User:MastahDizzy/Mastah's "Project Fortress" Rebalance

This chart is designed with the open intent of suggesting balance changes that fits the vision of an unmodified game of Team Fortress 2, and which can benefit both the casual and competitive community.

Weapon statistics will remain fundamentally simple to prevent confusion and respect the original intent that the developers may have had regarding the title, and as such, most weapons that are significantly underpowered will be appropriately buffed in this chart to be able to contend with the competitively viable options that are made available within the same slot.

Weapons that may not have polarising perceptions of their viability depending on player experience and format will potentially be tweaked to remain equally viable and less frustrating to deal with in the case that they would happen to be.

Now, while this chart is made by myself, based on the personal experiences that I may have on the game, it should be noted that my ideas shouldn't be taken for gospel, and that if you got any feedback, I'll be free to receive it and potentially incorporate within this chart, though I cannot guarantee that your suggestion will be always taken into account! Bleh!

Core Modifications

Class Changes
Random critical hits are now disabled by default. Random bullet spread is now disabled by default. Random fall damage deviation is now disabled by default.

Gamemode Changes
Capturing the intelligence doesn't grant critical hits by default. If the enemy intelligence is dropped, it can then be returned instantly when it is touched. The intelligence will remains on the ground for 75 seconds instead of 60 before being automatically returned.

Multi-Class

Weapon	Changes	New Statistics	Editor's Note
Reserve Shooter	Added: +25% more accurate  Changed: Deploy speed increased from 20% to 30%  Changed: Explosions that aren't inflicted by the user cannot be used as a source of mini-crits anymore.	Mini-crits targets launched airborne by grapple hooks, rocket packs or the user's explosions  +25% more accurate  This weapon deploys 30% faster  -34% clip size	While the Reserve Shooter is technically good for combos, notably strong against Soldiers and Demos due to its perks, and can also preserve the range of a regular Shotgun unlike the Panic Attack, it's lowered clip size means that its usage seems redundant when compared to the burst close range capabilities of the Panic Attack, and the consistent range of the Stock when placed within the context of most formats (with 6s being the notable exception, as the Reserve Shooter is actually ban-worthy within that context due to team composition). By making this weapon able to switch faster and get better accuracy, while being only able to gain mini-crits from targets launched by the user's explosions rather than any explosive source, the Reserve Shooter not only gains a niche as a quick option that is better at dealing chip damage and aerial shots on a whim, but also keeps a lower clip size to balance it out against other Shotguns, on top of becoming better balanced in the context of 6s since its most defining trait in the format is now way less polarising in terms of matchup. Overall, the Reserve Shooter is turned from a shotgun that is somewhat underwhelming in most formats, but too strong in 6s, to a firearm that is a decent sidegrade in both casual and competitive settings.
Family Business	Added: -15% slower reload speed  Added: Can now be equipped by the Soldier, Pyro and Engineer	+33% clip size  +15% faster firing speed  -15% damage penalty  -15% slower reload speed	Its larger clip size and faster firing rate means that this shotgun really is a slight upgrade to Stock thanks to a faster kill power against light classes, better consistency and strong spammability, which also results in higher damage potential overall. Introducing a mild debuff in its reload speed helps this shotgun retain most of its unique perks from its initial 8-shot clip, while making the reload more noticeable, thus making this weapon better at engaging combat, but also longer to get it back to its full clip, thus making this weapon a strong sidegrade as a result of this small modification. Also, by giving the option for the other classes that can equip shotguns to also use the Family Business, we not only bringing what is basically an easy-to-implement unlock for a third of the game's roster, but we also get the opportunity to have unique decals on the weapon's cross based on the class that equipped it, which can make for nice easter eggs to implement, on top of giving more variety gameplay-wise.

