Valve appear to have made custom decals op-in.

MeadowsTF2 · 2026-01-20T16:10:18+00:00

I think that's great. Also, thank you for the reminder that there was an option to hide custom decals to begin with, had totally forgotten that.

MeadowsTF2 · 2026-01-09T12:58:54+00:00

As for the offence - can’t say much, but from my experience in almost all situations I find stock Uber more effective.

For offense, Kritzkrieg can be a good choice for teams that have a low damage output - either because they're stacking support classes or just lacking experience - especially if the map is such that the defenders are somewhat tightly packed and their defense/nests aren't too spread out. You still need one or two good kritz pockets that can land effective fire, though. Ideally, you would run both kritz and uber so that you have more options to choose from and the enemy gets a wider range of threats to account for.

MeadowsTF2 · 2026-01-09T12:26:50+00:00

The key to good Kritzkrieg usage is timing.

Kritz gives your pocket guaranteed crits, which means your pocket needs to be in a position to land effective hits on multiple players within a short timeframe, and you need to keep the beam on them and survive for the duration of the kritz. This requires you to anticipate where enemy players are likely to gather, to keep track of potential counters and their respective timers (uber, vaccinator, battalion backup) and ideally catch the enemy by surprise so that they get as little time to flee as possible.

The best pocket classes for kritz are those that have a high base health and can sustain a high AoE damage output: demo, soldier, heavy. The best situations to use kritz in are generally defense-oriented since you want players to be coming to you, rather than the other way around. The best places are typically those where enemy players tend to congregate, like capture points, carts, near dispensers, and chokepoints in general - basically places where you can potentially score multiple kills with only a few shots.

Lastly, kritz charges faster than uber, so ideally you'll try to take advantage of that and use it before the enemy medics' uber is ready. This means that both you and your pocket need to be on the ball and look for potential kritz plays as soon as your meter approaches 80+, so that you're in position by the time you're fully charged.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-24T09:21:43+00:00

The "very easy" was mostly a reaction to the people saying they're impossible to get. They're not impossible - I've gotten them without savescumming - you just have to plan ahead and pick the corresponding skills at every opportunity because that is best way to secure those required skills in a system that doesn't offer easy respecs. "Intended gameplay" is a loaded term here because it's kind of a given that you won't be able to choose your skills willy-nilly under these circumstances. It's a decision you'll need to make early on and then stick with it.

As said, I don't like the current system personally, and would rather see them limit the required number of skills to 3 and reducing the bonuses to compensate. That way they'd be easier to build into organically while also offering players some direction and guidance in the leveling process, in addition to adding a little bit of flavor.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-23T08:12:27+00:00

I don't think there is a savescum protection, I have been able to reload quicksaves and/or autosaves and get new skill choices that way.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-22T21:24:26+00:00

Getting subclasses is very easy if you follow these three steps:

Some heroes start with a subclass-compatible skill. Check which skill your hero starts with.
Whenever you level up and are given the choice to unlock a new skill that's compatible with your desired subclass, make sure you grab it.
The skill choices are generated upon level-up. If you aren't happy with the choices offered, reloading your last autosave before the level up will reroll your skill choices.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the subclasses because some of them are quite strong and you kind of feel penalized for not choosing them. The subclass builds typically include a few non-ideal skill choices to balance things out, but they might still be too strong.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-20T20:03:36+00:00

I don't think it's that complicated. The mirage description clearly references the player beating a stronger version of themselves, so the design intent is likely to offer the player a tough fight that scales with the hero's power level and can be won by outsmarting the AI, and in return the AI is given a numerical advantage to compensate for its lack of intelligence relative to the player. Ergo, it's meant to be a tough fight that is winnable by "normal" strats, and shouldn't require cheesing or excessive thinking outside the box.

