Breakdown of a Pyro vs other classes:
Pyro vs Scout: 175hp vs 125hp seems like you should have the upper hand, right? Well, those little guys are fast, and you are a short range attacker. Even if you can get the scout on fire, he will be out of your flamethrower’s range fast and quickly out of shotgun range. The best attack against them is a sneaky defense. Hide around corners and wait for them to come to you. A scout will usually catch on fire, and then run away alive if he had full health and you didn’t get the fire on him long enough. His scattergun will kill you sooner than your shotgun will kill him if he is skilled with his double-jump.
Pyro vs Soldier: This is a 50/50 battle, and really depends on the skill of the soldier. If you can get the soldier on fire from behind, as soon as he is turned around enough to fire a rocket at your feet, you start doing the “jump for joy” dance in circles around him while keeping the flame on him. You can win. Remember, he will be shooting at your feet to cause splash damage, so good jumping technique to avoid some of the splash damage will help you win this battle.
Pyro vs Demoman: Stickybombs are NOT your friend. As a Pyro you take out a demoman with a little skill if he is just using grenades. It when he starts back-peddling and dropping a stickybomb at your feet you will soon be blood splatter. The best strategy to use on a demoman is to catch him on fire from behind, then backpedal, quickswitch to shotgun and aim for the head! You will probably lose some health from the grenades, but he only has 4 in a round, so you’d best hope he has bad aim 😉
Pyro vs Heavy: If the heavy has any skill, you will most likely lose. His 14,000 rounds per minute mini-gun tears your Pyro jumpsuit to shreds at close range. And since you have no sniper rifle under that gas mask, it is best to attack heavies very cautiously. The technique I like to use is have the heavy distracted by some of your buddies, then flame him from behind for as long as you can. Most times I’ve killed a heavy it was as an assist, not a solo. If you are stuck face-to-face with a heavy, your only real hope is to try to run circles around him while keeping the flame full on. If the person playing the heavy doesn’t get what’s going on, you have a chance to survive.
Pyro vs Medic: Avoid the needle gun (especially the Blutsaugher) and this should be an easy kill. The problem is that medics are rarely alone (unless you’re camping respawn points!), so whenever you run into a medic healing a teammate from behind, take out the medic without the teammate seeing you. Try to retreat so you don’t die, but if the player the medic was healing is halfway decent, they’ll probably team up on you. The medic’s first priority will be to keep healing the recipient so that the fire goes out, so you may have time to get away unless you think you can roast them both.
Pyro vs Sniper: Unless you are in the enemy base or somehow behind the sniper, you lose. Avoid open areas or areas snipers camp. Get in behind them and then light them up with the flame. Snipers will be stuck in “snipe” mode and will usually die from the flame before switching to the machine gun or knife. If a sniper is very good, light him on fire, then do the backpedal shotgun technique. Snipers are easy to kill, just hard to get to.
Pyro vs Spy: KEEP YOUR BACK TO THE WALL and light everything you see on fire. A spy is no match for the mighty flamethrower. Just don’t get lazy and get backstabbed for a revenge kill. That just puts a huge smile on that spy’s face. Spies are pretty easy to notice amongst your team mates if they are disguised. Just look for the idiot running around like a chicken with no head. Or the medic not healing, or the scout running slow, or the guy with your name! Flame-broil ‘em!
Pyro vs Engineer: Flame all his teleporters if you can. Avoid sentry guns unless you’re übercharged. Taking on an engineer can be easy or nearly impossible, depending on his skill level. His pistol is accurate, and he loves aiming at your pretty gas mask. Burning him from behind is a good tactic, especially if he is busy trying to repair something with the wrench. He has a shotgun, you have a shotgun. The advantage is that you have more health. The only time you have a chance to roast a sentry is if the engineer built it close to a corner or an overhanging ledge. You MAY be able to get under the sentry and burn it without it detecting you, or you may be able to whip around the corner and roast it before it draws a bead on you. When you have an open shot at burning a sentry, be extra alert for the engineer who owns it, because they’ll be alerted by all the damage their gear is taking and they’ll come gunning for you.
Pyro vs Pyro: This all depends on the skill of the other player. The pyro suit is somewhat flame retardant, and will not stay on fire as long as the other classes. So a flame from behind, backpedal shotgun technique can work. Going mano y mano will result in a 50/50 kill/death margin. An axe to the back of the head is always a fun time, and gives bragging rights when you kill a fellow pyro with your axe.
Also remember, Pyros run pretty fast. Because of this, they make a great second wave attack with your scouts on a scout rush map. The medic is your friend. Anytime you can go über and flame the enemy defense into a smoldering pile of ash, it makes the pyro a blast to play.
You will die often, get used to it. But with some time and skill, you can rack up 2-3 kills per death. Playing as a pyro I have had more dominations on players just by thinking outside the box, and going behind their lines and flaming them from behind when they aren’t paying attention. Protect your engineers! Watch your back for revenge spies. And please don’t try to flame someone underwater. That is all! Now get back on the {IC} server and play TF2!
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