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[Jackrabbit]

I've found the Sticky Launcher to be a winner for me because I'm always using the Demo on offense and the SR is just not as good in that context. Even in making Sticky carpets it's quicker, more effective and I never make multiple traps at once anyway.

One hilarious use for it that I've found however is on the eternal trollfest that is 2fort. If your team isn't defending the intel very well, wait till your team caps and plant a crit sticky on the intel (or just use a bunch of stickies), so it clips into the case and is hidden from sight. Next, when you hear someone pickup your intel, very quickly spin around and blow that sucker to hell. That said, even in this situation the vanilla launcher is better because you don't need to look at the stickies to do it. It leaves you without a sticky launcher but hell, it's 2fort, you were never going to do anything constructive with it anyway.

[DJ]

I find grenade launcher to be just as good for direct combat as the sticky launcher. And loch and load is better still, provided you have a good aim. Having multiple sticky traps just seems a lot more useful to me than airburst stickies. I can see how airburst can be more useful if you're in the vanguard or going Rambo, but that's not what a demo should be doing. It's like sniping as a scout.

[Orb]

I prefer the normal sticky launcher, since I'm an aggressive demoman also. Once your team inevitably moves forward, and beaten back, you can get a ton of kills from the constant stream of enemies going through one spot. At least until you run out of ammo.

Also, the sticky launcher is a guaranteed kill. For me, hitting someone with the grenade launcher is quite difficult.

[Blizzlord]

Still, the grenade launcher does more damage on a direct hit faster than the sticky launcher could ever hope to do. Deciding which one to use as a primary is my biggest concern when playing demoman.

[Duke 2.0]

More videos!

To be fair, only one of these uses the new filmmaker.

[The Scout]

Yeah, I use the Stickybomb Launcher as an airburst grenade too. Pretty damn effective.

[PTTG??]

More videos!

To be fair, only one of these uses the new filmmaker.

The second one should be animated, though.

[Siquo]

Yeah, I use the Stickybomb Launcher as an airburst grenade too. Pretty damn effective.

It can indeed be used like a flak cannon, for those high-up airborne targets. The SR's arming time is too long to be able to do that.

[miauw62]

I dont use the SR anymore, really.
I used to use it, but somehow the normal sticky launcher feels much more... natural.


The only underpowered default weapon is the pyro's fire axe, but thats because a flamethrower does more damage in a shorter period on the same range.

[The Scout]

...Depends. In a split second, it can instantly kill any class except soldier and heavy. And do a good deal of damage when it doesn't crit. I normally carry it out when someone might appear in front of me, and hope for a crit.

[Duuvian]

I play demo defensively and it's my favorite class. Scottish Resistance all the way for me, no question. The extra stickies and the ability to selectively detonate them make up for the times when my demo is killed by someone while I'm prepping the field with stickies.  I lay down all 14 stickies as soon as possible at multiple entrances or routes, on the enemy cart, or the capture point. Then I try to find a place I can keep an eye on these stickies without being shot (preferably near a friendly sentry that can cover me) and spam out 20 grenades at various rate of fire at entrances and other likely spots before I look for a dispenser or ammo resupply. The grenade spam supplements the stickies well and helps deny the area like only exploding ordinance can. Often I fire slowly when there are no enemies in sight, expending only one or two grenades out of the four before reloading. That allows me to be prepared to pump out 4 grenades at the enemy when I spot them and if they avoid my stickies. If they are standing on them I send a grenade that way and detonate on the launch of the second grenade (if I don't react and blow up the stickies immediately) The SR's point and detonate is great as you can aim directly at an enemy and only the stickies that are effective against that enemy will blow up, leaving some of your demo's sticky spread remaining.

If the enemy causes me to explode my stickies in a certain spot, I re-do those stickies until I have 14 unless I'm being shot at. The grenade launcher is much better for those situations when you are under fire. Direct hits from grenades are really strong and four can kill an unwary Heavy, and you can bounce them into cover for slightly less damage. Crit grenades are great in either situation. Once you've got the arc down you can hit consistently where you want them to go as far as they will go, if not the enemy standing there, who would have time to dodge if they are aware of the incoming.

