Demoman (competitive)

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 Some or all info may be outdated.

The Demoman (oftentimes shortened to "demo") is a core member of the standard competitive lineup, valued for his damage output and area denial capabilities.

Information

Health

Health State	Max Health	Overheal Max	Pill Bottle	First Aid Tin
Normal	175 hit points	260 hit points	+36 hit points	+88 hit points
Eyelander (0 heads)	150 hit points	225 hit points	+31 hit points	+75 hit points
Eyelander (1 head)	165 hit points	245 hit points	+34 hit points	+83 hit points
Eyelander (2 heads)	180 hit points	270 hit points	+37 hit points	+90 hit points
Eyelander (3 heads)	195 hit points	290 hit points	+40 hit points	+98 hit points
Eyelander (4+ heads)	210 hit points	315 hit points	+43 hit points	+105 hit points
Claidheamh Mòr	160 hit points	240 hit points	+33 hit points	+80 hit points
Normal (with Booties)	200 hit points	300 hit points	+41 hit points	+100 hit points
Eyelander (0 heads and Booties)	175 hit points	260 hit points	+36 hit points	+88 hit points
Eyelander (1 head and Booties)	190 hit points	260 hit points	+39 hit points	+95 hit points
Eyelander (2 heads and Booties)	205 hit points	305 hit points	+42 hit points	+103 hit points
Eyelander (3 heads and Booties)	220 hit points	330 hit points	+45 hit points	+110 hit points
Eyelander (4 heads and Booties)	235 hit points	350 hit points	+48 hit points	+118 hit points
Claidheamh Mòr (with Booties)	185 hit points	275 hit points	+38 hit points	+93 hit points

Speed

Movement State	Running	Backpedaling	Swimming	Crouching
Normal	93.33% (280 u/s)	84% (252 u/s)	74.67% (224 u/s)	31.11% (93.33 u/s)
Skullcutter equipped	79.33% (238 u/s)	71.4% (214.20 u/s)	63.46% (190.40 u/s)	26.44% (79.33 u/s)
Eyelander (1 head)	100.83% (302.5 u/s)	90.75% (272.25 u/s)	80.67% (242 u/s)	33.61% (100.83 u/s)
Eyelander (2 heads)	108.27% (324.80 u/s)	97.44% (292.32 u/s)	86.61% (259.84 u/s)	36.11% (108.33 u/s)
Eyelander (3 heads)	115.73% (347.20 u/s)	104.16% (312.48 u/s)	92.59% (277.76 u/s)	38.58% (115.73 u/s)
Eyelander (4+ heads)	123.2% (369.6 u/s)	110.88% (332.64 u/s)	98.56% (295.68 u/s)	41.07% (123.2 u/s)
Targe Charge (normal)	250% (750 u/s)	-	-	-
Targe Charge (Skullcutter)	212.5% (637.50 u/s)	-	-	-

Speeds written in "u/s" refer to in-game units per second. When running in a certain direction causes slowness, rapidly switching between diagonals usually improves speed.

Weapons

Main article: Demoman weapons (competitive)

