The Ruskie Behemoth - A Guide to Playing Heavy

So there's quite a lot of guides out there on how to be the best legendary pyro, the snappiest sneaky spy or the speediest scout. But when I look for a guide for one, aptly named, "Heavy", not much comes up. So how do you remedy such a humongous anomaly? Well you make your own guide to attention ♥♥♥♥♥ the community and soak up all the painful comments, that's what!

1. Overview

So I bet most of you out there are wondering, "How exactly can you strategically play as the overweight mini gun spamming jackass that is the guy with cool specs above this post?"

Well this guide has all the answers to those painfully frequent questions! By the time you're done you'll know this Ruskie's best weaponry and strategies - in my opinion of course :D

Today, Class, you will learn about Heavy as a class, his surprisingly small arsenal of Primary, Secondary and Melee weaponry and some strategical maneuvers that can be done with said weaponry.

Without further ado, let us be off!

-Pootis

2. The Heavy - Stats n stuff.

This guy. The fattest Ruskie to hail from the union of soviets, has come to teach you a few things about himself!

The heavy has some pretty erratic stats when you take a look Some can be increasingly large (Especially with certain weaponry) while some are as bad as rolling Snail with RTD. Lets take a look shall we?






His Stats:
Health:
Base: 300
- Overheal: 450
-- Quick Fix: 375

When Using Dalokhos bar or fishcake: 350
- Overheal: 450
-- Quick Fix: 375

Warrior's Spirit: 280
-Overheal: 420
--Quick Fix: 350

Warrior's Spirit + Dalokhos
Base: 330
-Overheal: 420
-- Quick Fix: 350


So when looking at the health stats, we can see that, in terms of variability, keeping to the base health options are the best choice. While the Dalokhos can provide a nice 50 health and heal with every consumption (that being infinite), it's a viable choice. But weapons like the Sandvich can do it's job better, plus only 50 health won't be much in the long run.



Movement Speed:
Base: 77%
-Backwards: 69%
-- In Water: 61% (Don't worry too much about this one unless you're on a map like 2 fort that actually HAS water)
---Crouched: 21%

As you can see, he's a slow bugger. But don't worry, there's actually a lot of ways to increase his speed, as we'll see later on.

Any Primary Except Brass Beast Spun-Up
Base: 37%
-Backwards: 33%
--Crouching: 0% (NEVER crouch with a minigun)
---Swimming: 29%

This is something that can't really be avoided unless you mainly play as shotgun heavy (in which case, good for you because a good friend, Golurk, would love you!)

Brass Beast Spun-Up
Base: 15%
-Backwards: 15%
--Crouching: 0%
---Swimming: 12%

This is something that can be avoided by obviously not using the Brass Bugger, but since I use it a lot myself, I'll get to how it can be used effectively.

Using Buffalo Steak:
Base: 104%
-Backwards: 93%
--Crouching: 35%
---Swimming: 85%

In my opinion, 4% more speed is really not worth wasting your secondary spot on. As much as the mini gun should be used, heavies secondaries CAN be effective, and this is only for those "Melee only!" types.

With Gloves of Running Urgently:
Base: 100% (Better than it looks, trust me!)
-Backwards: 90% (Can be avoided with a nifty trick I'll tell ya later)
--Crouching: 33%
---Swimming: 80%

So after that I bet you're thinking, "How does knowing these stats change me mowing down gibus scouts who spam the sandman?" Well, as they say, Knowing is half the battle!

Knowing your health stats will increase your battle survival, especially with team co-ordination. As we saw, you do not get more over heal when using the Dalokhos, so it's not that useful when you have medics around. On a team with no medics, it can be somewhat useful, but chances are if you are a heavy, a good player will go medic to shove his medi gun up your painis.

Like-wise, knowing your speed stats - particularly with certain weapons - can increase your dependability. A faster heavy with the gloves of running urgently will have a medic's immediate attention, since you will take mini-crit damage while using and 3 seconds after unequipping the gloves, the medic will want to keep you alive long enough to put bullets in the next guys torso. Also, know that painful -10% speed penalty you get when moving backwards? Wanna know how? A good Sir Pardos will tell you to strafe when moving backwards. S+A or S+D. Try it. You won't see the difference until you're escaping from a rocket that could have reached you.

