The current Two Cities meta is popular because it works. It works with all differing skill levels and it can efficiently get through the missions without too many hiccups.

However, there has always been one glaring weakness that meta opponents will always snipe on (pardon the pun): The inefficiency of killing tanks in Rottenburg.

Before the release of Two Cities, it was standard to have a pyro on the team. One of his obvious strengths was dealing with the tanks efficiently. When Two Cities came out, the pyro was dumped from the meta and replaced with the Medic. There were no tanks in Manhattan and the tanks in Rottenburg were not as beefy as the tanks of the other maps. Then, with the invention of the 'Refund Upgrade' credit, people found their way around the 3 tank ending of Hamlet Hostility. They would make it meta to switch to pyro and deal with the tanks that way. Before the refund credit, you actually had to plan for later waves. You couldn't just switch to the hard-counter of the wave that was giving you difficulties.

With the new set up of Scout, Soldier, Demo, Engie, Heavy, Medic the weakness of that lineup was raw tank DPS.

I'd like to give brief explanations of who excels at killing tanks and then suggest some actual better strategies than the usual bad strategy of "Soldier and Demo go on the tank....always"

Let's talk about who is good at dealing a lot of damage to tanks

- Scout
- Beggar's Soldier
- Pyro
- Engineer
- Demoknight

I list these as top tier. I say this because I have personally solo'd the Wave 2 tanks in both Big Rock missions with the above classes.

Here's a quick reference chart made by Eye that shows different classes vs. tanks (although he doesn't list Demoknight)

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=409159123

- Scout should upgrade damage on his primary (preferably Soda Popper/FaN/Shortstop)
- Soldier should use Beggar's Bazooka for max DPS (non-beggars aren't bad, but nowhere near Beggars)
- Pyro uses Phlog for max DPS although Stock can still do a lot of damage
- Engineer uses either wrangled Lvl 3 sentry or lets sentry auto-aim while whacking tank with wrench
- Demoknight maxes out damage and swing speed (preferably on Skullcutter or Half-Zatoichi for max DPS)

Let's take a look at a youtube video that does some comparisons and see what conclusions we can draw


A few points:

• The big three win: Phlog pyro, Scout, Beggar's Soldier
  
  
• Look how low sticky demo places in the scheme of things. He barely beats Brass Beast heavy, despite the huge difference in upgrade costs
  
  
• Grenade Launcher requires quite a lot of cash for all of its upgrades to reach that DPS potential.
  
  
• He tested the Eyelander, which doesn't get any random crits (15% chance minimum). Demoknight (half zatoichi) is a little more reliable tankbuster through all waves than GL demo.
  
  
• Sentry places pretty well given how cheap it is to upgrade. The non-beggars soldiers beat it but there's a ~5k difference in cash spent.
  
  
• I say 5k difference because you only need 800 credits in wrench speed and 350 in 1 sentry firing speed upgrade. It's really really good early waves
  
  
• Soda Popper is actually a little more efficient than Shortstop. You can save 800 credits for equivalent DPS
  
  
• Bushwacka Sniper (not listed) has pretty decent tank DPS when paired with a buff banner soldier. By itself, the bushwacka with max swing speed is not a good tank buster. However, since it deals 3x damage when under the effects of a buff banner that catapults the bushwacka sniper up to a good tank buster when paired with buff solly for only 800 credits in swing speed.

=====================

Let's look at some quick references that talk about classes vs tank a little bit

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=341444284

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=276500045

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=456674967

Talks about Sentry Firing Speed upgrade bug. I normally only get 1 tick

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=426921713

Look at his final DPS comparison chart to see where wrangled Lvl 3 sentry places in the mix. I'm slowly working up to my point

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There are two points that I'd like to make that you should be able to accept.


STICKY DEMO SUCKS AT TAKING OUT THE TANK!

The only reason people even think he's good at killing the tank is because people see the initial drop in health from a crit sticky trap and think he's great at killing the tank. HE'S NOT. He has good burst damage but mediocre sustained damage


ENGINEER IS A BETTER TANK BUSTER THAN STICKY DEMO IS

Engineer is great at killing tanks. This is most obvious for Wave 2 tank of Bavarian Botbash since you don't have a whole lot of cash to max out everything yet. Engineer is cheap to reach full tank busting potential.

• If you're going to wrangle, that's 700 credits for 2 points of sentry firing speed.
  
• If you're going to do sentry+wrench hitting, then it's 800 credits for wrench speed and 350 for 1 point of sentry firing speed.

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Check the large red number on the bottom right of the screenshots


Equalizer


Half-Zatoichi


Bushwacka Sniper
- Buff banner won't be active the entire time in real game situations


Engie Wrench + Sentry
- Engie has to take time to reposition and refill sentry


Soda Popper


Shortstop

EDIT: As pointed out by reindeer-, the Panic Attack is pretty deadly under the right circumstances


Full HP Panic Attack


1 HP Panic Attack


1 HP Panic Attack + Sentry

Very Niche, but that DPS is intense under the right circumstances

For an example of how much burst damage that can do, here's me trying it out in a listen server for the first tank of Bone Shaker Wave 7. I used 3 crit canteens, which both makes the sentry fire at max speed and grants crits for the Panic Attack




18k damage by the time the tank enters into the tunnel

First let me preface this by saying that this is pretty moot if you have someone who truly knows what they're doing and upgrades accordingly.

- Beggar's Soldier who is built for Tank busting

• Max Reload Speed (750 credits), Max Damage (1600 credits). Tap fire away

- Phlog Pyro

• Max Flamethrower Damage (1600 credits).

