage to him.
6. The new Jarate goes in the same slot so you cannot use both.
7. It is only useful against one attack of one class and useless against all others. Spies can just shoot you yeeesh.
8. AND the grand kicker is you get a 15% speed debuff on top of all that.
I have no idea what Valve was thinking with this item and I keep thinking I must be missing seeing a function. It is hands down the most useless of all the new weapons and I fully expect Valve to improve it since it is so obviously so.
I won't comment on the other weapons as I do not have them yet. By all means post your opinions.
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