Team Fortress 2 Strategy - The Soldier
November 19th, 2007 by Justin CarmonyAfter the struggles with having TF2 update through steam (a rant which I won’t go through here) I’ve finally been able to compile a quick strategy guide for the Soldier. Hopefully this will help those who seem helpless as a soldier.
Basic Strategy - Play Offensively
I don’t mean to offend every person on the server with e-Thuggery, but play forward and on the offensive. Even if your team is on the defensive, a soldier should play more forward that back. Especially on maps like 2fort or Well, please play aggressively and try to push the enemy back. Most common cause of not playing offensively is getting owned in the face. But with the soldier’s 200 HP, how is it possible to get owned in the face?
#1 Reason - Poor Ammo Management
Alright, lets see if I can get this through some people’s head: Soldier’s have FOUR rocket rounds before they have to reload. Thats it. Four. Then you have to reload. The reason I mention this is because of people who blow their rocket ammo very quickly. If you continuously blow 4 rounds at some random enemy across the map who has time to move out of the way… well, you’ll spend more time reloading than shooting.
My personal strategy - 2 rockets per enemy. If I hit them with the first, I’ll usually just fire one. If they are still not dead, I’ll finish them off with my shotgun. Why? Because the Soldier, while powerful, has very little rounds between reloads. If I only shoot 1 - 2 rounds per enemy, I can take out 2-4 enemies between reloads with my rockets and shotgun. If I overkill one enemy, or waste 3 rockets that miss, I’m more likely to get picked off during the reload.
#2 Reason - Shotgun? I had a second weapon?
I’ve faced countless soldiers who blow their rockets, start reloading and just sit there as I mow them down while they are reloading. Do they not realize they have a shotgun?
Some people’s logic is that Rocket > Shotgun, so its better to reload and fire than switch. My opinion: WRONG! First, reloading takes time, and if the enemy is far away you should be able to take cover. However, if they are in short range, I find it much each to kill with the shotgun than the rocket. Why? First, I don’t have to worry about damaging myself. Second, the shotgun fires quicker, which means if I barely miss my first shot, most likely I’ll hit my second.
So soldiers, please, use your shotgun. It is very effective close range, which is really the only situation you should find yourself in need. Rule of thumb:If they are close, use shotgun. If not, fall back to reload. This should help cut down on needless deaths while trying to reload your rockets.
#3 Reason - Far Distance = Less Damage
Yes, I know some people think this is absurd, but the fact is rockets do less damage from a distance than up-close. Research done by fellow TF2ers posted in the Steam forums show that a rocket up close can do around 105-115, but far distance gets a low as 45-60. What does this mean? You could land 4 rockets on a heavy long distance and not kill him.
Sometimes you can pull off awesome long distance shots depending on the situation. However, generally speaking, Soldiers should keep their fights as close as possible. Reasons: First the less damage long distance. Second, your enemy can move if they see the rocket coming.
Ubers and Soldiers - Are they worth it?
I’ve seen heated debates over whether or not a medic should use their uber charge on a soldier. Some say no due to the fact they have only 4 rounds between reloads, while others say yes because they are a great deal faster than the traditional Uber Heavy.
My opinion: Soldiers uber well with good conditions and proper communications. #1 complant is a person Ubers a soldier who needs to reload, so they waste their uber reloading their rocket launcher. If the medic communicates before hand “I’m going to uber you.” and the soldiers needs to respond “I’m ready” when they are ready.
Soldiers have an advantage of being able to move a lot faster than a shooting heavy. Many times a ubered heavy can be just avoided and their uber is gone by the time they catch up. So my rule of thumb for a Soldier is Uber when you are pushing a point that is well defended by sentries and enemies who are further back. If its close quarters, use a Heavy, but if they can hide a wait out the attack from a heavy, or a heavy can’t move fast enough to clear out the area, then use a soldier.
What are your strategies?
Like I’ve said before, I love input from other players. One thing I’m completely novice at, and very uneducated, is rocket-jumping. I’d love to hear back from our readers on their thoughts on how to play a better soldier. Hopefully I’ll pick up some good tips and tricks to win some more matches.
