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DEFENSE - A GENERAL OVERVIEW

DEFENSE IS ALL ABOUT MAKING SURE THE ENEMY TEAM DOESN’T TOUCH SOMETHING. THAT SOMETHING IS SOMETIMES A CIRCLE ON THE GROUND, SOMETIMES IT’S A BRIEFCASE, SOMETIMES IT’S A BOMB. POINT IS, YOUR GOAL IS TO AVOID THE ENEMY TEAM TOUCHING YOUR THINGS. IDEALLY, THEY DON’T EVEN SEE THE THING THEY’RE TRYING TO TOUCH, LET ALONE GET TO IT. SO HOW DOES DEFENSE DO THAT? THEY KILL THE OFFENSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND TRY NOT TO DIE THEMSELVES. DEFENSE WANTS TO STAY ALIVE (BECAUSE THEY OFTEN HAVE A RESPAWN PENALTY COMPARED TO OFFENSE), AND THEY WANT TO DO MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE ENEMY. MOBILITY ISN’T AS MUCH OF AN ISSUE BECAUSE THE DEFENSIVE TEAM IS USUALLY CLOSER TO THE OBJECTIVE THAN THE OFFENSIVE TEAM IS, SO THEY CAN AFFORD TO TAKE SLOWER BUT MORE POWERFUL CLASS OPTIONS. HOWEVER, DEFENSE RUNS THE RISK OF STAGNANTLY CAMPING ONE TINY AREA INSTEAD OF BEING MORE MOBILE AND PROACTIVE, WHICH MEANS A SINGLE GOOD CLEAROUT WILL DESTROY THEM. WHILE PROTECTING THE ACTUAL OBJECTIVE IS IMPORTANT, IT SERVES THE TEAM BETTER TO HAVE TWO OR THREE LINES OF DEFENSE, NOT A MASSIVE CLUSTER IN ONE EASILY EXPLOSION-FILLED ROOM.

THE 9 CLASSES ON DEFENSE 

SCOUT - 0-1 PER TEAM: SCOUT CAN PULL SOME WEIGHT AS A FLANKER ON DEFENSE, HARASSING THE ENEMY TEAM AS A ROAMER AND TAKING OUT KEY MEMBERS OF THE ENEMY OFFENSE, SUCH AS MEDICS. SCOUT’S MOBILITY LETS HIM TAKE LONG, ALTERNATIVE ROUTES THAT THE ENEMY WILL LIKELY IGNORE, COMING OUT BEHIND THEM AND TAKING THEM OUT BEFORE THEY CAN THREATEN THE MAIN DEFENDERS AT THE OBJECTIVE. HOWEVER, SCOUT’S LOW HEALTH POOL MEANS THAT, IF HE NEEDS TO DEFEND THE OBJECTIVE DIRECTLY, HE’LL GENERALLY BE TAKEN OUT IMMEDIATELY. HIS DAMAGE IS SOLID ENOUGH TO TAKE OUT SINGLE TARGETS BUT HE HAS TROUBLE WITH LARGE ORGANIZED PUSHES, AS HIS SCATTERGUN’S DAMAGE IS PRETTY SHITTY AT RANGE OR OVER AN AREA, WHICH MAKES HIM ONLY SITUATIONALLY USEFUL. NOT THE WORST CLASS PICK, BUT YOU SHOULD BE READY TO SWITCH WHEN NEEDED.

SOLDIER - 2-5 PER TEAM: ALRIGHT, THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON I CAN EVER IMPART ON THIS BLOG: NO TEAM HAS TOO MANY SOLDIERS. SOLDIER IS INCREDIBLY VERSATILE, WITH THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE SELF-HEALING, TEAM-HEALING, CRITS, DAMAGE BLOCK, AND ALSO HUGE AREA DAMAGE. SOLDIER CAN DO PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING HIS TEAM NEEDS OF HIM, OFFENSIVELY OR DEFENSIVELY. WHEN A LARGE CROWD IS PUSHING THE OBJECTIVE? SOLDIER CAN CLEAN THEM OUT WITH HIS ROCKETS. TEAMMATES KEEP DYING MID-FIGHT? GRAB A CONCHEROR AND GIVE THEM ALL HEALTH STEAL, OR A BATTALION’S BACKUP AND GIVE THEM SOME MORE DURABILITY. NEED TO KILL FAST, AND ROCKETS TOO SLOW? GRAB SOME CRITS WITH THE BUFF BANNER. HE CAN EVEN USE THE DISCIPLINARY ACTION TO GET HIS SLOWEST ALLIES IN POSITION FASTER. HIS ROCKETJUMPING ALLOWS HIM TO MANEUVER INTO UNIQUE ANGLES OF ATTACK FOR DEFENDING AREAS AND OBJECTIVES, AND HE JUST GENERALLY IS A WELL-ROUNDED CLASS CHOICE IN PRETTY MUCH EVERY SITUATION. IF YOU’VE GOT NO IDEA WHAT TO PLAY, PLAY SOLDIER.

