Basic Pyro strategy

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Mmmphya harrgh mrgha hrghgph! Click to listen — The Pyro

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The Pyro is a moderately tough class that specializes in close range combat and excels at ambushing enemies with his various flamethrowers. The afterburn he inflicts will steadily damage fleeing foes, making him decent at hit-and-run tactics. His compression blast is extremely disruptive and can be used to reflect projectiles, extinguish burning team mates, or forcibly shove enemies around. His flames nullify Cloak and disguises, making him especially effective against the Spy. While easy to learn, mastering how to properly use his various weapons takes time. A good Pyro will often switch between weapons to maximize damage. At longer ranges, the Pyro is vulnerable to hitscan weaponry, such as the Minigun or Sniper Rifle.

Compression blast

All of the Pyro's primary weapons except the Phlogistinator have access to a compression blast, or airblast, using MOUSE2. The compression blast is a powerful source of utility that can be used both offensively and defensively. Offensively, use it to force ignited enemies into map hazards, out of cover, or into corners, where you can then easily finish them off with powerful weapons like the Axtinguisher. Defensively, use it to reflect projectiles, shove dangerous enemies away, and extinguish teammates who are on fire. The compression blast can even move invulnerable players, such as those under the effects of the standard ÜberCharge.

Primary weapons

All of your primary weapons burn through ammunition quickly, especially if airblasting. Frequently pick up dropped weapons, collect ammo boxes, and visit friendly Dispensers to stay replenished.

Flame Thrower + reskins

The Flame Thrower is powerful, hits a wide area in front of you, and causes enemies to suffer from afterburn. However, it has a very short range when compared to the guns used by other classes. To easily approach targets, try to catch them off guard by taking alternate paths or setting up ambushes. Once in combat, take advantage of how easy the Flame Thrower is to aim by circle-strafing around your foes, making yourself more difficult to hit. If opponents flee, don't rely on afterburn to finish them off, as there are many ways to extinguish fire. Instead, switch to your secondary weapon for any enemies at medium range or beyond. Spy-check suspicious teammates by firing short bursts of flame, and remember to be a team player by airblasting burning teammates, reflect enemy projectiles, or push dangerous enemies such as an Ubercharged Heavy away to keep your team safe.

• The Rainblower functions identically to the Flame Thrower, but also has the Armageddon kill taunt, a unique fire particle effect, and sets the player's view to Pyrovision.
• The Nostromo Napalmer is part of the Isolated Merc item set, which increases Napalmer damage dealt to and melee damage received from Scouts wearing the Isolationist Pack set.

Backburner + reskins

The Backburner deals guaranteed critical hits when attacking from behind, but has a significantly increased airblast cost. To position yourself behind the enemy, favor ambushing tactics such as dropping down from a high location, and liberally circle-strafe when in combat. Overall, you sacrifice defense for offense; the increased compression blast cost will make it more difficult to disrupt ÜberCharges as well as defend yourself at long range from rockets and grenades, but makes you a very powerful class if your enemies are not prepared for it.

Degreaser

The Degreaser allows you to switch between weapons very quickly but slightly increases airblast cost, encouraging you to combine this weapon with others. After igniting an enemy, you can airblast them into a corner and follow up with another weapon, such as the Reserve Shooter, Flare Gun or Axtinguisher. The Degreaser's afterburn only deals 20 damage for its entire duration, making hit-and-run tactics much less effective, so use these weapon combinations to immediately take out single targets. Your faster switch time also allows you to react quickly to any oncoming projectiles and reflect them away, even if you are currently holding your secondary or melee weapon.

Phlogistinator

When using the Phlogistinator, dealing any sort of fire damage to enemies will cause your "Mmmph" meter to fill. When the meter is full, secondary fire will cause you to perform a taunt and gain guaranteed critical hits to the Phlogistinator. As tempting as it is, is advised not to blindly charge into a group of enemies to quickly build up "Mmmph" without a Medic healing you, as it takes quite a lot of fire damage to charge your meter and you are very vulnerable head-on. To safely charge up your "Mmmph" meter, ambush weak opponents or use fiery long range weapons such as the Flare Gun. When the meter is full, you can taunt to activate the critical hits; because the taunt makes you invulnerable and immovable, you can activate it whenever you want. It can be used to power up before an ambush, endure a burst of damage, or even draw attention away from weakened teammates. However, the Phlogistinator cannot use the compression blast at all; not being able to deflect projectiles or shove enemies away leaves you weaker in a direct fight and unable to protect teammates from enemy explosives.

