Basic Pyro strategy

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 a hard counter to 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.

Primary Weapons

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

Flamethrower

To easily get into range to use your Flamethrower, take alternate paths to ambush your opponents. Circle-strafe around your foes to reduce the amount of damage you take. Do not rely on afterburn to finish off enemies, as there are many ways to extinguish it. If opponents flee, switch to your secondary weapon to give chase. Spy-check suspicious teammates by firing short bursts of flame.

Backburner

Although you will deal substantially more damage when using the Backburner, rely more on ambushing to quickly dispatch foes from behind. You'll find that the increased compression blast cost will make it more difficult to disrupt ÜberCharges as well as defend yourself at long range. Overall, you sacrifice defense for offense.

Degreaser

The Degreaser's faster weapon switch time is highly versatile. It pairs particularly well with your compression blast; after igniting and airblasting an enemy, quickly switch to another weapon, such as the Shotgun or Axtinguisher, to deal severe burst damage. However, the reduced afterburn damage will not reliably finish off enemies and makes hit-and-run tactics less effective.

Compression blast

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.

Secondary Weapons

Shotgun

The Shotgun is your most reliable ranged weapon. Use it to engage enemies at medium range, especially when they retreat out of the short range of your Flamethrower. The Shotgun is powerful and is your weapon of choice against other Pyros, who cannot be ignited.

Flare Gun

The Flare Gun fires slow, arcing projectiles that can deal reliable damage to enemies outside the range of even your Shotgun. The Flare Gun deals critical hits to burning enemies, allowing you to finish off retreating foes from a distance. If you cannot safely approach an area, you simply can duck in and out of cover while using the Flare Gun to harass at long range; if you consistently land your shots, you'll be able to deal deceptively large amounts of damage, particularly against immobile targets like a Heavy.

Detonator

Much like the Flare Gun, the Detonator is useful for harassing enemies that are far away or behind cover. The ability to manually detonate your flares gives you a bit of leeway when aiming and allows you to ignite multiple enemies at once. However, the Detonator only deals mini-crits to burning enemies, making it less effective as a finishing weapon. You can use the explosion to flare jump upwards to unusual locations at the cost of a small portion of health.

Melee Weapons

Fire Axe / Saxxy

Because you are already fighting at close range with your Flamethrower, you will rarely use the Fire Axe. Use a different melee weapon to give yourself some utility.

Axtinguisher / Postal Pummeler

The Axtinguisher is arguably your most powerful weapon. After igniting an enemy, combine it with the compression blast to easily reposition and kill him from full health. It pairs particularly well with the Degreaser and its faster weapon switch time.

Homewrecker / Maul

Use your Flamethrower and Homewrecker to defend friendly Engineer buildings from enemy Spies and their Electro Sappers. Offensively, it will destroy any unshielded building in no more than two hits. Because of its limited range, it is still more effective to initially approach a Sentry Gun with your Flamethrower instead.

Powerjack

When fighting alone, use the health granted by the Powerjack to stay healthy. Unless you're in Medieval Mode, don't worry too much about the melee vulnerability; as the Pyro, you hold a clear advantage when it comes to close range combat. Compared to similar melee combat methods using the Axtinguisher, you sacrifice a hefty amount of burst damage in exchange for survivability.

Back Scratcher

Use the Back Scratcher in Medieval Mode or when your team lacks a Medic. If a Medic has no other target to heal, you can greatly help him build his ÜberCharge meter when injured.

Sharpened Volcano Fragment

At melee range, your primary weapons already deal significant damage and set enemies on fire. Thus, you are best off using the Sharpened Volcano Fragment only in Medieval mode, where it is the only weapon that can reliably ignite enemies. In Medieval mode, teaming up with another Pyro using the Axtinguisher or a Scout using the Sun-on-a-Stick can be very effective.

Item sets

The Gas Jockey's Gear

Your increased move speed allows you to outrun any class but the Scout, allowing you to position yourself for an ambush or retreat more easily.

Interface Tips

With the pyro's weapons that have afterburn, it is immensely helpful to turn on the option to hear a sound when you are damaging an enemy player. You can find this under the 'Options' menu in the 'Multiplayer' tab. Click the 'Advanced...' button, and check the box next to 'Play a hit sound every time you injure an enemy'. This will let you know if an enemy player has been extinguished or is still taking damage. It also gives a luxurious "jackpot" feeling when up close with a flamethrower.

For non-console players, the pyro is a perfect candidate for the 1-button, 1-weapon key binding found in Key Bindings for Simpler Play.

See also

• Ambushing
• Team strategy