Soldier (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format. For the generic article on this topic, see: Soldier.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

The Soldier (sometimes referred to as "Solly" or "Sollie") is the default pocket and roaming class of the standard competitive lineup, valued for his versatility, synergy with Medics, mobility and ambushing abilities.

Information

Health

Class	Health	Overheal	Quick-Fix Overheal
Soldier	200	300	251
With the Battalion's Backup equipped	220	330	276

Speed

Condition	Normal	Backward	Crouched	Swimming
Soldier	80 %	72 %	27 %	64 %
Charging the Cow Mangler 5000	27 %	27 %	9 %	21 %
Wielding the Escape Plan over 160 Health	80 %	72 %	27 %	64 %
Wielding the Escape Plan between 160 and 121 Health	88 %	79 %	29 %	70 %
Wielding the Escape Plan between 120 and 81 Health	96 %	86 %	32 %	77 %
Wielding the Escape Plan between 80 and 41 Health	112 %	101 %	37 %	90 %
Wielding the Escape Plan below 41 Health	128 %	115 %	43 %	102 %

Weapons

Main article: Soldier weapons (competitive)

The Soldier relies on the splash damage and jumping capabilities of his Rocket Launchers to deal damage and navigate around the map quickly.

Primary

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Stock Rocket Launcher		4	20	Base: 90 Crit: 270
Promotional / Craft Original					Rockets fly straight down the crosshair from the center of the screen.
Unlock Direct Hit				Base: 112 Crit: 338	Has 80% faster rocket speed.  Deals 25% more damage.  Guarantees mini-crit damage on opponents sent airborne by an explosion, grapple hook, or enemy attack.  Has 70% smaller splash damage radius.
Craft Black Box		3		Base: 90 Crit: 270	On hit: restores up to 20 health points.  Has a 25% smaller clip size.
Craft Rocket Jumper	N/A	4	60	Base: 0 Crit: 0	+200% max primary ammo on wearer.  No self inflicted blast damage taken.  -100% damage penalty.  No random critical hits.  Unable to carry the intelligence and the PASS Time JACK.
Craft Liberty Launcher		5	20	Base: 68 Crit: 203	+25% clip size.  Has 40% faster rocket speed.  -25% blast damage from rocket jumps.  -25% damage penalty.
Craft Cow Mangler 5000		4	∞	Base: 90 Charged shot: 122 Crit: 122-151 Afterburn: 8 / sec. × 6 secs.	Does not use ammo (replaced with an ammo meter).   No random critical hits.   Deals only 20% damage to buildings.   Mini-crits whenever it would normally crit.   Secondary fire is a charged shot that:  Mini-crits players.  Causes enemies to suffer afterburn for 6 seconds.  Disables buildings for 4 seconds.  Empties entire ammo meter.  Cannot be used unless ammo meter is full.
Craft Beggar's Bazooka		3	20	Base: 90 Crit: 270	Hold Fire to load up to three rockets.  Release Fire to unleash the barrage at 223% increased fire rate.  +3 degrees random projectile deviation.  Overloading the chamber will cause a misfire.  Cannot collect ammo from dispensers while active.  -20% less explosion radius.
Craft Air Strike		4-8		Base: 76 Crit: 230	-15% damage from rocket jumps.  Increased attack speed while blast jumping.  Clip size increased on kill (up to +4).  -15% damage penalty.  -10% explosion radius.  -20% explosion radius while blast jumping.

Usage

Soldier is a common choice for pocket because he can take a lot of damage and react relatively quickly to defend his Medic. Rocket Launcher and Shotgun can both deal damage faster and more reliably than Heavy's Minigun or either of Demoman's main weapons, something that is absolutely crucial when fighting Scouts. His Rocket Launcher also lets him easily contribute to building ÜberCharge through self-inflicted damage, and the fact that Rocket Jumps can be quickly used to switch between defensive and offensive tactics makes him a good target for ÜberCharges.

Common Tactics

One of the most important things to keep in mind as either a Pocket or a Roaming Soldier is mobility. The Soldier moves at 240 Hammer Units per second or 80% of the normal speed. To compensate, a Soldier absolutely must have a strong grasp of rocket jumping and air strafing to stay in the action. Rocket jumping is also a very good way of securing a height advantage, something that helps players inflict more punishment on their enemies. As a result of their need to damage themselves just to keep up with the rest of the team or to gain an important height advantage, Pocket Soldiers will generally receive more attention from Medics than the rest of the team. Due to their large amount of health, Soldiers can form the core of most pushes, supported by the Medic and Demoman. Either Soldier should be ready to seize an opportunity and lead a push. It is also good for Soldiers to practice how to airshot. Airshots can be practiced in MGE Mod, tr walkway, and more.

5-CP Push Strategies

The first thing Soldiers should focus on when playing any 5-CP map is, like the rest of the team, getting to the midpoint quickly. Roamers typically rocket jump, while the pocket soldier is expected to damage himself to low health and run to the middle point using the Escape Plan. Typically, the Soldiers will hold back for several seconds in order to get a full overheal before entering the mid-fight. Learning the most efficient rollout is especially important for Soldiers because, without rocket jumping or running with the Escape Plan, Soldiers are slower than any other class in the standard competitive lineup. Memorizing the fastest and most health-efficient path to the middle point on each 5-CP map is essential for soldiers. Usually, the roamer is expected to jump just far enough in front of the medic that he can still receive heals. This is by no means guaranteed, and as a player, the Soldier needs to learn when and where to make necessary adjustments to his rollout.

