Heavy Guide- Just the Basics Part 2

Part 2: On the Field

Battlefield Knowledge

So now that you've chosen your loadout, it's time to go onto the battlefield right?

Wrong.

Just running out with no plan of action will get you killed in no time. Strategy is the name of the game here. The following tactics are not limited to beginners but rather all types of players, ranging from casual to competitive. It also applies to various classes as well.

Spacial Awareness

Spatial awareness is the ability to be aware of oneself in space. It is an organized knowledge of objects in relation to oneself in that given space. Spatial awareness also involves understanding the relationship of these objects when there is a change of position.

This is something that a lot of players don't have in TF2. Players that don't have this will fall victim to ambushes and Spies very easily. When playing Heavy, this is something you should have. that you have a disadvantage to firing your minigun, since it takes a second for you to spin up. Having spacial awareness will not only save your life, but your teammates as well, especially to your Medic buddy. Heavy easily dominates most 1v1s, however he can easily fall prey to ambushes, so keeping a good eye out for enemies will prolong your life.

Spinning Up

As many should know, spinning, or revving, up your minigun significantly slows down your speed. You should only be spun up in certain situations so that you don't fall behind your team ( you are the slowest class). Situations where you should be revved up are:

When you see an enemy.

When nearing a chokepoint. (Like before nearing an objective or into a highly congested spot)

When you feel like you're going to be attacked. (Gut instinct of something's not right)

When rounding corners.

When you know you're going to be attacked. (i.e you see a Demoman-Medic combo hauling big time towards you)

Jumping while spinning up will not slow your forward momentum, so use this to pop around corners and catch enemies off guard. This will also allow you to gain some distance when advancing and will allow you to cover more ground faster.

However, when facing an enemy that can knock you back with damage (i.e a Sentry or a Heavy). It is best NOT to jump rev at them since it will knock you back. Heavy works best at close to mid-range and knockback is something you do not want because it will reduce your damage output.

Movement

When firing your minigun, you move quite slow. At best, you're moving around at the speed of a shuffle. This makes it hard to dodge enemy fire. So how do you avoid getting filled with several hundred bullets/rockets/grenades?

Answer: By moving left and right when firing the minigun.

Ok, so you may get hit, but at least you're not standing still like some kind of shooting target and getting hit by everything. Projectiles, like rockets and grenades, fly in a predicable path so you can easily sidestep them. And hitscan weapons, any bullet-like weapon, has to be aimed directly at you. Making yourself a harder target to hit will prolong your very short lifespan.

Falling Back

Falling back seems cowardly, but in fact, it's pretty useful in some situations. Heavy is great in most 1v1s, but he can fall easily to multiple enemies if they all gang up on him. The Miniguns are best against single opponents rather than a large swarm (seems rather contradictory to its real-life counterpart). Heavy may be good in 1v1s, but he's even better when ed by his team. Don't be afraid to fall back to safety, eat a Sandvitch, and refill your ammo before running back towards the frontlines. Falling back can alos be used to bait the enemy into your team; watch as those overconfident idiots get mowed down by your army of Snipers. (Bodyshots OP pls nerf)

Class Matchups

Danger Level (This list details who poses the most threat to you):

1. Sniper (can kill you from across the map)

2. Demoman (High damage output)

3. Engineer (Sentry Gun deals high damage and knockback)

4. Heavy (Highest DPS at close range)*

5. Soldier (Second highest explosive damage)

6. Spy (Backstabs)

7. Pyro (Deals 2nd highest DPS at close range)*

8. Scout (Deals 3rd Highest DPS at close range)

9. Medic (weapons do not do a lot of damage)

*It is debatable who deals more damage at close range. But Heavy has more health than Pyro, so it is reasonable he would stay alive if they started shooting at the same time.

Who to Kill (This list details who you should be gunning down first):

1. Medic (self-explanatory)

2. Engineer (can build buildings to hinder your team)

3. Demoman (High damage AoE)

4. Heavy (Highest DPS at close range, highest Health for any class)

5. Soldier (Highly maneuverable and deals a lot of AoE damage)

6. Pyro (Deadly at close range, can disrupt most ubers, highest health to speed ratio)

7. Sniper (Only shoot them if they're close, waste of time (and your life) if you shoot them from far away)

8. Spy (Only deadly when close, leave him to Pyros or explosive classes to kill/expose him)

9. Scout (Can easily be gunned down by your teammates, not usually a big threat in casual)

Scout

This annoying speedster comes second to Spies in of nuisances. Scouts usually attack you head on or from an unexpected angle and use his mobility to disorient you. Preventing you from hitting him and making you lose a large chunk of health in to process, the most annoying part is that Scouts usually get away because of his speed and double jumps. To deal with these annoyances, try to kill them before they get close. If they do get close, do not get disoriented with their jumps. Try and keep your crosshairs on the Scout as much as you can. A Heavy with good tracking skills can easily shoot down a Scout that tries to get up close. Using the Natasha can help, since the Natasha's slowdown ability can take away the Scout's speed, making him easier to hit.

Soldier

Soldier has the second highest healthpool and is the second slowest in movement speed, however, he more than makes up for it with his rocket jumps. Generally, a battle between the two of you depends on who gets hit the most (in other words, how well you can aim to hit him, and how much he can land his rockets on you). Soldier's rockets are affected by fall-off, meaning he does less damage at longer ranges (like your Minigun). So most likely he would be fighting at a similar distance to you. A rocket that directly hits you at this range does around 50-90 damage, meaning that a Soldier could kill you, or seriously harm you, with one clip (4 rockets). You have a slight advantage since projectiles are harder to land, unlike your minigun which is hitscan. So dodge and weave around the rockets as you gun him down.

