Pick

For the Soldier's melee weapon that looks like a pick, see Equalizer.

A pick is a solitary kill on an important class. As opposed to taking out a few enemies before dying or retreating, it is killing only one enemy, with that enemy being an important piece of the opposing team. Picks may or may not be suicidal; obviously having the picker survive is more effective than a suicidal pick.

Classes suited to picking

• Snipers are the quintessential picking class; in fact one could say that due to the nature of his primary weapon all of his kills are picks. One uncharged headshot or fully charged bodyshot will take out an enemy Medic with minimal risk. Enemy Snipers or built-up Engineers can also be efficiently removed this way. A fully charged headshot will also pick any Heavy, which instantly removes a wall from in front of the team.
• Spies are less good at picking than Snipers are (as they generally do not survive for long after doing their job), but can still be effective, especially if the enemy team is watching for Snipers (and therefore probably not their backs).
• Scouts that have managed to flank the enemy can pick enemy Snipers with relative ease, while having a go at the Medic can be worth the effort as well.
• A clever Demoman may be able to hide and/or time his stickies good enough that the rear of the enemy team is hit harder than the front on a push, where most pick-worthy classes tend to hide. However this is very situational and would probably not be considered a pick if it gibs more than one enemy.

Classes that are pick targets

• Medics, with their game-changing Übercharge and protective buddies, are the top target. Picking a Medic nulls a team's free source of health and deprives them of any Übercharge they might have had.
• Snipers are often targets of picking simply because they themselves are the best at picking.
• Heavies or overhealed Soldiers can be efficiently removed by a Sniper or Spy, while it would take a great deal of hits to bring them down otherwise.