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

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, instead of the typical uppercut, the Heavy's fists will both come down at once and cause the enemy to violently explode. In addition, Chekhov's Punch lacks the taunt kill of the Fists. As a hidden attribute, 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 and weapons will glow with a crit-boost effect. In exchange, the Heavy takes critical damage from all melee hits, whether or not 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 1.5 seconds of crits to automatic weapons and a single crit on single-shot weapons. This also means that missing a shot, including on melee, will consume a stored crit. This applies during melee even if 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. Using a critical Sandvich will also consume a charge, giving 360 health with overheal when eaten, or giving 100% health to an ally when thrown. A charge will be consumed even if the player is at 450 health when eaten, and picking up a thrown critical Sandvich will not refund a charge.

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!

Update history

2.1.0

• Added Chekhov's Punch

2.1.1

• Overhauled sounds

2.1.3

• Updated the Minigun:
  • Each stored Chekhov's Punch crit now takes 1.5s of firing to deplete (from 0.75s)
• Updated the Sandvich:
  • Consumes one Chekhov's Punch stored crit when thrown or eaten
• Updated Chekhov's Punch:
  • The chain wearable now critglows in both first person and third person

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.
• Switching to the Fists from 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.

Gallery

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