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[EnigmaticHat]

Mmmh.

Actual serious heavy advice: bring the sandvich, bring the stock minigun (highest damage that isn't impractical and doesn't needlessly light you on fire), and fight at close range.  Most people don't realize this, but heavy isn't supposed to spam people at long range.  It "works" in the sense that if they stick around they'll die eventually, but it accomplishes very little and leaves you needlessly vulnerable to snipers.  Where heavy really shines is at close range where not only does the normal damage ramp-up apply, but almost all of your "cone" of fire is hitting the enemy.  Heavy is by far the most damaging class in the game in this situation, bar edge cases like backstabbing spies.  In most cases if you're spun up and next to an enemy, its not a fight, because you've already won and its all over but the screaming.

[Descan]

* Descan uses only stock heavy, consistently tops the leaderboard.

Pheasants.

[Spehss _]

heavy fighting at close range

I thought that was common sense not worth bringing up. Heavy has insane DPS at close range. All the fighter classes are better fighting up close than far away, except sniper. You get the most damage per shot, projectiles have shorter travel and therefore are easier to land direct hits, etc. Only downside is the enemy is more likely to hit you too.

[miauw62]

Technically, pyro has the highest DPS at point-blank range, IIRC. But even then, from my experience trying to circle-strafe heavies to death only works half of the time.

[JoshuaFH]

Actually Heavy has the highest point blank damage by far, around 500-540 Damage/second once fully revved up and at point blank range. There's been more than one occasion where I've been shooting at a revved up heavy's back, and he flicks around and kills me in a split second.
 
Pyro actually has the least damaging weapon for a primary of any power class at around 150 dps point blank. Phlog juice crits triples that to around 415 dps (since it has a damage penalty attached as well) but it still doesn't stack up to the ordinary damage a heavy is puttin out normally. The pyro's shotgun secondary actually has higher point blank dps if you land all your shots dead on, dealing 180 in two shots in about 1 second.

[MrRoboto75]

Problem is, the minigun's damage is reduced by half for the first second of firing.  So I could get the jump on somebody, but now they have a good bit more time to either focus me dead or get behind cover.  Its been around since the love and war update, but they since changed it so the accuracy nerf that went with it is mostly gone.

Scouts and Medics can escape easier. Pyros will just airblast and leave.  Soldiers and Demos will try to outdamage you and probably succeed.

[IcyTea31]

I think it's noteworthy that 'the combo' in the Highlander meta isn't heavy+medic, it's heavy+medic+pyro+demoman. The heavy's main job is to discourage opponents from rushing the demo down, not actually dealing much damage at medium range. That's the demo's job.

[miauw62]

Heavy's job is shield of bullets, demo is DPS and pyro is projectile shield (also spychecking and putting people out)

[KingofstarrySkies]

_{burning things is fun}

[Egan_BW]

That's what spies are for!
At least, most of the spies I fight...

[Calidovi]

Pyro, in my experience, excels in psychological combat. When you torch someone, you damage them initially and give them 10 seconds to panic and hope that afterburn doesn't kill them as they look for medkits. This has amazing potential to minimize the effect of a push, though still not as much on an effect as outrightly killing the opponents.

[Spehss _]

Pyro, in my experience, excels in psychological combat. When you torch someone, you damage them initially and give them 10 seconds to panic and hope that afterburn doesn't kill them as they look for medkits. This has amazing potential to minimize the effect of a push, though still not as much on an effect as outrightly killing the opponents.

A single medic on the team would put a stop to the whole panicking medkit thing in seconds.

[Calidovi]

Pyro, in my experience, excels in psychological combat. When you torch someone, you damage them initially and give them 10 seconds to panic and hope that afterburn doesn't kill them as they look for medkits. This has amazing potential to minimize the effect of a push, though still not as much on an effect as outrightly killing the opponents.

A single medic on the team would put a stop to the whole panicking medkit thing in seconds.

That Medic is still trying to heal every player while the team in general struggles, so, while the pyro may not be effective, his role is vaguely understandable.

[MrRoboto75]

Pyro, in my experience, excels in psychological combat. When you torch someone, you damage them initially and give them 10 seconds to panic and hope that afterburn doesn't kill them as they look for medkits. This has amazing potential to minimize the effect of a push, though still not as much on an effect as outrightly killing the opponents.

A single medic on the team would put a stop to the whole panicking medkit thing in seconds.

That Medic is still trying to heal every player while the team in general struggles, so, while the pyro may not be effective, his role is vaguely understandable.

I see afterburn as a way to burn resources.  Available health packs are one, but also possibly jar weapons and maybe even a sandvich.

That being said, it is still rarely lethal, albeit easy to apply.

[Calidovi]

Pyro, in my experience, excels in psychological combat. When you torch someone, you damage them initially and give them 10 seconds to panic and hope that afterburn doesn't kill them as they look for medkits. This has amazing potential to minimize the effect of a push, though still not as much on an effect as outrightly killing the opponents.

A single medic on the team would put a stop to the whole panicking medkit thing in seconds.

That Medic is still trying to heal every player while the team in general struggles, so, while the pyro may not be effective, his role is vaguely understandable.

I see afterburn as a way to burn resources.  Available health packs are one, but also possibly jar weapons and maybe even a sandvich.

That being said, it is still rarely lethal, albeit easy to apply.

Right. I don't see afterburn as being a direct punishment.