TF2 Pay to win?

[Coffinmaker]

Hi all, at work so I can't check into it but I'm curious, what do you pay for in TF2? Is it pay to win or is content lacking if you don't pay? Thanks.

 

[gladiatorua]

Pay to win means buying stuff that gives advantage and is not available without spending money.
In TF2 you can buy hats, weapons, keys for boxes that contain named weapons.
Hats, weapons and boxes randomly spawn in your inventory.
To get "VIP"-account, which gives you more slots in the inventory, a hat and ability to craft some stuff, you have to spend any amount of money in shop.
So no, TF2 is not pay2win.

 

[Coffinmaker]

Thanks, how long have you been playing for and have you ever spent money on it?

 

[gladiatorua]

Thanks, how long have you been playing for and have you ever spent money on it?

A year, maybe. Only occasionally.
I only bought some item to get "VIP"-account.
Everything else - random drops, crafting or trading.

 

[Coffinmaker]

Great thanks, i've never played it but will probably install it tomorrow. Any tips for a noob?

 

[Kabob]

The only stuff that you have to buy to acquire are hats and clothes and whatnot, everything that directly affects the gameplay (health, damage, etc) can be found through random drops, and for most of the classes the starting items are their best (or at least close to it).

 

[Coffinmaker]

What do the hats and clothes do? Just change your appearance? If that's the case, I'm not some 14 year old Asian kid so I wouldn't ever buy that stuff.

 

[krnmastersgt]

The items actually greatly modify your stats, some full sets were a bit absurd to deal with especially if you haven't been playing long vs someone who's played a long time or just spent money on the game.

I wouldn't say it's pay2win in that they don't have an overbearingly large advantage, but spending money will most certainly help you in matches once you get comfortable using a class.

 

[zokudu]

The items actually greatly modify your stats, some full sets were a bit absurd to deal with especially if you haven't been playing long vs someone who's played a long time or just spent money on the game.

I wouldn't say it's pay2win in that they don't have an overbearingly large advantage, but spending money will most certainly help you in matches once you get comfortable using a class.

There are 4 sets in game that require a hat to activate the bonus but as with anything else those hats can be found through random drop. It is not play to win if you enjoy playing you will get most of the items you want and those you haven't gotten are easy to trade for. Most weapons that aren't new just trade 1:1.

 

[darkewaffle]

You find items plenty fast (what is it, 11 per week or something?) and either from friends with duplicates, turning items into metal for trade, or simply liquidating the ones you don't want on TF2WH you shouldn't have too much trouble finding most of the basic stuff.

 

[JTsyo]

Pay to win means buying stuff that gives advantage and is not available without spending money.
In TF2 you can buy hats, weapons, keys for boxes that contain named weapons.
Hats, weapons and boxes randomly spawn in your inventory.
To get "VIP"-account, which gives you more slots in the inventory, a hat and ability to craft some stuff, you have to spend any amount of money in shop.
So no, TF2 is not pay2win.

Can F2P players get weapons via achievements like in the old days or is it all drops or store?

 

[darkewaffle]

Both. But weapons found via achievements are not tradeable and items crafted using that item (or metal from that item iirc) all become untradeable as well I believe.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Free accounts can get achievement weapons.

They can't really trade though - all items they receive, dropped or otherwise, are untradable unless they upgrade to a VIP account.

You'll get plenty of stuff from drops - but with no real trading ability, if you decide you want a non-achievement item, you might be waiting a long time.

Free accounts can't exactly buy anything, simply because they become premium accounts if they do.


That said you can theoretically get any weapon from drops or achievements - and when you get right down to it, alternative weapons are not generally upgrades. There are a few limited examples (Third Degree vs Powerjack, for example) where there's a non-base weapon that's just flat out better - but they are the exception.

 

[krnmastersgt]

It is worth mentioning that the VIP account is for anyone that's ever bought anything from them, I upgraded to that by just buying a $.49 hat.

And yes you can pretty much get every item eventually over time, but trying to play with no items vs people with lots is rather frustrating at times, at least I think so anyways.

 

[JumBie]

What do the hats and clothes do? Just change your appearance? If that's the case, I'm not some 14 year old Asian kid so I wouldn't ever buy that stuff.

What kind of stereotype? lol

 

[Childs]

I started playing again (previous play was before f2p), and it seems like its pay to win. Unless I am HWG or engineer with a wrench, I was losing most gun battles. I finally got a new shotgun (5 engr achievements) and I have done much better. The random items I got a crap, and at 1 item per 1-2 hours, it will take way too long to get on par with everyone else.

I read something about spectating to get items, but I didn't see any servers that let you do it for more than a few minutes.

 

[Coffinmaker]

So I unstalled it and played for a while today. I got two items both level 1. How do I up the level on them? Do they level up with use?

 

[gladiatorua]

So I unstalled it and played for a while today. I got two items both level 1. How do I up the level on them? Do they level up with use?

I don't think levels mean anything.
There are guns that you get from locked boxes that change name depending on how many people you killed. But normal weapons do not change.

 

[Siberian]

I bought the game before it went f2p. I have never purchased any items. Some of the weapon drops are pretty helpful. I have no problem doing well without buying stuff.

 

[n7]

It's not really.

I've owned TF2 since long ago via Orange Box, and while it's annoying that people can get certain weapons and stuff via $$$, the stock items are just fine if you are a decent player, and the random drops aren't too rare if you play a bit.

Personally, i don't even know how the crafting system works?

I pretty much just play with the normal weapons and ignore all the other random crap 99% of the time.

 

[Homerboy]

The beauty of it all is the non-stock weapons and the like really dont give any advantage. They provide a varied game play for everyone on the server though which adds a lot to the fun of the game.

 

[Childs]

For you guys saying the dropped items dont matter, give them to me.

 

[Siberian]

For you guys saying the dropped items dont matter, give them to me.

I use mostly dropped items, because they are more fun. Like the posmon or the teleporting wrench for the engy.

 

[Homerboy]

I use mostly dropped items, because they are more fun. Like the posmon or the teleporting wrench for the engy.

Correct. They are more "fun" to play with. They don't really give any extra advantage. I still play with a default (albeit strange) RL.