The Rockety Jumpity Man: WrytXander's Guide to the Soldier

One of the nine classes in TF2 is Soldier. Here's how to play Soldier.

Introduction

The Soldier. A tough-as-nails patriot/fruit loop equipped with a Rocket Launcher. If you know anything about him, you'll know that. What you might not know, however, is that he was rejected by the US military numerous times, so he went to Poland on his own and killed hundreds of Nazis. He only stopped after being told the war was over in 1949 (4 years after the end of the war). With his catchphrase being "Maggots!", you could easily tell him apart him as the most cruel, merciless being on the battlefield, and you wouldn't be wrong. Truly feared both on offence AND on defence, you just can't ignore his presence on the battlefield.

SUPER SERIOUS DISCLAIMER

This guide is sort of an "introduction to competitive Soldier for total beginners", so there may be terms you don't understand (although I've tried my best to explain everything). Don't let this drive you away, however! This just means that the guide may be packed with more information than you may expect!

The Must-Haves of a Good Soldier

If you don't practice enough, you won't go far as any class in this game. Only after you've practiced some mechanics can you be called a good Soldier. Here are those mechanics.

• Leading targets. You could also call this entry "aim", but you wouldn't be entirely correct. Leading targets takes more than aim: It also requires prediction. You need to know where your target will be in a few moments, both on the ground and in the air (air-strafing/airshots, we'll get to those). The Soldier's projectile, the rocket, is the slowest moving projectile in the game, meaning it's the most difficult to hit targets with (Although there are faster moving rockets available, see The Soldier's Arsenal: Primaries). You really need to practice a lot to be able to directly hit moving targets consistantly, but it feels very rewarding after you get it down.

• Rollouts. "RAWKUT JAMPING IZ USELUSS I DUNT EVAN CUMP DAT MUHC N IM VRY GUD SOLDEIR". Do NOT listen to anyone ever to say this. They're exaggerating, either the part about not rocket jumping or the part about being good. Every Soldier must be an above average rocket jumper. If you can't rocket jump effectively, you will die more than anyone else because it's such a crippling drawback that most of the time you will get headshot/backstabbed/straight up taken down and you'll be VERY slow. I know, the Soldier has low walking speed, but he can outdo even the Scout if he can chain jumps together. Good methods of practicing rollouts are having your own private server and trying to do it over and over again, watching others do it then trying for yourself and equipping the Rocket Jumper.

• Planning and making decisions. As a Scout, I would advise you to improvise a lot (see my Scout guide, link given at the end of this guide SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION) but as a Soldier, you have to have a goal set in your mind as you exit your team's base or even while on the field, such as "I'll take down that level 3 sentry" or "I'll get a pick on their Medic so they'll be left with no healer or drop Über". You must also plan out the paths you will take to your objective. Depending on what that objective is, you might want to take a hidden path, or just blast right through the enemy team. If there's nothing really to plan, don't worry; opportunities will open themselves up to an experienced Soldier. You'll be wandering around, minding your own business, when suddenly you'll see the Medic out in the open! Just try to be in the right place at the right time (it's really not that hard when you're a Soldier) and make the right calls. Maybe rather than jumping the Medic, you should tell your team where he is so they can deal with him and his Heavy. You have to have plans for taking out each different class as well. After you've developed these plans and started making good decisions, you'll be noticeably more helpful to your team. Soldiers need brains. Have brains. Just one will do as well.

The Abilities of the Soldier

In TF2, each class has distinctive features. Here are the Soldier's distinctive features.

• Rocket jumping. The most important thing about the Soldier. This is truly an amazing game mechanic, inherited from the game's ancestor, Quake. With this ability, the Soldier can reach incredible heights, go faster than any class horizontally, perform rollouts to enhance his horizontal progression and reposition himself in his favour. Not only those, but air-strafing makes the Soldier as unpredictable as the Scout's double jump if used at the right time. Other than that, it allows our helmeted eagle guy to gradually change direction mid-air, trick the enemy into believing that he's going for another target while he's not and jump around corners without losing any more health. This comes into play way more often than you might think, and makes the Soldier extremely unpredictable. Overall, this ability is pretty much what makes the Soldier the fearsome class he is.

• Hit points. No, I'm not kidding. This, although not really an 'ability', is extremely important and can't be overlooked. The Soldier is used as the Medic's pocket (AKA companion) in 6v6 because he has high health, not because he puts out high damage. If that was the case, the Demoman would be the primary pocket, rather than the backup (also Demoman sucks at direct combat, but whatever...). Having 200 health (second highest in the game) comes in very handy for numerous things, such as rocket jumping and tanking damage. What's more, he usually has just enough health to jump at a Medic, bomb him and die afterwards (he can even get out alive or grab a few more kills after he gets the Medic sometimes). That's what makes him useful as a Roamer. His health is one of the main reasons why there's two of him in every 6v6 team.

