Probably because there are at least two dozen unlocks that need a rebalance before the razorback.

And there's also the problem that sniper in HL at the top level is pretty much the same with or without the razorback because the problem is the class's damage. Yes, without razorback the sniper will get stabbed a few times in a half but all of the situations where you can't push due to their sniper remain the same without the razorback.

But really there is so much more broken shit in this game that should be fixed first.

Why do you think it's somehow hard to rebalance a weapon? It's just stats. You can balance a lot of weapons at the same time. Balancing the Razorback doesn't mean you ignore the other weapons.

I agree that it should be looked at, but I see 2 problems

1. what could possibly be changed so that it can become balanced?
   
2. HL isn't going to be an eSports format anytime soon (it's simple math that it's easier to transport 6 people to a LAN rather than 9), so balancing towards that gamemode should be put off imo until 6s is very much thriving. I personally believe this is the reason that people on this site aren't totally in favor of HL balancing.

It's not that the razorback doesnt need to be rebalanced, but I'm pretty sure both of us could list a number of weapons that are horribly OP and need to be prioritized before this one.

Also yes I'm aware I basically repeated what Enderp said but the point he makes still holds true

1. - critical hits vulnerability, so a spy at least can one shot the sniper with the amby.
- lower the sniper's overheal

2. I know that, but it's not a huge task to just rebalance this weapon so HL becomes a bit better. It's not taking over anything, it's just a bit of code, it doesn't take time. Just rebalance the Razorback on top of all the 6s changes. It won't affect 6s as a gamemode in the slightest.

Are you suggesting that when the razorback is equipped the sniper will have crit vulnerability? If so, that's kinda dumb since you're just replacing a one hit kill mechanic with another one hit kill mechanic that can be done from a much safer distance.

I think he's suggesting a brand new damage mechanic where the amby and only the amby can have a second-level critical hit? Amby does base damage 34 with crits 102. Raising the damage would be absolutely ridiculous because revolver has base damage 40.

@DatDrummerGuy, you're advocating for changes to a weapon that the top of HL honestly thinks is fine. Rather, top of HL thought was fine but most of the top have quit in the past couple years in both NA and EU. Sniper is broken in HL even with stock items. The class's primary weapons are too powerful. The fact that the class can survive a backstab is not what makes sniper broken in HL.

Valve has historically been slow with major item rebalances. With the exception of gun mettle, I don't recall them ever balancing more than a handful of weapons in an update (at least not for a number of years). The razorback isn't one that needs to be balanced before items like the wrangler or vita saw.

so the spy has to run amby full time or else the sniper can use the razorback full time

http://emojipedia-us.s3.amazonaws.com/cache/f6/6f/f66fd3770f0a8a64c2e1f4731bae039c.png

only if the spy has the ambassador equipped...? still leaves the weapon too good imo

Mate lol
I don't want to be mean about it but this tells me more about your spy play than actually looking up any of your competitive history[/quote]

Not quite sure what you mean by that.. I'm a platinum/ etf2l high spy, even if I run the dead ringer and amby only, I get more picks than a knife + invis watch spy. Even the best spy in etf2l premiership runs the dead ringer and amby 24/7, and he got voted for the best spy 2 seasons in a row, he even got voted for best player in the previous prem season. =)

It's a good tradeoff for using a stupid weapon like the razorback IMO. It got a dumb and broken concept from the start, so may as well make it vulnerable to good amby spies.

@Enderp sure, it's not the main problem with sniper in HL, but banning it improves the game slightly, not sure if top HL players prefer it unbanned. They were probably fine with it, but it doesn't mean they're not against a rebalance/ban.

the reduced overheal you mentioned was a better idea because it still keeps the flavor (doesnt just replace backstab immunity with gunspy weakness) but forces the med to heal the sniper way more often to keep him healthy enough for sniper duels.

Crit vuln would work better on DDS imo since then youd get a general resistance to spam and bodyshots, but a weakness to good snipers and other crit stuff (if the vuln was high enough at least).

Crit vulnerability is the thing I thought about, yeah, for the DDS.

Thanks for your feedback! (even if I thought replacing backstab immunity for gunspy weakness was a good tradeoff honestly)