Anti-Soldier strategy

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Oi, lend us yer shovel, so I can dig yer grave!

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— 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 Equalizer, 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	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 afterwards.
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.
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 leave 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 In serious gameplay, a Soldier might use it to quickly maneuver around the map to secure important positions. The Rocket Jumper deals no damage, so you shouldn’t have any trouble against a Soldier wielding it.
Liberty Launcher	The Liberty Launcher’s rockets maintain the standard splash radius but travel as fast as those from the Direct Hit. While dodging the Soldier’s shots may be more difficult, the reduced clip size leaves him vulnerable after he’s expended his three shots.
Cow Mangler 5000	The Cow Mangler 5000 small penalties in damage and reload time are negligible, so treat it as a regular Rocket Launcher with one extra shot. If the Soldier tries to use the powerful charged shot on you, he is most vulnerable when charging renders him immobile or immediately after firing, since the charge shot uses up the entire magazine.
Original	Aside from a few minor differences, the Original functions similarly to the Rocket Launcher and should be treated as such.

Secondary Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Shotgun	While not as powerful as the Rocket Launcher, the Shotgun is still a strong weapon as close to medium ranges. A Soldier will typically use it when 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 to safely reach high ground. Without his Shotgun, he is less effective in direct combat.
Reserve Shooter	The Reserve Shooter is capable of landing Mini-Crits on airborne targets. 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 less 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; while he might not try to utilize the Manthreads' stomp damage, he will still rain rockets down on you from above.
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, as well as the splash damage of the Soldier's rockets.

Banners

Killing the Soldier using a banner buff will end the effect immediately. Aim for him first, if possible.
A Soldier's teammates must be within close proximity to him in order to receive his buff. Against such a cluster of enemies, splash damage and other attacks affecting multiple enemies, such as Jarate or the Flamethrower, becomes incredibly effective.
Soldiers will often make a quick retreat in search of their team once they have a full charge. If you see this happen, give chase and kill them before they reach reinforcements.
Soldiers using a banner lack a mid-range weapon. Fight from a distance where you can avoid any rockets fired, or, under dire circumstances, get close enough so that the Soldier also harms himself by his rockets.

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Buff Banner	Attack from under cover for the duration of this buff; while Mini-Crits are not as strong as critical hits, they are still dangerous and can take down an unprepared team. Fire and bleed damage can also mini-crit, so beware of taking damage from any weapons that have these effects.
Battalion's Backup	This buff will reduce damage taken by 35% and negate all critical hits for its duration. Quickly eliminate the Soldier to resume dealing full damage to his teammates. A Soldier can only use the Battalion's Backup once he has lost 350 HP; this means he needs to heal himself multiple times if he wants to live long enough to activate the buff. Prevent him from reaching a Medic or Resupply Cabinet, and from picking up health kits.
Concheror	Have you and your team keep their distance and/or take cover if an enemy Soldier activates his Concheror, to prevent him and his team from replenishing their health by damaging you. A well-organized team should concentrate their fire on one target at a time, as any buffed enemy left to their own devices will quickly regain any health they have lost. The ideal target is, of course, the Soldier who created the buff.

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Anti-Soldier strategy
Shovel / Frying Pan / Saxxy / Conscientious Objector	Due to the Soldier's slow movement speed, one can usually defeat a Soldier with the Shovel or Frying Pan simply by moving backwards and attacking him. If you cannot 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; most of the time, a Soldier uses the speed boost of the Equalizer in order to reach the safety of allies, health kits, and/or his team's Resupply Cabinet. On the other hand, if he's moving towards you, be sure to kill him before he can reach you, as his speed and attack will greatly increase as he nears death.
Pain Train	If you see a Soldier with the Pain Train, take advantage of his increased vulnerability to bullets, and watch your control points more carefully, as the extra capture speed can prove significant.
Half-Zatoichi	A Soldier who draws out his Half-Zatoichi cannot switch to another weapon until he kills someone with it. Use this to your advantage, as he will be helpless if you harass him outside of his melee distance. Keep in mind that a Half-Zatoichi that has killed someone will be covered in blood, allowing him to switch to his other weapons. A Soldier who kills an enemy with his Half-Zatoichi will regain all his health, so be careful starting a fight with a Soldier who just killed one of your teammates with it. Though striking a wielder of the Half-Zatoichi with your own will kill him instantly, you also suffer the risk of instant death if you're struck first. If you are unwilling to take a chance, let your teammates help, either by killing him themselves, or by distracting him so you can land a surprise blow.
Market Gardener	Try to attack a Soldier who has the Market Gardener while on the ground, since he cannot deal crits unless he is airborne via Rocket Jumping. That said, beware of ledges where Soldiers can Rocket Jump up to and strike you, and don't idle in place, which would allow a Soldier to hit you from above.
Disciplinary Action	The Disciplinary Action does 25% less damage to enemies, so use this as an advantage and try to pick him off. Of course, you will still have to worry about him scoring a random critical hit on you. When he hits an ally with this item, the Soldier gains a speed boost for several seconds, so try to avoid him in close combat, slaying him before he can reach you. When attacking him, make sure none of his teammates are nearby for him to strike; this may enable him (and his teammate) a quick getaway.

Item sets

Main article: Item sets

Set	Anti-Soldier strategy
The Tank Buster	A Soldier using the Tank Buster item set will be less vulnerable to Sentry Guns, but he 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. Because of this Class Set giving off a more defensive asset for the Soldier, try to not attack this type of Soldier on the enemy's territory since he would have the distinct terrain advantage.
The General's Formals	With only his primary weapon as a reliable source of damage and the lack of an Equalizer, he has to rocket jump to safety if he does not have any teammates around. Use this to your advantage.
The Airborne Armaments	As the name implies, this set focuses on aerial combat. So try to keep your distance to avoid being juggled. If he tries to rocket jump towards you to land a crit with his melee weapon, just move away and take advantage of his decreased clip size.
Dr. Grordbort's Victory Pack	This set is geared towards fighting groups of enemies, so maintain a distance between your teammates to make his attacks less effective.