Dr. Scootlove, or how I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sandman
Okay, I know it’s not wise to open up old wounds, but bear with me here.
As you might’ve guessed, the Sandman was probably the only unlock which was, more or less, universally slammed – flames hotter than a sheep-shearer’s armpit rising. You could practically feel your computer toasting away by just reading the steam forums from the amount of raw, testosterone fuelled, pre-teen rage. But the recent(ish) update to TF2 has brought on some much needed changes to the weapon, which I hope can let everyone relax a little and maybe even try out the weapon.
Why the Sandman is probably the best it can be
Okay, I’m not going to patronise with you by making a list of all the changes made; nor am I going to try to force you to think that the Sandman has become the best unlock concieved. The basic idea of the Sandman is that it can stun – if you remove that, then it’s not the Sandman. So, under the circumstances, I do think the weapon is probably as balanced as it can be made without removing it altogther. Why not remove it? Well, why not remove the Demoman? How about the Pyro, while we’re at it? Despite the weapon’s largely negative reception, people still use the Sandman and once something has been released, it’s just not right to remove it altogther.
Death
The weapon is now made so that one direct hit from a rocket, a grenade, a sticky, a half charged sniper shot or an arrow can kill you instantly. This means Scouts will die even more often than they did before. This makes the Sandman a somewhat more skilled weapon than previously – Scouts will need to dodge more and not be as careless. Getting up close to a Soldier for a point blank shot can be even more risky. Even if you stun an enemy, but don’t finish them off in time… If you’re standing still, chances are you’ll get a rocket in your face and you’ll be dead! Heavies can recover much more easily with their minigun still spinning away. A Heavy can stack up 540 damage in a single second. If you don’t act fast, you’ll be dead!
The Sandman no longer rewards those who do not bother with aiming or dodging (two pretty major attributes Scouts should have) to such a great extent. Against a Sandman Scout, you can kill them much more easily before they may even get a chance to use the stun on you.
Using it as a Strategic Weapon
I think it’s become sort of drilled into people’s minds that the Sandman will get you killed, guaranteed. This doesn’t have to be the case – the Sandman can be pretty ineffective in groups, where Medics and other teammates make it harder for the Scout to get to his target. Even in a 1v1 situation, as stated above, it’s easier to recover or remove the threat before the stun. The Sandman can be used to stop Engineers from tanking. It can be used to stop a Demoman from planting stickings, or Medics from healing a seemingly unstoppable Heavy. In some ways, the Sandman has made it so that you don’t have to kill someone who’s threatening your team. Perhaps stunning that Demoman planting stickies on the CP will give you an opportunity to capture the point and win the game! Perhaps stopping that Engineer from tanking can help get rid of a sentry nest?
Lastly, just have fun!
Let’s face it. Why play TF2 if all it does is get you angry? Just enjoy your time playing. So what if you die from a stunball? Just shrug it off, get back in there on the respawn and… wait a minute.
…Have fun!
Pyrit on August 30th 2009 in community, game classes, scout, tactics, team fortress 2
Stumble it!
himmelstoss responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 11:37 am #
I must confess, I still feel violated when I get hit by a stunball, but playing sandman scout now is quite a lot harder than it used to be, because of the 95 health.
Good article.
Kraftwerk responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 11:37 am #
THANK YOU FOR GIVING THE SANDMAN SOME LOVE! :p
clubtheseals responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 12:06 pm #
I refused to use the sandman before the patch for one reason: the removal of jumping. While some scouts may not have needed it, I certainly made the most of it, and the sandman hampered that. Now that it has double jump back, I can make the most of my dodging skills and get stuns. Extremely well done. Bravo Pyrit, bravo.
Snipers_get_the_head responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 12:34 pm #
clubtheseals, couldn’t you have just used the FaN to double jump? That’s what i did.
I honestly like the sandman a lot better before, because scout is my favourite class. I hate how you can’t stop ubers anymore
However, it has challenged me to dodge more, and I welcome the double jump back (which I couldn’t do if my FaN was out of ammo).
It was stronger before, but even now, I’ll take it over the regular bat.
Snipers_get_the_head responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 12:35 pm #
Oh, and decent article pyrit. Next time make a longer one though
Jackal responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 12:37 pm #
Regardless of what anyone says, if you use the sandman as a scout you are making the game worse. I’d rather fight a team of the “worst” W+M1 pyros as a spy by myself than a team with a single sandman scout. The only thing worse than being stunned because some random scout launched a ball into a group, is being a Heavy and being stunned. They should just get rid of the stun mechanic all together and replace it with some sort of rooting. Sure you couldn’t be able to move but at least you could fight back.
n00bie51 responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 1:05 pm #
Blah I could type up like five paragraphs sharing my opinions and arguing about something but I’m going to give my fingers a rest before I get CTS and play Gears of War 2 instead.
Super Lok responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 2:20 pm #
Dr. Strangelove is an awesome movie^_^
Good article Pyrit
Daggity responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 2:26 pm #
The only vindication the Sandman has is that it makes the Scout easier to kill. /fin
Josh responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 2:56 pm #
I didn’t sure the sandman for the exact same reason as clubtheseals. I never played Scout cos I didn’t like using the class. Now, I’ve been able to top leaderboards playing with Sandman and the other regular weapons, and am loving it =D
duckyinc responded on 30 Aug 2009 at 8:05 pm #
The uses for the sandman as a strategic weapon is really minor, as far as I know balls or anything for that matter don’t go through sentries. Then why would you want to stun a medic when you can stun the heavy and kill the medic instead?! And often when you can stun a demoman it either means you ARE on this hidden stickies or that you are behind him which is an easy kill anyway.
