How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

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How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by --HaDeS-- » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:28 pm

So yesterday I was looking through my load-out for all 9 classes and it made me realize how little I use the sidegraded weapons.

People spend so much time trying to craft/trade/find all of the new weapons when they come out and I'm curious to see how much they actually get used here at The Ville.

Since loadouts differ due to different maps and game types, just assume you were going to play a Stock 5CP map (besides Gravelpit). Which sidegrades would you use for your main classes?

For example (my list):

Soldier: Equalizer
Demo: None
Medic: Ubersaw
New York Rangers: Offseason

New York Giants: Offseason

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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by TTHREAZ » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:33 pm

As far as play time on the classes is concerned, my top 3 look like the following:

Scout: Sandman
Demo: Pain Train
Soldier: Pain Train

That's it.

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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by TheCarpe » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:37 pm

Things can change in my loadout depending on certain aspects of the game but my usual loadout is:
VIEW CONTENT:
Scout:
Force-A-Nature
Lugermorph
Sandman

Soldier:
Rocket Launcher
Buff Banner
Equalizer

Pyro:
Degreaser
Shotgun
Fire Axe

Demoman:
Grenade Launcher
Chargin' Targe
Frying Pan (Though I use them all)

Heavy:
Natascha
Sandvich
Warrior's Spirit

Engineer:
Frontier Justice
Lugermorph
Southern Hospitality

Sniper:

Rifle/Huntsman/Sydney Sleeper (I rotate through them pretty evenly, though the edge might have to go to the Huntsman)
Jarate
Bushwacka

Medic:

Syringe Gun
Kritz/Medigun
Vita-Saw

Spy:

Ambassador
Cloak and Dagger
Knife
So yeah, I use quite a few of the sidegrades.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Tungsten » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:40 pm

Scout: Sandman, Mad Milk and Firebat.
Soldier: Frying Pan and occasionally the Black Box; I did try out the various banners, but I never seemed to stay alive long enough to use them. Plus the Battalion Backup has that horrible lingering, glowing circle bug.
Pyro: Volcano Axe, Homewrecker and Degreaser. Sometime I use the Backburner, but only when I know I can get a good flank.
Spy: I usually have L'etranger equipped all the time, and I switch between all the knives and watches regularly.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by TheCarpe » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:46 pm

Tungsten wrote: I did try out the various banners, but I never seemed to stay alive long enough to use them.
It has the opposite effect on me. I'm usually a pretty suicidal player but the Buff Banner gives me incentive to play more defensively.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by NoahTheBoa » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:50 pm

For my main classes, I use quite a few of the sidegrades. I especially like the degreaser + axetinguisher combo.

Demo: The Caber (Use it if I'm close to dying and need to protect my medic or something. Otherwise I rarely use a melee)

Soldier: Buff Banner sometimes
Black Box sometimes
Equalizer

Sniper: Jarate + Bushwacka

Medic: Kritzkrieg + Bonesaw or Amputator + Standard needle gun
Medigun + Ubersaw + Standard needle gun

Pyro: Degreaser + Axetinguisher
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by l33tOMGlolz!11!shift » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:57 pm

Sniper -
For the most part I don't use any of the sidegrades. I'm trying the peegun/snaggletooth/dumbshield combo for the moment to give it a whirl. I feel that sniper is way more effective with the stock weapons.

Heavy -
Sandvich: This is indispensible. It gives the heavy a lot of staying power.
Steel Fists: I have grown to LOVE these things. They are practically cheating when used correctly.

Soldier/Demo -
The half zatoichi: I like this as I rarely bother with melee on these chars and when you need it it can refill your health. In most cases on these chars I'm going to die or kill someone when it comes down to melee so I have liked using this.

Scout -
Shortstop: I love it but that's just a preference.
Sandman: Too powerful to ignore if used properly. I'm sure a number of Villuns have seen me prove that :twisted:

Engineer -
Wrangler: I don't use it unless the gun is taking heavy fire (uber). If used correctly it's incredibly hard to take down the sentry. In other words I let the sentry do its own thing but I use this as a defense for the sentry itself.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Plinko » Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:00 pm

I swap loadouts a lot even during the same round depending on circumstances, especially as Sniper.