Scout

Weapon	Changes	New Statistics	Editor's Note
Shortstop	Changed: Shove damage increased from 1 to 40  Changed: Shove force increased from 344 to 512 HU  Changed: Shove cooldown decreased from 1.5 to 0.8 seconds  Changed: Shove range increased to that of a regular melee attack (48HU)  Changed: Shove can be auto-cancelled into primary fire (but still has to deal with its innate cooldown)  Changed: Reload speed decreased from 1.52 to 1.2 seconds	Increase in push force taken from damage and airblast  Holds a 4-shot clip and reloads its entire clip at once.  Alt-Fire to shove and combo someone!	The Shortstop is a fine weapon by itself, with its better range and quick firing speed giving it a niche as a mid-range Scout primary. However, the shove is usually too hard, flimsy, unrewarding and committal to use, and the reload speed is definitely too slow for a weapon of its type, so, by giving combo potential to the shove and reducing the reload speed, we allow the weapon to be more flexible in its use and less punishing for whiffing shots with.
Baby Face's Blaster	Changed: Improved move speed on wearer from -10% to +20%  Added: Wearer never takes falling damage  Added: No air jumps when active  Added: +15% bullet damage vulnerability on wearer  Removed: No more speed meter	+20% faster move speed on wearer  Wearer never takes falling damage  No air jumps when active  +15% bullet damage vulnerability on wearer  -34% clip size	The speed meter is too unreliable of a mechanic to be properly used, since any ounce of aerial movement and damage taken can easily gut your meter, which results in highly inconsistent speed that can mess with both your footsies and aim, for the variations in movement can throw a wrench at your tracking. An improved speed stat however is quite a powerful perk for a Scout to have, so, by treading the line between stronger grounded speed, lower durability and more predictable air movement without overtuning any trait, we can potentially make the Baby Face's Blaster a proper sidegrade that's much easier to wrap your head around when compared to Stock. Since the lack of air jumping with your primary paired with worse durability against pellets from shotguns and other forms of bullet damage are reliably offset by superior footsies on the ground, it should be fair game for anyone. As a final note, the removal of fall damage is added solely for the purpose of not forcing the player to switch weapons in order to prevent it, primarily as a direct result of becoming unable to air jump when the primary is active.
Back Scatter	Removed: No random critical hits  Removed: -34% clip size	Mini-crits targets when fired at their back from close range  20% less accurate	The reduced clip size never really made much sense from both a gameplay and graphical perspective, since the Back Scatter's lower accuracy already gives it a unique niche as a weapon that is easier to land shots from upclose, with burst potential if said shots connects from the target's back half of their hurtbox, at the cost of obviously having less range due to the bullet spread being less precise, and thus somewhat less capable of landing pellets as reliably once we fall out of close quarters. With these simpler stats, we effectively make a decent sidegrade to Stock, that is easy to understand, and becomes balanced by virtue of being slightly specialised, but still decently capable at performing the tasks that the regular Scattergun may do.
Winger	Changed: Clip size increased from 5 to 7 bullets (-40% instead of -60%)	+15% damage bonus  +25% greater jump height when active  -40% clip size	The Winger is actually very useful as a movement option, and the small damage boost can be helpful, but the clip size is usually argued to be made too small when compared to the other pistols available in Scout's arsenal. Seven bullets is still a reasonable decrease, but at the very least, it keeps the damage rate reasonable while preserving the mutual trade-off of a pistol that's better at moving, but worse at peppering.
Sun-on-a-Stick	Added: Alt-Fire: Launches a fireball that burns opponents  Info: The fireball deals 4 seconds of afterburn  Added: 50% slower recharge rate	Alt-Fire: Launches a fireball that burns opponents  100% critical hit vs burning players  +25% fire damage resistance while deployed  -25% damage penalty  -50% slower recharge rate	The Sun-on-a-Stick is hindered by the fact that it lacks any synergy in the Scout's kit, thus making its damage buff only possible through a coordinated attack with your allied Pyroes, which is not only incredibly impractical, but also not that notably rewarding, given the difficulty to use said melee for a fiery combo. By giving the possibility for the Scout to use a fireball, we not only make the positives of the melee actually applicable, but also competitively viable when compared to the other unlocks that can be used within the same slot. Also, it would be very funny to throw little suns at your enemy with a class that can move around like a mosquito.

