Soldier match-ups
From TF2 Wiki
| Class | Strategy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 Soldier | vs |  Scout | The Scout's Scattergun is most effective at close range, where it is easier to score a hit with your rockets, or at least cause enough splash damage to weaken the Scout. Your rockets can also be used to 'juggle' the Scout around, albeit with difficulty, allowing you to predict where he will land so you can finish him off easily. If the Scout is out of your Rocket launcher's effective range, or he's too erratic to get reliable rocket damage on him, pull out your Shotgun so you can at least do some damage to him. Do not try to use your melee weapon against a Scout as he can outmaneuver you, though if you're injured and attacking with the Equalizer, you may be able to catch him by surprise. If a scout gets too close it's best to rocket-jump, this will damage the scout and bring you to safety. The Gunboats greatly help in this close combat maneuver. If the scout is under the effects of the Bonk! Atomic Punch it is best to wait out it's duration. Firing haphazardly without being aware of the scout's invulnerability will only cause splash damage to yourself. Beware of scout's using the Force-A-Nature as they can take advantage of your slow speed and perform hit-and-run attacks. |
| Soldier | vs | Soldier | A shoot-out with another Soldier can get very messy, just try to juggle him before he does likewise and finish him off as fast as possible with precise shots rather than wasting your clip, avoiding his rockets the whole while. It is also advisable to catch the enemy Soldier while he is reloading (this is typically done by not firing until after the enemy), and then shooting him while he spends time reloading his gun. Wiser Soldiers will just switch to their Shotgun upon running out of ammo and not reload their Rocket launcher until after you're dead.
Unless you know for sure that the enemy Soldier is capable of killing you with an aerial, you may want to try and rocket jump over the enemy Soldier, messing up his aim and allowing you to deal Heavy damage with the rocket launcher. Height advantage is a significant factor in a Soldier duel, so taking the high ground is advised. |
| Soldier | vs |  Pyro | If you see the Pyro coming, take advantage of the fact that he has to get within close range to be effective by juggling him away or hitting him dead on with a rocket. If you are ambushed you have two viable options. Turn around and try to put him down as quickly as possible, or perform a rocket jump to disorient and damage the Pyro, then take him out or run for the nearest body of water, Dispenser or Health pack to put the fire out. Do not spend too long in a close encounter with a Pyro as you do not have quite the same outlasting ability as the Heavy. Pyros can kill you quickly if they Crit flame or take you by surprise with the Backburner. As soon as you see them rocket their feet, and then finish them off with a midair rocket or rocket them when they land. Alternatively, if you get caught unaware and up close to a Pyro, fire a rocket at their feet and use the resulting splash damage as a means to rocket jump out of the way and possibly deter the Pyro from chasing you. Using the Shovel is a very risky against Pyros. Because they always rush towards you to get as close as possible to do the most damage with their Flamethrower, they are usually within range of the Shovel and although one Critical hit with the Shovel can kill a Pyro, using it can work against you, because the Pyro can move faster he could move backwards so your shovel cannot reach him but his flames can reach you. The Equalizer can be used to escape in a sticky situation as the afterburn will continue to damage you while increasing your speed.
Pyros using the Flamethrower are very easy if you see them coming, but the Compression Blast can kill you easily if you're caught off guard. If he starts spamming it then switch to the shotgun, switching back to the rocket launcher when he changes to the flare gun or shotgun. Basically, use the weapon his weapon doesn't counter. But in general, if you see a Pyro coming from medium range, he is a low threat, even if you can't use your rockets because of their compression blast. |
| Soldier | vs |  Demoman | Demomen are a real threat: they can outmaneuver you, and a volley of grenades can take you out in two shots. They were your friends until the competition made them nemeses. Your slow speed also makes you a ripe target for Sticky bombs. In a one-on-one encounter, you have a surprisingly large advantage due to the fact that rockets instantly explode and you have more health. Try to stay at medium range so you can dodge his grenades while trying to hit or juggle him and throw off his aim so you can finish him. If he is hiding behind a Sticky bomb carpet, firing a rocket into the center will typically cause the sticky bombs to scatter. If you cannot do this, your ability to Rocket jump still provides a myriad of alternate access routes in most maps. Take full advantage of your shotgun, it is one of your main advantages against the Demoman. Use its insta-hit capability well, as the shotgun is impossible to dodge if you have good aim and the Demoman's main weakness is his lack of an insta-hit weapon (like the shotgun). One risky strategy is to rocket jump up close to the Demoman, start firing from the air, and finish him off as you land. Soldiers are generally better at hitting foes close range than the Demoman, and by hitting well, you can take him out with two rockets. Getting successful hits are also easier from the air.
