What is VSH in TF2? Custom ‘Juggernaut’ mode, explained

Team Fortress 2 has always been propped up by community servers and game modes, with one of the most well-known, VS Saxton Hale, now officially recognized by Valve as an official playlist included in the title’s surprise Summer 2023 update.

VS Saxton Hale has one player in the server controlling the ‘CEO,’ looking to take out the mercenaries on the RED team, who have been hired to kill Hale by Gray Mann. This community TF2 mode dates back to 2010 and is still supported by the original mastermind creator, LizardOfOz.

If you’re new to TF2 or returning to see how your favorite mode has changed, here is everything you need to know about playing VS Saxton Hale.

How does VS Saxton Hale work?

VS Saxton Hale is a modified arena-based mode with only one round. Before the match begins, one player in the server is randomly selected to face off alone against the other 23 enemies, who will all be working together on the RED team.

All players have one life per round, and win if they eliminate the enemy team. If four minutes pass without a winner, the central control point on the map will unlock, allowing a team to win by capturing the objective instead.

What abilities does Saxton Hale have in TF2?

Saxton Hale plays completely differently from the standard nine mercenaries. They hold no guns and fights with their fists instead of a primary or secondary weapon. Despite the overwhelming range advantage, Saxton Hale comes with multiple buffs and abilities that allow them to fight off the entire RED team.

Saxton Hale passively has 25 percent resistance against all damage and knockback sources and a massive health bar that scales with the number of players on the RED team. They cannot take any fall damage but is unable to pick up any neutral health kits scattered throughout the map. Hale’s fists deal triple the normal melee damage, and have a wider range than any melee weapon, but are unable to deal random critical hits.

Saxton Hale’s TF2 abilities

Sweeping Charge

Saxton Hale winds up his fist for up to ten seconds and freezes himself in place, immune to all enemy knockback and slowing effects. Releasing the ability key makes Hale charge forwards in his current direction, dealing up to 55 percent of a player’s maximum HP if he collides with them. Sweeping Charge then goes on cooldown for ten seconds.

Saxton Punch!

Saxton Hale starts a 30-second countdown when the round starts to charge up a personal buff. When the ability fully charges, his left arm glows red with critical hit sparks, and the next successful melee attack sends a damaging shockwave to all nearby enemies. The empowered attack deals 326 before going on cooldown for 30 seconds.

Mighty Slam

Anytime Saxton Hale is in the air, he can activate Mighty Slam, quickly slamming down on the ground and emitting a shockwave from his landing location. This ability deals damage based on a player’s distance from Hale’s point of impact and has a cooldown of 15 seconds.

Brave Jump

Saxton Hale has the same double jump ability as the Scout and can perform this ability after using Sweeping Charge if he is still in the air. This ability has no cooldown.

What abilities do the mercenaries have in VS Saxton Hale?

Mercenaries‘ VSH TF2 abilities

Wall Climbing

Mercenaries can climb walls by equipping their melee weapon and striking a wall or a floor. This ability has no cooldown and will launch the player directly upwards.

Last Mann Standing

When only three mercenaries are left alive, all surviving players will permanently deal mini-crit damage from all sources to Saxton Hale. When only one player is alive, they will permanently deal full critical hits for the rest of the round.

Additionally, multiple general gameplay elements, such as class passives, weapons, and buildings, have been balanced for the game mode. A full list of patch notes can be found on the official Team Fortress 2 wiki.

Where can I play VS Saxton Hale?

VS Saxton Hale is available on the four new maps included with the 2023 Summer Update: VSH Distillery, VSH Nucleus, VSH Skirmish, and VSH Tiny Rock. Players have a chance to find these maps when joining the Summer Playlist, but can also directly join a server running this mode from the community server browser.