Vorsprung's TITs: Episode 5

Health: 300 base, 450 overhealed
Speed: 77%
Special Ability: Can spin up and prepare his Minigun with his secondary fire
Normal Melee Strength: 65 damage
Stock Primary Weapon: Minigun
Stock Secondary Weapon: Shotgun
Stock Melee Weapon: his own Fists

The Heavy Weapons Guy! He’s the face of TF2! And for good reason, too. He’s a fun, powerful and useful class to play as. Why? He uses a fucking Minigun! What more could you want? He’s a formidable and hard-hitting foe that can form the backbone of a team. He’s like an incredibly obese big brother. The Heavy is a real team player – he’s a great bodyguard, and certainly leads the team in terms of assaulting the foe. In short, his raw stopping powers, and ability to protect his team, make him a great class to play as.

The Heavy’s main advantage is his massive health pool. With a whopping 300 baseline health points, he can survive basically anything that’s sent for him. For this reason, Medics often stick with him. He’s also marked by his incredible stopping power. His Minigun is a reasonably accurate and devastating weapon that can kill just about any class in a matter of seconds. He’s adept at medium- to close-range, too, as all his weapons do gigantic amounts of damage point-blank. Finally, he can use his notorious Sandvich to recover all his health (or give health to his teammates). It’s incredibly difficult for any one enemy to take him down.

That being said, the Heavy is also severely disadvantaged by his crippling speed. He’s the slowest class on the battlefield, and his already sloth-like demeanour is reduced to a snail’s pace whilst he has his Minigun spun up. Thus, he’s incredibly vulnerable to attack. His health can only last so long. He’s an easy target for Snipers and Spies, and will have trouble avoiding hazards. All his weapons also suffer from damage fall-off; they do less and less damage over range. His Minigun also chews up a massive amount of ammo, and realistically, once he’s out of Minigun ammo, he’s toast.

Capture the Flag: The Heavy’s slow speed is ill-suited to carrying the intelligence. Thus, it’s a much better idea to let more agile classes like Scouts or Pyros carry the flag. That being said, you can still back up your team by drawing fire and decimating foes. It’s always a good idea to either hang around your intelligence, or in the middle of the map, where you’ll be able to intercept threats.

Control Points: Once again, the Heavy’s speed will put him at a loss on the fast-moving dynamic of CP maps. Although he won’t be able to keep up with his team, he can still come up the rear (giggity) and provide support during firefights. It’s a smart idea to go Heavy when defeat is imminent – a good Heavy will be able to stave enemies off the final point, and give his teammates the chance to regain lost ground.

Attack / Defend: In a lot of ways, A/T maps are the best maps for Heavies. Carefully-placed Ubercharges by either team will be the key to a defeat or a victory. BLU Heavies should watch out for stickybomb traps and Engineer setups – perhaps clearing them with said Ubercharges. RED Heavies can be the last line of defence in A/T. Ultimately, Heavies will do well. BLU Heavies need to watch out for Snipers, however, and RED Heavies; sneaky Spies.

Territorial Control: Hydro can be a tricky map to play. Most of its areas are labyrinthine and large, and most of the time, Hydro really depends on who can get to the other’s point first. Thus, Heavies may become redundant before they can actually do anything. However, favourable conditions for Heavies, such as narrow corridors or choke points, will mean they can really stop the enemy onslaught. Pair up with a Medic for better chances of survival.

Payload: PL maps are distinguished by their winding turns, vantage points and choke points. Smart Heavies on both teams will be able to take advantage of this. BLU Heavies will be able to push and protect their cart well, but will be vulnerable to Spies and Snipers. RED Heavies will be able to slow the enemy assault down with Sascha. (Yeah, the Heavy named his gun. So what.)
Payload Race: Because the Payload cart supplies limitless ammo and health to the team that pushes it, Heavies can lay down a continuous stream of Minigun fire, protecting their cart from the enemy. Although their slow speed will leave them high-and-dry when they’re not near the cart, they’ll be instrumental in achieving that final push.

Arena: Although I might cop some flak about this from my TF2 compadres over in… Well, my Aussie servers and such… Heavies are a smart choice on Arena Mode. Their tendency to be easily taken by surprise will set them back, but their indomitable health and firepower will be more than enough to protect them from other threats. Not to mention, if you equip the Sandvich, you can regain precious health, keeping Death away a little longer.

