Chekhov's Punch

Chekhov's Punch
Kill Icons
Basic Information
Used by	Heavy
Slot	Melee
Loadout Stats
Chekhov's Punch Chains Oh hit: Store up to 3 critical hits Stored crits are consumed by all weapons Melee damage taken will crit on wearer Melee will crit only at full capacity "If one is to equip these chains, then they should be punched with."

Hitting enemies with Chekhov's Punch stores critical hits, which you'll consume and activate whenever you attack with your other weapons. And you're going to need them—you take guaranteed crit damage from all melee sources if you're carrying Chekhov's Punch, even if you have another weapon in your hands.

Chekhov's Punch publicity blurb

The Chekhov's Punch is an alternate melee weapon for the Heavy added in the Fight or Flight update. They are the Heavy's own Fists, wrapped in chains. Chains appear on the Heavy's arms when the weapon is equipped, regardless of whether it is active. The user can left or right click to throw a left or right punch, but this has no effect on usage. When dealing critical damage, the Heavy's fists will both come down at once, instead of the typical uppercut. In addition, the Chekhov's Punch lacks the taunt kill of the Fists. As a hidden attribute, the Chekhov's Punch has a 65% increase in attack range compared to all other melee weapons.

They are identical to the Fists in terms of damage. However, each hit on an enemy (except for invulnerable enemies and disguised Spies) stores up to 3 critical hits, which are shared between all of Heavy's weapons. When the Heavy has a critical charge, his hands will glow with a crit-boost effect. In exchange, the Heavy takes critical damage from all melee hits, whether or not the Chekhov's Punch is active or has any charges. In addition, it will only deal critical damage during melee attacks if the user has exactly 3 crits stored. If the Heavy has less than 3 charges, his hands will glow but will lack the typical electric particle effect.

Using a charge will give 0.8 seconds of crits to automatic weapons and a single crit to single-shot weapons. This also means that missing a shot, including melee, will consume a stored crit. This applies during melee even if the Chekhov's Punch has less than 3 charges, although hitting a surface or a friendly player or missing a melee attack while in melee range of an enemy does not consume a charge. If the user is crit-boosted through other means, no charges will be consumed.

The Chekhov's Punch is the offensive Heavy's melee. It makes the user much more powerful at the cost of becoming a glass cannon against melee attacks. The Heavy wielding this will gain critical hits with all weapons, which can be devastating with the right positioning. Of course, attempting to melee opponents as the slowest class in the game isn't easy, and any aware enemy can simply pull their own melee to down you in two hits, except for Scout, who takes 3 hits to down you. To use this to its fullest potential, you may have to be more aggressive than the typical Heavy, because if you aren't going for melee hits, the chains may as well be useless. 

A Shotgun may be more powerful than the Sandvich when using these. Unless you are in a 1v1 and kill your opponent with your melee (good luck with that), there will be more opponents who you are going to need to kill in quick succession. Because of how close you will have to be to use these, trying to rev up will only leave you vulnerable to getting hit with a melee crit. A Shotgun can help you since it doesn't require revving up and can allow you to quickly spit out your stored crits much faster than the time it would take to rev up the Minigun or the Anti-Aircraft Cannon. Sure, this will deter Medics from pocketing you, but who needs a Medic's Kritzkrieg when you have critical hits right in your hands?

Properties

Properties
Damage type		Melee
Ranged or Melee?		Melee
Taunt		Knockout
Damage
Base damage	100%	65
Critical		195
Mini-crit		88
Function Times
Attack interval		0.8 s
Activation time		0.2 s
All values are approximate.

Related Achievements

Achievement		Description
	Setup and Payoff	Get a crit kill with Chekhov's Punch at maximum crit storage.
	Chekhov's What?	As a Heavy, get 20 critical kills with the Shotgun.
	It's Dead!	Give an enemy Heavy who has the Chekhov's Punch equipped a heart attack!

Trivia

• The name Chekhov's Punch comes from the term "Chekhov's Gun", a trope where something is shown at the beginning of a story and is used at the end. This matches the theme of this weapon, as it stores crits for later.
• The backpack icon for Chekhov's Punch has Heavy's arms colored significantly darker than usual.
• The Chekhov's Punch does not allow the Sandvich to crit.
• Switching to the Fists from the Chekhov's Punch allows you to keep and use the critical charges gained. This also allows the Fists to use critical hits on any number of charges. The crits are not used on the Fists' "High Noon" taunt kill.
• In the promotional artwork for the Fight or Flight update, the Heavy has the Chekhov's Punch chains in his back pocket, instead of on his arms.

Gallery

Promotional image of the Heavy with the Chekhov's Punch in his back pocket, and also the Anti-Aircraft Cannon.