I want to ask the community about this because you guys are pretty impartial.

I recently reinstalled TF2 after not playing it for months. I used to be a pretty decent soldier or heavy, and an excellent sniper. Since playing, I can't play anymore. I get killed almost instantly by constant crits and spies. Oh the spies. Instant backstab, can't hear them, they disguise on kill, probably the most OP class in the entire game at the moment. Meanwhile, as a sniper, I get sniped BY SPIES. Sniper has shit upgrades compared to every other class. Fine, I'll play soldier. Oops, spies killed me again. Oh look, killed by crits from demo/soldier. Oh look, one shotted from a pretty good distance by a SCOUT.

Seriously, I can't find anymore fun in this game. Is it just me or have other people felt like this game has been getting unbalanced? And don't even get me started on people buying the best gear for their classes.

I'm sorry but it's just you.

Soldiers pretty much rule the map I play on. And there's no such thing as 'buying the best gear for your class'. There's stuff you'd like to use but everyone uses what they like, not 'the best stuff'. None of it makes *that* much of a difference.

Try and actually play a scout and see how you fare.

Map I talk about is 2forts. good luck.

One of the new spy sets is supposed to reduce their sounds to 25% of normal, however it tends to make the dead ringer completely silent.

Unsure if Valve ever fixed that while rolling in their money.

I don't think it's unbalanced. There are other problems with the game though that make much less fun than it used to be. I haven't played TF2 myself for more than three months (I've been playing Left 4 Dead 2, mostly), but when and if I return I'll probably only play on vanilla servers. :(

Scout is my least played class for a reason. I despise it, and I don't do well at it. I'm not that much of a twitch gamer. Oh, and pyros that are able to hit me with fire, airblast me, then hit me with axtinguisher for a instant kill? Seriously, it's like a mix of street fighter and wow.

I just really can't enjoy it so I've stopped playing, and likely won't return unless there's a serious change that entices me back. I quit right before they opened the store, and really only installed it because I quit wow and wanted a fun multiplayer game to play, and I thought TF2 would be no different than before.

Edit: Oh, and I avoid 2fort. I played it constantly in Quake TF and TFC. Gets REALLY boring after this many years.

I've been playing this type of map since Facing Worlds in the first UT so I'm not going to agree with you there either :)

Might want to keep an eye on the beta though, apparently they're playing with upping the hitpoints in there.

That said, the game is plenty of fun still imo. Just might not be your cup of tea anymore.

That's pretty much it, you die a lot, either way.

I can get the run button feeling but speed is simply dependant on your class. If you want to run, use a scout. If you don' t mind going hella slow you use a heavy :)

The set description says "reduced decloak sound volume". To use the set you have to carry a somewhat underpowered revolver and a knife that removes your ability to disguise at will. Needless to say, very few people consider it worth trying.

The general consensus on the official forums has long been that the spy is the second weakest class in the game due to spy-checking tools introduced to other classes (jarate, mad milk, weapons with bleeding effects) and the improving overall skill level of the player base. Hard to stab a guy in the back when they're constantly turning around to check for danger.

Ah, I see, I always use the big bald chaingunner.

This is one reason i left TF2 . I hate the spy class .

I call bullshit on the spy being the 2nd weakest. Most games I've played the last 2 weeks a spy has been leading the boards. Checking behind yourself is fine unless you are really overloaded with trying to survive from the front, or assist the team. Jarate is a joke. It always has been. The best time to use it is when you have a group of enemies within range and you just chuck it at them, allowing your team to blow the living crap out of them. It only works on spies if you can see them or just get lucky on a throw. The piss sniper rifle is great in theory, but most snipers hang back a bit, so the odds of your team killing that guy you just drenched can be low. The dagger is nice tho. Until you meet a pyro :(

If you mean weakest in terms of how much damage they can take, yes. But then factor into account the dead ringer.

Play a pyro :)

And @above, it really depends on the map. On 2Forts (like it or not), a spy is rarely on top of the leaderboards.

THIS.

I simply get into a map, if there are too many spies, I just go nuts as a pyro and rack up the kills, then when they give up and change class, snap over to engineer and plant turrets in strategic positions and own them. Before I moved (still waiting to get net!!!!!!!! Three fucking months) I was experimenting with the soldier... Not too bad indeed.

I hate being a spy and dislike scout. If I just want to fuck shit up I go heavy. If I want lots of kills quick, I simply sus out who IS a good player then go medic and back them up so I leech the kills off them and then run off when they die etc. So good.

Hm. I rarely see spies dominating scoreboards on most maps. Jarate is not a joke - it completely nullifies the spy's invisibility and is specifically designed to counter the Dead Ringer. And even if you can't catch the escaping spy, he's got to find a safe place to decloak (as noted above, the decloak-silencing set bonus is pretty awkward to use), recharge his invisibility and try again. That takes quite a bit of time and now you know he's coming.

For me most spies equal free kills even when I'm playing as heavy or sniper, which are supposed to be easy to backstab.