MvM: Universal Strategy

This guide will address basic strategy for Mann vs. Machine: team composition, upgrades, and positioning.

Team Composition

The first half of the team is dedicated to support and utility.

The new Medic shield is invaluable, and the Kritzkrieg can boost damage output dramatically. A properly placed Engineer is able to hold ground so the team may regroup; the teleporter and dispenser keep teammates in the fight. No class grabs cash the way a Scout can. Mad Milk and the Fan O' War make up for his very low damage.


The second half of the team is more flexible, as its purpose is damage, which comes in a variety of forms:

A Demoman with his sticky launcher is unrivaled at removing robot Uber Medics before they can deploy, and generally suppressing crowds. Soldiers can provide a well-positioned team with mini-crits, excellent for both the damage increase AND the negation of damage falloff (most weapons deal reduced damage with increasing range to their target). A Heavy provides reliable hitscan damage. A Pyro learned in the ways of airblast and ambush can manipulate the bomb carrier to buy time and contribute some damage (more to tanks).

Thus, a solid team:

Medic
Engineer
Scout
Demoman
Soldier
Heavy / Pyro

The lack of a Spy or Sniper is intentional. An expert Spy is capable of replacing some functions of a Scout while bringing limited ability to defeat Uber Medics, and an expert Sniper can use Jarate to provide mini-crits and slow robots. However, in both cases, a high degree of skill is required and the person choosing to play those classes must overcome the natural assumption that their class choice is inferior. In no case should a team include both Spy and Sniper.

Upgrades: General

The choice of how to spend cash is almost as important as ensuring a team of balanced classes. An important distinction is between temporary and permanent bonuses. The importance of this fact is underlined by the increasing difficulty of each wave; if early waves are consuming player cash via Buybacks and Canteens, later waves will be unmanageable.

Ideally, a team will not need Buybacks or Canteens until the second half of the mission.

The Support Classes (Medic, Engineer, Scout) must balance between their special powers and survivability. For the Medic/Engineer, there is some overlap: Medic Shield and Engineer Building Health. The Scout is dividing his attention between Damage Resistances and Mad Milk Regeneration.

The Damage Classes (Demoman, Soldier, Pyro, Heavy) must balance between damage output and survivability. Weapon Damage is one avenue to increased damage output, but Reload Speed/Firing Speed and Ammo Capacity increase a player's ability to create sustained damage output. Health on Kill is an attractive option for increasing survivability, but HoK relies on delivering the final blow, and the greatest threats (Giant Robots) provide no opportunity for HoK to activate.

Ultimately, a dead player is useless, making Damage Resistances critical to most classes.

Upgrades: Medic

Medics have two main purposes: keep the team alive and deploy their Kritzkrieg appropriately. Both require the Medic to be alive, himself. The Medic shield offers a rapidly charging form of pseudo-invincibility, as long as the medic avoids melee threats, (and Pyro flames), and keeps the shield facing his enemies. Overheal/Healing expertise will make keeping teammates alive and reviving them easier.

As waves progress, the Medic will need further help keeping alive. Buying appropriate Damage Resistance aids tremendously. Canteen Specialist will allow a Medic to maximize his canteen sharing prowess (I recommend combining Uber Canteens with a charged Kritzkrieg). Finally, Ubercharge Rate/Duration add their obvious benefit to his already powerful charge.

A tricky Medic can use the Ubersaw against Sentry Busters and other non-threatening bots to refill his Kritzkrieg. Using an Uber Canteen makes this much safer and is a good value for its price.

Upgrades: Engineer

An Engineer is only as strong as his buildings. Building Health and Metal Capacity are essential first wave purchases, with Dispenser Range a close third. When Building Health/Dispenser Range are at maximum and Metal Capacity has 2 upgrades, an Engineer's options diversify. Wrench Attack Speed can help keep a sentry alive under heavy fire and rebuild quickly without using Canteens.

