Soldier match-ups

Class			Strategy
Soldier	vs	Scout	The Scout's Scattergun is most effective at close range, where the Soldier's rockets are also most effective. It is fairly easy to score a hit with rockets, or at least splash damage, in close quarters. If the Scout is out of your Rocket Launcher's effective range, or he's too erratic to get decent damage on him, pull out your Shotgun, as hitscan weapons are impossible to evade. Only use your melee weapon as a last resort, as Scouts can easily outmaneuver you, and are able to cause great damage at point-blank range with their scattergun. The Direct Hit can instantly kill a Scout at very close range, although the lack of a decent splash radius combined with the evasiveness of Scouts may make this weapon a less than desirable choice. As with any class, your rockets can also be used to 'juggle' the Scout, and finish him off. When Scouts attempt to pester you with the Shortstop, they will lack the crippling firepower at close range that the Scattergun provides. Simply shoot rockets in his projected path, and switch to the Shotgun if that's not being effective.
Soldier	vs	Soldier	A shootout with another Soldier can get very messy, as you both share the same arsenal of weapons, more or less. It all boils down to skill and strategy. Juggling your opponent is effective, then finish them off with precise shots rather than wasting your clip, as you are vulnerable while you are reloading. When out of rockets, switch to the Shotgun, which should have some ammo in the clip, to finish your opponent off if they are at low health. You may want to rocket jump over the enemy Soldier and rain down rockets, unless you think that they are able to kill you with an aerial. When dealing with enemy soldier rocket jumping, either try to aerial them, use objects around them to cause splash damage, or shoot a rocket where they are going to land. Also, having the height advantage is a great benefit as a Soldier, as enemies below you will have a harder time hitting you. Head to the higher ground to take advantage of this. Take care when fighting Soldiers who are wielding the Black Box. The extra 15 health they receive from each hit may allow them to outlast you, especially at long range, where damage fall-off reduces the effectiveness of your rockets. Try to close the distance and eliminate them before they get too much health from you.
Soldier	vs	Pyro	Keep in mind that a Pyro is by far the most lethal at very close range, and less-than-effective at medium or long range. If you see a Pyro coming towards you, take advantage of that fact by juggling, or just pelting rockets at your enemy. Keep in mind that a skilled Pyro can reflect your rockets with their compression blast, dealing mini-crit damage. If you think your rockets are likely to be reflected, switch to your Shotgun. If you get caught in a close encounter with a Pyro, you can either try and blast a few rockets in hope of getting a quick kill, or you may choose to rocket-jump away, disorienting the Pyro and getting out of their range, and then heading for the nearest health source, as you probably sustained major damage and most likely are on fire. Using your melee weapon against Pyros is a very risky choice, as they can easily out-damage you with their flamethrower before you reach melee range. Also, if the Pyro backpedals and continues to use the Flamethrower, you will most likely die before you are able to get a hit in.
Soldier	vs	Demoman	Demomen can be a real threat; their grenades and Sticky bombs do a good deal of damage, and Soldiers are ripe targets due to their slower speed. However, with adequate dodging, their projectiles may be avoided. Demomen are also a prime target for a Soldier's rockets, as they also have slow movement. As with any other class, lead your shots to where you think they will be when the rocket hits. In a one-on-one encounter, try to stay at medium range so you can dodge the grenades and sticky bombs while trying to hit or juggle him, and finish him off. Soldiers are generally better at hitting foes at a close range, and you can usually take out a Demoman with two well-placed rockets. Be cautious when you enter close range of a Demoman, as it is fairly easy for either of you to score a hit with your weapons. Keep in mind that generally, the Demoman has a wider and more powerful arsenal of melee weapons. Take full advantage of your Shotgun, which is one of your main advantages against Demomen, who lack a hitscan weapon. Rocket jumping into the air and raining down rockets is a legitimate strategy against a Demoman, and most other classes. After landing, make sure to switch to your loaded Shotgun, or melee weapon, if you are at a close range. If you encounter a Sticky bomb carpet, firing a rocket will cause the sticky bombs to scatter. Also, Rocket jumping gives you access to myriads of alternate routes. Also, when facing a Demoman armed with the Chargin' Targe, your rockets will do 40% less damage. In this case, it's almost always better to switch to your Shotgun. Most Demomen using the Targe will also equip one of their more powerful melee weapons, the Eyelander, the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker, the Scotsman's Skullcutter, the Claidheamh Mòr, or the Ullapool Caber. Simply try to blast them with your Shotgun, or try to pop them into the air and stop their momentum with a rocket. Either way, try to get out of the Demoman's path. If you get hit by a Critical hit and find yourself at low health, pull out the Equalizer and hit back for massive damage.