3. Primaries - The Killing Force

Lets get straight to the point. Primaries will be the main thing in your fatass hands while playing heavy. Lets take a look at them shall we?

Sasha/Mini Gun

The Stock Minigun. Certainly quite versatile on the field of battle. Being a classic Stock weapon, it doesn't have any upgrades or downgrades, so it's a safe choice for a new or veteran heavy.
Lets take a look at it's stats:

Maximum ramp-up 150% - Maximum 13 damage per bullet

Base damage 9 per bullet

Maximum fall-off (Firing at long range) - 5 per bullet

Point blank 50-54 Hp per 1 ammo used, 500-540 / per second

Medium range 5-30HP per 1 ammo, 50-300 / per second

Long range 5-10HP per 1 ammo, 50-100 / per second

Critical Hits 27 HP per bullet (4 bullets per second. Scouts beware)

Mini-crit 12-18 HP per bullet.

Attack interval 0.1 (firing speed basically)

Windup time 0.87 s


So when looking at these stats, they are pretty deadly huh? The offside - of course - is no upgrades to further your performance. While most of the mini guns have shocking downgrades, they can usually be easily countered and have a lot of good upgrades, so in that fact, the mini gun falls short. Ok for a new heavy or even a grizzled veteran, but I believe there's better choices.
Rating: 4 Pootis Birds out of 5

Recommended Loadout:
Mini-Gun
Sandvich
Fists OR GRU

Natascha/Heavy's Ex

Now here is a mini gun that can be used very effectively. Particularly against fast classes like pyros and scouts. Lets go ahead and look at the stats + Upgrades and downgrades.















So one thing to remember with the Natascha is that it is very situational and less effective than the stock in most cases, especially vs. sentries or in heavy duels.
The 30% slowed spin-up added with the 25% less damage penalty, this mini gun has to be used with extreme caution. However, if you can ambush a heavy from behind with this mini gun, you should be able to take him out, provided his allies aren't close...

As for the upgrades, you have a lovely 50% addition to ammo, adding up to 300 bullets. Considering how much ammo is chewed up by mini guns, this is extremely helpful. But the kicker for using this is the 100% knockback. This is VERY helpful in quite a lot of situations. The top 2 being Scunts running at you at full speed or W+M1 Pyros wanting to burn your fuzzy ass. This will effectively render them almost USELESS!... unless they can dodge you with speed in which ase, you're f'ed. Now, you do get 20% damage resistance whilst spun up with this thing, but because of the lesser firepower of it, it is counterproductive unlike the brass beast.

So overall, the natascha is very mixed in it's use. It's upgrades make it quite useful but the downgrades mean it is very situational and shouldn't really be used in direct confrontation which to the core, is what heavy is supposed to do.

Rating: 2 cupcakes out of 5

Recommended Loadout:
Natascha
Sandvich or Dalokhos
Fists or GRU

Brass Beast/Offensive Heavy's Worst Enemy

Now this, THIS is a mini gun worth talking about. Being the mini gun I myself use the most (alongside stock) I have a lot to say about this beautiful hunk of metal. As always, lets go to stats.
















As you can see from the damage stats, + the image, the brass beast has a staggering 20% damage boost. That. Is. A LOT! Sadly, that's all he has going for him. So that's basically all the BB is. A stoked up Stock on crack, and the downgrades certainly prove that. With a NASTY -60% speed reduction while spinning up, you're literally sitting ducks for snipers, spies and heck every class that can shoot at you. There's also the slower spin-up time which is basically a CP from Natascha. So the thing to remember is that this mini-gun is a BIG detractor to your speed, and that will shunt your game play to a halt if not careful. The best bet is to use speed increasing weaponry to maximize your performance. It will also have the unavoidable weakness of fast ammo loss, so a shotgun secondary is highly recommended. THIS weapon is where the 20% damage resistance whilst spun up shines. When spun up - sans the speed - you have higher attack AND defense than stock. As long as enemy snipers are shut down as well as spies, you're a walking tank for damage and uber-rate.

