Team Fortress 2: All the Differences Between ‘Festive’ and ‘Festivized’ Weapons

Festive weapons were first added to the game during the 2011 Australian Christmas update. They could be obtained by unboxing certain Smissmas crates that were released. Festivized weapons, however, were not introduced until much later, in the 2015 Christmas update.
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Festive weapons are much rarer because:
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1. They are only obtainable through unboxing old Smissmas 2011-2014 crates. (You have a slim chance to get Festive weapons by unlocking any of the following crates… the Naughty Winter 2011 Crate, the Naughty Winter 2012 Crate, the Naughty Winter 2013 Crate, and/or the Naughty Winter 2014 Crate.) The Festive weapons that can be obtained from the Naughty Winter 2011 Crate are all stock weapons, making them much more desirable than Festive weapons from the 2012-on crates, which don’t contain any stock Festive weapons.
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2. They are limited, meaning there is a finite number of Festive weapons out there in the world, while with Festivized weapons, players can buy Festivizers (for very cheap) and apply them to any weapons at any time. Festivizers & Festivized weapons are very common and easy to get, which is the polar opposite of Festive weapons which are very rare and difficult to get.
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2.5 Festive weapons are limited because the crates in which you can obtain them from are limited. There was only a certain number of the Smissmas crates dropped during 2011-2014, and that’s the only way you can get Festive weapons, is by unboxing those crates. So all of the crates could run out eventually, but it’s very unlikely, as there are still thousands of them on the market as of me making this guide.

Festivized weapons can be created by applying a Festivizer to (almost) any weapon of your choice. Festivizers can be obtained fairly commonly by unboxing any of the following crates… the Smissmas 2015 Festive Gift, the Unlocked Winter 2016 Cosmetic Case, the Winter 2017 Cosmetic Case, the Winter 2018 Cosmetic Case, the Winter 2019 Cosmetic Case, and/or the Winter 2020 Cosmetic Case.
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When you festivize a weapon, it will retain its original quality. (Like a Strange weapon will stay in Strange quality after it is festivized.) It will obviously make visual changes to the weapon, by adding Christmas lights. A prefix will be added in front of the weapon’s name, so a ‘Strange Scattergun’ would be renamed to ‘Strange Festivized Scattergun’. And ‘Festivized’ will be added to the weapon’s description in purple text.
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Festive weapons have a line of yellow text in the weapon’s description, right under the name, that says, for example, ‘Limited Level 1 Scattergun’, or ‘Limited Level 1 Rocket Launcher’.
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The backpack icons for Festive vs. Festivized weapons are different, also. Usually very subtly different, but still different. Presumably just to be able to tell them apart when trading.
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Festivizers are pretty cheap. ($2.00 on the market.) Which means you can turn any weapon you want into a Festivized version of the weapon for only 2 bucks. This is why Festivized weapons are so cheap. It’s because they can be created with very low cost. Compared to the Festive weapons which are limited and much harder/rarer to get.
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Festivized weapons can be altered by ‘restoring’ the item, which will remove the Christmas lights from it and revert it back to its original quality. While Festive weapons can not have the lights removed from them; the lights are part of the actual item and can’t be removed.

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The vast majority of Festive weapons have a small battery pack strapped to them. (A battery pack to power the Christmas lights wrapped around the weapon.) The battery pack on Festive weapons looks different than the one on Festivized weapons, and usually it’s in a different place on the weapon depending if it’s Festive or Festivized. The battery pack itself is a very small detail and would most likely never be noticed ingame, but if you’re inspecting the weapon really closely, you can see the differences between the 2 variants. Here is a comparison between a Festive Scattergun and a Festivized Scattergun:
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(Click on any of the images to enlarge them.)
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Festive Scattergun:

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Festivized Scattergun (Angle 1):

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Festivized Scattergun (Angle 2):

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So as you can see above, the Festive Scattergun has its battery pack mounted on the side of the Scattergun, while the Festivized version’s battery pack is on the top side of the Scattergun. Visually, the Festive battery pack appears to be 1 single battery unit, while the Festivized battery pack appears to be 2 batteries together forming 1 unit.
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The batteries on Festivized weapons have a brand name on them. In small letters on both of the 2 batteries it reads “Bonk”.
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Some Festive weapons don’t have Christmas lights on them at all. Such as the Festive Sandvich, the Festive Sapper, the Festive Bonk! Atomic Punch… So these Festives obviously don’t have any battery packs due to there not being any lights.
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The sizes of the actual Christmas lights themself sometimes vary between the Festive and Festivized versions of a weapon. Usually the Festive version’s light bulbs are smaller when compared to the Festivized version’s lights, which are larger. Here is a comparison between the lights from a Festive & Festivized Flame Thrower:
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(Click on the image to enlarge it.)
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Festive vs. Festivized Flame Thrower Lights:

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As you can see, the light bulbs from the Festive Flame Thrower are quite a bit bigger than the ones on the Festivized Flame Thrower.
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With most Festive weapons, the color of the Christmas light cord that’s wrapped around the weapon varies to the color of the Festivized version’s cord. Usually the Festive cord is gray colored, while the Festivized cord is darker & brownish colored. Here are a few examples:
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(Click on any of the images to enlarge them.)
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Festive Wrench:

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Festivized Wrench:

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Festive Medi Gun:

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Festivized Medi Gun:

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Festive Minigun:

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Festivized Minigun:

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So as you can see above, the cord colors vary between the 2 versions.
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With a few weapons in TF2 there is a glaringly obvious visual variation between the Festive & Festivized versions. Here are some examples…
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(Click on any of the images to enlarge them.)
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Festive Black Box:

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Festivized Black Box:

