I know some people that open them by the truck loads.

You guys do know that you can find keys, too?

...
/crowbar

Just trade it with noobs on servers. IT'S EASY!

My only concern is of community degradation and of art scheme downturn. Valve should allow a mode that disables hats and misc items. But we all know that wont happen.

Heh crates. I don't play TF2 so much anymore, but the Poker Night items got me playing a little here and there. Don't have that many boxes yet, but when I have like then, I'll try trading them. Probably end up just deleting them and THEN they'll announce being able to use them for crafting or someth

[url=#user_comment_48369]@Francis[/url]: You know, for once I agree with ya. I can't even remember the last time I killed a non-infected... ... Actually, forget about that last part.

this comic sux read a real comix http://axecop.com/index.php/acepisodes/read/episode_1/ ololololololololololol hax rofl lmao

Trade them to noobs for anything else.

For everyone not enjoying the game as much as they used to:
When you've played something for a great length of time, you tend to get sick of it. Chances are the variety introduced by the free updates kept you interested for a bit longer than if you had been stuck playing vanilla for this whole time

For most classes, straight vanilla loadout is the most effective, while for the others unlocks don't give any gamebreaking advantages (except maybe degreaser). Not being able to go demoknight is not the crippling disadvantage that Former TF2 Addict makes it out to be.

Crates don't interfere with regular item drops, so when you trade them for scrap it's essentially something for nothing (like every other drop, derp).
If unusual hats gave bonuses, then maybe the pay2win argument could be considered something other than utter tripe. Comparing this to MW2 is stupid.

Pills here!

Child.... Stop that shit.

Franc-

...ah, fuck it. Gettin' to old for all this horseshit.

[url=#user_comment_48360]@Nick[/url]: Haha, sorry 'bout that. Damn head's actin' up again. Here's an auto-shotgun. We oughta' just kill all these copies. Make things simple that way.

@Frank:

What? Shotgun? Nah, don't got one. But I got a buncha' locked crates. Been using this weird teleport thingamajig I found last week to teleport 'em somewhere else.

[url=#user_comment_48352]@SJTNK[/url]: I think you're the one who's mistaken here.

Hey! That guy SJTNK looks just like me!

[url=#user_comment_48320]@Nick[/url]: WHAT THE- [url=#user_comment_48345] @Francis[/url]: Hey, real grease ball, gimme your shotgun for a sec.

CHAPTER 1: WHAT IT MEANS

[url=#user_comment_48346]@Bob[/url]: I think you've mistaken me for someone who gives a fuck.

Thankfully, buying stuff is optional. Players who do buy an arsenal of weapons to start the game off... well, money rarely buys skill.

Seeing people who fall flat on their ass because they though they were going ahead of the curve by buying is hilarious. I'm going to Hell. :D

Crate drops are coming to a stop soon though. Apparently some players claim that Series 1 and 2 are no longer item drops. Hopefully, when every series is went through, they'll be no more crate drops. If that's not the case though, then I'll find someone wealther than me to trade it to.

*sets crates in pile, preps Backburner, enjoys nice long barbeque*

[url=#user_comment_48343]@Dave[/url]: Don't say that, because that only raises concern.

[url=#user_comment_48333]@Francis[/url]: You again, man? Your grammar freaking stinks! Come back when you can actually copy me worth a crap, and stop trying to give me a bad name! By the way, still beatin' ya! *thumbs up*

I am a complete sucker for the Key initiative. Every time I get a crate I think, "Eh, it's only $2." Valve knows how gullible I am!

[url=#user_comment_48340]@SJTNK[/url]: It's funny - you're the exact reason I'm not enjoying TF2 as much as I used to.

WTF this thing is so true im not sure how much ive deleted

@Former TF2 Addict: Also your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries! Now go away, or I will taunt you a second time!

@Former TF2 Addict: If your buddies stopped playing this game, do the rest of us a favor and join them. We don't need you crying like a baby with an opinion that no one wants to hear. I think that about covers it.

Off to visit your mother!

@Former TF2 Addict: Then you're ungrateful asshole. Go play some totally dead game like TFC and we'll see if you continue to vomit that bullshit.

@Former TF2 Addict: Bullshit. Skill wins out over loadout choice. Go hang around on Smashboards if you want to pedal that noise.

Personally, I think the game's better now than before. We now have an option to play complete fuckfest mode (Which is fun on occasion) or vanilla mode on certain servers (Which is also fun on occasion)

Remember kids, if you have more choices, it's always better.

Grabbin' Pills

[url=#user_comment_48245]@francis[/url] thats not me

"Because I assure you no one would be playing it now if Valve had done it that way."

