‘Boom Boom Baby!’

“The Demo man is a scrumpy-swilling demolitions expert from the Scottish Highlands, and is one of the more versatile members of the team. Though his weapons lack pinpoint long-range accuracy, the Demoman is a powerful if unpredictable asset, and can hold his own in just about any situation. He is a master of explosives, excelling at indirect and mid-range combat. Armed with his Grenade Launcher and Stickybomb Launcher, the Demoman uses his only good eye and knowledge of the surrounding environment for well-timed detonations that send enemies skyward, often in many pieces.

Lola tracks down five brave men who took it upon themselves to try and master arguably the most difficult class to play in competitive TF2, the Demoman. Read on as she tries to pry elusive Demoman secrets from these masters of the class.

Character portrait.

The Demo man excels at swift disassembly; he can bounce his grenades in creative angles to wreak havoc on enemy Sentry Gun emplacements while remaining safely out of sight. His stickybombs are a perfect tool for area denial, and are effective in keeping opponents away from any carts, control points, or intelligence he deems off-limits.

A fierce temper, a fascination with all things explosive, and a terrible plan to kill the Loch Ness Monster cost the six year old Demoman his original set of adoptive parents. Later, at the Crypt Grammar School for Orphans near Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands, the boy’s bomb-making skills improved dramatically. His disposition and total number of intact eyeballs, however, did not.

Word of his proficiency with explosives spread, and it was not long before Crypt Grammar received two visitors; the Demoman’s real parents, who lovingly explained that all Demo men are abandoned at birth until their skills manifest themselves, a long-standing, cruel, and wholly unnecessary tradition among the Highland Demolition Men. His unhappy childhood had ended, but his training had just begun.” (source: TF2 wiki)

Introductions.

Justin 'Kaoslord' Dinwoodie, he certainly is cool enough to be a demoman

LeaRox on Kaoslord: “I’ve always seen Kaos around but only got to know him when we played for MDivers. He is a great guy to have in the community, always fun to be around with and a great friend. He is one of those people, when u need him he will always be there. Kaos is great in every class he plays in TF2, but he kicks ass in Demoman. Some of us needs practice but he is a natural.”

WaRhammY on GoldFox: “What can I say about Stefan ‘GoldFox’ Von Mincerton…I have known this kid from when he just started playing as a pub nub. In a short time he developed into a promising demoman on pub servers. He started playing with some other pub lords in a team, and out shined all of them. I decided to take him under my wing and played in ‘frenzy’ with him and in one or two other teams. Today he is Master GoldFox, without doubt one of the best “If not the best” Demoman around today. As a buddy he is awesome, he knows how to take a joke from some of us older players, and I wish he was my GF.”

Tyelander on Alien: “I’ve had the pleasure of being friends with Alien for almost a year now. When he first joined Severe he was rather quiet, but when we all got to know him, he seemed like a really cool guy. Alien is a skilled and well-respected player in the South African TF2 community and one of the best buds one could have. He has a great sense of humour and never seizes to amaze me. He was possibly the best Demoman during Severe’s “heyday” and without a doubt is still one of the best, if not the best. He is one of the most well-mannered and most respectful people I know.”

Lola on Xolox: “Xolox played Demoman for CM when we entered the Do Gaming cup last year. It has been such a pleasure to have him as a teamie. His gentle soul, mild manner and general srsbsns outlook on life made him an easy target for my ‘need to poke around’ with (pls forgive me for interview pic).  As a teamie he is the solid rock (although he has rare fits of utter despair and can suddenly sink into a black hole of depression where not even an uber can resurrect him from),  the man who never panics and who always has a plan. Much <3 and respect for you Xolox.”

