Anti-Soldier strategy

“

Oi, lend us yer shovel, so I can dig yer grave! Click to listen — The Sniper

”

The Soldier is a well-rounded, bulky class that is capable of both taking and dealing a decent amount of damage. While slow on foot, the Soldier is known for his trademark ability to rocket jump, which allows him to quickly maneuver around a map. He is most effective at close range or on high ground, where he can use the powerful splash damage from his rockets to reliably dispatch foes. The Soldier has a number of different loadout options that, according to the situation, allow him to increase his offensive or defensive capabilities as well as buff teammates, making him extremely versatile. Although lacking many exploitable weaknesses, the Soldier is not the master of any one trade; for example, the Scout is faster while the Demoman and Heavy can deal more damage.

General

Attributes	Anti-Soldier strategy
Role	Due to the Soldier’s versatility, he is capable of performing many different tasks, such as assaulting an enemy base, defending mission objectives, or picking off important enemy targets. No matter what you are doing, always be prepared to deal with a Soldier.
Health	The Soldier has a relatively large amount of health, allowing him to keep fighting for long periods of time.
Speed	The Soldier's base speed is low. However, he can make use of rocket jumps, the Escape Plan, or the Disciplinary Action for quick bursts of speed. If kept grounded, he should be easier to hit.
Power	The Soldier’s rockets are highly damaging, but are less powerful and can more easily be dodged as the distance between the two of you increases.

Weapons

Main article: Soldier weapons

Primary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Rocket Launcher / Original / Festive Rocket Launcher	While the projectiles from the Rocket Launcher travel fairly slowly, a Soldier will typically aim at your feet to hit you with the splash damage. Thus, seizing the high ground or keeping a distance makes it more difficult for him to hit you. Additionally, the Rocket Launcher has a low magazine size and reloads slowly; if a Soldier misses his shots, he becomes extremely vulnerable afterward.
Direct Hit	Rockets from the Direct Hit move faster and are capable of killing weaker classes in one hit at close range. However, the splash damage radius is extremely low, so keep a moderate distance from the Soldier so that you can more easily dodge his shots. If launched into the air by a rocket, continue maneuvering to avoid being airshot, as the Direct Hit deals mini-crits to those propelled airborne by an explosion.
Black Box	The Black Box heals the Soldier for a small amount when its rockets hit an enemy, allowing him to stay in combat for prolonged periods of time. However, its reduced clip size leaves him vulnerable once he’s expended his three shots. Rather than simply exchanging harassment, take out the Soldier before he can recover from any damage.
Rocket Jumper	Although there is no practical use for the Rocket Jumper, a Soldier might use it to quickly maneuver around the map to secure important positions. The Rocket Jumper deals no damage and takes away his most practical weapon, so dispatching him is rather easy.
Liberty Launcher	The Liberty Launcher’s rockets maintain the standard splash radius but travel moderately faster than those from the Rocket Launcher. While dodging the Soldier’s shots may be more difficult, he only has three shots and thus becomes vulnerable more quickly.
Cow Mangler 5000	The Cow Mangler 5000's small penalties in damage and reload time are minor, so treat it as a regular Rocket Launcher with one extra shot. If the Soldier tries to utilize the powerful charged shot, attack him; he is immobile during the long charging process and the shot expends his entire clip. While a Soldier using the Cow Mangler 5000 can disable buildings, he still deals reduced damage to them, making him less effective against a Sentry Gun encampment.

