Anti-Soldier strategy

“

Oi, lend us yer shovel, so I can dig yer grave! Click to listen — The Sniper

”

The Soldier is a devastating, bulky predator who has an above average amount of health and is capable of effective attacks from any range. While slow on foot, the Soldier is known for his trademark rocket jumping ability which allows experienced players to quickly move around a map and reach high areas at a cost of self-inflicted damage. Generally, the best way to engage a Soldier is in an open area where you can avoid his rockets and counterattack. The Soldier is also disadvantaged when he has the lower ground in a battle, if he is forced to fire his rockets at uphill angles, it will limit and or eliminate his ability to deal splash damage depending on his opponents positioning. Keep in mind that the Soldier has a number of different loadout options that allow him to give offensive and defensive buffs to teammates, heal himself, and wield the most dangerous melee weapon in the game if his health is low enough.

General

Attributes	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Role	The Soldier is an all-around class with a dangerous primary weapon and few exploitable weaknesses. He is particularly strong when he takes the high ground.
Health	The Soldier has the second largest amount of default health of all classes, and when overhealed, can be very difficult to take down.
Speed	The Soldier's base speed is low, but he is capable of quick bursts of speed with Rocket Jumping and the Equalizer.
Power	The rockets that Soldiers fire are highly damaging at close range, but are less powerful and can be dodged more easily at long range.

Weapon Specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Soldier's tools, and how to counter them.

Primary Weapons

• Rockets, with the exception of those from the Direct Hit, move slowly. Try to dodge them by strafing and jumping or use a Compression blast.

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Rocket Launcher	The Rocket Launcher is a very versatile and powerful weapon, but it can only hold four loaded rockets at a time. Watching the Soldier's actions and attacking when he has no rockets loaded can grant you an immense advantage.
Direct Hit	The Direct Hit can one-hit-kill weaker classes at close range. Keep your distance, and try to fight at mid-to-long range where the Direct Hit's low splash damage radius becomes readily apparent. The Direct Hit's rockets are much faster than normal ones. Move quickly and take advantage of the minimized splash range. The Direct Hit deals more damage than the regular Rocket Launcher so be careful to try not to take a direct hit.
Black Box	Mobility is key, as the Black Box will grant the Soldier with 15+ health each time he hits you. The Soldier only has three shots granting you an immense advantage to attack while he's reloading. If you are a Pyro, deflect the rockets with your Compression blast, as it will grant you +15 health instead of the Soldier.
Rocket Jumper	Although there is practically no use for the Rocket Jumper in serious gameplay, the Soldier might use this to attack or secure higher positions easily, so tread carefully with a height advantage. Note that the Soldier is more vulnerable to most projectiles, bullets and fire. Take advantage of the weakness.

Secondary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Shotgun	The Shotgun is typically used when a Soldier does not want to use the Rocket Launcher, either because he is out of loaded rockets (or wishes to conserve them) or he is fighting a close-range target and does not want to take self-damage. Either way, he is more vulnerable to attack with the Shotgun out than when he wields any of his primary weapons (excluding his Rocket Jumper).
Gunboats	Soldiers using the Gunboats often take the high ground. Prevent this from happening; on the ground, the Soldier is less effective without his Shotgun. Attack the Soldier vigorously, as he has no secondary weapon to aid him in combat.

Banners

• Killing the Soldier using a banner buff will end the effect immediately.
• A buffed Soldier needs to stay within range of his team while buffed to benefit them the most, making splash damage and other attacks affecting multiple enemies, such as Jarate or the Flamethrower, incredibly effective.
• Soldiers will often make a quick retreat in search of their team when they have a full charge. If you see this happen, give chase.
• Soldiers using a banner lack a mid-range weapon. Stay close enough to ensure that they will take self-damage from rockets but far away enough to avoid the rockets.

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Buff Banner	The Mini-Crit buff has a short range, encouraging the enemy team to cluster. Use (critically-boosted) rockets, grenades, and stickies to quickly kill or break them up.
Battalion's Backup	This weapon will make Critical hits useless. Quickly eliminate the Soldier to ensure your Critical hits register. Since this builds up whenever a Soldier is hurt, focus your attention on any nearby health kits or resupply rooms. The Soldier could have attacked you in order to draw your fire and build up his buff.
Concheror	Mobility is the key here, as any enemy buffed with the Concheror will regain health when they damage you. A well-organised team should concentrate their fire on one target at a time, as any buffed enemy left to their own devices will quickly regain any health they have lost. The ideal target is, of course, the Soldier who created the buff.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Shovel / Frying Pan	Due to the Soldier's slow movement speed, one can usually defeat a Soldier with the Shovel or Frying Pan simply by moving backwards and attacking him. If you cannot avoid the Soldier, fight him head-on, as you should have an advantage. Note this: the Frying Pan's hit noise is much louder than the Shovel's, so if the Soldier is attacking you or a teammate, you or someone can easily follow the noise to the Soldier and ambush him.
Equalizer	If an enemy Soldier is running quickly with the Equalizer out, it may be more useful to try and pick him off with a hitscan weapon such as the Shotgun or Pistol. On the other hand, if he's slowly moving towards you, be careful to deal enough damage to kill him before he can catch up, as his speed and attack will greatly increase as he takes more damage.
Pain Train	If you see a Soldier with the Pain Train, take advantage of his vulnerability to bullets, and watch your control points more carefully, as the extra capture speed is significant.
Half-Zatoichi	A Soldier who draws out his Half-Zatoichi cannot switch to another weapon until he kills someone with it. Use this to your advantage as he will be helpless if you harass him outside of his melee distance. Keep in mind that a Half-Zatoichi that has killed someone will be covered in blood. A Soldier who just killed someone with his Half-Zatoichi will regain all his health, so be careful if you just saw him kill one of your teammates with it.

Class Set

Set

Anti-Soldier Strategy

The Tank Buster

A Soldier using the Tank Buster item set will be less vulnerable to Sentry Guns, but he can only fire three rockets before a reload, and lacks a Shotgun. If you can catch the Soldier before he reloads, you will have a major advantage over him. Because of this Class Set giving off a more defensive asset for the Soldier, try to not attack this type of Soldier on the enemy's territory since he would have the distinct terrain advantage.

See also

• Rocket jumping
• Team strategy