http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=1738

Looks like we're finally getting the heavy update, but it's so big, they're teasing us about what'll be in the update. I guess we'll have to check back each day to see what fun weapons he gets! There are 7 new maps in this update though, which is awesome. New payload map!

http://steamgames.com/tf2/heavy/

Day 1 - CP_Steel

created by Jamie "Fishbus" Manson

A complex Attack/Defense control point map, with some unique gameplay. Unlike most TF2 maps, capturing a control point modifies the layout of the map, opening and closing routes for each team. As a result, the offensive team has a wide variety of tactical choices around how they'd like to assault the final point. Should they use Scouts and Soldiers to rush the final point with only the routes they start with? Should they go for the side control points and open up more routes to the final? Should they capture extra points to shut down the defender's routes? The many choices keep the map interesting for a long time, providing a wide variety of experiences in a game.

Day 2 - K.G.B. + Achievements

The Killing Gloves of Boxing - The unlockable for the Heaviest pugilists out there is the K.G.B. Any time a Heavy kills an enemy with the K.G.B he receives five seconds of guaranteed critical hits. This crit-boost can be used to punch and kill further enemies, extending the boost time. Alternatively, the Heavy can switch to another weapon and use the boost to take out an enemy at range. The Heavy's slow movement speed, and the K.G.B's slower swing speed, make it a risky prospect.

Achievements -

Iron Kurtain: Take 1000 points of damage in a single life.

Party Loyalty: Kill 50 enemies within 3 seconds of them attacking your Medic.
Division of Labor: Kill 20 enemies with a Medic assisting you, where neither of you die.
Red Oktoberfest: Earn a domination for a Medic who's healing you.
Show Trial: Kill an enemy with a taunt.
Crime and Punishment: Kill 10 enemies carrying your intelligence."
Class Struggle: Work with a friendly Medic to kill an enemy Heavy & Medic pair.
Soviet Block : While invulnerable and on defense, block an invulnerable enemy Heavy's movement.
Stalin the Kart: Block the enemy from moving the payload cart 25 times.
Supreme Soviet: Get ubered 50 times.
Factory Worker: Kill 20 enemies while being recharged by a dispenser.
Soviet Union: Get 25 enemy kills where you either assist or are assisted by another Heavy.
Own the Means of Production: Remove 20 stickybombs by killing the Demomen who produced them
Krazy Ivan: Kill 100 enemies while both you and your victim are underwater.
Rasputin: In a single life, get shot, burned, bludgeoned, and receive explosive damage.
Icing on the Cake: Get 20 kills on players that you're dominating.
Crock Block: Survive a direct hit from a critical rocket.
Kollectivization: Get 1000 assists.
Spyalectical Materialism: Kill or assist in killing 10 cloaked spies.
Permanent Revolution: Kill 5 enemies without spinning down your gun
Heavy Industry: Fire $200,000 worth of minigun rounds in a single life.
Communist Mani-Fisto: Kill an enemy with a critical punch.
Redistribution of Health: Heal 1000 damage with med-kits in a single life.
Rationing: Kill an enemy with your shotgun while you're out of minigun ammo.
Vanguard Party: Be the first on your team to start capturing a control point in a round.
Pushkin the Kart: Get 50 caps on payload maps.
Marxman: Kill 10 enemies in mid-air with the minigun.
Gorky Parked: Kill 25 enemies while you're standing on a control point you own.
Purge: Kill 15 enemies capturing a control point you own.
Lenin A Hand: Help 5 teammates get revenge on their nemeses.
Five Second Plan: Kill an enemy in the first 5 seconds after you exit a teleporter.
Photostroika: Provide an enemy with a freezecam shot of you taunting while invulnerable.
Konspicuous Konsumption: Eat 100 sandviches.
Don't Touch Sandvich: Kill 50 scouts using Natascha.
Borscht Belt: Kill 10 heavies with The K.G.B.

Day 3 - Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is a Payload map focusing on more open spaces and less chokepoints than Gold Rush. (A) Right out of the gate is a multi-level area where the Blu team needs to control the high ground while moving the cart through a tunnel below. This open area has few natural choke points, allowing Scouts, Soldiers, and Demomen to move creatively through the space, forcing the Red team to rapidly respond to choices made by Blu. (B) As the track winds its way into tighter spaces, vertical control becomes more important. Each successive checkpoint requires the Blu team to take control of defensive positions above the track, usually occupied by Red Engineers. (C) Eventually the track winds down into a large basin which the Blu team must assault from all sides in a final push to destroy the Red base.Unlike Gold Rush, where the track is split into three separate stages, Badwater Basin uses a single large stage with several checkpoints. As a result, the Blu team is highly encouraged to push the cart hard after beating their way through the Red defensive line.

Day 4 - Natascha

The second unlockable for the Heavy, Natascha allows the Heavy to slow enemies with her bullets. Enemies taking damage from her will find themselves moving slower for an instant, encouraging them to find cover or deal with the Heavy. Unfortunately, her firepower is somewhat weaker than that of Sasha, so the Heavy will find it takes longer to finish them off. As a result, Natascha's great to use against those that want to get away, like Scouts & Medics, and not so great against those trying to kill you. Heavies that like to jump around corners to surprise groups of enemies will also find it very useful, although it's best to make sure there isn't a Sasha-wielding Heavy there.

