14 DAY TRIAL // Team Fortress 2 is joining the ranks of video games packing holiday content, with a slew of thematic offerings available for its players.
Fans of class-based multiplayer action will get some stocking stuffers, new festive weapons, a ton of cosmetic items, and a brand new beta game mode, titled Mannpower.
This year's festive update will introduce a yet unpolished game mode, in order for the team to get playtest feedback from everyone involved with Team Fortress 2 and make sure that everything will be going smoothly moving forward.
The new mode is a capture the flag-style affair, based on grappling hook action, and features nine different types of powerups. For the time being, the new game mode is playable in edited versions of Ctf_foundry and Ctf_forge, and the team will be keeping an eye on things, constantly modifying the rules as balance dictates.
Mannpower comes with a few alterations to the base game rules, including disabling critical hits. In addition to this, teams will not be able to capture the enemy flag while their own flag is captured, but touching the flag while away from your base will instantly return it home.
Probably the most exciting thing about Mannpower is the ability for all classes to make use of a grappling hook, which can be equipped and used by switching to slot 6 and pressing fire.
As soon as the hook hits something, it will start reeling you in, and if you want to detach before reaching the final destination, you can simply release the fire button.
A game mode based on powerups
For the time being, the development team at Valve has implemented nine different powerups, but the official announcement on the Team Fortress blog notes that they are subject to change as the mode evolves.
Strength deals double damage with all weapons and will provide immunity from distance damage fall-off.
Resistance reduces incoming damage by 50 percent and provides immunity to critical hit damage multiplier.
Vampire gives you life steal, returning all damage you deal as health, while also providing a 25 percent damage resistance buff and increasing your maximum health points by 40 percent.
Haste increases movement speed by 30 percent, doubles the weapon firing and reloading rate, and also doubles magazine size and maximum ammo count.
Regeneration makes health, ammo and metal regenerate, with the rate being inversely proportional to your current maximum health.
Precision increases accuracy by greatly reducing bullet spread, makes rockets and grenades travel 250 percent faster, and provides distance damage fall-off immunity.
Agility increases movement speed by 50 percent, increases jump height by 80 percent, makes weapon switching instantaneous and boosts grappling speed.
Critical Hit bestows full crit power for 30 seconds, and the powerup will respawn in the same place after 60 seconds.
Trying out the Mannpower mode is as simple as clicking on Play Multiplayer, enabling the Play Beta Maps checkbox, and choosing the mode.
