The heavy as everyone who even knows of TF2 is for all intents and purposes the tank class,capable of taking in lots of damage and dishing out just as much as he gets. This guide will explain what to and not to do as heavy to be valuable to your team along with loadouts for some of the situations you'll encounter.

The Basics

The heavy is more often than not everyones prefered class on Team Fortess 2,starting with a minigun,a shotgun and his fists. He is actually one of the weaker assault classes with the miniguns bullets only doing from 1-7 points of damage depending on the range from his target. He is slow and often accompanied by a medic as he is a prime healing target due to his large size.

In the following sections we will be covering the various weapons the heavy can use

• The Minigun
  
  The heavies minigun is his starting weapon with no positive or negative side affects and does a moderate amount of damage depending on the range.
  
  
• The Tomislav
  
  One of the heavies other miniguns featuring bonuses and negative effects as well. The Tomislav features two bonuses to its one negative effect. The bonuses yielded by this minigun include a 10% faster spin up time allowing the heavy to prepare his minigun for combat faster than the stock. It also features the silent killer bonus which produces no sound when the heavy spins up his minigun,this is great for heavies going for a surprise attack on the other team however it also comes with a 20% slower firing speed which limits how quickly you can get those much needed hits in so it's best to get the drop in on your opponent with this gun.
  
  
• The Iron Curtain
  
  Nothing much to say about this minigun,it is an achievment item you recieve by beating the heavy in Poker Night at the Inventory when he bets it against you. It boasts no effects either way and only has a different appearence than the stock minigun
  
  
• The Brass Beast
  
  A favored minigun among seasoned heavies (myself included). This minigun is tricky to use if you are new to heavy as it has two negative effects and only one positive. The Brass Beast does boast a 20% damage increase which makes it invaluable when dealing with those pesky enemies that just wont leave you alone. Unfortunately this minigun has a 50% slower spin up time than the stock minigun making you a much more open target against those speedy scouts or really anything that can get the drop on you. It also yields a 60% slower movement speed when the Brass Beast is actively being spun up making it very easy for snipers to get a headshot on you. Brass Beasts heavies are usually found playing defense while sitting next to a dispenser or are accompanied by a medic since they can deal more damage than a heavy with any other minigun.
  
  
• Natascha
  
  The Natascha is one of the heavies more balanced miniguns (OP as claimed by some) sporting two positive effects as well as two negative. Starting with it's negative effect since people usually prefer the bad news first,this is by far the heavies weakest minigun with a 30% slower spin up time similar to that of the Brass beast and you guessed it a 25% damage penalty,dont worry though since it still fires just as fast as the BB or the stock. Moving on to its benefits,the Natascha has a 100% chance to slow targets down on hit which is great for dealing with those annoying scouts that zip around your head since it makes them an easier target. It also features an additional 50% ammo making it the minigun with the longest constant firing time and can give you the advantage over that other heavy that just didnt have enough bullets to kill you.
  
  
• The Huo-Long Heater
  
  The Huo-Long Heater like the BB is often used by more experienced heavies who have been around the block a few times. Featuring only two effects,one positive and one negative the Huo-Long Heater can either be your best friend or your worst enemy depending on how you use it. Since both its effects go hand in hand i'll be covering them both at once,the HLH sports a feature that none of the other miniguns have,a ring of fire. This ring of fire is great if you're being an engie buddy and spy checking for him as any spy that steps into its range becomes engulfed in flames irregardless of whether they are disguised or cloaked and most spies will run for the hills once set ablaze. While this perk is all well and good this ring of fire eats up 6 bullets every second the minigun is spun up or actively being fired which can consume your ammo VERY quickly so always make sure you can find a dispenser or an ammo pack quickly if you start to run low.

The heavy actually features seven different secondary items but for eases sake we're going to sum this up

• The Shotgun
  
  This is the heavies starting secondary weapon and is more often than not one of his more useful ones for those who see its value. Like the stock minigun it features no positive or negative side effects and is a great weapon no matter how long you've been playing.
  
  
• The Family Business
  
  The Family Business is for those heavies that want to get as many shots out as they can before they die. Featuring a 33% larger clip size than the stock shotgun the FB (no,not facebook) gives you a little more bang for your buck so to speak for when you have someone ripe for the killing but need just that one extra shot to do them in (And trust me,i think we've all been in that situation where your nemesis got to a healthpack and maybe even killed you all because you had to take that moment to reload) This extra ammo is not without its downsides though as it also has a 15% damage penalty which means you still have to make every bullet count.
  
  
• The Sandvich/Festive Sandvich/Fishcake
  
  These are the heavies best friend when he isnt using the shotgun as they can restore a great deal of his health and are best used when there is a lull in the action since they do take a few seconds to consume. Aside from being eaten by the heavy to regain health it can also be thrown onto the ground like a portable health kit that can be picked up by a team mate,restoring their health and extinguishing them in the event that they're on fire. Beware though,these food items are not team specific and if your intended team mate doesnt get to it in time can and will be picked up by an enemy.
  
  
• The Buffalo Steak Sandvich
  
  This sandvich is vastly different from the ones mentioned above as it does not restore the heavies health when eaten but instead gives the heavy mini crits for a short time. (Now i know you all are thinking "mini crits from food? OH BOY! now i can take out that sentry nest on my own right?" WRONG! While the BFS does grant the heavy mini crits after being eaten it restricts him to only his melee weapons for the duration of the crits. Now this isnt entirely a bad thing as you can go from mini crits to full crits very easily when combined with the Killing Gloves of Boxing which we will cover in the melee section
  
  
• The Dalokhos Bar
  
  The Dalokhos Bar is in a league all its own with no negative side effects with the exception of being best used while at full health. This secondary item grants the heavy and additional 50 HP for 30 seconds allowing him to take just that little bit of extra damage which pushing a point and while not listed in its attributes also doubles as a health restore if the heavy has taken damage.