People hate bonk because when you are spear heading an offence and are about to charge into a group of baby engineers and snipers you get bonked and can enjoy watching that red dot on your head grow larger…
NotPigeon responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 12:45 am #
I can never accept the Sandman.
The only way to ‘fix’ it is to lump insane amounts of nerfs on it so that nobody will use it.
Maybe I’m biased, but the Sandman is fundamentally a bad idea. Being stunned is no fun. Standing still, helpless, while your Sentry that you spent the last minute building is no fun. Being stuck in the middle of a group, waiting for a stun to wear off so you can go back to playing the goddamn game is no fun. Getting hit once by a Scout and then watching yourself get killed is no fun.
I know this is just an opinion, but for me using the Sandman is no fun either. I like playing Scout because I know that, for every kill I get, I did something right. I chose my targets right, I aimed well, I flanked, whatever. I bested my opponent. The Sandman doesn’t feel like that. It’s like turning off the AI in Half-Life: sure, you won, but there was no challenge. Maybe some people like that, but I don’t.
I feel the same way about Snipers who stand by a Sentry with the Razorback on. There’s little to no real risk or challenge, it’s just point-and-click. Granted, the Sandman’s not as easy to use, but it’s the same concept: Point at man, click, win.
HelisPoe responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 1:56 am #
That same argument can be applied to the FaN.
(Don’t get me started on that f**king gun).
But now is neither the place nor the time so…..
Sandman is not OP. It’s perfectly balanced now, sure it’s annoying to hit by it in a 1v1 situation, but most of the time you WILL have teammates to back you up.
Not to mention fighting against a Scout that doesn’t have the Sandman is really lopsided. That -30 HP makes a huge difference in Scout v Scout matches. It would take two hits for you to kill him, but it only requires one for him to kill you.
So… balanced. At least in my opinion. I’m sure there are people out there who still hate the Sandman. I used to, until this nerf. Now I don’t feel bad using it. Why? Because one shotgun/explosive shot can kill me!
Spydra responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 3:50 am #
This is true, and it has become much more fun. Scout just wasn’t scout without hit second jump. The Scout’s gear has really shaped up since the original scout update. That uniform pistol speed actually made the energy drink a good option. Sometimes.
Sinister Minister responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 5:34 am #
@Jackal: I’m sorry, but no. If anyone’s making the game “worse” it’d be you, slamming anyone who uses the weapon just because you don’t like it. Sorry, but you’ll just have to deal with standing still for a few seconds every so often.
Chucrute responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 9:28 am #
“A Heavy can stack up 540 damage in a single second.”
It looks good on paper. But on practical use……..
Regarding the article, Sandman is hard as hell to aim, insane ‘reload’ time and makes scout weaker, it’s balanced after all.
GeneralGoose responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 12:29 pm #
Hmm?
What is this Sandman? Never heard of it. Sounds meh though.
Did I write that article? I have no recollection of doing so.
*when noone is looking, runs away*
Sarda responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 1:31 pm #
See, even with an article spelling it out for them you still get all the idiots who can’t play with change. I say no further articles about the sandman should be approved, because all it does is give those people who are jealous because they don’t have it another chance to show their inability to think
hello_kitty responded on 31 Aug 2009 at 11:07 pm #
rocket? kills me. sticky? kills me. pipe? kills me. not just stun me, and i’ll standing around like a bloody idiot, waiting for please someone kill me. if somebody want to kill me, just do it. not stun…
melkor responded on 01 Sep 2009 at 8:44 am #
I totally agree with the new Sandman. it’s great and you have to hurry even more with less health
jrhather responded on 02 Sep 2009 at 3:43 am #
the best thing about the way the sandman handles now is the option of using the bat OR the ball, unlike before when it was always ball first then bat swings. this allows you to time the stun.
as for reload times…. c’mon man…just pick up the ball. May not be viable in all situations, but i’m very often in a situation where i can grab the ball for a quick reload.
i love the sandman…and yes i still HATE getting pegged by it, nothing like standing there like a dope…but it’s still a great tactical weapon.
Alphacron responded on 06 Sep 2009 at 2:51 am #
And this is why i love the airblast. Whatever feelings I have toward the sandman (i do feel it is well balanced now) there is no greater feeling than watching that scout swagger up to you, launch a ball and half a second later gets to sit there and watch me light him on fire axtinguish him, get clear cutter (6 axe kills) and taunt over his body, all while he was stunned. (you’d actually be surprised how predictable the sandman is. If you see the scout looking at you for more than he should be with the bat out, DODGE.)
DM responded on 06 Oct 2009 at 5:49 am #
the best thing about the way the sandman handles now is the option of using the bat OR the ball, unlike before when it was always ball first then bat swings. this allows you to time the stun.
as for reload times…. c’mon man…just pick up the ball. May not be viable in all situations, but i’m very often in a situation where i can grab the ball for a quick reload.
i love the sandman…and yes i still HATE getting pegged by it, nothing like standing there like a dope…but it’s still a great tactical weapon.