• Flexibility. The Soldier is the most prominent assault class; even more prominent than the Scout, in fact. The Soldier can catch priority classes (such as Medics) alone and get rid of them more efficiently than any other class. The main reason for that is his unmatched rocket jumping ability (see above). Even when he isn't going for important picks, he can act as the force behind a team's offence and push the team forward by spamming rockets at the defenders. He has high damage output, even at long range, and he can just get close to the enemy by rocket jumping at them and catching them off-guard if he isn't doing enough damage from long range. Though he also makes a great defensive class. He can do everything that he can do on offence with equal effectiveness on defense. It doesn't matter if the Soldier is defending or attacking, he will always have success at getting picks, putting pressure on the enemy by spamming rockets and surprising them by jumping right at them (provided he's skilled).

The Basics of Rocket Jumping

In order to become an adept rocket jumper, there are some things you need to be able to do consistently. Here are those things.

Note: I strongly recommend looking up some video guides on rocket jumping to really be able to visualize the whole thing. Rocket jumping is easier to get a grip of when you watch others do it and try to do it yourself. That's how I and that Youtube guy STAR_ learned it: we looked at other jumpers and thought "I should make a server and try to do that myself and not stop until I get it down". This is what you should probably do as well, since write-ups can only get you so far.

• Beginning a jump. This may sound really simple, but many people have trouble with it without knowing. They usually end up jumping straight up with no horizontal advancement, which is something you almost never want to do. People rocket jump to travel faster, and jumping up only reduces your speed. Jumping vertically also leaves you completely open and vulnerable to airshots, which cannot be dodged since you can't strafe if you're jumping up. So, in order to go as horizontal and fast as possible, you have to learn to shoot rockets behind you (ideally to a wall) most of the time, as if sort of flicking your mouse back and instantly looking forward towards your destination again. After you get that done, it will become second-nature to you and even simply shooting beneath your feet will be enough to let you travel faster!

• Chaining jumps. Most rollouts require you to keep jumping without touching the ground in order for you to gain maximum velocity. Chaining jumps may be the hardest thing about rocket jumping, since every ramp and corner requires a different set of skills and different movement. Again, watching these rollouts being performed and then trying yourself is probably the best way to learn this. You can watch this helpful video by the famed STAR_ (OMG!!!!1!!) to see rollouts for two very popular Payload maps being performed. I can't really give any tips about jump chaining; you need to try over and over again in order to do it successfully.

• Strafing. Possibly the most crucial thing about this whole deal, strafing is basically changing direction mid-air (AKA working miracles and defying the laws of physics). It happens when you hold down a strafe key (A and D by default) while not holding down the forward (W) key and moving your mouse slowly in the direction you want to go. Since you'll pretty much always want to change direction while rocket jumping, you really need to get this down. It's also incredibly useful when dodging airshots, since strafing makes you hard to predict and, therefore, hard to hit. Although from what I've observed, people like to strafe left the most, which makes them a bit more predictable if you paid any attention to that. Try to randomize your strafing directions more and do not try to do zig-zags in the air- you will actually end up not moving at all.

• Airshots. I can hear you thinking "How are airshots related to learning how to rocket jump?". Well, my somewhat-naive-but-not-too-much-because-that-is-a-good-question friend, "airshots" (or "aerials" or "middies" or whatevers) require a great deal of understanding rocket jumps and strafing, as well as being used to performing them yourself. They are, as the name suggests, are when you hit a target while they are in the air. These may look/sound easy, but they're probably the most difficult combat aspect to execute successfully in the entire game. Go on tr_walkway or tr_rocket_shooting2 (downloadable maps, Google 'em) and practice on some jumping bots, but as I said: airshots need you to be used to rocket jumping in order to happen.

Again, this was kind of a "fundamentals" kind of mini-guide. You'll probably want to read up some rocket jump-specific guides if you want to learn rocket jumping fully. This guide by Koil goes over everything required to rocket jump well and, for those wondering, how to Market Garden effectively! (If you don't know what that is, refer to the "Soldier's Arsenal: Melee Options" within this guide). If you'd like to learn from a video, you can find a great rocket jumping guide by pilotstyle123 right here! It even shows off quite a lot (if not all) of jump varieties/techniques. Also check out http://tf2jump.com/ and http://tf2rj.com/ to learn even more and get involved with the community!