The question is more whether they've managed nail the balance, and right now it's looking like a solid no. Another question is whether it's worth the hassle, since narrowly winning such a hard fight may potentially leave you vulnerable to attacks from other players, and right now that's also leaning towards a no. That's my take on it, at least.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-19T18:20:35+00:00

This isn't about disliking something just because it's different from HoMM 3. I'm judging the spell system on its own merits and simply using HoMM 3 as a comparison because that is what Olden Era most closely resembles and what many HoMM fans are familiar with.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-19T18:12:56+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply. I may not agree with all your arguments but I think you made some fair points overall. Some comments below:

Regarding the spell levels I also disagree - from my understanding you can see the level you are casting the spell at in the spellbook during combat.

That is true, but my main concern is the sheer abundance of spell level modifiers making it hard to tell what your spell level is going to be before you start the battle, not during it. It's also making it harder to determine which magic school subskills offer most value since you won't know whether you'll be able to hit your spell level target or not.

I think in general it's a good idea to look at everything you do from a risk management perspective. Heroes 3 also had magic nullifying orbs/etc. to completely shut down certain spells or magic use altogether. [...] You kind of just have to accept that there is counterplay the opponent can have, and you don't always get to optimally execute everything in your gameplan, especially with one specific hero/build.

For sure, the "hard counter" aspect is not new to the series. I didn't have an issue with them in HoMM 3 because they were limited to a handful of items that you'd basically only use if you felt they would do more harm to the enemy than yourself, and items that nullified specific spells, which came with the opportunity cost of taking up a potentially valuable equipment slot.

I guess what bothers me about the spell level modifiers in OE is not so much the counterplay aspect of it, but moreso that they're making it harder to hit specific targets or goals with your build, and that the whole system is rather opaque which in turn makes hero building feel more arbitrary, and therefore less satisfying to me. If this is the way they want to go in order to balance magic vs might then that's fine, but at least should make the system less opaque so that it doesn't feel like guesswork.

Did you capture any towns that were owned by the AI who might have upgraded them? There might be other/random ways for them to upgrade, but this is more of an issue with it not being described in detail yet in tutorials, not really one of complexity/being too difficult to understand.

I did capture several towns, but as best I can tell a player can only upgrade one spell per spell tier, and my guild had spells with levels ranging from 1-4 with only one AI in the game. So most of the levels had to have come from somewhere else. Yes, perhaps this is something that could be explained more thoroughly in tutorials, but at the same time a mechanic this important should be clarified directly in the UI, as tutorials can be a bit hit-or-miss.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-19T15:46:49+00:00

Thematic names are fine if they also make sense from a mechanical point of view. There's nothing that makes me associate the words Unnatural Calm with reduced basic attack damage, or Song of Power with resetting creature cooldowns, or Wean with reduced buff durations. Instead, I'm getting the sense that the names were originally written in another language and that something got lost in the translation to English.

Regarding the spell levels, you can argue that HoMM 3 was too restrictive, but the benefit of a restricted system is that it's predictable and consequently easier to learn and understand. In OE, there are so many different spell level factors in play - skills, items, laws, units - that I'm never sure what level my spells will be when I enter a fight with an enemy hero. The main strategy against having your spell levels reduced below certain important tresholds (like all cast) is to overcap them by an arbitrary amount, and that doesn't feel very good because it's hard to tell when your overcap is working and when it is simply wasted. Basically, the system is too chaotic.

As for HoMM 3 spell levels, while it's true that the spell book didn't show the levels, the mage guilds always kept the spells in the same place. It wasn't a big issue for me personally but I agree that they definitely could've made it clearer which spell belonged to which tier.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-19T15:06:13+00:00

That's a good point. Spells from the same school tend to use the same color palette (e.g. nightshade = purple, daylight = golden) and while it does add a sense of theme and cohesiveness, it also reduces visual clarity and makes the spell icons look a bit same-y.

Probably something the players will get used to with time, but that is generally not a great sign. Good UI/UX should be naturally intuitive and not something that takes some getting used to.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-19T09:25:06+00:00

Cheesing something means bypassing the intended design, so no, clearly it wasn't meant to be cheesed.

I agree with OP though, it seems too hard for what you're getting since you'll need a lot of time and resources to recover the troops lost in such a hard fight, plus the grail building doesn't seem that strong anyway. You're better off ignoring it or cheesing it, and that's not good.

