Melee

Heavy's Fists

Melee weapons are a type of weapon that do not require ammo. Most classes' melees do 65 damage. The only exceptions are Scout and Civilian who do 35 damage, and Spy who does 40 damage. Melee weapons have an increased chance of critical hits from the minimum 2% on non-melees to 15% and from the maximum 12% on non-melees to 60%. Some melee weapons have a different swing animation for critical hits and the Demoman's bottle breaks on critical hit.

Melee weapons are weapons placed within any classes melee slot. Traditionally, melee weapons do not require ammo and deal consistent damage, making them a reliable, if risky, last resort option should a player run out of ammo. Their increased chance of critical hits is raised from the minimum 2% to 15%, and the maximum raised from 12% to 60%. This can make them effective, albeit risky, ambush tools to try and quickly eliminate other classes. These random critical hits do not apply to the Knife, Harvester, or Chekhovs Punch. In addition, most melee weapons have a special animation for when they get a critical hit, such as the Fists uppercutting or the Kukri swinging downwards.

Due to their niche uses and the standard set by Engineer and Spy, a common theme among melee weapon design is to trade the consistent damage and/or random critical hits in exchange for some sort of utility. The Wrench for example, maintains the standard stock melee stats, but with the added ability to heal and upgrade buildings, as well as refill Sentry Guns with ammo. In addition, the Knife has added utility in being able to one shot any class from behind with a guaranteed critical hit, called a backstab. It is worth noting backstabs can only happen from behind enemies, and attempting to attack an enemy with a crit boosted knife from the front will result in the Knife critting as normal, dealing 120 damage. Other examples of utility melees include The Harvester, Chekhov's Punch, Shock Therapy, Umbrella, Derby Cane, Uberspritze, and Fishwhacker.