A guide to using the Stickybomb Launcher effectively post-nerf.

[Critical]

I don't really have a plan for this post, I'm just going to try to get my ideas down in text form. Hopefully I can help some people.
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I've seen a lot of complaints and a lot of whining after the recent nerf to the sticky launcher. People seem to think that Demoman is useless now, and that to play Demoman now you have to lay traps and camp by them. This is not the case, and it's becoming very tiring to see all of this complaining from people who refuse to change their playstyle to fit the nerf.
The stickybomb launcher is a defensive weapon now. It should be used mainly for laying traps, although it's still one of the best weapons for destroying sentry nests. However, lots of people seem to think "laying traps" means "putting stickies on a door and waiting". This is not the case.

There are multiple different kinds of traps. The one described above can be useful in certain situations, mainly when you know a medic will be coming through the door. If the rest of your team is good about calling out where enemies are headed, you can get there first and lay traps for them when they come through. However, if you aren't predicting, and you're simply laying traps and waiting for a random enemy to come by, you aren't contributing much to your team.

Another way this trap can be used effectively is by luring people towards them. Place a few stickies on a doorframe, then fire some pills at someone walking by and disappear behind the door. When they walk through, you get an easy kill with your trap.

Placing traps by health kits is also immensely helpful, as it will both deter those who notice them and kill those who don't. If someone goes for health in the middle of a firefight and has to stop to destroy a sticky trap, it will give their opponent time to come in and finish them off. If they don't notice the trap, you can detonate it and kill them while they're on low health.

If you're about to go out to fight in an open space, lay some stickies in the possible escape routes. If your opponent tries to run, they won't be able to get away.

Stickies can be used for protecting objectives, as well. Place some hidden by the cart, and when you see it start to move at the bottom of your screen, detonate the trap. Put some under the intelligence and be ready to right click when the alert goes out that it's been taken. Put some hidden around a control point and detonate as soon as you hear the announcer say it's being capped.

Stickies, when placed on an objective, can also be used as an alarm of sorts. Place some stickies on a point you're defending, or on the last point of a 5CP map, in an obvious and visible position. When you see your sticky count at the bottom of the screen start to decrease, you'll know that someone is attempting a back cap/quick cap. (In this scenario, you could also try hiding some in a less visible place, and detonating them when you see the count start to drop for a surprise kill)

Last but not least, don't forget about your grenade launcher!! A Demoman that only uses his stickybomb launcher is like a spy that only uses his knife; you'll get stuff done, but you'll be 10x more useful if you use both. If you're waiting for someone to walk by your trap, the least you can do is spam some pills at a group of enemies. People may say that the stickybomb launcher is Demo's area denial weapon, but the Grenade Launcher is much more effectve. Spamming pills at a group of enemies will nine times out of ten cause them to scatter or retreat, and firing them down a hallway will usually block off said hallway for at least a few seconds. In addition, direct hits can deal some hefty damage, and they're useful for taking out lighter classes in direct combat (mainly scouts, spies, and snipers) or heavier classes if you catch them by surprise (you can kill a non-overhealed heavy surprisingly quickly with a few pills and perhaps a melee swing or two).

If you feel like the grenade launcher isn't a powerful weapon, try avoiding the stickybomb launcher for a week or two to perfect your aim with the GL. You'll find it's a much more powerful weapon than you once thought.

The stickybomb launcher has become a weapon that greatly rewards creative use, and punishes straightforward and uncreative tactics. The biggest problem people are having with it is a lack of creativity. They either try to spam with it (low damage, not effective) or try to lay doorway traps and camp (boring, ineffective, easy to counter). Play creatively, find new uses for it, and you'll see that Demoman is still powerful, only he's powerful in a different way than before.

TL;DR sticky traps can be laid aggressively

[Ranko]

they're never gonna read this, I guarantee it.

[koimeiji]

Forgetting: Air stickies (BASE jumper, shoot stickies from sky, detonate when they reach target), Waiting a little longer before you detonate your spam.

[FaelisongTalim]

To be fair, it was really easy avoiding Sticky Spam. Just Flank the poor fool.

Also, I generally just throw out atleast 4 stickies and then press M2. It's a decent rate of fire, even when compared to Scottish Resistance. And still does the job perfectly, maybe even better.

[FaelisongTalim]

Originally posted by 303 thebreadsprites:

Forgetting: Air stickies, Waiting a little longer before you detonate your spam.

Wouldn't it be better to just have a higher arch from a longer range?

Also, how dumb would it be to throw up a sticky directly upward and try to Kill the enemy on the return trip of the bomb?

[Ranko]

Originally posted by normal cool:

Originally posted by Malik Blishtar:

they're never gonna read this, I guarantee it.

I read it. Stop making assumptions, you're doing nothing to diffuse the situation and only feed it making statements like this.

it was on page 3 when I said that thus bumping it. Basically I forced a self fulfilling prophecy, gg trying to make me feel bad tho.

[Dime]

Originally posted by Malik Blishtar:

Originally posted by normal cool:

I read it. Stop making assumptions, you're doing nothing to diffuse the situation and only feed it making statements like this.

it was on page 3 when I said that thus bumping it. Basically I forced a self fulfilling prophecy, gg trying to make me feel bad tho.

I completely agree with this thread. OP better make it a guide, its really good!

[BenjiGonzo]

Good thread, I already knew most of this stuff, but I still tend to corner camp with the thing like an idiot :P

[Wired Mike]

As a Demo who always preferred the Scottish Resistance and Pipes, I can say OP is spot-on. Make it a guide, please!

[Critical]

Originally posted by Gangrene Toe Loss:

As a Demo who always preferred the Scottish Resistance and Pipes, I can say OP is spot-on. Make it a guide, please!

Thanks, i'm already making it now. Expect it to be up sometime tommorow afternoon :P

[ZETAGUNDAM]

This is a pretty good guide, even though I'm still upset about the sticky nerf, this is a good work around it until Valve either changes it back or nothing happens at all.