Heavy (competitive)
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The Heavy is a situational pocket and utility class sometimes used in the standard competitive lineup, valued for his tanking capacity and sustained damage output.
Contents
Information
Health
| Class | Health | Overheal | Quick-Fix Overheal |
|---|---|---|---|
 Heavy
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300 | 450 | 376 |
| Under the effects of the Dalokohs Bar or Fishcake | 350 | 500† | 426 |
| With the Fists of Steel equipped | 300 | 390 | 346 |
| With the Fists of Steel equipped and while under the effects of the Dalokohs Bar or Fishcake | 350 | 440 | 396 |
†Theoretical value. Overheal does not exceed 150% of the classes' maximum health.
Speed
| Condition | Normal | Backward | Crouched | Swimming | ||||||||
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| Heavy
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| Any of the Heavy's Primary weapons spun up, except the Brass Beast |
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| Brass Beast spun up |
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| Under the effects of the Buffalo Steak Sandvich |
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| Wielding the Gloves of Running Urgently |
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| Wielding the Eviction Notice |
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Weapons
The Heavy relies on his primary weapon to deal large damage at close range regularly. He is slow, and even more so while spun up- although most players invalidate (for a short time) this by spinning their minigun in mid-air which can be useful in ambushing or use Gloves of Running Urgently to get to a destination faster, but he shouldn't ever use it in a war zone.
Primary
| Weapon | Kill icon | Ammo Loaded |
Ammo Carried |
Damage Range | Notes / Special Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Stock Minigun |
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200 | N/A | Base: 9 Crit: 27 [40 rounds / sec.] |
 Secondary fire spins-up the barrel without firing.
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 Promotional Iron Curtain |
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 Unlock Natascha |
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200 | N/A | Base: 6.75 Crit: 20.25 [40 rounds / sec.] |
Secondary fire spins-up the barrel without firing.
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 Craft Brass Beast |
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200 | N/A | Base: 10.8 Crit: 32.4 [40 rounds / sec.] |
Secondary fire spins-up the barrel without firing.
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 Craft Tomislav |
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200 | N/A | Base: 9 Crit: 27 [33 rounds / sec.] |
Secondary fire deploys the barrel without firing.
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 Promotional / Craft Huo-Long Heater |
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200 | N/A | Base: 8.1 Crit: 24.3 [40 rounds / sec.]
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Secondary fire deploys the barrel without firing.
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On hit: slows down enemy players.
Deals 25% less damage.
Usage
The Heavy, due to his slow speed, is a situational utility. However, the Heavy's large amount of health and high close-range damage output make him ideal for holding crucial Control Points, especially the final Control Points of 5-CP maps like Badlands. A team will generally switch out a Scout for a Heavy, though substituting a Soldier for a Heavy is a common tactic as well.
Common Tactics
Usually, a team's Medic will focus on healing the team's Heavy, as a the Heavy is able to possess a maximum amount of 450 health. The heavy is also able to output very high damage at close range which is crucial for keeping the Medic alive (therefore often replacing the Pocket Soldier, or turning both Soldiers into Roamers). Competitive players playing as Heavies should learn when to spin up and spin down their Minigun, allowing them to balance mobility with protection for their Medic. Heavies often get used defending the last Point on 5 CP-maps, or A/D maps such as Gravel Pit. Since the Mann-Conomy Update, the Heavy has the ability to run with 299 Units per Second when he has the G.R.U. equipped, making him faster than a Demoman without the Eyelander's speed boost, and therefore very valuable even in the Middlepoint of 5 CP-maps. However, it is banned from most competitions in America and Europe.
5-CP Push Strategies
A team should rarely use a Heavy at the start of a 5-CP map. His slow speed means that a team starting off with one will attack the mid point with one less player than the other team, which may make the difference between capturing and losing the mid fight. If a team uses a Heavy on the final point of a 5-CP map, the Heavy should try to stay on or near the point itself. His high health is what makes him a useful defender, allowing him to take a lot of damage and in turn delay the enemy team. Heavies should pay attention to the enemy Demoman, however, as a slow target standing on a small area dies very quickly to grenades and sticky bombs, even if that target has 450 health.
As with most of the other utilities, a team will generally avoid starting off a round on a 5-CP map with a Heavy. Due to his extreme lack of mobility, a Heavy will force his team to fight the mid fight at a numerical disadvantage until he finally catches up to them, which can easily mean the loss of the middle point early on. The exception to this rule is on Gullywash due to the short distance to the middle point. A Heavy can be run all the time on Gullywash which is unusual seeing as normally a Scout will temporarily switch to a Heavy to defend a point. When a Heavy is going to be used for the entire match, normally a Soldier will switch out, this means that the Medic still have a manageable amount of health that he can heal easily.
If a team needs to defend a relatively open area where there is little cover, a Heavy may be useful in buying time for the rest of the team to organize and repel a push because of his large amount of health.
Attack-Defend Strategies
When defending on an Attack/Defend map, the Heavies' pathetic mobility is mitigated somewhat, as enemies will come to him instead of the other way around. This allows him to keep his Minigun spun up more often without worrying as much about needing to move around compared to a Heavy on the offending team. As in 5-CP maps, when defending a point, Heavies should try to stay on or very close to the point itself- using their large amount of health to block the enemy objectives. Heavies are still very vulnerable to spam and/or crossfire sent towards the point, as their large frame and their movement impairment makes them more easily killed than faster classes such as Soldiers. An example of when the Heavy is advantageous is on Point C of Gravel Pit. When he is on the point, he can discourage or even prevent the attackers from advancing farther. The only flaw of this scheme is if the enemy team is running a Sniper or other classes that excel in terms of range and damage output.
Capture-the-Flag Strategies
The Heavy can be a great asset when defending the Intelligence room in maps such as Turbine, where there is a very little cover in Turbine's hallways. A heavy fully buffed to 450 HP can halt an enemy advance and repel attackers, assisting the team's Engineer in a defense of the Intelligence room. While the Heavy's inability to chase down attackers who are escaping with the intelligence is difficult to overlook, and his slow speed makes him a poor choice for escaping with the enemy intelligence himself, the open hallways of Turbine make the Heavy less vulnerable to Soldiers. If a team that is attacking the enemy intelligence chooses to use a Heavy, a possibly useful strategy may be to have him to let his teammates pick up the enemy intelligence, and cover their backs with Minigun fire as they make their escape. If the Heavy can lay down enough damage and cause a big enough distraction, he can often ensure that his team's flag carrier will not be attacked on his way back to his team's Intelligence room.
See also
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