I’d say that pyro is a very “Jack of all trades” class. He can deal an incredible amount of burst damage with his combos and reflects, which is his primary way to fight (which is why he’s in offense) but Pyro does so much more. He can crowd control and hold defensive points like any defense class, and some of his weapons even directly help or synergizes with other classes (home wrecker, neon annihilator). So while Pyro mainly focuses on damage, he has the potential to be a defensive or supportive class with the right weapons and strategy. That’s how I play Pyro anyways
I'd go as far as to say Pyro is the only true jack of all trades. All other classes lean towards a specific playstyle (tank, pick, support, assault) or lean towards either staying in one spot or moving forward. Pyro can do all of these jobs except tank damage (and even then airblast exists for some slight healing and making sure you dont take damage to begin with). There's nothing specific a Pyro can do that a skilled player probably couldn't do better on a different class (except spycheck), but Pyro has access to all the options at the same time.
@@infucktus4899 Yes, that's what I'm saying, he's the most generalist class in the game. Other generalists lean towards specific goals, like Soldier's very tank-like ability to take higher amounts of damage and keep his team by his side, only heightened by unlocks such as the Black Box, Battalions Backup, and Concherer. You could also look to Demoman's power to clear chokepoints and objectives with his dual primary weapons, and Scout's focus on reaching backlines for both backcapping and flanking using his speed and verticality.
I main medic/pyro and heavy, having played several seasons in 6s and HL and have atleast 200 hours per class. I think flex/support is pyros area of expertise. Being able to be passive AND aggressive in one go is his main focus. Protect medic, then run off and get picks.
Someone who used to main pyro chiming in, I always felt like pyro's purpose was a class designed to punish overly aggressive players on both offensive and defensive games, being useful for dealing with light classes and moping up weakened power classes with a combination of chargrilling them or airblasting them into a new quantum realm.
As someone who currently mains pyro and has used every unlock to some extent, I view Pyro as the backbone to any team. While Soldier, Heavy, Demo, and other frontline classes lead the assault, and Engineers and Snipers set themselves up in the back, Pyro is the one class versatile enough to aid both defensively and offensively even with his default kit. Ignoring unlocks, the default flamethrower can both ward off enemies with flames, and deny projectiles with airblast. And, the shotgun can easily finish off enemies that are out of your flamethrower's range, making sure your teammates can get back to fighting bigger and tougher enemies, and won't need to worry about spies and other classes that may sneak around to break the team. Including unlocks, this is where Pyro truly shines, as they can begin specializing in certain aspects of that playstyle. Pyro's melee goes from completely useless to game-changing in a matter of seconds with unlocks. The Powerjack allows Pyro to move quicker, making switching between frontline and backline protection easier. But, you can also further specialize with things like the Homewrecker, making protecting engineer nests trivial, but sacrificing potential on offense. The Axtinguisher does a 180 on this, and allows you to shut down light classes on the battlefield, but you lose out on that support that the Homewrecker has. There are a lot more examples, but those are the easiest to explain and I kinda wanna avoid making this 5000 words long.
Id argue that the homewrecker is kind of unfair against spies, idk why pyro was given the ability to one shot sappers especially when he is a very hard counter for spies
@@shmoking466 I think the Homewrecker trade off is justified like I outlined in the main comment, because you are essentially trading the versatility of the Powerjack or the Backscratcher for a weapon that makes it easier to protect Engineers. It also doesn't take away the fact that Pyro still can't repair those same damages, so until the Engineer gets back to do so, its essentially permanently damaged.
@@shmoking466I think the home wrecker is one of those “not the ubersaw” where compared to stock, yes it’s better 90% of the time. But when you use the home wrecker you don’t get the power jacks speed, the backscratchers health, the axtinguishers combos, ect. It’s not really about what the weapon’s making you lose, it’s more about what better thing you could use instead.
1:30 I’d say one way of categorising the Pyro is as being in an ‘Offence support’ role. Pyro has a similar offence role to Scout and Soldier, but (with stock weapons) is neither the most mobile nor the tankiest. Instead, the Pyro has support options that assist in what others describe as Pyro’s ‘flanking role’: afterburn dealing gradual damage to soften up targets for others (making reaching damage thresholds easier) and airblast. cf. to the other class roles: Demoman as a ‘Defence offence’ type can deal more consistent damage faster than the other Defence classes (Heavy’s minigun suffers with range and Engineer has a shotgun that deals far less damage than a Grenade luncher or minigun along with a sentry that is powerful but requires set up time and investment), Heavy is the tankiest of all classes so ‘defence defence / double defence’, and Engineer has dispensers and teleporters that support the team. Also cf. Medic whose medigun form of support directly sustains offensive pushes especially with Übercharges so ‘support offence’, Sniper is usually in the backlines and has the most firepower of the support classes so ‘support defence’, and Spy is a ‘support support’ niche with sappers and backstabs designed to disrupt the enemy behind their lines, while lacking the firepower to sustain direct pushes or defend points at the ‘front’. Not to say the classes don’t have different roles, unlocks and TF2’s high skill ceiling allows for such a diversity of playstyles, just that I think those are the roles the classes fit into the most [added: when first made up / as defaults for players of average competence]: seemingly matching up 3 class roles recombining 3 different times each.
1:28 I think pyros job is flanking and supporting. Pyro is really bad in an open battlefield, but really good in narrow chokes or in buildings. Also air blasting, spy checking and removing sappers (with jack) sounds like support to me.
You shouldn’t want the Phlog, a frankly underpowered weapon, to be nerfed because of its synergy with an _overpowered_ weapon. Just nerf the latter and be done with it.
@@ArnisGoldbergAnd it makes you soldier bait as the tradeoff. A class that you can usually crap on now craps on you with the Phlog, and it's only irritating to fight against with the Scorchshot, which is the ACTUAL broken weapon
(I doubt you'll read this but I'm doing this anyway) I think Pyro is a jack-of-all-trades class with a hint of support class mixed in there. Pyro can extinguish friends and get rewarded for it(either using Flamethrower's air blast or the Manmelter). can spy check with incredible efficiency, has mobility options like the Thermal Truster, or detonator jumping, and can have extended range with weapons like the Man Melter or the Dragon's Fury. the Homewrecker can destroy Engie's nests and can help Engi's nest by destroying Spy's sappers. Airblast prevents spamming from certain classes and can ruin an Uber push. Pyro, with the right combos, can be a class to be feared.
My current knowledge of the purpose of Pyro is for SFM makers to give him REALLY BIG badonka donks, ginormous hooters, and make sfm's of them doing stuff
Pyro is a support class in 3 trench coats. They support in the way Snipers and Spies do (attacking instead of healing) but rather than picking off high priority targets or dismantling defensive setups, a Pyro punishes enemies who get too far into your team’s space. The limited range of a Pyro doesnt completely stop you from going on an aggressive rampage, but it means that letting enemies come to you will always be more effective
Pyro is a support dps dealer that excelled in close range crowd control/single target damage with skill based secondary’s and alternate abilities (airblast) that reward high skill gameplay for a low barrier to enter class
Great video and editing as always. I'm not sure how the class is *supposed* to be played, but I always find it most effective when I sneak around behind or above the enemy and ambush them outta nowhere. Sure, I usually die in the process, but I always get like 4 or 5 kills. Totally worth it.
I think you’re highly devaluing the Thermal Thruster. It’s not a tool for chasing down enemies, but instead for getting into position to ambush enemies. Paired with a backburner you can basically become a spy and start terrorizing snipers. Fantastic video regardless but I have to defend my silly jetpack.
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I feel like Pyro kind of fills the role of the wild card, he can sometimes be over aggressive, reaching into enemy territory and causing trouble, and other times hang back and help protect other classes especially with their air blast. Pyro can switch between these styles on a dime, meaning it’s hard to predict what he’ll do any situation. I play pyro switching between these kind of styles depending on the round, and I think the actual character of pyro (from what we know) would probably randomly change up his “strategy” surprising the enemy team
Good video man. I think talking about the Mannmelter more would of been a nice touch. It seems like an underpowered weapon that's only use is for extinguishing teammates while using Phlog, however, when you take into consideration that a crit Mannmelter does 90 damage: it becomes a counter to attacking other pyros. Other than that, well edited video!
