Basic Demoman strategy

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Not one of ya's going to survive this! Click to listen — The Demoman

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The Demoman is a tough, mobile, high-damage class using explosive weapons almost exclusively. He has some of the highest damage output in the game, but he is vulnerable to foes up close. His grenades are difficult to aim and his stickybombs have significant arming times. That said, with skill he can even outclass a Heavy's damage, and he destroys Sentry Gun nests with ease.

General

• The Demoman can use the Sticky bombs to sticky jump. This is similar to the Soldier's Rocket jump technique. It allows a Demoman to move over large distances quickly or get into hard to reach places.

• To take out Sentry Guns around corners, Sticky bombs are often more useful than the Grenade Launcher. The Demoman can throw a few Sticky bombs next to the Sentry Gun and detonate.

• The Demoman has the only indirect fire weapons in the game. This can be used to their advantage by firing around corners and from out of view.

• The Stickybomb Launcher makes a good primary weapon. The Grenade Launcher can be used as a backup for foes at close range.

• Demomen should keep in mind that the rounds from the Stickybomb Launcher and the Grenade Launcher have a significant travel time and drop over travel and should adjust shots accordingly.

Weapon Specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Demoman's tools.

Grenade Launcher

• Grenades explode on contact with an enemy, provided they have not bounced first.

• Grenades explode on a timer after they touch a surface, and they don't lose any damage with distance. These "rollers" can be spammed towards an opponent or area indiscriminately to stop an escape or to kill a foe at extreme ranges.

• Like most other TF2 weapons, accuracy can only be relied on at close quarters. Grenades launch to the right of the cross-hair, so the Demoman should lead to the left to compensate. This is especially important for dealing with the faster classes such as Pyros and Scouts.

• Demomen should aim for direct hits whenever possible. The Grenade Launcher fires very fast and deals excellent damage, making this weapon a serious killer in very skilled hands.

• With precise timing, the Grenade Launcher can be used to boost jumps. A Demoman can fire into a corner, then jump on top of the round to propel them upwards. Keep in mind that this method takes a great deal more skill, timing and time to set up than sticky jumping, but it will result in less damage.

Stickybomb Launcher

• The Stickybomb Launcher has a very large splash and deals excellent damage. Furthermore, shots can be charged to launch them further. This weapon can be used like a remotely detonated Rocket Launcher with a huge clip.

• When setting Sticky traps, A Demoman should hide them in unusual positions like around a corner, above a doorway, to one side of the doorjamb, on the ceiling, just below the edge of a cliff, and so forth. If the enemy can't see the trap, the trap is more likely to kill the enemy.

• Three stickies will destroy any Sentry Gun not affected by the Wrangler. It can often also destroy the Engineer and any other nearby buildings at the same time.

• If an enemy engages a Demoman in close quarters, the Demoman may retreat by moving backward, dropping stickybombs at their feet. If the enemy continues pursuit, the Demoman can detonate.

• Stickies can herd a foe. The Demoman can cover their retreat, then fire Stickies directly at them. They'll either take the Stickies under their feet or retreat into the trap.

• If a Demoman is about to die, they should detonate their stickies. They may catch someone in the blast. It is better to have a small chance of killing an enemy than no chance at all due to losing the sticky bombs by dying.

Scottish Resistance

• The Scottish Resistance is most effective on defense because the Demoman can place a large number of Stickies very quickly and selectively detonate only some of them.

• A Demoman should not let the long arming delay discourage it's use. The weapon can carpet an area with stickies, and they still explode fast enough to pose a threat in direct combat.

• When defending anywhere, especially places like tunnels, A Demoman can set up multiple traps and detonate them as foes approach. The Demoman can set fallback traps but should never stand next to them. If the Demoman is within range of their own Sticky when detonating, it will explode!

• This weapon fires very quickly. Herding a foe is even easier, and you can place a fatal amount of Stickies almost instantly.

• While a Demoman with the Scottish Resistance cannot detonate all of their sticky bombs at once, they can detonate them in rapid succession by holding down the detonate key (Right-Mouse Button by default) and swinging their view across all of their stickybombs.

• Remember that the Scottish Resistance can destroy enemy Sticky bombs. Wipe out enemy traps!

Chargin' Targe

• A player should monitor the Charge meter during an attack. Its color indicates the effects of the Targe. Green is a recently-activated charge (less than 50% used), yellow means the next attack will be a Mini-Crit, and red means that the next melee attack will be a full strength Critical hit. The red zone also means that colliding with an enemy will cause the Targe itself to inflict damage.

• The player must react quickly, as the 'Red Zone' will only be active during the last 25% of the Charge.

• With a full charge, a Demoman can easily instakill any unaware opponent from a surprising range.

• If the Demoman is in danger or on fire they can use the charge to quickly move out of the battle zone to find a Medic or Health pack.

• A Demoman should not attempt to charge Heavies unless they are distracted or heavily damaged. They are the most dangerous foe at melee range.

• The Force-A-Nature's knockback, the Flamethrower's compression blast, Sentry Guns, arrows, Natascha's speed reduction and the explosive force of grenades, rockets and Sticky bombs will all interrupt a charge. The Demoman should use the Grenade Launcher exclusively until the opportunity arises to make a clean attack, then charge.

Bottle / Frying Pan

• The Bottle should be used when enemies are too close to reliably kill with the Grenade Launcher.

• The Bottle may break on a hit. This is purely visual and has no game effect.

• The Bottle has no drawbacks, so if there is not a specific purpose, a Demoman should not use a different melee weapon.

Eyelander / Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker

• In most cases, the Eyelander should not be used without the Chargin' Targe.

• A Demoman with stored decapitations can switch loadouts as long as he doesn't switch out the Eyelander. A smart Demoman can use the Chargin' Targe until he accumulates 4 heads, then return to a resupply cabinet and switch to the Stickybomb Launcher.

• This strategy will not work if "Automatically respawn after loadout changes in respawn zones" is checked in Options-> Multiplayer-> Advanced, as changing weapons respawns the player and resets the player's head count.

• The Eyelander has a very long range for a melee weapon. Get comfortable with its area of effect and take this into account when going for a critical charge.

• Don't try to use the Eyelander all the time. Stick with the Grenade Launcher until the opportunity arises for a clean kill. You should avoid dying with heads whenever possible.

• Be aware that the Eyelander 'hits' near the beginning of the swing animation, rather than at the middle. Keep this in mind so you don't accidentally 'under-shoot' an attack, especially when using the sword in conjunction with the Chargin' Targe.

• Decapitating an enemy Demoman who also has the Eyelander equipped allows you to steal any Heads he has accumulated.

Pain Train

• The Pain Train is situational. It is best used on Capture Point and Payload maps, especially when the enemy's defenses are weak.

• Unequip it if you are playing in a different gamemode, or you will die a lot more than usual.

Scotsman's Skullcutter

• The Skullcutter is best used with the Chargin' Targe or in closed environments.

• It has Eyelander-style range. Learn the distance and you'll rarely miss.

• Keep in mind your reduced movement speed. Running foes will be nearly impossible to chase.

See also

• Community Demoman strategy
• Demoman match-ups
• Team strategy