Lola on Kung Fu: “There are a few very prominent things that stand out about Kung. Firstly, he will be the player on pub that has all the medics healing him (I once saw three healing him at the same time), while the rest of his side will be begging and screaming for heals, to no avail. Secondly his peculiar relationship with Fair Fu (yes, they are e-married), to hear the two of them in clannies is like listening to two white boertjies from Brakpan flirting like pro’s (yes, I do have recordings), this is very disturbing to say the least and leads to me missing ubers or premature ubering sometimes. Lastly, I have to admit that the vinTage players are all known for their raging and general disregard for teamies’ emotional well being, be it towards strangers in pickups or to each other in a clannie. This having been said, we have one that balances all this anger out with his overall charm and awesomeness, cool head and astounding self confidence…The Kung called Fu.”

Give a brief description of your competitive gaming history.

Kaoslord: “I started playing F.E.A.R online when it came out,but not really competitively, TF2 was my first competitive online game.”

GoldFox: “I played Quake 3 and Starcraft 1 for a long time but never really competitively, TF2 was the first game that I really got into on an online competitive level.”

Alien: “I haven’t played many games competitively other than TF2. I played Quake 3 Arena and Quake Live but, sadly, lost interest. TF2 was the beginning for competitive game-play for me. Previously I played single player games or offline table top games like Warhammer 40K with friends.”

Xolox: “I started online gaming in 2008 when I saw a friend playing TF2 and had to buy it, was the most fun I had ever had in a game. I only had 4 months pub experience when I was asked to play for a clan called I(d)_ and then shortly after that I started playing pickups. I’ve been part of the competitive community since then.”

Kung Fu: “I am currently playing for vinTage.” (Find out more about Kung’s legendary background in TF2, see ‘How the pro’s frag‘ for more details.)

Why do you prefer to play Demoman?

Kaoslord: “I prefer Demoman because of the control you have over the flow of the game, the uniqueness of the class and the damage you can do, (and because I’m pretty rubbish at any other class).”

GoldFox: “I decided I wanted to play Demoman because for me it’s the class that has the key role in a team and is the most valued class as well, after medic. Also at the time there was a lack of good Demomen or people wanting to play the class. It also seemed the most challenging class to learn to play competitively and so it appealed to me in that way.”

Alien: “I prefer to play Demoman as he is a versatile and powerful class. He is appealing to me as he is the type of character that almost makes players feel demoralised or demeaned when they are blown into hundreds of minute pieces. He is an enjoyable class to play: he gives freedom of movement while sticky jumping, he also has the ability to close off choke points, deals an immense amount of damage, keeps areas locked down, and he plays a rather large role in the competitive side of TF2. Why do you think only one Demoman is allowed… :).”

Xolox: “Demoman is one of the most challenging classes of all in my opinion and since I like things that test me, it was the class for me. Not only is it a challenge, but I enjoy it every day, never tiring of the demo’s Scotish accent and the overpowering damage output. Being the fastest on the team is also a plus for me.”

Kung Fu: “My main class used to be a soldier, when I created  “FuN” I couldn’t find a Demo so I decided to take up the challenge and learn the class. We had and still have a big need for Demos that actually use the class to its full potential. The more I played demo the more I started to really enjoy it. Demo has the capability of producing the biggest damage output, making it a really an important class. When your team’s Demo is down, normally you won’t push or even fall back depending on the situation. I enjoy Demo because you can do a lot of damage and the fact that you can shoot over crates etc. with your curvy pipes/stickies, also you can plant sneaky sticky traps and catch the enemy by surprise, a good sticky trap can stop a push or split an uber.”

When to use stickies?

Byron 'GoldFox' Emslie, he wears this as a mask, as Superman wears Clark Kent

Kaoslord: “Stickies should be used to block off chokes, do major splash damage to a group of enemies close together, or to just plain old defend yourself.”

GoldFox: “It depends on your own style of play when and when not to use stickies and to be honest, they can be used in any situation, how effectively they’re used though is up to the person playing in a given situation. Personally I use stickies to hold and defend capture points or chokes and also as a defensive measure when my team is falling back by putting stickies traps in areas the other team will likely push from, which either delays them from moving up or lets me get a kill or two, allowing my team time to regroup. I also use stickies when pushing out from a point or through a choke point with uber, as continuous lobbing and detonating of stickies on enemy players moving backwards is very effictive.”

