It is here: Since yesterday night, players have been able to download the circa 900 MB large update and of course, play it. Moreover, Valve presents another map for the new  game mode Mann vs. Machine, 35 new achievements and opens up the purses so that we may throw our money into it for new items AND the tickets for the Mann Up Missions.

Firtsly, the most important facts:

The Items

What would be an update without items? Exactly, not worth mentioning. That's why Valve opened the item box and revealed a fistful of new stuff for us. Besides a few shining metal hats, all classes got sparkling tags for the standard weapons. Plus, Archimedes, the dove known from Meet the Medic, has been made available to sit on your shoulder. After all, you can even by the fur version in the Valve Store, what brings you a code for Archimedes in Genuine quality as well. However, the most important items are the so called Power Up Canteens, which were introduced already on day 2 of the update. They  have specific a Blueprint as well as the Tour of Duty Ticket and the Sqaud Surplus Voucher. What the ticket and the voucher are good for? Wait until the next headline!

• Items Toggle View

  • Gold Botkiller Scattergun

    

  • Silver Botkiller Scattergun

    

  • Gold Botkiller Rocket Launcher

    

  • Silver Botkiller Rocket Launcher

    

  • Gold Botkiller Flame Thrower

    

  • Silver Botkiller Flame Thrower

    

  • Gold Botkiller Minigun

    

  • Silver Botkiller Minigun

    

  • Gold Botkiller Sniper Rifle

    

  • Silver Botkiller Sniper Rifle

    

  • AWPer Hand

    

    This controversial bolt-action beaut is banned in thousands of countries, and with good reason: You could really hurt someone with this thing.

  • Gold Botkiller Stickybomb Launcher

    

  • Silver Botkiller Stickybomb Launcher

    

  • Gold Botkiller Medi Gun

    

  • Silver Botkiller Medi Gun

    

  • Gold Botkiller Wrench

    

  • Silver Botkiller Wrench

    

  • Gold Botkiller Knife

    

  • Silver Botkiller Knife

    

  • Robot Running Man

    

    You'd think this robot cap would slow Scout down, but he's actually just as fast! It's all that milk he drinks. You didn't expect this item to be a thinly veiled milk advertisement, did you? We're full of surprises today. Just wait until you try to go to sleep tonight! Ohhh boy!

  • Tin Pot

    

    The great thing about this helmet is that it stops bullets (no it doesn't)! Look at it – it's made of robot metal! Bullets can't go through robot metal (they definitely can)! There really is no way you could be harmed while wearing this helmet (there absolutely is).

  • U-clank-a

    

    Roast this steel ushanka in the fire and place it on your head for sustained warmth throughout the day. Make sure to come up with an impressive sounding fake anecdote for your third degree burns!

  • Tin-1000

    

    Are people bothering you while you're trying to work? Just strap on The Tin-1000, stare at them unflinchingly with your soulless, red, robot eyes, and watch as they slink away in terror. It's a great way to thin out your friend circle – fast!

  • Bolted Bushman

    

    A hat says things about its wearer. Fedoras? Mystery, danger, and hard drinking cool. Deerstalkers? Pipe smoking, cunning, and raw intellect. The Bolted Bushman will show your friends and foes alike that you are steely, hard and… full of bolts we guess. You know what, some hats only need to say two things.

  • Stealth Steeler

    

    Has back-stabbing lost its charm? Is sneaking too simple? Try wearing this 15 pound metal hat on your head! Enjoy the meta-challenge of keeping your neck from snapping as you sap sentries! This is spine-crushing entertainment!

  • RoBro 3000

    

    The RoBro 3000 doesn't just watch your back in battle! Whether you're on the battlefield, out on the town, sleeping in bed or on the toilet, you'll always have a friend in the RoBro, which comes with no "OFF" switch and cannot be shut down. The RoBro even tapes everything you do, whether you want it to or not. It's not even a feature we installed on the RoBro—it's just something it does for its own mysterious reasons!

  • Operation Steel Trap Badge

    

    Your Mann Up progress through Operation Steel Trap is recorded on this badge.

  • Soldier's Stogie

    

    Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes, as is the case with this hand-rolled Soldier cigar, it's gravel, manure, human hair, and taco seasoning wrapped up in old band-aids.

  • Pyrobotics Pack

    

    Did you know that fire can melt metal? Like, say you were fighting an army of robots. You could melt them! With fire! It's true! Just a fun little fact we learned today. We don't really see any practical application for the information, but it's good to learn.

