May 12, 2009

WTF Sniper update

Valve have announced the first bit of new kit for TF2's Sniper class: the Huntsman.


Yep ... it's a bow and arrow to replace the sniper rifle. Sans scope, but with a one-second charge time, the Sniper becomes a more effective medium range combatant, and less so at long range. This is what Valve said a few days ago about the theory behind it:
Which brings us back to the Sniper Rifle unlockable. In an effort to reduce some of the aggravation that other players feel towards the Sniper, we chose the goal of designing an unlockable that encouraged the Sniper to get a little closer to his target. We want him to give up some of his primary advantage in return for something else, so that enemies he kills feel like they were engaged with them, and feel like they could have survived if they'd just managed to fight a little better.
I'm not sure how well this unlock fits the TF2 milieu, but it's interesting for the fact that it encourages a markedly different style of play for the particular class. None of the other class updates have featured such a radical departure from the original primary weapon.

Oh, and even if the arrow doesn't kill, it gets stuck in the target. I think it'll be hilarious to see a character model running around with an arrow or two in his buttox ... especially if it's a cloaked spy.

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