Soldier match-ups

Class			Strategy
Soldier	vs	Scout	The Scout's Scattergun is most effective at close range, where it is also easier to score a hit with your rockets, or at least cause enough splash damage to weaken the Scout. Your rockets can also be used to 'juggle' the Scout around, albeit with difficulty, allowing you to predict where he will land so you can finish him off easily. If the Scout is out of your Rocket Launcher's effective range, or he's too erratic to get reliable rocket damage on him, pull out your Shotgun so you can at least do some damage to him. Do not try to use your melee weapon against a Scout, as he can outmaneuver you, though if you're injured and attacking with the Equalizer, you may be able to catch him by surprise. Do not use the Direct Hit on a Scout at close range, despite its ability to instantly kill them at point blank range. This is because the Scout will be able to get free shots on you quickly, while you have to contend with the Direct Hit's lack of splash and the Scout's erratic movement. Enemy Scouts may attempt to pester you with the Shortstop. Fortunately, the slowdown caused by this weapon should not be severe enough to mess up your shot, and Scouts attempting to attack you head on will lack the crippling firepower that the Scattergun provides. Simply watch for any attempt to close the distance between the two of you and unload a pair of rockets at him once he enters the Shortstop's effective range.
Soldier	vs	Soldier	A shoot-out with another Soldier can get very messy, just try to juggle him before he does likewise and finish him off as fast as possible with precise shots rather than wasting your clip, avoiding his rockets the whole while. It is also advisable to catch the enemy Soldier while he is reloading (this is typically done by not firing until after the enemy), and then shooting him while he spends time reloading his gun. Wiser Soldiers will just switch to their Shotgun upon running out of ammo and not reload their Rocket Launcher until after you're dead. Unless you know for sure that the enemy Soldier is capable of killing you with an aerial, you may want to try and rocket jump over the enemy Soldier, messing up his aim and allowing you to deal heavy damage with the Rocket Launcher. Height advantage is a significant factor in a Soldier duel, so taking the high ground is advised. If dealing with enemy Soldiers rocket jumping over you, either try to kill him with an aerial, or if they jumping in an enclosed area, try to splash them mid-jump with explosive damage off the walls near them. If this works, they will be thrown in a different direction from what they intended and will be driven into the ground hard enough for them to suffer fall damage. Take care when fighting Soldiers wielding the Black Box. The extra 15 health they receive from each shot may allow them to outlast you, especially at long range, where damage fall-off reduces the effectiveness of your rockets. Try to close the distance and eliminate them before they can react, you may need more than two rockets if they manage to hit you once.
Soldier	vs	Pyro	If you see the Pyro coming, take advantage of the fact that he has to get within close range to be effective by juggling him away or hitting him dead on with a rocket. If you are ambushed you have two viable options. Turn around and try to put him down as quickly as possible, or perform a rocket jump to disorient and damage the Pyro, then take him out or run for the nearest body of water, Dispenser or Health pack to put the fire out. Do not spend too long in a close encounter with a Pyro as you do not have quite the same outlasting ability as the Heavy. Pyros can kill you quickly if they Crit flame or take you by surprise with the Backburner. As soon as you see them rocket their feet, and then finish them off with a midair rocket or rocket them when they land. Alternatively, if you get caught unaware and up close to a Pyro, fire a rocket at their feet and use the resulting splash damage as a means to rocket jump out of the way and possibly deter the Pyro from chasing you. Using the Shovel is a very risky against Pyros. Because they always rush towards you to get as close as possible to do the most damage with their Flamethrower, they are usually within range of the Shovel and although one Critical hit with the Shovel can kill a Pyro, using it can work against you, because the Pyro can move faster he could move backwards so your Shovel cannot reach him but his flames can reach you. Pyros using the Flamethrower can be defeated very easily if you see them coming, but the Compression Blast can kill you just as easily if you're caught off guard. If the Pyro starts spamming it then switch to the Shotgun, switching back to the Rocket Launcher when he changes to the Flare Gun or Shotgun. Basically, use the weapon his weapon doesn't counter. But in general, if you see a Pyro coming from medium range, he is a low threat, even if you can't use your rockets because of their compression blast. If you have the time, you can attempt to outsmart the Pyro by firing a rocket and avoiding the reflection, and then waiting for him to Compression Blast before you fire so you can get a clear shot (as he will be used to Soldiers firing their 4 rockets consecutively). Try to prevent Pyros using the Degreaser from getting to close to you. If they catch you in a close-range ambush, they can light you up, quickly switch to their Axtinguisher, and take you out with a single swipe, all before you are able to react. In addition, Pyros who are using their secondary weapon can switch back to the Degreaser quickly to reflect any rockets you fire, so trying to catch Pyros off guard at a bad angle becomes even more important with the Degreaser around.