Merely stating something to be true does not make you correct. I personally know a number of people have simply stopped playing because they're disgusted at the state of TF2. So your generalisations mean nothing.

"But would you rather have the game never been updated?"

Over the current situation? Yes, I would. Happily, however, that did not have to be the case. Things were progressing along quite comfortably with the class updates which were, by and large, well thought out and nicely balanced.

[url=#user_comment_48297]@SJTNK[/url]: "You don't need drops or unlocks to compete." Wrong. Someone with every weapon has a material advantage over someone without them due to having a wider selection of possibilities. Which is important to the tactical aspect of TF2.

[url=#user_comment_48320]@Nick[/url]: Didn't you get your frying pans from Willamette/vegas shopping malls?

GODDAMN YOU TEAM FORTRESS 2. YOU STOLE OUT FRYING PANS. ASSCLOWNS.

@Hi and Bye
Thing is if people don't express their distaste for things and the direction they are going now. Then when people at large finally do later those seemingly small things will have snowballed into something much larger and more immovable. Then its too late and we are all screwed.

Now that was merely a free limited reskin, but the way I see it, that was just another test by Valve. Whether anything will come of it, who can say. But even before hats, there were code snippets about "uncommon weapons" and "upgradeable weapons," which is worrisome to me.

@Hi and Bye: While I do have faith that Valve won't do anything like that just yet, you have to put things into perspective...

Valve likes testing their community, we know this. The Halloween update provided us with means to upgrade a weapon by combining it with something "rare."

[url=#user_comment_48308]@BOB[/url] I'll grant you for the community part, the constant trading demands and marketing going on in TF2 is ridiculous, but I blame that more on the community itself than Valve. And I doubt my prophecy would come true, because their huge fan base would abandon them me including. They'd just lose money

[url=#user_comment_48309]@StarPilot[/url]: boooooriiiing. And glitchy as all hell.

[url=#user_comment_48297]@SJTNK[/url]: TO THE CONSOLE VERSIONS!

[url=#user_comment_48297]@SJTNK[/url] TF2s iconic art style is unrecognizable under the clown hats, and the community is in a sad state of old jokes and dress-up talk. @Hi and Bye You don't have to buy anything, but you can't ignore what's happened to the community. And don't be surprised if your prediction becomes true.

The day that TF2 does monthly fees, or super weapons that can only obtained by buying (that change gameplay), or any of that nonsense 60% of internet games are already doing, then I shall rightfully rage and express disappointment. Until then, who cares?

There is just one thing I don't get, yes the mannconomy was unexpected, yes valve is cashing in a little bit, however, can I point out something? YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY ANYTHING TO ENJOY THE GAME. Most hats are just cosmetic, and the only hats that aren't are the easiest to craft in the game.

Sell the ones that drop for scraps or even single weapons. You only gain sice they use a separate drop cap. And there is ALWAYS someone who is willing to buy a key or at least has traded for 1.

I've got a crowbar. I can't wait to find a...

Damn!

You can get Keys by trading you know -.-

[url=#user_comment_48216]@Talcon[/url]: At least you don't have to pay for DLC unlike fucking Activision! So what if they want to make a little more dough? It's their right to do so! It's not like they're shoving it right in your face!

Meh, I just delete the crates. I hate dealing with trading, I don't like gambling, they take up space in my inventory. Deleting them solves all these problems.

@Former TF2 Addict: TF2 Ruined? I think not, it may be annoying to get a backpack full of crates. But would you rather have the game never been updated? Because I assure you no one would be playing it now if Valve had done it that way.

Actually you probably do want that, so bugger off.

@Former TF2 Addict: You don't need drops or unlocks to compete. Every class functions just fine with it's default loadout. Not to say there aren't drops that work better, but not a lot of them. Someday I'm gonna make a loadout list to show loadouts that synergize well.

I say just trade them to someone who's willing to pay. You can get paint and stuff that you'd otherwise have to buy that way.

Crates are Valve's way of tricking you into buying items disguising it as drops. Damn spycrates.

To Valve,

Fuck your crates. I am never paying for the keys.

you can always delete ur crates

To Jo

I just go back from browsing your old comics, I found out that some comment sections have spammers in it. Not much but I hope it won't spread to newer comment sections.

In a game with 9 classes, all with varying degrees of ability to blow stuff up, burn it, shoot it, whatever, you need a key to open a box.

I like to use my crates to "seal the deal" on hat trades and other large items.

