Soldier Damage Comparison

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq1-k7-iRV1ZdE5JRy1COS0wMjVBM3hXNjVOUXdnTEE&hl=en_US

With the addition of the Cow Mangler 5000 yesterday, I just had to write up soldier. I got through the Damage over Time(DOT) chart, and something felt off. Some told me I didn't have the full grasp of soldier's capabilities, I mean this showcased only perfect aim against a single opponent.
Then it hit me, Splash damage. How do I compare splash damage? I thought for a second about running splash damage vs different sized groups of opponents, bu that just wasn't right. I mean a gun that does more damage vs one opponent will continue to outperform against multiple opponents.
So, I finally decided to run the numbers on a single opponent moving at full speed away from the rockets trajectory. This is where things got interesting.

Last things first, we'll start with the new Cow Mangler 5000. The 1st impression I get from this gun is "this thing blows". Not only does it kill all enemies with Pyro or more HP slower than the Default Rocket Launcher, but with the 3 second charge time for the minicrit-splosion, and the reduced damage on buildings, suddenly even mini sentries become threats. So how does this rocket fit into the Soldiers normal play style? Simple: It doesn't. This is not the gun for people who enjoy playing Soldier how Soldier is meant to be played. This is the gun for players who main the lighter classes, like Pyro or Scout who want to try their hand at soldier, and prefer the hit & run style of play. That said, it does have an upside that fits relatively well into the Soldiers normal play style, with only a small change. With the CM5K's Charge shot, you can prefire corners with a minicrit, with the added bonus of afterburn. If you hear a ding, switch to your shotgun, turn the corner and finish them off. Kills even overhealed heavies faster than any other Rocket Launcher.

Next in line is the 2nd most recent gun: The Liberty Launcher. The increased speed of this gun without the drawback of a smaller blast radius makes it excellent for killing squishy classes, even when they're moving at full speed. If you switch to shotgun immediately after your clip empties, you can even take down a heavy faster than with the default rocket launcher.

Black Box: Similarly to the liberty launcher, the Black Box + a shotgun is great for surviving combat with heavies, and sentry guns (especially if you have the whole tank buster set). It's definitely a niche gun, and the lack of a 4th rocket really screws in longer encounters.

Both of the above guns, the LL & BB are great for single enemies. Liberty Launcher shines with squishy classes, while the Black Box shows its merit with the heavier ones. They still both fail in comparison to the default launcher when it comes to an overhealed heavy + a medic. Sometimes you just need more rockets. But don't let that get you down, just travel with a group!

Direct Hit: This launcher is good for only 1 scenario: When you know you can hit. If you're defending a choke point, it's great. Any other time, it falls way behind the other guns.

Default Rocket Launcher: Similar to most default primary weapons for other classes this gun is a the all a rounder. Not sure if you're be on offense or defense? Need to defend against single players as much as large groups? This is the gun for you.

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I was asked on the TF2 forums this question:
"Doesn't take into account burst values though. Being able to unload five rockets in a single go can outweigh the lower overall DPS."

Oh you misguided fool.
Actually, it doesn't. You might think it would, but not at all. The important thing to find out here is when is the gun at it's prime. That is to say after the default launcher has fired its 4th rocket and before it reloads to fire a 5th rocket: how much time has passed, and how much extra damage were you able to do? (you'll note my DPS chart calculates this)
Default Launcher fires it's 4th rocket at 2.4s, fires it's 5th rocket at 5.96s, and deals 360 base damage in 4 rockets.
Cow Mangler 5000 fires it's 5th rocket at 3.2s, fires it's 6th rocket at 7.9s, and deals 405 base damage in 5 rockets.
This tells us that the cow mangler does the same damage until 3.2s, at which point it jumps up to +45dam over the default launcher, and stays at +45 until 5.96s, when the default launcher once again overtakes us.

At 1st this seems like a boon, right? CM5K deals +45 damage in a single clip. Great! But, it's not enough extra damage to kill anything. We killed the heavy at 300hp, but the now we're at 105dam, and that's not enough to kill a scout. The CM5K's 5th rocket is great if you missed(which is actually the same for all lower damage, larger clip weapons), or plan to spam at corners. Other than that, the rocket is a hoax.

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Since you guys've been bitching so much. I added 3 additional charts: 1 missed rocket, 2 missed rockets & 3 missed rockets! You should be so proud.

Well, you can take a look at those charts, and ya know what you'll see? The exact same thing as on the previous charts, but with slightly smaller numbers.

Perfect Accuracy (base chart): Between 3.2s & 5.9s the CM5K outperforms by 45

1 Missed Rocket: Between 3.2s & 5.9s the CM5K outperforms by 54. Again, this is less than a shotgun blast, and since you can switch weapons in less time than it takes to fire another rocket, CM5K still doesn't make a difference.

2 Missed Rockets: Between 3.2s & 5.9s the CM5K outperforms by 63. Now this is 3dam more than a shotgun, but since you can switch weapons in less time than it takes to fire another rocket, CM5K still doesn't make a real difference.

3 Missed Rockets: Between 3.2s & 5.9s the CM5K outperforms by 72. This is where the CM5K actually makes a difference. But to be honest here, if you're only hitting 32.5% of the time, perhaps you should focus on accuracy a little more.

What does this say?: This says that while a regular rocket launcher may compensate for lower accuracy by having a shotgun available to switch to, the CM5K lessens your need for a shotgun. If you're focused on high accuracy, use the Direct Hit, if you're not so good at the aiming, use the Liberty Launcher to increase rocket speed, or the CM5K to compensate. Since you don't need the shotgun as much, feel free to use a Buff Banner (which actually fills faster, because of your Charged Shot) to make the most of your extra rocket.