Alien: “I use stickies in situations when I am trying to take control of an area. For example, the middle point on any map. You want to deal as much damage as you possibly can without getting yourself killed. You will have to keep yourself alive while trying to force the opposing team away from the middle point or an open area causing them to fall back through confined locations, making it easier to spam and kill off a few of the opposing players, and ultimately gain a greater advantage during that round. You can also use stickies when you’re holding choke points or open areas (these areas are more commonly known as ‘yard’).”

Xolox: “Stickies are the main source of damage and therefore they are used most of the time. If you aren’t keeping a doorway secured using the stickies, they are being used to take out the medic-pocket combo. That is, they are extremely versatile, being used for either a defensive purpose or an offensive purpose (who says they can’t be used for both at the same time :P). They are the best way to protect control points (mostly last) from the enemy team. Stickies are also the most effective against enemy sentries, where a few well-situated stickies can take out the sentry without any problems. The most important time to use stickies, apart from killing your enemies, is when you need to sticky jump. This is the reason why demo’s can reach the midpoint within seconds; even before the scouts do.”

Kung Fu: “You should use stickies 90% of the time, it’s much more reliable and consistent than pipes. Even if you miss a sticky you still have the power to decide if you want to detonate it, or wait till the other team’s backup arrives and gets close to it. You should use stickies to hold choke points, camp doors, defend capture points, or when attacking to help your team do lots of damage. When you pushing a team back and they are retreating on open ground, make sure the stickies land behind them, this will cause then to either retreat onto your stickies = KaBoooooM!!! or the ones that notice you doing it to split from their team, causing your team to have the advantage.”

When to use pipes?

Kaoslord: “I find myself mainly using pipes to defend myself against scouts and such, when you’re at medium range preferably.”

GoldFox: “Again it comes down to personal preference, as well as your confidence with piping. I use pipes for spamming from a holding position and in 1 on 1 battles, mostly against scouts or against the pocket-medic combo.”

Alien: “I use pipes when spamming certain areas, such as choke(s) and yard(s). Those would probably be the best times to use your pipes, other than when you are facing an enemy. You could use your pipes to get an estimate as to where the enemies are located in yards, houses, choke points etc, but mostly use them when you’re in a heated battle against enemy soldiers, scouts and other demomen… Or you could use your bottle. That works too!”

Xolox: “Pipes are demo’s “shotgun” but much more difficult to use. They are used in mostly (if not always) offensive situations, whether you are (or at least trying to) pipe a scout or spamming the choke area to get the enemy medic or even air-shotting that soldier going for your medic, pipes have many uses. It is also a good way of doing damage around corners and is really effective against sentries that are in the open and can they can be easily spammed from a safe distance.”

Kung Fu: “Pipes can be really lethal, but lots of Demos tend to use pipes too much. It does not matter how good your pipe aim is, stickies > pipes in 90% of the time. Pipes are good for spamming choke points, or at middle point in the initial battle; say you are on a crate on granary middle for example and a soldier jumps you, pipes is the only thing you can use to keep him from landing on you.”

Explain the different sticky jumps.

Kaoslord: “There’s different sticky jumps?”

GoldFox: “There are many different jumps a demoman can use on any given map, it depends on personal play style. Sticky jumping is used to either get to middle points of maps as quickly as possible or for general mobility in getting to key areas when needed, as well as for ‘bombing’ the enemy team when your team is pushing. Sticky jumping is therefore a valuable skill that any Demoman needs to work on in order to be more useful to his team. As for sticky jumps to middle point there are certain maps where only specific jumps will get you to middle point in the fastest possible time, such as cp_badlands for example, where getting to middle first is a huge part of which team will win the ‘mid fight’. The accepted ‘fastest jumps’ to middle on badlands are: sticky jump towards spawn door, sticky jump from spawn door to bottom through the middle exit from last point without hitting the top platform, then sticky jump up the stairs (without touching them) to the ‘drop-down’ window,  then placing a sticky on the metal sheeting on the left just outside the window and using it to sticky jump over wooden bridge into ‘house’ and then grabbing the medium HP pack. This should leave you on full hp as you move out of house onto middle point. Most of the other competitive maps don’t rely as much on the Demoman getting to middle in the fastest time and so the jumps used are up to the individual player.”

