Anti-Heavy strategy

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This American boot just kicked your ass back to Russia. Click to listen — The Soldier

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The Heavy is the sturdiest but least maneuverable class. He easily soaks up damage and still poses a threat thanks to his Minigun, which can mow down anyone who dares face him head-on. The Heavy will almost always be found at the frontlines, often supported by a Medic. Because his direct combat is so powerful, taking him down will require smart play or additional firepower from teammates. The Heavy's weakness lies in his size and lack of speed, which makes him an easy target for sneak attacks or long-range weapons. Additionally, he has less diverse loadout options than other classes, limiting his unpredictability; any weapon that provides utility usually comes with heavy combat drawbacks.

General

Attributes	Anti-Heavy strategy
Role	The Heavy, with his large size and firepower, is often found at the center of any fight. He is a natural shield and rallying point for his allies - taking him out can often cause the enemy team to consider falling back.
Health	The Heavy has the largest health pool of all nine classes. Defeating him will usually require focused fire from multiple allies, especially if he is being healed. The Heavy can use his large size to draw attention away from frailer teammates.
Speed	The Heavy's main weakness is his slow movement speed. He has a tough time dodging attacks, chasing enemies, or retreating when damaged. Most other classes can decide when to attack him, rather than the other way around. The Heavy's lack of movement options make him a juicy target for enemy Snipers and Spies. If you can't take a Heavy by surprise, take potshots from behind cover or take alternate routes to attack his teammates.
Power	The Heavy possesses the most powerful weapons in the game. Fighting him head-on without backup is usually a bad idea. The Heavy's guns are inaccurate at long range, where the Sniper reigns supreme.

Weapon-specific

Main article: Heavy weapons

Primary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Heavy strategy
Minigun + reskins	The Minigun rapidly fires rounds that deal immense damage at close range, but is inaccurate at long range. Use cover, attack from longer ranges, and don't charge directly at him. The Minigun must be spun for one second before firing and takes an additional second to ramp up to full damage and accuracy. If the Heavy does not already have the weapon spun up, you can retreat or take him out quickly. Firing the Minigun slows the Heavy's movement speed to a crawl, making him vulnerable to flanking and coordinated attacks from different directions. If you absolutely must fight at close range, circle-strafe around the Heavy at point-blank range to become harder to hit.
Natascha	Natascha has a longer spin-up than the default Minigun, but slows targets it hits. This makes hit-and-run tactics easier to begin, but harder to run away from should you be caught in its fire. Natascha grants 20% damage resistance to the Heavy when he's below 50% health, so be prepared to deal more damage than usual. Natascha deals significantly reduced damage. Bulky classes, such as the Soldier or Demoman, can face its user head-on with proper positioning. At long distances, this weapon's slow down has little effect.
Brass Beast	Of the Heavy's primary weapons, the Brass Beast is the most damaging, but takes the longest to spin up and reduces his movement speed the most once revved. Catching him off-guard or chipping away at his health are the best options, as he remains unable to chase you. The Brass Beast grants 20% damage resistance to the Heavy when he's below 50% health. Have your team focus fire him if he is suppressing an important area. The Heavy's decreased movement speed encourages him to linger in defensive locations longer. When fighting in enemy territory, take care to not run straight into a Heavy.
Tomislav	The Tomislav spins up quickly and quietly, making it excellent at ambushing. Listen for a rattling noise when approaching corners, which indicates a Heavy with the Tomislav. The Tomislav fires 20% slower than the Minigun. Forcing the Heavy to fight in the open lowers his effectiveness. The Tomislav has 20% increased accuracy, increasing the Heavy's effective range. Space yourself a little further away than usual.
Huo-Long Heater	When the Huo-Long Heater is spun up, it consumes 4 ammo per second to deploy a ring of flames. Grab the Heavy's attention and stay behind cover to force him to either keep his gun revved and waste ammunition, or un-spin the gun, which leaves him vulnerable. With proper timing, a Spy can jump over the ring of flames and backstab the Heavy without being set on fire.

Secondary weapons

Armaments

Weapon	Anti-Heavy strategy
Shotgun + reskins	A Heavy may switch to the Shotgun when he is moving between areas or his Minigun runs out of ammunition. It is a powerful secondary weapon, but the Heavy runs as slow as usual when using it. The Shotgun is a close-to-medium range weapon and ineffective at long range. The Shotgun only has six shots. If the Heavy feels pressured enough to switch back to the Minigun, you should easily be able to finish him off.
Family Business	The Family Business has an increased shot capacity of 8, fires 15% faster, but deals 15% less damage per shot. This makes constantly pressuring him less effective, but will also make combat beyond close-range less dangerous.
Panic Attack	The Panic Attack deploys quickly, but suffers from massive bullet spread with consecutive shots. Survive the first shot, and the following ones are easier to dodge. Like with the other Shotguns, if the Heavy is pressured enough to switch back to the Minigun, you should easily be able to finish him off.

Edibles

• A "Lunchbox" item replaces the Heavy's Shotgun, leaving him with only one ranged weapon.
• If a Heavy retreats from a fight, listen for the telltale eating lines and check if he is trying to heal.
• A Heavy is completely defenseless while eating. If no other enemies are nearby, interrupt his meal and kill him. Many taunt kills are faster than the eating animation and are guaranteed to outdamage the maximum healing of 300.