I have no real problem with the manmelter, its just a decent option. But, for the sake of the video, it focused on the most extreme cases of balance issues. It's a good weapon if you can adjust accordingly, but the faster projectile speed throws me off personally. Plus, countering opposing pyros is generally easy if you can flarepunch or just get the jump on them. What're they gonna do, hit more particles?.... maybe.
as a pyro main, yeah, their purpose is pretty obscure and is incredibly variable, and at first there’s clear dividers that are set depending on a person’s playstyle there’s the safe and easy approach that takes advantage of guaranteed afterburn damage. this is probably how most people play the class because of how effective it is with minimal effort. just by equipping the scorch shot, the enemy medic suddenly has a much harder time doing his job because of all the fire and the reduced ability to crit heal players that have been tagged by it. this type of pyro is often more annoying than anything, since it excels at discouraging people from grouping up and the scorch shot usually isn’t enough to get a kill on its own. this type of playstyle can also be more close ranged, thanks to the nature of the flamethrower being able to punish people too close to you, or get people away if you can’t outdamage them but taking that sort of approach can bring a person through a pipeline, ending on the opposite side of the spectrum. the burst damage pyro is much more fun and much more menacing thanks to the greatest mechanic of all time that is comboing. items that feed into this playstyle would be the flare gun, axetinguisher, and panic attack (and maybe phlog). of course, this playstyle would be nothing if you can’t get near enemies in the first place, and so pyro has nice options for movement that we all know about and then of course there’s the pybro, leaning all the way back and further to become a defensive support due to how specialized these roles are, it’s hard to have two at the same time. take the phlog to be offensive, now you can’t reflect rockets and stickies away from your team. take the scorch shot and your ability to do full crits with a flare gun is gone. take the homewrecker and you’re stuck with the homewrecker. at the end of the day, playing pyro is about balancing these three playstyles and being able to contribute to whatever situation you may be in
I actually really like the thermal thruster, the fact that I don't take damage for jumping is really nice. Obviously missing a secondary is a issue but I can usually do a lot with just the dragon's fury paired with it
Outside of the Thermal Thruster argument, which I *HEAVILY* disagree with and will protect my baby to no end as you are able to do some insane stuff if you know how to use it right (though I wouldn't mind slight buffs or helpful tweaks..), there's a lot to agree in this video. Also I wouldn't mind if they gave the detonator a stomping mechanic as well if they decide one day to patch the exploit for whatever reason, though I'd prefer if they keep said exploit.
Holy shit. This was an amazing video man, good job. Only thing I want to add, is that the vulcano fragment actually has a use... maybe... probably not. But what you can do, is you can swing at someone with the axe and then combo it into a flare gun crit. With this strat you can one shot every class that has an HP of 150 or under. But this is so situational it's basically worthless, but it is a lot of fun when you pull it off, especially on an enemy pyro.
1:30 i think there are a few ways, like flanking, protecting teammates/engie nests, spy checking, and fully dps and pushing threw points, i see him kind of like a support/defensive class which is weird to say with pyro
this editing is absolutely phenomenal, and u manage to capture every part of pyro in his current state, and honestly you capture it very well next to the wonderful editing it's seriously crazy seeing your editing improve over the years, keep it up, and I hope you're doing well and I'll be waiting for your next video project :)
There were a couple things I agreed with in the video I thought I would talk about: I hate the "new" airblast. Pyros don't even have to look at you to airblast you and it doesn't feel fair to fight at all. I also don't like that airblast is a pseudo stun for airborne enemies because it has a debuff that prevents you from airstrafing. Flame particles are janky aswell; the pyro may die but the particle will be invisible and still hit you resulting in afterburn damage. This was a really great and high quality video I hope to see more from you on the future!
1:30 Pyro: You run about using flames to murderize all and also airblast to throw folks off cliffs, and your secondary and melee are either utilities or emergency backups for if you fuck up your ammo management.
Love the video , As a Highlander competetiv Pyro main I agree with Pyro being mainly defensive character taking care of other teamates (mainly medic) And denying Uber pushes. You have really nice and funny editing style, I Hope to see more videos like this one.
As a Pyro main answering your question at 1:30 without seeing the rest of the video first: the flexibility to help out wherever needed. As a Pyro, I can easily watch the flanks of the combo and serve as a backup pocket in case the medic's buddy dies. I can then, without switching loadouts or dying, keep spam off my team and extinguish them. I could deny an uber and then immediately switch to flanking or ambushing a group of enemies that I see some teammates fighting. If I see a sniper doing his area denial thing or trying to go for a pick, I often have one of the tools equipped to throw off his aim or at least keep pressure on him. Oh, yeah, and that "spy checking" thing.
Okay, I'm subbing, this video was nuts =D But yeah, Pyro is kind of a blank-slate on every level of the game, you can do nearly everything with him. Gameplay-wise, there won't be an area where, no matter the unlock, you'll be the absolute best at it, but the fact that you can play them all is Pyro's greatest strength. What does you team need ? Pyro can probably do it, and still keep a few other attributes to help with whatever comes his way. He's the definition of a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. And of course, his backstory is perfect : you know nothing about the dude, so you watch his Meet the Team video, hoping to get more answers, and you understand even less ! This is amazing ! And that's why I like playing him so much.
i feel like pyro is like soldier in the sense that he's a all rounder class. with unlocks such as the homewreker/neon annihilator, you can be a pybro with reflects and dealing with spys. the back burner allows you to play spyro, getting clean crit kills the degreaser and panic attack allows for combo pyro and flare punch pyro (my personal fav) and there's alot more you can do with pyro, those are just a few things great vid btw
For best results play pyro like a *very* enthusiastic Australian Shepherd that is unaware it has a blowtorch strapped to it's head. In all honesty, though, the class is what you make of it. That's what makes it so damn fun.
I think the purpose of pyro is to do three things. 1. Ambush the enemy team dealing lasting fire damage to a small group 2. Reflect projectiles and extinguish friends 3. Be a power class
Pyro is a (kinda) perfect mix of of a support and power class, being able to deal lots of damage in a short amount of time, but also possessing abilities to help his team survive longer
The airblast hitbox was that large? If it’s still that large it either makes the game look more buggy or me even worse at the game I started using the phlog mainly for awhile because airblast was too difficult, I airblasted and a rocket that definitely should’ve been blasted away didn’t get airblasted, and that happened several times
The reason I enjoy pyro so much is that it slots into a match easier than any other class- good offensive capabilities, good defensive capabilities, decent survivability, decent mobility. It works really well as an all-rounder class.
Pyro's ability to cover the most amount of ground with his flames and the airblast allowing him to keep openents at a distance and reflect explosives make him best at area denyal as the last line of defense
Genuinely wonderful video, my mate! You've more than earned a subscriber, hope you manage to continue to impress homies and homiettes alike with your quality editing and style!
I genuinely enjoyed this video, the editing and commentary was great, the only thing I have a gripe with is your stance on the thermal thruster, in my opinion the thermal thruster is a "weapon" that pushes the pyro to play differently, a sort of pick/ get in and out style. The stomp I feel was also intentionally like that, making it so you can focus on switching your primary midway through your jump and not how your landing, making the stomp some nice bonus damage. My final thoughts on it are that it is a situational side grade that may or may not be useful based on the circumstance.
I'd say that given he is one of the three offensive classes, he is supposed to deal damage and make pushes. Because his main weapon is a flamethrower, I would think it means getting up close and personal, and to sneak up on your enemies if you can, since you are weaker in medium range and long range combat. In that way, I like to imagine Pyro to be similar to the Spy, oddly enough.
