Heavy (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format. For the generic article on this topic, see: Heavy.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

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.

Information

Health

Class	Health	Overheal	Quick-Fix Overheal
Scout	125	185	158
With the Sandman equipped	110	165	139
Soldier	200	300	251
With the Battalion's Backup equipped	220	330	276
Pyro	175	260	220
Demoman	175	260	220
With weapon slot boots equipped	200	300	251
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 0 heads	150	225	189
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 1 head	165	245	208
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 2 heads	180	270	226
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 3 heads	195	290	245
With a head-taking melee weapon with 4 or more heads	210	315	264
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 0 heads	175	260	220
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 1 head	190	285	239
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 2 heads	205	305	258
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 3 heads	220	330	276
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 4 or more heads	235	350	295
Heavy	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
Engineer	125	185	158
With the Gunslinger equipped	150	225	189
Medic	150	225	189
With the Vita-Saw equipped	140	210	176
Sniper	125	185	158
Spy	125	185	158
With the Big Earner equipped	100	150	126
With Conniver's Kunai equipped	70	105	89
Maximum overheal from Conniver's Kunai backstabs	N/A	210	N/A

^†Theoretical value. Overheal does not exceed 150% of the classes' maximum health.

Speed

Condition	Normal	Backward	Crouched	Swimming
Heavy	77 %	69 %	26 %	61 %
Any of the Heavy's Primary weapons spun up, except the Brass Beast	37 %	33 %	0 %	29 %
Brass Beast spun up	15 %	15 %	0 %	12 %
Under the effects of the Buffalo Steak Sandvich	104 %	93 %	35 %	83 %
Wielding the Gloves of Running Urgently	100 %	90 %	33 %	80 %
Wielding the Eviction Notice	88 %	79 %	29 %	71 %

Weapons

Main article: Heavy weapons (competitive)

The Heavy relies on his primary weapon to deal large damage at close range. He is slow, and even more so immobile while spun up.

Primary

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Stock Minigun		200	N/A	Base: 9 Crit: 27 [40 rounds / sec.]	Secondary fire spins-up the barrel without firing.  Fires 4 bullets per unit of ammo used.
Promotional Iron Curtain
Unlock Natascha		200	N/A	Base: 6.75 Crit: 20.25 [40 rounds / sec.]	Secondary fire spins-up the barrel without firing.  Fires 4 bullets per unit of ammo used.  On hit: slows down enemy players.  Slowdown-on-hit effect is reduced over distance.  +20% damage resistance when spun up and health is less than 50% of max.  Deals 25% less damage.  30% longer spin-up time.
Craft Brass Beast		200	N/A	Base: 10.8 Crit: 32.4 [40 rounds / sec.]	Secondary fire spins-up the barrel without firing.  Fires 4 bullets per unit of ammo used.  +20% damage bonus.  20% damage resistance when spun up and health is less than 50% of max.  50% slower spin up time.  60% slower move speed when deployed.
Craft Tomislav		200	N/A	Base: 9 Crit: 27 [33 rounds / sec.]	Secondary fire deploys the barrel without firing.  Fires 4 bullets per unit of ammo used.  20% faster spin up time.  20% more accurate.  Silent Killer: No spin-up sound.  20% slower firing speed.
Promotional / Craft Huo-Long Heater		200	N/A	Base: 8.1 Crit: 24.3 [40 rounds / sec.] Afterburn: 8 / sec. × 7.5 secs.	Secondary fire deploys the barrel without firing.  Fires 4 bullets per unit of ammo used.  Create a ring of flames while spun up.  25% more damage against burning players.  Deals 10% less damage.  Consumes an additional 4 ammo per second while spun up.

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, 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. 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 captures. Heavies are still very vulnerable to spam sent towards the point, as their large frame and inability to dodge makes them more easily killed by stray grenades than Soldiers. A classic example of when the Heavy is useful is on point C of Gravel Pit, when a heavy is on the point he can stop the enemy Soldiers from jumping up. The only downside of this is if the enemy team are running a Sniper.

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

• Heavy weapons (competitive)
• Defense (competitive)
• Heavy
• Classes (competitive)
• Standard competitive lineup