Alien: “The only sticky jumps that I know of are the “long distance jump” and the “bop”.  The long distance jump is when either one or two stickies are used to propel you in a forward motion and send you flying through the air! The “bop” is a small sticky jump that lets you gain height instead of distance and it is mainly used for jumping small distances for example: The Cliff on Badlands onto the Spire capture point. You can achieve both these jumps by placing a sticky on the floor, or on the wall, and moving slightly past it. Once past, you may detonate the sticky and send yourself soaring up or through the sky on any map.”

Xolox: “Sticky jumping requires a bit of practise, getting used to the timing comes with time. There are different times (yes milliseconds) when the sticky(s) need to be detonated in order to take less damage and/or to jump long/short distances. There are quite a few sticky jumps, from the long-range double-sticky jump to the short-range jumps to grind that uber with your medic. There is also the wall jump, jumping out of the window on Badlands is a prime example of this, and can be used to waste less time when getting to middle. These are the most basic jumps and there are a few more jumps which take a bit of time to master. One, for example, is to jump and control yourself and turn in mid-air to get around a building, such as on Freight, jumping to get the height advantage on the medic-pocket combo on mid-point.”

Kung Fu: “Well you have the sticky jumps to middle, this is different on each map obviously. So just check all the jumps to mid on You Tube and practice it. Then you get the normal, lay down a sticky on the ground, jump on it and blow the sticky, you get the same jump where you would just hold crouch in, for a further jumping distance. Then you can do the same as mentioned above. But just jump in front of the sticky so that it pushes you more forward and not so much into the air.”

Demoman is the most versatile class in 6vs6, describe your style in playing the class.

Kaoslord: “I usually play a very aggressive Demoman, things such as trying to dive the medic etc. I’m constantly spamming and trying to find a gap in the enemy defense.”

GoldFox: “The Demoman is the class with the highest damage-output potential in 6v6 play and so ideally I play aggressively whenever possible, using aggressive sticky spam and jumping the enemy team whenever I can. However demoman is also the most vulnerable class if left undefended or unprepared and so my aggressive style of play only works if my team, especially my scouts, are doing their job by backing me up against the enemy’s scout and calling enemy positions accurately. This style of play can sometimes be very risky as typically the Demoman is key to holding capture points, especially last points, when defending, whereas I prefer to push out and help my scouts and roaming soldier put pressure on the other team in order to recapture the other points. So this only works for me because my team has practiced and become accustomed to playing in this way and we are generally well coordinated.”

Alien: “I tend to play the Demoman in two different ways, I either play very aggressively or more with my team. When I play aggressively I push up more and I act robust, boisterous and I take control of what’s happening in the game at that time. Whereas if I play more with my team I don’t push up as much and I don’t usually take control of any given situation. I let other people do the calling and I move to where they want me to be, this allows for a different style and tone of game.”

Xolox: “I would definitely class myself as the offensive Demoman being in front with the soldiers at all times. I like to try and pick that poking, over-eager soldier at choke when I can.”

Kung Fu: “I would say I’m quite an aggressive Demo, but when needed I do hold back and defend. I like placing sticky traps on sneaky places and jumping in or catching the enemy by surprise. It’s important to be close to your pocket/medic, when you push you are the class that does the most damage. So you need to cause a lot of damage and then your soldiers/scouts can just finish of the players you have damaged.”

What is the primary role of the Demoman in 6 vs 6?