- Damage Scout (Soda Popper)

• Max Damage (1600), Max Clip Size (1600)

The problem with those 3 is that they're pretty rare to see in a pub match. Most likely you're going to see a normal meta scout, no pyros, and a soldier using stock or black box instead. So let's look at some more practical solutions to this issue.

==============


Some players believe it's best that the entire team goes on the tank the entire time (including Scout, Engie, Heavy). If your players know what they're doing then yes it is a very good strategy to put everyone on it. You can usually destroy the tank shortly after it exits the tunnel this way and then everyone can regroup and hold the tunnel choke point and slowly move back in.


For the early wave tanks, the heavy has similar if not better DPS than the demo does. There's not enough money for a sticky demo to have decent tank DPS yet. The tank has -75% minigun resistance and yet the heavy is still better. This allows a crowd control class to stay up front and help the engie hold the front. It works...ok, but I happen to think there's a better option

There's a variation of this where the soldier/demo go on tank and then when the uber medics are dropping the heavy takes over on the tank while the demo goes up front. This requires some coordination that isn't normal in pubs.


In practice with different less experienced teammates, the engineer is going to be your best tank-buster. It makes sense to put your best tank-buster on the tank. It's the most true for the early wave tanks since the engineer has good, cheaply-upgraded DPS.

This is my preferred method. I've outdamaged every random that ever doubted how good an engineer is at killing the tank.

This allows the heavy/medic/demo to hold the front. The demo can take out uber medics and the heavy medic combo can finish off the rest. It works well.

The problem with it is you lose the powerful sentry on the frontlines. This isn't too big of a deal for the early wave tanks since there are long pauses between subwaves spawning.

I believe this is the most reliable method and the one that I practice


- Another possible is just to leave the sentry autofire on the front line while you follow and whack at the tank.


Most likely if someone is playing sniper in Rottenburg, he will be replacing the demo slot in the first place. The solly+sniper on the tank can work well, but only if the soldier is running with the buff banner. The bushwacka sniper is better at tank busting in this situation than a sticky demo would be.

However, I still prefer the engineer on the tank. The sniper is most efficient as a crowd controller with Explosive Headshots and it would work best if the sniper saved the 800 credits and spent it instead in his sniper rifle. But if you really needed to hard carry while playing sniper, jump on that tank with your bushwacka upgraded. There's a good chance you will outdamage even the non-beggars soldier.

So as stated earlier, there's 2 ways to do it

- Wrangle the sentry with 2 ticks of sentry firing speed. Wrangle it until you run out of ammo, reposition sentry, refill sentry, wrangle again, etc. This is very strong and very cheap (700 credits). However, it's annoying working through bullets that fast and having to constantly refill. I prefer the other method

- Let the sentry autofire and whack the tank with upgraded wrench speed. The DPS is about the same but will come out a little higher with random crits of stock wrench. Also, you don't have to constantly refill the sentry since you're letting it fire at it's non-wrangled rate and supplementing the damage by hitting the tank with your wrench. It's a bit costlier, but still cheap (800 for wrench speed, 350 for 1 tick sentry firing). You'll have enough money for Wave 2 Bavarian Botbash.


Both of these methods kind of need rescue ranger to be effective...otherwise it takes a longer time to reposition the sentry. In that video I double the damage of the soldier (who most believe is the best tank buster in that situation)

EDIT: Using the Panic Attack for tank busting is mostly a gimmick. I would not recommend actually spending cash into that weapon like that. Hitting with the wrench is actually practical because you're likely to upgrade the swing speed of the wrench normally. Spending 1950 credits (2700 if you max out ammo capacity) into Panic Attack for the one useful situation of tank busting isn't very practical overall. However, you can use it for the final wave tanks of both Bavarian Botbash and Hamlet Hostility for some quick bursts on the tank(s).

Even staying at max health, the Sentry + Panic Attack has the better burst DPS. However, since it'll eat through ammo fast and you'll have a harder time repositioning the sentry without the Rescue Ranger, you're probably going to break even with the other strategies.

Here's a few results from sending engineer as tank buster. You can decide for yourself if it's better than sending the demo on the tank

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=480290946

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=480291179

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=484148386
Yes, that's a scorch shot/phlog pyro


http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=484364696

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=484475558

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=484773873
Well...couldn't quite keep up with a proper beggar's soldier..but then again I did get run over -_-

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=496690873

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=500882397
Pyro was originally demo

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=501518041

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=501940869
This is with a full Scottish Resistance pre-crit Sticky trap giving a 5k damage headstart

=====EDIT=====
Here's some screenshots of sniper on the tank with bushwacka courtesy of goggles

http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487011857
http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487016287
http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=561912773
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In a lot of situations, engineer is a better choice.

..but maybe not all. Wave 4 Bavarian has those annoying demoknights. It's a little tough for demo/heavy/medic to hold that sometimes. The sentry autoaim is good for those fast moving guys. Sometimes I'll leave sentry for that wave.


Not exactly. It's been working for people for a lot of tours, ever since this new meta was established. But is it that meta method the most efficient? NOPE

Well, it's an uphill battle trying to change a deeply established meta. Most people doubt it straight off the bat and start insulting me whenever I suggest it. But the results are proof.

I hope you all have learned just a little bit from this guide. Thanks to all the people who made content that I linked to.

Feel free to discuss what you think about Rottenburg tanks in the comment section.

Thanks for reading and have a good day.