As the Hwguy ...
Get to know the Assault Cannon well. You're going to be using it often. Fortunately for you, the cooling period has been eliminated. Thus, unless you run out of ammo for some reason, you're going to live and die with the AC in your hands.

Remember that you can't fire the Cannon while in air. Thus, you can forget hanging with the hook (if the map allows) and firing. Also, in the latest version of TF, the swimming and firing Hwguy is no more. Your feet have to be firmly planted on the ground.

When firing against moving targets, try to predict their movements and have THEM run into your bullet stream. It may also be a good idea to sweep the area, in order to catch those enemies low on health. Watch out for your teammates, though. You don't want to wear away all of their armor.

The major weakness with the Hwguy deals with his movement while using the Cannon. Rather, the lack of it. You make excellent Anything-bait while firing the cannon. You can pretty much expect hell to come your way once you start firing, as you are literally a sitting duck.

In general, you don't have to be too afraid of charging into rooms or whatnot. You start out with more armor than anyone else, certainly enough to get you through a few meagerly placed grenades or rockets. (It usually takes 5 perfectly-placed rockets to take out a Hwguy, so you can expect a reload) Of course, it's still best to practice strafing and all that, since you're likely to encounter more than one enemy at a time. As for the MIRV grenade, use it wisely. You start out with only one, so don't waste it.

It seems to me that the Hwguy is best suited for defense. Force enemy players to come to you. Park yourself into a nice corner, so you can't be circle-strafed, and camp away. Of course, watch out for grenades that are likely to be bounced into the room that you're in.

Against the Hwguy ...
One of the weaknesses of the Hwguy is that the AC firing sound starts up BEFORE it actually starts to fire. Thus, listen for the sound. If you see a Hwguy firing, and he's not doing so at you, then blast away before he has a chance to stop! The Hwguy won't be moving much at all. So set up that Sniper Rifle, load up the rocket / grenade launcher, prepare the railgun, and have fun. Hell, you may even want to consider lobbing a hand grenade or two at the dude, if you think he's going to be there for a while.

Remember ... while the Hwguy himself can't move while firing, rocket blasts and whatnot can still move him around. Don't fire two rockets directly at him, unless he's backed into a wall. Better yet, use the first rocket/grenade to knock him into the air. Try to predict his landing, and then fire again.

If he's firing at you, then running away should be your first goal (if you're still alive that is). Head towards a corner or spot where the Assault Cannon can't get to you, forcing the Hwguy to stop. This is your chance to come back out and retaliate. It'll take some time for the AC to rev up again, so be sure to attack quickly.

If you're feeling adventurous, and are good at circle strafing (you should be, if you ever want to do well in the game), then you can try circling around the Hwguy as he fires. This is what I do to kill most Hwguys I meet ... and what foes did to me when I played as a Hwguy. If you do so, then be sure to lob a grenade at his feet. He'll be too busy trying to nab you to notice the "present" you've left for him.

Last updated: December 4, 1997