Kaoslord: “In my opinion,the primary role of the Demoman is to fill any role thats needed. Whether you need damage on enemies or spam. If you’re retreating, block off a choke point. A good demoman should be adaptable.”

GoldFox: “The primary role of the Demoman in 6v6 is dealing damage when pushing with the team, and defending important areas on the map with his stickies.”

Alien: “To deal as much damage as possible, close down areas and lock enemies into confined spaces. This can be difficult if you don’t get the needed amount of support from your scouts and Soldiers. You need to time your movements correctly and also make sure that your Scouts and Soldiers know that you’re going to push up or, unfortunately you will either die, lose an uber advantage or even worse the current map round.”

Xolox: “That’s the thing, there isn’t really a dedicated job for the Demoman. He is the main “damage train” when pushing your opponents back, but is also the main defender of choke points when the advantage has been lost. When a round begins, the Demo is required to get to middle point as fast as possible in order to gain the territory. On last point the Demo stickies the point and a single choke point if possible.”

Kung Fu: “To do all the damage, to get to middle fast therefor making it easier to win it. When the pocket is down, the Demo needs to protect the medic if the roaming is far away, like he normally is. Also to block and hold choke points until backup arrives.”

What is the importance of getting to mid fast?

Tristan 'Alien' Green, known for his devastating stickies and annoying text spams

Kaoslord: “In many maps, it’s important to get to mid fast, but in maps like Badlands, it’s crucial. Getting there 2 seconds before the other demoman gives you a chance to seal the enemy team in, giving your team a huge advantage on mid.”

GoldFox: “By getting to middle quickly you give yourself time to possibly deal some damage to enemy scouts when they arrive in order to give your own scouts an advantage, put down early spam for when the enemy soldiers get there, and see and call enemy positions and prepare yourself accordingly for the ‘mid battle’. The faster you get to mid, the more effectively you can do these things, which increases your teams chances of winning the middle point.”

Alien: “To get to mid fast will give your team a great advantage as you deny the opposition access to the middle point. Your scouts will play a big role as they need to keep you alive for as long as possible while you wait for your soldiers and medic to arrive. In-turn you could ultimately win the round from the one battle on the middle point, as you could kill their medic, demoman or soldiers. This then paves the way to your team’s victory.”

Xolox: “Getting to mid as fast as possible gives your team a much greater chance of you winning the round (or at least the point). This is due to the fact that the fastest Demo can lay a carpet of stickies at a doorway (such as on Badlands midpoint), which prevents the medic-soldier combo from getting onto mid. This prevents the enemy medic from healing low enemies on the point already and prevents the pocket from dealing out damage, ultimately leaving many dead or the whole team falling back.”

Kung Fu: “This is probably the most important thing as a Demo, the team with the Demo who gets to middle fastest, has the advantage. Some of the maps, like Badlands, if your Demo is slow to mid and do not adapt and keeps on the normal route, chances are 9 out of 10 times your team won’t win the middle point battle. When the other Demo lands all the Badlands jumps perfectly, he can block of middle completely. Unless the “slow team” do a valley jump as a team, they don’t have much hope. So if you are a Demo, just check the quickest jumps to middle for each map (there are many tutorials on You Tube). Practice them till your hands bleed and you can get there quickly and consistently.”

How to play against scouts?

Kaoslord: “Well basically, just be aware of where they are. Knowing where they are allows you to get the drop on them, or just avoid them completely. Worst comes to worst, pipe ’em.”

GoldFox: “Other Demomen might disagree, but personally I think scouts are the biggest threat to a Demoman and I always try to be prepared for them. Always back yourself up with stickies placed in areas where scouts would typically try and flank you from, always check behind for flanking scouts and always try to be near your scouts or combo to give yourself extra protection. When none of this works however, which inevitably does happen, you need to have confidence in your piping ability to be able to kill scouts 1 on 1, otherwise you’ll end up dying a lot.”