Secondary weapons

Shotgun + reskins

The Shotgun is your most reliable ranged weapon and helps cover the Flamethrower's weaknesses. Use it to engage enemies at medium range, especially when they retreat out of the short range of your Flamethrower. Other uses for the Shotgun include fighting enemy Pyros, who can't be ignited, and fighting underwater, where most of your flame weaponry will fizzle.

Flare Gun + reskins

The Flare Gun fires slow, arcing projectiles that can deal reliable damage to enemies outside the range of your Shotgun. The Flare Gun also deals critical hits to burning enemies, allowing you to finish off retreating foes from a distance or airblast them into corners for an easy critical hit. If you cannot safely approach an area, you can duck in and out of cover while using the Flare Gun to harass at long range; if you consistently land your shots, you can deal large amounts of damage. Mechanically, the Flare Gun can be reloaded even if it's not the active weapon; once you're in a fight, briefly switch to your primary weapon between shots just in case you need to reflect projectiles or fight at close range. Remember that you are at a disadvantage against Shotgun-wielding enemy Pyros at close range, as Pyros cannot be lit on fire: if you have to fight one, switch to the Flamethrower and circle-strafe them.

Detonator

Much like the Flare Gun, the Detonator is useful for harassing enemies that are far away or behind cover, although it deals 25% less damage making it weaker for direct confrontations. Its flares deal only mini-crits to burning enemies, making it less effective as a finishing weapon, but can be manually detonated for a moderately large explosion that burns opponents and deals mini-crits on burning targets as well. This ability gives you a bit of leeway while aiming, allows you to ignite multiple enemies at once, deal constant chip damage to burning targets, and can be used to attack enemies behind corners. You can use the explosion to flare jump upwards at the cost of a small portion of health, which helps in accessing alternate routes to ambush your opponents.

Reserve Shooter

The Reserve Shooter reduces weapon switch time and synergizes very well with your compression blast; airblast to force an enemy into the air, then switch to the Reserve Shooter to deal devastating Mini-Crits. Its reduced magazine size makes it less reliable as a standard sidearm, especially when dealing with enemies at medium range or beyond. It can be used in tandem with the Degreaser for even faster weapon switching and easy compression blast combos.

Manmelter

The Manmelter functions similarly to the Flare Gun. It has infinite ammunition and a faster projectile speed, but does not deal guaranteed critical hits to burning players and fires at a slower rate. Alternate fire can be used to extinguish teammates in place of the compression blast, particularly useful if you want to conserve Flamethrower ammunition or are using the Phlogistinator. Each successful extinguishing will cause the Manmelter to store one guaranteed critical hit, allowing it to be used as a strong finishing weapon that doesn't require a hit on a burning target. Overall, you sacrifice offensive power for utility, as you lose the ability to throw out faster critical hits on burning players in exchange for dealing guaranteed critical hits so long as you have burning teammates.

Scorch Shot

The Scorch Shot functions similarly to the Flare Gun. It gains the ability to knock back enemies struck by its flares but deals mediocre damage. Despite this, the Scorch Shot's flares cause a fiery burst on a surface, and will slowly fall and explode if it hits an opponent, allowing it to potentially hit another target passing by or the same target twice. It also deals mini-crits on burning targets, and due the flare's exploding nature, the Scorch Shot's flares are much better at igniting targets and dealing chip damage than the standard Flare Gun. Flares deals increased knockback on burning targets; this makes it useful for shoving enemies that are outside the range of your compression blast, particularly if they're standing near an environmental hazard. Like with the Detonator, the flare's explosion can be used to flare jump, although its weaker explosion results in a smaller jump. Overall, the Scorch Shot excels at keeping opponents constantly on fire, rather than dealing burst damage like the Pyro's other Flare Guns.