#	Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
1	Grenade Launcher	Direct: 91-110 Roller: 35-65 Direct Backlash: 42-80 Roller Backlash: 25-50	Direct Crit: 280-333 Roller Crit: 100-194 Direct Minicrit: 122-144 Roller Minicrit: 47-88	Attack: 0.6s Reload Start: 1.24s Reload More: 0.6s Explosion Wait: 2.28s	Has no damage ramp-up or falloff. Ricochet directions are random even with disablespread on.
	Loch-N-Load	Direct: 112 Direct Backlash: 53-93	Direct Crit: 336 Direct Minicrit: 151	Attack: 0.6s Reload Start: 1.24s Reload More: 0.6s	Has no damage ramp-up or falloff. Grenades break on impact of a non-player or building surface.
	Ali Baba's Wee Booties	None	None	None	Additional +25 max health on wearer. +100 turn rate while charging.
2	Sticky Launcher	Point-Blank: 68-142 512u: 60-118 1024u+: 32-62 Backlash: 45-88	Critical: 180-354 Point-Blank Minicrit: 92-191 512u+ Minicrit: 81-159	Attack: 0.6s Reload Start: 0.77s Reload More: 0.67s Sticky Initialize: 0.92s	Stickies stop getting falloff and ramp-up after 5 seconds of life. Stickies can be destroyed with non-explosive weapons and SR stickies. Stickies can be pushed with other explosive weapons and airblast. Effective for sticky jumping.
	Scottish Resistance	Point-Blank: 68-142 512u: 60-118 1024u+: 32-62 Backlash: 45-88	Critical: 180-354 Point-Blank Minicrit: 92-191 512u+ Minicrit: 81-159	Attack: 0.6s Reload Start: 0.77s Reload More: 0.67s Sticky Initialize: 0.92s	Stickies stop getting falloff and ramp-up after 5 seconds of life. Stickies can be destroyed with non-explosive weapons and SR stickies. Stickies can be pushed with other explosive weapons and airblast. Effective for sticky jumping.
	Sticky Jumper	All: 0	All: 0	Attack: 0.6s Reload Start: 0.77s Reload More: 0.67s Sticky Initialize: 0.92s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Stores 72 reserve ammo instead of 24. Stickies can be destroyed with non-explosive weapons and Scottish Resistance stickies. Stickies can be pushed with other explosive weapons and airblast. Effective for sticky jumping.
	Chargin' Targe	Shield Bash: 50+10x	None	Charge: ~2s Refill: 12s (6 seconds with the Persian Persuader equipped.)	x = number of Eyelander heads collected, max 5. Charges at 750 u/s (637.5 with Skullcutter); does bash damage at end. Grants 50% fire resist and 50% blast resist. Charging gives melee Mini-Crits at 1/6 charge and Crits at 1/2 charge.
	Splendid Screen	Shield Bash: 50+17x	None	Charge: ~2s Refill: 12s (6 seconds with the Persian Persuader equipped.)	x = number of Eyelander heads collected, max 5. Charges at 750 u/s (637.5 with Skullcutter). Grants +20% fire resist and +15% blast resist. Charging gives melee Mini-Crits at 1/6 charge and Crits at 1/2 charge.
3	Bottle	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Completely standard melee weapon.
	Eyelander	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Changes health based on heads collected (see above). Move speed changes based on heads collected (see above).
	Pain Train	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Gives user double capture rate, equivalent to the Scout). Increases taken damage from hitscan by 10%.
	Skullcutter	Melee: 78	Critical: 234 Minicrit: 105	Attack: 0.8s	Decreases movement speed and charge speed by 15% (see above).
	Claidheamh Mòr	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Increases duration of Chargin' Targe charge by 0.5s. -15 max health on wearer.
	Ullapool Caber	Melee: 35 Explosion: 149 Melee hit + Explosion: 185	Critical: 110 Explosion:305 Melee hit + Explosion: 410 Minicrit: 43 Explosion: 220 Melee hit + Explosion: 263	Attack: 0.8s	First hit on surface or player will be explosive.
	Persian Persuader	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	All ammo collected becomes health +100 increase in charge rate.
	Half-Zatoichi	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Banned in some leagues for acquisition time. On kill: restores you to 100% health This weapon is Honorbound and once drawn cannot be sheathed until it kills.

"u" stands for "units of distance." "+" stands for "or more." "s" stands for "seconds." "Reload Start" refers to how long it takes for 1 ammo to be reloaded after beginning to reload, and "Reload More" refers to how long it takes for each additional ammo to reload after the first. Damages and times are approximate and determined by community testing.

Usage

Demo is one of two classes (the other being Medic) limited to 1 per team in all major leagues, largely because of his ability to spam and deny chokes. Because of how useful he is in these areas, demo is played the entire round on both teams in almost all games regardless of strategy or team lineup (again, similarly to Medic).

Common Tactics

There are two great benefits a Demoman can provide to his team: Damage and Area denial. Both of the Demoman's standard weapons, the Grenade Launcher and the Sticky Bomb Launcher, have absurdly high damage outputs. The Sticky Bomb Launcher in possesses the ability to inflict massive amounts of damage to enemies reliably and efficiently. In addition, the Demoman's Sticky Bomb Launcher is capable of completely stopping an enemy advance from one direction, forcing them to take another route, waste time destroying the stickies, or risk losing a key player. The Grenade launcher is useful for softening up a position or dealing spam damage, especially to opponents around corners. The Demoman is a very effective mid-long range damage dealer. However, a Demoman is much less capable at defending from close threats, with his only option is to usually attempt to land direct hits with the grenade launcher, attempt to set sticky bombs while retreating and possibly taking self-damage, or attempting a melee hit. Therefore, he should be wary of opposing team members getting too close to him, especially Scouts. Because a team's Demoman is perhaps the best class for area denial, a team should try to keep their Demoman alive as much as possible. The demoman should try and stick near the main bulk of the team, including the combo, so that they can provide protection from enemy Scouts.

