Meet the Pyros

Hudda hudda huh! Meet the Pyros: Wizard and Chief. They answer questions. And kill people. (Sometimes each other.) Struggling with existential angst? Don't ask them, they're useless for that. Want to know what magic tastes like (purple), what temperature books burn at (451°F), or how to make that enemy Spy ragequit (Axtinguisher)? Then axe the Pyros a question! Submission box!

[crowingoverthis]

M2 is op.

[fuckyeahthepyro]

Hello! I’m Syrin! I drew this pyro in markers on my sketchbook for your blog. Have a nice day!  デ━d(ゝω・*)b━ス

[dataglitch]

Fempyro! this was requested multiple times, but I couldn’t come up with a design until now:>

[meetthepyros]

source: youcancallmeliz

[wonderarium]

Trying to make a new Steam DP. It wasn’t working out. You can have it instead, Tumblr. 

[impendingsodomy]

hello friends

[k8r-tot]

[duessa-archive]

Pyro for herrjira!

[h0lyhandgrenade]

Suuuuure I’ll draw you that. … Perhaps not in the way you were intending though xD Thanks for the request!

[intermaterium]

Pyromania by ~TheMinttu

[tf2-weapons-101]

SO APPARENTLY, SOME PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT UPGRADES ARE GOOD FOR THE STOCK FLAMETHROWER, BECAUSE THE ODDS OF GETTING PAIRED WITH A PYRO THAT HAS GOOD ECONOMIC SENSE IN BOOT CAMP OR INTERMEDIATE MANN UP ARE SLIGHTLY WORSE THAN THE ODDS OF WINNING THE LOTTERY EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. BEFORE I GET INTO THE MEAT OF THE POST, LET ME SAY THIS: IN NO WAY IS THIS THE ONLY WAY TO PLAN YOUR SPENDING. IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS, OR DEPENDING ON YOUR OWN PLAYSTYLE AND SKILL LEVEL, YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO AT IT DIFFERENTLY. PERSONALLY, THOUGH, I THINK THIS IS THE BEST APPROACH. WITH THAT IN MIND, LET’S START OUT FIRST WITH A TIER LIST FOR THE VARIOUS UPGRADES.

AIRBLAST FORCE

DAMAGE/AMMO CAPACITY

HEALTH ON KILL

BURN DAMAGE

BURN TIME

NOW, WE’RE GOING TO EXAMINE EACH UPGRADE INDIVIDUALLY.

AIRBLAST FORCE

THIS IS THE ONLY POINT OF MY LIST I WILL NEVER COMPROMISE. YOU START THE GAME ON MOST MISSIONS WITH 400 DOLLARS. IF ALL 400 DOLLARS AREN’T GOING INTO MAXING OUT YOUR AIRBLAST FORCE YOU ARE PLAYING PYRO WRONG. THE AIRBLAST IS THE PYRO’S MOST USEFUL AND VERSATILE ABILITY AND AS SUCH YOU WANT IT AS POWERFUL AS IT CAN BE, AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. WITH MAXED AIRBLAST FORCE YOU CAN RESET THE BOMB QUICKLY, AND EASILY JUGGLE GIANTS, GIVING YOUR TEAMMATES A CHANCE TO LAY ON THE MOTHERFUCKING PAIN WITHOUT LETTING THE BOMB GET TOO FAR.

DAMAGE

THIS ONE’S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. THE MORE DAMAGE YOU DO, THE BETTER YOU ARE AT HANDLING CROWDS—SINCE YOUR FLAME PARTICLES TRAVEL THROUGH ENEMIES, HIGH-DAMAGE FLAMES ARE UNRIVALED IN TERMS OF CROWD CONTROL. HOWEVER, DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF PROJECTILE-WIELDING/FAST-MOVING ENEMIES IN THE MISSION, IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO INVEST IN…

AMMO CAPACITY

FOR MOST WEAPONS, IT’S JUST COMMON SENSE TO BUY DAMAGE UPGRADES BEFORE INCREASING YOUR AMMO POOL. IF YOU CAN DO MORE DAMAGE WITH LESS FLAMES, IT AMOUNTS TO THE SAME THING BUT CUTS DOWN ON THE TIME IT TAKES TO KILL AN ENEMY. THE FLAMETHROWER IS DIFFERENT, BECAUSE UPGRADING YOUR AIRBLAST FORCE DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT IT COSTS YOU 10% OF YOUR MAXIMUM AMMO. THUS, IF THE MISSION YOU’RE ON HAS A LOT OF RAPID-FIRE SOLDIERS, OR SCOUTS/SUPER SCOUTS, IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO PUT CASH INTO YOUR AMMO POOL SO YOU CAN SPAM THE AIRBLAST WITHOUT HAVING TO RUN TO AMMO PACKS OR DISPENSERS FREQUENTLY.

