Pyro (competitive)
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.
The Pyro is a situational utility and roaming class sometimes used in the standard competitive lineup, valued for his ambush and point-holding capabilities.
Contents
Information
Health
| Max Health | Overheal Max | Pill Bottle | First Aid Tin |
|---|---|---|---|
Speed
| Running | Backpedaling | Swimming | Crouching |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% (300 u/s) | 90% (270 u/s) | 80% (240 u/s) | 33.33% (100 u/s) |
Speeds written in "u/s" refer to in-game units per second. When running in a certain direction causes slowness, rapidly switching between diagonals usually improves speed.
Weapons
| # | Weapon | Damage | Critical Damage | Function Times | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flamethrower 
|
Point-Blank: 6/particle 385u: 4/particle Max DPS: 150/s Afterburn: 3/hit |
Point-Blank Critical: 19/particle 385u Critical: 11/particle Max Critical DPS: 475/s Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 8/particle 385u Mini-Crit: 5/particle Max Mini-Crit DPS: 200/s |
Ammo Usage: 0.08s Particle Interval: 0.04s Airblast Interval: 0.73s |
Fire causes afterburn. Fire particle movement is unpredictable. Airblast changes team of non-sticky enemy projectiles. Airblast works against Übered foes. Airblasted projectiles become Mini-Crits (Criticals during Kritz). Airblast extinguishes burning allies. Useless underwater. |
Backburner 
|
Point-Blank: 7/particle 385u: 4/particle Max DPS: 175/s Afterburn: 3/hit |
Point-Blank Critical: 21/particle 385u Critical: 13/particle Max Critical DPS: 525/s Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 10/particle 385u Mini-Crit: 6/particle Max Mini-Crit DPS: 250/s |
Ammo Usage: 0.08s Particle Interval: 0.04s |
Fire causes afterburn. Fire particle movement is unpredictable. Targets hit from behind suffer Critical damage. No Compression Blast Useless underwater. | |
Degreaser 
|
Point-Blank: 6/particle 385u: 4/particle Max DPS: 150/s Afterburn: 2/hit |
Point-Blank Critical: 19/particle 385u Critical: 11/particle Max Critical DPS: 475/s Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 8/particle 385u Mini-Crit: 5/particle Max Mini-Crit DPS: 200/s |
Ammo Usage: 0.08s Particle Interval: 0.04s Airblast Interval: 0.73s |
Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. When equipped, grants 65% faster weapon changing. Afterburn deals 25% less damage. Otherwise identical to Flamethrower. | |
| 2 | Shotgun 
|
Point-Blank: 90 512u: 6/hit, avg 6 hits 1024u+: 3/hit |
Critical: 18/hit (max 180) Point-Blank Mini-Crit: 121 512u+ Mini-Crit: 8/hit |
Attack: 0.625s Reload Start: 1.0s Reload More: 0.5s |
Affected by fixed weapon spread (1 extra pellet at center). |
Flare Gun 
|
Any Range: 30 Afterburn Total: 60 |
Critical: 90 Mini-Crit: 41 Mini-Crit Afterburn Total: 80 |
Attack: 2.02s | Flares cause 10-second afterburn. Has no damage falloff or ramp-up. Crits or Mini-Crits on burning targets from long to close range, respectively. Useless underwater. | |
| 3 | Fire Axe 
|
Melee: 65 | Critical: 195 Mini-Crit: 88 |
Attack: 0.8s | Completely standard melee weapon. |
Axtinguisher 
|
Melee: 33 | Critical: 195 Mini-Crit: 44 |
Attack: 0.8s | Criticals on burning foes. Never Crits on nonburning foes, even during ÜberCharge. | |
Homewrecker 
|
Melee (player): 49 Melee (building): 130 |
Critical: 146 Mini-Crit: 66 |
Attack: 0.8s | Varies damage based on whether target is player or building. Can damage enemy Sappers. | |
Powerjack 
|
Melee: 81 | Critical: 244 Mini-Crit: 110 |
Attack: 0.8s | Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Kills with the Powerjack heal the user for 75 health (can Overheal). | |
Back Scratcher 
|
Melee: 81 | Critical: 244 Mini-Crit: 110 |
Attack: 0.8s | Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. Increases health from pick ups by 50%. Decreases healing from healers by 75%. | |
Sharpened Volcano Fragment 
|
Melee: 52 Afterburn base: 3 damage every 0.5 seconds for 10 seconds (60 damage total) |
Critical: 156 Mini-Crit: 70 Afterburn mini-crit: 4 damage every 0.5 seconds for 10 seconds (80 damage total) |
Attack: 0.8s | Banned in most leagues for acquisition time. On Hit: target is engulfed in flames -20% damage done. | |
| - | Afterburn 
|
Varies | Mini-Crit Afterburn Hit: 4 | Afterburn Hit: 0.5s Duration: 10s |
Extinguished by friendly Jarate, Mad Milk, or airblast. Ends much faster when being healed. Instantly removed by Über/Kritz or underwater submersion. Reveals Spies even when disguised or cloaked. Removed by Dead Ringer, but can be reapplied once cloaked. |
- "u" stands for "units of distance." "+" stands for "or more." "s" stands for "seconds." "Reload Start" refers to how long it takes for 1 ammo to be reloaded after beginning to reload, and "Reload More" refers to how long it takes for each additional ammo to reload after the first. Damages and times are approximate and determined by community testing.
