Wednesday, September 28, 2011

TF2 and You: The Importance of "Protective Headgear"

 As anyone who's ever played TF2 can tell you, its rapidly became Hat Fortress 2. As seen by all the pictures in this post, I'm a bit caught up in the fad myself. These are actual images from my account, and believe me, these weren't natural drops, I traded from them. Now, as some of you may ask: "Santa, why would you put in HOURS of work into just getting items that you can't even see in-game?" Well, I have two answers:
One- My main computer sucks, the only thing I can really do is go onto trade-plaza and shout "STOUT SHAKO FOR 2 REFINED" until someone trades me. Seriously, if I go out and fight, I'll blue screen, it's that bad.

 Secondly, they're legitimately worth money. I have an item named earbuds, that's equipable for all classes, looks like the little earbuds from the ipod commercials 5 years ago, they're worth 20 bucks. Right now I'm trying to pawn them off for Fallout: New Vegas, or some other game I don't already own that I'd like. I've been very prosperous in my days of trading, but one thing always alluded me: Unusual hats.

Some say they're worthless, but that's just because they don't have them. Unusual hats come from the most
worthless item in the game: crates. They drop every few minutes to some un-lucky gamer, and stick in your inventory until the end of time, but, if you want, you can buy a key from the Mann Co. Store, and try your luck. Most of the times you'll get something useless, like a backburner, but, BUT, there is a 1% chance of receiving such items as a Fancy Fedora (as pictured on my Spy) with a cute little heart circling around it, or with brilliant sunbeams radiating from your scalp.

Hats first appeared in the Sniper v. Spy update, bring with it all of the brilliance of hoarding that would come with community updates, and eventually, the Mannconomy update. This allowed trading, and gave everything before the drop "Vintage" quality, which does nothing, except gives the items a very smooth, blue border. More items are added made by Valve, community members, or for other games coming out (Look at the loadout of the Engineer, it's from Fallout: New Vegas.) Any items bought before the items release is given "Genuine" quality. Making it look cool with a not-quite-as-good-as-blue green border. Along with hats, you have miscellaneous items, such as my Vintage Whiskered Gentleman, or Genuine Pip-Boy. It adds another touch of class, without taking up your hat slot, Valve has promised another Miscellaneous slot, to come out eventually. The ideas of hats, although pointless, make the atmosphere of Hat Fortress 2 more enjoyable, and to quote Gabe Newell, the founder of Valve Software, and overall personal hero of mine: "Welcome to Team Fortress 2. After 9 years in development, hopefully its been worth the wait." To me, it was worth the wait, and more, I'll keep trading, although mostly for fun, and see what I can get. And if anybody's interested in my Earbuds, leave a comment. I'm always open to a good trade.

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