Damage Resistance (especially Crit/Explosive, which tend to get around your Sentry-Tank) are helpful in maintaining the weakest link: the Engineer's own fleshy substance. A mini-sentry can cover some situations (like some of the robot Engineers that spawn behind you in Mannhattan) and generate crits for a Frontier Justice. Movement Speed makes dumping Sentry Busters/gathering metal spawns less risky.

When all/most of the above is satisfied, or if the team urgently needs more damage (vs. Tanks, for eample) Sentry Firing Speed will satisfy, but faster firing = needs more reloading.

Upgrades: Scout

The Scout exists to collect the money. ALL the money. A team that can trust their Scout to collect the money is a team that does not need to risk their lives trying to get it themselves. A Scout also has access to Mad Milk, a potent form of mass slow/health on damage. When considering upgrades, a Scout should recognize that his capacity for damage is minimal.

Early upgrades depend on the Scout's ability to stay alive. Scouts who have trouble should invest in appropriate Damage Resistance (look at the wave and see what damage is most prevalent). Jump Height and Move Speed help when scooting around chasing cash. Once able to stay alive, a Scout should invest in Mad Milk Slow and Regeneration. When a Scout is capable of staying alive and is milking robots with regularity, the Fan O' War allows him to mark giant robots to improve his team's damage.

During the final wave, a Scout may consider switching to a damage class, as money collection is no longer critical.

Upgrades: Demoman

The Demoman is prized for his Stickybomb Launcher. A case can be made for either the default or Scottish Resistance, but in both cases the sudden spike of damage caused by a mass explosion is irreplaceable. This burst damage is especially helpful at killing robot Uber Medics before they can deploy.

Sticky Launcher Damage increases the burst potential of a laid sticky trap, while Reload/Firing Speed decrease the time between traps. A single level of Health on Kill is useful for when the Medic is occupied, as is appropriate damage resistance.

As the waves go on, increasing Damage/Damage Resistance will ensure a Demoman's utility.

Upgrades: Soldier

Soldier weapon upgrades vary by choice of equipment; the Beggar's Bazooka gains almost no benefit from Firing Speed but draws massive advantage from increased Reload Speed/Ammo Capacity.

One relatively inexpensive but incredibly powerful upgrade is the Buff Banner's Increased Duration. Damage Resistance is, again, the key to survivability.

Upgrades: Pyro

In MvM, a Pyro is his airblast. The Pyro will certainly contribute some damage, but a Soldier or Heavy is more capable of fulfilling a pure damage role (except against Tanks, where Pyros excel). However, to deliver his airblast where and when it is needed, a Pyro must be capable of staying alive while very close to enemy robots, and this requires Damage Resistance.

Early upgrades should include Airblast Strength and Ammo Capacity, along with appropriate Damage Resistance. Upgrading Flamethrower Damage is not important until much later.

In later waves, Uber Canteens will allow the Pyro to wade into robot swarms and push the bomb carrier back.

Upgrades: Heavy

The Heavy suffers from his ponderous nature, but also stands to gain the most from Damage Resistance. His large health pool becomes tremendous when taking only 25% damage. No other class has access to long-range, no reload, point-and-shoot hitscan weaponry, and his Knockback Rage can be useful. If a reliable dispenser is available, Firing Speed translates directly into increased damage.

Tanks have 75% minigun resistance. Normally a Heavy should guard the bomb while the team handles the tank, but if more tank damage is needed, (say, in Nightmare), the Heavy can equip the Warrior's Spirit gloves and upgrade Attack Speed to become a viable source of tank damage.

Positioning

The final element of success in MvM is good positioning. What qualifies as 'good' varies by class, map, and sometimes wave. In all instances, it is helpful to remember that MvM requires only that you defend the bomb pit. All other ground can be given up if the bomb pit remains secure. The only reason to fight further forward is the increasing buffs provided by a bomb carrier as they continue holding the bomb.

That being said, having a static defense makes collecting money easier and increases team cohesion.

Positioning is most important to an Engineer, and by his positioning the team will know where to group/regroup. Map-specific conditions change the circumstances, but there are some general rules:

Take the High Ground
For all the ages, high ground has been recognized as an advantage. This holds true in simulated combat against robots. Being above your enemy makes your position less accessible to him, less vulnerable to his attacks, and grants you increased mobility. You can jump down to lower ground anytime you like, but cannot always quickly ascend. Engineers should remember this when placing the teleporter exit.