I also like to do rolling explosions by starting on the right or left and moving over a line of SR stickies while detonating if there is a crowd on my stickies. It's as if the soon to be bits enemy are being pursued by explosions.

I enjoy launching stickies almost but not quite straight up so they rain down slightly in front of me. It's useful for landing them on a platform above you from a spot where the occupants can't shoot you without peeking over the edge to catch a grenade in the face while you detonate. If they don't peek over then you can launch a grenade up there after the stickies and detonate with the grenade. That's not really restricted to the SR though.

Then there is being able to remove level 3 sentries and any engineer henchman repairing them with only three or four stickies. The above tactic is a favorite for this. An engineer that can remove the stickies fast enough while I arc them from behind cover is a rare breed. Usually they rush me and sacrifice their sentry if they notice the stickies. It's worth it to me to have my demo die to the engi's shotgun if I can take out the sentry for my team; and the engi might eat a couple grenades so it's not guaranteed to kill me anyways. This ability in itself makes up for lacking air detonations when I go on offense in my opinion. Against other classes I tend to have to advance more slowly than the basic sticky launcher due to having to prep my 14 stickies to draw enemies back into, blowing those enemies up before I advance a bit more while setting up more stickies slightly ahead of my position. If someone interrupts I fall back and try to draw them over my existing stickies while launching grenades at them and ducking around a corner to reload or to bumrush with a melee weapon.

Spoiler: Demo Melee (click to show/hide)

 I tend to choose the Pain Train if I intend to capture or push a cart, the big demoaxe if I won't miss a small bit of maneuverability (like playing defensively in Hightower where I stand mostly in the same general area depending where the enemy cart is), a head taking sword if I plan to accomplish consecutive melee kills due to the map encouraging it, or Scrumpy if none of the above.

In other words, balance.

[Blizzlord]

The only underpowered default weapon is the pyro's fire axe, but thats because a flamethrower does more damage in a shorter period on the same range.

It is not the only one. You forgot how the bonesaw has 2(!) direct upgrades. The amputator and the solemn vow.

[Duuvian]

Yeah, bonesaw sucks. I'd add a speed debuff on it like Natascha's. That would make it (barely) useful for running away. You'd still be shootable but you might be able to run around a corner or three and lose a pursuer that way.

Fire Axe could use something too. Maybe a speed debuff for lack of imagination? That way a pyro could smack someone with it and switch to the flamethrower; like a reverse Axtinguisher.

Best would be if the above only applies to legshots, hehe. Maybe in TF2's instance legchops.

Legshots is how an old classic FPS I used to play, Legends of Might and Magic, handled it. You could shoot someone in the legs with any of the ranged weapons and they would have a speed debuff applied to them for a second or two in exchange for having taken less damage for the legshot.

The trouble would be having melee that targets the leg. Maybe the bonesaw and fireaxe could have secondary fires for that since I don't think it would interfere with them like it would with a demoman's stickies. I'd make the duration a bit longer for legchops than two seconds but not unreasonable, maybe long enough for a medic to escape around corners as I mentioned. Maybe 5-10 seconds for bonesaw and up to 5 seconds for the fireaxe.

[miauw62]

Sounds a bit like dwarf fortress.
Cut off feet etc.

But i think its a little gimmick-y for default weapons.

[Duuvian]

Hey, good idea miauw62. A crit on the secondary legchop makes the speed debuff permanent and severs the limb if the enemy survives the damage inflicted. Maybe a permanent bleed until you reach a medkit or medic but the speed debuff remains until death. (can a medigun regrow limbs in the backstory?) Can a model be dismembered while being active?

EDIT: Hehe, it's probably too much work as all the classes would have to have a one leg hopping animation.