Right, the dust has settled. Valve FINALLY released the long awaited update, unleashing upon the world a new gametype and a map to play it on, a massive set of achievements for medics to strive for, and some new weapons when said achievements are gained. But is any of this any good?

In my opinion - mostly. The end product is fantastic - TF2 is definitely a better game, which is great. However, there were some issues (some of them still pop up) and in particular, i really question Valves wisdom for some of the achievements.

Goldrush the map is just plain awesome. Its a brilliant gametype that really builds on the strengths of Dustbowl. While the end result is the same (get from one end of the map to the other), having to move the cart makes it quite different, and imo, better. The main point of action moves through the whole level so there are few 'intermediate' areas where nothing really happens. Also, spy/scout capping is impossible, and while i love to win that way when i do it myself, its possibly the most frustrating way to lose.

Other things i like is that spying on attack is often easier and more effective than in other maps, where i find that spying is best for defence (since everyones looking fowards :P). I have also really enjoyed finding new places to put sentries, as i do with all new maps. Its the best time to play engineer, imo, since people arent ready for you! Lots of fun.


The only real problem is that all of the individual maps are quite biased towards the defensive team. While this should certainly be the case in the second map and especially the third, the second point of the first map can be damn near impossible to get past, on public servers. Dustbowl generally requires a fairly organized defence to win the first map; Goldrush just needs a couple of sentries in the right place, and a few demomen.

That being said, i havent seen any organized assaults; while the ideal placement of sentries has been pretty much decided, ive never seen an attacking team be particularly ready for them. Overall, i still think Goldrush is a great map and i hope Valve make more maps for this gametype.
They just need to fix the glitch with the cart progress meter! It often disappears with a map change, and its quite annoying.


Now, the medic stuff. The new weapons are great; ive only unlocked the new syringe gun as yet but ive seen people with the other weapons. The kritzkrieg is interesting but its taking a while for people to get used to it. We're all ingrained to rush in when ubered, but that doesnt work any better than normal when 'krubered' (you may kill a few but you die just as easy).

And, the achievements... well, everyone knew thered be a huge influx of medics. And, yeah, no doubt some of them would be pretty bad at it.

But was it really necessary to encourage them to play badly? Heres some of the achievements, and why they were not a good idea:
Consultation - assist another medic? So run around healing another medic trying to kill people. Yeah, thats helpful.

Does it Hurt When I Do This? - kill scouts with syringe gun. Its fine to pull out your syringe gun when you come across a scout running around behind your lines. Its not fine to not heal anyone and pull out your syringe gun and charge into the fray looking for scouts.

Peer Review - kill medics with bonesaw. Same as above.

Placebo Effect - charge up uber but DONT use it, go killing people yourself - wtf? Are you serious? Not only is that difficult, its fucking retarded.

Sawbones - 5 hits with the bonesaw without missing - This is the worst one. I managed to get it quickly, because i saw my chance (i was alone, there was an ubered heavy + medic facing the other way, i just hit them 5 times, easy). But when medics run around THE WHOLE GOD DAMN GAME just trying to hit people with the fucking bonesaw and get blown up because they are fucking stupid and run at soldiers and the like... why? why Valve why?

That little rant about Sawbones applies to the others there, and a couple of the other achievements. I feel that i can rant like that because i do play medic quite often and i do it well. Thats another reason im annoyed at the 'stupid' achievements - I dont want to do stuff like that. I want to be helpful to my team, i want to win the game.

But whatever, most of the crappy medics have gone. I can see the lighter side to the achievements, and im looking forward to the crazy stuff Valve thinks of for the other classes; the problem with these ones is that the medic is such an integral part of the team. The other classes should be fun, i think. I foretell that the soldier will have to kill 3 people while airborne! It will be called "Screaming Eagle!". Man, i should work for Valve :P.

So yeah, what do you guys think? Do you like the new stuff, or think its a mess? Feel free to share any lulz-or-sigh-worthy stories. Or some strategies you have for getting through defenses on Goldrush, i have my own ideas but id love to hear others.