History BrokenBase / TeamFortress2

* Random bullet spread on shotguns, of all things. The mechanic's detractors argue that it can unfairly sway the outcome of a fight by causing the player to miss a fair shot due to the RNG, similarly to receiving a random CriticalHit, and in some cases like the Short Stop, disabling random bullet spread can make the weapon way more useful. However, those in favor of random shotgun bloom argue that there are several other small factors such as ping that can determine whether many of your shots miss or hit, and that random spread are how shotguns are expected to behave in [=FPS=] games as close-range weapons. Like random crits, while Valve Casual has it enabled, many servers that see it as an unfair factor in fights opt to remove the mechanic.
* Nowadays, various players in general can be considered annoying as heck to have in a match, particularily when contracts came in, and "shoot people down all the time" players becoming hated for this. As a player, I know. I specifically (And for those wondering, I'm player "TacticalNuke455") get yelled at for this.

* Random bullet spread on shotguns, of all things. The mechanic's detractors argue that it can unfairly sway the outcome of a fight by causing the player to miss a fair shot due to the RNG, similarly to receiving a random CriticalHit, and in some cases like the Short Stop, disabling random bullet spread can make the weapon way more useful. However, those in favor of random shotgun bloom argue that there are several other small factors such as ping that can determine whether many of your shots miss or hit, and that random spread are how shotguns are expected to behave in [=FPS=] games as close-range weapons. Like random crits, while Valve Casual has it enabled, many servers that see it as an unfair factor in fights opt to remove the mechanic.

* Random bullet spread on shotguns, of all things. The mechanic's detractors argue that it can unfairly sway the outcome of a fight by causing the player to miss a fair shot due to the RNG, similarly to receiving a random CriticalHit. However, those in favor of random shotgun bloom argue that there are several other small factors such as ping that can determine whether many of your shots miss or hit, and that random spread are how shotguns are expected to behave in [=FPS=] games as close-range weapons. Like random crits, while Valve Casual has it enabled, many servers that see it as an unfair factor in fights opt to remove the mechanic.

* Starting with 15th October 2014, all Valve servers have the sv_pure variable set to 1. This forces most custom files added to the game to not work properly. The base has already broken into two groups: on one end, we have purists and StopHavingFunGuys who say it's going to be harder to cheat under those circumstances; on the other, casuals, modders, and pure haters who think that Valve just killed off the modding community, that it doesn't stop most cheating anyway, and that sv_pure 1 causes a lot of problems, such as bogging down the game even for players who don't use mods, and making the game [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGvbRowrfpU sound like this]] for those who use them. (Warning: [[HellIsThatNoise Turn your volume down.]]) Understandably, sv_pure 1 exists to stop Texture hacks/wall hacks and changing the sounds of weapons firing to make them quieter (generally speaking...there's too many blacklisted variables to list here). Annoying? Yes. Reasonable? Debatable.

* Writer Jay Pinkerton [[WordOfGay saying he sees Pauling as a lesbian]] upset a lot of people, but made a lot of others extremely happy. It started off with a fan informing Pinkerton he didn't want to see Pauling with anyone, because "[[PerverseSexualLust she's mine]]". Pinkerton responded that she was gay, and he [[BuryYourGays wasn't sure she'd survive the comic.]] Fans of Scout x Pauling (or any Pauling x Male Character pairing) were crushed, especially since the ship seemed to be leading somewhere after "Expiration Date". People who hated Scout x Pauling were reveling in the ShipSinking, and some were relieved to finally see WordOfGay on someone in the cast. There were also accusations of making her gay just to continue Scout's status as a ButtMonkey, and not because the writers genuinely believed she should be, and thus reducing her homosexuality to a joke. The fact that the other female characters either haven't really gotten along with Pauling or haven't interacted with her at all doesn't help.[[note]]Compounding this is that the only [[QueerEstablishingMoment moment]] so far that even ''implies'' here interest in women is when she catches sight of Zhanna on the battlefield and has to take a moment before she can [[EatingTheEyeCandy stop staring]], but even that is ambiguous, since it could also be interpreted as Pauling being [[StunnedSilence paralyzed in shock]] at the fact that both Zhanna and Soldier were [[ItMakesSenseInContext naked and covered in honey as they plowed their way through Gray Mann's forces]].[[/note]] Compounding this is the fact that the rest of the [=TF2=] team not only don't officially endorse Jay's confirmation, they [[ArmedWithCanon disagree among themselves]] on just what Pauling's orientation is, with responses ranging from openly asexual, supporting the Scout x Pauling ship, and more.

* Random bullet spread on shotguns, of all things.

