The Beggar's Bazooka's Bizarre Balance

[Hook Master]

The Beggar’s Bazooka is one of, if not the most unique weapon in soldier’s arsenal. It fires a different way, has unique stats, and even has its own kind of rocket jumping! Everything about this launcher is weird, and I believe that’s why it’s so memorable, despite being a pretty subpar weapon, even in general play.

At the end of my Persian Persuader analysis, I touched on its balance compared to other swords. I came to the conclusion that the Persian was balanced entirely around demoknight, and while that may be detrimental for its skill ceiling and usage in any competitive setting, it allows it to be one of the most fun options for that playstyle. This applies slightly to the beggars, though without the subclass. This idea of generally bad weapons that are actually fun to use stretches across almost every class, which is not an objectively good or bad standpoint on balance. Sure, it may hurt the variety and usefulness of some setups in any comp setting, but it doesn’t have to in the first place. The balance should never come before the fun of the weapon for both the using and receiving end. Overall, the beggars is a weapon that leans heavily into this concept and for that, it deserves a spot among some of the best in soldier’s primary slot, at least over the liberty launcher.

The Beggar’s Bazooka uses a charge fire mechanic similar to the classic or huntsman. You gotta hold down the trigger to build up a barrage of up to 3 rockets before releasing and raining hell on your enemies. You can also keep it in and accidentally blow yourself up too. The beggar’s main allure is the large damage output this barrage of 3 rockets can deal, even severely damaging or killing a heavy in close range. The main downside is a lack of the predictable rocket-firing mechanics we’ve come to know and love, instead replaced by the very clunky charge that backfires more often than we think. However, when used right it can seemingly rival stock, especially when you jump with it.

Beggar jumping is debatably easier than regular rocket jumping, at least with high-speed maneuvers. Jumping with the beggars grants really fast acceleration incredibly quickly, which makes it a significantly more useful horizontal travel tool. It also allows you to boost mid-air, creating an even wider range of possibilities with trimping and boosting off of surfaces. While it is debatably easier to pick up, Beggar jumping still has a very high skill ceiling. I believe that beggars shouldn’t be one’s intro to rocket jumping, but a supplement to people who have mastered it or still can’t get the hang of it. While I can certainly praise Beggar jumping all day, I can’t say it’s better for general play. Standard jumping is too universal to the point that beggar jumping is more of a novelty than a viable replacement, especially in a competitive setting. This does help my overall point, showing the beggars can be fun without being balanced.

Balance-wise, the beggars is pretty poor compared to other launchers. The simple point and click nature of the standard launchers helps CQC combat flow with quick reaction time needed to overcome the enemy. The Beggars actively discourages this, forcing the player to either charge mid-fight to counter an enemy, or pre-emptively charge hoping to run into someone in the ~7 second span to load 3 rockets. Sure, blowing people away with a barrage of rockets may be fun when you’re on top, but the very foreign and slow nature of the beggars results in a weapon that suffers from being an inferior choice to stock.

In conclusion, the Beggar’s bazooka is a fun weapon. It also highlights the ability for weapons to be fun and unique without adhering to a balance of other weapons. Whether you think this is good or bad is up to you, it has its arguments for both sides. I personally believe there’s nothing wrong with it in small amounts, and problems mainly arise when too many weapons are "balanced" like this

[twunny phaiv]

I just wish it was balanced without the use of RNG

[Hell-met]

it should not exist

the good can abuse its infinite clip

the bad can abuse its 300 damage barrage around corners

the skilled cant use it for reliable play

due to how bad valve codes sometimes its also impossible to know wheter the reload cancel being fast was ever truly intended or not

it should not exist

[< blank >]

think kinda feels like soundsmits vid ngl did not read it cus im super sleepy but somethings seem convincing

[thepicgamer]

maxing it out in mvm is a great feeling

tap m1 to win

[Hook Master]

Originally posted by acomanas.:

It’s fine as is. Having it be random means that it’s not that good for direct combat.

You’re right
The clunky charge mechanic makes it not that good for direct combat

[Marukuso]

https://steamcommunity.com/id/ghghftdfh/inventory/#440_2_6610674126

It's fun, even if really dumb.

Corner creep, jump around, it's mostly a flank weapons since it can be too slow at times, the infinite clip is neat if the team doesnt kill you like they should but you can't really snipe with it so a good chunk of the infinite clip potential goes away, you will also lose any direct confrontation with every other soldier.

Hitting arishots with this is pretty satisfying.

Jumping with this is very fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRP9Cn0ydmM

[ObamaBinBiden (No Monitor)]

Originally posted by Hell-met:

it should not exist

the good can abuse its infinite clip

the bad can abuse its 300 damage barrage around corners

the skilled cant use it for reliable play

due to how bad valve codes sometimes its also impossible to know wheter the reload cancel being fast was ever truly intended or not

it should not exist

Imagine getting triggered over a barely usable meme weapon

[Cee]

Originally posted by Hell-met:

the good can abuse its infinite clip

how

i never get this. it reloads (fires) 20% slower. youd be better off with STOCK doing the same thing

[Marukuso]

Originally posted by i am currently barack obama:

Originally posted by Hell-met:

the good can abuse its infinite clip

how

i never get this. it reloads (fires) 20% slower. youd be better off with STOCK doing the same thing

An infinite clip is an infinite clip, shooting slower doesn't really fully compensate for it in most scenarios, also m1 tapping shaenanigans.

[thepicgamer]

Originally posted by i am currently barack obama:

Originally posted by Hell-met:

the good can abuse its infinite clip

how

i never get this. it reloads (fires) 20% slower. youd be better off with STOCK doing the same thing

tap

[Cee]

Originally posted by thepicgamer:

Originally posted by i am currently barack obama:

how

i never get this. it reloads (fires) 20% slower. youd be better off with STOCK doing the same thing

tap

still slower

am i missing something where its faster than stock

[Cee]

Originally posted by i am currently barack obama:

Originally posted by thepicgamer:

tap

still slower

am i missing something where its faster than stock

https://youtu.be/pacv0vu8tbM

damn

[trash]

Originally posted by Hell-met:

it should not exist

the good can abuse its infinite clip

the bad can abuse its 300 damage barrage around corners

the skilled cant use it for reliable play

due to how bad valve codes sometimes its also impossible to know wheter the reload cancel being fast was ever truly intended or not

it should not exist

[UNBREAKABLE]

Been saying for years ever since in came out it's broken as hell for the mere fact alone it effectively has an infinite clip. Even with accuracy issues, and even if the first rocket is technically slower to get out, being able to spam out 20 rockets one after another with no pause has little counterplay and is braindead.

Not OP though. It WAS op back when overloading didn't remove rockets from the clip, because a solider with gunboats could basically mid-air jump across any map and then vomit 3 rockets onto a medic or team. Now it's less effective for killing after that nerf, but all the other problems with it still exist.

Anyway, have a gem back in the day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtWGbzRElrA