Difference between revisions of "Item drop system"

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{{Quotation|'''The Heavy'''|Yes. I ''like'' this new weapon.|sound=Heavy_specialweapon09_Yes._I_like_this_new_weapon.wav}}
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{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the [[Item schema]].}}
 +
{{Quotation|'''The Sniper''' upon receiving a random drop|*laughs* It's like Christmas morning.|sound=Sniper specialweapon08.wav}}
  
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[[Image:Backpack.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Backpack, in which dropped items are stored]]
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[[File:Item_Drop.png|300px|right|thumb|A [[Reggaelator]] drop.]]
  
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This page details Team Fortress 2's past, present, and future '''Item Drop System'''. It also lists the current achievement milestones through which players may unlock specific weapons.
+
The '''item drop system''' is the process of [[Items|item]] distribution within ''Team Fortress 2''. It distributes a random item to players on a regular basis until a weekly time-cap is reached.
  
 +
This system was first introduced with the [[Sniper vs. Spy Update]] to change distribution from being dependent upon [[achievements]]. Its purpose was to improve accessibility to the expanding quantity of items within the game, while negating the need to achievement farm (meaning to perform out of context actions to gain achievements) or use third-party tools to falsify the obtaining of achievements. However, this system created another way of farming to obtain new items called [[idling]].
  
−
__TOC__
+
As of the {{Patch name|7|11|2013}}, the item drop system has changed. Players must now accept new items dropped before proceeding to another item drop, in a move to prevent players from idling.
  
 +
== {{anchor|Current item drop system}} Current system ==
 +
[[File:Item drops graph.png|350px|right|thumb|A graph displaying the relationship between time and number of drops.]]
 +
[[File:Item drops frequency graph.png|350px|right|thumb|A bar chart displaying the distribution of item drops per week.]]
  
−
== Achievement Milestones ==
+
The current item drop system was introduced on April 20, 2010.<ref>"[https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3727 Thanks for standin' still, wanker.]", [[TF2 Official Blog]], April 20, 2010.</ref> Players are guaranteed to find items at regular intervals of 30 to 70 minutes, with an average interval of 50 minutes.
  
−
On April 29, 2008, Valve unveiled a set of three unlockable weapons as part of their [[Gold Rush]] Update. These weapons were unlocked by completing a set number of achievements, resulting in an achievement milestone. There were three achievement milstones in all, with each successive one requiring more achievements. Once each milestone was unlocked the player received the set weapon that came with that achievement milestone. The final weapon was initially only available once players had completed every single achievement available. This saw the number of achievements needed for all three milestones reduced after player statistics showed that only a small number of players possessed the new weapons.
+
The system has a cap on the amount of playtime in which drops can occur. This cap has been estimated to be 10 hours each week. Playing beyond the cap will not yield additional items.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20181009202225/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51J2RSNeFHM#t=0m32s YouTube - About the new item drop system</ref> [[Mann Co. Supply Crate]]s and other usable items drop on a separate timer, meaning that these items do not affect the interval between regular drops.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110826111931/http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1466323 Crate drops don't count as normal drops], [[Steam Users' Forums|Steam Users' Forum]] post by [https://web.archive.org/web/20170604233735/http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/member.php?u=551252 zoli700], October 3, 2010.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140209123322/http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/1910/emailb.jpg E-mail by Robin Walker on the crate drop system]</ref> The system resets each player's playtime cap every Thursday at approximately 00:00 (midnight) GMT. If a player plays less than the playtime cap in a week, their leftover time is added to the next week, so a player who does not play for one week receives twice as many items the following week. The amount of time a player can save up is capped at double the allotment of a single week (roughly 20 hours).
  