Ways of Playing Soldier

The Soldier's effectiveness both while attacking and defending gives him an abundance of different roles to take up on the battlefield.
Now for this section specifically, we're going to touch on the soldier's roles in competitive play. However, DO NOT skip this section saying "I don't even play competitive, why should I care?". This information is extremely useful and is guaranteed to help you form your play style, even if you don't want to get involved in serious play.

• Pocket. In case you didn't know, there are two Soldiers in a 6v6 team: a Pocket and a Roamer. The Pocket travels with the Medic, protecting him from any and all harm and making sure he's okay at all times. You're also the commander and leader of your team; you have to tell your team when to push forward, when to hold your ground and what kind of damage is being dished out/received (by my own words, "damage traffic"). You will capture points and decide when -and by whom- the next point will be captured. If your Medic has full Übercharge, you will receive it. You, along with the Medic, make up the most important department in a 6v6 game (AKA "The Combo"). You have to have next-to-perfect airshot aim so that some pesky Roamer doesn't bomb your Medic. All in all, you're immensely important to your victory and half of the backbone of your team.

• Roamer. My preffered 6v6 "class", the Roamer is all about killing the Medic. If the other team has Über advantage (meaning their Über percentage is higher than yours), the Roamer just jumps at the Medic and kills him with two (relatively) easy rockets. He must also be a sufficient airshotter, since the Pocket can't be the only one to deny enemy Roamers. The Roamer also needs to rocket jump a whole lot (and have enough health to bomb a Medic after jumping) so he will usually equip the Gunboats. Aside from getting the Medic, he helps the team with damage output, since he still has 90-base-damage rockets at his disposal. The only real catch is, the Roamer is usually the least likely to stay alive in a 1v1 situation, due to his very limited dodging capabilities and all-in-all low damage output (even lower than a Scout, provided he has a scattergun and a pistol); in 6v6, staying alive is more important than in Highlander, so you really need to learn how to keep yourself alive. Aside from your team having a total of only 6 people, when the time comes to bomb the Medic, you're way too important.

• Highlander. In Highlander, the Soldier controls and denies key areas. That's why some Soldiers (including the famous Vhalin and the not-so-famous myself) prefer to use the Black Box in certain maps, where there are tons of areas/shacks/houses to cover. Usually, however, the Rocket Launcher/ Original will suffice. He also picks the Medic if his friendly Spy and Sniper are down or otherwise occupied, similarly to what he does in 6v6. Your playstyle in 6v6 is, really, the deciding factor in choosing your secondary in Highlander. For example, I'm a Roamer, so I'll go with the Gunboats. A Pocket main would go for a Shotgun, unless the map has a lot of good jumping spots and potential rollouts. Anyway, you should also do your best to protect your Medic and Sentries while trying to take down the enemy's. Your explosive weapons give you an edge when fighting Sentry Guns. so never neglext those things and don't shy away from asking for an Über if absolutely necessary.

Note: If you want to switch from Roamer to Pocket, check out this video by Tagg, he's a great and experienced Roamer main and he has some 6v6 videos with live commentaries in case you want to get into the whole thing but have no clue how to communicate with your team.

The Soldier's Arsenal: Primaries

Rocket Launcher: The flawless launcher, the stock primary is any 6v6 player's definitive choice. Reliable damage, 4 rockets per clip, no downsides and a nice, appealing sound makes this an absolute fan favourite. Dealing up to 112 damage close-up, ol' reliable over here can take care of anything/one thrown at it pretty efficiently. 90 damage to Sentries is also great, since this lets the Soldier take down a Level 3 Sentry with only 3 rockets. Great weapon overall and will almost never let you down. I used to prefer the reskin, the Original, only for the sound effects and because I kind of liked rockets exiting from the middle of the screen instead of from the right. As it turns out, it made certain jumps impossible to perform as well as deeming shooting around walls impossible. If you, unlike me, have fond memories of Quake, you'll be more attracted to this reskin and should probably use it if you don't really mind these drawbacks, since nostalgia can put you in a good mood, and everyone knows a good mood means a good game!™





Direct Hit: This rocket launcher, in the right hands, will destroy everything ever with its 25% damage increase and +80% projectile speed. If you can use it well, experiment with it in some lobbies. If you think you're doing well with it, start using it more regularly! Airshots with this gun are more effective and satisfying as well, since it's easier to airshot with, due to the faster projectile, and it deals mini-crits (+35% damage) when you hit someone knocked airborne by an explosion. Though remember: This weapon has -70% explosion radius, meaning you have to get direct hits with it (hence the name) and can't get and splash damage on enemies, so uhh... Maybe don't use it 100% of the time?