Soldier	vs	Demoman	Demomen are a real threat: they can outmaneuver you, and a volley of grenades can take you out in two shots. Your slow speed also makes you a ripe target for Sticky bombs. In a one-on-one encounter, you have a surprisingly large advantage due to the fact that rockets instantly explode, and you have more health. Try to stay at medium range so you can dodge his grenades while trying to hit or juggle him, and throw off his aim so you can finish him. If he is hiding behind a Sticky bomb carpet, firing a rocket into the center will cause the sticky bombs to scatter. If you cannot do this, your ability to Rocket jump still provides a myriad of alternate access routes in most maps. Take full advantage of your Shotgun, it is one of your main advantages against the Demoman. Use its hitscan capability makes the Shotgun impossible to dodge, and the Demoman's main weakness is his lack of an hitscan weapon (such as the Shotgun). One risky strategy is to rocket jump up close to the Demoman, start firing from the air, and finish him off as you land. Soldiers are generally better at hitting foes at a close range than the Demoman, and by hitting well, you can take him out with two rockets. Getting successful hits is also easier from the air. Also, when facing a Demoman armed with the Chargin' Targe, your rockets will do 40% less damage. In this case, it's almost always better to switch to your Shotgun, or your Equalizer if you're low on health. Most Demoman who have the Targe will also have the Eyelander, and these items mean your day is about to be completely ruined. Use your Shotgun, then if you're injured, use your Equalizer to increase your maneuverability. If they get a Critical hit with the Eyelander, strike back immediately with the Equalizer, as you will have 5 health remaining and be capable of dealing over 100 damage in a single blow. If you do not have the Shotgun or Equalizer, or simply do not want to fight them, rocketjump away (this strategy applies especially to Soldiers using the Gunboats).
Soldier	vs	Heavy	The Heavy is a dangerous opponent and should ideally be taken down as quickly as possible. Fortunately, even the health of a Heavy has difficulty standing up to a volley of rockets. It is more advisable to attack a Heavy who has not seen you, as you have a higher chance of taking him out before he can rev up his Minigun and do any substantial damage to you. Typically, it takes at least three rockets to defeat a Heavy. If you can, retreat around a corner and shoot at the floor next to him as he walks slowly around it. Shooting around corners in this way can let you deny the Heavy a direct line of sight, and prevent him from damaging you. Alternatively, you can hide behind walls or any other cover and pop out to fire a rocket at him then hide again, stopping you from taking any damage while you aren't shooting. But don't worry, carrying the Direct Hit will easily kill the Heavy (providing he is not overhealed) with one Critical hit. If the Heavy has a Medic accompanying him, things become more problematic. Your first priority is to take out the Medic, to make taking the Heavy out that much easier. Of course, by the time you do that you're practically dead anyway. Try to use corners and walls as cover while killing the Medic to avoid exposing yourself to Minigun fire, bettering your chances of survival and escape. It helps if you can enlist a few teammates to help absorb some of the fire. If the enemy Medic activates an ÜberCharge, do not give up hope, however hopeless your situation seems. Using well-placed rockets, you can separate the Medic from his Heavy a sufficient distance so that the Heavy is no longer ÜberCharged. Although chances are you'll be very dead when you turn to face the Heavy. The Soldier class is one of the slower classes so fighting a Heavy with Natascha makes it easier (Take note that Natascha bullets nullify the speed buff of the Equalizer).
