The Sandvich is a great tool for a Heavy defending an area, as it gives him the ability to replenish health between enemy waves without having to abandon his post.
— Sandvich publicity blurb
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The Sandvich, known in full as the Sandvich Edible Device, is an unlockable secondary weapon for the Heavy. It is half of a sandwich made with two triangular slices of bread. Between the slices of bread are lettuce, tomatoes, Swiss cheese, and an indeterminate meat that is referred to both ham and bologna by the Heavy. It is topped with a green stuffed olive, pinned to the Sandvich by a toothpick.
The Sandvich can be consumed by pressing either the bound primary fire or taunt key. When eaten, it will replenish an amount equal to the Heavy's maximum health over a four second duration. While the Heavy is eating, he makes a loud munching sound and the player is forced into the third-person view. As eating the Sandvich is considered a taunt, it cannot be consumed in instances when taunts can not be used, such as when underwater. The Sandvich will not have to recharge if the Heavy is already at maximum health, allowing it to be continuously consumed for leisure. Critical Sandviches have no additional benefits.
Players can use the alternate fire key to drop the Sandvich onto the floor. A dropped Sandvich appears on a rotating plate and acts as a medium-sized Medkit that can be picked up by both allies and enemies. The Heavy cannot use his own dropped Sandvich to heal himself; picking up a dropped Sandvich will simply reset the cooldown timer. A dropped Sandvich from another Heavy, whether friend or foe, can only be used to restore health and will not reset the cooldown timer.
The recharge time for the Sandvich is approximately 30 seconds. The Heavy can instantly recharge the Sandvich by visiting a Resupply cabinet, picking up his own thrown Sandvich, or collecting any health pickup while at full health. The recharge timer begins as soon as the Sandvich is consumed or dropped. Should the Heavy be killed while holding the Sandvich, it will be dropped as a collectible that restores 50 health to all classes but the Scout, who is healed for 75 health.
The Sandvich is automatically awarded to any player who obtains 10 Heavy achievements.
Updated the Heavy's sandvich so it will only resupply ammo if the owner picks it up after dropping it. This means the only way to gain health from the sandvich is by eating it.
Bugs
Using the taunt key to consume the Sandvich while stunned will restore no health; the cooldown timer will still reset. The same will happen if the player starts consuming the Sandvich via taunt key and then quickly switches to another weapon.
If the Sandvich is the active weapon during humiliation, it can still be thrown by using alternate fire.
When a player consumes the Sandvich, it is possible that no bite marks will visibly appear in the first person view; other players will still see an eaten Sandvich.
S.E.D, the acronym of "Sandvich Edible Device", is also the acronym for the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, the Communist governing party of East Germany from October 1949 to March 1990.
The Sandvich was first introduced to the community in Meet the Scout, months before it was released as an in-game item.
The user guide for the Sandvich contains a typo. The word "Health" relating to the cheese and dairy group is misspelled. This is corrected in the actual poster available through the Valve Store.