Pyro

Pyro
Basic Information
Icon
Type	Offensive
Health	175 (260 with overheal)
Speed	100%

The Pyro is an offensive class who acts both as an independent roamer and a bodyguard for their team, guarding flank routes from enemy assault and having excellent close-range crowd control that punishes enemies who group too close together. With 175 health and 100% speed, they have a good balance between speed and health, and can run straight into enemies who cannot kill them in time, such as Medic and Spy. The Flame Thrower's ability to cut off entrances is a constant consideration for enemies trying to sneak into allied defences, and a surprise attack with the Flame Thrower, which penetrates through multiple enemies, can be devastating to a frontal assault. The ability to set enemies on fire from a single flame, dealing 10 seconds of afterburn damage, gives the Pyro the ability to stay comfortably away from enemies on fire, blasting them with the Shotgun while racking up afterburn damage. They are an extremely hard counter to the Spy, whose trickery is useless when flames are being blasted into every corner. Their airblast ability also gives them potent crowd control with the ability to push enemies (and their projectiles) where they want them, including ÜberCharged enemies, as well as extinguishing allies. With this wide variety of abilities, the Pyro can change their role as the situation calls for, making for a class that rewards reading the situation with exceptional abilities.

The Pyro's biggest downsides are their reliance on ammo, lack of mobility options, ineffectiveness beyond close range, and a predictable playstyle. A good Pyro will constantly spray fire on everything they look at, and this uses up a lot of ammo. Since the airblast also uses up 20 ammo per blast, and is an essential option for any engagement, failing to manage ammo can lead to the Flame Thrower running out of gas before the fight even begins. The Pyro is not exceptional in a fair fight, can often get caught off guard by Scouts and Heavies who are just outside of their range, and can fail to catch up to enemies who will simply shoot them from afar. While the Twin Barrel shores up this weakness, it trades off the midrange damage of the Shotgun, which Pyro needs to be viable beyond close quarters. In addition, their main option for killing enemies is to run up to them and hold the attack button, which is a linear pattern that smart enemies will simply walk backwards from. As a result, effectiveness with the Pyro depends on hiding in spaces that enemies are likely to funnel through, avoiding exposure until the right time to strike, and trapping them in tiny spaces they cannot run away from. In wide open spaces, the Pyro is simply a bad class.

While the Pyro is not the best class for every scenario, when there's an opportunity for their strengths to be used, they are the roadblock that prevents enemies from getting what they want. While they are considered an offensive class, they are effectively a jack of all trades. On offense, pushing the Payload or capturing control points is made easy when you can simply push enemies away, and taking flank routes will prevent enemies from trying to sneak in through the back entrance. On defense, defending an allied Sentry nest significantly shores up its weakness against Spies and explosive spam, and sending fire down any route the enemy wants to push through can stop an offensive before it even starts. While the Pyro's weaknesses are obvious, they are mitigated through deliberate play, and they remain a potent situational class for players with an independent nature - whether for low-skill players who just want to watch the world burn, or for high-skill players that want to explore the full spectrum of Pyro's endless nuance.

Bio

Location of origin: Unknown

Job: Pyrotechnics

Motto: "Mmph mmmph mph-mph mmph mmmmph!"

Only two things are known for sure about the mysterious Pyro: he sets things on fire and he doesn't speak. In fact, only the part about setting things on fire is undisputed. Some believe his occasional rasping wheeze may be an attempt to communicate through a mouth obstructed by a filter and attached to lungs ravaged by constant exposure to his asbestos-lined suit. Either way, he's a fearsome, inscrutable, on-fire Frankenstein of a man. If he even is a man.

Weapons

Primary

Weapon	Kill icon
Flame Thrower

Secondary

Weapon	Kill icon
Shotgun
Flare Gun
Twin Barrel

Melee

Weapon	Kill icon
Fire Axe
Harvester

Tips

As a Pyro…

• …you cannot be ignited by fire-based weapons. Use your shotgun or melee weapons against enemy Pyros in order to counter this.
• …you can often set enemies on fire and retreat, leaving them to die from the burning.
• …your flamethrower^(sic) does more damage the closer you are to the enemy.
• …your flamethrower chews up a lot of ammo. Pick up fallen weapons to refill your supply.
• …ambush enemies to catch them in the short range of your flamethrower. Use corners to your advantage.
• …the flamethrower's compression blast (MOUSE2) is a very useful tool. Use it to push enemies, even invulnerable Medics and their buddies, away or into environmental hazards.
• …your flamethrower can extinguish burning teammates with MOUSE2.
• …switch to your shotgun if enemies retreat beyond the short range of your flamethrower.
• …your Fire Axe is a great choice for dealing with enemy Pyros.
• …your flare gun can catch enemies on fire at long range. This works well against enemy Snipers.
• …the Twin Barrel can be used to close the gap between you and your target. Propel yourself upward or towards your enemies!
• …the Twin Barrel does not deal damage as reliably as your shotgun. If you're losing in an encounter, use it to propel yourself away in retreat!
• …the Harvester can generate a guaranteed critical hit, and allows you to heal from your enemies.
• …dying with the Harvester equipped will extinguish any enemies you've set on fire.

Related achievements

Achievement		Description
	Birthday Blowout	Extinguish 20 Dynamite Pack sticks by airblasting them.
	A Burning Memory	As a Pyro, deal 1000 afterburn damage while you're dead.
	Shotgun Messenger	As a Pyro, land 3 Shotgun meat-shots in 5 seconds, 6 times.
	Molten Steal	Land a Flare Gun crit on an enemy that somebody else set on fire.
	Summary Execution	Decapitate all 9 classes with the Harvester. Scout Soldier Pyro Demoman Heavy Engineer Medic Sniper Spy
	Head Rush	Decapitate 3 enemies with the Harvester in a single life.
	Don't Fear the Reaper	Save 5 teammates from burning to death by killing enemy Pyros wielding the Harvester.
	No, Time to Die	As a Spy, extinguish yourself by killing a Pyro wielding the Harvester.
	Rabbit Season	Hit a Scout with every pellet from a Twin Barrel shot.
	Rip and Tear!	Get 10 meat-shot kills with the Twin Barrel.
	Bringing the Heat	Kill 5 enemies after closing the distance with a Twin Barrel jump.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Bulgarian	Подпалвач	Pyro
Spanish	Pyro	-
English	Pyro	-
French	Pyro	-
German	Pyro	-
Hungarian	Piró	Pyro
Italian	Piro	Pyro
Polish	Pyro	-
Brazilian Portuguese	Pyro	-
Romanian	Pyro	-
Russian	Поджигатель	Pyro
Turkish	Pyro	-
Ukrainian	Палій	Arsonist

Update history

2.0.0

• Updated the Pyro’s head to be consistent with the rest of the classes. (Uses a separate texture-sheet and higher poly mesh.)

Trivia

• The Pyro's voice actor, Dennis Bateman, also voices the Spy class.
• The Pyro has the same voice for the English, German, Spanish, French, and Russian versions of Team Fortress 2.
• The Napalm grenades on the Pyro's belt were intended to be used as weaponry but were cut during development.
• In Team Fortress 2 Classic, the Pyro is given a new line for their ‘Activate the Charge!’ voice command where he now says ‘COME ON!", This voice line was lifted from Prerelease versions of Team Fortress 2.
• In Team Fortress 2 Classic, the Pyro is the only character who's Meet the Team video is considered non-canon; this, by extension, also makes the ‘Pyroland’ fantasy world non-canonical.