Dealing with Pyros (TF2)

[Shydrow]

Anything can beat pyro it is just a matter of how good you are.

 

[NightlyNews]

From my experience, this is how to deal with a pyro as each.

*NOTE* this is just my opinion, there are probably better methods.

Engineer: You will pretty much be determined on a well placed sentry to get kills as an engineer, so try and be tactical with its placement. If you can locate it at a corner or at a choking point, then you can get it up to annihilate any opposition whilst performing repairs/restocks on the sentry (should have a dispenser close-by). This WILL leave you vulnerable to intelligent demo's, so be careful. The same can be said for soldiers too, so be careful. I can easily get between 25-30 kills using this method before someone finds a way to outsmart or outmanoeuvre me. If you have a frontier justice equipped, then if your sentry gets destroyed, you can devastate the person who took out your sentry
I wouldn't recommend the wrangler for this, because you will spend most of your time repairing the sentry.

Medic: Taking care of a pyro can be awkward using the medic, for the same reason taking care of a heavy or a soldier is awkward as a medic. The syringe gun spreads quite a lot, meaning accuracy is an issue. If you can replace it with the blutsauger (which I find seems to be more accurate) then you can heal yourself whilst firing. Always a plus
If you can flank the pyro, then you will have a higher chance of killing them, but make sure that when you start firing, you dont stop until you need to reload. Speed is everything.
The surgical saw (or any other melee) can make short work of any class if you manoeuvre yourself correctly, but only use it as a desperation method against a pyro! Keeping your distance is integral to staying alive.
Also, as a medic, if you notice a nearby team mate which happens to be a different class then try healing them and allow them to take care of the pyro, a heavy or a soldier can dispose of a pyro much more quickly than you can.

Spy: Generally speaking, avoid pyro's like the plague!! Pyro's are the ultimate defence against spies. It's awkward standing trying to work out a solid strategy, due to how quickly a flamethrower will dispose of you. If you find yourself in a position to backstab them, then great! It feels rather satisfying to backstab a pyro!
Unfortunately, chances are you wont end up in a position to backstab :S
The spy revolver is often under rated, but it's actually pretty damned powerful if you can land a headshot or two! Body shots are exceptionally weak, so try to be as quick and accurate as you can.

Also remember, the spy class was built around the idea of backstabbing and sapping engineer devices, so it's often best to avoid pyro's and hide from them whenever possible. I know that's not great advice but, it's often the best decision.

Thats all the advice I have, and I hope some of it helps. If anyone disagree's with me then, fair enough. Everyone has their own method of playing, so there could be a lot of different methods of taking care of pyro's.

My method: It costs $400,000 to fire this weapon for 12 seconds. It takes me less than 5 to kill any androgynous fire spitters!

Haha this is way to well thought out a response.

Pyros are generally considered the worst class behind an excess of support classes like spys or snipers.

I normally play them to be the underdog because honestly any class can just destroy them easily. A good scout will literally never be touched by a pyro except his weak ass shotgun :/

 

[Xannieros]

There's a thing call kiting. You keep running away backwards while firing, melee is a no no (dur). Most Pyro's will follow for a short time, giving you a chance to kill. If you're close enough to get hit, you're toast (hehe) in most cases.

 

[Xanadu84]

I love playing Pyro because it is so damn fun, but honestly, they are probably the weakest class. Even at extreme close range, a Heavy usually wins, and a good shotgun blast can match a flamethrower. Pyro is good at spychecking, so that's a legitimate problem, but engineer? Put sentry against something that the Pyro can't sneak up on, and whats the Pyro going to do? The medic pretty much relies on others for offense anyways. Honestly, if a Pyro is playing in such a way that it seems like there is no counter, what you should do if drop your keyboard and mouse and slow clap into your mic, because that Pyro is one clever, cunning bastard.

 

[martin's a madman]

I play Mini sentry combat engie, so, I throw down the mini sentry and then I go sideways away from my sentry, the pyro can only do a decent amount of damage to one of us, he or she will usually pick to damage Ogburn (my sentry) and when that happens, I build him again and repeat. I usually am able to do enough damage until the pyro dies.

I also play demo, so sticky bombs while running backwards can deal damage, and I'm a good enough shot with the grenade launcher to hit a pyro a few times.


If you're good with the blutsauger, you can 1V1 a pyro easily, you're faster as a medic and the blutsauger can heal you if you know how to use it.



EDIT: I do the mini sentry for any class, and I generally do well with it. Just remember to not be a dick and forget to do your other engie duties like dispensers and teleporters (you'll usually have metal, so help the boring turtle-engies upgrade their crap as well and generally, if you drop a teleporter or a dispenser near an engie nest they'll upgrade it for you while you go deal high DPS)

 

[Jfswift]

Against a really skilled spy? You wont be able to get rid of them unfortunately. The best you do is set at least one pyro and eng to guard any turrets and scare them away and keep trying to score. Spies generally don't rack up alot of points but they're bloody annoying to deal with. (like flies..)

