TF2 Pyro Update -- Weapons and changes revealed

Keero

Keero

Tribe of Judah Membership Administrator
http://www.steampowered.com/pyro/?pw=presspreview
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=191229&site=pcg (Extra info.)
This got me so excited. Read if for yourself. Yay! ^_^

Updates to Team Fortress 2 have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:



Added 2 community maps: cp_fastlane and ctf_turbine



Pyro


Added alt-fire compression blast to the basic flamethrower

Added The Axtinguisher, The Backburner, and The Flare Gun

Hadouken taunt now kills people it hits

Tuned the flamethrower hit detection to improve detection versus retreating opponents

Removed Flamethrower's damage falloff (was falling off to 25% by the end)



cp_well


Added a route from the forward central foyer up to the battlements

Redistributed health and ammunition throughout the bases



ctf_well


Added a route from the forward central foyer up to the battlements

Removed central building, reduced overall map length

Redistributed health and ammunition throughout the bases



Other Notes


Removed Soldier's 40% damage reduction from his own rockets. Does not affect rocket jumps

In-game avatar images will now have a badge around them if the player is your friend

Fixed bug that allowed players to move around in a reference pose

Added custom death icons for unlockable weapons

The player join team message now specifies whether the player used the auto team option

Payload maps now support four control points per stage

Achievement dialog will stay open when you're moving in & out of the game and the main menu

Added full Russian localization, with both fonts & speech

Returned the "Report a Bug" option to the main menu
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Congrats to the authors of ctf_turbine and cp_fastlane! I guess this means we can pull ctf_turbine_v3 from the rotation in favor of the official map. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author of ctf_turbine changed for the new release version.

I looked over this paragraph when I first read the press release:
In addition to the three unlockable Pyro weapons, we've made a significant addition to the base Pyro flamethrower. By hitting the alt-fire key, the Pyro is able to produce a blast of compressed air that knocks enemies away, and redirects enemy projectiles. It’s a highly versatile tool, allowing Pyros to get away from nearby enemies after igniting them, to kill enemy soldiers with their own rockets, or to separate enemy Medics from their healing targets. In particular, it allows a skilled Pyro to contain an enemy invulnerability push, and even to separate the Medic completely if the surrounding terrain supports it.
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Wow. That's quite a significant change. It seems Pyros might be able to go toe to toe with Soldiers now. Does anyone else think this might upset the game's balance?

As for the achievements, I read through the list and found myself saying, "Done that. Done that. Done that, too." I have a feeling I'm going to feel the same aggravation as I did when the Medic achievements were released. I might have to shelf Pyro for a week or two after the achievements go live. :(
 
I think it's going to be like the shield gun/impact hammer from the UT series. I love using melee weapons that do stuff besides chop. I'm sure it's going to a delayed shot, or use ammo so it isn't spammed, but then again, the pyro will only have 150 hp, while the new gun gives him 200 with no blast. Seems that the FT is for defense, and the BB is for offense/ambushes. Flare gun doesn't sound that impressive, but long-range ignited could be cool. Now it's a offense class, no? :p

I don't think there's gonna be that much crazy stuff going on in servers since they unlock at 15, 20, and 25, instead of 12, 24, 36 with medic. Its all basic things though that I've done too. Too bad the crit weapons won't work on TOJ. :( We could always do that deathmatch map with Pyro tennis! Bye bye scout. xD
 
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I don't think the change to the flame thrower should upset the balance. As long as there is either a delay between usage and/or a significant ammo cost it shouldn't mess with the balance. I do think it will make the pyro more of an offensive class and give him a better escape tool when ambushing. Just think if you have one guy on you, you can use the blast to launch him and run away.
 
For the compressed air thing, I think it might depend on reload speed? I hope that it will act as a single shot blast, something that requires correct timing and if you miss, you're hobbled for a bit (can't fire the compressor or use regular flames for a bit).

I can't imagine they would let you sit there, blasting air the deflecting rockets at a whim, and it probably has a limited range. Screw up the timing on a rocket and you'll be eating it.

At least that's what I'm hoping for. I think that would be reasonable.

PS - Ah, so we know for a fact that these extra crits don't work on the server? Headshots and backstabs still register crits, why wouldn't these?
 
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These changes sound interesting, I can't wait to start blasting people off ledges :). I only hope my favorite class won't suddenly become very overplayed...
 
What gets me is right after the meet the sniper trailer was released I searched to see if info about the new weapons was out and got sites talking about the flare gun being in about 3 frames of the trailer. It seems silly that people couldn't wait 2 days for the official update and had to dissect the trailer... wait didn't I just do a search for info on the weapons... nvm :p.

Hey did you guys notice that one of the achievements lets you kill with a taunt (the one with the acronym I will not mention -_-)? I did not know that taunt actually did damage.
 