Secondary weapons

Armaments

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Shotgun	While not as powerful as the Rocket Launcher, the Shotgun is still a strong weapon at close to medium range. A Soldier will typically use it after he is out of loaded rockets, or does not wish to damage himself with the rockets' splash. Either way, he is more vulnerable to attack when he is wielding the Shotgun as opposed to his primary weapon.
Gunboats	A Soldier with the Gunboats will often use the reduced self-damage from rocket jumping to reach high ground without suffering too much damage. Without his Shotgun, he is less effective in direct combat. However, the height advantage offered by rocket jumps and the lessened self-damage offered by the Gunboats will allow him to rain rockets on you with ease. Either take the high ground yourself or take him out quickly.
Reserve Shooter	The Reserve Shooter is capable of landing mini-crits on airborne targets, even if the target is simply jumping, so stay grounded. If bounced into the air by a rocket, air strafe to avoid his fire and do your best to quickly reach solid ground. The Reserve Shooter's reduced magazine side makes it less reliable of a sidearm than the Shotgun.
Mantreads	A Soldier using the Mantreads will receive considerably less knock back from most damaging sources, allowing him to more easily maintain a high ground advantage. Like with the Gunboats, he is deprived of a secondary weapon. Keep an eye out for any airborne Soldier; aside from firing rockets at you, he might try to utilize the Mantreads' stomp damage.
Righteous Bison	The Righteous Bison deals considerably less damage than the Shotgun but pierces through enemies and is effective at medium range harassment. Avoid clustering near your teammates to reduce the effectiveness of its piercing shots, not to mention the splash damage of the Soldier's rockets.

Banners

A Soldier's banners can provide a temporary area-of-effect buff to nearby allies once he was fulfilled certain criteria in combat. Because the Soldier's teammates must remain close to him, weapons with splash damage are effective for fighting a wave of buffed enemies. Killing the Soldier will end the effect immediately; if possible, aim for him first. Additionally, a Soldier using a banner lacks a secondary weapon, making him less effective in direct combat; if taken down quickly rather than in prolonged combat, he won't be able to activate his chosen banner.

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Buff Banner	After dealing a significant amount of damage, the Buff Banner allows a Soldier and his allies to deal mini-crits; it's best to fight from behind cover while he and his allies are buffed.
Battalion's Backup	After taking a significant amount of damage, the Battalion's Backup allows a Soldier and his allies to take reduced damage and ignore critical hits. If he manages to activate the buff, target the Soldier first so that you can once again deal full damage to his teammates. The Soldier will need to heal multiple times in order to live long enough to activate the buff, so deny his source of healing outright.
Concheror	After dealing or recieving a signficant amount of damage, the Concheror allows a Soldier and his allies to heal upon dealing damage. Your team should concentrate fire on single targets to prevent them from regaining any lost health.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Shovel / Frying Pan / Saxxy / Conscientious Objector	You should be able to outmaneuver a Soldier using the standard Shovel, as his low movement speed puts him at a slight disadvantage in melee combat.
Escape Plan	The Escape Plan grants the Soldier increased movement speed as his health gets lower; he will typically use the speed boost as a last resort to escape or fight enemies. When the Escape Plan is his active weapon, note his movement speed to gauge his health and determine whether he can be picked off.
Equalizer	The Equalizer grants the Soldier increased damage to the Equalizer as his health gets lower. Players may determine his current health based on how much damage the weapon makes and decide whether he can be picked off.
Pain Train	A Soldier that is using the Pain Train captures objectives more quickly but has an increased vulnerability to bullets. Be wary of a Soldier that may use rocket jumps to bypass your team and secure objectives.
Half-Zatoichi	A Soldier who has drawn the Half-Zatoichi cannot switch weapons until he obtained a kill with it. Combined with his slow movement speed, he is helpless if you stay outside of his melee range. If he does manage to kill a nearby teammate, he will regain all of his health, so it may be preferable to retreat if you are injured.
Market Gardener	Keep an eye out for any airborne Soldier; aside from firing rockets at you, he might try to use the Market Gardener to land a guaranteed melee critical hit.
Disciplinary Action	An enemy Soldier that is using the Disciplinary Action will likely use the speed boost to bring along teammates. Although it is a relatively weak melee weapon, it has an extended attack range that is even greater than that of the Eyelander.

Item set effects

Main article: Item sets

Set

Anti-Soldier strategy

The Tank Buster

A Soldier that is using the Tank Buster item set takes less damage from Sentry Guns. However, his Black Box can only hold three rockets and the Batallion's Backup leaves him without a sidearm, meaning that he alone cannot take out a Sentry Gun that is under constant repair. If he attempts to lead the charge into a Sentry Gun nest, either have your team focus on him or his more damaging teammates to quickly eliminate important threats.

See also

• Rocket jumping
• Team strategy