Mann Vs. Machine, or MvM, is a game mode in TF2 unlike any other. Instead of two teams fighting each other for intelligence, control, or over a payload, MvM consists of one team battling an onslaught of robots attempting to destroy Mann Co., the main company of TF2. There are usually 7 waves, each of scaling difficulty, and different robots in each. There are tons of different types of them, for all the different weapons in TF2. Each class has its strengths, like in the normal game, and robots drop money, or credits, that can be picked up and exchanged for powerful upgrades in between waves. There are a lot of parts to MvM, from what upgrades to get, to how to play effectively, to what to target, and I intend on making it all just a bit easier to understand. THE BASICS In MvM, there are waves of robots that come attack you. One of them is carrying a bomb, and the goal is to prevent that bomb from reaching the deploy zone, while destroying as many robots and getting as much money as possible. Credits will despawn over time if not picked up, and depending on how many credits you do collect, you will receive a bonus accordingly. Like in the normal game, each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses. CLASSES Most classes have an extra nifty bonus ability that will help it as the game progresses, or just have really nifty utility. SCOUT The Scout has a large credit pick up range, and credits will give him more health (up to around 600 max). This means that you should be getting in the brunt of the wave, relying on the credits dropped by the machines to keep you alive. SOLDIER The Soldier is the most money-hungry class in MvM, since the upgrades that make him really powerful are really pricey. He still has really good area damage, but since the rockets have damage fall off the farther you are from them, you'll need to get right up on the incoming horde to be effective. PYRO The Pyro, since afterburn reduces healing effectiveness from Medics, is good for the massive pocketed juggernauts that come out from time to time. Pyro is also good for getting a ton of damage out there and going deaf from the maddening hit sounds of afterburn. DEMOMAN As a Demoman, you should defend. Demoknight isn't very effective in MvM, so you should focus more on your sticky bombs and grenade launchers. The Kritzkrieg can give your stickies guaranteed crits as well, and that paired with the flexibility of the Scottish Resistance in particular is just beautiful. HEAVY Heavy is also a defense class, and in MvM, it's best to actually use him as such. Since your Primaries have substantial area denial power, use it to cut off or at least delay an incoming swarm. ENGINEER Like the Heavy, the Engineer is really powerful for area denial. The only problem with the powerhouse the is the sentry is the Sentry Busters. Ridiculous health, annoying speed, and they make a beeline directly and specifically for your buildings. If you're too close, you'll be reduced to a can of soup. MEDIC heal. please. please heal me medic. i beg of you. please stop pocketing the Heavy that keeps getting backstabbed. SNIPER The Sniper is played like usual; shoot them in the head. Not a whole lot of interesting changes. SPY For the Spy, you can backstab the robots! For the big ones, you need upgrades to do more damage to them, and you can't one-tap them. ROBOTS The machines that come after you can utilize just about any weapon in the entire game, from Bonk! to the Sandman, to the Concheror, to full Demoknights that can charge. There are normal-sized robots, and then bigger ones that typically have several thousand health and are usually pocketed by robotic Medics. There are also Tanks, which have enormous amounts of health and can trample you. If a Tank reaches the deploy point for the bomb, it's treated just like a bomb. The Tanks have their own health bars, too. Tanks are pretty slow, and have a set path through the map. MONETIZATION MvM is, other than online markets and trading, the only place you can get cool Australium weapons, which are the same as the normal variants, but golden. You can also get a bunch of parts to use with "kits", which are used with those parts to make weapons with kill streaks, sheens, and strange. The only downside is that each game costs a full dollar. There are community servers you can play on, but you won't get rewards for them. Australium weapons have a drop rate of (about) 1/40, and on Steam, they go for thirty-five to over a hundred dollars (depending on other factors like Strange, killstreak, or professional). After each "tour", which is a paid game, you get (usually) several drops of weapons, which can include the Australium and the silver variant, New Zealium, which doesn't exist. You get kits for weapons, robot parts to make them, and other goodies. I got a Big Earner once. I treasure it.