* Random [[CriticalHit Critical Hits]] in Valve servers has been a topic of heated debate since release: Some players consider them to be a fun part of the chaotic nature of pubs that keeps the game unpredictable and prevent stalemates, and that they should only be disabled in competitive games (where consistent weapon behaviour, like fixed bullet spread, is required to be taken seriously). Others consider them a ScrappyMechanic that damages the weapon balance, takes away from the skill factor and fun of fights, and isn't necessary to prevent stalemates since Ubercharge exists. Another common argument on the topic is how random crits impact newer players: Those in favor of them feel they give new players a chance to get kills against veterans, keeping them from simply [[RageQuit giving up]]. Those that agrue against them state that they are more likely to just confuse new players rather than help, as they'll assume it's a viable way of dealing damage all the time, when that's not how the system works. They also argue that there's plenty of comparably skilled players for them to fight as they improve their skill anyway, and that crit chance increasing with damage done makes ''veterans'' more likely to benefit, not new players.

* Random [[CriticalHit Critical Hits]] in Valve servers has been a topic of heated debate since release. Some players consider them to be a fun part of the chaotic nature of pubs that keeps the game unpredictable and prevent stalemates, and that they should only be disabled in competitive games. Others consider them a ScrappyMechanic that damages weapon balance, takes away from the skill factor and fun of fights, and isn't necessary to prevent stalemates since Ubercharge exists. Another common argument about them is how they impact newer players: Those in favor feel they give new players a chance to get kills against veterans, keeping them from simply [[RageQuit giving up]]. Those against them argue that they are more likely to just confuse new players, that there's plenty of comparably skilled players for them to fight as they improve their skill, and that crit chance increasing with damage done makes veterans more likely to benefit anyway.

* Writer Jay Pinkerton [[WordOfGay saying he sees Pauling as a lesbian]] upset a lot of people, but made a lot of others extremely happy. It started off with a fan informing Pinkerton he didn't want to see Pauling with anyone, because "[[PerverseSexualLust she's mine]]". Pinkerton responded that she was gay, and he [[BuryYourGays wasn't sure she'd survive the comic.]] Fans of Scout x Pauling (or any Pauling x Male Character pairing) were crushed, especially since the ship seemed to be leading somewhere after "Expiration Date". People who hated Scout x Pauling were reveling in the ShipSinking, and some were relieved to finally see WordOfGay on someone in the cast. There were also accusations of making her gay just to continue Scout's status as a ButtMonkey, and not because the writers genuinely believed she should be, and thus reducing her homosexuality to a joke. The fact that the other female characters either haven't really gotten along with Pauling or haven't interacted with her at all doesn't help. Compounding this is the fact that the rest of the [=TF2=] team not only don't officially endorse Jay's confirmation, they [[ArmedWithCanon disagree among themselves]] on just what Pauling's orientation is, with responses ranging from openly asexual, supporting the Scout x Pauling ship, and more.

* On a completely different note, the game lore (as of TF Comics #5). Some people enjoy it being a complete CrazyAwesome clusterfuck, some preferred when the story was an AffectionateParody of Franchise/JamesBond and other spy dramas.

** Was the on-release Dragon's Fury balanced? People who say no point out how this weapon allows Pyros to melt down large groups of enemies with its rapid shot speed and terrifying damage per hit, all achieved mostly by holding down [=M1=] with no reload on this weapon. Others counter that this takes skill to do because of the single-shot twitch aiming (not unlike a Scout), and that the high damage reward is necessary for the drawbacks of the weapon[[note]]Though it requires aim of similar quality to what Scout gameplay requires, it's not usable whatsoever outside close range, the ineffectiveness at mid-to-long range is further compounded by Pyro's lack of tools to get into effective range, and this weapon arguably has the worst airblast of all Flame throwers (discounting the Phlog's lack of one, the fact that it can only airblast less than half as often as stock ultimately kills the weapon's use to reflect projectile spam and lowers Pyro's survivability all around)[[/note]].

** Was the on-release Dragon's Fury balanced? People who say no point out how this weapon allows Pyros to melt down large groups of enemies with its rapid shot speed and terrifying damage per hit, all achieved mostly by holding down [=M1=] with no reload on this weapon. Others counter that this takes skill to do because of the single-shot twitch aiming (not unlike a Scout), and that the high damage reward is necessary for the drawbacks of the weapon[[note]]Though it requires aim of similar quality to what Scout gameplay requires, it's not usable whatsoever outside close range, the ineffectiveness at mid-to-long range is further compounded by Pyro's lack of tools to get into effective range, and this weapon arguably has the worst airblast of all Flamethrowers (discounting the Phlog's lack of one, the fact that it can only airblast less than half as often as stock ultimately kills the weapon's use to reflect projectile spam and lowers Pyro's survivability all around)[[/note]].