Sniper
Some Huntsman if I need to be very mobile.
Jarate by default, Razorback when I have to be far from the action, Shield for overtimes.
Tribalman's Shiv always (to make spies bleed so they show when cloaked)

Heavy
Always sandvich. Always.
GRUs 90% of the time (these are unbalanced IMHO, way too powerful)

Demo
I run stock except switch to dink around orthe occasional stint with the Pain Train for PLs or trying to double cap a final point.

Solly
DH if I need to hit sentries from a distance, otherwise Davey Crocket is my constant companion.
I use the Buff Banner for Warpath because I don't get in a lot of 1v1 combat where I'd use my shotty.
Equalizer because it's pretty much a pure upgrade from the shovel.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by MateoTheBold! » Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:48 pm

This is probably blasphemy but a lot of the weapons I choose to use I simply do so in an effort to have more fun, not because they will earn me more kills; sort of like trying to do a taunt kill in game. As a strategy it won't max your K:D ratio, but for me personally it helps me find that sweet spot between the competitiveness of white knuckled serious play and the simple of joy of playing with reckless, goofy abandon.


VIEW CONTENT:
---------
Scout:
----------

Bonk- great for distracting a sentry so your teammates can take it out/sneaking past enemy lines for some tele killing.
Holy Mackere- Comedic effect

-----------
Soldier-
------------

Equalizer- It has good spot duty for running away and for making long distances shorter when your team has capped 4 points on warpath and teles aren't up. Near death speed and damage are wonderful for kamikaze runs too.

-------
Pyro:
-------

Degreaser/Axetinguisher- It's like peanut butter and jelly together. Plus I find getting shotgun kills a lot easier when i am using the degreaser. The one downside to using the axetinguisher for me is that it makes me even more reckless as a pyro, which I am already a bit too much of anyway. I don't mind though as i simply find much more enjoyment in the critical hits.

Backburner- While every time I use this, it shames me, but if the other team isn't pushing a lot of ubers and there aren't really any pyros on the other team lighting my teammates on fire, I will use this on some maps that offer good pyro ambushing opportunities. The fact that I suck at reflects probably influences me though. For some maps like warpath it would be suicide to use this ; too wide open, too many opposing somedudes and too many ubers being pushed.

----------------
Demoman-
----------------

Chargin' Targe- I use this half the time when playing demo man and the other half the stock sticky bomb launcher, depending on the situation. I NEVER, EVER used this at first, but after I started playing demo semi-seriously I equipped this in an effort to force myself to get better using the grenade launcher. After playing with it for a bit, its really nice when used situationally, depending on who the other team's soldiers/demos are, as the explosive damage resistance is really useful. The downside is you lose some ubers/crits from medics as you lack stickeys, but I am probably, :dance: ,doing the medic a favor anyway by not taking me in the first place!

Half Zatoichi- While the curse of brandishing this may makes it a poor choice tactically for some outside of melee only situations when seeding servers, I've found that I really have a lot of fun when using this. Trying to be sneaky when having the sword equipped to get a kill with it is a blast. I've also noticed a small community of other players who when seeing you use this, will draw their own melee weapon/Zatoichi rather then simply picking you off from a distance. I honor thee who do so. Dueling with the sword is most epic as well.

----------
Heavy-
----------
Sandvich- The original pocket medic, and good bait for making medic friends by sharing. :wink:
Natasha- I will use this if scouts are on a rampage. Plus it is just fun to use sometimes.

---------
Sniper
---------

Huntsman- It has some good situational use depending on how spammy the map you are on and sometimes its nice to change your play style as sniper.
Jarate/Bushwhacka- Another peanut butter and jelly combo.
Last edited by MateoTheBold! on Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Soltan » Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:55 pm

Medic: ubersaw, kritzkrieg (depending on situation)
Heavy: sandvich, GRU
Engie: Southern hospitality, frontier justice (sometimes)
Pyro: flare gun, axetinguisher

I use some with other classes but play them so rarely that I can't recall which ones exactly.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by aperture » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:00 pm

hmm this is interesting to think about, let me see.