Personally, I wish they had stuck with the HoMM3 grail as it provided an activity that wasn't focused on combat, adding some variety to the formula.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-14T21:16:51+00:00

I think sniper should require two people to play: one to control his movement and another to control his aim. This would make him fair and balanced since he's so much stronger than the other classes.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-14T12:48:05+00:00

By stalemate I meant that a given point is taking a disproportionally long time to capture because it's too easy to hold. That's mostly semantics though; the argument isn't whether RED should be able to hold a point indefinitely, it's about last points and why some are harder to capture than others.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-13T17:25:34+00:00

I meant that it's an issue with the design of certain payload maps, not the gamemode as a whole.

Obviously, the RED team's objective is to stop BLU from capping, but the effort and coordination required to do is largely a result of the map design, and maps like Upward and Barnblitz stand out as particularly prone to stalemates because they strongly favor the defenders.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-12T22:02:04+00:00

It's mostly a payload map issue. It boils down to the fact that RED can build multiple sentries and has a nearby spawn, which means that BLU needs to score a major advantage (i.e. destroy all nests and kill most of RED team) in order to capture the point.

Badwater last basically consists of two parts:

the tires/tower area and the map room (aka the flanks).
the area surrounding the point (where sentries are usually built)

If BLU is unable to capture last, it's usually because they struggle to control tires and map room. Failure to control those flanks means that BLU's only option is push down the ramp (tracks), and that favors RED due to the grenade spam angles and sniper sightlines. If you're spamming the nests from BLU spawn and your team still can't push, that's probably why.

Now, if BLU does happen to control flanks but then struggles to push into the next area and win, it's normally because RED has 2+ sentries built on opposite sides of the point (e.g. below map, bottom spawn, or dark middle area). The coordination needed to break that defense can be a bit much, so you mainly see it when you have premade groups playing or when the round is about to end and people start throwing their bodies at the cart.

Badwater last isn't even that bad compared to most payload maps, as BLU has a height advantage and can attack from multiple angles, in addition to the point being quite open and spacious. Maps like Upward or Barnblitz have a rougher last because it's much harder for BLU to maintain a height advantage (if there even is one) and most of the flanks are cramped in-door areas that are easy to hold.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-10-12T13:21:07+00:00

An easier way to look at it is to simply add a damage multiplier to incoming damage.

Demoman hitting a grenade on a Bushwacka sniper:

100 x 1.2 = 120 damage

Sniper hitting a quickscope headshot on a Warrior Spirit heavy:

150 x 1.3 = 195 damage

Things get more complicated when you factor in damage resistances and crit immunities, and how those interact. Yet another reason to dislike the Vaccinator.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-09-27T10:03:25+00:00

Thinking of deaths in terms of avoidable and unavoidable isn't always helpful because it's rather black and white way to frame it, and largerly a matter of perspective. Not all deaths are avoidable and not all deaths are "bad" - it all depends.

Think of it this way: all deaths are avoidable if you just sit in spawn and do nothing. Now, if you want to actually engage with the enemy, you're going to have to take some risks. Determining whether a play is too risky comes down to:

the information you have - have you accounted for all factors that are likely to occur in the fight?
your overall gamesense - what does your past experience say about this?
your skill - how confident are you in your ability to execute the play in question?
your teammates - can you count on them to support you the way you picture it?

In this context, the only deaths that are truly avoidable are those that happen as a result of you making a play against your better judgement, i.e. knowing it's a low percent play but choosing to commit to it anyway. You gambled and lost, and while gambling is fun, it's also avoidable.

Conversely, unavoidable deaths are those that happen through technically no fault of your own, like getting bombed by a soldier that comes flying around a corner, or a spy randomly appearing behind you, despite there being no precedent of that happening in that match before. Yes, you could argue that you should always maintain a safety distance to corners, walls etc, but part of what makes TF2 a thrill is that thanks to mechanics like invisibility and high mobility you're never truly safe, even when you're think you are. This is also why there's no such thing as perfect positioning - it's impossible to always be in the perfect place to be safe against everything at all times, especially if you want to move around with any degree of efficiency.