King of the Hill: Although Heavies will be incredibly vulnerable whilst capturing the point, they’re actually a smart class to go as. Most of the combat in KOTH maps is one-on-one. Hence, Heavies will succeed in slowing the enemy counterattack. It’s best to watch out for threats such as Spies, Pyros and Snipers, as they’ll really set you back if you’re not careful.

Medieval Mode: Most classes are ill-suited for Medieval Mode. The Heavy will have some success here if he equips weapons such as the Killing Gloves of Boxing (KGB) or the Warrior’s Spirit. It’s a very smart idea to use the Buffalo Steak Sandvich here. The Buffalo Steak, when consumed, forces you to use melee weapons. In Medieval Mode, this isn’t a problem – you’re already using melee weapons! Thus, use the Buffalo Steak to get a much faster speed and mini-crits. However, don’t use the Gloves of Running Urgently (GRU) or the Fists of Steel. Their negative attributes will leave you stuffed.

Heavy vs. Scout: You and Scouts are at opposite ends of the food chain. You’re slow and tough and he’s fast but weak. If you can isolate a Scout at medium range you’ll be able to kill him easily. However, if he catches you at close range, you run the risk of actually being killed. His Scattergun does a very large amount of damage point-blank, and although his Bat is weak, it swings fast. A Scout also has a number of items that can bamboozle you: he can get by you without taking a hit with his Bonk! Atomic Punch; he can level the playing field with his Crit-A-Cola, he can harass you with his Mad Milk, and he can stun you with his Sandman, to name a few. Just keep your sights on him and don’t slip your guard.

It’s highly unlikely that you and a friendly Scout will be fighting with each other. His speed will often mean he’s way ahead of you. That being said, he’s a very weak target, and in more defensive situations, it pays for you to protect him. If he’s on low health, drop your Sandvich for him. Note that if you die, your dropped Sandvich on death will be especially effective, as Scouts actually get more health from a dropped Sandvich than any other class. (More on the Sandvich below.)

Heavy vs. Soldier: Soldiers, similarly to you, are quite slow. Thus, it’s easy to get your sights on him. However, unlike you, he doesn’t need to prepare his weapon, and he can fire a flurry of rockets at you very quickly. While a single rocket’s almost insignificant to you, a bunch can kill you easily. You’re a slow, large target, so try and keep moving or take cover. Otherwise, you’ll do well against enemy Soldiers. You are the only class that can survive a critical rocket (crocket)!

Friendly Soldiers can assist you by buffing you with mini-crits, health or defence, and can also boost your speed temporarily if they’re using a Disciplinary Action – a much-needed bonus for you. Thus, it pays to stick with Soldier teammates. You’ve both got large health pools, and he can compensate for your reduced effectiveness at range with his high-flying rockets.

Heavy vs. Pyro: As long as you can stay out of the range of a Pyro’s flames, there’s little he can do to prevent being gunned down. That being said, if he catches you at close range, he can easily kill you. You do have an advantage against him in that you're the only class that can survive more than two seconds at point-blank range of a Flamethrower, and it's rather hard for him to airblast you far. However, your lumbering speed makes it easy for a Pyro to ambush you. Try and eliminate Pyros at medium- to long-range - if you excuse the pun, they'll be toast.

Friendly Pyros can help you out by extinguishing you, and protecting you from threats such as rockets, grenades and stickybombs. Try and protect them by killing longer range threats, and let the Pyro protect you at close-range by reflecting hazards. Heavies and Pyros can work together quite well, in the scheme of things.

Heavy vs. Demoman: if you can catch a Demoman at medium- to long-range, he'll be easy to deal with. He'll be unlikely to do much about you. However, he's a much greater threat at close range. Not only will he be able to deal significant damage using his explosive weapons, but his melee prowess will be able to cut through your health. Your large size, slow speed, and ineffectiveness at melee combat make it easy for Demos to cut you down to size. Demos will try and assault you by lobbing grenades and stickybombs at your feet. Don't let them take advantage of your speed. Attack them from long ranges and from elevated vantage points. Demos have notoriously poor vertical combat abilities.

There's really very little a friendly Demo can do to help you directly. You can help friendly Demomen by dropping your Sandvich to them so they can recover health. In general combat, you can help Demomen by compensating for their long-range disability and by providing covering fire. Demomen are proficient at destroying Engineer buildings, so let them remove such threats so you can continue your assault.

