Aerial

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— The Soldier

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An aerial, air shot, or middie is a defensive area-denial tactic that can be used by a Soldier, Sniper, Demoman, Pyro, or even Engineer to prevent enemies from gaining a height advantage on them. The maneuver entails shooting an enemy player while they are above the ground. Successful use of the aerial tactic requires well-trained prediction of flight paths and is often what separates competent players of these classes from advanced ones.

Soldier Aerials

Demonstrating Soldier aerials

The Soldier is the class who most often finds himself in need of this ability. Soldiers who are not following their team or are not paired with a Medic will always want to have control of the high ground. This makes it easier for them to hit enemies below with their rockets while giving them cover to avoid counterattacks. The biggest threat will be other Soldiers and Demomen who use their explosive jumps to try to remove the height advantage and get in close. Aerials are used to prevent them from taking the Soldier's advantage.

To successfully Aerial an incoming jumper, the defending Soldier will obviously have to first see him coming, being aware of likely directions that he would come from. Smarter jumpers will try to avoid the attention of the Soldier on the high ground and try to fly at him from behind while raining rockets and grenades as he is taken by surprise. Even if the Soldier has the height advantage, he should always pay careful attention to his immediate surroundings. Most importantly, the thing that will most determine the Aerial's success will be how much the Soldier has practiced.

The Direct Hit makes Aerials significantly easier and more effective. Direct Hit aerials can often one-shot Demomen and Gunboats-less Soldiers from middle range.

Another method for protecting higher ground is using the knockback effect of the Shotgun. Explosive jumps can be stopped with Shotgun blasts, preventing them from reaching the higher ground. This tactic is useful for conserving rocket ammo or interrupting enemy air strafing.

Pyro Aerials

Demonstrating a deflected rocket aerial

There are two ways a Pyro can Aerial. The first is by using the Compression Blast. The second is with the Flare Gun. Doing an Aerial as a Flamethrower Pyro is possibly the most difficult out of all classes which can Aerial. The reason is that it is highly situational. A Compression Blast Aerial requires that the incoming enemy actually try to shoot at him/her from the air. The Pyro must react to the rocket or grenade, then redirect it to where the jumper is going. This requires that the Pyro already be reasonably skilled at Aerials with the weapon being fired at him/her, meaning that a Pyro who can Aerial is already very good at Soldier and Demoman. However, the extra time needed to let the projectile get to the Pyro before it can be reflected can throw off his/her prediction.

Flare Gun Aerials are far less difficult, and also have some tactical advantages of their own. The primary bonus is that the enemy will be on fire when he lands. Players equipped with the Axtinguisher can follow up the Flare Gun aerial with a guaranteed critical attack. If he knows how to change direction, and there is water or a health pack nearby, he will probably try to land on it. If there is no water or kits, he will most likely abort his flight and head back the way he came, since he has hurt himself badly from the combined damage of rocket jumping, fall damage, and burning. However, he will probably shrug it off if he was over-healed.

Demoman Aerials

Aerials for Demomen serve virtually the same function and occur in the same situations as the Soldier's. However, as stated before, this is much more difficult. While the Soldier generally only has to aim ahead of the opponent's flight path, compensating for which direction of his screen the rocket comes from, Demomen will have to shoot at a high angle. Demomen who are already competent with the firing angle of the Grenade Launcher will have to learn to translate this into hitting an aerial target who is moving at high speed, but this is easier said than done.

Primary targets of Demo Aerials will be Soldiers, who often try to use rocket jumps to close the distance between them and an enemy Demoman. Scouts are also likely enemies, since they will jump a lot to dodge grenades. Wait until the Scout has used his double jump before firing.

It is also possible to use the Sticky Bombs and can sometimes be easier if there is enough warning. However, the delayed detonation time of Sticky Bombs can often make it impossible to blow the Sticky in range of a fast-approaching Soldier, who may already be within the detonation gap.

Engineer Aerials

As of the Engineer Update it is now possible for the Engineer to also perform aerials by utilizing the Wrangler to manually aim his Sentry Gun. While the Sentry Gun previously was an exceptional counter to airborne targets, this only applied within the Sentry Gun's limited range. Now it is possible for Engineers to provide anti-air support even at long range, however this requires the corresponding level of skill. Air-shotting with the Level 3 Sentry Rockets is the most difficult but landing a blow will usually be lethal if the target was already damaged, especially due to force of the hit and the higher resulting fall damage. The general "knockback" of a Sentry Gun is also an excellent side-effect, as even if it is not lethal to the target, it will likely prevent jumpers from reaching their intended destinations.

Sniper Aerials

Aerials as a Sniper are somewhat less difficult, or more difficult, depending on which weapon is used. A Sniper using the Rifle can usually pick off an airborne enemy with a charged bodyshot or a well-placed Headshot, since he will probably be damaged already. Snipers will need to keep an eye out for jumpers when not scoped. Some of them will try to sneak up and melee the Sniper if he hasn't noticed their approach. Said Sniper should react to this in virtually the same way he would try to avoid Spies backstabbing him. Preferably, headshot the incoming flier when he reaches the peak of his jump.

A Sniper using the Huntsman has both added advantages (bigger hitboxes, faster charge, and wider field of view) and irritating drawbacks (slightly unpredictable projectiles and slow reload as well as less damage than the rifle). The Huntsman's arrow is something of a middle ground between a rocket and a grenade. It follows a shallow flight path, but it doesn't fly a straight line like a rocket. It also flies much faster than grenades and rockets. Also, the arc and the speed of the arrow change depending on the charge. Charged bodyshots will sometimes be enough to kill Demomen, but rarely Soldiers. At most, they will force them to retreat.

How to Counter Aerials

As with any tactic you find to your advantage, you must also know of ways to counter it if it is used against you. The simplest, and usually the only way to avoid aerials is by Air Strafing. If you see an aerial rocket or grenade heading for you, use the strafe to curve your jump and dodge it. This is not fool-proof, as more experienced aerial users will be able to predict your strafe pattern and try a second Aerial.

Pyros have a slight advantage over other classes in terms of aerial defense. In addition to air strafing, a Pyro can utilize his compression blast to redirect oncoming projectiles. This added line of defense can allow the airborne Pyro to turn the attack back on the enemy or shoot at the ground to propel away from danger.