November 19th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Good points.
One thing that helps me take out well setup sentries with non-thickskulled engineers behind ‘em is to get rid of their dispenser.
Engineers value their sentry way above their dispenser yet don’t seem to realize how important the dispenser is.
If you have a clear shot at the dispenser fire either 1 rocket at the sentry so that the engineer will start to repair it. If you have 4 rockets ready the 2nd and 3rd will destroy the dispenser. You can then fire rockets at the ground near the engineer if he’s hiding behind his sentry. This tactic will kill him and then you can work on his unguarded sentry. Or you can just keep shooting at the sentry and eventually his metal will run out.
November 20th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I totally agree. Unless a team is making the final push to win the game, taking out the dispenser over the sentry is a good idea. It really can leave an engineer like a fish out of water.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Rocket jumping to great heights can be achieved by crouching almost instantaneuosly after jumping. So, Crouch + Jump whilst looking down then fire.
Depending on the desired direction of the jump, you can quikly snap your mouse back (+down) and forward again - this generally achieves a longer, lower jump (good for gaining ground quickly, either offensively or to retreat).
If you play one of those recent jump maps (e.g. cp_skyscraper) I find binding jump to mouse 2 and crouch to spacebar, along with cranking up your sensitivity (>6), it allows you to get well controlled, huge RJ.
Hope some of that helped!
November 27th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Excellent article… I barely see any soldiers using their shotgun, it’s sad because I use a similar tactic and can rack up points and sometimes keep the majority of the offending team at bay until either a) a medic comes to my rescue, or b) to let the rest of my offensive team catch up. I love getting Ubered by good medics, some will remind you that the Uber is running out, and if by possibility you haven’t taken all the sentry guns out, it might be a good idea for you and your medic to take on the defensive and clear your backs. Medics can usually spy check with the needle gun at this time as well.. I usually go after the Engineer first as well, like Kris has mentioned.. Then work on the Sentry, then Dispenser, and maybe get any teleporters in the area as well so no heavy’s pop-up in your face. Anyway, see you out there! Hooorah!
November 30th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
For rocket jumping you wanna crouch while u do it and u go much higher. Dont bother ubering soldiers anything a soldier could do uber’d a demo or pyro could take out better
December 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 pm
I’ve been trying to practice uber jumping…. but I swear I’m just not getting the feel for it. I feel like how I felt back in the day when I was trying to learn Surf Maps on CS 1.6…. those who watched me for hours die within seconds before I finally got it remember how bad I was….
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Every critic and writer in the TF2 community should go put a bullet in their head for writing these pathetic articles. First of all your predictions are based on almost nothing, you can’t call matches for shit, and now you’re trying to write a guide on a game thats been based off of others 10 years and older. Go die.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
hex, I’m not sure what your problem is, but first off if your a “leet player” that has mastered every TF2 class, these articles are not intended for you. However, I don’t see you in any competitive CEVO events, or ever heard of your name. But
Second, I’m not sure what “predictions” you’re talking about. We haven’t discussed calling matches in this article (we have in other non-tf2 articles) and I don’t understand what your talking about “others 10 years and older.” If you’re trying to say that TF2 is just like TFC and new articles on potential strategies are worthless, I find that rather funny seeing how TF2 and TFC are only loosely related and are very different in several aspects.
However, thank you for gracing us with your all mighty presence and we’ve all been greatly enlightened by your wise comments. We wish you well and hope you enjoy trolling other places on the internet.
December 5th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
no problem. just try not to get owned too hard by me
January 20th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Ubering soldiers is good, if they are an offensive player who uses their shotgun as well, and prioritizes targets. Pretty well explained above, the heavy is too slow for some situations.
Soldiers rocket damage probably falls off to encourage the attacking style this class is designed for. Your oldschool quakers (me).