Scout- only sidegrade is the sandman.
Solider- i like the setup Al uses which is Black box\Buff banner\Equalizer. So no standard weps for him.
Pyro- the same way using the degreaser\flame thrower\axtinguisher. Although the volcano fragment comes out for melee battles ^_^
Demo- uses his normal pipe and sticky launcher, but his melee is a caber for sticky jump suicide bombings :P
Heavy- Iron curtain/sandvich/GRU. Although the steak and warriors spirit also make an appearance occasionally.
Engie- Frontier justice/Wrangler/Jag
Sniper- This one changes alot. Normally its the standard rifle/razorback/Shiv. But the polycount set comes out to help deal with other snipers.
Medic- Blutsauger/medigun/ubersaw.
And the Spy, which is my most played class, only gets the cloak and dagger in his setup. Although again the polycount pack comes out depending on the circumstances.

I now realized that i really do use alot of the "sidegrade" weps.

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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Fano » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:18 pm

well let's see...

keep in mind these aren't my loadouts they are just weapons that I may switch to on occasion, I typically player soldier with the regular rocket launcher, shotgun, and equalizer, but that can get a bit boring, even though some of the sidegrades aren't as universally useful as the stock weapons, they fill small niches in certain situations, such as the backup on maps like viaduct. I don't recommend picking one loadout and staying with it, instead switch to a certain weapon if a situation calls for it, don't be stiff with your weapon choices, I run the shotgun a good 90% of the time, but the 10% when I decide to switch to gunboats to be extremely mobile, or backup to provide some cover during a push can make a great difference in a game.

Scout: Bonk, CaC, Milk
Soldier: Black Box, Direct Hit, Gunboats, Backup, Equalizer
Pyro: Degreaser, Backburner, Axtinguisher, Backscrather, Homewrecker
Demoman: Caber, Pain Train (very seldom)
Heavy: Sandvich, Fists of Steel, GRU
Engineer: Frontier Justice (seldom), gunslinger, Southern Hospitality
Medic: Kritzkrieg, Ubersaw (seldom), vita-saw (most of the time)
Sniper: Jarate, Bushwacka
Spy: Dead ringer, kunai, l'tranger (w/ dead ringer), YER (seldom)

all in all there are some great options, I try to collect all weapons, even those that are underpowered, simply because I like to have the option of using them if I ever decide to, or if they ever receive a buff from valve in order to bring them in line with everything else.
Last edited by Fano on Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Zork Nemesis » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:20 pm

It's interesting when you think about it, the vanilla weapons are still very powerful, even if they don't have special effects. I feel like I use a good mix of both.
VIEW CONTENT:
Scout
-FaN (for it's extra jump more than anything, lots of places FaN scouts can go that other scouts can't, even if they're using the basher)
-Lugermorph (promo, but same stats as stock pistol)
-Sandman (for defensive situations and taunt kills)

Soldier
-Secondary weapon changes based on the map and game, normally I run Gunboats for extra rocketjumping, but i'll switch out buff banners as needed.
-Equalizer (this seems like a given, and I feel it needs something to reduce it's effectiveness so that at least the vanilla shovel has a chance, maybe no random crits at low health?)

Pyro
-Homewrecker (for anti-spy and humiliation tactics, always fun to catch someone off guard when you kill them with the hammer)

Demo
-Loch-n-Load (I don't care what people say about it's accuracy, this thing can down sentries faster than the sticky launcher with two good shots)
-Targe (if my Meleemania progress wasn't a dead giveaway to the fact that I love using my melee weapons)
-Claidheameh Mor (extended charge distance can give me an edge when rushing past sentries or chasing people)

Heavy
-Iron Curtain (it's just so cool! and it's promo)
-Sandvich (it's just so useful)

Engineer
-Gunslinger (lets face it, sitting behind a level 3 gun gets boring, I like to get in there and shoot people in the face, and this lets me do it)