−
It soon became apparent there were flaws with this system. For example, many players who wanted access to the new weapons but did not wish to invest the large amounts of time needed to grind for all the achievements. These players would either join achievement servers (servers with custom maps built to facilitate the earning of achievements) to earn their achievements and get their weapons faster than those who played the game normally or join regular servers as the updated class, playing with the intent of completing achievements. Both of these situations would result in servers becoming overcrowded with players all playing as a single class, which disrupted gameplay for many players. On May 21, 2009, Valve implemented a new system of random drops for unlockable items and discontinued the milestone system.  After an outcry from the community, Valve fell back to the Achievement Milestones for the Sniper and Spy weapons in the the [[May 29, 2009 Patch]].  This milestone system has since been used in the WAR! Update and is expected to also appear in the Engineer update.
+
In order for a player to receive an item drop, they must be "actively playing" i.e they meet all of the following criteria:
  
−
== Item Drop System ==
+
* Is connected to a VAC secured server.
 +
* Is responding to in-game drop notifications while not utilizing external programs to do so.
 +
* Is running only one instance of the game.
 +
* Is not in textmode.<ref>"[https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=11105 An Active Solution to an Idle Threat.]", TF2 Official Blog, July 17, 2013.</ref>
  
−
===Old Item Drop System===
+
The dropped items are stored in the [[backpack]] after the player's death, while visiting the Main Menu, after a [[Trading|trade]] is completed, if the [[Mann Co. Store]] is opened, or if ten [[Dueling Mini-Game|duels]] are won. If the player leaves the server after receiving an item, but before storing it in the backpack, a notification alerts the player of the new item(s) when the Main Menu is visited the next time. New item notifications must be dismissed before any further new items can be found. Occasionally, dropped, traded, or crafted items may get stuck "in limbo" and may not immediately appear in the player's backpack. This may occur on instant respawn servers blocking the "New Item Found!" screen pop-up. Visiting the Mann. Co. Store, pressing Esc. to bring up the menu, or disconnecting from the server usually restores these items to the player's backpack.
−
While keeping the Achievement Milestones already present for the [[Scout]], [[Pyro]], [[Heavy]] and [[Medic]], Valve implemented the random drop system to allow a balance of classes in the event of a class update. This system was patched into the game as part of [[The Sniper vs. Spy Update]]. Valve calculated the average time a regular Team Fortress 2 player played, then came up with an unknown time which was used as a marker or set point. Every time a player had played for 25 minutes, the game randomly drew a decision for the player. If the player was lucky (25% per item chance) then they would get a randomly chosen weapon or item. If the player was unlucky, then they would have received no item that time. There was a separate timer that counted every 15,430 seconds (4 hours, 17 minutes, and 10 seconds) you had a 1 in 28 chance of receiving a hat.
 
  
−
Every 25 minutes of play, a player had a 25% chance of receiving a random weapon. The average time for getting a single item was 1h 40min (including duplicates). Since weapons were granted via a random number generator, experience may vary.
+
While it has always been perceived that each weapon has an equal chance of being dropped to the player, it appears that certain weapons that form part of an [[Item sets|item set]] drop more or less often than others. It is not known exactly which of these weapons are rarer or more common.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161001083001/http://i993.photobucket.com/albums/af54/hammbone87/EMAIL.jpg E-mail by Robin Walker about item drop system]</ref>
  
−
===Current Item Drop System===
+
Under the [[Account types|Free-To-Play system]] introduced in the [[Über Update]], free players receive only limited item drops (with no rare or cosmetic items) until they upgrade to [[Premium]] status, upon which they gain access to the full item drop system.<ref>[https://www.teamfortress.com/freetoplay/faq.php Team Fortress 2: Free-to-Play FAQ]</ref>
−
On April 20, 2010, the item drop system was changed. Instead of rolling randomly at intervals to see if you got an item drop, now the system rolls to determine when your next item drop will occur. With this change, players are guaranteed to find items at fairly regular intervals. This was made because many players had unlucky streaks, where they didn't find any items for weeks. That isn't possible anymore. The drop rate was also increased, but now players have a limited playtime per week when they can receive drops. Playing beyond that amount won't find any more items, but some of the unused time will rollover to the following week.
 
  
−
===Advantages and Disadvantages of an Item Drop System===
+
== {{anchor|Advantages and disadvantages of an item drop system}} Advantages and disadvantages ==
−
A positive aspect of the system is that it allows new and old players alike to earn unlockable weapons by investing play time. It also allows players to play as any class, since as long as they are racking up game-time, the player is eligible for an item drop. This removed some of the necessity for achievement servers. It also allowed for a better balance of classes on servers.
+
A positive aspect of the system is that it allows new and old players alike to earn unlockable weapons by investing playtime. It allows players to play as any class, since as long as they are racking up gametime the player is eligible for an item drop.
  
