Heavy strategy

From TF2 Wiki

“

I have plan for you: more pain

— The Heavy

”

The Heavy, as his name suggests, is the full frontal attack troop of TF2. Himself a heavy weapon - big, slow, tough, and powerful - he is used to wade in where others dare not. His usefulness as a shock troop on the front lines, defense breaker, and wide-area defender cannot be underestimated or ignored by either side.

General

Remember that holding your alternate fire will keep your Minigun revved up and ready to shoot at a moment's notice; stationing yourself in strategic defensive positions and staying revved is a great alternative to attempting assault as a Heavy.

Although the Minigun fires bullets over a long range, the general inaccuracy of the weapon makes it best in close-to-mid range situations; think of it as a Shotgun with no rate of fire or reloading drawbacks. This makes it ideal for ambushes, similar to the Pyro, either in a defensive or offensive role.

Knowing when not to fire is key to good Heavy play. Wasting ammo whittling away long-range targets or on ÜberCharged pairs will leave you without bullets when you need them most, and suddenly ceasing fire to gain a speed boost to get out of sight can allow even a lumbering Heavy to out-maneuver the other team, rather than relying on firepower in a dangerous situation.

Don't forget that you have a Shotgun and Fists as well. Shotgun is a weapon to use when you have to maneuver, it makes you a much harder target than using the Minigun (especially for snipers). Fists are a good alternative for conserving ammo, especially if you traded your shotgun for the sandvich, it's also good for any class trying to fight you close range (such as Spies). Though you have to be careful not to let them run out of your range and change to a long range weapon.

Although the Heavy has a lot of Health, a well-placed Sniper shot can take him down in one hit. One should be wary when standing in wide-open places, sniper dots are a good warning to watch out for.

As a Heavy you're always a prime target for Spies, make sure to turn around often and Spy check. Because of your Minigun's wide spread, firing occasionally out in the open can hit and reveal a Cloaked Spy. If you keep your back covered, it will become much harder for a Spy to backstab you, unless he jumps on top of you.

A Heavy standing next to a Dispenser can get a constant supply of ammo, letting him fire his Minigun without stopping.

Though you do the most damage up close, you still do damage at range. A good aim is not really an issue, your spread will take care of that.

If one is available, take a Teleporter as even with the recharge, if the exit is placed strategically enough, you will always save time.

Remember to team up with a Medic if possible. In well-defended Control points or Intelligence rooms, the Heavy with a Medic's ÜberCharge can pose a serious problem to any defense.

A well-placed Ambush can be devastating to an enemy assault - waiting around a corner with barrels spinning until the first wave of an attacking push walks in front of you, then mowing down everyone who comes in and pushing forward to mop up stragglers can wipe out most of an opposing team in some situations.

Similarly, getting behind an enemy position (by using alternative routes) can have benefits similar to a Spy ambush - walk up behind a team crowding forward towards an objective, all looking the wrong way, spin up as you approach the rearmost enemy, then wipe out the lot of them.

You are a tempting target for enemy Snipers, but if you can see one, you can mess up their shot by firing on them, and most will retreat. Otherwise, they will die quite quickly.

Payload. Tips to pushing "little cart" can be simple if your team will work with you. Use the cart as cover and aim over the top if the angle permits (bullets won't pass through it), a good Medic will help extend your life and the cart will also feed the medic, and last but not least a Pyro to do the spy checking. Remember that a cart works like a moving dispenser.

Remember that in spite of his considerable offensive power, the Heavy is labeled a Defensive type class. While Minigun fire can suppress enemies in open areas and force them to fall back, enclosed spaces, such as a capture point, are ideal places to patrol with the aim of catching foes with little room to maneuver and shredding them with the Minigun.

Thanks to his size, strength, firepower, volume, and general obviousness, the Heavy draws a lot of attention in a fight. It is usually ill advised for a Heavy to break away from his team unless he wishes to set up a devastating flanking maneuver or defend a discrete area (such as one of 2Fort's sewer rooms). This cuts both ways, however. A heavy can deliberately draw attention away from a Pyro, Spy, or Scout and allow the flanking player to reach critical targets such as Medics, Snipers, Engineers, or the Intelligence.

