Dealing with Pyros (TF2)

[Kopikatsu]

Is there some kind of hard counter for a Pyro besides another Pyro?

I'm good with the technical classes (Engineer, Spy, Medic), but all of them are pretty much helpless when it comes to dealing with Pyros, so I'm kind of forced to rely on my teammates to save my ass when a Pyro shows up.

But...that doesn't happen. The last five games I've been in, a single Pyro manages to take down 3-5 members of my team, then starts heading for defenseless little me while I stand there and go 'OHGODOHGODOHGOD'...then die. Horribly.

/off-topic rant/ Not like my teammates can be expected to help. I manage to hold off the enemy team, which included three Heavies at once, by myself as an Engie with the Wrangler at Nucleus, so they can go get the CP. Not only do they NOT get the CP, not a single person thinks they should help the guy saving their asses from Spies and Pyros. Or even just helping fix my junk every so often so that I don't have to stop firing to fix it, then get everything exploded by a Soldier at super long range. Even though I practically beg for some help every ten seconds, which coincidentally, is about how often I died!

 

[F'Angus]

Heavy and medic UBERCHARGE!

Or just build a powerful turret.

Or Pyro back.

 

[Myskomunken]

I never found Pyros to be a problem. Just kill them. Not too hard.

 

[ShadowKatt]

Sniper (duh)

Or soldiers rocket, as long as they don't punt it back at you.

Or yeah, just heavy. Hit him til he drops. The flamethrower, un-modded and by default, is a medium range weapon. Stay out of its range and out of the line of fire if they airburst.

 

[Owlslayer]

When playing as a heavy, i don't find it a problem killing Pyros. Most Pyros, that is. When i got to the Escapist server, i get trashed around horribly.
But yeah, you just got to kill them before they reach you.

 

[SonofaJohannes]

Keep your distance, if you see a Pyro, get out of the flamethrower's reach and shoot him.

 

[Eri]

Despite all the whining, Pyro is arguably the weakest offensive class. He has so many counters and lacks mobility. You'll almost always have a harder time against a veteran soldier/demo than you will a veteran pyro.

 

[DoctorPhil]

Pyros are only truly dangerous when they ambush you, so always be on your guard.

 

[Lagwalker]

Pyro's are only truly dangerous if they catch you by surprise or have insainly good skill with airblast (if your a solly/demo). Be mindful of possible ambush spots or ways they can slip in behind you. I say this as some one who "Mains" pyro, If you catch one out in the open unless your a butterfingers you should come out the winner.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Despite all the whining, Pyro is arguably the weakest offensive class. He has so many counters and lacks mobility. You'll almost always have a harder time against a veteran soldier/demo than you will a veteran pyro.

Yeah, Pyro is one of the hardest classes to use effectively. I'm not a bad one but I'm a better soldier and heavy. I only go Pyro when there are a lot of enemy spies.

Pyros rely on alternate routes to get close. Stay away from the exits of these flanking routes and the Pyro will have a few people to go through before he gets to you.

As a spy, well, you're just fucked. Pyros are the best anti-Spy. I might recommend disguising as an engie though. It would explain why your back behind the lines and not shooting.

As Engie, watch your back, stick to your turret, build far from corners. The pyro will get killed before he gets close to your turret.

As a Medic, just pray your allies get him before he gets you. Medics really don't do well against any enemies so the response to pyros is the same as most any class.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Walk backwards? Easily the best counter.

 

[FalloutJack]

I understand that running helps.

 

[Caligulust]

They lack range, and will almost always lose fights if not close to you. As a medic, you should typically have a heavy or some other class with you. Unless the Pyro attacks from behind, the person you're healing should be ambushed first, and as such should be able to dispatch them while you heal. The Medic is pretty much useless in combat without a Blutsauger (from my experience).

Really, Spy would be the only one you should have issues with. The Pyro is completely anti Spy. As an engineer, you should try to build in corners or areas where a pyro cannot drop on your buildings or sneak up behind your team.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Walk backwards? Easily the best counter.

Walking backwards is slower than turning and running away. Unless that pyro is using the backburner, it's a better idea to turn and run to try to distance yourself.

OT: Pyros can be directly countered by heavies. Especially overhealed ones. It's possible for a pyro to catch a heavy if he ambushes him and whip out the axtinguisher. But on even ground, the pyro loses.

On even ground, the pyro loses almost all the time. Outside close range, the pyro almost completely lacks strength. In close range, the pyro is susceptible to any weapons plus damage ramp up and can be easily slaughtered.

 

[bob1052]

Shoot them. Pyros have no health.

 

[Vigormortis]

Is there some kind of hard counter for a Pyro besides another Pyro?

I'm good with the technical classes (Engineer, Spy, Medic), but all of them are pretty much helpless when it comes to dealing with Pyros, so I'm kind of forced to rely on my teammates to save my ass when a Pyro shows up.

But...that doesn't happen. The last five games I've been in, a single Pyro manages to take down 3-5 members of my team, then starts heading for defenseless little me while I stand there and go 'OHGODOHGODOHGOD'...then die. Horribly.

Well, um...that's sort of the point isn't it? I too play the tech classes (Engie, Spy, Medic) with a healthy dose of Scout as needed. That said, each class has weaknesses. If any given class was good against every other class, it'd destroy the balance. The Pyro is no exception.

My suggestion is to either find better team mates or class swap as the situation calls for it. The latter of which is usually a good idea anyway.

On that note, a good counter to Pyro is a Heavy, Scout, or Demo. Might I suggest stickies.

 

[cpnichol]

Burn and run around screaming.

I'm just saying that because I enjoy setting people on fire and watching them run around screaming. You've just got to avoid the ambush really and try and kill them as quickly as possible or just flee. I find that when ambushing I can get a lot of kills if they panic, but if they focus fire on me I die pretty quickly.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Shoot them. Pyros have no health.

Pyros have like the third highest health in the game...(175)

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Easy, stay out of reach of their flamethrower. All you have to do when you see a pyro is backpedal while shooting wildly and you'll take them down without a problem.

 

[Katana314]

Any class outside of its flamethrower distance in an open area has a good starting advantage. However, pyros are smart, so you can't always pray for that.

It's believed pyros are the best at super-close range. Not so: the Heavy is. He can survive more hits, and his minigun is even more lethal up close than the flamethrower. If you can get a hold of natascha, it's the perfect anti-pyro, even more than anti-scout. Pyros really rely on their ability to keep moving. If they're pinned down, not only will every single bullet from natascha hit them, but another teammate could get shots in.

Finally, if you're a Heavy on fire at 62 health with the pyro dead in front of you, just pull out the sandvich.

"Argh, I died against that Heavy! Oh well. He's at low health, so at least the burn damage will-"
(killcam shows the Heavy eating a sandvich)
"FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"