Tide Turner + Caber Thoughts

[Maple Man]

Too lazy to make image smaller.
So after the Tide Turner came out, I thought it would be a fun idea to pair it up with the Caber.
In case you don't know, the caber does about 135 damage alone. Paired with the shield, it can deal up to 405 damage to a single target while 300 damage in an area. Now with the tide turner, you have the ability to turn 90 (or 180) degrees and kill someone instantly. If you're still alive, you can charge in again to kill another, or charge out to stay alive assuming you killed your first target.
With that said, NORMAL people would use the tide turner with a Half Zatoichi for living, or a Claidheamh Mòr for extra turning...People like me don't care about kdeath and go full ham with a Caber killing as many people as possible (And it works!).
Personally, I love this item ever since it came out. It allowed people to pull off crazy stunts and saves on an objective. Although, considering how much a tide turner can do, I can't really find a real reason to use the other shields like the Charge n Targe or Splended Screen. Or heck even the Botties are neglected because of the shield.
If valve is crazy enough, they'll either buff the other 2 shields, change the booties, or nerf the Tide Turner. Or if they choked on hats, nerf the sticky bomb launcher to the ground again. I've only taken the Tide turner off for a stickyjumper. It was, and still is, a very fun weapon to play with.

So what are your thoughts on the Tide Turner, and possibly the caber combination? Item was out for a while. Also probably the most insane of the items that came out.
...Inspired from the epidemic on tv6 at night with Kamikaze Demos. :3 Not from me

[Flyte]

caber drops meds more than danny

[Zork Nemesis]

The boots are not useless, they still give you 25 more health which gives you the bulk of a Soldier. While the boots' turning is redundant with the Tide Turner, the Targe and Screen still don't have those benefits, and you can use the boots with a Sticky Launcher if you really wanted to.

Also keep in mind that the Caber only explodes once. After that it's no stronger than the Scout's bat (and it's actually weaker as it's slower without random criticals). Poorly timed charges and cut-off escape routes will get you killed, but shield and caber has always been a very strong death-and-glory combo. The Turner just lets you execute sharper corners with it. I'd still use Targe in tandem for the damage resistance, giving you a better chance to survive the charge if you're being shot with rockets.

[The Domer]

I've been using the tide turner with the eye lander and it's been pretty fun. I could see the tide turner and caber being super effective to drop an entire combo though, if you can manage to sneak through unmolested.

I do agree with maple that it makes the other shields and the boots pretty lame options at this point.

[SchruteFarms]

Vaccinator negates caber to only doing 60 damage. I fail to see many problems with this combo.

[Plinko]

Only if you have it set to anti-explosive, right?

[Maple Man]

caber drops meds more than danny

i can drop danny more than meds if i tried & felt like making him mad

The boots are not useless, they still give you 25 more health which gives you the bulk of a Soldier. While the boots' turning is redundant with the Tide Turner, the Targe and Screen still don't have those benefits, and you can use the boots with a Sticky Launcher if you really wanted to.

Boots aren't exactly useless, but probably not worth the +25 health at the cost of a Grenade Launcher. Maybe it's just me, but I have to rack up my mouse sensitivity to make use of the turning bonus with the booties and Targe and Screen. Although, if you really want to go full demoknight or want that hp boost, go ahead :3

Also keep in mind that the Caber only explodes once. After that it's no stronger than the Scout's bat (and it's actually weaker as it's slower without random criticals). Poorly timed charges and cut-off escape routes will get you killed(VERY true), but shield and caber has always been a very strong death-and-glory combo. The Turner just lets you execute sharper corners with it. I'd still use Targe in tandem for the damage resistance, giving you a better chance to survive the charge if you're being shot with rockets.

Only need 1 explosion, then you'll either
A) Live and be able to shoot 2-3 pills
B) Live and attempt to get out (Which isn't worth doing w/ a caber)
C) Be dead and try again
Wailing on someone with a broken caber is like butterknifing as a spy. You SHOULD have a grenade launcher of some sort, so use it. Using the other shields is a possible option, but charging in a straight line will be easier to kill than a charge that allows to weave left to right while turning a corner or 2. Targe can be good for tanking if you're aiming for that, but Tide turner does give some resistance...some.

[Flyte]

is this thread about defending the caber+steering wheel

[Supreveio]

I think Tide Turner + Ullapool Caber would be one of the worst combinations.

Charge in, kill people with your bomb stick... And now you've got a full charge again, but no actual melee to take advantage of it. Unless you use your regained charge to retreat, you won't really get much out of the extra charge. Though given how high the Caber launches you when it detonates, retreating would be really easy and fancy if you're in an area with a tall ceiling/skybox.

Half-Zatoichi seems like the ideal melee of choice for a Tide Turner Demoknight, but the honorbound drawback coupled with the weapon's inexplicably short range (it has normal melee range, contrary to how long its model is and how the Demoman's other swords work) might get you killed when you get stuck without a charge ready, you're not fully healed from a kill, and you can't switch back to your grenades. Which admittedly is only a problem with the Half-Zatoichi itself.

Persian Persuader might work to make you into a charging machine. If you kill a guy, you get your charge back. If you don't kill a guy, the recharge time is halved, letting you charge again sooner anyway. But if you use a Grenade Launcher with it, you won't be able to get any more ammo for it unless you want to go all the way back to a resupply cabinet.


I don't actually have a Tide Turner yet, so this is purely speculation on my part. Based entirely on the one video STAR_ made featuring it.

[BlackHawk_989]

I personally think that the caber + tide turner is great for group explosions right before
an uber push so that the uber can easily mow down the opposing team

On the other hand going for roamers with the caber is not a great idea that's why
you would want to use the half zatochi for teams that roam

and caber for teams that group up tight

[Snidely Whiplash]

I think it's a cheap one-off; they should nerf it but probably wont because of how strategically vacant suiciding for 1 kill is.