Also, when facing a Demoman armed with the Chargin' Targe, your rockets will do 50% less damage. In this case, it's almost always better to switch to your shotgun, or your equalizer if you're low on health. Most Demoman who have the Targe will also have the Eyelander, and these items mean your day is about to be completely ruined. Use your shotgun, then if you're injured, use your Equalizer to increase your maneuverability. If they get a Critical hit with the Eyelander, strike back immediately with the Equalizer, as you will have 5 health remaining and be capable of dealing over 100 damage in a single blow. |
| Soldier | vs |  Heavy | The Heavy is a dangerous opponent and should ideally be taken down as quickly as possible. Fortunately, even the health of a Heavy has difficulty standing up to a volley of rockets. It is more advisable to do this to a Heavy who has not seen you as you have a higher chance of taking him out before he can rev up his Minigun and do any substantial damage to you. It takes at least three rockets to down a Heavy. If you can, retreat round a corner and shoot at the floor next to him as he walks slowly round it, doing this can get you an easy kill without taking any damage. Alternatively, you can hide behind walls or any other cover and pop out to fire a rocket at him then hide again, stopping you from taking any damage while you aren't shooting. But don't worry, carrying the Direct hit will easily kill the Heavy (and not overhealed) with one Critical hit. The Natascha is not a big threat unless you are caught with low health and are attempting to flee. Just remain calm and repeatedly fire your rockets at the Heavy. Due to splash damage they are guaranteed to hurt him even if your aim is slightly off. Regardless, attempting to run while underfire from the Natascha will guarantee death as your already slow speed has been slowed down to a snail's pace. Thanks to the slow speed and large frame of the Heavy, he is a prime target to juggle. Mistimed shots will give the Heavy enough time to kill you however.
If the Heavy has a Medic accompanying him, things become more problematic. Your first priority is to take out the Medic, to make taking the Heavy out that much easier. Of course, by the time you do that you're practically dead anyway. Try to use corners and walls to kill the Medic without exposing yourself to Minigun fire, bettering your chances of survival and escape. It helps if you can enlist a few teammates to help absorb some of the fire. If the enemy Medic activates an ÜberCharge, do not give up hope, however hopeless your situation seems. Using well-placed rockets, you can separate the Medic from his Heavy a sufficient distance so that the Heavy is no longer ÜberCharged. Although chances are you'll be very dead when you turn to face the Heavy. The Rocket Launcher is also much more suitable for dealing with Heavy-Medic pairs due to the large splash damage which can strike the Medic while he's behind the Heavy. Another tactic would be fully charge the Buff banner and let your team deal with the Heavy-Medic threat. Or if alone, overpower them with mini-crits. |
| Soldier | vs |  Engineer | As a Soldier, you are one of the best classes for taking out enemy Sentries. To kill a Sentry as a Soldier, you'll want to shoot the floor/wall/ceiling next to the Sentry, but not actually get within sight range of the Sentry itself (Hence the achievement). If splash damaging the Sentry is not possible, continually move in and out of the Sentry's line of sight while sending volleys of rockets its way and it should go down fairly quickly. The splash damage should also hopefully kill or maim the attending Engineer, allowing you to finish off his gun.
