Shotgun on Heavy

[Frantastick]

Do you think a heavy rolling a shotgun instead of the sandvich would be viable in a serious game? Could be comp, could be a competent pub.

Secondary question, Do YOU roll a shotgun? Not just as a shotgun heavy, but as a Heavy in general.

[Zirkel]

I use a shotgun sometimes, it's certainly very fun and useful in some situations, however if I KNOW I'm having a pocket med, it would be rude not to use Sandvich.

[Jelly Sandwich]

I am using Tomislav+Sandvich combo. Always ready for a battle. But Family Business is now very vialable shotgun with the new buffs.

[Dustman121]

Not really. The minigun is the best way of dealing damage for the Heavy period. Switching to the Shotgun and then trying to line up a few potshots isn't a good way of defending yourself, with all the time taken to switch you could've just revved up your Minigun for a more secure and easier way of taking out the enemy. And since Heavy's large health, DPS, and stature makes him a natural target for heals having a deployable medkit on hand for your medic and other teammates is invaluable.

As it stands the Shotgun is just barely only viable with the Brass Beast because of it's incredibly slow spin down time and slower run speed when active.

[piss wizard]

I almost always use shotgun. It's just fun to mess around with, deals viable damage, and is overall more useful and reliable than Sandvich. For people that roll shotgun, I recommend Panic Attack.

[AnemoneMeer]

Shotgun is fine, though best used with Natascha or Huo-Long Heater. Brass beast's Rev/De-Rev time takes an eternity, but that demands more of a playstyle shift (Jump Revving). It gets much better when used with the Huo-Long heater, which eats ammo extremely fast, or Natasha, which is quite frankly the weakest minigun for long range or duels and loses to shotgun in those situations.

Family business atm is more or less an upgrade to standard shotgun on heavy. We have the HP reserves to soak damage, it has a very similar DPS, but more ammo per clip, which is better than slightly increased alpha for sustained damage and will actually often cause us to kill FASTER because we get out two rounds of family business for around 70 damage each, before the standard can get off around 80 or so, and get off 3 rounds for 210 (lethal) notably faster. Standard shotgun's increased alpha is better on other classes, or for finishing weakened targets, neither of which are much of a problem for our high DPS and multiple rounds per unit of ammo minigun.

So yeah, run it with Natascha or Huo-Long as lethal and ammo option respectively. If you're using one of the other miniguns, Sandvich.

[I'm Error (Alt)]

Heavy shotgun is a really good weapon since it allows you to defend yourself without having to deal with the spinup time and speed reduction of the minigun which makes it really good for moving around. But it's completely outmatched by the sandvich since the ability to heal makes it one of the best if not the best unlocks in the game.II rarely see heavies using shotguns in comp matches exept for 6s matches where the sandvich is banned.

[Pakaku]

Nobody expects the shotgun. It's even sneakier than the Tomislav in some ways.

[Toasty]

when i use the brass beast, when i play vs saxton, my natascha doesn't really fit to fight some bosses, so i roll brass, and the shotgun is a good way to deal some damage quickly

[Quercias]

Shotgun vs Sandvich is a tricky one, but Shotgun is definitely the best option for Heavy.

- Use it to kill enemies that would get an overall advantage of you standing still, like Snipers, Soldiers and Demomans.
- If an enemy Demoman or Soldier is attacking and taking cover from your shots, use your Shotgun to get face-to-face so you can kill him for once.
- Use your Shotgun to walk around the battlefield ready to defend yourself from a unexpected attack. Spinning your Minigun would either give the enemy enough time to damage you critically, getting you killed or give them the chance to run away.
- With a Shotgun you can move at normal speed, jump and deal high amounts of damage to a single enemy. Use this to your advantage when low in health so you can have a chance to survive and kill the enemy if you're quick enough.

[Hand's Hermit Permit]

There are a few subtle times that the shotgun is very useful. Generally, it's fantastic for moving and attacking when having to rev up is just a bad idea.

- When moving closer to do real damage, shotgun spam. You do damage, might even get a crit.
- When low on health and having to rev up is guaranteed to just get you killed rather than help, shotgun while retreating.
- When dealing with big damage potential from the enemy that's hard to aim (sniper rifles, huntsman, direct hit, grenade pills, sandman ball, flare crit spam, ambassador harassment,) being able to dodge with the shotgun while still doing damage can be a clutch advantage.
- When chasing injured enemies behind cover, revving up is probably just going to let them get away. Chase with shotgun.
- When using natasha or brass beast. They spin too slow to guard you against an ambush. Keep your shotgun out while you're moving instead.
- When you run out of ammo, obviously. Happens a lot with Huo Long Heater.
- Nobody expects sudden shotgun hoovy. A heavy that's mobile? impossibru!


I don't much like sandvich. It's great for healing medic or when you don't have a medic, but the cooldown is long, and I find having more mobility as a pocket is helpful too, and it's fun. I like fishcake though. Just 'cuz it's fishcake.

[Quercias]

Originally posted by Hand's Hermit Permit:

There are a few subtle times that the shotgun is very useful. Generally, it's fantastic for moving and attacking when having to rev up is just a bad idea.

- When moving closer to do real damage, shotgun spam. You do damage, might even get a crit.
- When low on health and having to rev up is guaranteed to just get you killed rather than help, shotgun while retreating.
- When dealing with big damage potential from the enemy that's hard to aim (sniper rifles, huntsman, direct hit, grenade pills, sandman ball, flare crit spam, ambassador harassment,) being able to dodge with the shotgun while still doing damage can be a clutch advantage.
- When chasing injured enemies behind cover, revving up is probably just going to let them get away. Chase with shotgun.
- When you run out of ammo, obviously. Happens a lot with Huo Long Heater.
- Nobody expects sudden shotgun hoovy. A heavy that's mobile? impossibru!


I don't much like sandvich. It's great for healing medic or when you don't have a medic, but the cooldown is long, and I find having more mobility as a pocket is helpful too, and it's fun. I like fishcake though. Just 'cuz it's fishcake.

This guy knows it.

[Screwsie.]

I've always prefferred to use a shotgun over the sandvich, if I die it's my fault for not getting to a medkit, medic or spawn fast enough. (Though Heavy still remains one of my least played classes)

[76561198048397379]

im still trying to find a way to use it. but as of now heavies are still stuck in this sandvich pvp meta(and i will admit that im using it too)