Panic Attack

The Panic Attack is similar to the Shotgun; upon holding the fire button, you load up to four shells. Releasing the fire button will cause all stored shots to fire one-by-one. It is less effective than the Shotgun as a backup weapon, as the consecutive loading and firing can be predictable at times. The firing rate increases as your health gets lower; you can load the weapon while a foe is pursuing you, then unload all the bursts at once. The bullet spread also increases, forcing you to execute this tactic at near melee range; given that you usually fight within melee range as the Pyro anyway, the Panic Attack provides another execution technique.

Melee weapons

Fire Axe + reskins

As the Pyro, you're already fighting at close range with your Flamethrower. Thus, the Fire Axe works best as a last resort, when you're out of ammunition or don't have time to reload your secondary weapon. The majority of Pyro players use a different melee weapon to gain some extra utility.

Axtinguisher + reskins

The Axtinguisher has a lengthy draw time, deals less damage and attacks slightly more slowly, but deals guaranteed critical hits to a burning enemy. After igniting an enemy, quickly switch to the Axtinguisher to catch him offguard with a critical hit, or airblast him into a wall and use a melee attack to deal extreme damage. Take note of the weapon's significantly increased deploy time, as your opponent has a good amount of time to react if he sees you coming. Because of this, it pairs particularly well with the Degreaser and its faster weapon switch time.

Homewrecker + reskins

The Homewrecker can remove Sappers in one hit, allowing you to become an even more effective Engineer buddy and defend friendly buildings from enemy Spies. When the Homewrecker is used offensively, it can destroy any unshielded building in two hits. Because it has limited melee range, approach enemy Sentry Guns with your Flamethrower before switching weapons, or wait for it to target someone else before rushing in.

Powerjack

When the Powerjack is your active weapon, you gain 15% movement speed and a 20% increased vulnerability to all damage sources. The movement speed increase allows you get into position faster and outrun all classes but the Scout, but the increased damage taken discourages you from wielding it out in the open. The Powerjack grants 25 health upon killing an enemy and can be used similarly to the Axtinguisher; after you damage an enemy at close range, execute him with the Powerjack, using an airblast to keep him in place if necessary. At melee range, you don't need to worry too much about damage taken; as the Pyro, you hold a clear advantage when it comes to close range combat.

Back Scratcher

The Back Scratcher deals more damage than the Fire Axe and increases the amount gained from health pickups. However, it heavily reduces the healing received from allies such as Medics. It's best used when fighting behind enemy lines, where you'll regain health from finding pickups more often. It also benefits from airblast combos like the Axtinguisher and Powerjack, although it gives no benefits on kill and simply deals a consistently good amount of damage without any deploy time penalty. When concerning interactions with a friendly Medic, the reduced healing rate makes you a poor Medic buddy but allows you to help a Medic build his ÜberCharge at an increased rate for a longer period of time.

Sharpened Volcano Fragment

The Sharpened Volcano Fragment deals less damage than the Fire Axe but ignites its victim. This makes it most practical for hit-and-run tactics, which unfortunately your Flamethrower already is optimal for against every class. Its only niche is in Medieval Mode, where it's the only melee weapon that can ignite enemies.

Third Degree

The Third Degree has no downsides and is a straight upgrade from the Fire Axe. It can deal damage not only to struck enemies, but also to any player healing or being healed by the victim via Medic beams. When targeting a Medic's buddy, you can use this weapon to damage both of them at once, particularly useful if the Medic is low on health or difficult to reach. A critical hit with the Third Degree will transfer the damage from patient to Medic, so even if the Medic's target survives, the Medic will not if he does not have overheal. The Third Degree still only deals damage identical to that of the standard Fire Axe; if the connected targets are within close proximity, it may be more efficient to attack all of them at once with your Flamethrower.

Neon Annihilator

The Neon Annihilator deals guaranteed critical hits on wet targets, including those covered in Jarate or Mad Milk. It primarily gives you an effective method for dealing with enemies in water, where your flame-based weapons are useless and afterburn is extinguished. It can also fill in a niche for disposing cloaked Spies coated with liquids, as one hit is enough to take them down. While it does less damage than your standard Fire Axe, your Flamethrower should suffice for close range battles above the surface. Like the Homewrecker, the Neon Annihilator can be used to defend Engineer buildings from enemy Spies, albeit being only as effective as the Engineer's Wrench as it destroys Sappers in two hits.

See also

• Ambushing
• Team strategy