Usage
The Pyro generally does not see much use in competitive play due to his short range, lack of versatility, and lack of mobility. His role is generally confined to to flanking and defending enclosed spaces. Fortunately, the Pyro is quite good at these roles, and in certain situations teams may substitute a Scout or a Soldier for a Pyro.
Common Tactics
The Pyro's primary role in competitive play is defending enclosed Control Points. The Pyro's close-quarter-combat abilities allow him to clear the confined spaces of some control points efficiently, making him useful for defending areas such as the final point of Badlands. This role is particularly evident on Gravel Pit, point C, where a popular strategy for defenders is to put a Pyro on the point to ward off Soldiers and Demomen jumping on the point. The Compression Blast ability of the Pyro is especially useful for this, enabling the Pyro to push enemies off of the point and reflect enemy grenades and rockets. Pyro is also useful for defending against an uber with airblast, and although the player will often die in doing so it may buy just enough time for the team to get their own uber or repel the attack on its own.
Pyro flanking
An example of where a flanking Pyro might be utilised is at the initial fight for the middle point on Badlands. A team using a Pyro in this mid fight may distract the enemy soldiers and Scouts as the Pyro runs under the bridge at the center point and attacks the enemy team from behind. If done correctly, the Pyro may be able to kill or severely injure the enemy team's Medic, giving his own team a significant advantage.
5-CP Push Strategies
There are generally two times when a team will use a Pyro instead of a Scout. The first is at the beginning of a 5-CP map, where a flank at the mid point can prove devastating to the other team, and the second is at the final point, where defenders may use the Pyro's close-range combat abilities in a last-ditch effort to save the point from capture. In either case, a Utility player should communicate with his team before deciding to switch to Pyro. During the mid fight, a Pyro should generally try to not be spotted by enemies at all while flanking, taking some extra time if necessary to ensure that he has the element of surprise. Because of his short range, a Pyro whose whereabouts are known to the enemy is usually a dead Pyro, so the Pyro's team should help distract the enemy while the Pyro performs his flanking maneuver. Pyros will usually not survive their flanking maneuvers unless the enemy team becomes extremely disorganized, but in the case that a Pyro does survive the mid fight, he should try to switch back to another class as soon as possible, as the enemy team will expect him and eliminate him without difficulty. In addition, the Pyro is severely hampered in yard fights, due to his short range, limiting his usefulness beyond the mid point.
Attack-Defend Strategies
Pyros lack the versatility, health, and direct combat abilities of the Soldiers, especially when the Soldiers are buffed, so a defending Pyro should generally attack enemies standing on a point when they are distracted by something else. For a Pyro, attempting to defend a point against enemy Soldiers without any support from his team is almost invariably suicide, so players using a Pyro on Defense should wait for a distraction before attempting to flame attackers, or try to airblast them off the point, if the point sits on an elevated area. The classic example of this is Point C on Gravel Pit, where Soldiers and Demomen jumping towards the point can be airblasted away, denying a capture and separating the player from the rest of his team. Similarly, attacking Pyros should always try to flank the enemy, as the enemy Soldiers and even the Scouts will kill a Pyro and escape unharmed in a direct battle. Pyros should wait for their team to attack from one side before flanking from the other to throw the enemy team into disarray without getting killed.
Capture-the-Flag Strategies
Due to the short range of the Flamethrower, the Pyro is generally not used in competitive Capture-the-Flag games. His inability to successfully chase down an enemy carrying his team's intelligence makes him a poor choice for defending, and the fact that many teams use Engineers in a Capture-the-flag game limits the Pyro's usefulness on offense. In a team that does field a Pyro, he should try to take side paths into the enemy Intelligence room (most notably the vents on Turbine, which offer access directly into the Intelligence room). Coordinating with his team, a Pyro can catch defenders in the room off guard and help his team escape with the intelligence. If the team's Pyro does attempt this, however, he should be wary of the enemy team's Engineer and Sentry Gun. It may be best for the Pyro to wait for the Sentry Gun's destruction before surprising the enemy team in their Intelligence room. If the team's Pyro picks up the intelligence himself, it may be best to have him drop it (default key "l") and allow a less easily harassed member of the team to take it back to the team's Intelligence room.
See also
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