To answer 1:31 before moving on - Pyro can do just about anything that the team needs. Pestering, actual offensive pushes, half of an impenetrable defence, he's got his team's back. As to what he ought to do on his own, I'm sure it's obvious just how suited the class is to a combo-heavy playstyle compared to the others. The thing is, Valve has lost track of what Pyro has become, even though they did most of the transformative work themselves. They added the flare gun, the degreaser, the axtinguisher, the scorch shit, the reserve shooter - all these wonderful toys that let him flow between the three weapon slots smooth as butter, and that let players develop this most optimal playstyle themselves. And yet in Jungle Inferno Valve presents him with two weapons that attempt to "solve" pyro and put him in the stereotypical "attack with primary weapon, use secondary weapon for backup stuff" niche that all other classes occupy. The Dragon's Fury is a flamethrower that isn't "weak" in sheer firepower, at the cost of not being as suitable for combo shenanigans because of different flames and shit airblast, and the jetpack is as secondary as a secondary gets - it's not something you pull out mid-fight to help you (there's your big mystery solved Unusual). Same with the gas passer. Valve is very confused. Wish they weren't.
1:21 Since the pyro is best as close range, I would say taking out large groups of enemies that are close to each other, spycheck on the map, help the team's engineer, extinguish the teammates by right clicking them and deflecting rockets, grenades and stickies.
1:20 The purpose of pyro, as someone who has played him since 2011, is to be a flex character. He can be a glass cannon that runs in and gets a couple kills/ denies an uber then instantly dies (outside of crits or good movement to escape lol), someone that gets into the medium range and just spams for small damage and space control, or someone that plays in the back looking for spies, protecting engineers and keeping the frontline (mostly) immune to fire. Almost all of his tools work well in all three of those scenarios, outside of his melee weapons which is where he has the most variation to suit more specific niches (such as the homewrecker for pybros) and arguably the scorch shot which has little use up-close The problem is that there isn't much variation outside of small changes in how fast you're doing things (aggro/ front pack support -> higher APM, defensive/ backline support -> lower APM): WM1 as a concept is often pretty boring and overly-simplistic, especially compared to the complex movement and positioning that most other classes need far more of to "be good." Valve even neutered the crap out of airblast multiple times, changing it from a unique tool to have during an amush to a janky mess that usually just gives your opponent an easier time escaping/ killing you at range... when he had already been long considered one of the worst classes in the game. Hence why I stopped playing him and switched to heavy: Just like with the spy, everything pyro does another class does better, with the trades off being that he has a single unique tool in airblast and some of the worst statistics in the game
been a super great video! personally i'm of the opinion that pyro is supposed to be a support-focused generalist, like how demo is defence-focused and soldier is offence-focused. I'm personally a big fan of offence and especially ambush based playstyles with it, running things like the Dragon's and the Back Scratcher. and also, the editing on this video is simply superb! legitimately mesmerising at points
I believe robin Walker explained pyro as a beginner class for even the worst of players to pick up and have some value. He can walk into any confrontation and at least leave someone half dead
My view on pyro is that he is supposed to be a class that primarily focus on comboing your enemy we can see this from the multiple payroll weapons that are very much focused on combos such as the panic attack or the reserved shooter or even just the stock flare gun he is also meant to be a kind of semi support class while also being able to be an offensive class if needed overall overall I think his purpose In the game is to be a generally support class /offensive class who can switch from helping their team blasting of stickies to wm1ing the whole enemy team
To me, Pyro is the ultimate support class. In most situations, probably equal or less than others in one to one engagements, but with either proper skill, proper preparation and/or proper teammates, pyro is probably the most game changing class. Although not game changing as in say Demo or Soldier who may change the status quo of the game, but more akin to Engi, who help maintain the game state, (sustaining a push on offense, or holding a choke on defense). Basically Pyros are probably the class most dependant on a good team, and simultaneously most helpful to a good team, maybe even more than medic.
pyro main here, i think the loadout you pick defines the playstyle you use - degreaser flaregun for combos/frontlining, detonator for area control/bombing, etc.. However no matter what unlocks you pick(maybe excluding the phlog and the DF) pyro's core role still revolves around protecting teammates by denying uber, killing spies and reflecting projectiles, and also aiding pushes to make them more effective great video btw!
I usually play more Pyro than other class, and also I play really defensively and supportive, you are the one spy checking and pushing out Uber's, I really love playing like that. Even with new players
1:26 - While originally Pyro was supposed to be a Flanker or a way to catch people off guard around corners; nowadays I believe that Pyro is best played as a support class with their decent area denial primary, airblast, and stinging to annoying secondaries
Pyro is a Jack of All Roles kinda guy; with the help of unlocks, pyro can lean more into one role more than another, while still maintaining his well rounded gameplay. Power: When you decide to be more of a power class, you can use unlocks like the Phlogistinator, Flare Gun, Axtinguisher, and the Dragon’s Fury to increase your possible damage. While you can clean house with the Phlog, you entirely lose the ability to support your team (airblast). On other terms, while you use the Dragon’s Fury you need to aim more, and you don’t have crits, but you can still airblast if you need it, as well as boasting a greater range. While the Dragon’s Fury can still airblast, you can’t support your team in spy checking. The Flare gun is great at burst damage and following up damage on an enemy that is already on fire. The Axtinguisher is great for punishing players that get a little too close. The Axtinguisher’s mini crits and speed boost not only make it a good finishing tool, but good at escaping too. If you choose to be a flanking power class, you could use unlocks like the Backburner, Detonator, or the Thermal Thruster to increase your ability to get behind the enemy, and deal with them after you’re behind them. The Axtinguisher could also help you with the flank Pyro lifestyle. Defense: Pyro’s easy to accomplish fire damage and airblast make him great at protecting a person, building, or certain area. When on Defense, airblast is your best friend. Use airblast to reflect projectiles aimed toward your friendly engineer’s buildings back at them, and stuff any Übercharges coming your way. Support: Pyro on Support has a few specialized weapons at his disposal. For instance, the Manmelter, Homewrecker, and Neon Annihilator can be used to further enhance this. The Manmelter can be used to extinguish teammates, and doing so gives you a crit with it. The Homewrecker and Neon Annihilator can be used to destroy sappers off buildings. It is best to use anything but the Dragon’s Fury for spy checking.
I played pyro in a couple ways. Either a flanker who would deal as much damage to an enemy backline as possible, or a suppressive support who reflects rockets, keeps the enemy pressured by lighting them on fire, and support other members (extinguish flames, break sappers, etc.)
I see Pyro as a mix bag support. A jack of all trades with out needing to change load out. And different unlocks letting him/her enhances certain rolls at the cost of the effectiveness of others without getting rid of the ability to do said rolls.
I see pyro like more of a combo class, something like : -Degreser, Panic Attack, and Axetinguisher Or -Dragons Fury, Detonator/SS, and Axetinguisher/Back Scratcher
Close range jack of all trades, master of none, but of their many skills, best at ambushes, projectile denial, and generally causing panic and disarray. Oh, wait, master of 1. Spy murder.
1:25 In my eyes, Pyro's purpose is as a generalist who focuses more on utility and support than raw power. His airblast is one of the only counters to ubers. His airblast is also one of the only counters to projectile spam. His fire gives him a great tool to fend of spies. And if you get a bit sneaky and close-up you can sometimes get some huge damage. So the way you should be playing Pyro is supporting your team by playing around your engineer or medic, until you see an opportunity for a juicy flank.
Paused at 1:30, this might not be the most technical description but I think it fits. Pyro is the team nanny. Pyro’s job is to take some of the headache off mom and dad (med and engi) so that the kids (everyone else) grow up healthy and successful. (murder the enemy team) Pyro’s AOE from flames and flare spam, along with airblast for extinguishing teammates and projectile deflection, make them maybe the best bodyguard in the game. His extra health gives him the ability to take a few shots leading the charge on an objective or defending a holding area. Being the best spy checking class only helps in this role. On top of that, nobody seems to mention Pyro’s expendability. When your team is on the control point and need 15 seconds to cap, but the enemy team is advancing just around the corner, Pyro’s bodyguard status, often makes him the best candidate to leave the point and stall the enemy team. So to me, Pyro’s primary role is to secure and protect the team’s holding area, be it offensive or defensive, especially while the engineer is still rebuilding for the new hold. Area Denial Lite
Ok im right here 8:58 and I want to share my my rework idea for the Gas Passer, the idea is to change it's recharge mechanic to make it identical to the Jarate and the Mad Milk, same recharge rate, spawn with it throwable, can recharge instantly when resupplied, but to make it a better contender for the other throwable liquids that can extinguish allies, instead the afterburn dealt by the Gas Passer can stack with the afterburn dealt by pyro's other weapons, making it do 4 damage per tick on it's own but 8 damage per tick when when also set on fire by your primary (or 5 dmg per tick when using the degreaser). Now idk if it's fixed yet but the Neon Annihilator somehow doesn't crit targets covered in gas, I think if that was fixed this would be a great combination.
