F2P players got their voice back in TF2? Valve eases chat restrictions in iconic FPS
Valve listened to Team Fortress 2 fans. At least partially, because not all players with free s have regained access to the chat.
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Valve listened to fans' demands for Team Fortress 2, but the new update didn't fully restore voice chat for free-to-play players.
The change in the latest action by fans of this cult FPS. This time it wasn't about fighting bots (which have become rare on official game servers), but about non- players who don't chat. Since July 2020, people playing without spending money could not use either chat (including text) or even voice commands.
In theory, all you need to do to get a is to buy almost any item from the Mann Co. store, usually a key, which is considered the most cost-effective purchase. Nonetheless, fans weren't thrilled that Valve was demanding money for access to such basic features in Team Fortress 2.
Probably that's why yesterday's patch to TF 2 slightly "loosened" the chat restrictions in the game for "some s." Vague explanation, but the players immediately figured out it's about non- s. What exactly does "easing of restrictions" mean? Valve hasn't officially confirmed anything beyond this statement.
The reports were conflicting, but one thing was clear: it seems like Valve allowed the use of voice commands, but not for all "f2p" players. Some people, even with older s, still don't have a "voice" in Team Fortress 2.
Players are guessing that the issue might be related to the "trust factor" of the , similar to the one in Counter-Strike. This can be determined based on factors like activity, number of games, active Steam Guard protection (which includes a linked phone number), and no game or bans.
Nonetheless, for now, these are just speculations, and no one is certain on what basis some "f2p" s have access to voice commands, while others are still deprived of this privilege. One thing's for sure, Valve seems to want to avoid what led to these restrictions being introduced almost 5 years ago: lots of people creating new s and spamming chat (and annoying other players) during the game.
Of course, there is also a chance that this is just a temporary restriction and Valve will allow the use of chat and voice commands without limits after some time. Probably to the medics' headache...
