HANDS ON GUIDE

Assault #3 - The Pyro

Pyro: 175 HP

Pyros need to get up close to be effective. There are several ways to do this, and charging headlong into the fray is certainly one of them. Waiting around corners is a good method, but to be most effective it needs to be done where the enemy is not expecting it. Yup, that’s right, camping. All the bases have nooks and crannies that a pyro can hide in, and if you want to stay alive you must vary your camping place.

Primary Weapon: Flamethrower

At close range, the flamethrower is devastating. If a Pyro can get into the midst of a group of enemies then serious toasting will ensue as he can empty all his ammunition without reloading. Your fuel doesn’t last long, so try to scorch your targets as much as possible. The closer you are to an enemy, the more powerful the burn given by your ‘thrower. As soon as your target is hit he will be set ablaze, so enemies will be losing health even if you stop firing.

If you’re running into a crowd there are some key classes you’ll want to dispatch first. A Medic can put out your fire with a squirt from his medigun, so if you see one get right up to him and fry him until he’s done. If you don’t have a select target in the group, then just hose merrily and set fire to everyone. In the chaos it can be difficult to find the Pyro, and many enemies will just run in terror as soon as you set them ablaze. Because of the limited range of the ‘thrower it’s easy to escape a crispy death by just legging it.

The flamethrower’s secondary fire is a blast of compressed gas, which can be used to deflect projectiles or even knock back enemy players. It’s extremely useful for clearing sticky bombs from choke and capture points, and after you’ve blown a jumping scout into an abyss you’ll want to do it again and again.

Secondary Weapon: Shotgun

When your enemies run, the shotgun becomes particularly useful. A single shot will take down a well-torched enemy and few stay up after the second serving from the 12 bore. The shotgun also allows you to attack targets at longer range, or cover your escape.

Melee Weapon: Fire Axe

If you run out of fuel while enemies are still at close range - change to axe and hack like a madman. You’re probably dead anyway so you might as well go out swinging.

*Update December 2008*
Backburner

The Backburner replaces the standard flamethrower and deals the same damage but it has no compression blast. In exchange the Pyro is bestowed with automatic critical hits if he can burn an enemy in the back. Criticals from flamethrowers are devastating, and you can kill an enemy before they even know what’s going on. The difficulty is getting around behind them. It’s easy enough the first time, but people soon get wise to it.

Flare Gun

The Flare Gun replaces the shotgun as the Pyro’s secondary weapon. It’s a single shot weapon with a slow reload time, which fires an incendiary flare long distances, and explodes on contact with a small area of effect. Any non-pyro enemy caught in its area of effect will be set alight for 10 seconds. It’s not a particularly strong weapon, but it’s accurate, has a very long range, and can kill an injured opponent with one shot.

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