−
While the system has addressed several of the problems of unlockable items being tied solely to milestones, it also has its share of flaws. Many players who were already experienced with the game already possessed most or all of the unlockable weapons, resulting in many players receiving unwanted duplicates. Also, achievement servers are still in use, now consisting of maps which allow large numbers of players to stand idle, increasing their game-time and allowing them to unlock new items without actively playing. Several user-made programs also allow players to idle with added functions such as displaying statistics and items earned during this period but Valve changed their user policy to reflect their stance that using such programs is considered [http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2787 cheating]. Additionally, the use of the -textmode game launch parameter launches the game with only a command console window displaying. This allows for almost the same function as the third-party program, and Valve are yet to comment on this. However, it is expected their stance will be neutral, as it is a feature they created.
+
However, many players receive unwanted duplicates. This issue was eventually resolved by the introduction of the [[crafting]] system, and later by the [[trading]] system, allowing players to respectively craft and trade many of the available items (with some exceptions) with each other.<ref>"[https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2787 Incoming!]", TF2 Official Blog, September 2, 2009.</ref>
  
−
==Backpack==
+
== Achievement Milestones ==
−
 
+
On April 29, 2008, Valve unveiled a set of three unlockable weapons as part of the [[April 29, 2008 Patch|Gold Rush Update]]. These weapons were unlocked by completing a set number of achievements, which completed an Achievement Milestone. There were three Achievement Milestones in all, with each successive one requiring more achievements. Once a milestone was unlocked, the player received the individual set weapon that came with that milestone. This requirement was later lowered to reduce players from [[Glossary of player terms‎#Grinding|grinding]] achievements just to get the new unlocks.
−
Items picked up by the player are stored in the ''backpack'', available in the ''loadout'' section of the ''Character Info and Setup'' menu. The backpack has a limited capacity of 100 slots, so it may be necessary to destroy duplicates in order to make room for new weapons.
 
−
 
 
−
== Crafting ==
 
  
−
{{Main|Crafting}}
+
On May 21, 2009, Valve implemented a new system of random drops for unlockable items, and originally discontinued the milestone system. Valve soon fell back to the Achievement Milestones, now coupled with the item drop system, for the Sniper and Spy weapons in the {{Patch name|5|29|2009}}. This milestone system has since been used in the [[WAR! Update]] as well as in the [[Engineer Update]].
−
Items received through either milestones or the random drop system can now be [[Crafting|crafted]] into other weapons, hats, or tokens.
 
  
−
==Milestones==
+
== History ==
 +
=== {{anchor|Old item drop system}} Former system ===
 +
[[File:Backpack case early.png|thumb|The backpack icon used before the [[Mann-Conomy Update]].]]
  
−
In order of release:
+
While keeping the Achievement Milestones already present for the [[Scout]], [[Pyro]], [[Heavy]], and [[Medic]], [[Valve]] implemented the random drop system to maintain class balance in the event of a class update. This system was patched into the game as part of the [[Sniper vs. Spy Update]] on May 21, 2009.
  
−
=== Medic ===
+
Valve calculated the average time a regular ''Team Fortress 2'' player played, then came up with a standard time which was used as a marker or set point. Every 25 minutes of gameplay, the game calculated a random number to determine whether the player would receive a weapon. If the player was lucky (25% per item chance), then they would find a randomly chosen item. If the player was unlucky (75% chance), then they would receive nothing and the timer would reset. In addition, there was a separate timer which ran on a 15,430 second (4 hours, 17 minutes, and 10 seconds) interval which gave an additional 1 in 28 chance of receiving a hat. The average time for finding a single item was 1 hour and 40 minutes (including duplicates). Since weapons were granted via a random number generator, experiences varied.
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf medic achieve progress1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Achieve 10 of the achievements in the Medic pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Blutsauger]]
+
When first released, item drops would only occur if players were connected to the [[Steam|Steam Community]]. If the player was not signed into their friends list, or if Valve was performing maintenance on the Steam Community, the player would not receive any item drops during that time. Additionally, if a player was connected to a server that had lost connection to Steam, item drops would not occur until the server reestablished its connection.
−
|}
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf medic achieve progress2.jpeg]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Achieve 16 of the achievements in the Medic pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Kritzkrieg]]
+
The old system resulted in unlucky streaks for some players where no items were found for long periods of time. The [[#Current system|current system]] has removed this possibility and increased the rate at which items drop.
−
|}
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf medic achieve progress3.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Achieve 22 of the achievements in the Medic pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Übersaw]]
+
=== Double Drop-Rate Week ===
−
|}
+
On December 22, 2010, Valve announced that the item drop rate would double between December 23, 2010 and December 30, 2010. All players during that period were also awarded a [[Stocking Stuffer Key]].<ref>"[https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4822 Additional Time Has Been Awarded]", TF2 Official Blog, December 22, 2010.</ref>
−
----
 
