Class Guide: Soldier

[Mapex]

Soldier

Overview of the Class
This class is probably the most versatile class in the game. It performs well in both offense and defense, killing masses of enemies to either allow a Scout/Medic to capture a flag or to prevent an enemy from doing the same. It is fair to say it is the least specialized class for this reason, and thus it seems to be great at everything but gets beaten by other classes in their specialties. You won't see a Soldier capping flags as well as a Scout, or defending flags as well as an Engineer, or controlling an area as well as a Demoman or Pyro, but he does have the ability to do all of the above to a limited degree; the Soldier is a jack of all trades, and master of none.

Strengths
-Second Most Powerful Weapon Arsenal (after the HWGuy)
-Second Most Armor/Health (after the HWGuy)
-Second Most Powerful Damage Grenade Options (after the Demonman/HWGuy)
-Second Best Mobility Options (after Scout/Medic, tied with the Demoman)
-Unlike most other classes, playing a Soldier will almost always make sense no matter what the situation or map demands

Weaknesses
-Second Slowest Class (after the HWGuy)
-Very susceptible to Snipers given slow speed and big size
-Rocket aiming isn't easy to master
-Reload time on the Rocket Launcher allows Super Shotgun users to take you out easily if you can't aim rockets well enough


Weapon Details

Crowbar - Slot1
Your standard melee weapon. Don't hold this out ever, except to spy check, since usually a Soldier holding out his Crowbar will be mistaken for a Spy by his team. Also, very ineffective form of damage. Only use it if you are in melee range of a weakened enemy and you really don't want to waste your ammo to finish him or her off (which shouldn't be an issue anyway).

Shotgun - Slot2
Your basic single barrel shotgun. Solid weapon, but very situationally useful. It offers instant, long range damage which is great for initiating a fight as you try to close distance or to finish off a running or gren/conc jumping enemy.

Super Shotgun - Slot3
This is probably the most accessible weapon in the game, as over 50% of the classes have it. You will fight with and against this weapon all the time. It offers some solid short to medium range damage which a fairly short reload time. In close range, you can kill people with three blasts of this weapon. Usually its a good idea to combine this with your RPG Launcher and alternate between the two when you want to deal massive amounts of damage without wasting reload time. If an enemy gets thrown into the air from your rockets or if they are flying past you or are going up a ladder and you are chasing them, use this to weaken or kill him.

RPG Launcher - Slot5
The second most powerful weapon in the game. This machine will destroy an enemy or masses of enemies. You can use this tool to rocket jump to achieve greater heights or horizontal land speeds. Always use this weapon any time you have a chance, and always make sure you have it reloaded.

As with any solid weapon, there's a big drawback - rockets take time to travel. With that said, every single rocket you shoot counts. For each one you miss, your chances at winning a skirmish goes down by 25%. For rockets that hit your enemy dead-on, your chances at winning go up by 50%.

Since this is just an overview, I'll go into more rocketeering details further below, but in general try to aim for the legs of your enemy so if you don't hit them directly at least you can get some splash damage done to them. And always aim ahead of where your enemy will be. For enemies that bounce from your rockets, unless you are good or unless there's a wall nearby, don't shoot a rocket at the enemy in air - use your SSG.

Fragmentation Grenade - Gren1
Your standard frag grenade. Always, ALWAYS use this when you fight. You can easily restock on them, and one of these per high armored enemy (Demoman, Pyro, Soldier, HWGuy, hell even an SG) is more than enough when combined with your rockets to kill your foes. Don't waste these precious toys on the weaker classes if you can - let 2 rockets instagib those guys instead.

Nail Grenade - Gren2
Second in power to the MIRV Grenade, this can take out SGs almost as well. Never is it a guaranteed kill unless you aim and prime it properly, but the nails that shoot out from it hit anyone else in the area. It has a larger AoE radius than the MIRV grenade, but Demomen and Pyros are usually better at AoE anyway. Use this exclusively for clearing SGs and small groups of enemies in that order of priority from highest to lowest.


Rocket & Grenade Jumping
This is a Soldier specific guide, so I will leave grenade jumping tips out of this. But I will talk about Rocket Jumping and Rocket + Grenade jumping ones. Rocket jumping is simply done by aiming at the ground/wall and jumping as you fire a rocket. It propels you away from the blast, so turn to face the direction you want to move. Very great maneuver, albeit situationally useful. In some maps, priming a grenade, rocket jumping, then having the grenade explode in your hand in air helps you get to sniper battlements and other alternate entrances to the enemy's base to do some surprise attacks on the enemy. Use these tools as needed, especially to avoid enemy snipers. Usually the normal grenade jump works well enough, though.


RPG Launcher Aiming Tips
-When in close to medium range, try your best to hit your enemy dead on for massive damage. Two of these will destroy the weaker classes, three or four will decimate the other high armor (120+ armor) classes.

-When shooting your rockets, try to prime a grenade in such a way so that you can throw a grenade and fire a rocket simultaneously to do some massive burst damage to your enemy to help end fights quicker.

-Aim at the enemy's legs so if a direct hit misses at least you can do splash damage to them.

-A technique called "rocket juggling" involves successively bouncing your opponent into the air by hitting him at his feet. Rocket juggling can add falling damage to the enemy, decrease their ability to hit you, increase your ability to place them where you want them to go, and allow you to switch to your SSG and shoot them in air to do rocket-free damage for the sake of saving reloading times. Rocket juggling isn't easy to achieve or to master, but it is very worthwhile when your get your rocket aiming down.

Any other tips and suggestions I'll append to this guide when time permits. Enjoy.