Weapon Specific

Minigun AKA 'Sasha'

The Minigun is an ambush weapon; think of it as a Shotgun with no rate of fire or reloading drawbacks. Use it when catching enemies off guard from behind or wait around a corner.
You can rev your minigun at the start of a jump. This gives you a moment of extra speed, and can be useful when you expect an enemy to be waiting right around the corner.
By the same token, few people expect a Heavy to fall from the sky with Minigun spun up and ready. Stages with vertical peaks such as Gravel Pit and Granary make great places to use this ambush strategy.
200 bullets seems like a lot, but when you start firing it will disappear rather quickly! Pay attention to fallen weapons of enemies/team-mates, weapon crates or dispensers.
Your aiming speed does not decrease when your Minigun is spinning.
If the enemy team has lots of higher health but slow classes, it is a better idea to take this over the Natascha.

Heavies are the easiest target for a Backstab, so watch your back!

Shotgun

The Shotgun is the maneuvering weapon of the Heavy. Use when moving from point to point, retreating, approaching a Sniper, or avoiding Rockets, Stickies and Grenades. It is also handy if you run out of Minigun ammo.
If you believe the speed decrease and spin-up time of the Minigun will be a hindrance to a successful attack, switch to your Shotgun instead.
If your team has lots of able-bodied Medics, then it is a better idea to bring this over the Sandvich, since healing yourself is not an issue.

Fists

Fists are a fallback weapon, and your only fallback weapon if you traded your Shotgun for the Sandvich. It is also good against any class that is cornered or not expecting you to engage in melee combat.
Holding down the fire button will make you continuously hit. There is no point trying to alternate between left and right so just holding down fire is the best tactic when plowing in with your fists.

Snipers can take out a Heavy with one fully charged Headshot, so keep out of their sights!

Showdown

Keep in mind the attack speed for this taunt. If you can time it right, it is a perfect revenge tool during humiliation.
It also can be used to against either distracted Heavies, or scoped Snipers, save ammo for other classes. Can also be used in melee only games giving the heavy range.
In payload and control point maps, it is possible to achieve a kill with this. Stand in front of the gates, and taunt when there is a second left on the setup clock.

Natascha

Enemies taking damage from her will find themselves moving slower for an instant, forcing them to face the Heavy instead of running away.
It inflicts 25% less damage than the normal Minigun, so the Heavy will find that it takes longer to finish off enemies. Because of damage falloff, it is best to fire at close range (it is best to avoid fighting Heavies that wield a Sasha unless you have a Medic buddy).
This is the best gun to bring if the enemy has lots of quick classes (such as Scouts) since this can destroy their speed advantage.
When working with a teammate on static defense such as a Demoman, Soldier, or Sasha-wielding Heavy, Natascha can make Scouts, Medics, and Pyros easier targets for slow moving projectiles and allows other Heavies time to spin up their guns. In this manner, you can whittle down a target's health while preparing them for a finishing blow from your team.
Watch out for direct combat against other heavies with Sasha if you are using Natascha.
Natascha can be a better choice than Sasha for dealing with Spies, as Natascha reduces the chances of an enemy Spy successfully fleeing from you when you notice them.

Sandvich

The Sandvich is an unlockable replacement for the Heavy's Shotgun. When eaten, it fully restores your HP over four seconds; during this process, he is immobile and makes loud noises.
Without your Shotgun, Snipers are much deadlier, and without a fallback weapon it makes the limited ammo supply of the Minigun all the more scarce.
You cannot use the Sandvich while underwater.
The Heavy's Sandvich supply is unlimited.
Try to eat with your back to a wall! A spy that happens upon a dining heavy can spell disaster even in what might seem like a safe place. However, without his vicious backstab, the spy is much less likely to bring him down before he can bring his minigun or great, ham-hock fists up to defend himself. In addition, make sure to stand somewhere where the spy is unable to jump on top of you.
If the enemies are coming in waves or your team has few Medics, bring this because you will need all the health you can get.
You can use alternate fire to throw your Sandvich for a teammate, who can pick it up for 50% health. But beware that anybody can pick the Sandvich up, including enemies.
You can toss your sandwhich ahead of you while running, and you will immediately 'use' it. This can be used as a sort of "emergency medpack"
If you have a Sandvich, check any important teammates who might need it, like Medics since they can heal you instead of the Sandvich that you have.
You can taunt with the sandwich on in order to eliminate the 1 second delay after weapon change, effectively giving you an extra second. This may be useful if you are on fire.
Enemies can see dropped Sandviches, you can set traps by dropping a Sandvich and ambushing enemies that try to pick it up.

