Mann vs. Machine

“

Gray Mann has built an unstoppable automaton army with a single purpose: to destroy all things Mann Co. Luckily for you, the majority of this robot legion is equipped with basic weaponry that could never level an entire building. Unluckily, they also have access to giant bombs, which they’d drag through hell if it meant dropping one in a Mann Co. bombhole. And it’s up to you to stop them. — Mann vs. Machine publicity blurb

”

Mann vs. Machine is a co-op game mode released in the update of the same name. In Mann vs. Machine, a team of six players attempts to prevent a horde of robots from carrying a bomb to their base. As well as the AI-controlled enemies and co-op gameplay, another distinguishing feature of the game mode is the ability for players to purchase upgrades for their weapons using in-game currency, all purchased upgrades will last for the duration of the game.

Mechanics

File:MvM Upgrade UI.jpg

A sample weapon upgrade menu for the Grenade Launcher

The team is attacked by a horde of AI-controlled robots, and must try to prevent the robots from successfully delivering a bomb to the players' base (as in Payload). Each robot destroyed provides the players with money (when one player collects a money pile, everyone benefits and earns some money). Between waves of robots, the players have the chance to upgrade their weapons at an Upgrade Store using this money. They may also upgrade abilities for their current class, the upgraded abilities are kept, even while switching to a different class, but the purchased abilities are only available for the class that they were purchased for.

For a fee, the Upgrade Store can also fill a player's Canteen with a buff—such as personal ÜberCharge, a five-second critical hit boost, or ammunition refill—or an ability such as rapid building upgrades for Engineers or the ability to teleport back to the spawn point. All of these Canteens each provide three uses.

Most of the robot horde is made up of plain robotic versions of the nine playable classes, with their respective basic weapons equipped. However, there are also a number of special robots with unique abilities.

The bomb-carrying robot receives buffs, which increase over time. These buffs are divided into three stages, which stack together:

Stages	Upgrades
First stage	Defensive buff, shared with all nearby robots
Second stage	Health regeneration
Final stage	Full crits all the time

Abilities and Upgrades

Main article: Mann vs. Machine Upgrades

Scout	Upgraded Mad Milk slows affected enemies. All Scouts have the following innate skills: Extra-large cash collection radius. Health boosts from collected cash. Instant respawns.
Soldier	Upgraded Buff Banner can empower entire team. Upgraded Rocket Launcher to increase damage, firing speed, reload speed and projectile speed.
Pyro	Upgraded airblast pushes targets further. Use airblasts to separate Medic robots from their targets and push bomb-carrying robots into mineshafts. Upgraded Flare Gun becomes a lethal long range weapon.
Demoman	Use a Critical Hit Boost canteen to lay deadly sticky traps. Use damage-upgraded Sticky Bomb clusters to instantly destroy all but the strongest targets.
Heavy	Upgraded rounds pass through multiple targets. Upgraded Minigun can shoot down projectiles. Upgraded Heavy can generate rage, causing rounds to knock back enemies.
Engineer	Upgraded Engineer can build a second, disposable Mini-Sentry. Use a Critical Hit Boost canteen to temporarily boost Sentry Gun to three times its firing speed. Remember: The Wrangler excels against long-range targets.
Medic	Upgraded Medi Gun or Kritzkrieg boosts overheal amount and duration. Upgraded Medic can increase ÜberCharge build rate and lengthen deploy duration. Upgraded Medic can share his Canteen effects with heal target.
Sniper	Upgraded Jarate slows affected enemies. Upgraded Sniper Rifle rounds and Huntsman arrows pass through multiple targets. Combine Jarate and bleed effect on rounds and arrows to take down larger enemies. Upgraded Sniper Rifle and Huntsman cause explosive headshots.
Spy	Upgraded Sapper can disable groups of regular robots and slow Giants. Spies' disguises fool all robot enemies; robots may detect a nearby backstab, and will always detect a Spy who is on fire. Upgraded Knife can penetrate armor, allowing increasing effectiveness against Giants.

Gameplay

For the sake of identification, all human players will be dressed in RED and will be identified as team DEFENDERS while all robots will have BLU colors in their visual effects and in the kill feed.

Before each round begins, you will be given a graphic indication of the impending onslaught. Primary targets will have numbers underneath them and will be classified by their class or (in the case of special robots, their specialty). Red groups indicate tanks or giant robots. Support targets will be noted as such and will be focused on attacking the players rather than carrying the bomb.

When at least two players enter an MvM server, the option is enabled to begin play. To do this, players must acknowledge they are ready by pressing F4. Once one player says they are ready, a countdown clock will begin. As more players acknowledge they are ready, the clock will be reduced. If all players acknowledge they are ready, the round is committed and the clock is reduced to ten seconds. Once the countdown ends, the robots will begin their approach to the field. Robots cannot be damaged until they jump down into the players' field, but they cannot begin attacking you until then, either.

A strength gauge will appear to note the remaining forces of the wave. Only primary targets count towards this progress. As they are destroyed, the gauge will empty. Once it is completely empty, the wave is defeated. After each successful wave, you will be evaluated based on how aggressively you collected money. If you collect all the piles, you will earn a $100 bonus. Once you complete the mission, you will be given a final evaluation and the server will load the next Mann vs. Machine map.

Maps

Name	Picture	File name
Coal Town		mvm_coaltown
Decoy		mvm_decoy
Mannworks		mvm_mannworks

Bugs

• Occasionally, the current game may keep playing after the bomb has been detonated, without starting a new round.
• Sometimes a menu such as team, class, or upgrade choice will freeze on screen, forcing you to refresh the HUD.
• The players may automatically lose as soon as the bomb arrives, however the mercenaries can continue to fight and win the round whilst all the robots crowd around the bomb without picking it up.

Trivia

• Two grenade weapons cut from the game, the Bear Trap and the Frag Grenade, can be seen in the Upgrade Store.