−
=== Pyro ===
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Pyro achieve progress1.png|progress 1|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Achieve 10 of the achievements in the Pyro pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Flare gun]]
+
A second Double Drop-Rate Week was announced on June 2, 2011, which lasted from June 3, 2011 through June 10, 2011.<ref>"[https://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=5604&p=1 Double Drop Week]", TF2 Official Blog, June 2, 2011</ref>
−
|}
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Pyro achieve progress2.png|progress 2|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Achieve 16 of the achievements in the Pyro pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Backburner]]
+
A third Double Drop-Rate Week was announced on December 14, 2011, lasting from December 15, 2011 through December 21, 2011 to coincide with the Australian Christmas 2011 update.<ref>"[https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=7005 Happy Australian Christmas Eve]", TF2 Official Blog, December 14, 2011</ref>
−
|}
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Pyro achieve progress3.png|progress 3|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Achieve 22 of the achievements in the Pyro pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Axtinguisher]]
+
== Gallery ==
−
|}
+
<gallery>
−
----
+
File:First Double Drop-Rate Week.png|Promo image of first Double Drop-Rate Week.
 +
File:Second Double Drop-Rate Week.png|Promo image of second Double Drop-Rate Week.
 +
File:News item 2010-11-09 Item System Downtime 11~9~2010.png|In-game notification of planned downtime.
 +
</gallery>
  
−
=== Heavy ===
+
== Non-dropping items ==
−
{|
+
{{Weapons drop list‎}}
−
|[[Image:HeavyMilestone1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Achieve 10 of the achievements in the Heavy pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Sandvich]]
+
== Cosmetics obtainable through drops ==
−
|}
+
{{Cosmetic can drop list}}
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:HeavyMilestone2.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Achieve 16 of the achievements in the Heavy pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Natascha]]
+
== Paints obtainable through drops ==
−
|}
+
{{Droptainable paints}}
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:HeavyMilestone3.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Achieve 22 of the achievements in the Heavy pack.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[K.G.B]]
+
== Tools obtainable through drops ==
−
|}
+
{{Tools can drop list}}
−
----
 
  
−
=== Scout ===
+
== Backpack ==
−
{|
+
{{main|Backpack}}
−
|[[Image:Tf scout achieve progress1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Obtain 10 of the Scout achievements.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Force-A-Nature]]
+
== Update history ==
−
|}
+
{{Update history|
−
{|
+
'''{{Patch name|5|21|2009}}''' ([[Sniper vs. Spy Update]])
−
|[[Image:Tf scout achieve progress2.png|64px]]
+
* Added the item drop system.
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Obtain 16 of the Scout achievements
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Sandman]]
+
'''{{Patch name|3|19|2010}}'''
−
|}
+
* {{Undocumented}} Miscellaneous items are now found according to the hat drop rate, rather than the weapon drop rate.
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf scout achieve progress3.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Obtain 22 of the Scout achievements
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Bonk! Atomic Punch]]
+
'''{{Item schema|4|20|2010}}'''
−
|}
+
* Updated the random drop system to the current system.
−
----
 
−
=== Spy ===
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf spy achieve progress1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Obtain 5 of the Spy achievements.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Ambassador]]
+
'''{{Patch name|12|23|2010}}'''
−
|}
+
* {{Undocumented}} Doubled the item drop rate for the next week (December 23, 2010 until December 30, 2010).
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf spy achieve progress2.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Obtain 11 of the Spy achievements
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Cloak and Dagger]]
+
'''{{Patch name|6|3|2011}}'''
−
|}
+
* Doubled the item drop rate for the next week (June 3, 2011 until June 10, 2011).
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf spy achieve progress3.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Obtain 17 of the Spy achievements
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Dead Ringer]]
+
'''{{Patch name|7|10|2013}}'''
−
|}
+
* The item drop system now requires you to accept new items and dismiss the new item notification before new items can be found.
−
----
 
