How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

[TTHREAZ]

I'm pretty terribad at Scout melee so I use the Sandman as a third projectile source.

[TheCarpe]

I shake my head every time I see a Scout with those telltale Bonk! streaks. I simply cannot understand the value of the item. For one thing it requires you to give up your Pistol, a horrible thing for a Scatter/FaN Scout to be without. For another, 90% of the time when I see a Bonk Scout, he gets cornered or chased or airblasted or whatever and dies within two seconds of becoming vulnerable again. I've never seen a Scout successfully distract a Sentry while another team member destroyed it, and the only valid time I see it's use is getting behind the enemy, but even my love for harassing the enemy behind the lines isn't enough to make me give up my beloved Pistol.

[TTHREAZ]

I've been able to do the sentry distraction tactic once before. It's a highly specific scenario, though. It's not enough to make me give up mi pistola.

I'll stick with my Sandman lead, pistol volley and scatter finish.

[Fano]

I shake my head every time I see a Scout with those telltale Bonk! streaks. I simply cannot understand the value of the item. For one thing it requires you to give up your Pistol, a horrible thing for a Scatter/FaN Scout to be without. For another, 90% of the time when I see a Bonk Scout, he gets cornered or chased or airblasted or whatever and dies within two seconds of becoming vulnerable again. I've never seen a Scout successfully distract a Sentry while another team member destroyed it, and the only valid time I see it's use is getting behind the enemy, but even my love for harassing the enemy behind the lines isn't enough to make me give up my beloved Pistol.

the pistol is clearly the better weapon for a lot of situations but the BONK certainly has its situational uses. You see it in 6v6 all the time, and I personally prefer to equip it on maps like turbine where there's bound to be a sentry guarding the objective.

also, shortstop + critacola is highly popular on some of the servers I frequent, it's dangerously effective.

[TheCarpe]

the pistol is clearly the better weapon for a lot of situations but the BONK certainly has its situational uses. You see it in 6v6 all the time, and I personally prefer to equip it on maps like turbine where there's bound to be a sentry guarding the objective.

also, shortstop + critacola is highly popular on some of the servers I frequent, it's dangerously effective.

I get that, but still. I always see Scouts get wrecked whenever they Bonk in somewhere because the enemy knows they just have to outlast the invulnerability and then tear him limb from limb. Even your example of Bonking past a Sentry on Turbine, what do you do when it wears off? The Sentry is still going to shoot you, or you're going to be stranded.

[NoahTheBoa]

If you're gonna use Bonk! you need to make sure you organize it so a demo or two can follow you in and take out a gun. It's only use is distracting sentries and it is good for that, but you need an organized push.

[Flaming Cheese Wheel]

If you're gonna use Bonk! you need to make sure you organize it so a demo or two can follow you in and take out a gun. It's only use is distracting sentries and it is good for that, but you need an organized push.

This. If your team isn't prepared to follow you on a Bonk run for sentry distraction, you might as well not use it.

The other occasional use for it is to blow past the front line relatively intact (especially since you can now still move immediately after it wears off) and continue on into the backfield, for the purpose of getting teles and stragglers. That is, of course, also highly situational.

[Fano]

of course it's going to require some teamwork for it to be useful. it's one of those items that's pretty situational, you shouldn't be using it 100% of the time, just switch to it when the situation calls for it.

that doesn't mean that it's not a good sidegrade.

[One_Medic_Army]

I shake my head every time I see a Scout with those telltale Bonk! streaks. I simply cannot understand the value of the item. For one thing it requires you to give up your Pistol, a horrible thing for a Scatter/FaN Scout to be without. For another, 90% of the time when I see a Bonk Scout, he gets cornered or chased or airblasted or whatever and dies within two seconds of becoming vulnerable again. I've never seen a Scout successfully distract a Sentry while another team member destroyed it, and the only valid time I see it's use is getting behind the enemy, but even my love for harassing the enemy behind the lines isn't enough to make me give up my beloved Pistol.

I use bonk for getting to int after someone else has already gotten it out of the room.
Also I find it useful in conjunction with the boston basher, as drinking bonk will stop you from taking bleed damage.

[l33tOMGlolz!11!shift]

I shake my head every time I see a Scout with those telltale Bonk! streaks. I simply cannot understand the value of the item. For one thing it requires you to give up your Pistol, a horrible thing for a Scatter/FaN Scout to be without. For another, 90% of the time when I see a Bonk Scout, he gets cornered or chased or airblasted or whatever and dies within two seconds of becoming vulnerable again. I've never seen a Scout successfully distract a Sentry while another team member destroyed it, and the only valid time I see it's use is getting behind the enemy, but even my love for harassing the enemy behind the lines isn't enough to make me give up my beloved Pistol.

I use it full time. I've done the sentry thing many times. It just requires you to tell the team you're going in. Heck I've even killed the thing myself. If it's just you and the engineer you can literally get close to the sentry, strafe around it and then melee it dead without it ever hitting you. Engineers don't like bonk scouts strafing around the sentry as it generally means the sentry is also shooting the engineer. Once or twice I've killed the engie that way and then took out the sentry afterwards.

Getting behind ememy lines is huge even if you don't make it. Invariably you have 2 or 3 people that are being pulled away from the front line. Doing this with the right timing lets your team roll over the point when some of the team was moving/looking backwards. If you do make it (I'm guessing 40-50% of the time) it's bye bye teleporters. Either way you are helping your team by providing distraction.

Lastly, I use bonk to keep myself from burning alive. Sometimes you finish a fight the victor but are on fire and close to death. Bonk up and the fire wears off before the bonk does. No death.

Invulnerability is nothing to sneeze at if you use it accordingly.

[l33tOMGlolz!11!shift]

Oh and one more strategic use for Bonk:

I've also used the sentry itself to get me past the entire team. Just have to time your jumping and let it launch you past the fight out of harms way.

[One_Medic_Army]

If I'm remembering right once or twice I've body-blocked an uber using bonk.
Theoretically you could also stand in front of your team and absorb damage from a kritz or w/e the same way. (as I try to do as medic using uber)

[Tungsten]

Question: How exactly do you use the Krit-a-Cola? The mini-crits for mini-crits seems a bit...not worth it.

Also, I would like to say that I enjoy the Fan-of-War.

[Maj.GHOB]

As a HW, my load out is fairly dependent on the new items.

GHOB's Dreaded Minigun:
This is the standard Minigun with special qualities and no I will not trade it

GHOB's Gourmet Sandwich:
A very handy little sandwich. I use it mostly to help medics or if I'm really stuck myself. I never eat it directly but rather throw it, even if I'm going to be using it myself.

GHOB's Uber Speed Mittens:
This is by far my favorite HW items aside from the Minigun obviously. It effectively eliminates one of the HWs primary problems: slow speed. This is your standard G.R.U. (Gloves of Running Urgently). Not only does it help build up Ubers faster but it also allows me to get into my desired killing position much more quickly. I honestly think that this item is really unbalanced in the right hands. But maybe I should shut up cause I don't want Valve to change it

[Cpt._Keyes]

nope...i never use the caber, loch n load and targe....never...all stock here