HEALTH ON KILL

HEALTH ON KILL IS IMPORTANT FOR PYROS, MORE SO THAN FOR MOST OTHER CLASSES. YOUR PLACE IS GENERALLY AT THE FRONT LINE, TAKING LOTS OF ABUSE FROM THE ROBOTS. THE SHEER AMOUNT OF DAMAGE YOU’LL BE TAKING HAS TO BE COUNTERED, OR YOU WILL DIE. A LOT. DO KEEP IN MIND THAT, OUT OF ALL OF THE CLASSES, PYROS ARE PROBABLY SECOND ONLY TO SCOUTS IN THE “MOST DEATHS” COMPETITION. YOUR PROXIMITY TO THE ENEMY MEANS THAT AT TIMES YOU’LL BE SWARMED ON ALL SIDES, AND HEALTH BOOSTS DON’T DO A LOT TO COUNTER THAT, NOR WILL THEY MAKE IT A SMART IDEA TO RUN HEAD ON AT A GIANT HEAVY, FLAMES A-BLASTING —THEY’RE MORE TO COUNTERACT THE CONSTANT BARRAGE OF MINOR DAMAGE YOU’LL BE TAKING FROM WEAKER ENEMIES AT THE FRONT LINES, AND GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO RETREAT FOR HEALTH INSTEAD OF DYING JUST INCHES FROM A DISPENSER.

BURN DAMAGE

IN MY OPINION, THIS IS ONLY REALLY USEFUL IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE DYING A LOTOR IF YOUR TEAMMATES ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH THE ENEMIES THAT GET PAST YOU. I USUALLY DON’T PUT ANY POINTS INTO THIS ONE OR THE NEXT, BECAUSE WHILE I DIE SEMI-FREQUENTLY, IT’S NEVER ENOUGH THAT I’M JUST NOT DOING DAMAGE TO ENEMIES, AND I CAN ALWAYS TRUST THE GUYS I PLAY WITH TO HANDLE THE BOTS THAT GET PAST ME.

BURN TIME

THIS ONE IS PRETTY MUCH WORTHLESS. IF YOU WANT TO DO MORE INDIRECT DAMAGE TO ENEMIES, YOU SHOULD GET INCREASED BURN DAMAGE AND BURN TIME ON YOUR FLARE GUN AND USE THAT TO LIGHT UP TARGETS YOU CAN’T REACH. IF THE TARGET IS CLOSE ENOUGH THAT AFTERBURN FROM YOUR FLAMETHROWER IS GOING TO COME INTO PLAY, YOUR CLOSE-RANGE DPS IS GOING TO KILL THEM BEFORE THE AFTERBURN WEARS OFF.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO PLAY STOCK FLAMER PYRO FOR SURE, BUT I THINK THIS SHOULD GIVE YOU A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT YOU SHOULD BE INVESTING IN. SPEND ALL OF YOUR STARTING MONEY ON AIRBLAST FORCE, THEN USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT TO DETERMINE WHICH IS NEEDED MORE, DAMAGE OR AMMO CAPACITY. ONCE YOU’VE GOT A COUPLE OF UPGRADES ON EITHER OF THOSE TWO IT’S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA TO GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN UPGRADING DAMAGE DONE AND HEALTH ON KILL. YOU PROBABLY WON’T EVER NEED A THIRD AMMO CAPACITY UPGRADE. ONCE AIRBLAST FORCE, DAMAGE, AND HEALTH ON KILL ARE MAXED OUT, THINGS LIKE MOVE SPEED AND DAMAGE RESISTANCE ARE BETTER INVESTMENTS THAN BURN TIME OR DAMAGE.

[meetthepyros]

thesegoddamnpancakes asked:

Which of the team do you enjoy making rage the most, ASIDE FROM THE SPY?