−
=== Sniper ===
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf sniper achieve progress1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Obtain 5 of the Sniper achievements.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Huntsman]]
+
'''{{Patch name|4|1|2014}}'''
−
|}
+
* Crate drop rates have been significantly lowered.
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf sniper achieve progress2.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Obtain 11 of the Sniper achievements
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Jarate]]
+
'''{{Patch name|2|11|2015}}'''
−
|}
+
* Fixed players not receiving timed drops when running the game in Ukrainian.
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf sniper achieve progress3.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Obtain 17 of the Sniper achievements
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Razorback]]
+
'''{{Patch name|2|11|2015}} #2'''
−
|}
+
* {{Undocumented}} Special taunts no longer drop for [[Account types|Premium account]] players.
−
----
+
}}
−
=== Demoman ===
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf demo achieve progress1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Obtain 5 of the Demoman achievements.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Chargin' Targe]]
+
== Trivia ==
−
|}
+
* Random Drop cards and spaces are used in ''[[Monopoly: Team Fortress 2]]'' instead of Chance.
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf demo achieve progress2.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Obtain 11 of the Demoman achievements.
 
  
−
'''Reward:''' [[Eyelander]]
+
== See also ==
−
|}
+
* [[Items]]
−
{|
+
* [[Idling]]
−
|[[Image:Tf demo achieve progress3.png|64px]]
+
* [[Mann Co. Supply Crate]]
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
+
* [[Cheater's Lament]]
−
Obtain 17 of the Demoman achievements.
 
−
 
 
−
'''Reward:''' [[Scottish Resistance]]
 
−
|}
 
−
 
 
−
----
 
−
=== Soldier ===
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf soldier achieve progress1.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 1'''
 
−
Obtain 5 of the Soldier achievements.
 
−
 
 
−
'''Reward:''' [[Equalizer]]
 
−
|}
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf soldier achieve progress2.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 2'''
 
−
Obtain 11 of the Soldier achievements.
 
−
 
 
−
'''Reward:''' [[Direct hit]]
 
−
|}
 
−
{|
 
−
|[[Image:Tf soldier achieve progress3.png|64px]]
 
−
|'''Milestone 3'''
 
−
Obtain 17 of the Soldier achievements.
 
−
 
 
−
'''Reward:''' [[Buff Banner]]
 
−
|}
 
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
−
* [http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2535 TF2 Official Blog- Every one of you deserves a medal!]
+
* [https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2535 TF2 Official Blog &ndash; May 22, 2009 &ndash; "Every one of you deserves a medal!"] by Erik Johnson, explaining in detail the reasoning for the item drop system.
 +
* [https://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3727 TF2 Official Blog &ndash; April 20, 2010 &ndash; "Thanks for standin still, wanker."] by Erik Johnson, announcing and explaining the updated drop system.
 +
* [https://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=4822 TF2 Official Blog &ndash; December 22, 2010 &ndash; "Additional time has been awarded"] by the [[Administrator]], announcing Double Drop-Rate week and Ms. Pauling's [[Stocking Stuffer Key|"stocking stuffer"]].
 +
* [https://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=5604 TF2 Official Blog &ndash; June 2, 2011 &ndash; "Double Drop Week"] by the TF2 Team, announcing the second Double Drop-Rate Week.
  
 +
== References ==
 +
<references/>
  
−
{{Languages}}
+
[[Category:Achievements]]
 
[[Category:Gameplay]]
 
[[Category:Gameplay]]
−
[[Category:Achievements]]
+
[[Category:Items| ]]

Latest revision as of 19:39, 18 June 2024

Not to be confused with the Item schema.
“
*laughs* It's like Christmas morning.
Click to listen
— The Sniper upon receiving a random drop
 ”
A Reggaelator drop.

The item drop system is the process of item distribution within Team Fortress 2. It distributes a random item to players on a regular basis until a weekly time-cap is reached.

This system was first introduced with the Sniper vs. Spy Update to change distribution from being dependent upon achievements. Its purpose was to improve accessibility to the expanding quantity of items within the game, while negating the need to achievement farm (meaning to perform out of context actions to gain achievements) or use third-party tools to falsify the obtaining of achievements. However, this system created another way of farming to obtain new items called idling.

