Upcoming Changes to the Case System
August 18, 2017 - TF2 Team

We've been working on ways to improve our case system and want to share some changes that are coming with the Pyro update. Our two primary goals are to simplify the case-opening process, so it's easy to determine the specific content (unusuals, bonus drops, etc.) that come out of cases, and to add more value to the player each time a case is opened. Crates will not be affected by these changes.

These changes will be applied to all existing cases released from the Gun Mettle Update forward (and to all subsequent case releases).
Cases will share a list of effects for the Unusual items received from the cases. Specialty cases that have community-created Unusual effects will continue to have those community effects but will also use the shared list of effects when determining which effect to grant for an Unusual item. For example, if you open the Quarantined Collection Case or the Confidential Collection Case from the Invasion update and receive an Unusual item, the effect for the item will be picked from the combined Invasion-themed Unusual effects list and the shared list of Unusual effects that all cases share. Weapon cases and cosmetic cases will have separate lists for Unusual effects, but will operate under the same system.
All cases will have a chance to receive bonus drops when opened. Bonus drops will come from a shared list that all cases use. All cases will use the same bonus chances to determine if bonus drops are received. For example, a bonus drop item might be a taunt Unusualifier.
The shared lists of Unusual effects and bonus drops will be cycled periodically to change the combinations of items being received. This may include special limited-time versions of the shared lists for holiday events.
We're also working to improve case descriptions so it's easier to determine exactly what can be received by opening a case (Strange items, Unusual items with which effects, bonus drops, etc.).


We don't have a date for the Pyro update that we can share yet, but we're working to finish it as soon as possible. If you have feedback about the case changes or anything else you'd like to share with the TF2 team, send it to us using the Contact Form on the right taskbar (under "Contact Us").

Quick note about the Balance Changes blog post: We've had lots of great feedback from the community about the changes and we really appreciate it. Thanks!

Balance Changes
June 20, 2017 - TF2 Team

In the past, we've made blog posts about changes we've already shipped or stuff we've tossed onto the smoldering scrap-heap of failed ideas; this time - based on your feedback - we're going talk about changes while we're still working on them.

Below is a sneak-peak at some of the changes coming in the next major update, along with some commentary. These changes are based on online community discussions, emails, playtime data, conversations with players of all skill ranges, and play testing.

Things to keep in mind:

This is not the complete list of changes. Some items (and classes) are still being worked on, and are not ready for review.
We're going a little deeper on some classes this time (e.g. Scout) and not as deep on others (e.g. Demoman)
This is a work-in-progress; items may change prior to release.


Please continue to send us your feedback through the Contact Form on the right taskbar (under "Contact Us"). Hearing from you helps us prioritize our work and influences the direction the game moves in.


Multi-class

Panic Attack
This is one of our least-used weapons. The main culprit seems to be the queued/delayed-fire aspect, which fights against the basic concept of the secondary slot on classes that can use this weapon (Soldier, Heavy, Engineer, Pyro); players generally expect a secondary that is immediately ready to fire - for the rare case where their main weapon isn't available (e.g. out of ammo), or isn't the optimal choice (e.g. airborne, too close, etc.). Removing the queued/delayed-fire concept basically invalidates the original design, so we've started over.
Goal: Make the weapon immediately usable, remove the large burst potential (generally hard to balance), and give the weapon a unique design space to occupy
New design:
50% faster switch speed
50% more pellets
30% less damage
Fires a wide, fixed shot pattern (regardless of server settings)
Shot pattern grows with successive shots (e.g. while holding down the attack button), but resets after you stop firing or reload

Spy

Ambassador
Players that are head-shot from across the map are expecting to see a Sniper in their death-cam, but they sometimes see (more often that we'd like) a Spy with a revolver
Goal: Reduce the effective combat range to something more reasonable and expected with the Spy
Changes:
First-shots are no longer perfectly accurate. Bullet-spread is instead reduced by 50%. This makes head shots less reliable at long range, while still very viable at close and medium-range.
Dead Ringer
Feign death is an interesting effect, but a good Spy can use it extremely frequently making it frustrating to play against and reducing the risk of using it nearly constantly
Goal: Rather than make it less interesting, let's make it more predictable to fight against by removing methods by which Spies can reduce its cool-down. This should create more of a rhythm to fighting against a Spy using this and introduce a little more risk to player using it.
Changes:
Ammo kits and dispensers no longer refill the Spy's cloak meter
Your Eternal Reward
This is the least-used Spy knife (technically, the reskin is, but anyway...). While silent-kill and rapid-disguise-on-kill are good, the downside on this knife is extreme.
Changes:
Removed: "Cannot disguise" penalty
Added: Non-kill disguises require (and consume) a full cloak meter
Backstab-based disguises are still free
Increased cloak drain rate by 50%

Scout

Sandman
The feedback on this weapon has been fairly consistent for a while: Players really hate losing the ability to fight back. Compounding this, the ball has to travel really far in order to disarm players. Being hit by a long-range ball (more often than not) ends up feeling random, rather than skilled.
Changes:
Long-range ball impacts no longer remove the victim's ability to fire their weapon (but the victim is still slowed)
We've updated achievements that were looking for disarmed players
Max range balls now do 50% increased damage (from a base of 15)
The flight time required to trigger the "max" effect has been reduced by 20%
Ball regeneration time reduced to 10 seconds (from 15)
Bonk! Atomic Punch
This weapon was designed to allow Scouts to pierce hotly-contested areas. While it does this quite well, it doesn't require enough skill, or carry much of a down-side.
Changes:
Apply a slow effect to the player after phasing wears off, based on the amount of damage they absorbed
From -25% at low damage, to -65% at 200+ damage
Lasts 5 seconds
Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol
This weapon is one of the lower owner-equipped items in the game. Looking at the current design, it seems that not taking falling damage ranks pretty low on the value scale for a Scout, and a flat +20% damage taken penalty is basically the kiss-of-death for a low-health class.
Goal: Make the weapon less of a liability and focus it as a "get health quick" tool with decent burst, at the expense of total damage
New design:
+15% firing speed