Rating: 4 BBQs out of 5

Recommended Loadouts:
Brass Beast
Family Business
Gloves of Running Urgenrly
OR
Brass Beast
Sandvich
Gloves of Running Urgently

Tomislav/Ninja Heavy's Friend

Ahhh the tomislav. The mini-gun of a thousand flame wars. Lets hop right onto it eh?














So as you can see, the tomislav sports the same damage, ramp-up, fall-off and other traits as the stock weapon, along with a nice +10% spin up speed and the Tomislav's gimmick: Silent spinning up of the weapon. This effectively makes it a behind-ambusher, a sentry nests best friend or other things. But the bad part is a nasty -20% firing speed which in the long run will screw you over. If you play like a normal heavy with this you will suck ass. It's about being sneakier than normal. in direct heavy confrontations you will always, ALWAYS lose against an enemy heavy not using this, thanks to having less DPS. So if you are a good ninja heavy, this is great for you!
Oh and sorry, but the 20% better accuracy is just a crutch for those with bad hitscan aim. No offence. :3

Rating: 3 Capo's Cappers out of 5

Recommended Loadout:
Tomislav
Family Business
Killing Gloves of Boxing
(This set can help you keep a good speed level and give you some quick crits in your time of need)

Huo-Long Heater/Spies Worst Nightmare other than pyro

Now this is a mini-gun that takes skill to use. It may seem pretty basic but if you don't think ahead while using it, it will f*ck you over badly. Lets take a look.








So, like tomislav and stock, the huo long has the nice benefit of having the stock mini-gun's damage, which can't really be complained about. The kicker to using this is the ring of fire that is supplied when spinning up. This ignites all enemies in the tiny radius it has. This is quite effective for spy checking but sadly, if they are already behind you, it wont be enough to stop a backstab. Add onto the fact that players are probably smart enough to stay away from you anyway due to damage, it won't help much. Also the ring of fire will take away 6 ammo per second, PER SECOND, when spun up. This is a huge detractor and means you cant be spinning up ahead of time, something that REALLY benefits heavy. Now, it can be good if you dispenser camp, or - and this is situational - playing offense on payload.

Rating: 1 Chinese Fire out of 5

Recommended Loadout:
Huo-Long Heater
Family Business
Gloves of Running Urgently


So thats it for the primaries! Overall It would seem I recommend the stock and brass beast the most. While tomislav is also a viable option, it's downsides kinda urk my heavy feelings :( Stay tuned for secondaries!

4. Secondaries - Heavy's tactical arsenal

A thing to remember for heavy's secondaries is that they are not made for 24/7 use, even the shotguns in said arsenal. Most consist of edible items capable of increasing health, speed and damage, whereas his shotguns are basic shotguns, one having a bigger clip size but less damage. Les move!

Shotgun






Family Business




These Shotguns are pretty basic for heavy, and won't be used much unless maining shotgun heavy. But they certainly have their advantages. FIrst the stats for the stock (Since no screenshot is available, the stats from TF2 wiki are present)

Maximum ramp-up 150% 9 / pellet
Base damage 100% 6 / pellet
Maximum fall-off 50% 3 / pellet
Pellet count 10
Point blank 80-90
Medium range 10-30
Long range 3-10
Pellet Spread 30:1
Critical 18 / pellet
Mini-crit 8.1-12.15 / pellet

As we can see, the damage is quite good. At point blank range you can do a staggering 90 or even MORE subtraction to an enemies health. The most I've seen is about 115. With 6 shots on hand in each clip, it's certainly a strong weapon when used right. How about it's lil ol' counterpart?