PYRO - 1-2 PER TEAM: PYRO, DESPITE BEING LISTED AS AN OFFENSE CLASS, IS USUALLY MORE USEFUL ON DEFENSE. AIRBLAST ALLOWS PYRO TO KNOCK ATTACKERS AWAY FROM IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES, AND SOMETIMES INTO INSTANT DEATH PITS DEPENDING ON THE MAP. IT ALSO IS ONE OF THE ONLY WAYS TO DEAL WITH AN UBERCHARGE - BLOWING THE MEDIC AWAY FROM HIS POCKET WILL SEVER THE HEALING BEAM AND THUS, MAKE THEM VULNERABLE. PYRO’S ABILITY TO CHECK FOR SPIES PREVENTS THEM FROM DISRUPTING A DEFENSIVE FORTIFICATION, AND PYRO ALSO CAN PLAY AN EFFECTIVE SHORT-RANGE AMBUSH PREDATOR, HIDING OUT IN AREAS THE ENEMY IS SURE TO TRAVEL THROUGH AND COMING UP BEHIND THEM WITH WEAPONS LIKE THE BACKBURNER OR THE GHOST OF THE PUFF-N-STING COMBO (MAY IT REST IN PEACE). PYRO’S DAMAGE ALSO ABSOLUTELY FUCKS A CROWD OF ENEMIES ON AN OBJECTIVE, SUCH AS CLUSTERED AROUND A PAYLOAD CART, BECAUSE IT’LL BURN EVERYONE AT ONCE. 

DEMOMAN - 1-3 PER TEAM: DEMONSTRATIONS MAN IS A DEFENSIVE CLASS BECAUSE HIS BOMBS ARE MEANT TO BE PLACED IN TRAPS, AND WHILE MOST DEMOMAN PLAYERS NOW SPAM THEIR STICKIES AS AIRBURST WEAPONS, SOME STILL FOLLOW THE WAYS OF OLDE AND PLACE TRAPS ON THE CAP.

BOTH OF THOSE ARE FUCKING STUPID OPTIONS.

ALRIGHT, AIRBURST SPAM IS GOOD, BUT IT’S A MORE OFFENSIVE OPTION, WHERE YOU WANT CONSTANT DAMAGE OUTPUT TO KEEP THE DEFENDERS FROM DOING THEIR SHIT. YOU WANT TO CROWDCLEAR ON DEFENSE, YOU SHOULD SWITCH TO YOUR PRIMARY AND SPAM. WHEN YOU ARE DEFENDING, YOU PLACE YOUR STICKIES IN TRAPS. BUT YOU DON’T BUILD YOUR TRAP ON THE CONTROL POINT! THAT’S VISIBLE AS HELL AND ALSO SUPER PREDICTABLE. DON’T BE A STUPID PIECE OF SHIT WHOSE TRAP WILL GET BLOWN AWAY BY A PYRO OR A ROCKET OR JUST SHOT AND DESTROYED, PLAY SNEAKY! PLACE TRAPS ON THE HIDDEN SIDE OF A CORNER THE ENEMY’S LIKELY TO TURN AROUND, OR ABOVE A DOOR THEY’RE GOING TO WALK THROUGH, SHIT LIKE THAT. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. THEN, WHEN THE ENEMY COMES IN WITH A LARGE GROUP PUSH, DETONATE THAT SHIT AND KILL THREE OR FOUR OF THEM AT ONCE, WHILE LEAVING ANY SURVIVORS VULNERABLE TO PIPES OR YOUR ALLIES’ GUNS OR WHATEVER.

HEAVY - 1-3 PER TEAM: HEAVY IS ANOTHER BIG DPS MAN, SIMILAR IN ROLE TO DEMOMAN OR ENGINEER IN THAT REGARD. HEAVY HAS THE “ADVANTAGE” OF BEING A HITSCAN CLASS, WHICH ALLOWS FOR MORE PRECISE AIMING AND GIVES HIM CLOSE-RANGE OPTIONS THAT DEMOMAN LACKS, AND CAN ACTUALLY WALK AROUND, UNLIKE A SENTRY GUN, WHICH KIND OF PAINTS HIM AS A MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD TYPE CHARACTER. HEAVY’S BEST ROLE IS CONSISTENT AREA DENIAL, WHERE HE CAN BASICALLY SPAM BULLETS DOWN WHATEVER WAY PEOPLE ARE COMING AND KEEP A HAIL OF BULLETS DOWN. THIS DIFFERS FROM DEMO’S “SINGLE-PUSH” STOPPING POWER, WHERE HEAVY IS MORE SUITED TO PICKING OFF THE RANDOM STRAGGLERS BETWEEN MAJOR PUSHES. THE TWO ACTUALLY FULFILL VERY COMPLIMENTARY ROLES, WITH HEAVY ALSO BEING ABLE TO PUSH BACK THE OFFENSE AND ALLOW DEMOMAN SOME MORE SPACE TO SET UP IN.