Always aim for the wall next to the Engineer if possible so you can destroy his Dispenser and/or kill him; a Soldier cannot out damage the Engineer's healing by firing rockets directly at the Sentry. This is made even worse when he has a level 3 dispenser, which will be able to generate metal and heal fast enough to keep him going indefinitely, whereas you'll have to retreat for more ammo. Because of the lower splash radius, it can be harder to take down sentry guns with the Direct hit when the Engineer is tanking it. However Direct hit rockets are faster and more damaging than regular ones so you should be able to destroy a sentry much faster than with regular ones at long range. Sentries under the effects of the Wrangler will recieve 65% less damage and become a much larger threat since the sentry fire can be aimed towards you. However, splash damage will still damage the Engineer making rockets an effective weapon against wrangled sentries. Direct combat with an Engineer is similar to fighting with a Scout. The Engineer being similar to the scout can weapon-heckle soldiers, albeited less effectively. Direct combat becomes slightly more difficult if the Engineer decides to utilize a mini-sentry or moved standard sentry. The best method for stopping such a maneuver would be to destroy both the Engineer and the sentry through the Rocket Launcher's splash damage. An alternative would be to quickly destroy whichever target is percieved to be more of a threat with accurate shots from the Direct Hit. Always beware of revenge crits as destroying sentries often consume much of loaded rocket ammo leaving you vulnerable to the faster Engineer. |
| Soldier | vs |  Medic | A Medic should be no real threat on his own. His weapons are not too effective beyond close range, which is the range at which your rockets are most effective. The Medic's low health means he should go down quickly.
When healing an enemy team member, the Medic becomes a much higher, albeit indirect threat. Make taking him out quickly as your top priority and then focus on his buddy. The Soldier is particularly effective at killing Medics due to his ability to Rocket jump over the Medic's buddy and eliminate the Medic with two rockets. Repeated splash damage is also an effective means of disposing a medic and his healing target. Most of your weapons have an advantage against the Medic's such as the Shotgun and Equalizer in terms of damage output and speed. It is not advised to utilize the Equalizer against a Medic when at low health however, due to the large area-of-effect the Syringe Gun or Blutsauger the Medic can achieve by spraying his shots in a horizontal fashion. If you do use the Equalizer take advantage of the speed boost and catch the Medic by surprise and afterwards proceed to tear apart his even more surprised teammate. |
| Soldier | vs |  Sniper | At long distance, your slow speed makes you a prime target for a Sniper's Headshot. Try to avoid areas covered by Snipers by looking out for their 'Sniper dots'. If there are no alternative routes, you can lay down suppressive fire with your Rocket launcher to keep the Sniper(s) in hiding as you rush through. If you're lucky you may even hit one dead on, or catch him with the splash damage. At anything closer than long range, a Sniper should be easy prey. Take him down with your rockets before he can react. Rocket Jumping to face a Sniper is often not a successful tactic and will instead get you headshotted based on how experienced the enemy Sniper is at aerials. However, with the speed of the direct hit and knowledge of the sniper's position, such a tactic could succeed. It is not often recommended but can be great for surprising scoped snipers or infiltrating sniper nests |
| Soldier | vs |  Spy | Your slow speed and high offensive capacity make you a prime target for a Spy's Backstab. Watch your back frequently as Spies can strike at any time. It is worth it to do a little Spy checking with your Rocket launcher. One rocket at close range will reduce a Disguised Spy's health to less than 20 with the regular Rocket Launcher and kill him with the Direct hit. If you see an undisguised Spy, try to close the distance to make your rockets more effective and juggle him before he can escape. If you are aware of a cloaked Spy in your presence, the splash damage from your rockets has a surprisingly high radius and should take out the Spy or at least reveal his position, allowing you to finish him off. When a Spy misses a backstab he will usually frantically stab you till you die; if you are low on rocket ammo you can safely use the Shovel or the Equalizer. The Shotgun is a faster method of disposing spies if you bump into or catch them by surprise. It's usefulness does greatly diminish when dealing with fleeing spies due to the bullet-spread and the Direct Hit likewise, due to it's small hitbox. |
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