Medic
-Kritzkrieg (I prefer violence over invunerability, but you'll never see me using this on offense unless there's a dire need for medics on short notice)
-Vita-saw (i'm reckless, this lets me be a bit more careless)

Sniper
-Huntsman (for close-range combat and taunt attacks)
-Jarate (very useful stuff, and much better at stopping spies than the razorback in my opinion)
-Bushwhacka (when paired with Jarate, this knife hurts)

Spy - This one I don't use other weapons, just promos with vanilla stats
-Big Kill (also promo, but same as Revolver)
-Enthusiast's Timepiece (also promo, just an Invisibility Watch)
I'll switch weapons on occasion to adapt (sometimes I run Southern Hospitality to acctually defend on occasion) but these are my primary loadouts. The only class I use 3 sidegrades on appears to be Demo, I keep at least one vanilla on every other class.
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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Guardian » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:26 pm

I'll usually toy around with a new sidegrade for a while to determine it's worth and I'll either toss it aside in my inventory to never see the light of day or use it in certain situations. To be more specific:

Scout:

Shortstop: I perfer the scattergun but sometimes I use the shortstop especially with the cheap extra heath set milkman set.

Crit-a-cola: Sometime I rarely use this with the shortstop

Mad Milk: Used a lot of the time instead of a pistol.

Bonk: If I need to get past something

Boston Basher/Holy Machel: Whichever one I feel like


Soldier:

Black Box: If there is no medics on my team I'll use it, otherwise regular rocket launcher for me.

Buff Banner: If we're on a spammy map on defense

Gunboats: I use these on certain open maps when I want to be mobile, they can be extremely fun and useful to use

Equalizer: What soldier doesn't use this?

Pain Train: Used when I go for sneaky backcaps


Pyro:

Degreaser + Axetiguisher is my default set though sometimes I go to Gas Jockey set. Regardless I always wear the cool hat. Either way I always use the shotgun.

Demo:

Demoknight: When I feel like screwing around, I might use the Clad Mor, Eyelander or demopan. Sometimes I go suicide bomber demo a.k.a Caber demo.

Otherwise I go default demo with either caber or pan.

Heavy:

I have 2 sets.

Iron Curtain + Sandvich + GRU/FOS

or

Brass Beast + Shotgun + GRU/FOS

Usually I go with the former but the Brass beast set is fun to use. I might use the buffalo steak instead of the sandvich if I'm running FOS and want to get to mid faster.

Medic:

Medieval Medic set with either Kritz or Uber depending on the situation

Sniper:

Sniper rifle + Jarate + bushwacker.... if I'm crazy enough to think I can snipe that day

Spy:

Default spy stuff for serious spy play.... which I rarely do now-a-days

Sahara Spy set + Dead ringer for troll spy ... which is too much fun. Decloaking right behind someone who thinks he killed you is too fun to pass up sometimes...



Either way I like to have all the sidegrades on me in case I find a situation I can use them in... no matter how useless I precieve them

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Re: How Many of the Sidegrades Do You Really Use?

Post by Ignatius » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:36 pm

Plinko wrote:I swap loadouts a lot even during the same round depending on circumstances
This is pretty much the case for me as well.
VIEW CONTENT:
Scout: I typically run the full milkman set, else I run default everything.
Pyro: Degreaser/Shotgun/Axetinguisher. If there aren't any good pyros on the other team I like to use the flare gun for fun sometimes.
Soldier: Equalizer, but I'll switch to a defensive banner if we're getting pushed hard by kritzkrieg.
Demo: Pain Train as long as there's something to capture.
Heavy: Sandwich and GRU all day
Medic: Blutsauger/Kritz/Ubersaw. Sometimes I'll run the crossbow and Amputator.
Sniper: Jarate and Bushwacka, always. I switch to Huntsman for fun, but its just so much worse than the rifle
Spy: I feel like I change my revolver, knife, and cloak almost every life, but that's largely because I'm a mess on Spy. If you see me on Spy you should probably just tell me to play a class I know how to play.
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