As a class-based shooter, Team Fortress 2 doesn't fail to diversify with the classes. Two classes, in particular, are highlight classes that could push the tides of a match-- The Soldier and The Medic. Soldier mains are known to dominate in engagements and crowd control; while Medic mains are known to aid their team in winning clashes and pushing through chokes. Because of this, the Soldier and the Medic are the bread and butter of a solid team composition in TF2.
It is for this reason that The Soldier and The Medic are candidates for being the best class in the game. That's not to say that they are better than the other classes, but rather, they have a general set of abilities that have more use in a wide array of situations. Here are the reasons why the Soldier is the best class, and the reasons why the Medic is the best class.
10 Soldier: Well Rounded
Some classes are on one end of being mobile, yet very squishy. Other classes are on the other end of being tanky yet immobile. The Soldier is at the comfy Goldilocks area of the spectrum. He excels in mobility and hard-hitting assaults, and on top of that, he has a respectable amount of HP.
The Soldier's reliable Rocket Launcher is one of the most well-rounded weapons in the game like the M4A1 is to Call Of Duty. This weapon enables the Soldier to deal considerable damage both in close-quarter combat, and long-range exchange. The Soldier's other weapons also enable players to create subclasses that don't deviate too far from the core Soldier approach.
9 Medic: Self-Sustaining
The Medic is the only class that regenerates health independently from what set of weapons he's using. This enables the Medic to get out of Dodge, and get back into action as quickly as flicking a light switch.
The Medic's regenerating ability also doesn't make him easy to finish off. Adding to this, he has a variety of weapons that allow him to fend for himself making it a bit harder to take him out. The Medic's survivability is a threat to the enemy team since he can quickly undo the damage the opposing team has put effort to dish out.
8 Soldier: Beginner Friendly
Because of the Soldier's well-rounded nature, he is the recommended first class that new players should play and master. The splash damage from the straight-shooting Rocket Launcher is easy to use and is very straight forward for even players new to the FPS genre.
Other classes like the Engineer and the Spy have so much complexity that it takes a lot of patience to even understand their core mechanics. With the Soldier, everything is so basic that an effective playstyle can be developed almost immediately with much more room to master.
7 Medic: Promotes Team-Based Playstyle
Since the Medic doesn't primarily deal with damage, he relies on his secondary weapons to aid his team's survival; thereby sustaining their damage output. The Medic lacks damage but is a good spontaneous source of healing.
This encourages Medic players to think more selflessly, and instead of going for kills and frags, focus on keeping the team alive. This mutualism between the Medic and his team builds a selfless team-based mindset within the Medic player that should stay with him even when he plays a different class.
6 Soldier: Huge Learning Curve
The soldier may be a beginner-friendly class, but that doesn't mean there's a small limit to mastering him. In fact, the Soldier has one of the largest learning curves among the nine classes. One could allot 100 hours on the class and still have much to learn.
The soldier could be as easy to play as Commander Morrisson from Overwatch, but could also be played with the same skill level necessary to master Genji. Skills such as Rocket Jumping rollouts, Market Gardener-ing, air shotting enemies, and flick shots are among the high-level skills that could be learned with the class.
5 Medic:Â Huge Risk Vs Reward
The Medics are a team's tie-breaker. If the average skill is so incrementally different between the opposing teams, yet one Medic outplays the other Medic, then he brings his team to victory. Though a Medic doesn't primarily deal with damage, a Medic's ability to keep himself and his team alive is crucial in clashes.
A successful team push relies heavily on the Medic's capability to sustain his team. So, the better a Medic performs, the more likely his team is going to push forward. However, small mistakes from a Medic could mean open windows for the opposing team to capitalize on. Simply dying is a huge no-no.
4 Soldier: No Hard Counters
Soldier's well-rounded nature has given him immunity against hard counters. Almost all the other classes have hard-counters. A Heavy and Sniper's hard counter is a Spy, a Spy's hard counter is a Pyro, and a Pyro's hard counter is a spun-up Heavy or a Sniper from a distance.
In the biggest and most complex game of Rock Paper Scissors, the Soldier is the class that has enough versatility to deal with all others, and not worry about a particular class. He can annihilate Spies with his splash damage primary weapons, destroy squishy Scouts, compete with Demomen, outmaneuver Heavies, and even hybridize as a support class with any of the secondary banners.
3 Medic: Flexible Class
As the ultimate support class, the Medic is a target for all sorts of classes. Snipers try to get a sight of his head, Spies try to get behind him for an instakill, and Scouts try to flank and destroy them. But with the variety of weapons the Medic can choose from, and the Medic's regenerative ability, he can fend for himself even in the heat of battle.
Despite lacking in lethality, skilled users of the Crusader's Crossbow can handle an adversary or two. With his primary and melee weapons, a Medic can deal with flanking classes, and sneaky Spies. The Medic can also make himself invulnerable with the use of UberCharge granting him some much-needed lethality and some surprise non-meta plays.
2 Soldier: High Lethality
With no hard counters, the Soldier is one of the most lethal classes in the game. A rocket jumping Soldier can be more mobile than a Scout. When both damage and mobility are harmonized in a semi-tank, the Soldier turns into an unstoppable area-denial assault class.
The Soldier is a lethal class that can perform a crowd-control role, while also fending for himself in 1v1 engagements. Also, with the ability to also fly across the map, the Soldier can swoop in like an eagle and single out lone flankers.
1 Medic:Â The Ultimate Ability
Like an Overwatch ultimate, the Medic's UberCharge takes some time to build up, and once used, unleashes a momentary yet powerful effect on both him and his healing subject. The Kritzkrieg's UberCharge makes the healing subject deal 100% critical hits, the Quick-Fix's UberCharge makes both the Medic and the heal target invulnerable to movement impairing effects, and The Stock Medi Gun straightforward just makes the Medic and the heal target invulnerable to all damage.
UberCharge is one of the most crucial elements of an effective team strategy. Teams race to build UberCharge first because a well-timed UberCharge is the difference between victory and defeat.