K.G.B

When the Heavy kills an enemy with the K.G.B he is guaranteed Critical hits for the next 5 seconds, and can kill additional enemies to further lengthen the boost time. This power-up is still active if he changes weapons. However, the K.G.B has a 20% slower swinging speed.
The slow swing speed coupled with the Heavies slow movement speed makes it a risky prospect. It is best to use it when you have an enemy cornered.
However, if you do manage a kill, and you are in tight corridors, keeping using them while there are still enemies around, since any hit will kill all but Soldiers and Heavies, and a second hit will kill them.
You can switch to your Minigun of choice or the Shotgun immediately after making a K.G.B kill and use the guaranteed Critical hits with those weapons instead. This can provide other target options if enemies aren't in melee range or have begun to retreat. However, switching weapons does waste some of those precious five seconds, and spinning up the Minigun wastes even more. In addition, the Shotgun's criticals are less powerful than the K.G.B. If possible, get multiple kills (2 or more) with the K.G.B before switching to the Minigun.

Map Specific

2Fort

Useful on defense but the wide open space in the middle makes the Heavy an ideal target for Snipers.

The Sewer entrance is a more suitable approach, but this can be easily defended by a Sentry gun.

This map has loads of long corridors so if you have enemies at your end / in the middle of a corridor, wind up and shoot. The sewers and small corridor below the left spawn area are ideal for this strategy.

If you have a burning desire to kill the Snipers on battlements, take a Medic with you and proceed through sewers. Build up an uber to assault the courtyard, then move past spawn and onto the battlements. The Snipers won't even know you're there.

Capturing intel is not usually your priority, you're usually providing covering fire for the carrier to escape safely. Use your negative influence against the enemy team so they're forced to deal with you first.

Granary

A great map for the Heavy. Useful to lay fire into doorways while team-mates take the control point behind him.

Well

This map can be both a boon and a negative to the Heavy as there are portions of land where the open spaces leave you open to more mobile characters and Sniper fire.

Be sure to move indoors as quickly as possible so that your Minigun can make good use of its large amounts of firepower, rather than squandering it outside where it is less accurate and you risk getting killed from long range.

Control Points 2 and 4 are great for the Heavy as they are both indoors, and they offer good cover while still giving little room to move for the Heavy's opponents.

Dustbowl

Probably the best map for a Heavy as the congested areas and his ability to lay down large volumes of fire into the choke points and other congested areas can help progress.

Defense

Be sure to use ÜberCharges in response to an overwhelming rush or the attacking team's ÜberCharge as well.
While on the ready for the opposing team, continue to check your surroundings; a Heavy whose attention is on the spawn door is a tempting target for the Spy's Backstab.

If defending Stage 2 Cap 2, have an engineer build a dispenser in the corner with the small medkit and ammo box. This allows the user to have a great defense spot on the control point, this also helps out the friendly engineer as the user can easily take out spies, and won't be prone to a backstab.

At Stage 3, cap one, The Ledge is an extremely effective bunker to create a stronghold in. If you can team up with an Engineer, get him to build a Dispenser and Teleporter out of sight in the hallway. You are to act as his Sentry. Once there, you will be able to hold this spot and greatly impede the attacking team even if the first point is capped. Your main priority if trapped in the Ledge after cap is to protect the Engineer and his buildings and disrupt attackers long enough for your team to reform a line behind you.

On Stage 3, Cap two, there is a tunnel which from the bottom of the ravine under the cap to a spot just around the corner from Cap 1. This is usually used by attacking spies to sneak behind enemy lines. However, if a Heavy can sneak through, he will come out directly behind most of the attacking team, and can do an enormous amount of damage to them before they realize what's happening. If the Heavy can get a fully-charged medic to go with him, they can sometimes wipe out the entire attacking team in one fell swoop.

Offense

Build up an ÜberCharge as soon as you can in the beginning of your push to make the defensive team crumble as soon as possible.
Like the situation on defense, Spies absolutely love this level because the action is so intense that many players do not notice a single player behind them before it is too late.
Focus your fire on Sentry guns, entrenched Engineers, and Pyros first, as these are the biggest threats to you and your team. The Sentry guns can lay waste to anyone attempting to get past, and Pyros can make your team retreat, giving the defenders a chance to push back.

Hydro

Against strong defenses, an Übered Heavy can clear a way for the rest of the team to take the Control Points. Just watch out for Snipers at the more open Control Points, as they can end a Medic-Heavy rush quite easily.

Gravel Pit

An ideal map for the Heavy as his high health can get your team a foothold in heavily defended areas.

Be sure to use the small areas on Capture Point 2 or 4 to your advantage, but make sure to have someone cover your flank as there are alternate entrances from both sides to take both points.