** Was the on-release Dragon's Fury balanced? People who say no point out how this weapon allows Pyros to melt down large groups of enemies with its rapid shot speed and terrifying damage per hit, all achieved mostly by holding down [=M1=] with no reload on this weapon. Others counter that this takes skill to do because of the single-shot twitch aiming (not unlike a Scout), and that the high damage reward is necessary for the drawbacks of the weapon[[note]]Though it requires aim of similar quality to what Scout gameplay requires, it's not usable whatsoever outside close range, the ineffectiveness at mid-to-long range is further compounded by Pyro's lack of tools to get into effective range, and this weapon arguably has the worst airblast of all Flame throwers (discounting the Phlog's lack of one, the fact that it can only airblast less than half as often as stock ultimately kills the weapon's use to reflect projectile spam and lowers Pyro's survivability all around)[[/note]].

** Was the on-release Dragon's Fury balanced? People who say no point out how this weapon allows Pyros to melt down large groups of enemies with it's rapid shot speed and terrifying damage per hit, all achieved mostly by holding down [=M1=] with no reload on this weapon. Others counter that this takes skill to do because of the single-shot twitch aiming (not unlike a Scout), and that the high damage reward is necessary for the drawbacks of the weapon[[note]]Though it requires aim of similar quality to what Scout gameplay requires, it's not usable whatsoever outside close range, the ineffectiveness at mid-to-long range is further compounded by Pyro's lack of tools to get into effective range, and this weapon arguably has the worst airblast of all Flame throwers (discounting the Phlog's lack of one, the fact that it can only airblast less than half as often as stock ultimately kills the weapon's use to reflect projectile spam and lowers Pyro's survivability all around)[[/note]].

** In fact, such sentiment tends to extend to ''all'' CaptureTheFlag maps, since stalemates are extremely common and matches tend to go on for hours at a time, while teaching newer players to default to the "negative" parts of their class and generally teach bad skills for literally any other game mode.[[note]]Snipers always camping the battlements, Engineers sitting around way back in the intel room instead of pushing the front lines forward for their team, Scouts [[LeeroyJenkins charging into the armies of Snipers and Sentries]] and dying every five seconds... The list goes on.[[/note]] Again, however, because of the low skill ceiling [=CtF=] maps usually have and how rounds go on forever allow for a lot of RDM, it's easily the most popular game mode in ''[=TF2=]'' for casuals.

* Writer Jay Pinkerton [[WordOfGay saying he sees Pauling as a lesbian]] upset a lot of people, but made a lot of others extremely happy. It started off with a fan informing Pinkerton he didn't want to see Pauling with anyone, because "[[PerverseSexualLust she's mine]]". Pinkerton responded that she was gay, and he [[BuryYourGays wasn't sure she'd survive the comic.]] Fans of Scout x Pauling (or any Pauling x Male Character pairing) were crushed, especially since the ship seemed to be leading somewhere after "Expiration Date". People who hated Scout x Pauling were reveling in the ShipSinking, and some were relieved to finally see WordOfGay on someone in the cast. There were also accusations of making her gay just to continue Scout's status as a ButtMonkey, and not because the writers genuinely believed the cast needed a gay character, and thus reducing her homosexuality to a joke. The fact that none of the female characters have really gotten along with Pauling (or haven't interacted with her at all) doesn't help either. Compounding this is the fact that the rest of the [=TF2=] team not only don't officially endorse Jay's confirmation, they [[ArmedWithCanon disagree among themselves]] on just what Pauling's orientation is, with responses ranging from openly asexual, supporting the Scout x Pauling ship, and more.

* Random [[CriticalHit Critical Hits]] in Valve servers has been a topic of heated debate since release. Some players consider them to be a fun part of the chaotic nature of pubs that keeps the game unpredictable and prevent stalemates, and that they should only be disabled in competitive games. Others consider them a ScrappyMechanic that damages weapon balance, takes away from the skill factor and fun of fights, and isn't necessary to prevent stalemates since Ubercharge exists. Another common argument about them is how they impact newer players: Those in favor feel they give new players a chance to get kills against veterans, keeping them from simply [[RageQuit giving up]]. Those against them argue that they are more likely to just confuse new players, that there's plenty of comparably skilled players for them to fight as they improve their skill, and that crit chance increasing with damage done makes veterans more likely to benefit anyway.
* Wutville, a Christmas-themed Payload map added for Smissmas 2020, has proved to receive a very divisive reaction from players. Some players enjoy this map for it's Christmas feel and art style (the map is based off Whoville, the town from ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'') and unique, very open layout. However, others hate it for a variety of reasons, including its size [[note]]In particular, the map's size and long, open stretches make it a haven for Snipers and sticky-jumping Demomen)[[/note]], poorly-placed spawn areas (which, because of this, makes it ''very'' easy for either team to spawn-camp the other), unusually high resource demand as the result of rendering issues (which causes many computers' FPS to tank), and multiple ways to actually get ''outside'' the map, most infamously resulting in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAhYj3WAai4&disable_polymer=1&ab_channel=Delfy Engineers being able to build sentries under the map]].