Knockback
“ | This American boot just kicked your ass back to Russia!
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— The Soldier
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” |
Knockback is the movement of a player, caused by an outside source.
When taking damage from any source, a player will experience an amount of knockback that generally scales directly with the power behind the attack. For example, a point-blank Scattergun blast will push its recipient farther back than an uncharged Sniper Rifle shot. While most weapons inflict minor knockback at best, there are quite a few exceptions that inflict significant knockback and can have a dramatic effect on the battlefield. Significant sources of knockback will instantly interrupt any animations the victim is in, including taunts and consumption of a lunchbox item. The only items that can reduce the effects of knockback are the Mantreads, the Quick-Fix while deploying an ÜberCharge, and the Cozy Camper.
Contents
Explosions
The explosive projectiles fired by weapons such as the Rocket Launcher and Stickybomb Launcher are among the most powerful sources of knockback and can send victims flying through the air. Crouching or being airborne reduces air drag, greatly increasing the degree of knockback experienced. Classes that utilize explosives will often take advantage of this mechanic to propel themselves great distances.
Explosion sources | ||||||
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Rockets | ||||||
Rocket Launcher1 | Direct Hit | Black Box | Rocket Jumper2 | Liberty Launcher | Cow Mangler 5000 | |
Original | Beggar's Bazooka | Air Strike | ||||
Grenades | ||||||
Grenade Launcher1 | Loch-n-Load | Loose Cannon | Iron Bomber | |||
Stickybombs | ||||||
Stickybomb Launcher1 | Scottish Resistance | Sticky Jumper2 | Quickiebomb Launcher | |||
Exploding flares | ||||||
Detonator2 | Scorch Shot2 | |||||
Environment | ||||||
Pumpkin bombs | ||||||
Notes |
1Includes Festive, Botkiller and Australium variants. |
2Knockback only affects the user. |
Damage over time / Self damage
Damage received from an adirectional source or a weapon that hurts the user will push the recipient upward. The degree of knockback experienced scales with the damage taken and is usually minor, but can be significant enough to access previously unreachable areas.
Damage over time / Self damage sources | ||||||||
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Bleeding | ||||||||
Flying Guillotine | Boston Basher | Three-Rune Blade | Wrap Assassin | Southern Hospitality | Tribalman's Shiv | |||
Fire | ||||||||
Cow Mangler 50001 | Flame Thrower2 | Backburner | Degreaser | Phlogistinator | Rainblower | Nostromo Napalmer | Flare Gun2 | |
Detonator | Manmelter | Scorch Shot | Sharpened Volcano Fragment | Huo-Long Heater3 | Huntsman2,4 | Fortified Compound4 | ||
Notes |
1Charge shot only. |
2Includes Festive, Botkiller and Australium variants. |
3Flame ring only. |
4Flaming arrows only. |
Special cases
- Compression blast – Launches victim backwards aerially without inflicting damage.
- Force-A-Nature – Launches victim according to the angle at which the weapon was fired; launches an airborne wielder in the opposite direction.
- Loose Cannon – Launches victim back a distance proportional to how far the cannonball travels.
- Melee weapon Critical hits – Launches airborne targets significantly backwards.
- Natascha – The effects of slowdown are similar to knockback and will cancel any animations the victim is in.
- Scorch Shot – Launches victim back a distance proportional to how far the flare travels.
- Sentry Gun – Sentry Gun bullets and rockets push targets away.
Related achievements
Scout
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Demoman
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Foundry achievements
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Astro-chievements
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