Vitals

Health: 175
Speed: 100%
Type: Offensive
Weapons: Flamethrower, Shotgun, Fire Axe
Unlockables: Backburner, Flare Gun, Axtinguisher

Weapons:

Flamethrower

Ammo: 200 (16 seconds of use)
Damage: 100-150 damage/sec then 6 damage/sec x 10 afterburn (300-450/sec)
Best range: Short

Information:

Since the release of the Pyro update, the flamethrower is a far more versatile weapon. It holds two-hundred ammo (or fuel, or whatever), doesn’t need to be ‘reloaded,’ and fires very fast, each ammo-unit doing a small amount of damage. Once you stop burning your target, they are left to burn for ten seconds for about fifty damage unless they manage to extinguish themselves in the meantime. Range is everything with the flamethrower – the closer you are, the more lethal the fire becomes, so try and get as close to your target as you can for massive damage.

The flamethrower now also sports a secondary fire; the compression blast. when triggered, it releases a blast of compressed air which has the ability to push your opponents away, redirect enemy projectiles, or even extinguish your burning teammates. This is possibly the coolest thing in TF2, and you can read about it exhaustively in the Compression Blast guide. There are any number of applications for this feature, and it greatly increases the survivability of the Pyro while still requiring skilled handling. Rockets, the bane of every Pyro, can now be returned to sender with a significant amount of satisfaction attached. Enemy Medics can be separated from their targets, even in the middle of an übercharge. All that combined with the ability to save the lives of burning comrades makes the Pyro a more versatile, all-round team support class and greatly improves his playability.

Advantages: High and continuous damage at short range, moderate damage from post-burning flames, causes fear and disorientation to enemy, flames can act as a visual shield to reduce danger of fire from unengaged enemies, decent supply of ammo with no reloads, compression blast ability can prevent death and be used as a weapon.

Disadvantages: Requires Pyro to be at short range, Pyro can become an easy target while BBQing, chews through ammo pretty fast.

Shotgun

Ammo: 6/32
Damage: 78-90 (180)
Best range: Short

Information:

The shotgun is very much a standard issue weapon. Four of the nine classes have one, and the Scout’s scattergun is similar (but better). It holds six shells, and each shot fires ten bullets. As you would expect from a shotgun, it does the most damage at point blank and its effectiveness falls off fast beyond that. The advantage of the shotgun is that although it reloads at a pretty ordinary speed, it fires relatively quickly, and so long as there’s at least one shell loaded it can be fired at will (even while reloading).

Its best use for the Pyro is when the enemy is beyond the reach of your flamethrower. If your opponent has just been doused in flames and is burning, usually a couple shotgun blasts can finish them off for good.

Advantages: Decent damage at short to medium range, effective for pursuing and finishing off ignited and retreating enemies.

Disadvantages: Pretty ineffective beyond medium range, small clip and slow reload.

Fire Axe

Ammo: N/A
Damage: 43-87 (195)

Information:

Very similar to every other melee weapon (with the exception of the bat and knife), though more amusing than most. See Valve’s TF2 Stats for current data on the rate of random critical hits with the Fire Axe (among other data available).

Backburner

Ammo: 200 (16 seconds of use)
Damage: 100-150 damage/sec then 6 damage/sec x 10 afterburn (crits on backburn 300-450/sec)
Best range: Short

Information:

The Backburner is the fearsome replacement for the flamethrower, and is unlocked when fifteen of the Pyro achievements are earned. While quite similar to the flamethrower in performance, every hit to an enemy’s back becomes a critical hit. This makes the Backburner the perfect ambush weapon, as it is finally possible to toast an unaware enemy before they have time to spin around and waste you. This ability also makes the Backburner Pyro much more fearsome when thrown into an enemy mob, since no one can afford to turn their back to him, and the group suddenly becomes very vulnerable.

The drawback for this fearsome crit factory is the lack of the compression blast ability that is a (epic) feature of the regular flamethrower. This makes the Pyro much more vulnerable when tangling with enemy Soldiers and Demomen. The Backburner makes a good choice for those Pyros that enjoy sneaking around and ambushing careless enemy troops.

Advantages: Guaranteed critical hits to the back improve both the Pyro’s ability to kill and the respect that he must be paid.

Disadvantages: The lack of compression blast makes it a much less versatile weapon.

Flare Gun

Ammo: 1/16
Damage: 30 then 6 damage/sec x 10 afterburn (90)
Best range: Medium

Information:

The flare gun is the first unlockable weapon available to the Pyro, gifted when the first ten achievements are earned. As a replacement for the shotgun, it serves largely the same function but in a fairly different way. While it will continue to be your only offensive option beyond flamethrower range, it works just as well up close as far away (assuming your a good shot). As an added bonus, shooting one of your already-burning victims with a flare cases additional damage (thirty-five percent more) and increase the afterburn damage (eight per second for ten seconds).

The tradeoff for this long-range immolation ability is that the flares take skillful marksmanship to achieve the desired result. The projectiles are relatively slow, a little quicker than a rocket, and are affected a bit by gravity too. This gives the aware enemy plenty of opportunity to get out of the way. The flare gun’s main application is for igniting enemies who are distracted with something else or relatively stationary. However, the flares can be used in a variety of ways; as long range harassment, a finishing move, or covering a retreat. In any case, don’t be one of those Pyro’s trying to be a Sniper with their flare gun as you can always do more damage up close and personal.

The taunt when using the flare gun is another instant-kill taunt with a long setup time known as the Hadouken. Note that this taunt attack can also be used to destroy Engineer buildings.

Advantages: Ability to ignite enemies from a distance.
Disadvantages: Difficult to aim, easy to dodge, long reload, single shot.

Axtinguisher

Ammo: N/A
Damage: 23-43 (195)

Information:

The power of the Axtinguisher is blatantly evident just from its appearance. It replaces the standard fire axe, and is available once twenty-two of the Pyro achievements are earned. The Axtinguisher guarantees a critical hit for every blow landed on a burning enemy, making it a fantastic complement to the flamethrowers and flare gun. It also presents some interesting opportunities for groups of two or more Pyros coordinating attacks. The tradeoff is that the Axtinguisher only does half the damage of the regular axe against enemies who are not alight. It’s a great choice for hacking down Heavies and Soldiers who refuse to just let you toast them.