Soldier weapons (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

The Soldier is a class that is highly dependent on his primary weapon. The primary weapons available are unique to the Soldier, and allow him to accomplish many things, including rocketjumping to obtain a height advantage and juggling enemies. The Soldier's secondary and melee weapons grant him additional abilities, but the focus is usually on the Rocket Launcher, Black Box, or the Direct Hit.

Primary Weapon

The Soldier’s versatility is built into his Rocket Launcher. Important uses of the Soldier’s primary weapon include rocket jumping, spam, and juggling foes with knockback from rockets.

Rocket Launcher

The standard Rocket Launcher is an incredibly useful and versatile weapon. It is effective against Scouts, who can dodge rockets but cannot dodge splash damage at close range. The Rocket Launcher’s key strengths are the ability to damage multiple enemies at once, and the ability to deal significant damage to targets with a missed shot. Its weakness is the ease with which enemies can avoid rockets at long range. The Rocket Launcher’s damage output is quite high, but it cannot kill any enemy in one shot, except for a Scout wielding the Sandman.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Rocket Launcher	Point-Blank: 56-112 512u: 45-90 1024u+: 23-48 Backlash: 45-89 RJ Backlash: 27-49	Critical: 135-270 Point-Blank Minicrit: 75-151 512u+ Minicrit: 61-122	Attack: 0.8s Reload Start: 0.8s Reload More: 0.92s	Effective for juggling and rocketjumping.

Direct Hit

The Direct Hit's usefulness lies in its increased damage and rocket speed. Thanks to the Direct Hit’s increased damage, Direct Hit rockets cause greater knockback than rockets from the standard Rocket Launcher. While the Direct Hit is powerful and is more effective for performing aerials against rocket-jumping foes than its counterpart, it is lacking in certain situations. The Direct Hit contributes poorly to spam, due to the decreased slash radius of its rockets. In addition, despite being capable of killing Scouts in one hit at close ranges, the Direct Hit is usually less effective against them because missed shots will rarely inflict any damage.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Direct Hit	Point-Blank: 70-140 512u: 56-112 1024u+: 30-59 Backlash: 45-88 RJ Backlash: 27-49	Critical: 169-338 Point-Blank Minicrit: 95-189 512u+ Minicrit: 76-152	Attack: 0.8s Reload Start: 0.8s Reload More: 0.92s	Mini-Crits if target is airborne due to explosive force. Splash radius -70%. Rocket speed +80%. Effective for juggling and rocketjumping.

Black Box

Note: The Black Box is banned or restricted in some leagues.

The Black Box is very similar to the Rocket Launcher, but its clip size is smaller: the Black Box only stores three rockets at a time, while the Rocket Launcher stores four. To compensate for this disadvantage, the Black Box grants its user an additional 15 health for every hit, which can be useful if a Soldier is in dire need of health and lacks a Medic.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Black Box	Point-Blank: 56-112 512u: 45-90 1024u+: 23-48 Backlash: 45-89 RJ Backlash: 27-49	Critical: 135-270 Point-Blank Minicrit: 75-151 512u+ Minicrit: 61-122	Attack: 0.8s Reload Start: 0.8s Reload More: 0.92s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Heals user 15 health per hit per rocket. Stores only 3 ammo instead of 4. Effective for juggling and rocketjumping.

Rocket Jumper

Note: The Rocket Jumper is banned or restricted in some leagues.

The Rocket Jumper is essentially a Rocket Launcher that deals no damage to players, including its wielder. It is (as its name suggests) meant for rocket-jumping, and it is quite effective for doing so, but the Rocket Jumper's total lack of offensive capabilities generally make it a less than ideal choice.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Rocket Jumper	All: 0	All: 0	Attack: 0.8s Reload Start: 0.8s Reload More: 0.92s	Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Stores 60 reserve ammo instead of 20. Effective for rocketjumping.

Usage

Soldiers usually take the Rocket Launcher over the Direct Hit. The Direct Hit’s main weaknesses, the inability to spam effectively or defend against enemy Scouts, limit its usefulness in many situations. Pocket Soldiers in particular are more suited to the standard Rocket Launcher, as defending the team’s Medic from Scouts is is usually easier at close range with the Rocket Launcher's improved splash radius. While the Rocket Launcher is generally considered the most versatile and reliable of the Soldier's primary weapons, the Direct Hit may be used in specific plays where focused damage is required to accomplish a task. The Rocket Jumper is ineffective for performing any task that a Soldier is generally sent to perform, save for perhaps a back-cap attempt while wielding the Pain Train.

Secondary Weapon

Soldiers have three choices for their secondary weapon, and all three have noticeable impacts on the Soldier’s playstyle.

Shotgun

The Shotgun is a reliable sidearm for the Soldier. It deals significant damage at medium range and almost as much damage as the Rocket Launcher at close ranges. The Shotgun is highly effective at finishing off wounded foes, and can be useful against Scouts, who can dodge rockets but cannot dodge hitscan weapons like the Shotgun. Switching to the Shotgun in order to conserve loaded rockets can be very helpful when faced with multiple enemies. Because the Shotgun is a hitscan weapon, it can be useful in finishing off fleeing foes who are low on health.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Shotgun	Point-Blank: 90 512u: 6/hit, avg 6 hits 1024u+: 3/hit	Critical: 18/hit (max 180) Point-Blank Minicrit: 121 512u+ Minicrit: 8/hit	Attack: 0.625s Reload Start: 1.0s Reload More: 0.5s	Affected by fixed weapon spread (1 extra pellet at center).