Heavy vs. Heavy: When it comes down to one Heavy against another, you'll find that the result of the battle will depend on the Minigun you are using. For instance, a Heavy wielding a Brass Beast will have an advantage over one using a stock Minigun, and a Heavy using Natascha will be weak against one using a Tomislav. Try and let other classes take out enemy Heavies. You also stand a better chance of defeating an enemy Heavy if you're buddied with a Medic.
Also, Heavy boxing, although vastly impractical, is the funniest shit ever.

Heavies are a real assault class, and more Heavies means more pushing power. Heavies should work together to pave a path for the rest of their team. Try and compensate for eac other by using different Miniguns. For example, a good combo is one Heavy with a Tomislav and one with a Brass Beast.

Heavy vs. Engineer: If you can vatch an Engineer on his own, he should offer scant resistance. However, you'll find that if encountered by one of his Sentry Guns, you'll be in trouble. You will have difficulty evading Sentry Guns, and your severe damage falloff over range will mean you really can't take down Sentries at a distance effectively. Try and destroy Sentries before they have a chance to deploy. Mini-Sentries can be easily dispatched, as can unattended Teleporters or Dispensers. Ambushing Engy nests with the help of a Medic is a good tactic.

Engineers can be a great help to you on the battlefield. More so than any other class, Teleporters are useful to you. Consider yourself as a top-priority Teleporter user. Help out Engy allies by protecting their gear, and escorting the frail Engy around the battlefield. You can utilise an Engineer's Dispenser to lay down a constant stream of Minigun fire in much the same way a Pyro can use it for constant flames.

Heavy vs. Sniper: Snipers pose a significant threat towards you, as a Heavy. You are incredibly vulnerable to being headshotted by an enemy Sniper, due to your slow speed at big head. (Such a big fucking bald head.) A Sniper is one of the few classes that can kill you in one shot. As of such, remain vigilant and keep moving. It is a good tactic to bunny-hop (continually jump up and down whilst travelling), as this lets you travel at a faster speed, as well as make it harder for Snipers to headshot you (or for Spies to backstab you). Jarate can also be irritating, as it makes you far more vulnerabe to enemy fire. Isolate a Sniper at close range. He is not a threat in the slightest at closer ranges.

Snipers are frail and are very weak in close combat. Escort friendly Snipers from vantage point to vantage point, and be on the watchout for Spies. Snipers and Heavies are both very vulnerable to Spy attacks, so cover each other's backs. A friendly Sniper can help you out by eliminating long-range threats, and by extinguishing you if you're on fire with his Jarate.

Heavy vs. Medic: Enemy Medics are a high priority target for you, and as of such, target them and eliminate them. Medics on their own pose a minimal threat to you, but if they're buddied with others - especially enemy Heavies - they can easily dispatch you. If you come up against a Medic combo, target the Medic rather than thos patient. Medica are weak and largely unable to fight back. Once the Medic's dead, his patient, whoever that may be, will be easier to finish off.

You are the ideal healing candidate for a friendly Medic. You can be overhealed to a whopping 450 health, and your high power output means it's easy to protect the Medic. Take it upon yourself as a Heavy to protect your team's Medics. You'll benefit greatly from their healing. Utilise a friendly Medic to increase your assault capabilities. An Ubercharged Heavy is a force to be reckoned with. Use Ubercharges to destroy Engy nests, dominate all in your wake, or hault other enemy advances.

Heavy vs. Spy: You are a really easy target for a Spy. Your slow speed and melee weakness makes it very easy for a Spy to backstab you. As of such, be on the watch for suspicious teammate behaviour. You can Spy-check to a relatively effective degree with your Minigun. Keep moving and be constantly vigilant against enemy Spies. If you can catch a Spy unawares, it should be easy to kill him - Spies are weak and have little-to-no combat ability. Be warned that some Spies use the Dead Ringer, and thus it can appear is if they're dead when they actually aren't. Be smart and double-tap.

You are the strongest class on the team, and the Spy is the weakest. As of such, protect friendly Spies when they're not disguised or on the prowl. Be courteous and try not to break their cover, too.

1: GRU Exploiting
REQUIRES: Gloves of Running Urgently

Realistically, there’s very little I can talk about in terms of ‘advanced techniques’ for the Heavy, but I’ll have a crack anyway. One thing you can do is GRU exploiting.

