An analysis of the effectiveness of the Fists of Steel

1. Fists of Steel V. Melee An analysis of the effectiveness of melee against the FoS

2. What is this? The purpose of this presentation is to analyze the effectiveness of melee attacks against a Fists-Of-Steel Heavy, as well as the effectiveness of the Heavy’s weapons for countering attacks. In order to simulate a real surprise attack, reaction time, weapon switch, and spin-up will be factored into the Heavy’s counter.

3. Key assumptions Time is measured on the x-axis in 1/10 second intervals. HP is on the y-axis. The average human reaction time is .2 seconds.* There is no weapon spread, and all rounds hit their target.** The heavy does not see nor react to the player until the first blow is landed. The weapon switch interval is .4 seconds (.2 for degreaser) . Numbers will be rounded to the nearest tenth to aid readability. *http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/stats.php **Numbers taken from wiki.teamfortress.com

4. Heavy Damage Output

5. Heavy Damage Anaylsis For everything except overhealedSoldiers and Heavies, the heavy should counter with the shotgun. With shotgun the heavy will kill: 125HP classes @ 1.4s Everything BUT Heavies, and overhealed 175+HP classes @ 2s Heavies and Overhealed Soldiers @ 2.6s Overhealed heavies take >3s With minigun: 125HP classes @ 1.9s Everything BUT Heavies, and overhealed 150+HP classes @ 2s Everything BUT Overhealed Heavies @ 2.1s

6. Stock Melee

7. Stock Analysis It takes 2.5s for the standard melee weapons to kill the heavy; under the given conditions. The attacker will likely be dead by this point. If the Heavy counters with a shotgun, Overhealed Heavies and Soldiers may be able melee the Heavy to death.

8. Special Melee The following slides will analyze these unlocks’ effectiveness: Equalizer Pyro unlocks Demoknight & Caber Sniper Unlocks

9. Equalizer v. Shotgun counter

10. Equalizer v. Minigun counter

11. Equalizer Analysis If the Soldier attacks while under 100HP and the Heavy decides to counter with a minigun, the soldier will win. In all other cases, the Heavy will be victorious.

12. Pyro

13. Pyro Analysis This data assumes the heavy reacts to the initial burn; If the Pyro is able to land the first axetinguisher blow before the heavy switches, the heavy will likely die before getting off a shot. The backscratcher should kill the Heavy, although the Pyro will suffer heavy damage.

14. Demoman

15. DemomanAlalysis A direct charge should instantly kill most Heavies. The caber will kill most Heavies; its ability to kill fully overhealed heavies likely depends on whether the Demoman is also using the sticky jumper.

16. Sniper

17. Sniper Analysis Jarate and the Bushwacka should kill a Heavy instantly. The kukri can kill a minigun-heavy, but will lose to the shotgun. This data assumes the heavy reacts to the first hit, not the jarate; if the Heavy reacts to the jarate, the kukri would likely fail while the Bushwacka should remain relatively unaffected.

18. Conclusions The Skullcutter (and backstabs) can 1-hit any FoS Heavy. The following can 1-hit non-overhealedFoS Heavies: Full Demoman charges, Ullapool Caber, Bushwacka + Jarate The following can 2-hit FoS Heavies: Equalizer @ 50HP (Heavy counters w/ minigun), Puff & Sting The following can 3-hit FoS Heavies: Equalizer @ 100HP (Heavy counters w/ minigun), Backscratcher, Jarate + Kukri For all other weapons, the Heavy will likely kill the attacker before they kill him. The Heavy is generally better off countering with the shotgun.

19. Potential Error These charts ignore two major in-game points: damage spread, and accuracy. Due to damage spread, it is possible for weaker melee weapons to kill the Heavy; conversely, weapons that should kill him may not deal enough damage in time. Unlike our hypothetical Heavy, most players do not have perfect aim. This means attackers, with a bit of strafing, may be able to dodge enough boolets to land a kill. For the Heavy, this may be incentive to use the easier-to-aim minigun over the more efficient shotgun. Reaction times may vary; slow or unaware Heavies may take long enough for attackers to land a second blow (don’t count on it).