Soldier	vs	Heavy	The Heavy is a dangerous opponent and should ideally be taken down as quickly as possible. Fortunately, even the health of a Heavy has difficulty standing up to a volley of rockets. It is more advisable to attack a Heavy who has not seen you, as you have a higher chance of taking him out before he can rev up his Minigun and do any substantial damage to you. Typically, it takes at least three rockets to defeat a Heavy. If you can, retreat around a corner and shoot at the floor next to him as he walks slowly around it. Shooting around corners in this way can let you deny the Heavy a direct line of sight, and prevent him from damaging you. Alternatively, you can hide behind walls or any other cover and pop out to fire a rocket at him then hide again, stopping you from taking any damage while you aren't shooting. But don't worry, carrying the Direct Hit will easily kill the Heavy (providing he is not overhealed) with one Critical hit. Using the vanilla Rocket Launcher, you should remember that at close range but outside of your own splash damage, if all shots from both sides hit on a vanilla Heavy you will come out victorious with around 20 health. This means that you'll come out victorious on a heavy with Sasha or Natascha, and who doesn't get criticals. If the Heavy has a Medic accompanying him, things become more problematic. Your first priority is to take out the Medic, to make taking the Heavy out that much easier. Of course, by the time you do that you're practically dead anyway. Try to use corners and walls as cover while killing the Medic to avoid exposing yourself to Minigun fire, bettering your chances of survival and escape. It helps if you can enlist a few teammates to help absorb some of the fire. If the enemy Medic activates an ÜberCharge, do not give up hope, however hopeless your situation seems. Using well-placed rockets, you can separate the Medic from his Heavy a sufficient distance so that the Heavy is no longer ÜberCharged. Although chances are you'll be very dead when you turn to face the Heavy. The Soldier class is one of the slower classes so fighting a Heavy with Natascha makes it easier (Take note that Natascha bullets nullify the speed buff of the Equalizer).
Soldier	vs	Engineer	As a Soldier, you are one of the best classes for taking out enemy Sentry Guns. To destroy a Sentry Gun, you'll want to shoot the floor/wall/ceiling next to the Sentry Gun, but not actually get within sight range of the Sentry itself (hence the achievement Guns of the Navar0wned). If splash damaging the Sentry is not possible, continually dodge in and out of the Sentry Gun's line of sight while sending volleys of rockets its way and it should go down fairly quickly. The splash damage should also hopefully kill or maim the attending Engineer, allowing you to finish off his gun. Always aim for the wall next to the Engineer if possible, so you can destroy his Dispenser and/or kill him; a Soldier cannot out damage the Engineer's repairing by firing rockets directly at the Sentry Gun. This is made even worse when he has a level 3 Dispenser, which will be able to generate metal and heal him fast enough to keep him going indefinitely, whereas you'll have to retreat for more ammo. Because of the lower splash radius, it can be harder to take down Sentry Guns with the Direct Hit when the Engineer is tanking it. However Direct Hit rockets are faster and more damaging than regular ones so you should be able to destroy a sentry much faster than with regular ones at long range. With the addition of the Gunslinger, an Engineer at 150 health can survive a Direct Hit rocket at point blank range, though he will be significantly weakened. If possible, use your Shotgun or Melee weapon to finish him off, in case he gets too close for you to use the Direct Hit effectively (or so he can take advantage of his 3-hit melee combo). Mini-Sentry Guns are easy to destroy, as you do not need to worry about them being tanked and repaired (2 normal rockets or one Direct Hit rocket destroys them quickly). Do not underestimate them though, as if they catch you off guard you can die very quickly. If you carry the "Tank Buster Pack" you will be able to take more punishment from Engineers' Sentry Guns.
Soldier	vs	Medic	A Medic should be no real threat on his own. His weapons are not too effective beyond close range, which is the range at which your rockets are most effective. The Medic's relatively low health means he should go down quickly. If you are using the Direct Hit, make sure you damage the Medic consecutively, or he may use the Blutsauger to drain your health while you miss him or are reload. When healing an enemy team member, the Medic becomes a much higher, albeit indirect threat. Make taking him out quickly as your top priority and then focus on his buddy. The Soldier is particularly effective at killing Medics due to his ability to Rocket jump over the Medic's buddy and eliminate the Medic with two rockets.
Soldier	vs	Sniper	At long distance, your slow speed makes you a prime target for a Sniper's Headshot. Try to avoid areas covered by Snipers by looking out for their 'Sniper dots', and if necessary, rocketjump over them to confuse the Sniper and hopefully evade their shots. If there are no alternative routes, you can lay down suppressive fire with your Rocket Launcher to keep the Sniper(s) in hiding as you rush through. If you're lucky, you may even hit one dead on, or catch him with the splash damage. At anything closer than long range, a Sniper should be easy prey. Take him down with your rockets before he can react, and watch out for his Jarate or Tribalman's Shiv.
Soldier	vs	Spy	Your slow speed and high offensive capacity make you a prime target for a Spy's Backstab. Watch your back frequently as Spies can strike at any time. To minimize the amount of time you can be backstabbed, try rocket jumping over long distances to eliminate the risk of being suddenly stabbed. It is worth it to do a little Spy checking with your Rocket Launcher. One rocket at close range will reduce a Disguised Spy's health to less than 20 with the regular Rocket Launcher and kill him with the Direct Hit. If you see an undisguised Spy, try to close the distance to make your rockets more effective and juggle him before he can escape. If you are aware of a Cloaked Spy in your presence, the splash damage from your rockets has a surprisingly high radius and may reveal his position, allowing you to finish him off. When a Spy misses a backstab he will usually frantically stab at you till you die; if you are low on rocket ammo you can safely use the Shovel or the Equalizer. Alternatively, a Direct Hit rocket will instantly kill a Spy at close range, unless they are using the Dead Ringer.

See also

• Anti Soldier Strategy
• Community Soldier strategy
• Basic Soldier strategy
• Team strategy