The Pyros weapons are all short to medium range, so he is best used for ambushing either indoors or around corners. Don’t make the same mistake I did, which was to use the Pyro the same way I used every other class and come to the abhorrent conclusion that he was useless because I couldn’t even get close enough to hit anything. As a Pyro, the first glimpse you get of your enemy should be within BBQ range.
Once your quarry is alight, take a moment to read your surroundings. There’s often no point is pursuing them with the flamethrower if they are retreating to safety or are almost dead already and faster than you. More often than not, the best course of action is to turn off the BBQ and bust out the shotgun. You can stay at longer range thus being less susceptible to enemy fire and can more easily retreat yourself should things go sour.
Sustained, close range flamethrower fire can kill enemies pleasantly fast. Disorient your BBQ targets by continuously burning them while running circles around them. Not only do they not know where you are at any given moment, but if they are looking at you they can’t always tell, since all they will see is the wall of flames spewing from your flamethrower. Once you think they are almost dead, you may want to back off and shoot them down with your shotgun while you retreat to cover to avoid being gunned down by your target’s teammates as soon as he falls over and you’re the only thing left.
If the Pyros team is not under intense defensive pressure, enemy Spies should be a top priority given the threat a Spy poses and the Pyros effectiveness against them. Listen for calls of “Spy!” from your teammates, and always be on the lookout to BBQ anything even remotely suspicious. Conversely if you see a Spy but are unable to engage him, inform the rest of your team. Check out the Spy Detection guide for a comprehensive list of Spy detection methods.
When defending, get your priorities in order. Start by setting everyone nearby on fire, then sustain your BBQ on key targets, especially Medics and Heavies with their backs turned. Enemies that are already on fire may not realise if they are still getting BBQ’d from behind.
Health boxes automatically extinguish enemies when they pick them up, so don’t let them. Even if you’re on full health, stand on any nearby health boxes until your target shoots you and you pick it up. Then continue burning them to the ground or pull out the shotgun – you shouldn’t have to reignite them any time soon.
The Pyros critical hit is probably the most devastating in the game at short range. You can drop any class in under a second of sustained fire, Medic or no Medic, so if you get one (sparks flying out of the flamethrower among the flames), make it work for you. Jump into the action and focus your fire on key targets like Medics and Soldiers, and when they go down you can still just run away.
In certain situations the Pyro can make an excellent übercharge target. For clearing out rooms (especially with objectives), he is even more effective than the heavy, and can make equally short work of buildings. The advantage of course is that you’re much faster and can chase your enemies a long way away. Make sure your team rushes in behind you.