A general strategy for Demomen on the defense is to leave sticky traps. By placing sticky bombs at choke points but out of sight from the enemy team, the Demoman can take out unaware members of the opposite team. Often, a skilled Demomen will wait until more valuable members of the opposing team, such as Medics, pass through the choke point before detonating the trap for maximum damage.

The vast majority of competitive Demomen stick with the standard Grenade Launcher and Sticky Bomb Launcher, though a few prefer the Loch-n-Load and some Demomen switch to the Scottish Resistance for specific points on defense. The use of melee weapons is a bit more varied, but the Pain Train is somewhat common to see on attacking demomen on control point style maps due to the increase capture rate. A demoknight loadout focused on melee attacks is very rare in the competitive world, due to the loss of the damage-dealing potential at long range.

5-CP Push Strategies

A skilled Demoman can be the first player to arrive at the mid point of some 5-CP maps. His Sticky jumping technique allows him to travel more quickly than even the Scouts on these maps, provided that he receives enough healing from his team's Medic. If a team's Demoman is fast enough, he should use the extra time to seal off the enemy team's path with stickies, forcing them to waste valuable time and giving his own team a significant advantage in the fight for the center point. A Demoman arriving quickly to the middle point should beware of Scouts, as they will arrive at the mid point around the same time that he does, before the team's Soldiers can help him fend them off. During the mid fight, a Demoman can contribute greatly to the team's ability to spam projectiles at the enemy. Grenades from the Demoman's Grenade Launcher will deal significant damage and present a threat to the enemy team even if the Demoman does not land a direct hit, and a few sticky bombs will force the enemy to either retreat or suffer massive damage. If the opportunity arises, aggressive Demomen have the option of sticky-jumping over the enemy, planting sticky bombs along the way and using his weapons to deal massive damage to the enemy team, usually aiming to kill the enemy Medic. While often a risky tactic that places the Demoman in the midst of the enemy team, in the right situation, this technique can cripple an enemy team due to the Demoman's high damage output. Once the mid fight is over, if a team has lost, a Demoman will usually stick with his team and try to hold a chokepoint. This option allows the team's Medic to build his ÜberCharge, and buy time to allow key players who were killed during the mid fight to respawn. The Demoman's primary weapons, especially the Sticky bomb launcher, are ideal for holding chokepoints, allowing him to keep an enemy team occupied with spam and block off a route.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill maps are much smaller than 5 CP maps, so Demomen will most likely arrive at the Mid point. with the rest of their teams. Most of the usual 5 CP map tactics still apply to KOTH, but due to the small size of many KoTH maps and the longer Mid fights, Demoman should always join the battle buffed by Medic.

Attack-Defend Strategies

Due to the minute of setup time that exists before a round on an Attack/defend map, the defending Demoman can plant sticky bombs and score a pick or two on a careless team right when the round starts, which can easily add a minute to a team's Stopwatch time if he kills the Medic. The defending Demoman will find it much easier to set up deadly sticky bomb straps, as the defending team controls the entire map at the start of each round. The offensive Demoman is a key player, as defending teams on Attack/defend maps often run static or slow-moving defenders, such as Sentry Guns and Heavies. These defenders are very vulnerable to spam, as they are unable to avoid explosives sent at them by a Demoman. Demomen with sufficient support from their teammates are also quite adept at clearing Control points of enemies.

Capture-the-Flag Strategies

Demoman can be extremely valuable players for both attacking and defending the Intelligence in a Capture-the-flag game. Sticky bomb traps surrounding the Intelligence can prevent enemy Scouts from touching it and resetting the timer, allowing a team to return the Intelligence to their base much more easily. In addition, Engineers are not an uncommon sight in a competitive CTF game, making the Demoman's destructive capabilities a valuable asset in attacking the enemy's Intelligence room. In fact, a team's Demoman is the most common ÜberCharge target when the team pushes into the enemy Intelligence room, due to his ability to easily take out a Sentry Gun. If a team's Demoman picks up the enemy Intelligence himself, he should either drop it (default key "l") and allow a less easily harassed team member to take it back to the Intelligence room, or, if there appear to be no enemies around to attack him on his way back, utilize his ability to sticky jump to quickly reach his team's Intelligence room.

See also

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