Difference between revisions of "Demoman"

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''Main Article: [[Demoman (Highlander)]]''
 
''Main Article: [[Demoman (Highlander)]]''
  
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Similar to the role of the 6s Demoman, the Highlander Demoman is expected to deal high amounts of damage to an enemy team. The core evaluation of a Demoman, therefore, is in his total damage output. The Stickybomb Launcher possesses the highest DPS of any weapon in the game, while the Grenade Launcher can incur upwards of one hundred damage per hit. With 175 hitpoints, the Demoman has a moderate survivability rate, though it should be noted that he may be damaged by the blast radius of his own projectiles and thus should take care when detonating them at close range. Though he is somewhat slower than other classes, moving at approximately 90% the speed of a Pyro (the baseline speed for Team Fortress 2 classes), he makes up for this lower mobility through the use of Stickybomb Jumping, which allows him to cover large distances by exploding a Stickybomb beneath him and Crouch Jumping in the desired direction. This method is both faster and longer-ranged than Rocket Jumping, although the Demoman does take more damage (a loss of approximately 70 hitpoints) through its use.
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In Highlander, the Demoman's main job is dealing high amounts of damage. His weapons are great at dishing out large amounts of damage to crowds of players and slow, high HP targets. However he lacks the ability to reliably protect himself from close range threats (most often from the Scout), so he is often paired up with the Heavy and Medic to form the core of a Highlander team. He serves a similar role to his 6's counterpart of dealing damage and leading up uber pushes, but he is also expected to deal with sentry nests.
  
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The Demoman is most traditionally part of the Highlander Combo, alongside the Medic, Pyro, and Heavy. When using the Ubercharge, he is often the recipient on Payload or A/D maps, where it is necessary to use his Stickybombs to take down a Level Three Sentry; otherwise, he is responsible for cleaning up any weakened enemies left alive after the initial push. If the Medic is using the Kritzkrieg, the Demoman is nearly always the primary recipient due to the high blast radius and damage output of his projectiles when under the influence of a Kritzkrieg charge; a Kritzed Stickybomb can kill any class in one hit, except for an overhealed Heavy. Thus, the Demoman is the main pocket of the Medic on KOTH and 5CP maps such as Viaduct or Gullywash due to the popularity and viability of the Kritzkrieg on such maps.
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The Demoman is most traditionally part of the Highlander Combo, alongside the Medic, Heavy, and sometimes Pyro. When using the Ubercharge he will often lead the push. Depending on the situation, the Demoman may share the Uber with another class, or just take a solo uber. In a defensive situation, a team may forgo a Demoman Uber in favor of keeping the Pyro and Heavy alive to slow a push. If the Medic is using the Kritzkrieg, the Demoman is nearly always the primary recipient. A common practice is "Sticky Sniping", which has a Demoman charge up a sticky, then taking the Krits right before shooting the sticky into a crowd. If done correctly, the Critical Sticky will catch the enemy team off guard and secure a few picks or an Uber drop.
  
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Stickybomb traps, while not as useful as in less-organized formats (both due to the Pyro's air blast and metagame predictions of popular trap locations, such as outside BLU spawn on Upward), do allow the Demoman some defensive skill, especially as the mere threat of a trap can influence the movement and strategy of the opposing team. Through projectile spam or traps, a good Demoman can control choke points while causing long-range damage to the enemy. In a manner similar to the Heavy, the Demoman also exercises a large amount of area control; however, while the Heavy controls a certain area within range of his Minigun, a Demoman can control the movement of enemy classes between different areas, and can therefore force an opposing team into a much less strategic placement.
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Stickybomb traps, while not as useful as in less-organized formats, do provide the Demoman with an Area Denial and Picking tool. However, due to the the number of Area Denial and Picking classes that are always present in a Highlander game, this mechanic is not as useful as in 6v6. Sticky jumping however, is still a very potent tool for the Highlander Demoman. It allows the class to quickly respond to threats, act quickly off of advantages, and cover distance much faster than a majority of classes on the field.
  
