How The Original Saved My Life

For the longest of times, I used to shy away from Soldier. I used to shy away from all non-Medic classes, only occasionally stepping out to play Pyro or, even more rarely, Engineer, because I felt that I was otherwise not contributing to my team. Keeping X alive is just as good as killing Y, right? Not really, if Y has just killed A, B, C and Z. My decision in maining Soldier was nothing more than me desperately needing to play a high damage, high health class because no one else on my team could be bothered.

Only problem is, I have crap aim. Like, really bad. There’s a reason why I still refuse to play Sniper no matter what, since I just cannot hit anything even with a fancy scope or anything like that. I don’t play Spy for a similar reason, but that might just be because every time I try to backstab, someone or something magically makes my victim turn around. So yes, when I first started playing Soldier on a regular basis, rockets flew everywhere but none of them ever hit their target. Or any target for that matter. I was certain that it was my aim that was screwing me over. I kinda put Soldier down and went back to playing Medic 24/7.

But slowly and surely, I found I needed to play heavier classes more. I simply can’t ‘carry’ games as a solo Medic. Alright, my syringe gun prediction and aim was pretty good, but a lone Medic can’t take a heavily guarded point on his own. I did try though.

It wasn’t until I started chatting with a friend about playing Soldier that I realised I hadn’t tried out the Original. My buddy said that they loved the Original. Yes, you lose out on corner-edging-shooting-around-stuff for one side, but you gain a slight advantage on the other side and rocket jumping is slightly easier. The rocket fires from the center of the screen too.  For most, that’s not a minor thing, but all of a sudden, I could aim! Well, almost. I still flail and fire rockets in a panic and I still miss stationary targets while moving, but I’m learning.

Turns out my getting better is actually noticeable now. And I’ve managed some awesome airshots at times.

If it wasn’t for the Original, I’d probably never have picked up and started maining Soldier ever again. It certainly makes a change from playing Medic.