Valve has been slowly releasing information over the past week about the latest Team Fortress 2 update, and it just so happens to be the Sniper’s turn to shine (link: http://www.teamfortress.com/sniperupdate/). Today is actually supposed to have another round of updates, but speculation places the most important things, the three new weapons and new maps, within reach already.

Though the achievements required to reach the different weapons have yet to be revealed, it’s safe to say that the three different weapons have been established. The first is a set of bow and arrows, a shield and (speculatively) a jar of urine as his third weapon. The bow charges in a single second, much like the sniper rifle does after a few, and pins dying enemies to the wall. The shield, called the Razorback, is meant to stop spies from sneaking up on scoped Snipers. Current speculation is that it will be a passive equip as long as you have it available to you and on your loadout. The jar of urine, which was hinted at by a post on the Team Fortress 2 website, is currently speculated to be the melee weapon… The implications of which are a bit, well, disgusting.

The maps are rather interesting for one reason and one reason only. They’ve introduced a new style of play which is essentially a double Payload map. Each side will be trying to push the cart to the other base, meaning a combination of offensive and defensive tactics will be needed. Hopefully, since it is the Sniper update after all, they will have nice long sightlines in order to pick your targets off.