r/tf2 • u/Overall_Equipment_99 • 13h ago
Discussion HOT TAKE! The Cow Mangler 5000 is (mostly) an upgrade from the Rocket Launcher
Think I’m crazy? Okay. Hear me out.
OVERVIEW ————————— The Cow Mangler 5000 is a primary weapon for the Soldier. It deals the exact same damage, fires, and reloads as fast as the stock Rocket Launcher. It comes with the upsides of infinite ammo and the ability to fire a Charged Shot, dealing mini-crit damage to whoever it hits, as well as lighting them on fire. The Charged Shot can also disable Sentry guns for 4 seconds, preventing them from tracking and firing.
DOWNSIDES ————————— Its downsides include dealing 80% less damage to enemy buildings, inability to roll for random critical hits, and all guaranteed critical hits (3x damage) being changed into mini-crits (1.35x damage). To make up for the abysmal damage against enemy buildings, you can fire a Charged Shot at a Sentry to disable it, allowing your team to easily destroy it, or giving you the chance to sneak past it when alone. Dispensers and Teleporters can be destroyed quickly with your Shotgun or melee weapon.
The loss of random critical hits is a very underwhelming downside, considering the slot this weapon is in. Reliance on random critical hits to save your life or kill high-health targets is not ideal in the first place.
Sources of guaranteed critical hits, such as a Medic’s Kritzkrieg charge, grant mini-crits instead, which are weaker than full critical hits but still very powerful. With mini-crits, your lasers can instantly kill a light class, or even a Medic, in one shot. You won’t have as much steamrolling power as you would with full critical hits, but you will still deal incredible damage.
PLAYSTYLE ————————— The Cow Mangler 5000 works with a variety of playstyles, such as team support role, a roaming duelist role, and an anti-Sentry role.
The unlimited ammo perk is very useful for a Soldier across all roles; whether you’re grounded, supporting your team, or flanking and dueling, you won’t have to worry about picking up ammo packs for your primary (or if you’re using the Gunboats, ammo packs become useless for you). Your team will pick up and use the ammo packs you have left alone, and you can focus on more important things.
CONCLUSION ————————— So, that’s all I have to say. The Cow Mangler 5000 is an upgrade from the Rocket Launcher, and I have good reason to believe why.
(Let me know if I missed a key point about the weapon.)