Heavy Guide- Just the Basics

Heavy is the both the easiest and the hardest class to play in Team Fortress 2. Easiest since he can easily decimate a team in seconds, hardest since he can easily taken down as well. I know this because Heavy is one of my most played classes and also one of my favorite mercs within the TF2 franchise.

Now there might be a lot of Heavy guides and tutorials out there, but what makes this different from other guides is that it comes from the perspective of a normal player. Basically an average, normal player of Team Fortress 2. Someone with enough experience to not be called a noob, but someone who is far from being a "professional".

Take note this is all my opinion, others views may differ and that fine by me.

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Any pictures came from the Team Fortress 2 Wiki

Now let's get down to things.

Part 1- Before You Go

Things to Know:

HP: 300 (Fish Cake/Dalokohs Bar: 350; Quick-Fix: 376; Overheal 450)

Movement Speed: 77% (normal running speed is considered 100%); 37% (Spun up); 15% (Brass Beast spun up)

Heavy has the highest base and overheal health in the game making him one heck of a meatshield. This is offset by his very slow movement speed. Heavy is also the slowest class in-game and his movement speed is almost halved when spun up, making him one of the easiest classes to hit next to people standing still. Heavy also boasts the largest hitbox in the game, making him a literal pincushion for damage. These two downsides almost negates his health benefit, but luckily his weaponry more than make up for it.

Primaries

All of Heavies primaries have 200 ammo and are one of the few weapons that do not need to reload. Each unit of ammo fires 4 “bullets” in a somewhat small circle equivalent to a shotgun blast. Theoretically, all Heavies should be only using their primary weapon in battle, as the primaries are the only weapon he has that can deal consistent and reliable damage. (I’ll talk about this later on)

It is also noted that Heavy is the only class that requires a “charge-up” time in order to fire his weapon (Sniper doesn’t count since he can hip-fire for 50 damage). Making Heavy the only class to have a complete disadvantage to other classes.

The miniguns also have a ramp-up time, which requires the to spin-up the minigun for one complete second. Before this one second spin-up is done, the minigun’s damage and accuracy will suffer horrendously. The original nerf was in the Meet Your Match update, where Heavies must fire their weapons for one seconds in order to reach the normal damage and accuracy. This was later buffed in the Jungle Inferno update to make it less taxing on the Heavy.

Minigun/Reskins

The stock Minigun is considered one of two reliable miniguns the Heavy has. The Minigun has a high rate of fire and deals a huge amount of damage in close range. However, anything further than mid-range, the damage will fall off quickly and the shots will more than likely miss their intended targets. It is implied that the Minigun should be used in close range, to maximize damage output.

Natasha

The first Heavy minigun to be unlocked, the Natasha has a 30% longer spin-up and a 25% damage penalty however it can slow enemies down and reduces damage by 20% once your health goes below 150. (Though to be honest, it kinda sucks)

While not doing a lot of damage, the slowdown effect more than makes up for it. The Natasha can slow enemies down to 113 Hammer units, in comparison this is less than half of Heavy’s normal movement speed. The slowdown can also interrupt enemies in the air, punishing anyone who rocket or sticky jumps. Note that the slowdown effect is reduced with distance, however, there are unconfirmed reports that this “nerf” was implemented, but then taken out after it was found not to be working. Thus, the slowdown effect may work at all distances. (This is just speculation after all)

The Natasha should be used as a /defensive weapon rather than an offensive due to it’s slower spin-up time and low damage output. If you’re the only Heavy on the team, choose another minigun instead.

Brass Beast

The Brass Beast boasts the highest damage output of all miniguns, but with severe costs to mobility and spin-up time. The Brass Beast (BB) deals 20% more damage in exchange for a 50% longer spin-up time and a 60% slower movement speed.

This weapon should not be used in ANY situation. PERIOD. It is impractical and the costs outweighs the benefits. Heavy’s slow speed makes him an easy target, and this weapon makes it even slower. The spin-up speed is also an issue, as Heavy can be overwhelmed and killed before he has the chance to spin-up.

Tomislav

The other reliable mingun for the Heavy. The Tomislav spins up 20% faster and is 20% more accurate than the stock Minigun, it also has no revving noise, making it the only silent minigun. The only downside it has is that it fires 20% slower than the stock.