Black Box: My favourite launcher aside from the default deals standard rocket launcher damage, only it has a vampire effect type thing going on with it where if you hit any enemy - no matter how much damage you do - it will heal you for 15 HP. This boost is extremely useful in maps/map locations with not many health packs and good enemy traffic. With this weapon, the enemies can be your health packs! Although it has a big downside: only 3 rockets. You have to tone down your jumping (especially if you chain jumps together often) so that you don't get caught with no rockets when you land. Don't recommend this in 6v6, since you can barely manage with 4 rockets in such a clustered environment and your Medic will usually be alive anyway so you won't need extra healing from your launcher.





Liberty Launcher: Absolutely horrible launcher that you really shouldn't use unless you're a beginner to the class and need something to practice airshots/aiming/rocket jumping with. This weapon is a disaster in competitive since you'll be playing against pros with Rocket Launchers there and airshot won't help a whole lot because of the whopping 25% damage penalty. Even when this thing dealt regular damage with a decreased clip it was nothing but a training tool and was never really taken seriously. Use it if you think you must, but don't bring this to a man's fight. You'll get rolled.






Air Strike: This fellow was added in the summer of 2014; after almost 2 years of seeing no new weapons added to the game! What it does is, essentially, turn you into a machine gun (except with rockets). Now it may have those crippling penalties, namely -25% damage, -15% blast radius and -25 clip size; but once you get a few kills, those won't even matter: You'll have the most overpowered thing in the game. You'll get a maximum of 8 rockets per clip and you'll shoot about 3 times faster than you normally would while rocket jumping! The reason I don't consider the Air Strike to be totally OP is that it makes you work for those 8 shots, and they're not too easy to get (not consistently, at least). As for competitive use, I definitely don't see this gun getting any of it. You'll pretty much never get a lot of kills (especially in 6v6), and even if you do, you won't get to do much with them. Jumping the Medic sounds easy with this thing, but with the enemy Soldier/Heavy shooting up at you, there's a very very slim chance of your plan working.





Cow Mangler 5000: You'd really expect more out of a laser cannon, but what we have here is nothing but a gimmick. It has this SUPAH-CHARGE ability that uses up all of your clip at once to shoot a mini-crit laserbeam that lights people on fire. At max, that's 187 damage (IF afterburn lasts the whole 6 seconds). Your 4 shots, if you decide to preserve them, can deal up to 448 damage. .............. Well, theoretically, this gun should work in 6v6, right? There are no buildings and the charged shots could work if taking a potshot at the enemy while holding! Well, it's not all peachy keen in the real world unfortunately. You're left way too vulnerable after you perform the charge. This will not work; even if it does, the Rocket Launcher/Original would have probably done a better job.





Beggar's Bazooka: Overpowered as all hell, this monstrosity is banned in every TF2 competitive league. 3 rockets all shot simultaneously and endless jump chains with the rockets exploding if you overload the barrel make for very enjoyable (and for the enemy, frustrating) moments in lobbies and pubs, however. If you want proof of the level of overpoweredness this gun is at, see this video by Walt Disney's Housewives (all of them).





Rocket Jumper: Umm... Ehh... It's fun in pubs, and... Yeh.

The Soldier's Arsenal: Secondaries

Shotgun: Very reliable, great burst damage and ideal for finishing off people who just took a direct rocket. Usually used by Pocket Soldiers in 6v6, this gun is better than the Gunboats in situations in which you need damage and power. Definitely encourage every Soldier out there to get good with this gun.





Reserve Shooter: With the somewhat recent buff, the Reserve Shooter is now actually competent! 4 shots is, 90% of the time, enough to get the job done and the 5 second-lasting mini-crits on airborne targets actually gets kind of overpowered in some cases, since mini-crits remove damage fall-off. Pretty good on Soldier, though I honestly don't think it will see much competitive use, only for the fact that people are just too used to the Shotgun. Try it out, though, you might like it, and it's certainly a good weapon.





Righteous Bison: This laserbeam shooter isn't the case of OMFGGLAZ0RSZ you might expect it to be at first glance. While can be useful when you have a Medic pocketing you with a Kritzkrieg (since this gun can deal massive damage with crits), that will not happen very often. Even if that does happen, you're better off with the Shotgun in case a Scout or Soldier tries to jump your Medic and you're out of rockets. Also this is horrible against buildings, so never pair it with the Cow Mangler (even though they belong in the same set).





Buff Banner: Gives you and your teammates mini-crits and requires 600 damage to have been done in order to be deployed. This "weapon" has the potential to change the entire flow of the game when used in the right place and at the right time, while other times it will feel like a wasted secondary slot. Also, similarly to when having a full Übercharge as Medic, you should utilize the "Pop it, don't drop it" technique, which means you should use it to save yourself in a pinch or in a bad spot. If you require help on knowing when and how to use this secret thousand-year-old strategy, check out this "guide" by anangrysockpuppet.





