Valve just pulled the ultimate switcheroo
13 years after appearing as a fan-favorite community mod, VS Saxton Hale finally graduated into a realTeam Fortress 2game mode. Sadly, it wasn’t even 13 days beforeValve yoinked it awayfrom their bigTF22023 summer update.
Though we don’t know exactly what triggered the removal, many players complained about the mode’s high instability. Very sad news, considering how VSH seemed to work just fine while in its community mode version. Things have gotten even rockier four days after the update. A few players claim VSH is back up, whereas others complain that the mode isconstantly showing up only to vanish again.Either way, many complain they’re unable to enter matches.
What is Vs Saxton Hale?
To understand what VSH or Vs Saxton Hale is, it’s essential that we learn who Saxton Hale is. Though not originally in the game, Saxton Hale exists in theTF2comics as a buff Australian weaponsandhats dealer. Yes, that means that if you’ve ever spent money on any of Valve’s famous in-game hats, then congrats — you’ve helped fund this madman’s made-up empire.
As for VS Saxton Hale, the casual game mode itself, it’s an asymmetrical multiplayer battle mode.
At the beginning of the round, one of the players in the server will randomly spawn as Saxton. His mission? To end everyone else. The remaining players will have to join forces to try to take Saxton down. It’s not an easy battle, as Saxton is a powerful beast. Even though he only has two weapons, his left and right fists, he has a lot of HP and a bunch of special abilities that make him a tough target even against the combined efforts of eight godforsaken players.
Saxton can make use of:
But Saxton isn’t the only one with abilities. The mercenaries also have, well, two abilities:
Valve is hopefully working on the issue, since VSH is showing some signs of life in the casual queue. That could indicate some backend tinkering is taking place. Still, we don’t know when VS Saxton Hale will make a return in full swing.
