Anti-Soldier strategy

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The Soldier is a devastating, bulky predator who has an above average health and powerful rockets, but he lags behind with his cumbersome speed and ammo.

General

Attributes	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Role	The Soldier is the main force of a team, so they will usually be your most common enemy. When facing multiple amounts of them alone, retreating to your allies is the best choice.
Health	The Soldier has the second largest amount of default health of all classes, and when overhealed, can be very difficult to take down.
Speed	The Soldier's base speed is low, but he is capable of quick bursts of speed with Rocket Jumping and the Equalizer.
Power	Keeping your distance will negate much of the Soldier's rocket power.

Weapon Specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Soldier's tools, and how to counter them.

Primary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Rockets move slowly. Try to dodge them by strafing left and/or right.
Rocket Launcher	The Rocket Launcher is very versatile and is a powerful weapon, but can only hold four loaded shots at a time. Watching the Soldier's actions and attacking when he has no rockets loaded can grant you an immense advantage.
Direct Hit	The Direct Hit can one-hit-kill weaker classes at close range. Keep your distance, and try to fight at mid-to-long range, where the Direct Hit's low splash damage radius becomes readily apparent.
Black Box	Mobility is key as this Rocket Launcher will grant the Soldier with more health each time he hits you. The Soldier has less ammunition before he needs to reload, granting you an opening when he does.
Rocket Jumper	Although there is practically no use for this Rocket Launcher in serious gameplay, the Soldier might use this to assault higher positions, so tread carefully with a height advantage.

Secondary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Shotgun	The Shotgun is usually used when a Soldier does not want to use the Rocket Launcher, either because he is out of loaded rockets, or because he wishes to conserve them. Either way, he is more vulnerable to attack with the Shotgun out than when he wields any of his primary weapons.
Gunboats	Soldiers using the Gunboats often take the high ground. Prevent this from happening, as on the ground, the Soldier is less effective without his Shotgun. Attack the Soldier vigorously, as he has no secondary weapon to aid him in combat.

Banners

Weapon	Anti-Soldier Strategy
Killing the Soldier using a banner buff will end the effect immediately. Soldiers will often make a quick retreat in search of their team when they have a full charge. If you see this happen, give chase! Soldiers using a banner lack a mid-range weapon. Stay close enough to ensure that they will take self-damage from rockets but far away enough to avoid melee attacks.
Buff Banner	The Mini-Crit buff has a short range, encouraging the enemy team to cluster. Use (critically-boosted) rockets, grenades, and stickies to quickly kill or break them up.
Battalion's Backup	This weapon will make Critical hits useless. Quickly eliminate the Soldier to ensure your Critical hits register.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Anti Soldier Strategy
Shovel / Frying Pan	Due to the Soldier's slow movement speed, one can usually defeat a Soldier with the Shovel simply by moving backwards and attacking him. If you can't avoid the Soldier, fight him head-on, as you should have an advantage.
Equalizer	If an enemy Soldier is running quickly with the Equalizer out, it may be more useful to try and pick him off with a hitscan weapon such as the Shotgun or Pistol. On the other hand, if he's slowly moving towards you, be careful to deal enough damage to kill him before he can catch up, as his speed and attack will greatly increase the more abuse he's taken.
Pain Train	If you see a Soldier with the Pain Train, take advantage of his susceptibility to bullets, and watch your control points more carefully, as the extra capture speed is significant.

Class Set

Set	Anti-Soldier Strategy
The Tank Buster	A Soldier using the Tank Buster item set will be less vulnerable to Sentry Guns, but can only fire three rockets before a reload, and lacks a Shotgun. If you can catch the Soldier before he reloads, you will have a major advantage over him.

See also

• Soldier strategy
• Community Soldier strategy
• Rocket jumping
• Soldier match-ups
• Team strategy