Soldier	vs	Engineer	As a Soldier, you are one of the best classes for taking out enemy Sentry Guns. To destroy a Sentry Gun, you'll want to shoot the floor/wall/ceiling next to the Sentry Gun, but not actually get within sight range of the Sentry itself (hence the achievement Guns of the Navar0wned). If splash damaging the Sentry is not possible, continually dodge in and out of the Sentry Gun's line of sight while sending volleys of rockets its way and it should go down fairly quickly. The splash damage should also hopefully kill or maim the attending Engineer, allowing you to finish off his gun. Always aim for the wall next to the Engineer if possible, so you can destroy his Dispenser and/or kill him; a Soldier cannot out damage the Engineer's repairing by firing rockets directly at the Sentry Gun. This is made even worse when he has a level 3 Dispenser, which will be able to generate metal and heal him fast enough to keep him going indefinitely, whereas you'll have to retreat for more ammo. Because of the lower splash radius, it can be harder to take down Sentry Guns with the Direct Hit when the Engineer is tanking it. However Direct Hit rockets are faster and more damaging than regular ones so you should be able to destroy a sentry much faster than with regular ones at long range. With the addition of the Gunslinger, an Engineer at 150 health can survive a Direct Hit rocket at point blank range, though he will be significantly weakened. If possible, use your Shotgun or Melee weapon to finish him off, in case he gets too close for you to use the Direct Hit effectively (or so he can take advantage of his 3-hit melee combo). Mini-Sentry Guns are easy to destroy, as you do not need to worry about them being tanked and repaired (2 normal rockets or one Direct Hit rocket destroys them quickly). Do not underestimate them though, as if they catch you off guard you can die very quickly. If you carry the "Tank Buster Pack" you will be able to take more punishment from the engineers sentries.
Soldier	vs	Medic	A Medic should be no real threat on his own. His weapons are not too effective beyond close range, which is the range at which your rockets are most effective. The Medic's relatively low health means he should go down quickly. If you are using the Direct Hit, make sure you damage the Medic consecutively, or he may use the Blutsauger to drain your health while you miss him or are reload. When healing an enemy team member, the Medic becomes a much higher, albeit indirect threat. Make taking him out quickly as your top priority and then focus on his buddy. The Soldier is particularly effective at killing Medics due to his ability to Rocket jump over the Medic's buddy and eliminate the Medic with two rockets.
Soldier	vs	Sniper	At long distance, your slow speed makes you a prime target for a Sniper's Headshot. Try to avoid areas covered by Snipers by looking out for their 'Sniper dots', and if necessary, rocketjump over them to confuse the Sniper and hopefully evade their shots. If there are no alternative routes, you can lay down suppressive fire with your Rocket Launcher to keep the Sniper(s) in hiding as you rush through. If you're lucky, you may even hit one dead on, or catch him with the splash damage. At anything closer than long range, a Sniper should be easy prey. Take him down with your rockets before he can react, and watch out for his Jarate or Tribalman's Shiv.
Soldier	vs	Spy	Your slow speed and high offensive capacity make you a prime target for a Spy's Backstab. Watch your back frequently as Spies can strike at any time. To minimize the amount of time you can be backstabbed, try rocket jumping over long distances to eliminate the risk of being suddenly stabbed. It is worth it to do a little Spy checking with your Rocket Launcher. One rocket at close range will reduce a Disguised Spy's health to less than 20 with the regular Rocket Launcher and kill him with the Direct Hit. If you see an undisguised Spy, try to close the distance to make your rockets more effective and juggle him before he can escape. If you are aware of a Cloaked Spy in your presence, the splash damage from your rockets has a surprisingly high radius and may reveal his position, allowing you to finish him off. When a Spy misses a backstab he will usually frantically stab at you till you die; if you are low on rocket ammo you can safely use the Shovel or the Equalizer. Alternatively, a Direct Hit rocket will instantly kill a Spy at close range, unless they are using the Dead Ringer.

See also

• Community Soldier strategy
• Basic Soldier strategy
• Team strategy