The stats aren't much, right? Well lets have a look. With a nice 2 extra shots in the clip, this shotgun is practically used when more shots are needed, kinda like having a rocket launcher with more than 4 shots (Lovely Lovely air strike...). The offset is the 15% damage penalty which is actually a lot when you think about it. Lets do a little math. Say you do 90 damage with the stock shotgun to an enemy. 10% being 9, 5% being 4.5, 15% being 13.5 rounded to 14, the damage to an enemy with the family business would be 76. While it's still a large amount, it gives the enemy that one shot longer to live and kill you. So while it an be great, I would prefer the stock. However, with the faster firing speed, it makes you a lovely fat scout. Use with discretion!

Shotgun: 4/5
Recommended Loadout:
Brass Beast or Tomislav
Shotgun
Gloves of Running Urgently

Family Business: 3/5
Recommended Loadout:
Tomislav
Family Business
Eviction Notice


The Sandvich/Biggest Meme in TF2



By far the most used secondary among heavies, the sandvich. The explanation is painfully basic. You have a mobile health pack that fully heals you when eaten and has a meanie 30 second recharge. But it CAN be restored from health packs when you are at full health so that is definitely useful!

The good side is obviously your health, so I recommend using this with most of your sets, particularly Brass Beast being so slow that you are you fatty you. You can also drop it to instantly heal 50% of an ally's health. Now THAT is a good medic helper!
.
The bad side is lack of shotgun which in the grand scheme of things, can ♥♥♥♥ you over.
Note: All the edible items can go with just about any loadout, so I don't have any recommendations.

Rating: 4/5









The Dah-lock-uss bar is what I would like to say equal to the sandvich to some degree. ONLY if you don't have a medic. Consuming the lovely russian chocolate gives you overheal to 400 health. Nice!... if you have no medics in a pub server. It can also finally be dropped to other players and acts as a small health pack to give them 1/5 of their health back. While it would take longer to get to full health with this thing, it is infinite unlike the sandvich, so it can honestly help to restore your health right where you are rather than wasting time finding a health pack, dispenser or medic.

So the obvious good is more health + 100 health restored per infinite consumption. While it may seem useless with a medic around, I say it can still be quite helpful.

Rating: 4/5


Buffalo Steak Sandvich/ Melee Heavy's ♥♥♥♥♥


This is quite an odd weapon. It's specifically for melee-only heavies. Here's the stats for you non-bread munchers.




















So as we can see, the speed boost is quite a lot. This can be helpful to escape from tricky situations with a nice 35% speed boost (that being more than the G.R.U) or to quickly get to the battlefield. But the 15 second timer on this thing + extra speed, you'd practically reach the battlefield too quickly (Especially on attack/defense). You also take 25% more damage upon consumption and I don't think the enemy team will drop their guns just to melee you for the fun of it. Speaking of that, you are forced to use melee weapons while using this and you get mini-crits with them. Don't think of using the holiday fists because mini-crits WON'T make the enemy laugh, only crits. So overall this weapon is pretty ♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Rating: 2/5




Thats them secondaries for you. A mixed bunch but they can add a lot of strategy to your play style. Instead of just spamming mini gun and going till you die, you can take a quick break to heal yourself or protect yourself without the speed reduction of a mini gun.

5. Melee - A Mann's Weaponry

Heavy's melee arsenal is not going to be used that much, despite his talk of "Guns are for babies!". Lets take a look at em.

Fists. just Fists.








There's not really much to say about the fists. They deal a lot of damage on impact, are slow and don't offer any benefits or detractions. And since heavy should almost never rely on melee for kills (unless you are blocking somebody) they're pretty minor.

Rating: 2/5

K.G.B - The Crit Fiesta





These fists actually have some good use when used correctly. Here's the stats:
5 seconds of Crits on Melee Kill
-20% firing speed


So their gimmick is crits on kill, but for a short time. Spinning up a minigun + weapon switching would only waste this, so swapping to a shotgun for this loadout is the best option (or just whacking the next guy with your fists as a melee crit from heavy almost always 1 hits)

Not much else to say really. The less firing speed isnt that bad as you aren't going to really hold M1 down as a heavy melee guy. That'd be dumb.

Rating: 2/5

Gloves of Running Urgently.









THESE are the strategical fists that heavy should use! Instant 5/5 rating! Why? Lets take us a look.










