Knockback
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— The Scout
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Knock back is the movement of a player, caused by an outside source.
When taking damage from any source, a player will experience an amount of knock back that generally scales directly with the power behind the attack. While most weapons inflict minor knock back at best, there are quite a few exceptions that inflict significant knock back and can have a dramatic effect on the battlefield. Significant sources of knock back will instantly interrupt any animations the victim is in, whether it be a taunt, or the consumption of a lunchbox item. The only items that can reduce the effects of knock back are the Mantreads and the Quick-Fix while deploying an ÜberCharge.
Explosions
The explosive projectiles fired by weapons such as the Rocket Launcher and Stickybomb Launcher are among the most powerful sources of knock back and can send victims flying through the air. Crouching or being airborne reduces air drag, greatly increasing the degree of knock back experienced. Classes that utilize explosives will often take advantage of this mechanic to propel themselves great distances.
Sources:
Damage over time / Self damage
Damage received from an adirectional source or a weapon that hurts the user will push the recipient upward. The degree of knock back experienced scales with the damage taken and is usually minor, but can be significant enough to access previously unreachable areas.
Sources:
Special cases
- Compression blast - Launches victim backwards aerially without inflicting damage.
- Force-A-Nature – Launches victim according to the angle at which the weapon was fired; launches an airborne wielder in the opposite direction.
- Melee weapon Critical hits - Launches airborne targets significantly backwards.
- Natascha – The effects of slowdown are similar to knock back and will cancel any animations the victim is in.
- Sentry Gun – Sentry Gun bullets and rockets push targets away.