Soldiers are most vulnerable when rocket jumping, mainly because of the damage it does to their health. Heavies are especially good at repealing rocket jumping Soldiers since of the knockback the Minigun produces. The Natasha is also good at preventing Soldiers from escaping since the slowdown affects his rocket jumps as well.

Pyro

Pyro is the most dangerous class at close range for you. The Pyro can deal a lot of damage with the Flamethrower which can melt through your health like butter. The Pyro also poses a threat even with a Medic because of the buff it received in Jungle Inferno and Tough Break, which reduces healing with hit with the Flamethower. Luckily, you do around the same amount of damage (maybe even more) at this range. Only downside is that you have to aim, while the Pyro doesn't. Deal with Pyros the same as Scouts: they like to ambush you and melt your health down to nothing, so take they out before they get close. Pyros are easier to deal with since they don't move as fast, but they like to confuse you with the airblast. Don't get disoriented and keep your crosshairs on the Pyro to gun it down.

Demoman

Demoman poses the greatest threat to you, PERIOD. His damage output is enough to one-shot you, even when fully overhealed. His stickies and grenades can kill you in an instant, three direct pipes will kill you as well as three stickies (assuming you are literally right over them). However, he has the same downfall as Soldier since he needs to actually aim to hit you directly. This only applies to his pipes though, since most Demomen are content with shooting their stickies (which is a viable tactic). If you avoid his explosives, he is an easy target to take down.

Demoknights are even easier to take care of since most of them are restricted in melee. However, most of them like to ambush you or hit you when you're low health. Be on the lookout for these Demos when you're under 200 HP. Luckily, they make an audible noise when charging, making it easy to spot them.

Heavy

Heavy fights depend on a lot of things. Usually though, the Heavy that wins has more health and shoots first. In descending order, the things that factor into a Heavy fight is:

1. Overall Health (Self-explanatory)

2. Medic/Medi-Gun (Quick-Fix is at the bottom since it overheals the least, Vacc is at top due to it's bullet resistance, Kritzkrieg and Stock are tied at second)

3. Who shot first? (Self-explanatory)

4. Minigun Damage (Brass Beast Huo-Long Heater (with flames) Minigun Tomislav Huo-Long Heater (without flames) Natasha)

Generally, the Heavy that tops these four points would win in a 1v1, but that's for a 1v1. In most situations, Heavies would be fighting with their team, so it can't be said who would win. If you find yourself in a 1v1 with a Heavy though, be the first to fire. The person that shoots first almost always wins. Next, try and make yourself harder to hit. This means moving around and crouching. Crouching makes your hitbox smaller and can make some bullets miss you.

Engineer

You wouldn't find yourself fighting this class on their own. Engineers will always be near or with a Sentry Gun. A thing to note is that you do 10% less damage to Level 2 Sentry Guns and 15% less to Level 3. This may sound like a lot, but note this was higher before Tough Break (the original was like around 25% for a Level 3). If you have an uber, it's best to get close to the Sentry before firing, else you would be knocked back by the bullets. If you don't it's best you leave it to other classes, like Spy or Demo to take you the Sentry, since you can't do a lot from a distance.

If you're fighting an Engineer with a Mini, target the Engineer first before the Sentry since he can easily build another one in an instant after you destroy it. You should have no problem fighting Engineers without Sentries. They're basically slower Scouts with a weaker Shotgun. Just watch out when they have Revenge Crits, they can two shot a Heavy.

Medic

Like the Engineer, you won't find this class fighting by themselves. Medics usually have teammates around them to protect themselves as they heal and build uber. If their teammates are killed, they usually run away so they don't lose the uber. If you can, target the Medics when you can so the enemy team can't use an uber. When fighting against Medics, strafe to avoid the needles from the Syringe Gun and the crossbow shots from the Crusaders Crossbow. They are easy to avoid and they don't do a lot of damage.

Sniper

The second of three classes that can kill you in one hit. Sniper is a PAIN for Heavies. They can easily take you out with a fully-charged headshot, which cannot be protected by overheal (it does 450 damage). They are also FAR away from the frontlines, making it impossible for you to hit them (and if you did, you'd be dead already). It is best to let other classes (like Scout, Spy or Soldier) to get to the backlines and kill the Sniper or to have your own Sniper take him out. Next to Snipers, Medics and Engineers, you are the fourth most important target for Snipers. If you're having trouble with Snipers, use the Fists of Steel when going out to the frontlines or use cover. Jump and weave around to make it hard for the Snipers to hit your head.

My strategy is turning backwards and jump crouching towards the direction of the Sniper. Doing this will make your head smaller to the Sniper and also makes it harder to hit. Another thing can do is to flick your mouse in a random direction every now and then. Heavy moves the most when aiming so his head moves a lot, this will also make your head hard to hit.

Spy

Spy, despite being able to kill you in one hit, is more of a nuisance than a threat (like the Scout). Spies usually attack when your attention is at its lowest. This is either during the heat of battle or when you're heading to the frontlines. Aside from his backstabs, Spy's weapons do not do a lot of damage and the damage is usually negligible (unless you're at low health). But note that Spy's revolvers are the second most accurate weapon in the game, second to the Sniper Rifles, meaning there's a huge chance he will hit you. Heavy is a great class for dealing with Spies since his bullets will make the Spy's cloak blink if it hits him, not only dealing damage but also revealing the Spy's position. The Natasha is a great weapon to use against Spies since it will not only deal damage and reveal his position, but it will also slow him down as well.

This concludes the Heavy Guide: Just the Basics. this guide serves as a basic tutorial and note that Heavy (or any class) should be played to your own style. Playing a class to your enjoyment makes the game 100% more fun for you.

HAVE FUN!

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