2:41 as a fellow pyro main, same. I think I like pyro so much because he isn’t boxed into one roll. When I play medic I feel like I NEED to be healing and hiding. For heavy, I NEED to be pushing. For pyro, though, I don’t feel like I’m limited in what I can do. I can SLAP people while flying around using a jet pack, so yeah…
1:17 I think that pyro is a blank canvas. Pyro gameplay changes drastically on what weapons you use and how you use them. You can be a fighting machine if you use things like the Dragon’s Fury, Scorch Shot, Phlogistinator, Axetinguisher in a particular way. You can be an expert defender by taking full advantage of your airblast and devastating fire damage if done in the hopes of protecting an objective. You could even be a master of support by extinguishing your teammates, spychecking, destroying sappers with the homewrecker or even setting a lot of enemies on fire to scare them and deal chip damage. The character can be played in many ways, just like the different ways People imagine who pyro is.
I would say that pyro is a mid-offense, mid-defense kinda character. He has enough health to survive a decent amount of damage, his whole thing revolves around cround control in an offensive (flamethrowers/flares/gas passer) but also in a defensive way (air blast), he also is the ''we need a utility weapon but we don't know on which class to put it on'' guy. Thats what basically gave birth to the ''pybro'' subclass: Pyro receiving so many different support and utility options that it can be a whole playstyle. Being the homewrecker/neon annialator, the flame thrower being by nature the best spychecking tool and pyro being able to extinguish teammates. Another thing to take into consideration is the spectrum on which pyro's weapons allow him to play. You got the phlogistinator and the dragons fury, being extremely offensive head-on fight weapons. You got the back burner and the thermal thruster, being more ambush-ish assassination tools. You got the stock flamethrower, which can be used for any playstyle, its just really bland. And then you got the degreaser, which is often used with a more defenseive playstyle with the un-sapping melee weapons. Most people think that soldier is THE jack of all trades of TF2, but honnestly, I think pyro is THE jack of all trades of TF2.
I think slag in borderlands 2 is an interesting mechanic and something like it for just fire damage with the gas passer would be cool. For the uninitiated slag is an elemental weapon type that when you coat your enemies in it they take 2x damage from all sources, or 3x in the hardest difficulty.
i always saw pyro as some kind of like, weird flank/backline-defense hybrid, like he's good at sort of sticking to the edges of his team and playing some protective gameplay, catching enemies on the flanks, keeping the classes like engineer locked down and protected from some of the enemy flanks, and being able to push a nasty flank himself when the need/chance arises he's a character that *seems* like he dramatically changes depending on the state of the game, being sort of tilted into one direction or another depending on his loadout that's what i kinda see him as, at least
The way I play pyro is either a support fashion. Using air blast to deflect projectiles, hitting fleeing targets with the flare gun, attempting to scorch anyone too close. Or a flank playstyle. backburner, using alternative routes, using a push by my team as a distraction. It typically depends on what team I'm on, how the match is going, what I'm feeling, etc. Pyro can also BE the push class with the phlogistinator and an ubercharge, those two things in the same room can be devastating.
as a spy main the stray particles and backwards airblast are the most painful thing in existence. BOY I LOVE GETTING IGNITED BY SOMETHING I CANT EVEN SEE
Well, I guess you're going to say that the pyro is a multi faceted class that can fit into several roles, because it is, but my preferred role is an ambush crowd control class that can burn through a wave of enemies rather quickly.
To participate a bit: Ive always seen pyro as a crowd control class of sorts. Their fire can do a decent amount of damage to several grouped up targets at once and the airblast can push them around, both great tools for breaking up a cluster. Aaaalmost like a support, making an enemy group separate so the teammates can clean them up, but more on the offensive side of that niche. Although, most of the time you see clusters it's from the attacking team, so i guess it could be seen as a defensive role aswell.
Purpose of pyro (answer to the pause thing at 1:23): Pyro is made to be a Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none character that can be offensive, defensive, and supportive at all times whilst having unlocks that lean into one of the three play styles. Personally, the way I enjoy pyro (and I think more people should try to play them like this) is combo pyro, with the degreaser, flare gun or detonator, and the axestinguisher. It gives pyro a much higher skill floor and a MUCH higher skill ceiling, whilst allowing you to come up with flashy and creative ways to kill your enemies, whilst still being effective and supporting your team. Edit: oh wow I was pretty spot on
Pyro is the main support class of the game. Yes Medic and Engi exist, but the support they provide are still very specific roles of healer and increasing damage output (whether via crits or by teleporting teammates into the fray). Pyro's "specific role" is to support the other class's specific roles. They do whatever is needed to allow the other classes to do their specific roles largely through versatility and crowd control. Pyro is meant to spycheck, to flank and distract with DOTs, to destroy sappers with the homewrecker, to let medic focus on other teammates with the backscratcher, to airblast away incoming explosives or remove sticky traps to clear the path, etc etc etc.
Tried to skip over the sponsor and heard " -gonna die in two weeks." and thought it would be best for me to see the whole thing. Anyways, very good and interesting video!
you are genuinely the most underrated creator ive seen on this platform. the editing is so smooth and subtle yet it can keep my interest easily. definitely a sub on both youtube and twitter, and ill be joining your discord soon keep up the good work !! i believe in you
1:28 Based on my own knowledge, Pyro is a very diverse class and should be used as such. The only purpose I'd say they have overall that isn't situational is being a Spy counter. Outside of that, use Pyro for whatever need feels best
2:24 are we all going to ignore the greatest Market Garden in the history of TF2?
No.
Goddamn nice catch
No
that soldier will be chasing the high he felt in that moment for the rest of his tf2 career
@@dialga236 rare high moment
I’d say that pyro is a very “Jack of all trades” class. He can deal an incredible amount of burst damage with his combos and reflects, which is his primary way to fight (which is why he’s in offense) but Pyro does so much more. He can crowd control and hold defensive points like any defense class, and some of his weapons even directly help or synergizes with other classes (home wrecker, neon annihilator). So while Pyro mainly focuses on damage, he has the potential to be a defensive or supportive class with the right weapons and strategy. That’s how I play Pyro anyways
I'd go as far as to say Pyro is the only true jack of all trades.
All other classes lean towards a specific playstyle (tank, pick, support, assault) or lean towards either staying in one spot or moving forward.
Pyro can do all of these jobs except tank damage (and even then airblast exists for some slight healing and making sure you dont take damage to begin with).
There's nothing specific a Pyro can do that a skilled player probably couldn't do better on a different class (except spycheck), but Pyro has access to all the options at the same time.
There’s a reason Pyro is the only Power-Support class
@@victorvirgili4447 bruh what game are u playing its like me sayinh soldier is support because of the banners 😂 or heavy with the sandvich
@@shybandit521 sounds like a generalist class
@@infucktus4899
Yes, that's what I'm saying, he's the most generalist class in the game.
Other generalists lean towards specific goals, like Soldier's very tank-like ability to take higher amounts of damage and keep his team by his side, only heightened by unlocks such as the Black Box, Battalions Backup, and Concherer. You could also look to Demoman's power to clear chokepoints and objectives with his dual primary weapons, and Scout's focus on reaching backlines for both backcapping and flanking using his speed and verticality.
You have serious potential my man, easily earned my sub, keep up the great work.
Oh hey hi weezy
I dare you to make a bad load out for mvm video
Your welcome for video idea.
@@nanoblob4998 loose cannon
Base jumper
Caber
Get kicked from mvm any% speedrun
invest
Mvm robot sexiness ranked
I main medic/pyro and heavy, having played several seasons in 6s and HL and have atleast 200 hours per class. I think flex/support is pyros area of expertise. Being able to be passive AND aggressive in one go is his main focus. Protect medic, then run off and get picks.