[url=#user_comment_48245]@Francis[/url] You tell 'em! There's only room for so many zombie fighters around here!

i'd be happy to give some keys for seires 5 crates *no joke*

(Now onto my comment of crate and crate related things)

Why cant we just use Mr.Freeman's crowbar to break the crate open? You know, Own HL2 and get to open 1 crate a week. (which makes me think that if you pre-order the next HL you get to use his crowbar in TF2)

sorry, Lawlmeister, not lawmeister.

Proving you wrong right now Lawmeister, i traded 7 crates for a vintage (if it matters) hat, besides ive managed to trade some useless crap for keys, my friend is a clever guy and trades keys for things, he traded a key for 1 refined metal, and the poor bastard who opened his crate got a paint can.

@The Lawlmeister: And that's an accepted method of getting items in the game.

And to think TF2 players used to criticize BF:H and MW2.

@Former TF2 Addict: I agree 100%.

I suppose that I said "only the beginning" because I was at least able to enjoy the game before the Mann-conomy update. This update has been a major catalyst of TF2s demise, not just for the game itself, but for a majority of the suddenly stupid community.

y'know, crates tend to be pretty decent trade fodder. you can't get a hat for them, but you can get an extra weapon or maybe some scrap metal if you're crafty.

Yeah, the Mann-conomy update only hurt the game. Crates would be tolerable if only they weren't so fucking Common. If they were more rare and had a much better chance of hats or multiple weapons, it would be tolerable.

The item drop system has let them leverage in tons of new weapons, which in order to compete on a fair level you need all of. And the hats has ruined the art style and has now (thanks to trading) led to the game itself being undermined because people are more interested in hats than just playing.

Yep, sounds about right. [url=#user_comment_48235] @Bob[/url]: Only the beginning? TF2 has been in a downward spiral ever since the Sniper vs Spy update. That was the update that introduced the item drop system and hats. Those two things have basically ruined TF2.

[url=#user_comment_48134]@FRANCIS[/url]: Haha, you must really suck if you have to use caps lock names, Other Francis. Just give up, you know I'll just beat you (and beat the crap outta ya) every single time. I'm still winning, man!

Wow Jo, only two months late.

I'm sure the Ark of the Covenant is somewhere in Engie-tan's crate warehouse.

And this my friends is why i quit tf2 forever.
Look what this game has become...
A big disappointing pile of sh.. i mean crates.

[url=#user_comment_48223]@SAXsamus[/url] Yep, every cent of it is paid to random people wh- No. You know, these recent events are kind of a harsh reminder for me. 1. Valve, although still awesome, is no different than any company. 2. The Steam community really is terrible and can ruin entire games.

Honestly, I think this is only the beginning of TF2's slow downward spiral.

Valve and other devs are already selling out like mad, so next we'll probably see upgradable weapons and other unimaginable horrors.

[url=#user_comment_48216]@Talcon[/url]: you do know the money made is used to pay the people who made community weapons right

Hah, my suggestion was taken :D [url=#user_comment_48215] @Breen[/url] Mute =/= unable to use a keyboard.

[url=#user_comment_48169]@Alstein[/url] Don't go, just ignore/trade/trash the crates and play as usual. I've seen worse in other FTP online games, at least the crates doesn't have any effect on the gameplay. [url=#user_comment_48216] @Talcon[/url] What I said above, and send them email that saying: Shame on you Valve, SHAME-ON-YOU >:(

i just delete my crates now

Spy: *Picks the lock* I knew those classes would come in handy. Ah ha ha.

Crates are an incredibly shallow attempt for Valve to make more money. It's really sad because I used to think Valve was above nickel-and-diming their customers - turns out I was wrong

@Gordon Freeman: You cant be Gordon Freeman. We all know that Gordon's a mute.

Oh. So. F***ing. True.

@pyro guy : In short, if you get a crate you can pay to open it or you can throw it away. But no one will trade for them.

Seriously, it's hard to even get scrap for crates now.

@pyro guy : I ended up in possession of roughly 15 crates last week. No one was willing to trade for them. People have opened so many crates now that the standard hats have little value on the trade market. The only thing people want from crates are unusual hats which have a drop rate of under 1%.

Use them to build a fortress!

It should end with her out of money and only 50 weapons sitting around her.

couldn't you just trade away the crates for something else? there are lotsa trade servers out there.

Crates got annoying, cause i have around 30 crates in the period of 2 weeks and its not allowing me to get other random drops.

I agree, the useless crates are a total waste of money, you could just buy the hats at store.

Try trade them for metal, lots of people on the trade post wants to buy crates.

I opened all of 2 crates.

The rest I have traded away for weapons and scrap. Constantly trading away Crate Drops for drops I can actually use.