Alien: “To play against scouts you need to anticipate where their next move is going to be. Place stickies underneath their feet and shoot pipes in the direction they are running. Don’t get flustered when you suddenly realize that you need to fight a scout, keeping your cool is key. Also, perhaps obviously, try to deal as much damage as you can.”

Xolox: “Scouts are the Demo’s worst enemy in my opinion. With their agility and double-jump they can be a tough opponent. When using pipes, it comes to down to correct judgement and timing. Stickies are just as effective against scouts where the trick is not to detonate them as you throw them down but to wait until they are over them to detonate. Overall, if you pipe the scout a sticky will mostly likely finish him off.”

Kung Fu: “This is tricky, a Demo is a scouts favourite target, because it’s so important to have your demo alive.  All you can do is call for support and just spam/detonate your stickies as close to the scout as possible and as quick as possible. The thing is you need to be really aware of where your scouts are and where the enemy scouts are, if you have a scout on you that is boosted, it’s really tough to survive alone, because if he gets a “meat shot” on you, then he can just run up to you, tank a pipe and cause you to kill yourself with self-damage. This is why a lot of times one of your scouts need to protect you, especially on mid-point fights.”

What is your favourite map and why?

Kaoslord: “Gravel Pit, I just like the fact that it’s simply not a ‘run back and forth’ map. It has a variety of strategies you can use, offensively and defensively therefor forcing you to adapt. Sadly, it’s not played much these days.”

GoldFox: “My favourite map is cp_ badlands. This is because it’s the one map where I feel the Demoman can be used to his full potential and every element of his gameplay needs to be used, ie. fast jumps to mid, good pipe spam once you get there, lots of opportunities to jump the enemy team with good effect, lots of sneaky spots for sticky traps, and the best part: lots of opportunities for mid-airs, such as soldiers jumping you on mid point and of course everyone’s favourite, 2nd point spire. With all these things being said, I feel it has the perfect mix of technical, strategical play and deathmatching.”

Alien: “Badlands would have to seal the deal! Badlands was the first map I played on when I first bought TF 2 and it’s the only map that Valve have not made any changes to. I enjoy the openness of the entire map, it gives the scouts, soldiers and Demoman the versatility to move around freely and it would have to be one of the coolest designs for any of the maps released thus far.”

Xolox: “Competitively, Badlands is my all-time favourite map, simply due to it being the most balanced map of them all, and because it allows for all possible combinations of classes. As for pubs, probably Badwater Basin.”

Kung Fu: “Badlands” – I have played it the most. It is a nice open map for jumps and and probably the best midpoint for a Demo. “Granary” also one of the maps that I have played a lot. It’s a nice “tight” map that can cause the enemy to group and then you can easily kill them with your stickies. “Obscure”, I enjoy the midpoint battle, due to the fact that most people stand behind the boxes on mid and if placed right, your pipe spam can cause major havoc. “Freight”, it’s a nice open map, again to do big jumps and catch the enemy off guard, also a lot of sliding doors you can hold on your own as a Demo.”

What is your least favorite map and why?

Kaoslord: “I would have to say cp_freight. I find it to be to prone to stalemates and just pretty boring in general.”

GoldFox: “Definitely cp_freight. Scouts and utilities get to have a lot of fun on this map, but for demoman its a very slow-paced map and all the points become very awkward when you try to play very agressively, so I usually end up having to slow my game down a lot, which becomes boring and tedious after a few minutes.”

Alien: “I don’t have a least favourite map, as I believe in order to be a good Demoman you need to be able to know all the competitive maps no matter how much they annoy you. This then, in-turn, will give you and your team the greater advantage when playing opposing teams.”

Xolox: “Gravelpit for competitive play as it can lead to long and stressful rounds due to a well-placed sentry. For pubs, hydro without any doubts; who likes a stalemate every round?”

Kung Fu: “I would say Gullywash. But I don’t really hate any maps, I just have the least amount of fun on Gullywash as Demo I guess.”

In your opinion, what skills do you need in order to be a good demoman?