Wizard pyro is unashamedly a bit of a troll. He likes to harass Snipers and leap from roofs onto the heads of Heavies...

but nothing is quite as much fun as making a Scout really, really mad. The Scout is a class that relies on the ability to maneuver, and she delights in the situations when one is foolish enough to come to enclosed spaces with her.

More Scouts have raged at the Wizard than any other class, and It finds this delightful.

[parallelpie]

My thoughts on Pyros

cheeky firespewing cuties of doom 

[artisansworlddeleted-deactivate]

Spyro headgear for Pyro would be a dream come true ;v;

Bonus!!!

[meetthepyros]

Hello and welcome to Arson and You! This is a series Wizard and I will be doing on various Pyro-related gameplay topics, with the hope that we can help anyone looking to improve as a Pyro!

But before we dive into the gritty gameplay stuff, there's one phenomena I've seen a lot of players complaining of here on Tumblr and have experienced myself, and I think it's an important one to address for the sanity of Pyro players everywhere.

So there I was, minding my own business, killing time and people on Harvest. As you do, right?

Then, this happens:

What happened above, while not something you'll encounter 24/7, is a fairly frequent occurrence. Something you will find out very quickly if you play as a Pyro for any amount of time is that everyone hates you.

You can be the very littlest newbie pyro who gets three lucky kills the whole game, or a projectile-reflecting, team-extinguishing monster who consistently murders everyone who gets near, and people will hate you. Even people on your own team, especially if you happen to have 19 ammo left and can't extinguish the guy who just ran at the enemy Pyro!

This largely seems to be due to the perception that the Pyro class is an easy one reserved for new players only, while classes like Soldier, Spy, and Scout are for people with real skill. Now, is Pyro an easy class for new players to pick up? I absolutely think so. The sweeping effect of the flamethrower and the existence of afterburn makes it easier for a new player to get kills, which is confidence-boosting and satisfying.

But like any other class, good Pyro play requires time and effort. I'm a good Pyro because I've put over 200 hours into the class, not because it's inherently easy. I'd be good, or at least moderately good, at anything if I put that much time into it.

— W+M1

A short note on the existence of the phrase "W+M1":

Like several other classes, Pyro has its derogatory nickname. (See also: Scunts, Cuntsman/Piss Sniper, "fucking minisentries," etc). For Pyro, this is W+M1, the implication being that you do nothing but walk forward and hold down the fire button.

No matter how you play Pyro, you will be called a W+M1 by someone eventually, usually directly after you've killed them. Note that the method of death does not actually matter. Take this anecdote from Wizard's misspent youth:

(Calling the victim's attention to the mode of death will probably only result in more rage.)

— Mann-ing Up, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Butthurt

Step one? Step one is accepting it. Or:

The best revenge is living well. When people on mic or chat start bitching about how bullshit/OP/W+M1 Pyro is, I always chuckle to myself and keep going. At most I will point out that they seem to be upset, and perhaps they should calm down, which is almost always good for a laugh. They've just gotten mad about a virtual hat simulator. Their opinion has invalidated itself by virtue of existing. Naturally, this advice extends to any class or multiplayer game: if you are getting mad, why are you playing?

Whatever I do, I don't get mad back. There's already enough angry people in this game. If I can feel myself getting riled up over a particularly good Soldier or that one Sniper who seems to bag every headshot he takes at me or HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOW DOES THAT PYRO KEEP AIRBLASTING ME SO WELL, I do my best to calm down, or leave the server if I have to. A ragequit is always preferable to making an idiot of myself in chat.

In closing, people who play video games get mad. There's nothing you can do about this, and it's no use getting upset about it. Instead, roll with the punches, laugh it off, and do your best to have fun.

And it's not all bad! Be a Pybro, and you'll be the golden boy of your team: put out your teammates, reflect projectiles, keep your engies safe. People will notice, and they'll thank you.

(A note to any Soldier players: sorry if it seems like we're targeting you here! Nothing against you, but you seem to have a lot of really angry people in your ranks.)

[saxygeek]

I finally got around to making some TF2 fanart :)

Please look at it in high res for the details!!

[meetthepyros]

Something from a post about Pyro gameplay that Chief is working on. Enjoy.