The Heavy Combat Guide

The one problem I have with many heavies on my team is that they think they are invincible.  Sure you have the most health and your gun packs quite a punch, but nimble foes can strategically take you out.  Here's a few tips coming from a consistent top-scoring heavy:

-First and foremost, you are NOT invincible.  Don't get cocky.

-You should not be the front runner in most battles.  Let soldiers and pyros inflict splash damage on an open battle.  Use your turret to clean up the wounded.

-If the enemy team is competent, they will stick a medic on their heavy.  Try to take out this medic above all else in a firefight.  Which leads to:

-Always stay with a medic.  You may have loads of HP, but you are too valuable and too slow to continuously die.  Using a medic partner can turn the tides of a match.

-Never go into combat without holding down secondary fire.  The second or two of turret warm up can mean the difference between life or death.

-Don't be afraid to run.  If you see another heavy with a medic and perhaps uber, back up and think your strategy through.  Chances are you have plenty of time with the speed of the enemy heavy.

With every class, you must know exactly to do at all times to be effective.  So what things must you accomplish with the heavy?  You need to open a hole in the defenses for the scouts to grab territories and what not.  However, waltzing right into a base usually ends in a complete inhalation and embarrassment.  Instead, use this hierarchy of what to kill:


1: Turrets and or other buildings.  These can be the most dangerous to your team as they provide extremely accurate and powerful weapons, supplies and health, or even a quicker route into battle.  The more you can cripple their infrastructure, the easier it will be to win the round.

2: Medics.  Medics can be the most influential class in the game.  They generally stay out of the fray and keep the players you are trying to shoot alive.  Always target the medics, especially ones healing heavys and soldiers.

3: Engineers.  Engineers are the ones creating the very buildings you want to target first.  So why let them build more?  Engineers are like heavys/medics in that they can provide awesome firepower with the aid of health and ammo.

4: Scouts.  Scouts may not do much damage and can rarely take down an entire defense, but they can spin them in circles and speed away with the objective.  We all know the reason for choosing the scout is to quickly accomplish tasks, so lets cut them off immediately.  But remember, don't give chase, as heavys we are concerned with killing.

5: Heavys.  Opponent heavys want to kill you just as much as you want to kill them.  If you target the higher priority items first, their support will fail them and they are much easier to take out.  Heavys are priority targets, though and should be approached accordingly.  They are capable of taking out your entire team in seconds.

The rest of the targets should all be taken out with relatively the same priority.  Remember, heavys are not good chasers and your team is not relying on you to make way towards an intelligence runner.  Keep your mind on the tasks for heavy.  Keep punching holes in the enemy's bases for your team to infiltrate.  The heavy is kind of like a tank, you will notice that smart teammates will gravitate towards you.  Because of this, it is important to be vocal and help make strategic decisions.

I will be adding to this guide as time goes on.  I have certainly forgotten most of my tips and will update accordingly.  Please add to it as well!

" smart teammates will gravitate towards you.  Because of this, it is important to be vocal and help make strategic decisions."

I find this so contradictory with the "meet the heavy" video.

The "who to kill" hierarchy is great! Thanks for the guide.

Nice!  Maybe to add a little, I find fists to be useful but situational.  For instance, running through sewers or tight hallways in 2fort, I keep my fists ready because if you turn a corner and someone is in your face it will be a lot easier to try and deck them out than loading up your gun .  Just my 2cents.

Good tips

Very Nice Guide!

Some more hints from me...

1. Pre-aim: Think about where the enemy will be coming from and have your crosshair "floating" in that area. Which brings...

2. Revving your gun around corners by jumping around the corner and right clicking in mid-air. If there is someone there, great - hit mouse 1 and take them out. If not, proceed to the next corner. Jumping allows you to sort of "pop out" from around the corner instead of hobbling out from the other side at a snails pace.

3. Medic: Talk to your medics make sure at least one is glued to you at all times. He should stay out of sight, around corners. Make damn sure you PROTECT HIM AT ALL TIMES. Staying alive wins the game. He should be calling out incomings to you... for example "Hey fatty there's a scout on me, turn around!!!" or "Fatty, pyro on your left!!!." In other words, he's the eyes in the back of your head. Make sure he understands when to uber and when to hold it. You should decide when the uber comes. One good Heavy/Medic pair can take out many an enemy if you have...

4. Patience: Like Big Lou said, you are not invincible. Winning this game relies on one team staying alive and the other dying and watching them run over their base. You move forward when different members of the other team are dead, waiting to respawn. If you rush out as heavy you are going to die. Sure you may kill one person but then you will be gone for 15-20 seconds. If you wait, heal up, group up and bring them to you - you may take out more than you think. Patience is something you should try to talk into your entire team. This is not a run and gun show. FINALLY team work is required.

my 2 cents

I enjoy that common misconception when people go... aha, big guy, big gun = free kill supreme roxor goodness... and then got nailed by the first spy/sniper/whatsoever that passes their way. Playing heavy is a tough deal, and i am sure that guide will help a bit getting into the serious stuff!

great job man. good read.

some good tips here, thanks

I would like to point out, that scouts are a SERIOUS threat to heavys. if they manage to slip past them a series of scattershots of 4-5 will take him down... 6 if he is healed by a medic!

I think the most serious threats to a Heavy is Scouts and Snipers, Soliders can be stressfull as well and don't even get me started on Spies.