The most important defender

[Endiment]

There are many components to a solid defense. Having spent many of my best rounds defending point B of Gravelpit, I've seen some truly airtight defenses. But with all my careful observation and study, I can never figure out the one question: which class is the true core of defense?

Engineer: Engineer's ability to build sentry guns is one of the most important parts of defense. A machine of death bristling with guns and rockets, ready to shoot down anything it can get its ammunition on. It's practically indestructible when an Engineer with a dispenser is with it, due to the fact that coming within range is a death sentence. To quote the Heavy, "Engineer is credit to team!"

Demoman: If any of you have played Dustbowl stage 2 on Red team during what I call "'those' rounds", you'll understand why Demoman is so important. The ability to seal off thoroughfare and create chokepoints is vital to restricting the influx of enemy units and preventing an overwhelming rush. They also give fantastic suppressive fire by throwing pipe bombs around corners.

Pyro: There are many very nasty and very bad things a Spy can do to a seemingly solid defense. Have a pyro hang around with your engineers or by your control point and there's no way any spies will be wreaking any kind of havoc. Setting a pack of enemies on fire is not only a good way to soften them up for the rest of your units, but it also is a good way to force a retreat.

Those are my opinions. If you think Heavy, Medic, Scout, whatever is the core of defense then you're free to say that so long as you explain why.

 

[Bubbles(inactive)]

I agree with you. I mostly play pyro and engineer for those reasons. I love to stand by a dispenser and do a "flame turret" while an engi is trying to build up a sentry to 3rd level.

 

[Pizza Steve]

It depends on the map but having a medic or two to keep everyone alive and to help counter uber usually helps alot.

 

[The Big Herm]

Playing as a team is the key to defense, and I will explain why. Who is there when the sentry goes down? The demo man with his stickies. Who is there when the demo dies? The heavy and medic combo. The soldier with his crit rockets keeps everyone back and can be first line for the engy to get his gun up. Everyone has their role. Thats why their are classes. If there was one key class for defense, dont you think that they would allocate one class specifically for that?

 

[Nemo]

I think for gravelpit from my experience is a pyro/medic combo because they can uber and knock all 8 blue people off a point. On Dustbowl on the 1st level 2nd point, 2 good snipers can hold blue at bay as long as someone is there to keep the spies off their backs. Overall I'd agree with Woody. It seems many times teams overloock a medic on D and I think that is key. At least one.

 

[Barlim]

I have to agree with Herm here: any class is good for defense as long as the player works well with the other classes. A sentry gun will easily be taken out by a competent demoman if nobody takes him out or at least deters him. People complain about snipers only ever fighting other snipers, but who does a sniper shoot if there are no enemy snipers? Other players. Soldiers and demomen can use knockback to seperate ubered medics from their targets. Pyro surprise attacks can force medics to blow their ubers early. The list goes on.

 

[chrisbliss18]

I'm not sure who is the best since I only play Demoman. That said, I always feel complimented when an attacking team does nothing but try to kill me so that they can move forward.

 

[Moose]

I, too agree with Herm. The point of TF2 is that no one class is good at EVERYTHING. It's the combination that creates the defense. Bubbles' pyro isn't as effective without the engineer's dispenser, and the engineer is more susceptible to attack without the pyro watching his back. The heavy can still only go so far without the medic, and the medic needs a nice big meat shield to hide behind. Snipers - yes, even snipers - need someone to watch their backs. THIS is the key to an airtight defense.

 

[brex123]

I may be biased, but I believe that snipers play a very large part in defense as well as offense on open levels, such as ctf_convoy.

Snipers are the first units to be able to get a shot at the rushing onslaught coming towards them. Snipers can also cause some of the highest damage while being at a distance. Snipers can also get rid of enemy snipers which can be killing off your defenders.

Snipers do have their faults though, like any other unit. Since you are spending most of your time looking down a small tube, you are just an easy target for spies. That is why we need other units like the pyro checking all returning units.

