Team Fortress 2 Beta

The Team Fortress 2 Beta is a Template:W version of the game that is separate from Team Fortress 2 itself and is open to all owners of it. Released on December 2, 2010, this is the second period of public beta testing, the first one occurring before official release of the game. The current beta is used for purposes including, but not limited to:

• testing and tuning various class, item, and weapon changes
• testing map changes and variants
• running higher level, game-wide experiments (like doubling player health)
• testing new technologies without the risk of breaking the game

Players receive all achievement-related items, all promotional items their Steam account is entitled to, the complete Saharan Spy pack, the Gloves of Running Urgently, and any weapons that are currently under testing. Random drops, Trading, and Crafting are currently enabled. The Mann Co. Store, however, is not available. The current Team Fortress 2 Beta differs from the beta first released to any user who pre-ordered the game back in 2007, and is more similar to the closed beta from 2009.

Changes currently under test

Weapons

Class		Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Scout	Mad Milk	1	∞	N/A	Any damage done to enemies covered in milk restores 60% of the damage to the player's health. (Down from 75%)  Nullifies Cloak on enemy Spies.  Extinguishes fire on wielder and allied players.  Has a 24-second recharge time.
Soldier	Battalion's Backup	N/A	N/A	N/A	At 100% charge, using it grants player and nearby teammates 10 seconds of guaranteed immunity to Critical damage and raises resistance to damage by 35%.  Charges its rage meter with damage received - takes 350 damage to fully charge. (up from 175)
	Equalizer	N/A	N/A	Base: 33–107 Crit: 3× base damage.	When weapon is active:  Damage dealt increases as user's remaining health decreases. (Damage formula has been tweaked; can no longer kill certain classes in one hit at very low health.)  Movement speed increases as user's remaining health decreases.  Blocks healing and ÜberCharges by any friendly Medics. Suppresses both automatic and manual Medic calling effects.
Pyro	Backburner	Fire: 200 Air blasts: 4 (same reserve)	N/A	Base (Max): 153.5 / sec. Crit (Max): 460.4 / sec. Afterburn: 6 / sec. × 10 secs.1	Secondary fire blasts compressed air which knocks back enemies, redirects enemy projectiles, and extinguishes flames on teammates, using 50 ammo per blast. All reflected projectiles (except Stickybombs) will inflict Mini-Crit damage.  Guarantees Critical hits when attacking from behind.  Deals 10% more damage. (Down from 15%)
	Flare Gun	1	16	Base: 30 Crit: 90 Afterburn: 6 / sec. × 10 secs.	On hit, ignites enemy.  Guarantees Critical damage on burning targets, regardless of distance.
	Detonator (New)	1	16	Base: 30 Crit: 90 Afterburn: 6 / sec. × 10 secs.	On hit, ignites enemy.  Alt-fire detonates flare in flight. It creates a small explosion which ignites nearby players, but does less damage than a normal hit. Knockback can be used to flare jump.  Guarantees Critical damage on burning targets, regardless of distance (only when flare is not detonated).  20% explosion damage vulnerability on wearer.
	Powerjack	N/A	N/A	Base: 65 Crit: 195	On kill: restores 75 health points and can overheal from maximum health.  20% more damage taken from melee sources while active. Note: 25% damage bonus removed and random critical hits enabled.
Demoman	Loch-n-Load	2	16	On direct hit: Base: 114–122 Crit: 342–367	Grenades explode on contact with an enemy.  Grenades have zero range falloff on a direct hit.  +20% Damage done. (Up from 10%)  +25% Projectile speed.  Launched bombs shatter on surfaces.  -60% Clip size.  +25% Damage done to self.
	Eyelander	N/A	N/A	Base: 49 Crit: 146	Has 37% longer melee range.  Every killing blow decapitates the enemy, increasing its head counter. Every head taken raises user's speed (~8%) and health points (15) to a maximum of 4 times each life.  Lowers maximum health by 25 points.  Deals 25% less damage. Note: random critical hits enabled.
	Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker	N/A	N/A	Base: 49 Crit: 146	Has 37% longer melee range.  Every killing blow decapitates the enemy, increasing its head counter. Every head taken raises user's speed (~8%) and health points (15) to a maximum of 4 times each life.  Lowers maximum health by 25 points.  Deals 25% less damage.  No taunt. Note: random critical hits enabled.
	Claidheamh Mòr	N/A	N/A	Base: 49 Crit: 146	Has 37% longer melee range.  0.5 Sec. increase in charge duration.  Lowers maximum health by 15 points.  Deals 25% less damage.  Every killing blow decapitates the enemy, but does not increase the head counter. Note: random critical hits enabled.
	Ullapool Caber	N/A	N/A	Base: 26 (149) 1 Crit: 79 (300) 1	On a successful hit, the grenade's 'head' will explode, dealing damage to the user and to all enemies around him. The blast will launch the user upward. The grenade's 'head' will show signs of damage after exploding, and will not explode again until the user respawns or visits a supply closet.  Deals only 26 damage after exploding (down from 35). Note: random critical hits enabled.
Heavy	Dalokohs Bar	1	∞	N/A	Restores 60 health points over about 4 seconds.  Raises maximum health by 50 points for 30 seconds. Note: removed cooldown.
	Fists of Steel	N/A	N/A	Base: 65 Crit: 195	Secondary fire will throw a right-handed punch (no difference from left-handed punch).  40% less damage taken from ranged sources while active. (Down from 60%)  20% slower weapon switch.  100% more damage taken from melee sources while active.
Engineer	Gunslinger	N/A	N/A	Base: 49 Crit: 146	Builds, repairs and upgrades buildings.  Able to remove Electro Sappers.  Replaces standard Sentry Gun with Combat Mini-Sentry Gun.  Increases maximum health by 25 points.  Guarantees a Critical hit on a third consecutive punch.  Deals 25% less damage. Note: random critical hits enabled.
	Southern Hospitality	N/A	N/A	Base: 49 Crit: 146	Builds, repairs and upgrades buildings.  Able to remove Electro Sappers.  On hit causes opponent to bleed for 5 seconds.  Deals 25% less damage.  Raises fire vulnerability by 20%. Note: random critical hits enabled.
Medic	Quick-Fix (New)	N/A	N/A	N/A	Über effect: Megaheal  Heal rate increased 3x on heal target and medic  Heal target and medic immune to stun and damage forces  Heal rate increased 50%  ÜberCharge rate increased 50%  Not able to overheal (attempting to overheal will still build Übercharge)  Match the speed of any faster heal target
	Vita-Saw	N/A	N/A	Base: 65 Crit: 195	User retains at most 20% of a full ÜberCharge meter on death.  Allows the Medic to see the enemy's health.  Lowers max health by 10 points (140 total) on wearer.
Sniper	Sydney Sleeper	1	25	Base: 45-50 (0% charge) 130-160 (100% charge)	Charges while zoomed.  On hit at 50% charge or greater, applies Jarate effect to the target for 8 seconds.  25% faster charge.  Headshots do not Crit.  No random critical hits.