People act like crates degrade the game. No one is forcing you to buy keys. The crates contain crappy items anyway, and hats with ugly effects that make you a sniper target. Just 6 for a key, 8 for a hat, or delete them. Babies!

so, dropping them down a furnace is out of the question, or do we have to put hearts on the side first?

Delete them. Trading them to other people just risks that eventually some poor sap caves and buys keys.

It would be nice if you could deploy them in game as cover

Having had my STEAM account jacked before hte engie update, I really thought I was missing out. This, this says otherwise.

Hey, be glad you're at least getting stuff, but then again, I stopped playing when the Worms Reloaded stuff came out. I've been wanting the trading thing to come out when random drops started, but the Mann store was not what I had in mind.

Heh, I either trade crates for things I do want but aren't that difficult to obtain (mainly scrap metal) or just plain give them away.
Damn valve that you can't simply craft crates!!!
I would have a crapload of metal by now!

You know the so called "first to crate ratio" of shooter games? It describes how long does it take to bump into the first wooden crate in the game, the point where developers ran out of ideas. Yeah, TF 2 is right there now...

I know a few people who don't want to buy keys. They instead trade crates for items/scrap metal that they do want, to people who are willing to spend money to try and get the rare stuff. Good luck!

As her teammates and her opponents are all too busy trading, Engie-tan waits in vain for someone to actually play the game.

Trade Fortress 2.

That's alot of crates, I'll be back once I get my other crowbar.

I usually just trade them away myself. Easy metal.

It was really funny, the last crate I decided to open if it was the equalizer or some other crap ended up with being an unusual "Ye olde baker boy" with green confeti :D
I guess I'll open the next 3-4 crates too before I decide again if I should stop.

See, this is what I don't get. In a world where there miniguns, sticky bombs, and rockets flying everywhere, the only way to open them is a tiny key.

Yeah crates are a bit of a let down especially since we can't do anything with them ... but I'm sure they don't want to give us a beneficial way to destroy them.

And short of people organizing a transnational delete your crates day, good luck on making any change to the current system.

Crates run on a separate drop timer and counter to normal drops, so you will not lose drops to crates. Basically, you get the same drops and you could just delete all the crates and have the same experience as before.

Yeah, this was bugging me forever! I got one during the halloween event thing but I couldn't open it! It just sits there, taunting me, telling me to open it... GIVE ME YOUR GODDAMN CREDIT CARD DAMMIT!

This right here, was the day I quit TF2.

This is exactly why i don't care about Episode 3.

If they made this update to TF2, what kind of shit would be in Half Life 2: Episode 3 !?

Pay $1 for each bullet?
This is the wrong way to milk the community

Build a fortress with your boxes, could be fun to send them in minecraft too xD

Just trade the crates away. You can easily get a scrap for every crate from those dumbasses who actually spend money on the game.

If they don't stop this, I quit TF2 for real.

I just give them away...if im lucky people give me scrap metal for them

At least you can trade keys now. You couldn't trade keys when they first came out. Trade some crates for some keys and everyone is happy. The only way to truly fix this is to make keys drop too.

Things like this are why I don't play TF2 anymore.

Sounds like something Zynga would do.

I traded mine for hats when it first started happening :P

Another way for valve to make money.

oh crate another great

They should just make it so 2-3 crates can be crafted into a scrap metal.

look whos talking fake francis

Francis!

[url=#user_comment_48123]@Francis[/url]: Hey, there, Other Francis. You were late to the party again like always. Hope you don't mind that I've always beat you to it everytime, y'know?

it should be craftable, like weapons... 2 crates of same serie = scrap.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/too-many-crates

Hehehe, I've got a friend who trades me some decent stuff for every crate I get :D

Wait, if you build a Minecraft fort out of crates, what happens when someone unlocks enough to form a door and takes your stuff? D:

I hate crates.

[url=#user_comment_48117]@Catalyst[/url]: Hopefully, we'll be able to craft them into a random weapon or scrap metal.

It's only a matter of time until Valve listens to our cries and allows you to either destroy or deconstruct them.

Right?

RIGHT?!

I hate crates locked with chains.

You can always just trade them. Some people will trade metal for crates.

Also, I agree with Monocle Man's rather large photonote.

Trade em yo, you can trade like 3 crates for a key or so every 4 crates you get to open one and it clears up your inventory space.

Best thing to do is trade tons of crates for cheap unusuals and work your way up the Unusual trading ladder.

I just hated that too, it's just a way to make you waste your money... on a fucking random drop... good times when TF2 wasnt a trade center.

I'll take'um ^_^