Basic Pyro strategy

The Pyro is a moderately tough class that specializes in close range combat and excels at ambushing enemies with his Flamethrower. 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 or forcibly shove enemies around. His flames disrupt cloak, 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

Flamethrower

To easily get into range to use your Flamethrower, take alternate paths to ambush your opponents. Circle-strafe 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.

Backburner

Your options are more limited when using the Backburner. You must rely even more on ambushing and use the increased damage to quickly dispatch foes. Without the compression blast, you have no way to defend yourself at long range and cannot disrupt ÜberCharges. Overall, you sacrifice defense for offense.

Degreaser

Because there are already so many ways to extinguish afterburn, the Degreaser is the most versatile of your primary weapons. After igniting an enemy, airblast them and quickly switch to another weapon, such as the Shotgun or Axtinguisher, to deal severe burst damage.

Compression blast

Use the compression blast both offensively and defensively. Offensively, use it to force enemies into map hazards or into corners, where you can then easily finish them off. Defensively, use it to reflect projectiles and shove dangerous enemies away. The compression blast can even move invulnerable players, including those under the effects of an ÜberCharge.

Secondary Weapons

Shotgun

• The Shotgun is an excellent weapon to follow up from an attack with a Flamethrower. It allows the Pyro to back off while facing a dangerous foe while still dealing good damage and increasing the effectiveness of any afterburn.
• If the player is a good shot, the Shotgun can actually overpower the Flamethrower for single-target fighting in certain situations.
• The Shotgun is the Pyro's best (and essentially only) ranged option in situations in which fire is ineffective, such as aquatic combat, or fighting another Pyro.
• Demomen using the Chargin' Targe take significantly less damage from fire, however the Shotgun still inflicts full damage making it very effective.
• The Shotgun is an excellent finisher weapon for Pyro's. When equipping the Degreaser, it's 65% weapon switch allows you to ignite enemies and quickly dispatch the enemy with a quick switch to the Shotgun.

Flare Gun

• The Flare Gun does not have falloff damage, and therefore does just as much damage at close range as at long range.
• The Flare Gun is much less powerful against Pyros because they are fire-retardant.
• Scoped-in Snipers are easy targets, and their aim will constantly shake while they're on fire. This allows the player to approach safely and make the kill.
• The Flare Gun will mini-crit on burning enemies at short range, and fully Crit at medium to long range. This makes it a highly effective finisher if the opponent flees.
• Flare Gun shots tend to arc over long distances, and this should be taken into consideration.

Melee Weapons

Fire Axe

• The Fire Axe is rarely used because the Pyro's other weapons are usually considered superior in close combat.
• If players prefer to score surprise melee Crits, then the Fire Axe can be a good choice as the enemy does not need to be on fire in order for critical hits to register. This allows the player to ambush other players and inflict significant damage without warning nearby enemies.

Axtinguisher

• The guaranteed critical hit makes the Axtinguisher very useful when ambushing classes with high health.
• Players should set their foe on fire, knock them into the air with a compression blast, and then finish them off with the Axtinguisher. This is a very effective technique.
• When combined with the Degreaser, the Axtinguisher can be used for super-fast criticals.

Homewrecker

• The Homewrecker can readily two-shot any building at full health in 1.6 seconds, and it kills Mini-Sentry Guns in one hit.
• A Pyro with the Homewrecker is an Engineer's best friend. Constant flames will repel Spies, the Compression Blast reflects projectiles and ÜberCharged enemies away from buildings, and the Homewrecker can destroy Sappers even if the Engineer is dead.
• Using the Flare Gun with the tactic above can greatly assist an Engineer, as the Flare Gun will take down fleeing targets so that Engineer has time to upgrade and/or repair their buildings.
• Keeping a Homewrecker equipped in the Pyro loadout, even if the player is not currently playing as Pyro, will allow players to quickly switch to Pyro and destroy Sappers on nearby friendly buildings if the Engineer is unable to save them.
• Even though the Homewrecker can destroy any building in two hits, it is inadvisable to use it to attack a Sentry Gun head-on. It is recommended that players arrange to have a friendly Scout with Bonk! Atomic Punch or a Medic with an ÜberCharge distract the Sentry Gun while the player attacks it from a different angle.

Powerjack

• The Powerjack is a good offensive alternative to the Axtinguisher, but it leaves players without a quick and decisive way to take out Soldiers, Demomen and Heavies.
• Even at full health it can be beneficial to try to kill an enemy with the Powerjack, as the +75 healing from a kill can push the Pyro's health over the maximum providing temporary Overheal.
• Players should consider using the Powerjack on maps in which health kits tend to be scarce, and try to surprise an enemy so that they can get the initiative.
• Players do not need to kill someone with the Powerjack in order get the health bonus; the Powerjack simply needs to be held when the enemy dies. This can be very useful if a player is low on health, as they can perform a quick hit-and-run on an enemy using a Flamethrower, and then gain +75 health when the enemy dies from the afterburn.

Back Scratcher

• The Back Scratcher is ideal for Medieval Mode due to its extra health recovery from medkits. In addition, the healing bolts fired from the Crusader's Crossbow are unaffected by the healing penalty.
• If there are no Medics on the player's team, the Back Scratcher can be a good choice.
• If playing on a map without many medkits, this weapon can be useful.
• If a Medic has no other priority targets, healing a Back Scratcher Pyro will give him a great deal more ÜberCharge than overhealing a regular player.
• The Back Scratcher may not be a good weapon for Arena Mode, as the only sources of health are Medics and Dispensers.

Sharpened Volcano Fragment

• The Sharpened Volcano Fragment is the only weapon available in Medieval Mode which can reliably set enemies on fire. When teaming up with another Pyro using the Axtinguisher or a Scout wielding the Sun-on-a-Stick, it can be quite devastating. Try to avoid engaging enemy Pyros or Demomen with the Chargin' Targe equipped, however.
• Outside Medieval Mode, the Sharpened Volcano Fragment's usefulness is very limited, since the Pyro can already ignite his enemies at short range with his primary weapon.
• The weapon can, however, be used to Spy-check friends without using ammo, although even this use is limited by the reduced damage it deals.

The Gas Jockey's Gear

• The 10% movement speed increase this loadout grants players is helpful when flanking, ambushing and chasing enemies.
• Using the compression blast with the Powerjack will allow the Pyro to obtain health from weakened lighter classes such as Scouts.
• The Pyro's increased speed can help the players defeat Spies and Medics, as the Pyro can now outrun both classes.
• With the Gas Jockey's Gear item set equipped, the Pyro can make some jumps that they otherwise could not, such as jumping directly onto the final point on Steel.
• The set makes the Pyro 10% more vulnerable to bullets, making encounters with the Scout, Heavy or Engineer more hazardous. Due to a known bug, the Pyro is also 10% more vulnerable to Medic syringe guns.

See also

• Ambushing
• Team strategy