Kaoslord: “Reflexes,a good game sense (knowing when to move in,where to stand etc.) and just a bit of aim :P”

GoldFox: “Good awareness, and patience to put in a lot of practice, because in my opinion it is the hardest class to learn to play competitively as well as getting used to pipe and sticky aim, since they don’t use conventional point-and-click aim and it can take a while to get good at.

Alien: “Play different classes before you play Demoman. Practice on pub servers as, let’s say a Soldier, then move onto different classes, see what suits you. You’ll need to have a good idea of what’s happening during a game, know when and where to spam pipes as well as locking down areas with your stickies. Have the ability to follow through with a push and not to take things in a serious manner. All in all, have a great time.”

Xolox: “You need to have patience as a person in order to excel at demo and to practise against each of the classes. You need to have the stamina and will to push through and try and be the best (so many and’s). Don’t forget to get creative  in any situation, both in the offensive and defensive aspects :P.”

Kung Fu: “Awareness, adaptability and game sense. A Demo can do the most damage and a lot of people tend to think they can take on the whole team on their own. This would be a big mistake. Rather play with your team and do damage together, you will be much more effective.”

What is the Demoman’s focus in 6 vs 6 play?

Kaoslord: “His focus should be to get as much damage on the enemy as possible and control the flow of the map, placing stickies to deny areas and spamming enemies to either kill or force them back.”

GoldFox: “Damage dealing and defence.”

Alien: “To keep areas locked, reduce the enemies numbers and to stop enemy pushes.”

Xolox: “He is the main “damage train” when pushing your opponents back but is also the main defender of choke points when the advantage has been lost. When a round begins, the demo is required to get to middle point as fast as possible in order to gain the territory. On last point the demo stickies the point and a single choke point if possible.”

Kung Fu: “To get to middle fast, to do as much damage as possible with his team, to hold choke points or doors while waiting for the rest of the team.”

What is the Demoman’s strengths?

Richard 'Xolox' Tyrell, the perfect demoman 😉 <3

Kaoslord: “The Demoman has amazing damage, decent mobility, good range, good spamming power, and of course, he’s a Scotsman :>”

GoldFox: “Huge potential for damage-output, good crowd control capabilies and high mobility with good sticky jumping.”

Alien: “The Demoman’s strengths are his ability to move through the air and travel great distances, the remote detonation of sticky bombs and his ability to spam two types of explosives, as well as his demeaning comments when he kills an enemy player – especially the drunken, unintelligable slurs… ;).”

Xolox: “His speed, getting to mid the fastest and enormous damage output make the demoman one of the most powerful classes. Also being able to juggle between defensive and offensive (very thin border between the two) in any situation makes the demo the main attacker on a push and a strong barrier as the main defender. The Demo is the only class that can create chaos around a corner, either lobbing pipes over a wall or detonating a well-placed sticky trap at the right time across the room.”

Kung Fu: “Spam, spam and more spam! The fact that you can toss your pipes and stickies over crates etc, where with the soldier you shoot in a straight line and have to jump on or over the crates to be able to shoot the enemy on the other side. Also if planted wisely, sticky traps are a strength. A well placed sticky trap can change the whole game. This goes hand in hand with the fact that the Demo can detonate stickies when he wants to – sometimes two stickies lying on the ground slows down the enemy or even makes him fall back to his team, because he doesn’t know what lies ahead.”

What is the Demoman’s weaknesses?

Kaoslord: “As any demoman will know, reloading can be a major issue if you don’t use your ammo correctly. His close range combat isn’t to great and he’s a prime target meaning the enemy will try taking you out first.”

GoldFox: “Very vulnerable if caught unprepared and needs support from soldiers and medic in most situations in order to deal damage effectively.”

Alien: “The Demoman’s weakness is his inability to kill enemies in close quarters, i.e. scouts or soldiers as he does not have a weapon to deal a reasonable amount of damage from a short distance. The only weapon that he can use for close quarter combat is his Bottle.”

