Why Heavy?
While a large portion of the newer players may struggle to see the appeal in playing Medic, most of the older players feel the same about playing Heavy. A lot of people just see him as a glorified mobile Sentry and occasional Sandvich dispenser, or a tremendous waste of space on a team a full-time universal Sandvich dispenser and nothing else.
However, to me, Heavy is one of my go-to classes when a solid damage dealer is needed, perhaps more so to me than Soldier. I find that, while Soldier does have a much higher skill ceiling and is overall an extremely versatile class, Heavy has his strong points that sets him above Soldier and other damage classes for me.
The Heavy is one of the best classes available for pushing. Sure, he’s slower than a payload cart on Hightower, but he can clear out a crowd of enemies extremely quickly. No one will want to be in range of a large Russian man with a Minigun. His mere presence locks down an area and prevents people from moving in until he’s taken out. In most cases, it’s either they go away, or they’ll die. Or me. Either way, someone has to go, but at that moment no one’s coming in.
Heavy’s presence also draws attention to him. He’s large, he’s loud, and he has a Minigun that’ll shred you if you’re not careful. It is almost impossible to not notice a Heavy especially when he’s actively demanding your attention by sending bullets your way. Given that and Heavy’s aforementioned ability to create space, you have yourself a class that can control the flow of enemy players across the map. From the simple “stay away from the damn point” to the more advanced “draw everyone to the flank route while the rest of my team goes straight for the objective”, I can try my best to redirect the enemy flow to my team’s advantage by playing Heavy.
Aside from that, the Heavy is just plain reliable.
He can heal. He can bodyblock damage. He can chase those pesky Scouts, Pyros and bombing Soldiers away. There is a reason why new Medics tend to stick to Heavy. There is no other person on the team that is more reliable than Misha when it comes to getting things done and protecting people.
It is what I play to ensure that the team can be more of a cohesive whole rather than a jumble of randoms flying off in different directions. Often times, when I play a Heavy, a Medic will join me. Sooner or later, everyone else starts to come together and we march in as one and stomp all over the enemy team. Unless, of course, the other side gets their own Heavy and we’re back to equal footing again. Either way, having a Heavy is an advantage. At times, it almost felt as if I physically define where the frontline is. When I advance, the enemy team has no choice but to fall back. I dictate the movement of my enemies.
The Heavy forms the backbone of the team. He is what that holds the team together and carry them on his shoulders. In a public game, a Heavy may have as much impact as the Medic in the outcome of a match, and maybe even more. There is a reason why he is the face of Team Fortress 2. He is steadfast, powerful, and the biggest team player in the game.
Not to mention, there is nothing that brings me more joy than sneaking up on people as a giant Russian bear of a man and killing half the enemy team where they least expect it. The joy of playing a lone Heavy is rather different from a team Heavy. You use every bit of cunning you have to get around the map, and wreak havoc on the multitude of screaming, whimpering baby men as they tried to run away from the rampaging giant that just appeared out of nowhere.
I play Heavy as a team member to be the backbone of the team. I play a solo Heavy for the thrill of the hunt. All in all, I play Heavy for the raw power he possess.
