Community Payload Race strategy

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This article is about Community Payload Race strategy.

General strategy

• Remember that stopping the other team from pushing their cart is just as important as pushing your own Cart.
• Try to balance out the amount of teammates pushing your own Cart and stopping the enemy team's Cart.
• There is a limit to how fast the Cart can go after you reach a certain amount of pushers; once you reach that point try to have the remaining teammates focus on stopping the other team.
• Remember that you can use your own Cart as cover.
• Slowly picking off the enemy is not a wise move because the Cart can heal nearby team members.
• You cannot win just by defending.
• Players often try to approach their own cart from behind, and defenders tend to expect this. If you approach from the front of the cart, you can often catch the enemy off guard, or in a pincer movement with your teammates coming the other way.

Class-specific strategy

 Scout

• Remember you can push the Cart twice as fast.
• Sneak behind enemy lines and use hit and run tactics against those pushing the cart.
  • Pair this with the Force-A-Nature to slow down the cart's movement should you not kill your target.
  • You can also use the Mad Milk when you do this so you have a higher chance to survive.
• The Scout is the smallest class in the game, and your small body is easily covered by the Payload cart if you crouch. You can stay behind the cart while pushing it at twice the rate without risking any health.

 Soldier

• Use the Pain Train to push the Cart twice as fast.
• The Soldier's ability to Rocket Jump allows him to quickly switch between offensive and defensive roles.

 Pyro

• The cart's ammunition supply allows for consistent and repeated airblasting. This is useful to defend your allied cart-pushers from melee and short-range attackers.
• Sneak up behind the enemy Cart and let loose with your Flamethrower; this strategy is most effective with the Backburner's damage increase and the ability to crit when facing someone's back.
  • However, remember that the enemy cart can heal, making afterburn less effective.
• Airblast enemies off their own Cart to slow it down.
• When you attack players near the enemy cart, your ability to survive is reduced by the enemy cart's healing and ammunition refills. Afterburn is largely nullified.

 Demoman

• Use your stickybombs to perform area-denial on the cart.
• Use the Pain Train to push the cart twice as fast.
  • However, this leaves you vulnerable to enemy fire due to increased bullet damage.
• Sticky-jump your way onto the cart, onto the enemy cart, or into the enemy base to either push the cart or prevent the enemy from pushing theirs.
• Your grenades' splash damage can be used to your advantage when attacking the enemy cart.

 Heavy

• The cart acts as a mobile Dispenser, allowing for infinite firing while still moving. However, this makes you a vulnerable target for Snipers.
• Defend key chokepoints as the cart approaches to slow down the cart's movement.
  • You can use the Tomislav to retain the element of surprise when doing this.
• Run right into the enemy's cart to momentarily stop it. Your high health will allow you to survive longer, and if you can catch them by surprise, you can even pick off a few of your opponents before you die.
• If the enemy's cart is approaching the end, defend it with your life! Your weapons will shred through the enemy forces and you can live longer with your health and your Sandvich.

 Engineer

• Place Sentry Guns along the enemy's track to slow their advance; however, avoid placing buildings directly on the track, as the cart instantly destroys any buildings it touches.
• A well-placed Sentry Gun can easily diminish the health of the enemy cartpushers and help secure a victory for your team.
• If you are focusing on pushing the cart, the Gunslinger makes an excellent weapon. The fast-building Combat Mini-Sentry and increased health allows you to play the offense easier than an Engineer usually could.

 Medic

• Stick to the back to minimize being killed while healing your teammates.
• Try to prioritize healing your teammates that are pushing, as healing teammates attempting to slow the enemy puts you at greater risk.
• You don't have to look at your teammate to heal them, so use this to your advantage. Watch out for Spies as you're pushing the cart.
• Use your Ubercharge to stop the enemy's progress by running right into the cart. It will be stopped momentarily and there will be nothing they can do to continue the push, save for the Pyro's airblast.
  • Pair up with another Medic using the Ubersaw to use the chain uber strategy to infuriate your enemies as they try to push the cart.

 Sniper

• Snipers can take advantage of the large amounts of players swarming around the Payload and pick them off one by one due to the predictable path of the cart; keep in mind that any non-lethal hits can be healed by the cart in a short period of time.
• You can also utilize the high density of players on the Payload by saturating the enemy with Jarate; the damage amplification of the device will assist your team in clearing the cart.
• Use the Machina's piercing shot to take out 2 or more enemy players when they are pushing the Payload; players generally cluster around the cart, making piercing shots an effective method of weakening and/or stopping the opposition.

 Spy

• Scout ahead to check for enemy Sentry nests.
• Sneak up on the enemy team's Cart and backstab while they're focused on pushing.
• You can use the Dead Ringer to push the cart with relative safety. If you 'die', consider it as an opportunity to sneak behind enemy lines and eliminate key targets and threats.