 

[martin's a madman]

snipsnap

Give them a choice, make it so they can either attack you, or your sentry, but not both. The other will usually be enough to kill a measly pyro. They'll usually go for the sentry first, so be ready to redeploy (as in, get your fingers used to deploying quickly).

 

[teqrevisited]

Take them at range. Avoid using explosives at mid-long range to prevent inhalation of an airblasted crit rocket and try to keep an open space behind you. The most they can do is shotgun you back, flare you and run off or a combination of the two.

 

[Katana314]

I love playing Pyro because it is so damn fun, but honestly, they are probably the weakest class. Even at extreme close range, a Heavy usually wins, and a good shotgun blast can match a flamethrower. Pyro is good at spychecking, so that's a legitimate problem, but engineer? Put sentry against something that the Pyro can't sneak up on, and whats the Pyro going to do? The medic pretty much relies on others for offense anyways. Honestly, if a Pyro is playing in such a way that it seems like there is no counter, what you should do if drop your keyboard and mouse and slow clap into your mic, because that Pyro is one clever, cunning bastard.

Anyone who despairs about the pyro being useless should watch this guy.

 

[Davey Woo]

Well these are my tactics for dealing with Pyro's, give one of them a try.

Soldier: Whack out a shotgun and kill him.
Engie: Whack out a shotgun and kill him.
Medic: Heal a teammate who can kill him.
Demo: Melee, yes it's close range but even if he kills you, you have a chance of killing him too.
Spy: Run...
Sniper: Run...
Scout: Sandman and meatshot, otherwise run...
Heavy: Tank and shoot.
Pyro: SHOTGUN BATTLE!!!!!

 

[Kopikatsu]

I love playing Pyro because it is so damn fun, but honestly, they are probably the weakest class. Even at extreme close range, a Heavy usually wins, and a good shotgun blast can match a flamethrower. Pyro is good at spychecking, so that's a legitimate problem, but engineer? Put sentry against something that the Pyro can't sneak up on, and whats the Pyro going to do? The medic pretty much relies on others for offense anyways. Honestly, if a Pyro is playing in such a way that it seems like there is no counter, what you should do if drop your keyboard and mouse and slow clap into your mic, because that Pyro is one clever, cunning bastard.

Anyone who despairs about the pyro being useless should watch this guy.

If 1-2 crappy 'Hold Left Mouse Button Till Everything Dies' Pyros can wipe out my entire team (Myself included), then I can't even imagine what would happen if any of us had to face that guy.

Anywho, that video convinced me that Pyro is a skillgate character. Excellent for newbie play, awful for veteran play, and dominates everything at competitive play.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

I'm fairly sure you just shoot them? At least, that's what I always do.

Scout: Sandman and meatshot, otherwise run...

Really? Just use the Soda Popper, run rings around them, throw off a Milk then kill their entire team.

 

[iniudan]

Heavy and medic UBERCHARGE!

Or just build a powerful turret.

For the first one a pyro can push with his flame thrower airblow, thus can unlink the ubercharge and make it go to waste

Second one a pyro can efficiently attack turret from angle most other class cannot (I admit the angle is much reduced compared to TFC [playing pyro since TFC here, was actually one of the few that played pyro well back then =p]), while at the same time burning the engineer repairing it.

 

[DustyDrB]

Pyros are more of a situational class. I almost only go Pyro for defense when the other team is using a lot Heavy/Medic ubers (The compression blast can render an ubercharge useless) or when our Engies are being harassed by many spies. I'm good with them on offense too, but the lack of range is something you'll always have to deal with. Degreaser + Axtinguisher is a match made in Heaven (Pyro heaven, at least).

Pyros aren't a class people generally have a problem dealing with, except for Engineers and Spies (and Soldiers. I use the hell out of the compression blast, which reflects rockets and crits when it hits. Soldiers always switch to the shotgun against me, at which point I just light them up with a flare). As a Medic, you should have backup and they should be defending you.

If you're having problems with them, just chalk it up to inexperience.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

From my experience, this is how to deal with a pyro as each.

*NOTE* this is just my opinion, there are probably better methods.

Engineer: You will pretty much be determined on a well placed sentry to get kills as an engineer, so try and be tactical with its placement. If you can locate it at a corner or at a choking point, then you can get it up to annihilate any opposition whilst performing repairs/restocks on the sentry (should have a dispenser close-by). This WILL leave you vulnerable to intelligent demo's, so be careful. The same can be said for soldiers too, so be careful. I can easily get between 25-30 kills using this method before someone finds a way to outsmart or outmanoeuvre me. If you have a frontier justice equipped, then if your sentry gets destroyed, you can devastate the person who took out your sentry
I wouldn't recommend the wrangler for this, because you will spend most of your time repairing the sentry.

