Using the Demoman's weapons (or, 'there's more than one way to splatter a cat')

First, the nade launcher is not an effective main weapon ... it's great for spamming and area denial, but not for 1 vs 1 or targeting specific enemies (unless your aim is terrific), I only use it against specific enemies as a last deasperate resort.

The nade launcher ... ah ... a shame how neglected this weapon can be.   If you lay down stickies on a CP or Intel, and then run off into battle, chances are you'll be dead (and your stickies gone) by the time somone runs into the stickies.  The alternative is to camp, and unless you like camping, it's a boring alternative with an iffy payoff.

As a result, I've avoided using stickies in a passive 'guard the flag', 'block the chokepoint' manner alltogether, instead, I use it as my main combat weapon.

It's a bit tricky, but once you get used to it, the sticky launcher with it's large magazine and detonation at your leisure ... can be a devestating main weapon.   Some may complain that the 1 sec delay forces you to know where the enemy is going to be before they're actually there ... but the soldier needs to learn that same prediction trick if he wishes to be effective with his rocket launcher.  Plus, the charged shot on the sticky launcher becomes much more useful. 

Firing and detonating one or two stickies at a time, laying stickies at your feet as you retreat ... laying short term traps for people who are actively trying to kill you ... the sticky launcher can be wickedly effective in the right hands.

I've even managed to perform a Demoman version of the 'rocket juggle'  ... blow an enemy into the air, and then have a primed sticky ready at his landing point ... almost instant two shot kill.

My point is that if a class, be it demoman, or otherwise isn't working well for you, try adjusting how and when you use your weapons.  Another example would be a spy using the revolver more rather than being soley dependent on his knife for his killing.

I used demoman most this weekend and was having a blast. I use stickies almost exclusively. I don't like the 1v1 feel of the normal nades. I mostly use those to lob over walls as I run by. I also started being more offensive with the demo. Most people I saw would just camp but if you sort of leapfrog positions you can rack up an amazing amount of kills.
Also, priming your stickies just a little is amazingly good. Most people I saw were just lobbing them but if I stood back and even just held for half a second I was getting far more kills.
Sometimes you do have to babysit your bombs a little, but don't be afraid to just leave em and move on.
Another big thing I noticed people doing was to leave all 8 nades in 1 spot. Usually just 3 will get the job done and you have 5 others for other spots. 8 also gives the enemy a better chance of seeing your trap and not falling for it. 3 nades is enough to take out a heavy with a medic on them.
You also need to have an escape route planed. When people see you you need to get out of there because unless you have good skills with the primary launcher you are going to lose most 1v1 battles. Stake out near corners where you can turn and run but leave a surprise just around the corner for people pursuing. I racked up a good number of kills by baiting people into chasing me.

Ahhh I totally agree. I think the sticky is the best weapon to use as a Demoman. It is a really good suppressor and how many pyros I kill with it is unbelievable. Pyros run straight to you and don't stop, so if you just lay it on the ground infront of u whilst running backwards you're almost guaranteed a kill. Another thing I love is the fact you can shoot a load into an area populated by an engineer, or place which is likely to be populated and detonate it at will. It requires you to think which corner the enemy is most likely to run around and where to put them. Although I think the nade launcher is actually good for making sure no one shoots your stickys, and when people are standing there shooting them but you shoot a few nades in and they're finished. I could hold up a specific CP on my own with the sticky and nades a lot until i got backup from my team. It's a good tactic

I have noticed that nobody ever expects a skilled demoman. If you know how and when to detonate your bombs you will rarely need to launch more than 3. I also reload at every opportunity. there is nothing worse than trying to fight while reloading, but if you have at least 3 nades in your chamber then you shouldn't lose.

I agree the stickies are great.
Demoman would hands down by my most loved class if it had a decent main weapon, not the nade launcher that is somewhat like whippoing you opponent to death with shoelaces.

Great tips guy's, I know I loved to play the demoman in TFC almost exclusively and was quite good at it.

Since TF2 I didn't find him all that powerfull and quickly moved on to other classes.

Think I should give him some more time.

oh he is a powerhouse it is just about learning the nuances of the weapons. Nade spam is good in some situations but in others it is good to use 2 or 3 targeted nades which are much easier to hide.

Does the nade launcher not explode on enemy contact anymore? I know at one point they had nerfed the demoman so it doesn't do that, but not sure if it's still the case.

i could have sworn it didn't but there were a couple instances over the last couple days where I am certain I didn't detonate a nade and it would kill somebody.

If you have 8 on the ground and fire a 9th, the 1st one will explode automatically - could someone have been on it when you fired a 9th.