The near-constant stream of health that the Medic gives to the Soldier can enable him to enter the battle fully overhealed to 300 HP. Roaming Soldiers have two options at the start of a 5-CP map. They have the option of using the Gunboats to reach the midpoint very quickly, sometimes even before the Scouts and Demoman. The Gunboats are mainly for Roaming Soldiers who don't normally defend the Medic so value the added mobility over the hitscan weapon. They also have the option of using the Concheror to remain mobile while gaining health simultaneously.

Once at the midpoint, the Pocket Soldiers should keep the enemy Soldiers and Demoman occupied with spam, and defend against aggressive players who are rushing in, such as a rocket-jumping Soldier or a Scout attempting to pick an important player. Pocket Soldiers in particular should keep an eye out for enemy Scouts aiming to kill their Medics, and ward them off. Roaming soldiers are a bit more fluid, usually play very aggressively, and attempt to kill an important player such as a Demoman or Medic.

Soldiers have several options for attacking at the midpoint. A roaming Soldier can use the Gunboats to arrive at the point quickly in order to secure a height advantage early on. During the mid-fight, Soldiers can also utilize an offensive rocket jump and attempt to pick the enemy Medic and swing the battle in their team's favor. However, this maneuver is rather risky, as such an attack will place the Soldier in the midst of the enemy team. This shouldn't put you off; Remember that as a Roaming Soldier, you are expendable, sacrificing your life can force the enemy into a bad position and gift your team the upper hand. Even if jumping the enemy combo at the mid-fight didn't result in a kill, it can still be useful, because it throws the enemy into disarray and can deal a lot of damage. As a result, the enemy team will have to play passively, as they will not have the health to go aggressive.

A roaming Soldier on the team that loses the mid-fight can choose to stick with the combo, and try to hold a chokepoint or go with the remaining Scouts of the team. The roaming Soldier can also try to ambush the enemy team and pick their Medic, either by hiding in an often overlooked area or aggressively rocket-jumping over the Medic's teammates. This tactic is extremely risky, and will not always result in the death of the Medic.

Soldiers on the team that wins the mid-fight can move on to the next point while a Scout captures the midpoint, and push on against the fleeing enemy team. The Roaming Soldier will often go through the flank to check for any enemies hiding. Capitalizing on this opportunity can result in the team taking the second point with little resistance. Roamers can either play conservatively and watch out for remaining enemies who may try to attack the Medic or rush the enemy aggressively, finishing them off before support arrives.

Attack-Defend Strategies

The Soldier's role on Attack/Defend maps is fairly straightforward. On the attacking team, the Soldier will, as usual, be the core of most pushes, rocket-jumping to pick key targets, and destroying a Sentry Gun if the defending team has set one up. The defending Soldier will attempt to block the enemy's advance, blocking captures, and rocket-jumping to perches to make defending easier. The Soldier on the attacking team will need to watch for the enemy team's Sentry Gun, if they have one, as a few well-placed rockets can take it out and allow a team's Scout to harass the enemy team if the Engineer is absent. Soldiers attacking or defending an elevated control point can rocket-jump to the point and use the height advantage to block enemies attempting to step on the point. Soldiers may need to be proficient in performing aerials in order to prevent the enemy Soldier and Demoman from taking away their height advantage.

King-of-the-Hill Strategies

King of the Hill is a change of pace for Soldiers, and many have a hard time adapting. Compared to other game modes, there is much less emphasis on the pocket when pushing, and many teams chose to have both soldiers take an aggressive, roaming role, while the Medic mostly heals the Demoman. King of the Hills maps are often an off-class friendly game mode, and it's not uncommon for the pocket to switch to a class such as Heavy. The roamer is often very open to off-classing, and classes like Sniper, Engineer, and Spy can see serious use. When not off-classing, both soldiers are expected to play very aggressively and pressure the enemy Demo-Medic Combo. A successful soldier will often suicide and make very aggressive pushes, even more often than other game types.

Weaknesses

The Soldier, although very versatile, is also very slow. His rocket jump ability deals damage to himself, and combined with fall damage can tear away his health very quickly. This is especially true for Pocket Soldiers, who will oftentimes prefer to have a Shotgun in replacement for the Gunboats. Another issue with the Soldier is his greatest strength: his versatility. The Soldier is able to do most jobs other classes could not do as well as a Soldier, like defending and attacking. A Scout, for instance, is a great offense class, however, he lacks the firepower to defend, whereas a Soldier could easily be offensive and still have the firepower to hold a point. However, the Soldier does not have the firepower of a Heavy or a Demoman, nor does he have the speed of a Scout, meaning a Soldier cannot excel at a specific job, unlike other classes.

See also

• Soldier weapons (competitive)
• Soldier
• Classes (competitive)
• Standard competitive lineup