Shovel

“

If I have to crack some skulls, I will. Click to listen — The Soldier

”

The melee weapon of the Soldier class is a folding Shovel (also known as Entrenching Tool or Spade). Dealing significant damage, the shovel is a good alternative to the Shotgun when an opponent is too close to safely use the Rocket launcher. For its Critical hit animation, the Soldier swings it from the left in a backhand motion.

Damage

• Base: 65 (59 to 72 damage)
• Mini-Crit: 88
• Critical Hit: 195

Damages are approximate and determined by community testing.

Function times

• Attack Interval: 0.8

All times are in seconds. Times are approximate and determined by community testing.

Trivia

• The Critical hit animation is the same manner of attack he uses to take out the Spy in Meet the Soldier.
• The shovel has a Normal weapon variant.
• In the World Wars, standard-issue knives and bayonets were sometimes substituted or even replaced by sharpened field shovels, which were used to great effect as improvised hand axes. Curiously, the Soldier's tool seems unmodified.
• The achievement "Trench Warfare" is a reference to their combat effectiveness in narrow quarters.
• The tool's real-life counterpart is the US M-1943 entrenching tool. Since the Soldier never reported to a quartermaster during his military career, its origin raises some questions.
• The Soldier claims that the shovel is a Mann Co. product, and that he has owned it for twelve years.
• According to the Mac Update comic, the shovel is prone to spontaneous combustion.

See also

• Shovel strategy