Tip number six.
the sixth class, the Heavy weapons guy.

A note to begin with.
This is probably the most changed of my tips.
When I first wrote it, there were WAY too many HWG, then I rewrote it, suggesting to all and sudry that they retry the class that had been writtenoff and inneffectual, 'for newbies only'.
Now, of course, we've had the uber patch, TF1.5 and heavy weapons guys are everywhere once more. And hitscan weapons do what they say on the tin...

So, here we go again.

The heavy weapons guy (soon to be gal as well) The fat man. Sentry gun on wheels. Weidler of the asscannon. Lets have a bit of a look at what he has to offer.

1. Guns. Lots of guns.
You get:
Rotary cannon / autocannon / asscannon. Masses of armour, hitscan, innaccurate spread at long range. Good damage, high rate of fire, masses of ammo. this gun kills stuff. Its only downside is that it has a delay on spinup, and makes you walk very slowly while firing. It also makes a huge racket. Very reassuring :)
Super Shotgun. Same as anyone elses supershotgun, a good gun.
Single barrelled shotgun. Ho hum, though your only weapon that is even slightly accurate at long range.
Crowbar. Pretty much standard issue that.
MIRV grenades (up to 2) Boom. *BOOM* I say
Normal grenades (up to 4) You were expecting less?

2. Armour. Lots of armour.
More than any other class. 300. It's just silly.

Nuff said.

3. You do *not* die.
Nothing can kill you.
You are immortal.
Well, not quite, but if oyu can keep your big gun trained on someone for a
second or too - they die.
You don't die, it takes 6 or more rockets to kill you.

4. Move
Surprisingly, the HWG actually moves quite fast.
Just *not* while firing, or carrying the flag.
So, be prepared to stop firing and move.
Don't chase whilst firing. The SSG is useful for if you need to chase, or fall back - and stopping firing can get you into position nicely.
Gravity is your friend - you drop down from a height as quickly as anyone else, and that can be useful.

5. Autocannon isn't the only weapon.
The super shotgun is a *very* effective weapon for dealing with the light classes.
Ignore their taunts and dodges, whip out htis baby, and chase them down.
You don't move slowly whilst using this weapon.

6. Be part of a pack.
One HWG is hard to stop.
2 are almost impossible.
And if three of you get into the enemy base, you are guaranteed to get to the flag (and to spam their respawn room to death)

Always 2 there are - a heavy, and, another heavy?
*boring*
OK, so you get double firepower, but because most of the weaponry you are worried about is explosive, you don't take much extra to kill.
And neither of you can dodge!
(Note, if you ARE going to use twin heavies, prioritise targets, and stay as far aart as you can whilst still covering the area)
So, why not try other interesting combinations.
Heavy and Soldier.
Heavy and sniper (yes, snipers on the move, just charge and potshot - the heavy should discourage people getting too close)
Heavy and medic.
Medic *do* have a shotgun, and the stuff about not getting in the way doesn't really apply to HWG, who can't dodge anyway...
Heavy and engineer.
A medic is really only useful hen the subject has lost all armour, and is starting to take health damage.
Have you ever seen that happen to a HWG who isn't about to die anyway?
Ok, you DO take health damage through the armour, but with the amount of armour a HWG carries, it's very slight.
So an engineer is just like a medic - only for HWG.

7. Do *not* overuse the MIRV
I said this for demons, but it's valid here too.

The mirv is a very powerful weapon, but it blocks off areas that the rest of your team could use.
Never spam the bridge on 2fort, for example, unless you know your entire team is using the water route.

8. Learn to shoot straight.
Enemies *will* persist in dodging, but your guns, though not terribly accurate at long range, do travel instantly, so there is no need to lead the target.
Get them in your crosshairs, pull the trigger, and HOLD them in your crosshairs.
If possible, anticipate their dodges.

9. Die with honour.
If it looks like you are about to die, decide whether or not to drop all your grenades.
If you really think the point needs holding, and that no-one on your teamm needs to come near, throw grenades like mad.
You surely *will* die.
Don't put them all in the same place - you get a better field of fire by throwing them wildly.

10. Defend
Defnd defend defend. Then defend some more.
you're too slow to really go wandering about, but pick a hardpoint and stick to it. A HWG really does make a hard point HARD.
Stand in the way of people - don't let yourself be fooled by spies, and shoot enemies.
If they back off round a corner, they are preparing a grenade.
Stop firing, and back off.
Move to a new defensive point, laugh as they blow away empty air, and kill them when they shrug and say 'oh, he left'

Don't get conced - you can see the tracers and recover quite quikly, but try tnot to have it happen in the first place. If you DO get conced, you move less far than anyone else, so try to get to the point you need to hold ASAP.

Most enemies only want to get past you, the rest want to kill you to let their buddies past. Priorities, and decide whether to kill the light classes, or concentrate on killing the heavy classes.

Don't get infected, unless there is another target, or a corner close by, you should be able to mow don a medic before he gets close enough.