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The Demoman is most accomplished at mid- and long-range combat, and thus is most readily opposed by classes such as the Scout and Pyro, both of which excel at close-range combat. The latter is especially dangerous to a Demoman, as the Pyro's airblast is capable of reflecting any one of the Demoman's projectile weapons. There are currently no hitscan weapons available for use by a Demoman. Close-range combat and overall survivability can be improved by the creation of a "Demoknight," most often through exchanging the Stickybomb Launcher for the Chargin' Targe or other similar tool alongside the use of the Eyelander or Scotsman's Skullcutter. However, this reduces the Demoman's utility on a Highlander team, as the resultant weapons set makes him most useful as a high-mortality pick class while simultaneously reducing the ability of a team to output high amounts of damage or to take down an Engineer's buildings.
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Some teams and players have experimented with playing Demoknight, which refers to playing Demoman with one of the shields equipped in place of his sticky launcher. This strategy is reliant on using a Targe Turning Script that allows a charging Demoknight to turn at a greater rate than what the game allows. The Demoknight results in a playstyle similar to a Roamer, which is centered around getting key picks. This playstyle has not yet been proven to be an effective alternative to vanilla Demoman. Nevertheless, use of Targe Turning Scripts is banned in most leagues.
  
 
== Primary ==
 
== Primary ==

Revision as of 23:00, 3 July 2013

The Demoman is the fourth class of Team Fortress 2, and is labelled as a "Defensive" class by Valve. However, due to the variety of projectile weapons available to him, a Demoman can be highly versatile, able to both lead offensive pushes or to defend a given area. His role comprises area denial, choke spamming and control, and crowd control. The blast radius of his weapons makes him a ready counter to the Engineer's buildings, while he himself is opposed by most close-combat classes. A good Demoman can hold off an entire team with well-timed and well-placed spam. On 5CP and KOTH maps, he is most often the first to arrive at the midfight due to the use of Stickybomb Jumps, which allow for a high mobility over long distances. He possesses both the highest DPS in the game (using the Stickybomb Launcher) and the third-highest hitpoints.

6v6

Main Article: Demoman (6v6)

In 6's, Demoman holds the primary role of dealing initial damage and crowd control. He makes sure the enemy never pushes into his team without taking damage and uses his spamming abilities to funnel the enemy team so they can be cleaned up by his teammates. He is also essential for defending as his sticky traps can get him easy kills and force the enemy to retreat, and his pill spam can easy chunk the enemy teams health if they are careless with their positioning. Demo is considered one of the harder roles in 6's due to his lack of mobility, causing him to have to consider his positioning carefully if he wishes to both not die quickly in a fight and still do substantial damage to the enemy.

Highlander

Main Article: Demoman (Highlander)

In Highlander, the Demoman's main job is dealing high amounts of damage. His weapons are great at dishing out large amounts of damage to crowds of players and slow, high HP targets. However he lacks the ability to reliably protect himself from close range threats (most often from the Scout), so he is often paired up with the Heavy and Medic to form the core of a Highlander team. He serves a similar role to his 6's counterpart of dealing damage and leading up uber pushes, but he is also expected to deal with sentry nests.

The Demoman is most traditionally part of the Highlander Combo, alongside the Medic, Heavy, and sometimes Pyro. When using the Ubercharge he will often lead the push. Depending on the situation, the Demoman may share the Uber with another class, or just take a solo uber. In a defensive situation, a team may forgo a Demoman Uber in favor of keeping the Pyro and Heavy alive to slow a push. If the Medic is using the Kritzkrieg, the Demoman is nearly always the primary recipient. A common practice is "Sticky Sniping", which has a Demoman charge up a sticky, then taking the Krits right before shooting the sticky into a crowd. If done correctly, the Critical Sticky will catch the enemy team off guard and secure a few picks or an Uber drop.

Stickybomb traps, while not as useful as in less-organized formats, do provide the Demoman with an Area Denial and Picking tool. However, due to the the number of Area Denial and Picking classes that are always present in a Highlander game, this mechanic is not as useful as in 6v6. Sticky jumping however, is still a very potent tool for the Highlander Demoman. It allows the class to quickly respond to threats, act quickly off of advantages, and cover distance much faster than a majority of classes on the field.

Some teams and players have experimented with playing Demoknight, which refers to playing Demoman with one of the shields equipped in place of his sticky launcher. This strategy is reliant on using a Targe Turning Script that allows a charging Demoknight to turn at a greater rate than what the game allows. The Demoknight results in a playstyle similar to a Roamer, which is centered around getting key picks. This playstyle has not yet been proven to be an effective alternative to vanilla Demoman. Nevertheless, use of Targe Turning Scripts is banned in most leagues.