🎉
they protecc AND atacc
zamn that editing
Ah hello ShorK
Someone who used to main pyro chiming in, I always felt like pyro's purpose was a class designed to punish overly aggressive players on both offensive and defensive games, being useful for dealing with light classes and moping up weakened power classes with a combination of chargrilling them or airblasting them into a new quantum realm.
I currently main pyro with the dragon's fury and play aggressively. Also to kill sentries
As someone who currently mains pyro and has used every unlock to some extent, I view Pyro as the backbone to any team. While Soldier, Heavy, Demo, and other frontline classes lead the assault, and Engineers and Snipers set themselves up in the back, Pyro is the one class versatile enough to aid both defensively and offensively even with his default kit.
Ignoring unlocks, the default flamethrower can both ward off enemies with flames, and deny projectiles with airblast. And, the shotgun can easily finish off enemies that are out of your flamethrower's range, making sure your teammates can get back to fighting bigger and tougher enemies, and won't need to worry about spies and other classes that may sneak around to break the team.
Including unlocks, this is where Pyro truly shines, as they can begin specializing in certain aspects of that playstyle. Pyro's melee goes from completely useless to game-changing in a matter of seconds with unlocks. The Powerjack allows Pyro to move quicker, making switching between frontline and backline protection easier. But, you can also further specialize with things like the Homewrecker, making protecting engineer nests trivial, but sacrificing potential on offense. The Axtinguisher does a 180 on this, and allows you to shut down light classes on the battlefield, but you lose out on that support that the Homewrecker has.
There are a lot more examples, but those are the easiest to explain and I kinda wanna avoid making this 5000 words long.
Id argue that the homewrecker is kind of unfair against spies, idk why pyro was given the ability to one shot sappers especially when he is a very hard counter for spies
@@shmoking466 I think the Homewrecker trade off is justified like I outlined in the main comment, because you are essentially trading the versatility of the Powerjack or the Backscratcher for a weapon that makes it easier to protect Engineers.
It also doesn't take away the fact that Pyro still can't repair those same damages, so until the Engineer gets back to do so, its essentially permanently damaged.
@@shmoking466I think the home wrecker is one of those “not the ubersaw” where compared to stock, yes it’s better 90% of the time. But when you use the home wrecker you don’t get the power jacks speed, the backscratchers health, the axtinguishers combos, ect. It’s not really about what the weapon’s making you lose, it’s more about what better thing you could use instead.
1:30 I’d say one way of categorising the Pyro is as being in an ‘Offence support’ role. Pyro has a similar offence role to Scout and Soldier, but (with stock weapons) is neither the most mobile nor the tankiest. Instead, the Pyro has support options that assist in what others describe as Pyro’s ‘flanking role’: afterburn dealing gradual damage to soften up targets for others (making reaching damage thresholds easier) and airblast.
cf. to the other class roles: Demoman as a ‘Defence offence’ type can deal more consistent damage faster than the other Defence classes (Heavy’s minigun suffers with range and Engineer has a shotgun that deals far less damage than a Grenade luncher or minigun along with a sentry that is powerful but requires set up time and investment), Heavy is the tankiest of all classes so ‘defence defence / double defence’, and Engineer has dispensers and teleporters that support the team. Also cf. Medic whose medigun form of support directly sustains offensive pushes especially with Übercharges so ‘support offence’, Sniper is usually in the backlines and has the most firepower of the support classes so ‘support defence’, and Spy is a ‘support support’ niche with sappers and backstabs designed to disrupt the enemy behind their lines, while lacking the firepower to sustain direct pushes or defend points at the ‘front’.
Not to say the classes don’t have different roles, unlocks and TF2’s high skill ceiling allows for such a diversity of playstyles, just that I think those are the roles the classes fit into the most [added: when first made up / as defaults for players of average competence]: seemingly matching up 3 class roles recombining 3 different times each.
1:28 I think pyros job is flanking and supporting. Pyro is really bad in an open battlefield, but really good in narrow chokes or in buildings. Also air blasting, spy checking and removing sappers (with jack) sounds like support to me.
I agree.
the power jack doesnt remove sappers the homewreaker does
Pyro is a wild card. That's really what he is.
"What is Pyro" The living embodiment of fire
Aye good to see you back sandwich!
You shouldn’t want the Phlog, a frankly underpowered weapon, to be nerfed because of its synergy with an _overpowered_ weapon. Just nerf the latter and be done with it.
Phlog is OP literally wtf are you on about? W+M1 for 10 seconds to get crits for another 10.
@@ArnisGoldbergAnd it makes you soldier bait as the tradeoff.
A class that you can usually crap on now craps on you with the Phlog, and it's only irritating to fight against with the Scorchshot, which is the ACTUAL broken weapon
@@ArnisGoldberg It's only op if you have medic to uber you.
Pls, don't gave him the caber treatment...
@@ArnisGoldberg 2 IQ reply to be honest.
(I doubt you'll read this but I'm doing this anyway)
I think Pyro is a jack-of-all-trades class with a hint of support class mixed in there.
Pyro can extinguish friends and get rewarded for it(either using Flamethrower's air blast or the Manmelter). can spy check with incredible efficiency, has mobility options like the Thermal Truster, or detonator jumping, and can have extended range with weapons like the Man Melter or the Dragon's Fury. the Homewrecker can destroy Engie's nests and can help Engi's nest by destroying Spy's sappers. Airblast prevents spamming from certain classes and can ruin an Uber push.
Pyro, with the right combos, can be a class to be feared.
My current knowledge of the purpose of Pyro is for SFM makers to give him REALLY BIG badonka donks, ginormous hooters, and make sfm's of them doing stuff
Pyro is a support class in 3 trench coats. They support in the way Snipers and Spies do (attacking instead of healing) but rather than picking off high priority targets or dismantling defensive setups, a Pyro punishes enemies who get too far into your team’s space. The limited range of a Pyro doesnt completely stop you from going on an aggressive rampage, but it means that letting enemies come to you will always be more effective
Lol sniper is not a support class in casual. It's literally a server dominating powehouse.
@@overlord3481 thats not the point but get your rocks off I guess
Pyro is a support dps dealer that excelled in close range crowd control/single target damage with skill based secondary’s and alternate abilities (airblast) that reward high skill gameplay for a low barrier to enter class
Great video and editing as always. I'm not sure how the class is *supposed* to be played, but I always find it most effective when I sneak around behind or above the enemy and ambush them outta nowhere. Sure, I usually die in the process, but I always get like 4 or 5 kills. Totally worth it.
I think you’re highly devaluing the Thermal Thruster. It’s not a tool for chasing down enemies, but instead for getting into position to ambush enemies. Paired with a backburner you can basically become a spy and start terrorizing snipers.
Fantastic video regardless but I have to defend my silly jetpack.
0:40 Why Vaporeon specifically? Could it be that out of all the water type pokemons, the Vaporeon is the most cool? :)
lime diet
doctors orders
Vaporeons suffering from over exposure to artificial based diets and lack of vitamins are usually put on a lime base extract diet due to the high concentration of citric acid which help increase stomachs acid levels back to their natural amounts.
I think it's more due to the fact, that out of all pokemon, Vaporeon belongs to the-
1:10 for some reason i read this as "when pyro gets aromantic"
Seems like yt recommended me an underrated yet very high quality Pyro yt channel! You got yourself another subscriber fam
I feel like Pyro kind of fills the role of the wild card, he can sometimes be over aggressive, reaching into enemy territory and causing trouble, and other times hang back and help protect other classes especially with their air blast. Pyro can switch between these styles on a dime, meaning it’s hard to predict what he’ll do any situation.
I play pyro switching between these kind of styles depending on the round, and I think the actual character of pyro (from what we know) would probably randomly change up his “strategy” surprising the enemy team
Bruh, this guy said that the thruster is unfair
he litterally didnt he said it was bad (which i dont entirely agree with but hey)
When he said pyro main I was surprised to not see his fur suit ngl?
Good video man.
