Community Projectile Shield strategy

This article is about Community Projectile Shield strategy.

General Strategy (as Medic)

General Projectile Shield usage

• A Friendly Engineer's Wrench hits that are aimed towards his buildings can be nullified by the Projectile Shield, exercise caution when trying to defend your Engineer and his Sentry Gun.
• Medic Robots cannot heal their patient if your Projectile Shield is between them. This can be exploited to temporarily force their patient to lose the ÜberCharge's effects.
  • Note that friendly Medics cannot start healing through your Projectile Shield, it also blocks your teammates from seeing the health of Robots.
• Since the Projectile Shield charges based on healing, the Quick-Fix has an advantage over other Medi Guns as it charges the Projectile Shield quickly, especially when using its ÜberCharge.
• Standing on slanted areas allows splash damage to go under your Projectile Shield and damage you and your teammates. Aiming down can help reduce the possibility of this happening.
• While using your Projectile Shield, your teammates will most likely be behind you. Make sure you are healing a patient before using the Shield, as switching patients while using the Shield can be quite dangerous.
• The effectiveness of the Kritzkrieg is enhanced when your teammates have nigh invulnerability from your blocking of the damage.
  • The Medi Gun's ÜberCharge is usually redundant behind the Projectile Shield, pop it before or after you use your Projectile Shield.
• The Projectile Shield is a superb Spy checker, as it can reliably damage enemy Spies whilst you can keep a safe distance.
• If a Super Scout is running past the team's defenses, slow it down with the Projectile Shield whenever possible.
• Be wary of your surroundings; you cannot check or attack Robots behind your back, so pay attention to alternate routes Robots can possibly take to either be able to prepare for it or inform teammates of their presence.
• Changing your Projectile Shield to an unconventional angle may help on some areas in some maps, such as making use of both its sides with a nearby wall to cover both you and your patient from threats from multiple sides.
• Your Shield charges faster when your teammates do damage, make sure you take advantage of those opportunities when a teammate is likely to deal large amounts of damage to charge your Shield in a quicker manner.
• Reviving dead teammates with their reanimators will help you gain Projectile Shield charge, even if you do not gain ÜberCharge for doing so. Alternatively, the Projectile Shield can be used as protection while reviving a dead teammate.
  • Using the Vaccinator's ÜberCharges will instantly add a huge amount of charge for your Projectile Shield if used on a reanimator; the amount of charge gained depends on the health required for the reanimator to fully revive the dead class.

Using the Projectile Shield defensively

• Doorways can be effective places to defend with the Projectile Shield, since you can have an easier time preventing Robots getting past you and you are safer from splash damage.
• Blocking critical-boosted Robots, most notably Soldier or Demoman Robots (especially the spamming variants) is essential to your team's survival.
  • Pay attention to when these spawn and have a Projectile Shield ready, you may need more than one charge to take down the giants.
  • If caught without a charge, try to stay out of the line-of-fire. If your teammates die, you can always revive them, but if you die your team will be at a significant diadvantage.
• The Projectile Shield can be used as a fall-back option if your team cannot handle the Robots, or if most of your team is down. If it comes to that, use it to save your ÜberCharge.
  • Alternatively, you can use the stock ÜberCharge to save your Energy charge. Well-timed Projectile Shield usage can contribute much more than an ÜberCharge.
• Keep in mind that you are not invincible from all types of damage when your shield is active. Below are the exceptions to your Projectile Shield's protection:
  • Rockets hitting walls and props behind you or your back sides can splash you.
  • Grenades can bounce back from surrounding areas towards you.
  • Splashes from explosions cannot be blocked on non-flat surfaces.
  • The explosion of the Sentry Buster will still kill you when in range, so remember to back up when one is about to detonate.
  • Flames will pass through the shield.

Using the Projectile Shield offensively

• Be wary of the temptation to blindly charge at Robots, hoping to vaporise them with your Projectile Shield. You risk overextending without support, and are generally in a weak position when your Energy expires.
  • If you are using the Shield to damage Robots, make sure to keep an eye on your Energy meter and start retreating once it runs low.
• If you are using the Vaccinator, popping a resistance when you charge Robots with the Projectile Shield can protect you and your patient if they can fire through, and allows you to get large amounts of damage in.
• The Projectile Shield moves closer to you if you look up or look down. You can exploit this to bodyblock giant robots without any threat of them firing back.
  • Closing the Projectile Shield towards yourself while moving forward can also stop projectiles from passing through the Shield.
• Projectile Shield is incapable of destroying buildings; you will need help from your teammates to take Engineer bots out. Engineer bots will always try to hide exactly behind their Sentry Guns, meaning you cannot reliably take Engineer Robots out solo.
  • However, you can use the Shield to protect your teammates from the Engineer Robot's Sentry Gun while they destroy it

General Strategy (as other classes)

• Try to stay behind the Projectile Shield whenever it is active, it blocks most forms of damage and allows you to be more aggressive.
• Understand what your Medic needs to build Energy; keep a safe, yet practical distance whilst building your Medic's Energy.
• With a good Projectile Shield Medic, you can go head-on with the Robots and not fear taking damage. Keep in mind that if your Medic's Energy runs out when you don't expect it, you will likely be overrun. Plan ahead.
• The Medic's Projectile Shield is charged faster when you damage Robots; classes like the Soldier can comfortably assist a Medic in building their Energy this way.

Class Specific Strategy

 Scout

• Due to the Scout gaining overheal from any collected credits, the Projectile Shield is not very useful to you unless credits are scarce.
  • However, if you notice your teammates are low on health and the Medic is using the Shield, use the Mad Milk to get your teammates back to full health as the Medic has a harder time healing the entire team.

 Soldier

• The Projectile Shield allows you to safely use one of your Banners. Try timing the Battalion's Backup or the Concheror to when the Shield is about to run out, as the Shield already protects your teammates, using either of these banners when it is still active will not have much effect.
  • The Buff Banner can be used at any point to increase the amount of damage your team does, including the Projectile Shield.

 Pyro

• When trying to airblast critical projectiles, try to stay close to the edge of the Projectile Shield to make sure you can properly airblast them back.
  • If the Medic or another class is very close to the Robot, avoid airblasting entirely. The Shield damage on contact is much more valuable than the airblast projectiles. Additionally, the potential knockback can mess up the your teammates' aim, placement of Sticky traps, or generally reduce the damage of classes due to damage fall-off.

 Demoman

• When facing Heavy Robots equipped with the Deflector, ask your Medic if he can use the Projectile Shield to take the attention of the Heavy Robots away from you so you can use your primary to deal damage.

 Heavy

• Don't be afraid to bodyblock Giant Robots while the Projectile Shield is up, but try to communicate this with your Medic first.

 Medic

See: General Strategy (as Medic)

 Sniper

• The Projectile Shield poses no real benefit to you as a Sniper, due to you staying in the backlines. It is however helpful in times when you are overrun by robots, providing protection for your escape to a better vantage point.

 Spy

• The damage from the Projectile Shield may be able to distract Giant Robots, allowing for easy backstabs. Be careful of any smaller Robots that may spawn after the Giant, however.