Against turn and burn, or any kind of class trying to circle strafe you close up - stay calm.
Don't lose your head, don't whip the mouse about wildly, just try to have your stream of fire moving in the same direction they are as they pass.
They can run through it, but not very often, and if you catch them as they change directions, they'll die.

If they're REAL trouble, then prime and hold a grenade, should stop them staying that close :)

Don't crouch. Not in a firefight situation anyway. It exposes the head more, and doens't make you any less of a target, but removes the small amount of dodge ability you DO have.

Aim for the head. I'm fairly sure it makes a difference, it certainly feels lke it does, though many say it doesn't.

No longer does the lower ping win a heavy to heavy firefight.

11. Don't defend.
If you are attacking (and law alone knows there are few reasons for you to be able to do that) then concentrate on attacking.
You are slowed down too much to take potshots at scouts as they pass you.
Only kill the people you need to.

12. An example of prioritising targets...
A soldier engaged me whilst a medic tried to run past. Ho hum, remember to lead the target, and *wham* a rocket impacts, continue ignoring - medic dies, throw the grenade, soldier goes to MIRV heaven.
Wind down the autocannon, and grab the ammo pack. OK, so surely now I am nearly dead?
Yup, 90 health, and a little under 150 armour. Well, thats. hang on - am I a pyro or something?
Cool - I can survve another attack then.

I think that sums it up nicely. If you concentrat e on the heavy classes first, the light ones get past. It all depends upon what the rest of your defence is built up to deal with. Lots of SGs means let the scout in. Lots of soldiers means let the soldier pass.


Humph, this tip is short, what am I missing? Oh yes, vs class fights...

HWG vs scout.
Wind that cannon up, and mow him down before he gets into range to conc you.
If he's got corners he can use, just sorta do your best, try to use mirv to deny ares he'd like to throw concs at you from. (I'm thinking top of elevator shaft 2fort here)

In the open, he's yours - and may well be your prime target.

HWG vs Sniper
SSG is probably your best bet - do NOT stand on 2fort battlements firing across at them, simply report their existance and move away.
If they're attacking you, you'll have to keep an ear out, you have VERY little time between them popping round the corner and your head popping. And dodging isn't really going to work.
If you have the SSG ready, thats good. A primed grenade is better.

Preferably someone will be chasing them, and you CAN ignore the autogun pretty much.

HWG vs soldier
Keep an eye open for other targets. try to keep him at range so that his shots aren't so accurate, and mow him down if he tries to pass.
Beware the '4 rockets plus grenade suicide attack'
It is often worth stopping firing to avoid it, after all, he can't fire MORE than 4 rockets, so if his attack fails, you've got a lesurely few seconds to mow him down as he reloads.

Another pain in the neck is a nail grenade right on top of you - obviously try and move away, but you have to decide whether stopping firing is worth it or not, usually it is.
Again, SSG can be a lifesaver.

HWG vs demon
They have MIRV too! Keep the high round, jump from the edge of their explosion, the secondary explosion will kill you.
If he's good, you're in trouble, but whatever the outcome he'll be at least badly hurt.
If he tries to use cover, well... you have grenades too.

HWG vs medic
Don't get infected, getting conced is bad too - they're a little slower, so easier to target, but can survive direct fire an iota longer than a scout.
Pretty similar to a scout really.

HWG vs HWG
Keep firing, use a grenade, perhaps choose to die and take out more important target.
SSG is a waste of space here. The added speed won't help you.

HWG vs pyro
I said a bit about this above. Also try to do as much damage as you can before they close, but get out of the napalm they drop ASAP.
A good tatcic is to hammer them with asscannon fire as they close, then as they switch to flamethrower and really get within range, switch to SSG and pick your shots to finish them.
Also lets you get ouft of the napalm they inevitably drop.

Note - picking shots means DON'T hold down the fire button, fire when you see them in your crosshairs, and at no otherr time.

HWG vs Spy
Being tranqued is a pain, but you don't move much anyway.
Being knifed is REAL bad, but can only happen if you failed to realise they were a spy. Spycheck thoroughly. You don't move, so your teammates know it's you - but you don't see where they came from - so if they don't fire, remove all their armour, and never be bothered by a spy again.
Hallucinating is bad, but not terrible - they oughn't to get the chance to drop more than one gas gren on you - but if they do, change hardpoint.

HWG vs Engineer.
Dropammo. FFS *drop*ammo*
You carry no rockets and no cells. Though a heck of a lot of shotgun ammo. Drop your ammo and SURVIVE that first EMP.
Then treat them like a medic, by splaterring them across the scenery with what is quite possibly THE most satisfying gun ever made.

HWG vs SG
So, you're attacking a sentry gun?
You CAN outgfight a lvl3 SG one on one :)
Not a terribly great idea, MIRV round a corner is better and surer, but you might like to note it as a possibiliity if the medic behind you is in a real hurry to get that flag.

i