I think talking about the Mannmelter more would of been a nice touch. It seems like an underpowered weapon that's only use is for extinguishing teammates while using Phlog, however, when you take into consideration that a crit Mannmelter does 90 damage: it becomes a counter to attacking other pyros.
Other than that, well edited video!
I have no real problem with the manmelter, its just a decent option. But, for the sake of the video, it focused on the most extreme cases of balance issues.
It's a good weapon if you can adjust accordingly, but the faster projectile speed throws me off personally.
Plus, countering opposing pyros is generally easy if you can flarepunch or just get the jump on them. What're they gonna do, hit more particles?.... maybe.
@@UnusualSandwich so instead of focusing on the scorch shot you want... The already mediocre phlog nerfed?
as a pyro main, yeah, their purpose is pretty obscure and is incredibly variable, and at first there’s clear dividers that are set depending on a person’s playstyle
there’s the safe and easy approach that takes advantage of guaranteed afterburn damage. this is probably how most people play the class because of how effective it is with minimal effort. just by equipping the scorch shot, the enemy medic suddenly has a much harder time doing his job because of all the fire and the reduced ability to crit heal players that have been tagged by it. this type of pyro is often more annoying than anything, since it excels at discouraging people from grouping up and the scorch shot usually isn’t enough to get a kill on its own. this type of playstyle can also be more close ranged, thanks to the nature of the flamethrower being able to punish people too close to you, or get people away if you can’t outdamage them
but taking that sort of approach can bring a person through a pipeline, ending on the opposite side of the spectrum. the burst damage pyro is much more fun and much more menacing thanks to the greatest mechanic of all time that is comboing. items that feed into this playstyle would be the flare gun, axetinguisher, and panic attack (and maybe phlog). of course, this playstyle would be nothing if you can’t get near enemies in the first place, and so pyro has nice options for movement that we all know about
and then of course there’s the pybro, leaning all the way back and further to become a defensive support
due to how specialized these roles are, it’s hard to have two at the same time. take the phlog to be offensive, now you can’t reflect rockets and stickies away from your team. take the scorch shot and your ability to do full crits with a flare gun is gone. take the homewrecker and you’re stuck with the homewrecker. at the end of the day, playing pyro is about balancing these three playstyles and being able to contribute to whatever situation you may be in
I actually really like the thermal thruster, the fact that I don't take damage for jumping is really nice. Obviously missing a secondary is a issue but I can usually do a lot with just the dragon's fury paired with it
The dragons fury does combos without the secondary. Flares are good since the fire lasts longer, but movement secondaries give it its full potential.
1:44 so did you just have a stupid good day as Scout once or
11:47 someone thought I was hacking because of this
1:29 personally, I think Pyro is a flank/kamikaze-type class, designed for unusual forms of aggression to help your team.
Outside of the Thermal Thruster argument, which I *HEAVILY* disagree with and will protect my baby to no end as you are able to do some insane stuff if you know how to use it right (though I wouldn't mind slight buffs or helpful tweaks..), there's a lot to agree in this video. Also I wouldn't mind if they gave the detonator a stomping mechanic as well if they decide one day to patch the exploit for whatever reason, though I'd prefer if they keep said exploit.
Holy shit. This was an amazing video man, good job. Only thing I want to add, is that the vulcano fragment actually has a use... maybe... probably not. But what you can do, is you can swing at someone with the axe and then combo it into a flare gun crit. With this strat you can one shot every class that has an HP of 150 or under. But this is so situational it's basically worthless, but it is a lot of fun when you pull it off, especially on an enemy pyro.
1:30 i think there are a few ways, like flanking, protecting teammates/engie nests, spy checking, and fully dps and pushing threw points, i see him kind of like a support/defensive class which is weird to say with pyro
amazing comedic timing. sponsor pitch sold me off the bat!
this editing is absolutely phenomenal, and u manage to capture every part of pyro in his current state, and honestly you capture it very well next to the wonderful editing
it's seriously crazy seeing your editing improve over the years, keep it up, and I hope you're doing well and I'll be waiting for your next video project :)
There were a couple things I agreed with in the video I thought I would talk about:
I hate the "new" airblast. Pyros don't even have to look at you to airblast you and it doesn't feel fair to fight at all. I also don't like that airblast is a pseudo stun for airborne enemies because it has a debuff that prevents you from airstrafing. Flame particles are janky aswell; the pyro may die but the particle will be invisible and still hit you resulting in afterburn damage.
This was a really great and high quality video I hope to see more from you on the future!
6:46 unrelated but my mind immediately went into high gear upon hearing a Pac-Man VS. DS. track.
1:30 Pyro: You run about using flames to murderize all and also airblast to throw folks off cliffs, and your secondary and melee are either utilities or emergency backups for if you fuck up your ammo management.
decade old memory of maining pyro: siege / anti-siege, spyhunting, and, iirc, some really bizarre interactions with the emerging melee subclasses
Love the video ,
As a Highlander competetiv Pyro main I agree with Pyro being mainly defensive character taking care of other teamates (mainly medic) And denying Uber pushes.
You have really nice and funny editing style, I Hope to see more videos like this one.
Scuba dubba
@@sharkytf2958 sharkyyyy
As a Pyro main answering your question at 1:30 without seeing the rest of the video first: the flexibility to help out wherever needed. As a Pyro, I can easily watch the flanks of the combo and serve as a backup pocket in case the medic's buddy dies. I can then, without switching loadouts or dying, keep spam off my team and extinguish them. I could deny an uber and then immediately switch to flanking or ambushing a group of enemies that I see some teammates fighting. If I see a sniper doing his area denial thing or trying to go for a pick, I often have one of the tools equipped to throw off his aim or at least keep pressure on him. Oh, yeah, and that "spy checking" thing.
Okay, I'm subbing, this video was nuts =D
But yeah, Pyro is kind of a blank-slate on every level of the game, you can do nearly everything with him. Gameplay-wise, there won't be an area where, no matter the unlock, you'll be the absolute best at it, but the fact that you can play them all is Pyro's greatest strength. What does you team need ? Pyro can probably do it, and still keep a few other attributes to help with whatever comes his way. He's the definition of a Jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
And of course, his backstory is perfect : you know nothing about the dude, so you watch his Meet the Team video, hoping to get more answers, and you understand even less ! This is amazing !
And that's why I like playing him so much.
The sponsor thingy caught me off guard, cool, you get a free subscriber
i feel like pyro is like soldier in the sense that he's a all rounder class.
with unlocks such as the homewreker/neon annihilator, you can be a pybro with reflects and dealing with spys.
the back burner allows you to play spyro, getting clean crit kills
the degreaser and panic attack allows for combo pyro and flare punch pyro (my personal fav)
and there's alot more you can do with pyro, those are just a few things
great vid btw
I like how you edited this video! I also like your choice in music :)
You are unfathomably underrated. The quality of your vids are better than like 80 percent of the current community. Keep it up
For best results play pyro like a *very* enthusiastic Australian Shepherd that is unaware it has a blowtorch strapped to it's head. In all honesty, though, the class is what you make of it. That's what makes it so damn fun.
Seeing this 10 months later after the massive pyro/sniper overhaul they dropped back in january this year is crazy man woah
I think the purpose of pyro is to do three things.
1. Ambush the enemy team dealing lasting fire damage to a small group
2. Reflect projectiles and extinguish friends
3. Be a power class
you are criminally underrated
your videos are so entertaining and hooks me the whole way through
not to mention your edits are eye candy 👍
Pyro is a (kinda) perfect mix of of a support and power class, being able to deal lots of damage in a short amount of time, but also possessing abilities to help his team survive longer
The airblast hitbox was that large? If it’s still that large it either makes the game look more buggy or me even worse at the game
I started using the phlog mainly for awhile because airblast was too difficult, I airblasted and a rocket that definitely should’ve been blasted away didn’t get airblasted, and that happened several times
The reason I enjoy pyro so much is that it slots into a match easier than any other class- good offensive capabilities, good defensive capabilities, decent survivability, decent mobility. It works really well as an all-rounder class.
Pyro's ability to cover the most amount of ground with his flames and the airblast allowing him to keep openents at a distance and reflect explosives make him best at area denyal as the last line of defense
Genuinely wonderful video, my mate! You've more than earned a subscriber, hope you manage to continue to impress homies and homiettes alike with your quality editing and style!