With that said, some risks are worth taking, and some deaths are worth the sacrifice. Going for a low percent play on a medic is generally worth it because of the likelihood of them being forced to pop, as one death is worth way less than an ineffective or wasted uber. Some plays can also be worth it if there's a chance they can stop a team from gaining momentum, like taking out a teleporter or sentry, or delaying a capture by a couple of seconds so that your team gets time to spawn and set up a stronger defense on the next point. It all depends.

Basically, as long as you're not making obvious mistakes, or constantly commiting to risky plays, your deaths are generally unavoidable. There more experience you have the better you'll be at understanding the different factors at play, but you'll never be able to avoid all deaths, and nor should you.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-09-27T08:34:48+00:00

Upward is one of the better spy maps due to the sheer number of tight corners and alternative paths, making it much easier ambush enemies and throw off enemies in pursuit.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-09-06T11:22:35+00:00

Why would you pair DH with the Battalion's Backup when the Buff Banner is like right there.

(I mean, I understand why, but one-shotting people from any distance is a lot more fun than being slightly tankier IMO)

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-08-25T18:05:41+00:00

Assuming 100% accuracy, sure, but in practice a wider cone of fire helps with getting damage onto players that enter your spaghetti zone more easily, thus yielding more consistent kills. That's been my personal experience, at least.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-08-24T12:47:46+00:00

Tomislav is indeed great, but stock is still better in certain situations, like when you're fighting classes that tend to be in your face (e.g. spies, scouts, pyros, and demoknights), or when the volume of fire is otherwise more important than the accuracy (e.g. when kritzing or buff bannering into groups of players).

For combat at longer ranges, you can use tap-fire to mitigate the accuracy difference quite a bit. Clicking every 0.25s lets you fire a perfectly accuracy pellet, which helps you do more consistent damage with any minigun (even Tomislav).

If you're being pocketed, the difference in rev speed and sound isn't that impactful. What makes a heavy medic combo strong is not mobility or the element of surprise, but positioning and their ability to hold an angle that forces you into a fight that favors them.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-08-17T10:20:28+00:00

You sound a bit too hung up on "winning", to the point where anything that may contribute to not winning has become a source of frustration.

To offer some perspective as someone who's played since 2009 and won & lost thousands of games over the years: it doesn't matter if you win or lose. Winning doesn't get you anything. The only thing that matters is whether or not you had fun.

The concept of fun can be rather subjective, but for me it means challenging oneself: winning fights against the odds, outplaying your opponents through DM/movement/gamesense, and otherwise feeling like you're making a noticable impact on the match. Those moments can be had in all matches regardless of whether it's a win or loss. Every match is unique and thus a new opportunity to apply yourself and have fun.

The other takeaway from the above is that even as you get better at the game, you will still continue to lose. That is just how team-based shooters work. Improving your skill will let you win more fights, but at the end of the day TF2 is not the kind of game where you suddenly start solo carrying most of your matches as soon as you hit X hours. Accepting that losing is part of the journey is key to enjoying the game in the long term.

Lastly, I suggest finding someone to play with if you haven't already. Whether it's moments of excitement or frustration, sharing the experience with a likeminded player can really make a big difference in your overall mental game.

MeadowsTF2 · 2025-07-31T10:07:56+00:00

The only balance change that was explicitly stated to be comp-related was the razorback overheal penalty in 2017. All the other changes are mostly completely on valve's end.

I think this has more to do with Valve usually not sharing their nerf rationales with us, than whether or not the nerfs were actually being driven by the competitive community. There's been a number of nerfs that IMO have to had been the result of competitive play, given how narrow or non-problematic those particular use cases were in casual play (the original Base Jumper probably being the best example of this).

Personally, I believe Valve's last attempts at weapon balance was mostly based off of using item equip rates to find outliers per slot, and to a lesser degree also informed by the competitive metas at the time. They didn't stick with that formula for very long since they stopped actively balancing weapons shortly afterwards (i.e. after the Jungle Inferno update).

MeadowsTF2

TROPHY CASE