Concheror: This banner needs you to deal 480 damage before it agrees to show its face. It also boosts your nearby allies' speed and the boost is inverse proportional to their regular walking speed (meaning the Heavy and Soldier get the most boost because they're slower; the Scout gets the least amount of boost.), but it doesn't stop there! It also lets you and everyone around you gain health as you deal damage (35% of damage dealt returns as health)! The +2 health per second isn't particularly useful, honestly, although it definitely won't hurt to have it around. The regeneration can act as a lamer version of the Gunboats, in that you'll get back some of the health you lost rocket jumping. Overall, great for defense when you need to retreat fast while keeping your team alive and well.





Battalion's Backup: The health boost this weapon gives almost never helps, but look past that, and you've got a good-but-only-for-very-specific-situations-though-still-not-too-bad offensive banner. Looking at this weapon you may think it was made for defense, seeing all the defensive boosts it gives (35% less damage taken, 50% less sentry damage taken, crits deal regular damage). However, you would be wrong to suggest that. The Kritzkrieg is almost always used for defense, and so are sentries. Therefore, when you know the enemy Medic is rocking the Kritzkrieg or you're having trouble getting past a Sentry, you can deploy this to help your team. Generally though, any of the 2 other banners or even Shotgun/Gunboats will come in more handy 95% of the time.





B.A.S.E Jumper: Extremely fun parachute that opens up a lot of new play styles for the Soldier. Sadly, though, these play styles are more fun than effective. Sure, you'll never take fall damage (provided you activate the Jumper prior to contacting the ground), but you'll end up taking more damage than you would've done with the Gunboats + fall damage. Also, the chute leaves you extremely vulnerable to airshots due to the parachute's slowing factor. On the bright side, using this thing on a lot of maps with the Air Strike is really fun (the most fun I've had in TF2 for a long time) and satisfying. Use it; maybe you'll like it so much you'll end up creating ways of using it effectively in competitive play!





Gunboats: The Roamer's choice, these boots (or "boats") will make you take an average of 18 damage from rocket jumping instead of 45 (60% reduction, do the math!). Extremely useful for people who, obviously, jump a lot. I mostly prefer it over the Shotgun, even when pubbing or in Highlander. Great tool at helping you practice jumping as well.





Mantreads: Umm... Ehh... It's fun in pubs, and... Yeh.

The Soldier's Arsenal: Melee Options

Shovel: Easily outmatched by the likes of the Escape Plan, Disciplinary Action, Pain Train and Market Gardener (in fact, the Gardener is a straight upgrade in competitive, since there are no random crits). Don't use it, since at least one of these weapons will always be more viable.





Market Gardener: The best choice for when you need a fast Medic pick, this weapon is sort of underused in competitive (though really overused in pubs...). Sure, it may be very hard to get a grasp of the whole thing, but once you do, it has the potential to turn the tables in a losing match. Take it from me, a former Soldier main who has dropped many Übers with this weapon.





Equalizer: This weapon was rather overpowered in the past. Basically it was the now-Equalizer and now-Escape Plan put together, minus the mark for death. Now, though, it only deals increased damage the lower health you have and is really nothing more than a fun pub weapon. It will almost never get any work done in competitive, seeing as even if you do run out of ammo at low health, the Escape Plan will be better to just run straight at the enemy's face.





Escape Plan: The lower health you have, the faster you run, hence the name of the thing. Every Soldier's main choice in 6v6, whether Pocket or Roamer. In fact, the Pocket usually starts off a round by hurting himself and then getting out the Escape Plan so he reaches middle point quickly. Also gets some use in Highlander, although some of the other options are better suited for 9v9.





Disciplinary Action: The best Highlander Soldier weapon (maybe not late-game though, Gardener might be better then), this feller increases teammates' speeds if you whip 'em with it (reverse proportional to the class' regular speed, see the Concheror)! Does have a damage penalty, but it can be forgived since the need for melees is nowhere near as much in Highlander as in 6v6. Don't forget to set your whipping priorities, though (slower classes first)!




Pain Train: Makes you as fast at capping points/pushing objectives as a Scout while making you 10% more vulnerable to bullet damage. Great option for 6v6 Pockets (after the first life of course, since they'll need the Plan to get to mid faster), since the Pocket is usually the one who captures the points and the one who travels with the Medic, making the extra bullet damage not matter too much. Can also be used in Highlander, though again, there are better options, especially because you won't be getting the Medic's attention quite as much.