Primary

Grenade Launcher

Recommended for medium to close range. A single grenade (or "pill") can do 102 damage when it is a direct hit. It can vary between 102 and 99 depending on how close of a direct hit the pill is. It is often used to spam chokes when the demo already has a sticky trap set up, and because pills are tangible they can roll across the ground if they have not hit someone directly before touching the wall or floor or ceiling (these are often called rollers). Rollers can do 35 to 70 damage depending on the distance from the person they are near.

Backpack Grenade Launcher.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? Yes
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Ali Baba's Wee Booties

The Ali Baba's Wee Booties increase the demoman's health from 175 to 200, allowing him to take more spam and survive for longer. Many demomen wear the item because their grenade aim is off or bad, or for kritzkrieg pushes in order to stay alive longer without invulnerability.

Backpack Ali Baba's Wee Booties.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Loch-n-Load

Most demomen do not use the Loch because of its required high-accuracy aim and also because of the heightened splash damage taken from a close range pill, but also because other players not hit by it do not take splash damage.

Backpack Loch-n-Load.png

ESEA 6s legal? No
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Loose Cannon

The Loose Cannon is rarely used in competitive, it lacks the damage potential of a grenade launcher both up close and at long range. The cannonballs do 16-48 splash damage after they hit the ground, compared to 22-64 of the grenade launcher.

Backpack Loose Cannon.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Secondary

Stickybomb Launcher

This is the most versatile weapon for the demoman, and almost all upper-level competitive demomen swear by it. It can be used for almost any range, from close to medium to far, because of its charging ability. A single stickybomb (mostly referred to as a "sticky") will do 135 damage maximum and 20 damage minimum depending on the distance of the enemy player. By holding down the left click button, the demoman can charge a sticky in order to fire it farther, proportional to the amount of time charged. Many use this for area denial by spamming long-range stickies through a choke point that is too long for pills to reach. It is also used to plant a "stickytrap", a small, packed together group of stickies on a wall outside of a choke point that is detonated when a team pushes through, dealing high amounts of damage. Some well-placed stickytraps can often go unseen and may even kill multiple enemies. It is also used for sticky-jumps, where the player places a sticky under their feet and detonates it to propel them in a certain direction at high-speeds. The minimum damage from a successful stickyjump a player can take is 45, and can do around 100 damage max (often resulting in a failed stickyjump.)

Backpack Stickybomb Launcher.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? Yes
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Sticky Jumper

The Sticky Jumper can be used in combination with the Ullapool Caber to attempt a pick on the medic or other important class. It is occasionally used as a way of flanking the other team. Usage of this weapon is typically in desperation to rush to the point, or simply "trolling" the other team.

Backpack Sticky Jumper.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Chargin' Targe

A very small portion of high-level players still use this, as it denies them the ability to arrive at midfights first and a fraction of the damage that they could do before, and with many new updates disabling some charge scripts, many find it harder to use without a clear path.

Backpack Chargin' Targe.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}


Splendid Screen

Splendid Screen info

Backpack Splendid Screen.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}


Scottish Resistance

ScoRes info

Backpack Scottish Resistance.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}


Melee

Bottle

Stock melee info

Backpack Bottle.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? Yes
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Pain Train

The Pain Train lets you cap at 2x speed, but gives you a 10% vulnerability to bullets. Many Demomen use the Pain Train in Stopwatch games on Offense to maximize cap time and therefore also their team's chances of having the faster time. 10% vulnerability to bullets effectively means that an unbuffed demo fighting a scout starts with 158 base hp instead of 175. This is a very small difference (and not enough to kill the demo in a single sniper headshot), so the weapon is generally considered a near upgrade.

Backpack Pain Train.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? Yes
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Ullapool Caber

Caber info

Backpack Ullapool Caber.png

ESEA 6s legal? No
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? Yes


Eyelander

Often used in combination with booties as the 25 health reduction is debilitating for some, the Eyelander has one of the largest melee ranges in the game. It grants an extra 15 health with each kill with it.

Backpack Eyelander.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}


Scotsman's Skullcutter

HEAVY AXE info

Backpack Scotsman's Skullcutter.png

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}


Claidheamh Mor

Claymore info

150px

ESEA 6s legal? Yes
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}


Persian Persuader

While the ammo to health conversion may help in some situations, it becomes impossible to use stickies to spam chokes as you quickly run out.

Backpack Persian Persuader.png

ESEA 6s legal? No
UGC HL legal? Yes
ETF2L 6s legal? No
ETF2L HL legal? {{{etf2l_hl_legal}}}
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