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Sarugon said:
These changes sound interesting, I can't wait to start blasting people off ledges :). I only hope my favorite class won't suddenly become very overplayed...
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Agreed. I don't think it will upset the balance too much. But I am saying this remembering that I got Tek (medic) and Elihu (soldier) on the CTF map with the bridge on it in close quarters. I could not believe that I got so lucky that i killed two of the best ToJ players in one encounter. I<3 you two! :D
 
Haha...we love you too Odale. *loads more rockets, nods at Tek, then charges while smashing his shovel into his helmet*
 
The Burning Crusade add on a.k.a. TF2 Pyro updates :p

I don't know about the update itself but I am certainly "well done" with all those pyros running around :p. I haven't touched pyro more than to press right click because I've been so busy healing all the burns o_O. Anyway what's the evaluation? So far the only thing I am thinking may be overpowered is the backburner. Pyros already were pretty good sneaking killers now they have a backstab like killing ability with a quicker running speed (especially since you can't turn your back to run away faster). As for the flare gun while it's nice to have a non-shotgun weapon I don't see it replacing the shotgun. It seems less useful, almost like the critzcrieg is. As for the axe no ones managed to axe me because I am either already dead from the backburner or beyond range. If you are close enough to use a melee weapon that requires the target to be aflame first I'd think it'd be better to just run around them backburning, maybe use it if you want to save ammo or are using the original flamethrower idk? I hope Valve doesn't chicken out and gives the spy something good or he is going to be nerfed into oblivion. All this is based on being on the receiving end though. Who has first hand experience?

I did like the change to well ctf but now the water path (were they connected underwater and I missed it?) is completely useless and I am wondering what possessed them to leave it that way other than to have a flame extinguisher.
 
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Well, I love the backburner. Played about 2 rounds with it. The HP boost is awesome (more than an unhealed soldier, I lived for quite awhile), and the critical is -sweet-, especially with the 1UP soundeffect/graphic from FPSBanana :p, and I don't think I'll miss the Air Burst that much.

The Flare Gun is more of a meh weapon. I mean, ignited folks is cool, but the firing animation is awkward (has no explosion at the end?) and it's kinda hard to aim (slow projectile). The BB is geared more towards Offense (what I love to do) while the FT has the good AB to protect heavies, SGs, and others for Defense. The AB is fun, yeah, but it's hard to bounce rockets. Bouncing people doesn't help that much, but I haven't played on a drop-off type map. Haven't tried the Axt, so no clue on that. I rarely use the Fire Axe anyways, so I don't mind if I don't get it. Before the update I did wish the Pyro had some kind of clearing tool or weapon to make a path through enemies that you run into. And now they got it. ^_^

IMO:
BB = A+
FT = A
Flare = C+

I enjoyed the update, but it's real weird having 5 other people go Pyro. I was mainly playing Heavy/Demo/Engi the whole time. Even had my Engi get ubered, wasn't that odd now? xD
 
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I was wondering too if on some of the maps like goldrush whether it may be possible to use a group of engineers and pyros to contain people in the spawn or at choke points. I am thinking dispensers = unlimited ammo + pyros on either side pushing you back & flaming you = impossible to get out. Normally you could uber or use demos to break through but the pyros would push you or your grenades back right?
 
The new weapons seem very effective. I agree that the Backburner is a bit overpowered. The rest of the weapons seem to be fairly useful and balanced though. Its a bit hard to tell at the moment for 2 reasons though.

1. Other class abilities\weapons have not been released.
2. Too many people are playing Pyro right now, makes it hard to see the class played in a normal match against many different classes.
 
Agreed.

I think we need to wait a bit.

Pyro is the first "offensive" class to get upgrades.

Even the medic can go offensive right now and be ok due to his upgrades.

I think the thing that needs tweaking is too many pyros got too much too quickly.

Last night we were against an entire team of pyros and medics and could not get out of spawn.

Oh I hate the flare gun. Pyro should not be able to kite and kill you.
 
I don't think it's overpowered because you would need it big to avoid splash damage but I did not know it was THAT big.

http://www.wegame.com/watch/Compression_Blast_Overpowered_against_soldiers/

So far I am still thinking only the backburner is overpowered. As a medic I find it very difficult to run away from pyros now that you cannot turn your back to do so. The range of the flames can be excessive at times as I have had instant death with the flames barely touching me while facing them and as they have 50 more hp it's difficult to needle them in before you XD. I understand them winning in close quarters but when you can't run and you can't fight it leaves you nothing. I'd lower the probability of getting front crits if they are going to have 100% back crits but that would make them infringe on the spy's gameplay style more.

I've gotten the flare gun and it seems ok. I don't know yet if I'll stick with it or the shotgun though.
 
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wow. that's just crazy. sadly, the video doesn't show where the end of the air blast really is... that will take a little bit to figure out and get used to.
 
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