This minigun has raised the age-old question on what is the better minigun: Stock or Tomislav. The Tomislav, while spinning up faster and having a tighter spread, has a slower fate of fire, meaning less damage is going out at one time. Typically, the Tomislav will win in a distance contest with the stock since of its tighter spread, but will lose up close due to it’s firing speed.

The Tomislav is also great for Spy checking, without the sound of the revving minigun, a Heavy can easily hear if a Spy uncloaks.

I consider the Tomislav to be a great sidegrade to the Heavy. I can’t say if it’s better than it, but I know it’s a good alternative to the Stock.

Huo-Long Heater

The last of Heavy’s primaries is Huo-Long Heater. It creates a ring of fire that deals 12 damage and 4 afterburn damage and deals 25% more damage to player who are on fire. The downsides are that when spun-up the minigun will lose 4 ammo per second and the minigun deals 10% less damage than the stock.

To be honest, the Huo-Long Heater is not the best primary for Heavy. It ranks lower than the Natasha, but higher than the Brass Beast. The Heater’s main issue is the ammo consumption. Heavy’s miniguns use up a lot of ammo. A LOT OF AMMO. Most of the time, Heavy needs to conserve his ammo since the Minigun is usually his main method of attacking. This mingun should only be used if either there is a cart (if on offense), or a friendly Engineer (if on defense).

The weapon’s biggest shine is not its ring of fire, but rather it’s 25% increase in damage to players on fire. Team up with a Pyro and mow everyone down.

Secondaries

Secondaries should only be used as utilities. Heavy’s secondary weapons are shotgun, however, they lack the huge damage output that the miniguns make and are considered completely obsolete when compared to them. As a Heavy, your secondary should be a lunchbox item. You can roll with a shotgun, but a lunchbox item makes you a better team player (unless if it’s the Buffalo Steak, that’s trash).

I’ll only be covering the lunchbox items in this section. Since they are more relevant and practical than the shotguns.

Sandvitch

The go-to lunchbox secondary for Heavy. The Sandvitch heals Heavy for 300 HP over 4 seconds and has a recharge rate of 30 seconds. The Sandvitch can be eaten with either M1 or the taunt key and can be thrown to teammates as a medium-sized health kit with M2 (which is 50% of their base health). The Sandvitch’s recharge meter can be instantly filled if you pick up a health kit when at full health or touching the Resupply Cabinet. You an also pick up your Sandvitch if you thrown it out, but it will not give you any health, rather it will recharge your meter.

The Sandvitch has long since been a Heavy secondary up until the Jungle Inferno update and the Second Banana came along. I’ll talk about more about the Second Banana later on.

Dalokohs Bar

This chocolate bar heals Heavy for 100 HP per 4 seconds but increases his base health to 350 for 30 seconds. Unlike the Sandvitch, the Dalokohs has a cooldown of only 10 seconds. This weapon gives Heavy added survivability and is useful if there are little to no Medics on the team. Throwing this will give your teammates a small health kit (or 20% of their base health).

Ideally, this weapon is not the greatest ever since the Second Banana came out. It restores very little health compared to the Second Banana and the benefits are not very great in the long run. The increase of base health does not stack to overheal, so Heavy will only max out at 450 HP with the Bar’s buff.

Second Banana

This new secondary has given the Sandvitch its run for its money. It heals Heavy for 200 HP and recharges in 10 seconds. Throwing this will give your teammates a small health kit (or 20% of their base health).

The Second Banana is basically the combination of the Sandvitch’s large healing factor and the Dalokohs Bar’s fast cooldown. The Second Banana is usually for roaming Heavies since their healing factor when given to others is not so great when compared to the Sandvitch. The 200 HP healing will usually heal Heavy back up to full HP unless he is under 100 HP.

Buffalo Steak Sandvitch

Must I explain this trash weapon that should be only used in Medieval Mode? Fine.

The Steak increases Heavy’s speed by 35% and makes his damage min-crit, however he is restricted to only melee weapons and he takes 20% more damage. The effects lasts for 16 seconds and when thrown with M2, acts like a medium health kit. It’s recharge rate is the same as the Sandvitch, 30 seconds.

This weapon shouldn’t be used since Heavy is bad at melee combat (More on this later on). Not to mention the extra damage he takes makes him a literal glass cannon. Heavy players are better off with the first three secondaries due to their healing abilities.