The Buff Banner

Note: The Buff Banner is banned or restricted in some leagues.

The Buff Banner's is seldom used in competitive play and thus has yet to show its usefulness or lack thereof. It is usually better to let a Pocket take the Buff Banner, as the Roamer is less likely to survive long enough to build up his rage meter without a Shotgun.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Buff Banner	N/A	N/A	Trumpeting: ~3s Buff: 10s	Banned or restricted in some leagues. Grants self and allies within 450u Mini-Crits on use. Gains rage equal to damage dealt (600 needed to fill). Gains rage even when not equipped.

The Gunboats

The Gunboats reduce damage from rocket-jumps greatly, allowing a Soldier using them to quickly traverse a map. However, Soldiers using the Gunboats experience a disadvantage in damage output due to their lack of a Shotgun. To compensate for this disadvantage, Soldiers using the Gunboats are most effective when they take advantage of their ability to move quickly and secure a height advantage without losing much health. At the start of 5-CP maps, a Roaming Soldier with the Gunboats can quickly reach the middle point and obtain a height advantage. Such a tactic can provide the Soldier with relative safety from enemy Scouts, and put pressure on the enemy Demoman early on. A skilled Roaming Soldier can arrive before even the Scouts in many 5-CP maps, allowing him to keep the enemy at bay with spam and help his team's Demoman deny the enemy team easy access to the middle point.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Gunboats	N/A	N/A	N/A	Reduces rocketjump damage by 60%. Reduces all backlash damage that doesn't hit other players.

The Battalion's Backup

Note: The Battalion's Backup is banned or restricted in some leagues.

The Battalion's Backup is generally banned in competitive play for acquisition time and thus has yet to show its usefulness or lack thereof. It is usually better to let a Pocket take the Battalion's Backup, as the Roamer usually plays farther from the rest of the team than the Pocket, is less likely to find opportunities to use the Battalion's Backup to great effect, and is more likely to be in dire need of a Shotgun than a Pocket Soldier.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Battalion's Backup	N/A	N/A	Trumpeting: ~3s Buff: 10s	Banned or restricted in most leagues for acquisition time. Grants self and allies within 450u Crit immunity and 35% damage reduction. Gains rage equal to damage taken (170 needed to fill).

Usage

The Shotgun is the most common choice for Soldiers, as it is a reliable weapon useful for finishing off foes to conserve rockets. The Gunboats may be useful in 5-CP maps for quickly traversing the map, especially for Roaming Soldiers. The extra mobility compensates for the lack of a sidearm. The Buff Banner has yet to prove its worth in competitive play, as it is rarely if ever used.

Melee Weapon

While melee combat rarely comes into play, a Soldier's choice of melee weapon may result in benefits outside of melee combat.

The Shovel

The Shovel is the Soldier’s standard melee weapon. Like other standard melee weapons, it deals moderate damage, but because most weapons are far more effective than the Shovel, the Shovel is only good as a novelty or a weapon of last resort.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Shovel	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Completely standard melee weapon.

The Equalizer

Due to the “last resort” nature of melee weapons, the Equalizer can actually be put to good use in combat. At low health, a single strike with the Equalizer can deal upwards of 100 damage. More importantly, the Equalizer’s speed boost can be used to escape situations that would normally result in a Soldier’s death. Although Soldiers wielding the Equalizer cannot be healed by their Medics, this is only a concern when a Soldier is being pursued near his team's Medic.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Equalizer	Melee (200 hp+): 33 Melee (126 hp): 63 Melee (86 hp): 75 Melee (64 hp): 88 Melee (35 hp): 100 Melee (1 hp): 113	Mini-Crit (200 hp+): 44 Minicrit (150 hp): 71 Minicrit (100 hp): 99 Minicrit (52 hp): 125 Minicrit (7 hp): 150 Minicrit (1 hp): 153	Attack: 0.8s	Cannot be healed by Medics while wielding. Changes speed based on health range. Changes damage based on exact health, as follows. Base Damage = 32.5 + (0.4063*[lost hp]). Minicrit Damage = 43.88 + (0.5484*[lost hp]). Has no method of getting Crits in competitive play.

The Pain Train

Note: The Pain Train is banned in some leagues for acquisition time.

The double capture speed allows Soldiers to perform back-caps on unguarded capture points more effectively. This can be useful in forcing advancing enemies to abandon a push in order to save their besieged point. Soldiers using the Pain Train must be wary, however, as they become slightly more vulnerable to enemy Scouts.

Weapon	Damage	Critical Damage	Function Times	Special
Pain Train	Melee: 65	Critical: 195 Minicrit: 88	Attack: 0.8s	Banned in some leagues for acquisition time. Gives user double capture speed (like Scout). Increases taken damage from hitscan by 10%.

Usage

The Equalizer is the most commonly used melee weapon for most Soldier. The Equalizer is generally superior in melee combat to its counterparts, and, more importantly, it provides the advantage of allowing Soldiers low on health to quickly escape what would usually be certain death. This advantage greatly outweighs any benefits conferred by the Shovel. However, in certain situations where the double capture speed may be significant, the Pain Train may be used to accomplish a task.

See Also

Soldier (competitive)