The Offensive Menace: Quickiebomb Launcher guide

Smissmas has rolled around again, and this year it's brought three new weapons to the table. And while many are looking towards the new concepts of the Iron Bomber and the Panic Attack, I am going to be focusing on the commonly overlooked addition; the Quickiebomb Launcher.

Introduction

This Smissmas has brought joy to us all, with three new weapons for us to get out hands on. However, the quickiebomb launcher still seems to be overlooked over by many people. Ster_ even went out of his way to say he was bored with it. I am here today to prove this weapon's worth, and it's amazing offensive power.

Review of the Stats

To start off with the mindset of using the quickie bomb launcher, let's look at it's stats.

• It has a 0.2 sec faster arm time. This may not seem like much, but if you play demo a lot, you'll know that every second counts when arming your stickies.
  
• It also destroys enemy sticky bombs. I'm not so sure why they added this, because it goes against the nature of the weapon, but it is a nice addition nonetheless. That is, of course, if it actually worked. I'm sure it will get patched in eventually, but currently the weapon isn't able to destroy enemy stickies.
  
• It's max charge time is decreased by 50%. This makes it so that firing from a distance is a very useful option, because you can very quickly shoot a long distance.
  
• Stickybombs fizzle after 2 seconds. This means you need to make use of your stickies quickly, or they are destroyed. Simple.
  
• -15% damage penalty. This isn't very much, but can sometimes be the difference between if it kills or not.
  
• -25% clip size. You now have only 6 stickies loaded into your clip instead of 8. You have to conserver your stickies for when you need them, and not take so many chances.

The Strategy

The stats clearly want you to detonate your stickies very shortly after you launch them. It's even in the name! However, people overlook the big question, "When do you want to detonate quickly?" Well, for one you can use it when retreating, but that isn't enough of a reason to use it as a weapon. No, the biggest advantage of this weapon is it's offensive air busting abilities. For the few who aren't aware, detonating stickybombs while they are still in the air is reffered to as air bursting. With the longer launch distance, you can quickly send a sticky at a target far away. And for those at more of a mid-range, the shorter arm time makes it so that you can easily get the explosion off on time. You never want to shoot the stickies on the ground.

A good strategy that I have found is to stay further back from the rest of your team. Near the rear of the pack, but not entirely away from them. This will usually give you good sightlines plus the defense from the rest of the team. It will also make use of your range. Make sure you fire at a specific person, and do not simply spam stickies out. Remember that you have 2 less stickies in your clip. Also note that even with the faster arm time, you still are vulnerable at close range. Even more so with a smaller clip size and less damage. You should always have at least 1 sticky in your clip, in order to take care of any class that gets close to you. You don't want to be reloading when you find an enemy shooting at you! However, whenever you can, you should try and switch to your melee or primary weapon.

Speaking of which, a good thing to note is the other weapons you should use in a loadout. I find the stock grenade launcher to be a nice option because it is a reliable way to damage approaching players when you need to reload. But I have also liked the Iron Bomber, because it's bombs stay in place. This can create a short defensive option that the Quickiebomb launcher can't provide. As for Melee, I prefer stock or Caber. You don't really need a sword with this weapon.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Quickiebomb launcher is not at all useless, and is better than the others in many ways. It gives advantages to being offensive but removes all of it's defensive abilities. I'm sure that for competetive, this weapon will be used frequently. I hope this gives you a better idea of how to use the Quickiebomb launcher, and if you have any other ideas, or uses of your own, please leave a comment!
Edit: Something to note is that with recent nerfs, airbursting has become less useful. Now, you don't get the entire explosion radius until 2 seconds. This means that you need to be extra precise with how close you get your stickies.

[Shagbark]

@Epicleeb, HOLY SHIT. I have been using that loadout for hundreds of hours, and I have never seen anybody ever using it. I have gotten a spec quickiebomb launcher just for that purpose. I never thought anybody else has thought of it... Thank you

[NotEvenClose]

Really good loadout:

Bootlegger / Ali Baba's Wee Booties
Quickiebomb Launcher
Scotsman's Skullcutter

If you use the quickiebomb launcher with a GL you'll find that you're usually torn between which one to use but most of the time the quickiebomb launcher is the better option. The extra speed and health points from the Bootlegger is essential for survivability and mobility. The Scotman's Skullcutter is basically a direct upgrade, my favorite 2 words in TF2 :)

[bees]

If you dont want to read the whole stragety: Sticky spam, done, 'nuff said.

[Harmacist]

scotsman's skullcutter is good after it got buffed - you can deal with irritating enemies faster.

[Sparkz™]

Ahhh, okay. Dat makes sense lel
Thanks m8.

[Telomerase]

@demo_knight, I may get bored of this weapon eventually as well, but it still has potential. And I'm glad someone is using the ScotR, because I haven't seem many demos with it. Good to see that people is using some of the less apreciated weapons.
@Cubey, I'm very glad that they promoted it with this new weapon. Now, the most effective way to stickey spam is to use a weapon that doesn't do as much damage. That eliminates the worst part about going against a sticky spam demo; being killed too easily.
@♠Sparky♠ , Let me try to explain it better. Basically with this weapon you can get your stickies out farther, faster. It's for the demo who wants stickes with range over damage.

[Telomerase]

@Ira, I much prefer to detonate it above enemy's heads. That way, they can't see what's coming. (No one looks up in this game) With that surprise attack, they won't be ready for another sticky, which will usually kill.
@SpapS, I'm changing around the loadout portion soon. Thanks!
@Skynight, Thanks! I'll add that in!
@Mr. Worldwide, Yes, and the speed at which you can do that is the best part about it. The amount of time you charge up is very little, meaning you can stay at more of a range as demo and still be able to get your stickies off quickly.

[Sparkz™]

It's good but, i don't really see any point to this weapon. Da stock is better, i mean not that i hate it, i just STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WUT DIS WEPON IZ MADE FO! C:

[squid]

A few updates ago, Valve reduced dmg of stickies who were detonated right after being launched. They then reverted it and added this.

Happening at valve:

Hrm, should we remove stickyspammers, or promote them?

I guess they took the latter.

[Amber Starr]

i honestly perfer to stay with my scotish resistance