ENGINEER - 2-5 PER TEAM: ALRIGHT, FIRST OFF: YOU DO NOT NEED 5 ENGINEERS ON EVERY MAP. THE REASON WHY I GIVE SUCH A LARGE NUMBER AS 5 (BECAUSE HOLY SHIT, THAT IS A LOT) IS BECAUSE SOME MAPS ARE FUCKING HUGE AND REQUIRE MORE SENTRIES TO DEFEND THE OBJECTIVE, OR HAVE MULTIPLE POINTS TO DEFEND. THERE ARE ALSO SMALLER MAPS WHERE YOU DO NOT FUCKING NEED FIVE ENGINEERS I SWEAR TO GOD YOU TURTLING FUCKS I WILL END YOU. TOO MANY ENGINEERS LEADS TO A STAGNANT GAME WHERE IT TAKES THE OFFENSE TEAM FIVE TO TEN MINUTES TO REALIZE HOW UBERCHARGES WORK, THEN 30 SECONDS TO CLEAR OUT EVERY ENGINEER NEST WITH 2 DEMOS AND 2 MEDICS, AND THEN HAVE A SCOUT OR TWO PUSH THE CART AND WIN. EITHER THAT, OR IT WASTES FIFTEEN MINUTES OF YOUR TIME BEING THE MOST BORING AS SHIT GAMEPLAY EVER. FUCK TURTLING ENGINEERS.

ANYWAYS, WHAT ENGINEERS SHOULD BE DOING ON DEFENSE IS PLACING SENTRIES IN VARIED POSITIONS (NOT FUCKING CLUSTERED SO HELP ME GOD), WITH SYNERGISTIC SIGHT LINES THAT ALLOW THEM TO COVER EACH OTHER’S BLIND SPOTS AND ULTIMATELY, KEEP AS LARGE OF AN AREA AS POSSIBLE WITHIN SIGHT RANGE OF A SENTRY GUN. BEYOND THAT, SETTING UP DISPENSERS AT CORE DEFENSIVE POINTS THAT DON’T HAVE SENTRY GUNS OR DON’T FAVOUR SENTRY GUNS FOR WHATEVER REASON (LIKELY DUE TO THEIR PREDICTABILITY AND IMMOBILITY), SO THAT THEIR TEAMMATES CAN HOLD EVEN MORE GROUND FOR THE TEAM. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE TWO (OR MORE) SENTRY GUNS GUARDING YOUR POINT, AND ONE (OR MORE) ENGINEER/S KEEPING AN EYE ON THE SENTRIES (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, AS AN UNGUARDED SENTRY MIGHT AS WELL BE AN AFK HEAVY IF A SPY SHOWS UP), THE OTHER/S CAN BE SETTING UP A SMALL ENGINEER NEST (A TELEPORTER AND A DISPENSER, IN THIS CASE), WITH A LOYAL HEAVY OR, IF YOU REALLY HAVE ENOUGH ENGINEERS AND IT’S A GOOD POSITION, ***MAYBE*** A SENTRY KEEPING GUARD. ENGINEER IS A VERY TEAMWORK-ORIENTED CLASS, AND WHILE HE CAN DEFEND AN OBJECTIVE ON HIS OWN, HE WORKS BEST WHEN HE HAS FRIENDS TO COVER HIS WEAK POINTS.

