Item drop system

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The item drop system is the system where players can obtain weapons, hats, or miscellaneous items through playtime and achievement progress in Team Fortress 2. It was first introduced with the Sniper vs. Spy Update.

History

Former system

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.

When first released, item drops would only occur if players were connected to the Steam Community. If a player was not signed into his or her friends list, or if Valve was performing maintenance on the Steam Community, the player would not receive item drops during that time. Valve changed this system at a later date, and item drops now occur for those who are not signed into the Steam Community.

Current system

On April 20, 2010, the item drop system was changed.^[1] 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 any of the unused time will rollover to the following week.

The actual weekly item cap appears to be ~6 each week with a daily drop cap of ~8.^[2] The system resets each player's item drop count around each Thursday, depending on your time zone.

Achievement Milestones

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 milestones 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.

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 also appeared in the Engineer update.

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.

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 cheating.^[3]

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. However, given that Valve has stated that the removal of idling programs was down to the use of third-party programs themselves, it is unlikely that any action will be taken.

Backpack

File:Backpack.jpg

The backpack screen showing the spots where items are stored.

The backpack is where dropped items are stored, and can be used by players to equip items for play in the Loadout menu. The backpack has a limited capacity of 100 slots, so it may be necessary to destroy or craft duplicates in order to make room for new weapons or items.