Thoughts on a Heavy Update, from a Medic’s Point of View
Editor’s note: This article was written way before Valve decided to subtly change some text, indicating that the summer update was not a real update, just another cosmetic one. So feel free to take all of this with a pinch of salt since it’s no longer going to happen. Heavy is never going to get an actual update or anything.
The fact that there’s a potential update this summer has really got me back into think about Team Fortress 2. While I haven’t opened the game in a month, I’ve been browsing the Steam Workshop and doing a lot of theory-crafting. After all, Team Fortress 2 is what got me into gaming properly and properly taught me how to play shooter games. Sure, Left 4 Dead came first, but Team Fortress 2 is what really got me going. It’s also where I found a lot of my friends on Steam and on Discord.
But anyway, I’ve been thinking a little too much about this update. And secretly hoping it will contain at least a little bit of a Heavy Weapons Guy update as well.
Heavy has always been an awkward class. In a casual sever, a Heavy main will easily mow down the other team, even without a Medic to help them. But as skill levels rise, Heavy doesn’t do less damage, but is simply too slow to be effective. In competitive play, Heavies are generally left until the end of a match, hoping to hold up a last ditch attempt to defend. While Heavy can and is pretty strong, his lack of any sort of speed keeps him on the sidelines. Rollouts are one of the most important parts of a competitive match, getting to that control point first is absolutely vital, but Heavy is simply too slow. And to make matters worse, the only speed Heavy does get, it’s either banned or too heavily nerfed to use.
From a Medic’s point of view, what else can Heavy even really do? Heavies are already very nice healing targets, and a good Heavy will happily protect even a potato Medic. Unlike Soldiers and Demomen, Heavy can heal an injured Medic and keep a Medic alive. But Soldiers and Demomen are so much faster and are way better at dealing with threats like sentry guns. And a quick airblast from a Pyro, or knock back from rockets and grenades, can screw over a Heavy Medic combo with ease. In competitive play, even a Scout can take on a Heavy simply because Scouts move that much faster and more erratically, easily dodging Heavy’s boolets.
The problem is, what can we do with a Heavy Weapons Guy is very limited. It’s very easy to accidentally push him too far. A good Heavy can dominate the playing field, especially if they have a Medic. Assuming you have a team to back you up. Heavy needs to be on the front lines, ready to rev up and fight. But Heavy is also expected to be a tank and a damage dealer at the same time, wearing a massive “KILL ME” sign on his back. Sure, he can heal himself, but that puts Heavy at a massive risk, having to sit through an animation every time you do need healing. Meanwhile, speedier classes can just go for medpacks.
In my eyes, someone who has played with lots of different Heavies over the years (although not so much recently), Heavy is a wall to hide behind, but also making us the centre of attention. I’d love Heavy to get a few buffs, maybe a small increase in walking speed or something. But buffing Heavy has to be done insanely carefully, to make him suitable for both casual and competitive play.
Not that any of this matters. Heavy isn’t going to get an update. Valve just won’t do it, not when they can instead just add more hats and cosmetics into the game…