MEDIC - 1-2 PER TEAM: IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU WHY MEDIC IS GOOD, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GO BACK TO PLAYING CS:GO. MEDIC’S WHOLE SCHTICK IS KEEPING PEOPLE ALIVE, WHICH IS REAL IMPORTANT WHILE ON DEFENSE, AS RESPAWN TIMES ARE LONGER AND DYING WHILE HOLDING A CAPTURE MEANS LOSING THAT CAPTURE, AND EVENTUALLY THE MATCH. MEDIC CAN ALSO USE HIS UBERCHARGES IN VARIOUS WAYS, DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION. KRITZ IS USUALLY MY PREFERRED UBER ON DEFENSE, BECAUSE IT FUCKING OBLITERATES ANY ATTEMPT TO PUSH UP AS A CROWD, ESPECIALLY ON A HEAVY WHOSE HITSCAN BULLETS ARE EASY TO AIM AND DON’T HAVE DAMAGE FALLOFF WHEN THEY’RE CRITTED. YOU CAN ALSO POP THE TAIL END OF A CRIT CHARGE ONTO A DEMO TO GIVE HIS TRAPS SOME EXTRA OOMPH, IF YOU’RE SO INCLINED - THE CRITS STAY ON THE BOMBS UNTIL THEY BLOW. INVULNERABILITY ALSO LETS YOU SURVIVE ANYTHING A PUSH CAN THROW AT YOU AND WIPE OUT AS MUCH OF THE ENEMY’S POWERCLASSES AS YOU CAN IN 8 SECONDS, WHICH IF YOU’RE UBERING A POWERCLASS YOURSELF SHOULD BE SEVERAL. THE OTHER MEDIGUNS... EHH. THEY EXIST, I GUESS. I DON’T USUALLY USE THE VACCINATOR BECAUSE I THINK IT’S HOT FUCKING GARBAGE, BUT THE QUICK-FIX IS NEAT, I GUESS? IT’S NOT TERRIBLY SUITED FOR DEFENDING, THOUGH.

SNIPER - 1 PER TEAM: SNIPER IS AN ASSASSIN CLASS AND HAS UNPARALLELED RANGE FOR FULFILLING THAT ROLE. YOUR GOAL AS SNIPER IS PRETTY MUCH TO KILL TWO MAIN TARGETS: MEDICS, BECAUSE THEIR UBERS COULD PUSH AND FUCK YOU OVER, SO YOU WANT TO AVOID THAT; AND ENEMY SNIPERS, BECAUSE THEY’LL KILL YOUR MEDIC AND/OR YOU, AND THAT’S A BAD. BEYOND THAT, PICK OFF DEMOS OR SOLDIERS OR WHOEVER THE ENEMY IS SENDING AT YOU, AND STAY MOBILE SO YOU DON’T GET FLANKED AND GANKED BY SCOUTS AND SPIES.

ALSO I SWEAR TO GOD IF I SEE MORE THAN ONE, MAYBE TWO SNIPERS ON A TEAM, I WILL GO ON MIC AND CUSS THEM ALL OUT IN EVERY FUCKING LANGUAGE I KNOW. SNIPERS ARE MEANT TO TAKE OUT A SMALL NUMBER OF TARGETS, THEY AREN’T SUITED TO HOLDING A CAPTURE POINT. THEY’RE LITERALLY ONLY USEFUL BECAUSE THEY MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEIR ALLIES TO HOLD A CAPTURE POINT BY TAKING OUT MEDICS AND SHIT TO KEEP THE ENEMY FROM OVERWHELMING THEM. A SNIPER CANNOT DO SHIT FOR DICK IN THE FACE OF AN ACTUAL GENUINE PUSH, HE CAN ONLY DO HIS BEST TO PREVENT IT.

SPY: 0-1 PER TEAM: SPY IS NEVER GOING TO BE A CLASS YOU **NEED** ONE OF AT ANY GIVEN TIME. HOWEVER, A SPY CAN BE USEFUL SITUATIONALLY. IF THE ENEMY TEAM IS CLUSTERING IN AN AREA AND GENERALLY FACING THE SAME WAY (SUCH AS A PAYLOAD CART), IT’S DEFINITELY POSSIBLE TO SCORE A SWEET CHAINSTAB! IF THE ENEMY HAS AN OFFENSIVE ENGINEER, IT’S DEFINITELY POSSIBLE TO FUCK HIS SHIT UP WITH SAPPERS! YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY COVER FOR YOUR SNIPER BY BACKSTABBING THE ENEMY MEDIC! BUT THAT WON’T **ALWAYS** HAPPEN. THE TRICK TO PLAYING DEFENSIVE SPY IS KNOWING WHEN YOU NEED TO SWITCH BACK TO A DIFFERENT CLASS. IF YOU SEE THAT YOUR ENEMY IS LEAVING THEMSELVES OPEN TO SPY A LOT - GO FOR IT! BUT DON’T INUNDATE WITH SPIES, BECAUSE THE MORE SPIES YOU HAVE, THE MORE THE ENEMY TEAM PREPARES FOR SPY; AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE MORE SPIES YOU HAVE, THE LESS PEOPLE YOU HAVE PROTECTING THE OBJECTIVE. GENERAL PLAYSTYLE, THOUGH, IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. SNEAK BEHIND THE ENEMY PUSH, RUN THROUGH MURDERIZING PEOPLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, RINSE AND REPEAT. IF YOU SEE MORE THAN MAYBE ONE PYRO, SWITCH CLASS IMMEDIATELY AND LET THEM BE PARANOID FOR A BIT.