• Fists
  
  The heavies stock melee weapon,you punch people enough and they die,what could be simpler?
  
  
• The Killing Gloves of Boxing (KGB)
  
  The KGB is a god send to those heavies favoring the old one-two punch. These gloves have a 20% slower firing speed but if you manage to get a kill with them they give you a whopping 100% chance to crit with every punch for five seconds
  
  
• Glove of Running Urgently (GRU)
  
  The GRU is likely the worst melee weapon the heavy can use unless he has to get somewhere in a hurry as these flaming gloves give me a 30% increase in his movement speed and like any weapon has to have some side effects. While the GRU are equipped and for a short time after swapping them out for either your primary or secondary weapon you are marked for death and thus any damage recieved is recieved as mini-crits so only use these if you're in a mad hurry to get to a point and there's nobody in your way. The GRU also suffers a 25% damage penalty so don't expect to be punching your way out of the enemy base.
  
  
• The Eviction Notice
  
  Probably the second worst melee weapon the heavy can use if not worse than the GRU,the eviction notice grants the heavy a 50% boost in his attack speed at the crushing expense of a 60% damage penalty so while you can hit fast,you may as well be flicking that other heavy in the nose as he's just going to get mad,that or laugh at your attempts
  
  
• The Warriors Spirit
  
  One of the heavies better melee weapons and can be quite powerful in the right hands. These gloves offer the heavy a 30% damage bonus,letting him hit like a big shaved bear that hates people at the small expense of a -20 to the heavies max health leaving him at about the HP of an overhealed soldier.
  
  
• The Fists of Steel
  
  The tanking heavies melee weapon of choice,these titanium gauntlets grant no reductions to damage or firing speed and grant the heavy a 40% resistance to ranged weapons (we're not sure if this includes rockets and grenades or just bullets) and allows him to easily punch the lights out of most would be attackers. It still however has two flaws,both of which can prove fatal to a bad heavy. The FoS have a 20% longer weapon switch which leaves you open to ranged attackers even with the resistence. It's most fatal flaw while making the heavy almost impervious to attacks is taking double the melee damage he normally would had he not been using them. Watch out for crits.
  
  
• The Holiday Punch
  
  Likely heavies most laughable melee weapon (literally), The Holiday Punch is a set of team colored mittens that do the same amount of damage as the stock fists do,where these fluffy gloves of death differ from the fists is that upon a critical hit the enemy hit by it laughs as if they were using the Schadenfreude,making them very easy targets for taunt kills or for your team. Always criting from behind this makes the seldom stealthy heavy a key asset for taking point when the other team is too busy laughing at the heavies poor choice in fashion to notice at little dot between their eyes

What makes a heavy bad?

There are many things that can make a heavy bad,(some of you may disagree with these but this is based off of what i have seen personally) and i will be discussing some of the major things that make a bad heavy

• Spray and Pray
  
  What i find to be one of the most annoying things about bad heavies is their incessant need to shoot everything that moves and everything that doesnt. Spray and Pray heavies are more often than not new to TF2 and expect to hit something every time they shoot or are simply trolls wanting to make the game difficult for their team.
  
  
• Medic Hogs
  
  THE MOST ANNOYING HEAVY EVER! Medic hog heavies will 9/10 times use a medics desire to heal what most assume to be the class that deals the most damage even when they still have lots of HP or are even at full HP,the medic will more often than not seek out the heavy to heal him,leaving their team to face the other team on their own. Don't be the D-bag with the medi-gun shoved up your ass, man up and actually take on the other team and call for medic when you NEED him.
  
  
• Friendly Heavies
  
  Friendly heavies arent really annoying since they don't exactly harm your team but they sure as hell don't help them either. Friendly heavies can usually been seen wandering around the battlefield perma-crouched with either a sandvich in their hand or the Holiday Punch. These guys can't fight and won't fight making them nothing more than a waste of a server slot. Friendly heavies will usually get killed because people simply just don't trust them but they'll just keep coming back to be your pal with sandvich in hand although sometimes if you kill them enough you can get them into actually playing the game or they just wimp out and rage quit.
  
  
• Melee Heavies
  
  This one should be pretty self explanatory,melee heavies are those heavies that desire nothing more than to beat your face in with their bare hands and will use nothing else until your skull caves in,these guys are really easy to take down since they just flat out won't shoot back.

• Patient Heavies
  
  Unlike the spray and pray heavy the patient heavy knows when and where to let all that hot lead loose on the enemy team and will not just charge into the other base without knowing what's inside. Patient heavies are usually players who have been playing TF2 for at least a few months and have learned the ropes of the game
  
  
• Team Players
  
  These guys are the cream of the crop when you start getting into good heavies and good players in general,Team players will often call for a medic only when they need to be healed or are making a push into a point or sentry nest. These guys know when to run with the medic or tell him to heal somebody else. Make sure you give this guy some props if you see a heavy telling a medic to attach his medigun to someone else.
  
  
• Versatile Heavies
  
  These guys have heavy down to a science,knowing when to push,fall back,call for a medic or change weapons. These heavies will sometimes even go so far as to change classes if they find the team is lacking in another department