As of the July 11, 2013 Patch, the item drop system has changed. Players must now accept new items dropped before proceeding to another item drop, in a move to prevent players from idling.

Current system

A graph displaying the relationship between time and number of drops.
A bar chart displaying the distribution of item drops per week.

The current item drop system was introduced on April 20, 2010.[1] Players are guaranteed to find items at regular intervals of 30 to 70 minutes, with an average interval of 50 minutes.

The system has a cap on the amount of playtime in which drops can occur. This cap has been estimated to be 10 hours each week. Playing beyond the cap will not yield additional items.[2] Mann Co. Supply Crates and other usable items drop on a separate timer, meaning that these items do not affect the interval between regular drops.[3][4] The system resets each player's playtime cap every Thursday at approximately 00:00 (midnight) GMT. If a player plays less than the playtime cap in a week, their leftover time is added to the next week, so a player who does not play for one week receives twice as many items the following week. The amount of time a player can save up is capped at double the allotment of a single week (roughly 20 hours).

In order for a player to receive an item drop, they must be "actively playing" i.e they meet all of the following criteria:

  • Is connected to a VAC secured server.
  • Is responding to in-game drop notifications while not utilizing external programs to do so.
  • Is running only one instance of the game.
  • Is not in textmode.[5]

The dropped items are stored in the backpack after the player's death, while visiting the Main Menu, after a trade is completed, if the Mann Co. Store is opened, or if ten duels are won. If the player leaves the server after receiving an item, but before storing it in the backpack, a notification alerts the player of the new item(s) when the Main Menu is visited the next time. New item notifications must be dismissed before any further new items can be found. Occasionally, dropped, traded, or crafted items may get stuck "in limbo" and may not immediately appear in the player's backpack. This may occur on instant respawn servers blocking the "New Item Found!" screen pop-up. Visiting the Mann. Co. Store, pressing Esc. to bring up the menu, or disconnecting from the server usually restores these items to the player's backpack.

While it has always been perceived that each weapon has an equal chance of being dropped to the player, it appears that certain weapons that form part of an item set drop more or less often than others. It is not known exactly which of these weapons are rarer or more common.[6]

Under the Free-To-Play system introduced in the Über Update, free players receive only limited item drops (with no rare or cosmetic items) until they upgrade to Premium status, upon which they gain access to the full item drop system.[7]

Advantages and disadvantages

A positive aspect of the system is that it allows new and old players alike to earn unlockable weapons by investing playtime. It allows players to play as any class, since as long as they are racking up gametime the player is eligible for an item drop.

However, many players receive unwanted duplicates. This issue was eventually resolved by the introduction of the crafting system, and later by the trading system, allowing players to respectively craft and trade many of the available items (with some exceptions) with each other.[8]

Achievement Milestones

On April 29, 2008, Valve unveiled a set of three unlockable weapons as part of the Gold Rush Update. These weapons were unlocked by completing a set number of achievements, which completed an Achievement Milestone. There were three Achievement Milestones in all, with each successive one requiring more achievements. Once a milestone was unlocked, the player received the individual set weapon that came with that milestone. This requirement was later lowered to reduce players from grinding achievements just to get the new unlocks.

On May 21, 2009, Valve implemented a new system of random drops for unlockable items, and originally discontinued the milestone system. Valve soon fell back to the Achievement Milestones, now coupled with the item drop system, for the Sniper and Spy weapons in the May 29, 2009 Patch. This milestone system has since been used in the WAR! Update as well as in the Engineer Update.

History

Former system

The backpack icon used before the Mann-Conomy Update.

While keeping the Achievement Milestones already present for the Scout, Pyro, Heavy, and Medic, Valve implemented the random drop system to maintain class balance in the event of a class update. This system was patched into the game as part of the Sniper vs. Spy Update on May 21, 2009.

Valve calculated the average time a regular Team Fortress 2 player played, then came up with a standard time which was used as a marker or set point. Every 25 minutes of gameplay, the game calculated a random number to determine whether the player would receive a weapon. If the player was lucky (25% per item chance), then they would find a randomly chosen item. If the player was unlucky (75% chance), then they would receive nothing and the timer would reset. In addition, there was a separate timer which ran on a 15,430 second (4 hours, 17 minutes, and 10 seconds) interval which gave an additional 1 in 28 chance of receiving a hat. The average time for finding a single item was 1 hour and 40 minutes (including duplicates). Since weapons were granted via a random number generator, experiences varied.