Melee

Heavy’ melee weapons (like his secondaries) should be used as a utility rather than an actual weapon. Heavy’s slow movement speed makes it impossible to land a hit on an enemy unless the enemy is specifically gunning for you and coming within melee range. In practicality, you should shoot them with your minigun. It’s faster.

Fists/Reskins

There’s nothing really special about the Fists. Swings every 0.8 seconds, 65 regular damage, 88 minicrit, 195 crit. The only thing special is that Heavy can preform the Showdown Taunt with it. This only applies to the Fists, Apoco-Fists, and the Holiday Punch.

Killing Gloves of Boxing (KGB)

These boxing gloves swing 20% slower than the Fists, but gains 5 seconds of crits on kill. The 5 second timer is reset after each kill and Heavy can potentially go on a rampage if there is enough enemies to kill. It is recommended for Heavy to use a Shotgun or the Tomisalv in conjunction with this melee to dish out maximum damage. Mainly because a shotgun is faster than revving up a minigun and because the Tomislav is the fastest minigun to rev up.

Gloves of Running Urgency (GRU)

The GRU increases Heavy’s movement speed by 30% when active, but drains his health to 100 and has a holster penalty of 50%. The big downside to this weapon is the health drain (introduced in Jungle Inferno). It forces Heavy to put the weapon away before reaching the frontlines so he is not at a disadvantage with health. Since this nerf, this weapon is not viable for the Heavy.

Eviction Notice

The Eviction Notice is the slightly better version of the GRU. Its swing speed is 40% faster and each hit grants a 3 second speed boost. Having the weapon out will increase Heavy’s speed by 15% but it will also drain is HP down to 200. It also has a damage penalty of 60%. This weapon is mainly used for its mobility purposes, since the downside health drain isn’t as bad as the GRU’s. It is not viable to melee enemies with this weapon because of its low damage.

Warrior’s Spirit

Like all weapons in the Hibernating Bear set, this is a bad weapon. While this weapon deal 30% more damage and heals 50 HP on kill, this weapon makes Heavy take 30% more damage when active. Heavy is a class that is not made for melee because of his slow speed thus making this weapon not only useless, but deadly since it turns Heavy into a glass cannon. Even in Medieval mode, this weapon is bad. Don’t choose this weapon unless you want to die a lot.

Fists of Steel

One of the few Heavy melees that are viable, the Fists of Steel’s only upside is that Heavy take 40% less damage from ranged sources. This means a fully overhealed Heavy can survive a fully charged headshot. This weapon is great when retreating since it reduces a lot of damage or for soaking up damage for your teammates. However, this weapon makes you take double damage from melee, reduces healing and overheal by 40% when active, and holsters 100% slower. The holster penalty can be negated somewhat by rapidly switching weapons, but the healing penalties cannot be ignored. When being healed, it’s best to put the gloves away.

Holiday Punch

The Holiday Punch functions similarly to the Stock Fists, but when you crit or hit someone from behind, it will make the target laugh (unless the target is under an influence that would not make them taunt, like being underwater, disguised, cloaked, or in the air). This leaves the target defenseless and is great for stopping ubers (except for the Quick-Fix’s uber). Hitting someone from behind or critting them will do NO damage whatsoever, so be sure to use another weapon to deal the final blow. This weapon can also use the Showdown Taunt.

Showdown

This taunt for the Heavy only works on two types of melee: Fists/Reskins and the Holiday Punch. This is the only ranged tauntkill in the game and can be aimed almost anywhere. The taunt is also the fastest in the game, being only 3 seconds (in comparison, eating a lunchbox item takes 4 seconds). The range of the taunt is 500 Hammer Units or the equivalent of 9 players standing shoulder to shoulder of any class. In a horizontal line, the range is about the length of one of the storage units at Granary. The taunt’s vertical range is approximately the distance between the ground level and second-floor ceiling of 2Fort. The taunt deals bullet damage and can be resisted with the Vaccinator’s Bullet Resistance, Fists of Steel, and other damage reducing weapons, though note that the default damage is 500, making Heavy the only class able to survive it (assuming he is fully overhealed and has the Fists of Steel or a Vaccinator bullet resistance).

Image found here.

Coming Soon- Part 2: On The Field (Battlefield Knowledge and One on Ones)