 

[GTI-Steve]

yeah no 1 charecter will ever hold a point cause they all have thier weaknesses

really as a medic i have exploited them all if you think on 1v1 standpoint

v engie all i gotta do is nail him or his dispencer and his gun will be down that needlegun is good from a distance and im very very good with the angle 855 kills

v scout depends on how he wants to play if he chases i run him down a line of needles behind me, if he wants to bat i just hack his neck off 1 do hits theyr down and i use thier speed and mine to make them off time thier shots jolt funny directions when you see them runnin for the hit

and if they wanna try and out run me i gotta be quick and good shooting over htem with the gun

v demo is ez if you make it past the stickys except chrissbliss

v soldier is fairly easy to confus them by running then charging as they deplete thier ammo for the kill

v spy fairly ez once spotted keep shootin at them dont stand still long jump often

v pyro just get them chasin and lay needles into them if they switch to shotty get evasive you can outrun the flame

v heavy is hard but can be done, get them in the open and circle eraticly and pray for crits
get crits and dont miss they go down in a second flat, if they get turned aorund ez go for bonesaws from different sides every time only takes 6-8 hits lol but i like doing it

snipers again ez if you can get close good shots make you act like a skitzo to get near them or get creative use different paths keep it random


really though the eG vs eGO scrim proved how much a good offence is a great defence as they barly could get out the door and when they did 2 people would drop back and keep them in our base while the rest stayed up front keeping them there

 

[The Red Comet]

I'm not sure who would be key to a defense, since all the roles have some importance and some deficiencies. Engineers have trouble with spies, pyros have trouble with people at a distance, and everybody has trouble with ubered enemies. The best defense would probably be a well optimized and linked team of players supporting one another.

 

[Ephyu]

No one class is the key to a defense, but there are some classes you almost can't do without against a full team. If your team lacks skilled engineers, the enemy has the ability to freely run about in the open. A well placed sentry can deny an entire team entry to an area, and if you've noticed, most offensive pushes are centered around and focused on killing enineers and destroying their sentries. Rarely do you see a medic and heavy agreeing "Alright, I'll uber you, and you go around the corner and kill that demo."

Not that demomen aren't vital. If you've ever played with me on Gravel Pit, you'll notice I switch to demo whenever we fall back to point C. A single demo can be the reason that point never gets captured. Running up to a point, covering it in well-spread stickies, and then going back into the action chucking pipe bombs in every open door can be a major boost to defense. ANYTHING that slips by any other class will meet its end with a simple right click when you hear "The final control poi--" and the pipe bombs flying down tunnels or being launched at random in all directions are a huge psychological deterrant. The same goes for earlier in a match, when a demo can sticky up tunnels or choke points. "There's no way I'm going out there."

Pyros are incredibly useful on defense, especially against scouts and spies, and nothing throws a medic off his game like being set on fire. I tend to see pyros as kamikaze players. Low life expectancy, but the ability to cause massive damage and disorientation by just running into a crowd and lighting them all up. Even if you don't get a single kill, if you've managed to set everyone on fire, made the medic blow his uber, and made three people run away for health, you've done your job on slowing the enemy's offensive.

The final class I'd say it's difficult to do without would be a medic. Medics are overlooked as a defensive class, but that extra 100 health stacked on the heavies, soldiers, and pyros rushing to the front lines, or keeping the engineer or demo that just took a rocket to the face up so their defenses don't go to waste, makes a huge difference. Any time the medic can keep someone from running for health or having to wait on a respawn timer is time lost to the enemy.

 

[Flippy the Squirrel]

In order to drive the point further into the ground, I'm gonna agree with TheBigHerm and the spirit of most every other post here. If you have players who are skilled with a particular class, then they can be good defenders. The class with which I seem to screw up the least is Demoman, so I'm typically the best defender with that.

Another key component of a good defense is a strong offense. If you can't keep the enemy defending, then they're going to have more resources to throw at you. For instance, Engineers who gradually move up their buildings to match where the action is can establish lines of battle that define where the action will move. A strong Spy can keep their offense confused and unable to press forward effectively. A good soldier can throw rockets from a long way to make the enemy fearful of being in open areas. Oh, and while we're talking about open areas, don't forget Mr. Sniper.

The point is that all things must be integrated. If you understand how your enemy behaves, and where your team's strengths and weaknesses are, then you can dominate the server, no matter what the map.