The Gloves of Running Urgently (otherwise abbreviated as ‘GRU’) are a craftable melee weapon for the Heavy. When active, you are ‘marked for death’, making all damage you take into minicrit damage. This effect lasts a few seconds after you change weapons, too. They also do less damage than the usual Fists. However, they make up for this by giving you a speed boost whilst they’re active. When active, you’ll travel 30% faster, making you about as fast as a Demoman. This is useful on the battlefield, as it allows the Heavy to travel to the action faster.
However, you can maximise the speed boost given by the GRU by exploiting.

GRU exploiting takes advantage of the fact you maintain momentum whilst you’re in the air. By bunnyhopping (jumping up and down repeatedly whilst travelling) with the GRU, you can maximise your speed, making you as fast as most other classes. It’s also a useful tactic because it makes it far harder for you to be hit or backstabbed by Spies. This technique can be further improved when you crouch-jump – that is, crouch whilst mid-air. When you crouch-jump, you not only jump higher, but go faster, and make your body smaller and thus less of a target.

If you can manage it, it’s recommended that you equip and unequip the GRU whilst jumping – so, you jump with them active, and then change weapon at the apex of your jump. That way, you maintain the momentum from the speed boost, and you can deal with threats quicker. It is true that GRU exploiting was a far more useful tactic when the GRU had different attributes. After the recent Pyromania Update (yay!), the GRU were changed from “+30% speed and -6 health per second whilst active” to “+30% speed and marked for death whilst active, -25% damage penalty”. This change has made the GRU exploit less useful. With the past attributes, you would take damage slowly whilst the weapon was active, meaning that the concept of switching weapons mid-air and maintaining momentum was a far more attractive one. Regardless, bunnyhopping like this is a good tactic.

2: Gravity Increasing
REQUIRES: any primary weapon

Although this is more of an effect of the immobility that comes with your primary weapons rather than any game engine exploits or genuine tactics, this is something to jot down. When you spin up any of your Miniguns, you become less mobile, and gravity is increased. That is, if you spin up a Minigun whilst you’re mid-air, you’ll fall to the ground marginally quicker than if you were not spinning up.

This gravity increase can be used to your advantage if you’re looking to ambush foes by dropping down from a ledge. The increased gravity will make your descent quick and surprising. This tactic is especially useful on surf maps, where you can spin up your gun whilst surfing to give you a marginal speed boost, as well as combat readiness.

3: The Art of the Sandvich
REQUIRES: bologna

All jokes aside, I think this is a good opportunity to talk about the versatility of the Sandvich.
The Sandvich is an unlockable secondary for the Heavy. It’s a large, hearty sandwich that can be eaten by the Heavy to restore all his health at once over a period of 4 seconds. It’s a very well-known TF2 motif and item, and is an almost indispensable part of a Heavy’s loadout.
What many people don’t know about the Sandvich is that it can be dropped for other teammates.

To eat a Sandvich, you can left-click (primary fire) or taunt whilst the item is active. However, you can drop it on the ground by right-clicking (secondary fire). Once the Sandvich is dropped, it appears as a rotating sandwich on a plate.
A dropped Sandvich works like a medium health pickup for your teammates (and enemies), restoring 150 health points. It can also stop some status effects, such as fire or bleeding. It’s highly recommended that as a Heavy you drop your Sandvich for your teammates in strife; it can save their life. If you pick up your Sandvich, it will reset your cooldown timer, and you can just eat it again. It must be noted that friendly Heavies can only regain health from the dropped Sandvich, not restore their Sandvich meter.

Another fact about the Sandvich is that you can speed up its cooldown meter by picking up health kits whilst you’re at full health. Additionally, if you eat a Sandvich whilst you’re at full health, you won’t waste its cooldown meter.
Finally, if a Heavy is killed whilst he’s holding his Sandvich, it will drop on the ground, and act as a small health pickup. A dead Heavy’s Sandvich will restore 50 health for all classes, or 75 health for a Scout. If you know you’re going to die, you may as well equip the Sandvich so that your teammates might get something out of it.

The Heavy, at the end of the day, is a very easy class to play as. All you need to do is point and shoot, and your enemy is dead. However, Heavies suffer distinct disadvantages, namely their speed. A bad Heavy will be easy prey for Spies and Snipers, and will be easily dispatched. Heavies can afford to take risks! You have a lot of health, and a lot of firepower. Stay alert and stay focused, and use a bit of tactics. You may be strong, but you’re not boolitproof.

Top Tip #1: Whatever you do, keep moving and watch your back.

Top Tip #2: Keep your ammo stocked up.

Top Tip #3: Look after your teammates.