I genuinely enjoyed this video, the editing and commentary was great, the only thing I have a gripe with is your stance on the thermal thruster, in my opinion the thermal thruster is a "weapon" that pushes the pyro to play differently, a sort of pick/ get in and out style. The stomp I feel was also intentionally like that, making it so you can focus on switching your primary midway through your jump and not how your landing, making the stomp some nice bonus damage. My final thoughts on it are that it is a situational side grade that may or may not be useful based on the circumstance.
I'd say that given he is one of the three offensive classes, he is supposed to deal damage and make pushes. Because his main weapon is a flamethrower, I would think it means getting up close and personal, and to sneak up on your enemies if you can, since you are weaker in medium range and long range combat. In that way, I like to imagine Pyro to be similar to the Spy, oddly enough.
To answer 1:31 before moving on - Pyro can do just about anything that the team needs. Pestering, actual offensive pushes, half of an impenetrable defence, he's got his team's back. As to what he ought to do on his own, I'm sure it's obvious just how suited the class is to a combo-heavy playstyle compared to the others.
The thing is, Valve has lost track of what Pyro has become, even though they did most of the transformative work themselves. They added the flare gun, the degreaser, the axtinguisher, the scorch shit, the reserve shooter - all these wonderful toys that let him flow between the three weapon slots smooth as butter, and that let players develop this most optimal playstyle themselves.
And yet in Jungle Inferno Valve presents him with two weapons that attempt to "solve" pyro and put him in the stereotypical "attack with primary weapon, use secondary weapon for backup stuff" niche that all other classes occupy. The Dragon's Fury is a flamethrower that isn't "weak" in sheer firepower, at the cost of not being as suitable for combo shenanigans because of different flames and shit airblast, and the jetpack is as secondary as a secondary gets - it's not something you pull out mid-fight to help you (there's your big mystery solved Unusual). Same with the gas passer.
Valve is very confused. Wish they weren't.
1:21 Since the pyro is best as close range, I would say taking out large groups of enemies that are close to each other, spycheck on the map, help the team's engineer, extinguish the teammates by right clicking them and deflecting rockets, grenades and stickies.
1:20
The purpose of pyro, as someone who has played him since 2011, is to be a flex character. He can be a glass cannon that runs in and gets a couple kills/ denies an uber then instantly dies (outside of crits or good movement to escape lol), someone that gets into the medium range and just spams for small damage and space control, or someone that plays in the back looking for spies, protecting engineers and keeping the frontline (mostly) immune to fire. Almost all of his tools work well in all three of those scenarios, outside of his melee weapons which is where he has the most variation to suit more specific niches (such as the homewrecker for pybros) and arguably the scorch shot which has little use up-close
The problem is that there isn't much variation outside of small changes in how fast you're doing things (aggro/ front pack support -> higher APM, defensive/ backline support -> lower APM): WM1 as a concept is often pretty boring and overly-simplistic, especially compared to the complex movement and positioning that most other classes need far more of to "be good." Valve even neutered the crap out of airblast multiple times, changing it from a unique tool to have during an amush to a janky mess that usually just gives your opponent an easier time escaping/ killing you at range... when he had already been long considered one of the worst classes in the game. Hence why I stopped playing him and switched to heavy: Just like with the spy, everything pyro does another class does better, with the trades off being that he has a single unique tool in airblast and some of the worst statistics in the game
been a super great video! personally i'm of the opinion that pyro is supposed to be a support-focused generalist, like how demo is defence-focused and soldier is offence-focused. I'm personally a big fan of offence and especially ambush based playstyles with it, running things like the Dragon's and the Back Scratcher.
and also, the editing on this video is simply superb! legitimately mesmerising at points
I believe robin Walker explained pyro as a beginner class for even the worst of players to pick up and have some value. He can walk into any confrontation and at least leave someone half dead
My view on pyro is that he is supposed to be a class that primarily focus on comboing your enemy we can see this from the multiple payroll weapons that are very much focused on combos such as the panic attack or the reserved shooter or even just the stock flare gun he is also meant to be a kind of semi support class while also being able to be an offensive class if needed overall overall I think his purpose In the game is to be a generally support class /offensive class who can switch from helping their team blasting of stickies to wm1ing the whole enemy team
To me, Pyro is the ultimate support class. In most situations, probably equal or less than others in one to one engagements, but with either proper skill, proper preparation and/or proper teammates, pyro is probably the most game changing class. Although not game changing as in say Demo or Soldier who may change the status quo of the game, but more akin to Engi, who help maintain the game state, (sustaining a push on offense, or holding a choke on defense).
Basically Pyros are probably the class most dependant on a good team, and simultaneously most helpful to a good team, maybe even more than medic.
pyro main here, i think the loadout you pick defines the playstyle you use - degreaser flaregun for combos/frontlining, detonator for area control/bombing, etc.. However no matter what unlocks you pick(maybe excluding the phlog and the DF) pyro's core role still revolves around protecting teammates by denying uber, killing spies and reflecting projectiles, and also aiding pushes to make them more effective
great video btw!
I usually play more Pyro than other class, and also I play really defensively and supportive, you are the one spy checking and pushing out Uber's, I really love playing like that. Even with new players
1:26 - While originally Pyro was supposed to be a Flanker or a way to catch people off guard around corners; nowadays I believe that Pyro is best played as a support class with their decent area denial primary, airblast, and stinging to annoying secondaries
Pyro is a Jack of All Roles kinda guy; with the help of unlocks, pyro can lean more into one role more than another, while still maintaining his well rounded gameplay.
Power: When you decide to be more of a power class, you can use unlocks like the Phlogistinator, Flare Gun, Axtinguisher, and the Dragon’s Fury to increase your possible damage. While you can clean house with the Phlog, you entirely lose the ability to support your team (airblast). On other terms, while you use the Dragon’s Fury you need to aim more, and you don’t have crits, but you can still airblast if you need it, as well as boasting a greater range. While the Dragon’s Fury can still airblast, you can’t support your team in spy checking. The Flare gun is great at burst damage and following up damage on an enemy that is already on fire. The Axtinguisher is great for punishing players that get a little too close. The Axtinguisher’s mini crits and speed boost not only make it a good finishing tool, but good at escaping too.
If you choose to be a flanking power class, you could use unlocks like the Backburner, Detonator, or the Thermal Thruster to increase your ability to get behind the enemy, and deal with them after you’re behind them. The Axtinguisher could also help you with the flank Pyro lifestyle.
Defense: Pyro’s easy to accomplish fire damage and airblast make him great at protecting a person, building, or certain area. When on Defense, airblast is your best friend. Use airblast to reflect projectiles aimed toward your friendly engineer’s buildings back at them, and stuff any Übercharges coming your way.
Support: Pyro on Support has a few specialized weapons at his disposal. For instance, the Manmelter, Homewrecker, and Neon Annihilator can be used to further enhance this. The Manmelter can be used to extinguish teammates, and doing so gives you a crit with it. The Homewrecker and Neon Annihilator can be used to destroy sappers off buildings. It is best to use anything but the Dragon’s Fury for spy checking.
yoooo nice selections of songs, that thunder ceptor theme remix from pacman vs is so good; and yeah,pyro is indeed weird and defence/support sided
I played pyro in a couple ways. Either a flanker who would deal as much damage to an enemy backline as possible, or a suppressive support who reflects rockets, keeps the enemy pressured by lighting them on fire, and support other members (extinguish flames, break sappers, etc.)
For playstyle: I'd say he's the "disruptive" offense character, lurking angles around your friendly back line to prevent dives or flanks
I see Pyro as a mix bag support. A jack of all trades with out needing to change load out. And different unlocks letting him/her enhances certain rolls at the cost of the effectiveness of others without getting rid of the ability to do said rolls.
him insults thermal thruster
me: clearly he never heard of gamer spots
I see pyro like more of a combo class, something like :
-Degreser, Panic Attack, and Axetinguisher
Or
-Dragons Fury, Detonator/SS, and Axetinguisher/Back Scratcher
1:18 Insanely aggressive, Pyrovision items, and the most bizarre combination of cosmetics available, a pocket Medic gf if possible.