When first released, item drops would only occur if players were connected to the Steam Community. If the player was not signed into their friends list, or if Valve was performing maintenance on the Steam Community, the player would not receive any item drops during that time. Additionally, if a player was connected to a server that had lost connection to Steam, item drops would not occur until the server reestablished its connection.

The old system resulted in unlucky streaks for some players where no items were found for long periods of time. The current system has removed this possibility and increased the rate at which items drop.

Double Drop-Rate Week

On December 22, 2010, Valve announced that the item drop rate would double between December 23, 2010 and December 30, 2010. All players during that period were also awarded a Stocking Stuffer Key.[9]

A second Double Drop-Rate Week was announced on June 2, 2011, which lasted from June 3, 2011 through June 10, 2011.[10]

A third Double Drop-Rate Week was announced on December 14, 2011, lasting from December 15, 2011 through December 21, 2011 to coincide with the Australian Christmas 2011 update.[11]

Gallery

  • Promo image of first Double Drop-Rate Week.

  • Promo image of second Double Drop-Rate Week.

  • In-game notification of planned downtime.

Non-dropping items


Cosmetics obtainable through drops

Paints obtainable through drops

Paints obtainable through the item drop system
Picture Name Color Picture Name Color
Paint Can 729E42.png Indubitably Green #729E42 Paint Can 7D4071.png A Deep Commitment to Purple #7D4071
Paint Can CF7336.png Mann Co. Orange #CF7336 Paint Can A57545.png Muskelmannbraun #A57545
Paint Can 51384A.png Noble Hatter's Violet #51384A Paint Can C5AF91.png Peculiarly Drab Tincture #C5AF91
Paint Can 7E7E7E.png Aged Moustache Grey #7E7E7E Paint Can 694D3A.png Radigan Conagher Brown #694D3A
Paint Can E7B53B.png Australium Gold #E7B53B Paint Can D8BED8.png Color No. 216-190-216 #D8BED8
Paint Can 7C6C57.png Ye Olde Rustic Colour #7C6C57 Paint Can 424F3B.png Zepheniah's Greed #424F3B


Tools obtainable through drops

Some tools used to be available via random drops, but have since become unobtainable through this method.


Backpack

Main article: Backpack

Update history

May 21, 2009 Patch (Sniper vs. Spy Update)
  • Added the item drop system.

March 19, 2010 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Miscellaneous items are now found according to the hat drop rate, rather than the weapon drop rate.

April 20, 2010 [Item schema update]

  • Updated the random drop system to the current system.

December 23, 2010 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Doubled the item drop rate for the next week (December 23, 2010 until December 30, 2010).

June 3, 2011 Patch

  • Doubled the item drop rate for the next week (June 3, 2011 until June 10, 2011).

July 10, 2013 Patch

  • The item drop system now requires you to accept new items and dismiss the new item notification before new items can be found.

April 1, 2014 Patch

  • Crate drop rates have been significantly lowered.

February 11, 2015 Patch

  • Fixed players not receiving timed drops when running the game in Ukrainian.

February 11, 2015 Patch #2

Trivia

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Thanks for standin' still, wanker.", TF2 Official Blog, April 20, 2010.
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20181009202225/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51J2RSNeFHM#t=0m32s YouTube - About the new item drop system
  3. ↑ Crate drops don't count as normal drops, Steam Users' Forum post by zoli700, October 3, 2010.
  4. ↑ E-mail by Robin Walker on the crate drop system
  5. ↑ "An Active Solution to an Idle Threat.", TF2 Official Blog, July 17, 2013.
  6. ↑ E-mail by Robin Walker about item drop system
  7. ↑ Team Fortress 2: Free-to-Play FAQ
  8. ↑ "Incoming!", TF2 Official Blog, September 2, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Additional Time Has Been Awarded", TF2 Official Blog, December 22, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Double Drop Week", TF2 Official Blog, June 2, 2011
  11. ↑ "Happy Australian Christmas Eve", TF2 Official Blog, December 14, 2011
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