Xolox: “The lack of a shotgun is a weakness that the scouts use very freely and frequently, as well as two-shotting you while your back is turned when laying that sticky trap out. In order to be the fastest in the game, there have to be some negative aspects, such as taking huge amounts of damage when sticky jumping. This usually leaves you on a less-than-deal amount of health leaving you vulnerable to scouts 1-shotting you or dying from 1 rocket from a soldier.”

Kung Fu: “I would say the lack of a hit-scan weapon. If the enemy is right next to you and you pipe him in the face, you do self damage. If you plant a sticky next to him and you don’t get out of range of the sticky quick enough, obviously you will take damage. Where with a soldier you can swop to your shot gun and take no self damage. Scouts, those little guyz, love eating up demo’s for breakfast.”

Tips to aspiring Demoman.

Nico 'Kung Fu' van der Merwe, don't let this pose fool you. He wants to steal your medic.

Kaoslord: “Try taking a look at demos of pro Demomen and see where they stand, how they spam, and what they do in certain situations. It’s been said before countless times, but nothing beats practice . Just take the time to sit down and work on your game, and most important of all, don’t give up on the class.”

GoldFox: “Take the time to learn the class, practice the jumps and get good with your pipe aim. Watch recorded demos of more experienced demomen and you can pick up a lot of things, like jumps, positioning and sticky trap placement etc. It might take a lot of hard work but it’s definitely the most rewarding class once you learn to play it properly, and since it’s such a crucial and sought-after class you’ll almost always have a spot in a team.”

Alien: “Practice as much as you can on “aim maps”. Don’t get angry at small things, keep your calls clear when sending information to the rest of your team and, above all else, remember to have fun!”

Xolox: “Don’t give up, practise until you get it. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad, if you miss that pipe on the scout attacking your medic, or on that air-shot, better luck next time. We all miss those shots from time to time. Play demoman as much as you can to really get as comfortable as possible with it and let the keys and mouse move like a fluid under your hands. You are the most important class, other than medic, get used to being targeted before the scouts or soldiers do.”

Kung Fu: “All it comes down to is practice. Practice ALL the jumps. Get comfortable with stickies, pubz are good practice just to get your sticky aim and usage solid. Then take all that to the pickup/clan scene and just play a lot. Don’t just focus on aim, as a Demo it is REALLY important to play with your team and to  play very smart, if you get that right you are well on your way in becoming a good Demoman.”

Best moment as a Demoman in TF2?

GoldFox: “Getting a 6 man against swift in botc at the time when they were the top team and our team was considered a walkover vs. them.”

Alien: “Playing in Severe. We weren’t the most mature bunch of guys, but every moment spent in the clan is a moment to remember. The best moment would have to be when Tye (soldier) and myself juggled Skiba (medic) in the air until his uber had worn off.”

Xolox: “Getting that double air-shot on an enemy soldier after wiping out the rest of the team, winning us the round in a clan match.”

Kung Fu: “Hmmm this is a hard one… Played a clannie and pushed their last point, after the battle I was alive vs 3 of the other team, they were all low, so I stepped onto last point shot a pipe at the soldier and killed all 3 with one pipe, capped the point and won. Or any of the times where I blew a sticky right underneath someone and “midaired” them with a pipe.”

In closing.

There always seems to be a shortage of even just decent Demomen in competitive TF2, it’s a class that requires a lot of practice to just get the basics right, let alone mastering it, yet next to medic, it’s the most important class in 6vs6 play. If chance should perhaps smile upon us and you happen to notice a player on pubs or pickups who has a disposition towards all things explosive, an urgency to fly off into the wild blue yonder and a total disregard for personal safety, please contact the team at tf2csa.

PS. For those wanting to know why we didn’t feature Enemy in this interview: “@_enemy: Seeing the recent spate of articles I do not feel comfortable participating in them – or any future editions thereof.”

Enjoy this frag vid of ‘Joint’, one of our local top Demomen.