30% faster movement speed. That makes heavy go to a speed of 100% freaking percent! That's as fast as most classes! (Engi, Sniper, Spy, Medic)

The 2 detractions are less damage and taking mini-crits while using them. The damage penalty is nothing, you aren't going to be trying to kill people with these, it's the speed boost you really want. The mini-crits however will get you killed if you arent careful. Don't pull them out infront of a soldier. use them near your spawn to escape combat to heal, or to get to battle or in secluded areas to make a push. They can be used REALLY effectively, or you could use their counterpart: The Fists of Steel

Rating: 5/5






These are basically the less-speed counterpart to the GRU. There is still a damage penalty in the form of Double damage from enemy melee weaponry. The NICE part is that you take 40% less damage from all ranged sources. That is practically a fully functional batallions backup just for you, especially against sentries. You can act like a bonked scout and distract it for a few seconds. Bottom Line, use these if you're scared of the mini-crits of the GRU. They can also be quite good when used well. Oh, and it may as well be called the uber-farmer.

Rating: 4/5

Warrior's Spirit/Buffalo Steak's best friend








These fists are pure melee only heavy fists, like the holiday punch.





As you can see, you receive a 30% damage bonus, which can make your melee VERY strong, added with the buffalo steak's 35% damage bonus form minicrits and you would nearly have permanent crits with this thing (crits being double damage). However you receive 20 less heath which in the long run WILL get you screwed if you don't play your cards right. This is one of those weapons that takes melee skill to get the hang of.

Rating: 3/5

Eviction Notice/Bad Weapon Overall






This is one I just didn't feel deserved a full review of... -60% damage and +50% firing speed. You basically become as fast AND as weak as a scout melee. It's counter-productive and really won't help. And trust me, the speed boost on hitting people really isn't helpful.
Rating: 1/5


Holiday Punch






This weapon is pretty basic. Like the warrior's spirit, it is a melee only type deal. Crits will make the enemy do the Schadenfreude taunt, meaning they can't attack you at all. You always crit from behind and crits do no damage, only laughing. You also do stock damage on a none crit so it's a safe weapon. Overall it's a joke weapon, only really used seriously with a ninja set like Tomislav, Buffalo Steak and This.

Rating: 2/5




So that's it for weaponry! The final stage will be Class match-Ups. Lets Move!

6. Match-Ups - How to fight Baby Team

So we've seen the weaponry, now it's time to matchup heavy to the babies he must face on the battlefield!

Scouts
















This baby will hurt you if you're not careful. Ironic that the class with the least health can sometimes kill you the fastest. 3 point-blank shots from his 6 clip loaded scattergun can kill you swiftly. The best ways to take on a scout are the shotguns or using natascha to keep him back. You will need to train your mini gun aim on a friend who is willing to dodge and stuff without actually shooting you. When you have gotten your aim good, use your minigun to take them out effectively.
Scouts will usually take you on alone. If there are other enemies around, they will usually avoid you to take on a different enemy.

Recommended Loadout:
Natascha
Family Business
K.G.B

Soldiers









No Joke this time. The soldier is one of the toughest classes to face as a heavy, especially if they are veterans who know all the tricks!



Soldiers will usually abuse rocket jumping and high areas to avoid your mini gun and shotgun damage. They will also jump around and alternate between shotgun and rocket launcher to keep you on your toes. You will need to be very alert when facing enemy soldiers, particularly when they have a medic on them and you don't!

Recommended Loadout:
Stock
Sandvich/Dalokhos
Fists of Steel

Pyros











Pyros are going to hurt you if not careful.


The big deal with them will be their W+M1ing while circle strafing, airblast + flaregunning and other annoying pyro tricks they can lay the smackdown on you with. All you can really do is try to stay out of range with a shotgun, hope for the crits with a melee or traditionally mow em down with your mini gun. Your best bet will be the latter as your mini gun will do much more DPS than their flamethrowers, UNLESS it's a backburner from behind in which case you are ♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Recommended Loadout:
Tomislav or Brass Beast
Family Business
Fists of Steel

Demopans








These guys can take you out very quickly with stickybombs or even crit charges. Or loch n load if they are lucky.