Find the Chokepoints
When fighting an enemy force larger than your own (100's of robots vs. 6 humans) you must fight concentrated. When first playing a map, look at the blue path markers; these show the path bomb-carrying robots will run. Plan to confront the robots at a point where they will all be passing through, as opposed to a point where some robots will take an alternate path.



Regroup
If When you die, find your teammates and regroup. Unless you are a Scout, hidebound to chase money, you will do better establishing another defensive position with your teammates than charging forward to die again.

[limes]

Demos and Wrangled Sentries also deal massive damage to tanks, as well as Phlogistinator Pyros.

[Sir Zorba]

Resistances are definitely important, but I'd say the only one that should ever take priority over hp/kill and damage is crit resist, and that's only when there are loads of critbots incoming.

And yes, you are my buddy. Everyone is my buddy.

Actually, character limits are not my buddy. I hate them.

[Sir Zorba]

A smart pyro gets close enough by using flanking routes to get behind bots and Backburner/phlog the ♥♥♥♥ out of them. Resistances only come into play on pyro once you're spotted(usually when your team starts hiding behind things so the robots don't see them). And even then, if it's not critboosted bots, you can easily live off your maxed HP on kill against pretty much anything that isn't a heavybot or FaN scout. Mad milk support from your scout even let's you circlestrafe giants and outheal their damage in most cases.

Relying on airblast bomb resets as a major part of your pyro strategy is only for bad teams. Airblast should be used primarily to deflect projectiles and to stall super scouts if needed(in much the same way rocket specialist on soldier should be used).

[Grandfather Mantis]

I'm not your buddy, friend. A Pyro without resistance never gets close enough to deal damage, and any other damage class outshines Pyro if you aren't using the airblast.

[Sir Zorba]

You've got pyro backwards, buddy.
HP on kill and damage with a few ammo upgrades sprinkled in are infinitely more important for early upgrades than airblast force. resistances/move speed come immediately after the damage is maxed. I usually get HP regen before airblast force because of how unimportant it is.

And assuming no doubling up of classes or roles that need to be filled and sticking to a generally metagame setup:
1 engy (supplier of ammo/transport)
1 medic (healer)
1 scout/spy (money collector+support)
1 demo/sniper (medic killing/crowd control)
2 of either heavy/soldier/pyro (pure DPS and various forms of minor support)

[GreatNate]

I think this is a well written guide. There of course can be varying opinions based on personal skill or styles, but a very good general guide. I wish more people would like this so more people would read it.

[NottherealAdriaanVisser]

Only few things I would like to add to your story, as I get the impression that these are things that people seem to miss out on:
- heavy is a great tank (so act like it) and is needed in order for the rest of the team to focus solely on their task (instead of surviving) - note that the heavy should focus on buying at least one resistance every round, preferably maxing out bullet/explosve/crit resistances before the end of the game
- fire damage resist is (same as buy back) a waste of money; better stay distant and you will be safe
- medic shield does not block fire damage (not everyone knows it seems from practice) - same goes for melee damage
- when not an advanced player; pyro class is as useless as a second scout in mvm (IMO)

[NottherealAdriaanVisser]

Great build, packed with practical advice for newcomers and plenty of discussion for advanced players. Already, I have notices some discussing about choice of items and the choice of pyro. Nothing against it, but the strategy that this Guide provides, is a good base for a team that should be able to beat anything up to advanced maps with some elbow grease.

[Chocolate Whippy]

I've seen some Scouts use Fan O War in the first couple of waves, and switch the Sandman later on, but IMO, Fan O War is infintely better. You gain ranged mark-for-death, sure, but you lose 500$ and, if you play Scout properly you shouldn't draw much aggro. The range shouldn't make enough of a difference to justify the 500 cost to make the Sandman useful. Also, *misconception

[Grandfather Mantis]

A loss of $500 and 15 hitpoints to gain... melee damage from a Scout? No thanks.