Half-Zatoichi: Fully heals you when you kill someone, but you can't sheathe it until you get a kill with it. It's basically an all or nothing weapon. Honestly, this guy will but cripple you 99% of the time in a serious game. Its only real use ever is if you're not good at Market Gardening and you have the Rocket Jumper in pubs so you can jump at people and get your health back.

Some Good/Fun Loadouts for the Soldier

Standard Pocket

Primary: Rocket Launcher/Original These are what you'll see every Pocket Soldier use in 6v6. While I believe the stock launcher is better than its reskin, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Anyway, 4 rockets, no drawbacks, very reliable and goes well with everything.

Secondary: Shotgun/Reserve Shooter You have to be able to finish people off quickly as a Pocket, since the Medic will be right behind you and enemies will go for him every time. Therefore, once you run out of rockets to shoot, it is crucial that you don't wait to reload another one but quickly dispatch your enemy with your secondary, and no other proves more reliable than the stock shotgun at that. The Shooter is also very reliable and worth a try, although you won't see many people using it. However, don't let this form a negative thought about the Shooter in your head; it may not be as reliable as its older brother, but it may come in even more handy in some situations.

Melee: Escape Plan/Pain Train Depends on the map and where you are in the match. For example, in King of the Hill format, using the Escape Plan is preferable, since you'll very rarely have to capture the point. If it's a 5 Control Point map, you should always start off with the Escape Plan to get to middle point fast, but should switch to the Pain Train later on. You'll get better at deciding once you learn to analyze the situation your team is in and after playing a few games.



Standard Roamer

Primary: Rocket Launcher/Original Nothing left to say about these two.

Secondary: Gunboats You'll rocket jump a ton, and you need to have a sufficient amount of health after landing ( especially if you want to kamikaze the Medic). Essential for any Roamer.

Melee: Escape Plan/Market Gardener Again, you really have to analyze the situation you're in. If you have Über disadvantage, grab the Gardener and smash that Medic's face or at the very least force him to pop. This shovel is also good in pretty much any losing scenario, as well as the very beginning of the game when you can guarantee the mid point for your team by getting an early Demo/Medic pick. If you think you can't make use of the Gardener, stick to the Escape Plan just in case.


Highlander

Primary: Rocket Launcher/Original/Direct Hit/Black Box Notice how I didn't use the word "standard" this time; that's because there are so many options for different maps and times that calling it a "standard" set would be destroying the meaning of the word. Default/Original is, as I mentioned about 133769420 times, always dependable. Direct Hit is great for small, close-quarters maps like koth_viaduct. Black Box is great maps such as pl_badwater and barnblitz, where there are areas you can deny wihile keeping your health up without the need of the scarce health packs. Vhalin, one of the greatest Soldiers ever to roam the earth, made a video demonstrating the Black Box's usefulness in Badwater; you can find it here.

Secondary: Shotgun/Gunboats/a banner Again, so many options. This slot usually depends on your 6v6 experience, honestly; if you played Pocket you may prefer the Shotgun, a Roamer will prefer Gunboats and a pure Highlander player may be more willing to use banners when he sees fit.

Melee: Market Gardener/Escape Plan/Disciplinary Action/Pain Train Yet again, so many options. A Soldier should always start off a KotH or 5CP match with the Disciplinary Action to allow his team to get to mid as quickly as possible. In other cases, you'll have to use your best judgment as to what to use; you should know what all of these weapons do by now, decide for yourself! Your team can help you pick your weapons if you're having trouble picking a weapon, although others do tend to be sort of biased about the Market Gardener.

P.S. WELL, this was a looong 'loadout'. To figure out which weapons you can put into use most effectively in what maps, experiment with different combinations in pubs and lobbies. Experience is vital in forming the perfect Highlander loadout.


Self-Sufficient Soldier

Primary: Black Box This set relies on the Soldier's weapons to keep him at high health at all times. Naturally, this will require him to play more passively and supportively. The Black Box is the definitive option for this particular loadout for the extra healing you get whenever you hit an enemy with it. Pretty obvious choice overall.

Secondary: Concheror A health regen factor of 2/second may not be much in the long run, but hell, it's at least better than the Battalins Backup's highly dispensable +20 health bonus. Also, the Conch charges up very quickly and that charge can be used for even more heals!

Melee: Escape Plan/Half-Zatoichi If you'd like an escape option up your sleeve in case you mess up or something goes wrong, go with the Escape Plan (d'uh). If you're more keen on properly executing the 'all healing' gimmick then obviously, use the Zatoichi. Although you need some experience to properly use this katana, or you'll be walking at a Heavy at full health with your only option being a blunt old sword (okay, maybe not that blunt, but still).