Weapon	Anti-Heavy strategy
Sandvich + reskins	The Sandvich quickly restores 300 health to the Heavy as he eats it. It is the most potent of his edibles, so he may be able to soak up your attacks if you catch him eating. At the very least, harm him enough so that eating the Sandvich was a pointless endeavor. A Heavy can throw his Sandvich on the ground for anyone else to pick up in order to regain 50% of their HP instantly. This is commonly done to heal a friendly Medic. Steal the Sandvich yourself or knock his allies away using knock back. The Sandvich has a recharge time of 30 seconds. The Heavy can acquire a new Sandvich by picking up a medkit while at full health. Take any nearby medkits for yourself or damage him so that he does not receive a new Sandvich.
Dalokohs Bar + reskins	The Heavy can eat the Dalokohs Bar every 10 seconds to heal 100 health. Compared to the Sandvich, the Dalokohs Bar can be used more often but restores less health. Most significantly, it can be thrown more often as a small health kit to dispense more total health. The Dalokohs Bar only heals the Heavy for 100 HP, but increases his maximum Health by 50 for 30 seconds, which can determine a duel if he's fighting alone.
Buffalo Steak Sandvich	The Buffalo Steak Sandvich increases the Heavy's speed and damage, but locks him into his melee weapon and increases the damage he takes by 20%. Keep a distance and shoot him down. The Heavy may consume the Steak Sandvich to reach the front lines faster. If you catch him while he is traveling, he is helpless against your ranged attacks. Like the regular Sandvich, a Heavy can toss his Buffalo Steak Sandvich for others to pick up, restoring 50% of their max health. Deny his allies this healing by knocking them away with rockets or grenades, or stealing the Steak for yourself.
Second Banana	The Second Banana recharges twice as fast the Sandvich, but only heals 200 health at a time. Aggressively prevent the Heavy from having any meals by constantly following and attacking him. Similarly to the Dalokohs Bar, a thrown Second Banana heals for less than the Sandvich, but can be thrown more often to dispense more total health. Expect the Heavy to eat the Second Banana more often. Attack if his mealtimes are too predictable.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Heavy strategy
Fists + reskins	Faster classes can exploit the Heavy's slow speed during a melee fight; strafe around him, back up between attacks, and use high ground to jump over his head to disorient him. The Heavy is the class with the highest health; it will take more hits to take him down, which gives the Heavy more chances to strike you.
Killing Gloves of Boxing	The K.G.B. grants the Heavy 5 seconds of critical hits when used to strike a killing blow. If you are low on health, refrain from entering melee range to prevent him from getting the Crit boost, taking cover before he switches to his Minigun. If the Heavy has gained the critical hit boost, stay back until it wears off so you don't get killed by a critical punch and reset the buff's duration. The Heavy can also apply the Crit boost to his other weapons. React properly if he switches to a gun.
Gloves of Running Urgently + reskins	The G.R.U. significantly boosts the Heavy's movement speed but drains his maximum health over time. He will typically use them to run to a battlefield, then switch weapons upon arriving. The G.R.U. take a significant amount of time to holster. Catching the Heavy before he can switch weapons lets you deal significant damage for free. Depending on how long the Heavy wore the G.R.U., you may deal enough damage to burst down his lowered maximum health.
Warrior's Spirit	A Heavy using the Warrior's Spirit inflicts and receives 30% more damage, leaving less room for mistakes for both of you. The Warrior's Spirit deals 20 more base damage than the Fists. This increased damage lets the Heavy three-hit the Soldier and two-hit the Medic from full health. If the Heavy recently obtained a kill using the Warrior's Spirit, keep in mind that he will have recovered some health and won't be an easy kill.
Fists of Steel	The Fists of Steel reduce ranged damage, allowing the Heavy to approach the battlefield a bit more safely. It increases the time it takes for him to switch to another weapon, so catching him by surprise is always a good option. The Heavy takes doubled melee damage while the Fists of Steel are active. Flank him with your melee weapon, fake a direct approach to weapon heckle him, or attack with both ranged and melee alongside teammates. A Heavy with the Fists of Steel is healed and overhealed less by the Medic, making him easier to wear down in combat.
Eviction Notice	Outside of combat, the Eviction Notice acts as a watered-down version of the Gloves of Running Urgently; the speed boost is smaller, but the health drain is lower. In combat, treat the Eviction Notice as if dealing with the default Fists; it attacks almost twice as fast but deals 60% less damage, making it inflict 20% less damage than the Fists overall. The Eviction Notice gives the Heavy a speed boost on-hit. Slower classes might have trouble avoiding him if he manages to land the first hit. Depending on how long the Heavy wore the Eviction Notice, you may deal enough damage to burst down his lowered maximum health.
Holiday Punch	The Holiday Punch forces its victims to laugh in place upon being hit in the back or with a Critical hit. Don't leave your back exposed; if the Heavy manages to hit your back with the Holiday Punch, you will be stuck laughing in place and will probably suffer a humiliating death. You cannot be forced into an animation while airborne. Try to jump whenever the Heavy punches to avoid Random Critical Hits. This weapon's forced-laughter effect can pierce through an ÜberCharge, wasting the invulnerability. Watch for any enemies coming from behind to displace you when using an ÜberCharge.

See also

• Team strategy