February 19th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
a comment about the shotgun issue: if you haven’t hit the enemy yet and they have over 125 hp, i’ll reload one rocket and fire at them, generally i’ll hit them so that i can actually kill them with my shotgun
also immediately switch from your rocket launcher to your shotgun, as soon as you fire the fourth rocket, don’t click your mouse until you realize its outta ammo, keep track of these things.
and reason number one is a great tip, and you might want to add ALWAYS RELOAD YOUR ROCKETS WHENEVER YOU HAVE A CHANCE. This means even when your chasing an enemy down, because remember, the reload is interruptible.
And rjing is a great tactic in 1v1 battles, especially against soldiers and demos who rely on splash. RJ above them and rain death down, hopefully by the time you touch down, you’ve killed them or injured them enough to finish off with the shotty or a spare rocket.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Great article. I’m new to TF2 and I’ve been playing the soldier a lot, so this is great advice for a player like me. I don’t utilize the shotgun nearly enough, it seems, which is something I plan to work on.
This is especially relevant, given the new patch has changed the rocket ammo amounts so much.
September 12th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Always look for places to rocket jump to, even if you are not playing a soldier. I was amazed the first time I RJ’ed on top of the tin barricade on the battlements in 2Fort and rained death upon the unsuspecting snipers. Another spot that is hard to get to (and often unnoticed) is the space above point A in Gravel Pit. A defensive soldier up their can take out half the attacking team before they can find him.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I have relized in the last few moments what reptile does. everyone notices he is agressive. Well have u ever notcied ur all ways shooting at ppls feet even if there a foot away from you? Well take a hint at what he does he shoots ppl directly right in the face, hurts more, thus spareing a rocket or shotty a quicker kill, butt he problem is, when do u do it… Do u do it all the time the answer is NO you do it when you relize he is stuck right in front or u trust yourself enough to own his butt. Ps use +reload in consel if you want to surive dont use as any other class wont work.
January 5th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Really awesome article:) comments are also very very helpful… the point of shooting at peoples feet as said by iFrag is something i’ve noticed a lot with myself and many other players… its natural i think because you end up thinking you’ll miss if you aim straight and the other players right infront of you… what i’ve found works very well in that situation is rocket jumping if you have even 1 rocket left then shotgunning the player while in the air or showering rockets if you have… if indoors use the shovel and hack him up… the rocket jump will only work if outdoors for obvious reasons… see ya’ll in game
January 16th, 2009 at 7:12 am
wow i never new the soldier could be so effective.. im new to TF2 and recently ive been doing much better with the demoman rather than the soldier.. this is because i use both weapons…and i think since playing as the soldier ive used the shottie twice..somethin i need to work on..thanks for the addvice.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Thanks for the tips
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:36 am
Soldiers are one of the strongest and most lethal class but slowest too. So I just figured out 3 hints that might help you guys(or just remind myself)that rocket jumping can also be used in ambushing or just fighting multiple enemies. While your in mid-air you start firing your last 3 rockets(or try your best to use 2 even though it looks so tempting) and when you reach the ground and he’s still not dead…well…this is where the shotgun comes in handy. When your tailing someone from behind and he’s quite far, switch to your shotty and shoot him until he notices. Then switch back to your launcher and fire away.
Last thing, if you want to survive more and kill more, try to kill enemies who dont notice you yet because they could start shooting you before your first bullet reaches him. Always try your best to fight them at close range to medium (close range is best even though you waste a lot of ammo). Always avoid the people running at you. Hide and fire away. I hope noone calls me a noob because i just wanted to help.^^
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:38 am
3rd last sentence was wrong..i meant you waste alot of health.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Pyro owns soldier nuff said
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
What did I just hear you say, maggot? You’re telling me a no-good pyromaniac too ashamed to show his or her face in public even stands a chance against me? How about I tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a RED soldier and a BLU pyro who were on a farm. Both were hired to kill eachother. The pyro tried to burn the soldier. The soldier fired his rocket launcher. You know what the pyro said? Nothing, because his lungs had just been blown apart by a well-placed rocket propelled grenade, together with his spleen and kidneys. So shut your pie hole, get off this thing you brats call a computer, do some push-ups and stop dishonoring your country.
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