Great video, and good choice of music aswell
Close range jack of all trades, master of none, but of their many skills, best at ambushes, projectile denial, and generally causing panic and disarray.
Oh, wait, master of 1. Spy murder.
Love these vids! Great work and keep it coming!
1:25 In my eyes, Pyro's purpose is as a generalist who focuses more on utility and support than raw power. His airblast is one of the only counters to ubers. His airblast is also one of the only counters to projectile spam. His fire gives him a great tool to fend of spies. And if you get a bit sneaky and close-up you can sometimes get some huge damage. So the way you should be playing Pyro is supporting your team by playing around your engineer or medic, until you see an opportunity for a juicy flank.
The purpose of pyro is being a jack of all trades and being prepared against every situation.
Except heavies, ofc.
Paused at 1:30, this might not be the most technical description but I think it fits. Pyro is the team nanny. Pyro’s job is to take some of the headache off mom and dad (med and engi) so that the kids (everyone else) grow up healthy and successful. (murder the enemy team) Pyro’s AOE from flames and flare spam, along with airblast for extinguishing teammates and projectile deflection, make them maybe the best bodyguard in the game. His extra health gives him the ability to take a few shots leading the charge on an objective or defending a holding area. Being the best spy checking class only helps in this role. On top of that, nobody seems to mention Pyro’s expendability. When your team is on the control point and need 15 seconds to cap, but the enemy team is advancing just around the corner, Pyro’s bodyguard status, often makes him the best candidate to leave the point and stall the enemy team. So to me, Pyro’s primary role is to secure and protect the team’s holding area, be it offensive or defensive, especially while the engineer is still rebuilding for the new hold. Area Denial Lite
Ok im right here 8:58 and I want to share my my rework idea for the Gas Passer, the idea is to change it's recharge mechanic to make it identical to the Jarate and the Mad Milk,
same recharge rate, spawn with it throwable, can recharge instantly when resupplied,
but to make it a better contender for the other throwable liquids that can extinguish allies,
instead the afterburn dealt by the Gas Passer can stack with the afterburn dealt by pyro's other weapons,
making it do 4 damage per tick on it's own but 8 damage per tick when when also set on fire by your primary (or 5 dmg per tick when using the degreaser).
Now idk if it's fixed yet but the Neon Annihilator somehow doesn't crit targets covered in gas, I think if that was fixed this would be a great combination.
2:41 as a fellow pyro main, same. I think I like pyro so much because he isn’t boxed into one roll. When I play medic I feel like I NEED to be healing and hiding. For heavy, I NEED to be pushing. For pyro, though, I don’t feel like I’m limited in what I can do. I can SLAP people while flying around using a jet pack, so yeah…
1:17 I think that pyro is a blank canvas. Pyro gameplay changes drastically on what weapons you use and how you use them.
You can be a fighting machine if you use things like the Dragon’s Fury, Scorch Shot, Phlogistinator, Axetinguisher in a particular way.
You can be an expert defender by taking full advantage of your airblast and devastating fire damage if done in the hopes of protecting an objective.
You could even be a master of support by extinguishing your teammates, spychecking, destroying sappers with the homewrecker or even setting a lot of enemies on fire to scare them and deal chip damage.
The character can be played in many ways, just like the different ways People imagine who pyro is.
I would say that pyro is a mid-offense, mid-defense kinda character. He has enough health to survive a decent amount of damage, his whole thing revolves around cround control in an offensive (flamethrowers/flares/gas passer) but also in a defensive way (air blast), he also is the ''we need a utility weapon but we don't know on which class to put it on'' guy. Thats what basically gave birth to the ''pybro'' subclass: Pyro receiving so many different support and utility options that it can be a whole playstyle. Being the homewrecker/neon annialator, the flame thrower being by nature the best spychecking tool and pyro being able to extinguish teammates. Another thing to take into consideration is the spectrum on which pyro's weapons allow him to play. You got the phlogistinator and the dragons fury, being extremely offensive head-on fight weapons. You got the back burner and the thermal thruster, being more ambush-ish assassination tools. You got the stock flamethrower, which can be used for any playstyle, its just really bland. And then you got the degreaser, which is often used with a more defenseive playstyle with the un-sapping melee weapons. Most people think that soldier is THE jack of all trades of TF2, but honnestly, I think pyro is THE jack of all trades of TF2.
Kinda like demo
I think slag in borderlands 2 is an interesting mechanic and something like it for just fire damage with the gas passer would be cool.
For the uninitiated slag is an elemental weapon type that when you coat your enemies in it they take 2x damage from all sources, or 3x in the hardest difficulty.
i always saw pyro as some kind of like, weird flank/backline-defense hybrid, like he's good at sort of sticking to the edges of his team and playing some protective gameplay, catching enemies on the flanks, keeping the classes like engineer locked down and protected from some of the enemy flanks, and being able to push a nasty flank himself when the need/chance arises
he's a character that *seems* like he dramatically changes depending on the state of the game, being sort of tilted into one direction or another depending on his loadout
that's what i kinda see him as, at least
The way I play pyro is either a support fashion. Using air blast to deflect projectiles, hitting fleeing targets with the flare gun, attempting to scorch anyone too close.
Or a flank playstyle. backburner, using alternative routes, using a push by my team as a distraction. It typically depends on what team I'm on, how the match is going, what I'm feeling, etc.
Pyro can also BE the push class with the phlogistinator and an ubercharge, those two things in the same room can be devastating.
Pyro could maybe possibly burn stuff…idk tho
You say "but" an ungodly amount. Even when it isn't even a "however" moment.
as a spy main the stray particles and backwards airblast are the most painful thing in existence. BOY I LOVE GETTING IGNITED BY SOMETHING I CANT EVEN SEE
Well, I guess you're going to say that the pyro is a multi faceted class that can fit into several roles, because it is, but my preferred role is an ambush crowd control class that can burn through a wave of enemies rather quickly.
To participate a bit: Ive always seen pyro as a crowd control class of sorts. Their fire can do a decent amount of damage to several grouped up targets at once and the airblast can push them around, both great tools for breaking up a cluster. Aaaalmost like a support, making an enemy group separate so the teammates can clean them up, but more on the offensive side of that niche. Although, most of the time you see clusters it's from the attacking team, so i guess it could be seen as a defensive role aswell.
Purpose of pyro (answer to the pause thing at 1:23):
Pyro is made to be a Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none character that can be offensive, defensive, and supportive at all times whilst having unlocks that lean into one of the three play styles. Personally, the way I enjoy pyro (and I think more people should try to play them like this) is combo pyro, with the degreaser, flare gun or detonator, and the axestinguisher. It gives pyro a much higher skill floor and a MUCH higher skill ceiling, whilst allowing you to come up with flashy and creative ways to kill your enemies, whilst still being effective and supporting your team.
Edit: oh wow I was pretty spot on
Pyro is the main support class of the game. Yes Medic and Engi exist, but the support they provide are still very specific roles of healer and increasing damage output (whether via crits or by teleporting teammates into the fray). Pyro's "specific role" is to support the other class's specific roles. They do whatever is needed to allow the other classes to do their specific roles largely through versatility and crowd control. Pyro is meant to spycheck, to flank and distract with DOTs, to destroy sappers with the homewrecker, to let medic focus on other teammates with the backscratcher, to airblast away incoming explosives or remove sticky traps to clear the path, etc etc etc.
1:31 my honest opinion, is that pyro shall be a long range melee assassin, with his great afterburner.
Tried to skip over the sponsor and heard " -gonna die in two weeks." and thought it would be best for me to see the whole thing.
Anyways, very good and interesting video!
you are genuinely the most underrated creator ive seen on this platform. the editing is so smooth and subtle yet it can keep my interest easily. definitely a sub on both youtube and twitter, and ill be joining your discord soon
keep up the good work !! i believe in you
1:28 Based on my own knowledge, Pyro is a very diverse class and should be used as such. The only purpose I'd say they have overall that isn't situational is being a Spy counter. Outside of that, use Pyro for whatever need feels best