Rocket Jumper/TROLLDIER XDDDDDD SUCH A CHEEKY TROLE LOLOLOLO

Primary: Rocket Jumper This insanely fun (and useful!) loadout and its varieties, designed for pub servers running maps with fun jump possibilities and a high skybox, relies on the Rocket Jumper for maximum entertainment/practice. Taking no damage while jumping enhances the experience greatly.

Secondary: Mantreads/Shotgun/Reserve Shooter/B.A.S.E Jumper Mantreads for LE MAXIMUM 9GAG LE 4CHAN REDDIT TROLLAGE XD OH NO U JUST GOT MEMED ON U IDIOT XDDDD; Shotgun or Shooter for better self-defense, and B.A.S.E Jumper for hilarity.

Melee: Market Gardener/Equalizer/Half-Zatoichi Market Gardener for le hardcoar Minecraeft griefin n trollz (and maximum fun/practice too), Equalizer for some taunt kills and random crits (the more damage you deal, the higher the crit chance, so you'll get more crits), and Half-Zatoichi if you can't quite pull off Market Gardener kills yet (explained in the previous section).


Paratrooper

Primary: Air Strike One of this set's absolute essentials is this beauty. You'll be raining rockets on people after a few kills, but you'll need to actually get those kills first, which honestly can be very difficult in some maps. After you've got a full clip of 8, though, the enemy'd better find some good shelter - nobody's safe.

Secondary: B.A.S.E Jumper This is the main reason why this set is called the Paratrooper set: Because there's a parachute. You know, in case it wasn't obvious enough. Anyway, the midair floating, coupled with the Air Strike, can really blast some holes in any offence/defence while making this set an absolute laugh fest.

Melee: Market Gardener The Market Gardener may not sound like a good choice, but upon trying it out, I realized how effective/fun it can be to just stealthily creep up down on an enemy and give them that 195 damage smack. I guarantee you'll laugh every single time.

Class Match-Ups

Want to find out how our favourite patriot compares to the maggots he fights? Well you came to the right place! (It is assumed that the opposing class' player is adequate at playing their class)

vs Scout

This is a tie situation, really. Both classes have something against each other. Just try to get the high ground; that way, you can shoot some rockets at the pest's feet and launch him up, wait for him to waste his double jump ability, and finish him off right before/after he lands. If you're not in the position to do any of that, just wait until he jumps at you and shoot him out of the air. Watch out for the double jump, though. Also, this method will make you receive more damage, is riskier and shouldn't be preferred.

vs Soldier

Oh boy, a good old 1v1 Soldier duel! That's what everyone is doing on MGE servers! It truly is a great test of skill; getting airshots, finishing them off with the Shotgun, jumping on their heads... It all comes down to skill. Usually though, the one with the Shotgun and high ground advantage wins. Simple as that.

vs Pyro

As long as you are unpredictable and at close range, you will probably outplay the Pyro. Do not shoot constantly at a Pyro who can airblast. Never. At a range, you'll just be feeding him rockets and giving him the possibility of reflecting them into you or your teammates. Great Pyros can reflect 90% of the rockets you throw at them, so having a Shotgun definitely helps, especially if they don't have one. Also, try to shoot at them from around a corner or from some different wacky angle. That way, even if they somehow reflect the rocket, They'll reflect it into nothing and sometimes, themselves.

vs Demoman

Soldier and Demoman have had a feud ever since the "WAR!" comic/update came out (which added achievements and weapons for the two classes, along with the image above and some other stuff that don't matter right now). Basically, you've got a definitive advantage over a Demo in a 1v1 fight, but you really do have to stay at close range and not take his Grenade Launcher lightly. At mid to long range, he can zone you out with stickies, and if you jump at him, he may airshot you or put a sticky at where you're about to land, although jumping at him and strafing unpredictably in order to get close is the best way to approach a Demoman at range. If you flank him or he just appears in front of you, he's basically dead. You will have to take some self-damage, and he may land one grenade on you if he's good/lucky (if he's extremely good/lucky, two), but he will end up dead regardless of what happens to you.

vs Heavy

Heavies have 300 health. The only way for you to single-handedly take down a Heavy is to directly hit him with 3 rockets at close range, pretty much. And even if you manage to get that close to a Heavy, unless he's terrible, he'll kill you and survive with little HP. He's also nearly impervious to knockback from rockets (yet he deals a lot of it with his million bullets) and can shoot a rocket jumping Soldier out of the air pretty easily. Only try to kill a Heavy if he has very low health or if you have team support. He also needs to not be healed constantly by a Medic, as that will make everything very hard for you. You can also deal some 30-50 damage with rockets at long range while not taking much, but you will very rarely get the kill.