Note: Entries in bold show the changes with the official version.

Maps

• cp_well: Made the 2nd point defender spawn door one-way.
• koth_badlands

Other changes

• Combat text now displays bonus points.
• Starting position of combat text is now based on the player's distance from the target, making it easier to see when near the target.
• Added an option (hud_combattext_healing) to display combat text for healing done on heal targets.
• Medic overheal effect is now more noticeable.
• Replay system (not currently available on Mac)
• Coaching system
• Voting system
• Training for the Demoman, Spy and Engineer
• Paint more integrated with lighting system
• Paint supported on DX8

Inactive changes

Class		Weapon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities	Active
Heavy	Beta	Natascha1	200	N/A	Base: 340 / sec. Crit: 720 / sec.	On Hit: 100% chance to slow target   Slowdown-on-hit effect falls off over distance   -25% damage done   30% slower spin-up time	Not Active (1/06/2011)
	Beta	Natascha Variant 1	200	N/A	Base: 312 / sec. Crit: 648 / sec.	On Hit: 100% chance to slow target   Slowdown-on-hit effect falls off over distance   -35% damage done	Not Active (1/06/2011)
	Beta	Natascha Variant 2	200	N/A	Base: 340 / sec. Crit: 720 / sec.	On Hit: 100% chance to slow target   Slowdown-on-hit effect falls off over distance   -25% damage   -20% (60) max health on wearer	Not Active (1/06/2011)
Engineer	Buildings	Buildings	N/A	N/A	N/A	Damage against buildings (sentries, etc) reduced 50%	Not Active (1/13/2011)
Medic	Stock	Medi Gun	N/A	N/A	N/A	ÜberCharge grants Medic and patient 8 seconds of guaranteed invulnerability.  Players being healed are immune to movement-impairing effects generated by hit-scan weapons.	Not Active (1/06/2011)
	Unlock	Kritzkrieg	N/A	N/A	N/A	ÜberCharge grants patient 8 seconds of guaranteed critical damage.  Players being healed are immune to movement-impairing effects generated by hit-scan weapons.  Has 25% faster charge rate.	Not Active (1/06/2011)
All Classes	Health	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	All Classes have double Health	Not Active (1/13/2011)
	Health	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	All Classes have 25% extra Health	Not Active (2/11/2011)

Patches

Main article: Patches (Beta)

Bugs

• An Engineer can prepare to build a Combat Mini-Sentry Gun, switch to either the Wrench, Southern Hospitality or Jag, and still deploy the Combat Mini-Sentry Gun without having the Gunslinger equipped. This does not work the other way around to build normal sentries with the Gunslinger equipped.
• Despite being synced with the changes in the January 10, 2011 Patch, the Kritzkrieg and other crit boost sounds occasionally continue to play after the effect ends.
• The Shogun Pack models, materials, and sounds were not included in the March 18, 2011 patch despite the weapons themselves being patched in. The weapons currently display the error model when equipped, and attempting to equip one from the main menu can crash the game.

See also

• Team Fortress 2 Closed Beta

External Links

• Official TF2 Beta Forum on Steam Users' Forums
• TF2 Beta Blog Post
• TF2 Beta Update history