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As you can see above, the Festive Black Box has wrapping paper covering the entire weapon, + Christmas lights wrapped around it. While the Festivized Black Box only has the Christmas lights, no wrapping paper.
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Festive Revolver:

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Festivized Revolver:

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When looking at the Revolvers above, you can clearly see that the Festive version changes the Revolver’s grip, replacing it with a wooden grip. While the Festivized version keeps the stock Revolver’s pearly white grip, and only adds Christmas lights to the weapon.
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Festive Ubersaw:

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Festivized Ubersaw:

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The Festive Ubersaw has a golden jingle bell hanging from it + Christmas lights. While the Festivized Ubersaw only has the Christmas lights.
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Festive Grenade Launcher:

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Festivized Grenade Launcher:

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The Festive Grenade Launcher has a golden jingle bell hanging from the very front of the barrel + Christmas lights wrapped around the weapon, while the Festivized Grenade Launcher only has the Christmas lights, no jingle bell.
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Festive Crusader’s Crossbow:

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Festivized Crusader’s Crossbow:

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The Festive Crossbow has wrapping paper, a ribbon, a red handle, a golden jingle bell, + Christmas lights. While the Festivized Crossbow only has the Christmas lights.

Some Festive weapons (mainly utility items like the Sandvich, the Wrangler, the Sapper, Jarate, or the Chargin’ Targe) look unlike any other Festive weapons in the game. They don’t just add Christmas lights like most Festives; they completely change the look of the item. Here are some examples… (Also, the vast majority of “Special Festives” ONLY have the Festive version, and no Festivized version.)
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(Click on any of the images to enlarge them.)
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Festive Sandvich:

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Festive Wrangler:

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Festive Sapper:

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Festive Jarate:

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Festive Chargin’ Targe:

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Festive Bonk! Atomic Punch:

​(Press Ctrl+F and search for any item you want to easily find it in the lists.)
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Festive Scattergun
Festive Bat
Festive Rocket Launcher
Festive Flame Thrower
Festive Stickybomb Launcher
Festive Minigun
Festive Wrench
Festive Medi Gun
Festive Sniper Rifle
Festive Knife
Festive Holy Mackerel
Festive Buff Banner
Festive Axtinguisher
Festive Grenade Launcher
Festive Sandvich
Festive Frontier Justice
Festive Ubersaw
Festive Huntsman
Festive Ambassador
Festive Force-A-Nature
Festive Black Box
Festive Flare Gun
Festive Eyelander
Festive Gloves of Running Urgently
Festive Wrangler
Festive Crusader’s Crossbow
Festive Jarate
Festive Sapper
Festive Bonk! Atomic Punch
Festive Shotgun
Festive Backburner
Festive Chargin’ Targe
Festive Bonesaw
Festive SMG
Festive Revolver
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Festivized Scattergun
Festivized Shortstop
Festivized Soda Popper
Festivized Winger
Festivized Sandman
Festivized Holy Mackerel
Festivized Rocket Launcher
Festivized Black Box
Festivized Air Strike
Festivized Shovel
Festivized Disciplinary Action
Festivized Flame Thrower
Festivized Degreaser
Festivized Dragon’s Fury
Festivized Detonator
Festivized Scorch Shot
Festivized Fire Axe
Festivized Powerjack
Festivized Back Scratcher
Festivized Grenade Launcher
Festivized Loch-n-Load
Festivized Loose Cannon
Festivized Iron Bomber
Festivized Stickybomb Launcher
Festivized Scottish Resistance
Festivized Scotsman’s Skullcutter
Festivized Claidheamh mor
Festivized Persian Persuader
Festivized Minigun
Festivized Natascha
Festivized Brass Beast
Festivized Tomislav
Festivized Family Business
Festivized Rescue Ranger
Festivized Wrench
Festivized Jag
Festivized Crusader’s Crossbow
Festivized Medi Gun
Festivized Kritzkrieg
Festivized Quick-Fix
Festivized Ubersaw
Festivized Amputator
Festivized Sniper Rifle
Festivized Bazaar Bargain
Festivized SMG
Festivized Kukri
Festivized Shahanshah
Festivized Revolver
Festivized Knife
Festivized Spy-cicle
Festivized Pistol
Festivized Reserve Shooter
Festivized Shotgun
Festivized Panic Attack

Most weapons in TF2 have Festive and/or Festivized versions. However, some weapons (mainly reskins), don’t have either of the 2. The Boston Basher doesn’t have a Festive version and can not be Festivized. The Lollichop, Postal Pummeler, Maul, Homewrecker, Scottish Handshake, Fishcake, AWPer Hand, Fortified Compound, Shooting Star, Your Eternal Reward… are all weapons that don’t have any Festive variants.
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The reason why some weapons can’t be Festive or Festivized, is simply because TF2’s developers haven’t gotten around to updating the weapons yet. They’ve added the capability to use Festivizers on certain weapons in the past, such as the Kukri, Shahanshah, Reserve Shooter, Panic Attack, Pistol… But for other weapons, they just haven’t gotten around to updating them yet.
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The Pistol is one of the few stock weapons that doesn’t have a Festive version. It only has a Festivized version.

Be very careful when buying Festive TF2 items. For example, someone could have a Festivized Scattergun and rename it to “Festive Scattergun”, then try to sell it to you for the price of an ACTUAL Festive Scattergun.
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Double check (triple check) Festive weapons that you’re trading for. Analyze the backpack icon, check to see if the item is renamed, just really make sure that the item is actually Festive and not Festivized.
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On the Steam Market it’s really easy to see what you’re buying, and avoid being scammed. But if you’re 1 on 1 personally trading with someone, you need to be extra cautious and make sure that you don’t get deceived.