vs Engineer

You shoot high damage dealing explosives that also deal good burst damage to buildings, just like your Demoman buddy (but less DPS)! You're the third best at taking those pesky sentries down (don't forget the Spy), and many Engineers have a psychological disease called "Soldiophopia" (some experts call it "Rocketophobia"), and you can probably guess what it's about. If you remove the buildings from a scene involving a frail Engineer and a Soldier, the Soldier stomps on the poor squirrel of a guy pretty much all the time, unless he gets cocky and takes his time to get real close before actually starting to shoot; God knows I've done that...

vs Medic

Now here's another fun matchup! As previously stated, the Soldier is quite good at taking down Medics, and a Medic doesn't stand a chance if he gets caught alone by a Soldier. What you really have to worry about whilst trying to kill the Med is his team; they will all be shooting at you, so you need to dispatch the nurse man within a second! That's why you should probably wear Gunboats as a Roamer, pretty much.

vs Sniper

When there is no Medicinus Hippocraticus to be seen on the battlefield, the Soldieria Rocketjumpurus looks for its second favourite meal: the Sniperidae Shootina. Jumping gracefully on top of "Sniper", the "Soldier" shoots two explosive projectiles (fittingly named "rockets" by famous zoologist Charles Darling) toward it and feasts before quickly moving on to its next prey. Although sometimes, the Shootina's natural talent, "shooting", can reach extreme levels. "Shooting" the Rocketjumpurus in the head and out of the air, it quickly changes position to avoid the enemy's barrage. Having successfully avoided this life-threatening attack with great nature-given skill and protected its children, the Shootina then moves on to hunt the enemy "Medic". To avoid such a painful demise and getting his Hippocratus friend murdered, the Soldier must make his jump towards the Sniper unpredictable, fast and without going too high, giving its prey no time to set up a shot, and quicky bite its throat (shoot rockets or smack with a shovel) and stop its blood from flowing.

vs Spy

Once the Spy is caught, the Soldier should have zero trouble dealing with him unless he's using the Ambassador at long range; in which case you should try to jump at and shoot down on him. If he is disguised close to you and you aren't noticing him, however, you're extremely vulnerable to a backstab, since you're the second slowest class in the game. The most you can do in this case is hope that your team is keeping him away from you, or luckily turn around at the last second (happens really often if you're a paranoid player, which is not really a bad thing honestly).

A Few More Tips

• Think before you act. Whether it be a long-thought-out scenario or a spontaneous decision, you need to act consciously.

• Constantly reposition yourself. You can travel great distances for the cost of just one mini-health pack. Use this ability well and abuse it to the point of it becoming a reflex.

• Learn to properly rocket jump. It's way too important.

• Be aware of the goings-on. Know when which classes are down from both teams. This will help greatly with your positioning and combat ability, as well as giving you better judgment of how much you should restrict yourself.

• Learn from your mistakes. I rocket jumped at that Soldier and he shot me out of the air... Maybe I should strafe a bit more next time!

• Pick a style of play and work on it. Choose whichever sounds more fun, jumping around and picking key classes or being a Medic-bound powerhouse, and don't stop until you're satisfied by your performance!

• Conga During every round. Not having a Conga taunt is considered a major offence in any TF2 server, and it's important in signifying that you just don't give a damn about the world around you and that every Soldier is to himself. Conga means independence. Conga means power. Conga means being together and understanding. Conga means everything mankind has ever strived for. Conga mea--

Additional Credits & Disclaimers

Weapon pictures taken from the TF2 Wiki
Other pictures taken from:

TF2 Wiki (vs Spy, Pyro)

deviantart.com (vs Engineer by MadTopHat[madtophat.deviantart.com])

http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=793733 (vs Soldier)

Valve Youtube Channel (vs Scout, Sniper, Heavy, Medic)

Team Fortress.com (vs Demoman)

Loadout screenshots taken by WrytXander (me!)

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If you were looking for MvM Soldier stuff as well, check out this guide by Scootaloo and Reimu Hakurei!

DISKLAMER

I'm not the greatest Soldier out there, nor am I a Soldier main, I'm just an average TF2 player/enthusiast who happens to know some stuff and wants to share it. There are people who would do a way better job than I did, I just happened to take the time to make a guide and share my knowledge.

[WrytXander]

o k

[ProGoopCorp Representative]

you suck dick kebab scum I EAT YOUR ISKENDER DISH

[toto]

rekt 8)

[nix]

gay person gay class gay guide 10/9

[WrytXander]

Thanks a lot, you guys are really nice :3

[Illius]

Nice guide, I gotta say.

[toto]

10/1 took me 5 years to read

[Psychocat]

seems helpful. 10/10