Brass Beast is a nono when facing these guys. They'll be jumping around spamming nades n stickes to wear your health or kill you all at once. Speed is your ally against these guys. You'll want any other mini gun that can kill them quickly. Another good bet is to use the shotgun and G.R.U to get past sticky traps and fired grenades and pick them off from afar.

Recommended Loadout:
Stock or Natascha
Shotgun
G.R.U or Fists of Steel

The Same Guy!












2 words. Fire First.
Against enemy heavies, all I cansay is use a mini gun that isnt tomislav or natscha. The damage decrease will royally ♥♥♥♥ you over, especially if they are deployed already. If they have a medic, even worse. Your best bet is to try and attack from behind or kill the medic with a shotgun then hide, spin up and attack the heavy quickly.

Recommended Loadout:
Stock
Family Business
G.R.U

Vagineers










Dem Sentries.

Your biggest enemy against any engineer is their sentry. On their own engis can STILL kill you. Spamming Mini Sentries then Pomson-ing your medic along with other ways to kill you from a distance like the Wrangler and a lvl 3 sentry, these guys have lots of things to use to kill your ass. Your best bet to face a lvl 3 sentry is to have a medic and/or uber on stand by. Even if you both take out the sentry the engi can be good or lucky enough to kill you both from behind, or at least the medic.

Recommended Loadout:
Brass Beast
Sandvich
Fists of Steel

Men of Medicine









Medi guns are evil.


There really isn't much to say except kill a medic before his patient, or you will get screwed quiet easily.

Recommended Loadout:
Tomisav
Dahlokhos Bar
Fists

Snoipahs








Better find a use for that neck once it's off your fatass head...




Against a sniper there really isn't much you can say. You can use the Fists of Steel or G.R.U to try and outmaneuver him but even with higher speed, he will likely headshot you for still being as slow as a normal class. You can also try shotgunning him to keep his aim off of you, unless he is using the cozy camper in which case... take a guess.
Even a medic with overheal to the max cant save you from a full on headshot :/

Recommended Loadout:
Stock
Shotgun
G.R.U

Shpees














Ya Backstabbing Mongrel!












Yeah... this guy is quite a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to heavy. He will take out you and your medic at a moment's notice, only avoid a huo-heavy and always cloak n dagger behind your ass. When going after a heavy, he will likely disguise as a medic to "heal" you or a pyro to imitate going to the front lines as your "ally". Remember to spycheck frequently. You can't rely on your teammates to do this as you are going to be focused on the opposition infront of you at all times, especially on king of the hill and attack/defend.





So that has been my first guide ever! I would love some feedback in the comments. Please do tell me how I can improve n stuff. See you next guide ^_^

P.S. SANDVICH

[Sideshow Penguin]

Spies can jump over the Huo-long heater fire ring, its only ground level

[PokemonTrainerWaluigi]

Basic guide for starters and newcomers.1. Have medic. He/she will heal you, give you über and can look for spies! 2. Sandvich. For two reasons for one being if you don't have a medic a disposable med-kit can be handy. Second is if you do have a medic and he needs health simply toss the sandvich to him and bam, on with the rampage. 3. Go for the dropped weapons. You're a Heavy and you have a big gun. It needs alot of ammo and if you run out well crap. You might survive if you have a shout gun on you, but if you took my edvice you don't use it and going out to get a ammo crate means less time shooting people meaning less dead guys. So whenever you kill somebody try to get the weapons they dropped to refill you ammo and keep firing. I can't fit more :(

[Squiggy]

Nice guide, not 100% accurate, but for people getting into heavy, or learning the mid-level tactics required for organised play, great. One addendum I'd like to make though, is the Huo-Long heater. Chews up ammo, like you said. But, HLH + push little Kart, great combo. Added benefit of spychecking not just for yourself, but other allies, and I know that many people, seeing a friendly HLH hoovy on cart, will also help push it. Which means if a spy goes for one of you, he will (should!) immediately be detected by whoever wasnt stabbed.