The Shovel is the default melee weapon of the Soldier. Dealing normal melee damage, the Shovel is a good alternative to the Shotgun when an opponent is too close to safely use the Rocket Launcher for fear of self-damage. The Soldier swings the Shovel from the left in a backhand motion in a critical hit animation similar to how he disposes of a Spy in Meet The Soldier. Base damage is 65, though 55-75 is possible. A mini-crit does 88, and a critical hit does 195 damage. The swing rate is the same as other default melee weapons, every 0.8 seconds. This is a poor weapon is used to chase down enemies, as the Soldier is a slow character and the only class slower than you is the Heavy, and chasing him will likely lead to death in almost all situations (with exceptions). Otherwise, it is better to use the Shotgun or the Rocket Launcher.
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