If you want your sentry to survive a Pyro it would be wise not to place it too close to a corner, Pyros can run faster than the sentry can turn so if it's just around a corner they can start circle strafing it to death before the sentry can even get a proper lock. Also to consider, if it lightly sticks out the Pyro can destroy it without even needing to come out of cover. Finally: Flames travel through stuff, if an ubered pyro approaches your nest just abandon ship, the flames will travel through the sentry and hurt you ~and~ the dispenser right behind you.

Medic: Taking care of a pyro can be awkward using the medic, for the same reason taking care of a heavy or a soldier is awkward as a medic. The syringe gun spreads quite a lot, meaning accuracy is an issue. If you can replace it with the blutsauger (which I find seems to be more accurate) then you can heal yourself whilst firing. Always a plus
If you can flank the pyro, then you will have a higher chance of killing them, but make sure that when you start firing, you dont stop until you need to reload. Speed is everything.
The surgical saw (or any other melee) can make short work of any class if you manoeuvre yourself correctly, but only use it as a desperation method against a pyro! Keeping your distance is integral to staying alive.
Also, as a medic, if you notice a nearby team mate which happens to be a different class then try healing them and allow them to take care of the pyro, a heavy or a soldier can dispose of a pyro much more quickly than you can.

As someone who mains medic (followed by Pyro), in my experience backpeddling and firing away with the syringe gun is the easiest method to kill overtly eager Pyros, the Medic has a higher speed than the Pyro so you shouldn't get burnt too badly. And unless you're intending to regularly go into combat, I recommend sticking to the syringe gun, in combat you regenerate 3HP/sec vs. only 1HP/sec with the Blutsauger, and when dealing with the afterburn, that extra 2HP/sec can mean the difference between dying and reaching a healthpack.

Spy: Generally speaking, avoid pyro's like the plague!! Pyro's are the ultimate defence against spies. It's awkward standing trying to work out a solid strategy, due to how quickly a flamethrower will dispose of you. If you find yourself in a position to backstab them, then great! It feels rather satisfying to backstab a pyro!
Unfortunately, chances are you wont end up in a position to backstab :S
The spy revolver is often under rated, but it's actually pretty damned powerful if you can land a headshot or two! Body shots are exceptionally weak, so try to be as quick and accurate as you can.

Only the Ambassador lands headshots, the revolver does about 60 damage per shot at close range so to kill a Pyro you'll need to land three successful shots providing you don't get a random crit. Other than that, avoid Pyros like the plague unless you're cocky and/or exceptionally gifted with the revolver/enforcer. If they aren't mindless W+1 Pyros nine times out of ten you're dead if you get caught by one.

My method: It costs $400,000 to fire this weapon for 12 seconds. It takes me less than 5 to kill any androgynous fire spitters!

I've had my share of Heavy kills as pyro, many are surprisingly inept at dealing with an androgynous fire spitter circle strafing them. Admittedly against good heavies I only stand a chance at winning if they happen to not be paying attention when I start flaming them.

 

[AlternatePFG]

I love playing Pyro because it is so damn fun, but honestly, they are probably the weakest class. Even at extreme close range, a Heavy usually wins, and a good shotgun blast can match a flamethrower. Pyro is good at spychecking, so that's a legitimate problem, but engineer? Put sentry against something that the Pyro can't sneak up on, and whats the Pyro going to do? The medic pretty much relies on others for offense anyways. Honestly, if a Pyro is playing in such a way that it seems like there is no counter, what you should do if drop your keyboard and mouse and slow clap into your mic, because that Pyro is one clever, cunning bastard.

Anyone who despairs about the pyro being useless should watch this guy.

That was amazing. My jaw dropped multiple times in that video. That guy is a monster, that video was taken in '09, love to see him with some of the new Pyro unlocks.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

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.

For sure, a good soldier with the Black Box is one of the most effective things in the game.

 

[DustyDrB]

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.

For sure, a good soldier with the Black Box is one of the most effective things in the game.

Are the Pyros you guys are facing not using the compression blast or something? No way a Soldier should be able to have the edge on a Pyro. That's not my experience, at least.

 

[AlternatePFG]

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.

For sure, a good soldier with the Black Box is one of the most effective things in the game.

Are the Pyros you guys are facing not using the compression blast or something? No way a Soldier should be able to have the edge on a Pyro. That's not my experience, at least.

Black Box and vanilla launchers are easy enough to airblast, it's the Direct Hit and Liberty Launcher that are damn hard to airblast.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

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.

For sure, a good soldier with the Black Box is one of the most effective things in the game.

Are the Pyros you guys are facing not using the compression blast or something? No way a Soldier should be able to have the edge on a Pyro. That's not my experience, at least.

Obviously, we're not talking 1-on-1 here. This when the Pyro and Soldiers are backed up by their team.