Rank the Rocket Launchers

[Bond]

1. Stock / Original

Duh. All around best rocket launcher and one of the best weapons in the game, period. I don't think there's much to be said. This is the standard for Rocket Launchers to live up to.

2. Black Box

The launcher that comes closest to stock. A bad player can use the Black Box in a crutchy way, but it is not a crutch. A good Soldier can last a long time on the battlefield using this thing. Great for when there are no medics around, or for Soldiers who like to go off on their own (aka roamers).

3. Direct Hit

A heavily underrated Rocket Launcher, a good DH soldier is something scary. It can easily one-shot light classes, and there it is one of the best weapons for taking down sentries. It's harder to use because you actually need to hit people dead on, but those that can master it will rack up kills left and right. Particularly great in chokepointy maps.

4. Beggars Bazooka

This is one of the most fun weapons to use, and its also pretty great. It punishes enemies for clustering together. It also sorta turns the Soldier into something like a Sentry, giving him the ability to shut down certain passages. Has a really unique rocket jump that, paired with the Gunboats, can allow you fly across the map very quickly. Better on defense than on offense, though it can work offensively if the Soldier is good enough, and it eats ammo like nothing else. Its spread means it also sucks at longer ranges.

5. Cow Mangler 5000

Yeah, it's basically a crappier stock. Its stats are effectively the same as the stock's, except it does almost nothing to buildings and can't be crit-boosted. Its secondary fire is absolutely useless, so its biggest perk is the infinite ammo--a trait that isn't that valuable in a game where you can get ammo from ammo kits, fallen weapons, dispensers, payloads, and respawn cabinets.

6. Liberty Launcher

This is THE crutch. Its easier to use on account of its faster rocket speed, but its lower damage output kills it. A soldier with good prediction skills will do much better with the stock. It has reduced rocket jump damage, but with such a weak weapon, what's the point?

7. Air Strike

A weapon that has the downsides of the Black Box, the Liberty Launcher and the Direct Hit all at once! This weapon is pathetically weak to begin with, and only really becomes on par with some of the better launchers after you get a few kills--which is quite a challenge with this thing. The "aerial rocket barrage" isn't that useful until you can get a good amount of rockets in your clip, and you practically need the BASE Jumper to do anything useful with this thing. It also eats ammo like a pig.

8. Rocket Jumper

Yeah...this is basically a joke weapon. I mean, its for training purposes, but there are people who use this in actual combat. Getting Market Gardener kills is great Youtube frag videos, but isn't that useful in actual gameplay, unless you are playing on a Valve server. Being able to kill a bunch of players who just installed TF2 isn't that impressive though. This is a training weapon first and foremost, so its technically the worst Rocket Launcher for actual gameplay.

[Fidiken]

I would put the liberty launcher second to last, and air strike third to last, but otherwise it's pretty accurate, in my opinion

[Spoke]

Direct hit > anything else

[Grey Star, The Rival Defender]

Seems pretty accurate.

[Candleflicker]

1) Original: Centered weapons are easier to aim/predict trajectory for me.
2) Stock: High damage, good splash damage, very versatile.
3) Direct Hit: Rewards Soldiers who can lead shots well. Less splash damage however limits 'area control'.
4) Black Box: Good for Soldiers rolling Conch, and is good for survivability.
5) Liberty Launcher: Good as a practice weapon for new Soldiers.
6) Beggars Bazooka: Epic on defense, mediocre on offense.
7) Cow Mangler 5000: Can't destroy building, BAD!
8) Air Strike: What's the point of so many rockets if they do ♥♥♥♥ damage?
9) Rocket Jumper: From a practical standpoint, the worst. For trolling, none better.

[Segatic]

Originally posted by Conway:

Seems pretty accurate.

[Lore?]

1. Direct Hit
   
2. Stock
   
3. Black Box
   
4. Beggars Bazooka
   
5. Cow Mangler
   
6. Air Strike
   
7. Liberty Launcher

Largely based on opinion. I'd personally bring 3 up to 1 and bring the other two down.

[DeMino]

Originally posted by Goen 2 Ti5 TigerKirby215:

1. Direct Hit
   
2. Stock
   
3. Black Box
   
4. Beggars Bazooka
   
5. Cow Mangler
   
6. Air Strike
   
7. Liberty Launcher

Largely based on opinion. I'd personally bring 3 up to 1 and bring the other two down.

Agreed. The Direct Hit is such a beautiful weapon.
Now I'm no that guy who can perfect hit airshots and ♥♥♥♥ like that, because I barely play Soldier.
I do though have decent-above average aim. And landing the shots with the Direct Hit doesn massive dmg.

[Dayal]

Don't forgot the reload speed penalty on the Cow Mangler.
I would argue why the Liberty Launcher isn't exactly a crutch, but I doubt it will change your opinion about it. The list seems good in my eyes, although I would put Beggar's Bazooka higher on it. But that's just my opinion.

[The Red Snifit]

Air Strike is actually pretty useful on certain maps. Once you get a couple kills, you can basically own Dustbowl 3 on defense.

[Fellelin Gohkhwkhip Pi Kopqi Sú]

beggars bazooka, the rest does not matter

[Delia]

Stock
Original
Black Box
Direct Hit
Liberty Launcher
Beggars Bazooka
Cow Mangler
Air Strike
Rocket Jumper...

[Nature always wins]

Good list and agree with everything but would put air stike a bit up, has better damage output than liberty launcher once you get the max rockets, ps, liberty laucher needs a buff/rework badly, almost never see anybody using it anymore.

[OrganicTaste]

1. Stock
2. Black Box
3. Cow Mangler
4. Bazooka <---Forgot it
5. Direct Hit
6. Liberty Launcher
7. Air Strike
8. Jumper

[Fumo Bnnuy n Frends]

1. air strike (at max rockets its like having 2-3 soldiers on your team with direct hits)
2. beggars bazooka (the team carrier most versatile in terms of pushing on either offense /defense)
3. direct hit (against alot of enemies not so much but works great on one on one)
4. cowmangler (great on defense/support not much offense)
5. stock/reskins (middle ground)
6. liberty launcher (direct hit with no explosion radius downside and less damage)
7. crutch box ( for people who cant soldier)
8.rocket jumper (its alright)

[Jakub]

Ok, I'll just rank it not by best/worst, but by most/least used.

1. stock
2. rocket jumper (yes, it is a lot of fun to use)
3. black box
4. direct hit
5, 6, 7, 8 - the rest (I never use those :3)