Pyro

Weapon	Changes	New Statistics	Editor's Note
Scorch Shot	Changed: Damage penalty increased from -35% to -60%  Changed: Cannot destroy stickies anymore	100% mini-crits vs burning players  Flare knocks back target on hit and explodes when it hits the ground.  Increased knockback on burning players  -35% self damage force  -60% damage penalty  This weapon will reload automatically when not active.	As a secondary tool, the Scorch Shot is designed to be a reliable splash tool that can easily build afterburn, hinder enemy mobility and combo into itself. The problem with the current iteration of this weapon though is that while it trades its perks off by technically being a worse combo tool than the Flare Gun, it only does so marginally thanks to its powerful buffs, while being significantly better at doing literally anything else, so adding a stronger damage penalty will help preserve the perks that this weapon has while also making it notably worse at dealing damage than the Flare Gun itself, and thus turn it into a sidegrade that is better at being a jack-of-all-trades to make up for its loss of burst damage from any range. Also, given how easy it is to just connect a projectile from the Scorch Shot thanks to its innate splash properties, it can only be reasonable to remove the weapon's ability to destroy stickies since it is so potent at doing such a thing, for visibly no trade-off of any kind.
Thermal Thruster	Changed: Swapping weapons is now possible when the Thermal Thruster is deployed  Changed: Holstering the jetpack now behaves like for any other weapons in the game instead of having to deal with a committal animation.	Push enemies back when you land (force and radius based on velocity)  Death from above! Fires a short-duration blast that launches the Pyro in the direction they are aiming. Deal 3x falling damage to anyone you land on!	The Thermal Thruster is useful, but its unique modifications when it comes to its deploying and holstering animations makes this secondary needlessly clunky to use for a secondary that quite literally prevents the Pyro from using combo tools like their shotguns and flares. By making it less committal to just use, we not only make the Thermal Thruster less frustrating to play, but we also give a better incentive to use it as both an approach and escape option to make up for the more limited range that the Pyro effectively has.
Gas Passer	Added: Creates an explosion that deals set damage, which isn't affected by either damage or radius fall-off  Added: Any opponent that is hit by the Gas Passer's explosion will automatically take afterburn (though the effect can still be extended by non-afterburn damage thanks to the "gas" status being applied)  Changed: Players soaked by the Gas Passer are now counted as "wet"  Changed: Passive refill decreased from 60 to 30 seconds  Changed: Damage required to fill the meter decreased from 750 to 600HP  Removed: Spawning and resupply do not affect the Gas meter  Removed: Gas meter starts empty  Info: The explosion's radius is of 160HU (10ft, or 3.04m)  Info: The explosion deals 50HP of damage to anyone within its perimetre	Gas meter builds with damage done and/or time  Creates a horrific gas explosion that coats enemies with a flammable material and lits them on fire (even if they're enemy Pyros!)	The Gas Passer can easily be considered the worst weapon in the Pyro's entire kit, and can be argued to be one of the worst weapons in the game period, thanks to a myriad of flaws that had plagued this throwable since its inception. To make it viable, it was therefore modified to gain a slew of buffs that allows it to have proper applications that other secondary unlocks may not be able to fulfil, while preserving balance in mind. The explosion (and the built-in afterburn that comes with it) has been made to give a little oomph to the Gas Passer when thrown, and since this projectile is famously known for being notoriously hard to fill, the cooldown that comes both from damage and its passive effect were reduced to acceptable levels, as to allow it to rival with the other flaming projectiles in the Pyro's kit. The two listed debuffs that were originally listed for the weapon were also notably overkill and absolutely gutted its applicability, so removing these can only make sense to make this tool more useful in the longer run. Since the "Gas" effect also technically didn't wet players that were soaked by it for some reason, reintroducing said property also allows the Gas Passer to have great synergy with the Neon Annihilator, and by proxy, make said melee more viable than ever. All these modification can, hopefully, turn what is arguably a terrible weapon into one that is actually viable to use, and fun to play and experiment with, on top of remaining unique gameplay-wise.
Homewrecker	Added: +15% damage resistance when active  Added: User can see their teammates metal count, on top of their own (100 metal)  Added: User can withdraw and use their metal on buildings  Added: Melee behaves like a Wrench-type weapon, and can therefore be used to upgrade and repair buildings, on top being able to break sappers.	+100% damage vs buildings  +15% damage resistance when active  -25% damage vs players  Behaves like a wrench, and can therefore be used to upgrade and repair buildings, on top of breaking sappers as well.  The user can see their teammates metal count, on top of their own.	The Homewrecker is normally a melee that is way too niche in its use to warrant being used over more competent melees like the Powerjack or the Back Scratcher when it comes to practicality. By adding the ability to see your metal count and that of your fellow Engineers, on top of being able to help them by gaining the ability to upgrade and repair buildings, the Homewrecker remains a technically situational weapon that now excels at giving support to your Engineer, without overlapping their role as such. The added damage resistance when deployed also gives the weapon another, more universal utility as a light counterpart of the Fists of Steel, which can justify the use of this melee, even in cases when Engineers may not be around (either because they may set things up, or because nobody picked the class). Shoutouts for Miracule Weep for suggesting the idea of turning this weapon into a wrench-like melee. Without him, I would have otherwise been in a bind when it came to its hypothetical balancing.