  • Battery Bandolier

    

    For the first time in history, batteries are included with your purchase of Demo's battery Bandolier. Because, well, you're purchasing batteries. We should have said, for the first time in history [except for all those times you bought batteries].

  • Medic Mech-bag

    

    The best part of fighting a robot army is you get to salvage all of their destroyed body parts for fun new accessories. Take the Medic Mech-pack! What a fine looking number. It's a good thing robots don't have souls, or they'd be mighty angry that we're using their body parts as cosmetic items!

  • Archimedes

    

    Before Archimedes came into the Medic's care, he made his living through wedding dovery. A lucrative trade, but he always felt something was missing. He looks back on the day that the Medic stole that catering van during the prime minister's wedding as the best day of his life. He's been burrowing into the chests of unwitting patients ever since.

  • Power Up Canteen

    
    • Holds a maximum of 3 charges
    • Each charge lasts 5 seconds

    Applies a bonus effect for a limited amount of time when used. Must first be filled at an Upgrade Station and can only be filled with one bonus type at a time.

  • Squad Surplus Voucher

    

    Present this voucher in Mann vs. Machine when starting Mann Up Mode. You and every person on your team will receive an extra item drop when you complete a mission.

  • Tour of Duty Ticket

    

    Present this ticket in Mann vs. Machine to play Mann Up Mode on an official server to earn rare items and track progress on your Tour of Duty Badge.

Apropos: The Sniper's new AWPer Hand seems to be a Promo Item for Counterstrike: Global Offensive. Though, nothing specific, especially how to get it, remains unclear.

Mann Up Mode

The Mann vs. Machine game mode is completely for free if you want to play it on ordinary servers.Spielmodus ist völlig kostenlos wenn man ihn auf normalen Servern spielen will. However, if you want to play on  Mann Up! Servern and accomplish the Tour of Duty Missions, you have to buy a Tour of Duty Ticket in the Mann Co. Shop for 0,99€ (or trade it). One Tour of Duty Mission can last several maps. In the case that the map is finished untimely, the ticket won't be obsolete and you can try the mission again. More precisely, you need a new ticket for each new mission.

One can find specific items on the Mann Up! Servern, that are not available on the usual Mann vs. Machine Servers (the free ones). Each finished mission gets you a new item. Plus, after you finished with all missions, you are rewarded with a random but rare item. Your team members get an additional item as well, even if they didn't buy a voucher.

Your mission progress is recorded with the Tour of Duty Badge. If you have further questions, have a look at the FAQ on the official Team Fortress 2 web page.

The Map and the Achievements

Decoy is the thied map in the Mann vs. Machine Update. In fact, it is a amateurishly cobbled together building, that seems to be the Mann Co. Head Quarter. It is said, that the Soldier build that robot-trap personally.

All of the 35 new achievements  refer to the Mann vs. Machine game mode and can be completed on ordianary servers. Indeed, there is no such thing as a Tour of Duty-specific achievement. The achievemts are listed here: Click! For those who need help completing them, there is a guide on the TF2 Wiki: Achievement Guide.

Once again, a rather major update for Team Fortress 2, though, this time with a lot of importance for the future of the game. What will the further developments look like? It is already announced that there will be more missions for the Tour of Duty. The question is wether more updates with free and fee-based (except for items) are planned as well.

What is your opinion on the new update? Write your thoughts in the comments or take part in the discussion in  this TFPortal-Thread.

Eventually, the complete Changelog:

• Added Mann vs. Machine
• Added Archimedes
• Added The Soldier's Stogie
• Added The Robro 3000
• Updated The Helmet Without a Home to be paintable
• Fixed some clipping issues with The Salty Dog
• Removed player penetration from The Pomson 6000 and boosted the damage to compensate

Undocumented changes

• Mann vs. Machine startup music added, The Calm and ROBOTS!
• Added Mann Up cosmetics ^[1]
• Added Botkiller and Gold Botkiller weapons
• Added The Deflector
• Added The AWPer Hand
• Added music and minor graphical tweaks to the class select screen
• Added new voice lines for Medic, Heavy, Soldier, Engineer, and the Administrator
• Added the Triad Pack items to the drop system
• Added -tickrate command line option

Beep Beep BeepBeepBepBepBepbpbpbp brrzzzzz!