Day 5 - Arena Mode

TF2 Arena keeps the class diversity of Team Fortress 2 while focusing goals around combat between two teams. Where other game modes lean towards a broad overall strategy for the team over a number of lives, Arena concentrates on the specific tactical choices the teams make in a single fight.

Arena features smaller maps that play out in shorter periods of time. The round ends once one team has no players left in the arena, or when the central capture point has unlocked and been captured. Rounds tend to be very fast and highly competitive, with an emphasis on your team’s class makeup and your plan to counter the opposing team’s class choices. Arena mode is great for smaller matches of three vs. three players, while still comfortably supporting huge knockdown twelve-on-twelve brawls.

Arena Class Strategies

Health pick-ups are limited in TF2 Arena (some levels don’t have any Health packs at all) so being careful is a good strategy for any class. As well, with so little health available, having a Medic or a Health dispenser-building Engineer on your team can be a crucial element to success. With their reconnaissance abilities, the Scout and Spy play a far more vital role in Arena than in other game modes. Knowing the location of the enemy team can often mean the difference between a win and a loss. The Soldier and Demoman will find many areas in Arena specifically designed for them to get a vertical advantage. Traditional Heavy/Medic pairings will still be highly useful as the anchor to a good Arena team. However, commit too far in this direction and the enemy can quickly overwhelm you with Snipers and Spies. In Arena, water is as scarce as Health. This makes the Pyro a much deadlier class, as any enemy player he sets on fire with his flamethrower or flare gun will be unable to put out the flames. Igniting enemies quickly, then retreating to safety, can be an effective strategy for the Pyro.

Arena Maps

The first release of TF2 Arena comes with five playable maps. Two never-before-seen maps (Lumberyard, Ravine) have been built specifically for Arena, and a further three (Well, Granary, Badlands) have been remade with Arena’s unique play style in mind. Additionally, with the Lumberyard map, Arena takes TF2 from its familiar desert backdrop to a new Alpine-themed environment. Great care was taken to ensure the art style kept to the unique look and time period of the TF2 universe, while still feeling like a departure from the usual maps players are familiar with.

Lumberyard

Lumberyard has an unbalanced structure, with one half of the map climbing up towards a large mountain peak, while the other dips down into a valley. A series of rooftops at the map’s center serves as the key battleground area, with lateral flanking being the key maneuver at ground level. When the capture point becomes active after 60 seconds, multiple entrances open up into the central control point, which becomes the focus of the fighting as the match nears its end. Lumberyard is one of the few Arena maps without water, and contains only a single health kit. The kit sits on a log above a deadly pit, making it a great ambush spot for Pyros, Demomen, and Soldiers to send unwary enemies to their deaths.

Ravine

In contrast to Lumberyard, Ravine has a far more open ground level with emphasis on control of four key choke points. A series of canals in Ravine’s lower level provide an excellent opportunity for stealth kills and flanking maneuvers. Like all arena maps, the capture point in the middle becomes active after 60 seconds.

Well, Granary, Badlands

The middle capture point fighting area for each of these three existing maps has been extensively reworked and customized for TF2 Arena play.

Day 6 - Meet the Sandvich

The Sandvich is the Heavy’s first unlockable. It tastes as good as it looks and heals 120 health. Like in real life, the decision to eat a Sandvich must not be taken lightly; The Heavy is completely vulnerable during the four second eating process, and his loud, happy sounds of vigorous chewing will draw enemies like tiny ant cowards to a picnic. OF DEATH. On the bright side, the Heavy’s Sandvich supply is unlimited, so his only real concern is being caught short while enjoying this delicious edible device. The Sandvich is a great tool for a Heavy defending an area, as it gives him the ability to replenish health between enemy waves without having to abandon his post. Similarly, an offensive Heavy without a Medic can step back from the front line and grab a quick snack before resuming his rampage. Beware, however: the Heavy must set aside his shotgun to take the Sandvich, and enemy Snipers are much more dangerous for a Heavy wielding only a minigun. 

I love CP_Steel, the map is amazing and hard to make a plan for as things can change in an instant.

This is certainly a fat update! And much sooner than I thought! I figured we would be teased sometime this week or next week, and then get the update sometime in early September.

I've got a lot of catching up to do, since my laptop was out for a good bit of the summer. I only have 11 pyro updates, and I really want to have all three of his weapons before the next update. I've never played CP_Steel, so I'm gonna try to find a server that hosts that map and play it a little before the official update.

Any guesses on what the new game mode might be? I'm predicting a VIP type match, but I honestly have no clue.

oh god gotta figure how to get TF2 to work on Linux should just go back to windows

"To give all gamers a chance to check out the new gameplay introduced in "The Heavy" update, Valve will be running a Team Fortress 2 Free Weekend via Steam, a leading online platform for the delivery and management of PC games. The Free Weekend is open to gamers the world over and scheduled to begin Friday, August 22 at 11 am PDT."

I love Valve. They've done a free weekend for the major updates, which I think is fantastic.

2Fort4 Anybody remember this map?

Well, they're releasing 5 new "arenas" just for this new game mode...my only guess is some sort of deathmatch...but I doubt it. On top of that there's CP_Steel and the new Payload map, along with the Heavy weapons and achievements...such a big update!

I'm hoping for a minigun which doesn't crit or does less damage, but has better accuracy. Like, pistol accuracy instead of shotgun accuracy.

Ugh, servers are going to be crawling with spies after this.  Other than that, good news.