Heh finally the end of the cannon fodder usage of the backburner by people who just want to have more hps. Finally you might see people with knowledge of what "Compression Blast" even is. But now all you get to see is who can be a decent pyro since the ignorant masses no longer have their +50 hps safety net to ride their whole experience of pyro on anymore. Hurray for people finally coming to their senses. It's about time
With the bonus gone
- Thread starter AWPerator
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IMO they nerfed the wrong thing....the compression blast should have been nerfed or made to build up like an uber. When a pyro can blow you 20' into the air then it makes me think that is the item out of whack. 50 hp helps but losing it is not the end of the world. The blast unbalanced the game. A demo can disrupt an uber with stickies but would have a very hard time disrupting the entire uber as they have long load times for ammo, same for soldiers. A pyro can disrupt the whole uber easily especially if they are near a dispenser.
Many players like this change so in the end that is what these guys are paid to do: customer service.
Adapt and overcome!
Many players like this change so in the end that is what these guys are paid to do: customer service.
Adapt and overcome!
Pyros being able to blow you 20' into the air is probably one of the few good things they have going for them.
Lets look at the facts about being a Pyro.
Pros:
Fast walking speed
Extremely good at ambushing
Most people will fear you because you can set them on fire
Shotgun finishes off those who are just out of range of you flamethrower
Axtinguisher is an awesome melee weapon for in close combat but still most people will kill you because of armor
BackBurner is STILL an awesome ambush weapon, -50 Hps just separates the cannon fodder from those who actually have some knowledge of why this class was made
Cons:
Light Armor, so you're still Heavy bait because a decent heavy can still outdamage a Pyro in close combat with few exceptions
Majority of people used to only use BackBurner because they thought "OMGZ +50 HPS IS MAKE ME GODLY LIKE WOWSZZZZ", I make special note because I like to be specifc and I don't want to offend particulars.
Range still murders you because of your HPs and Armor rating, which made most people skeptical about playing Pyros instead of Soldiers or Demomen.
Armor and HPs are the worst thing about Pyro and nearly trumps all it's good qualities though in the end
So I still don't see how they made them unbalanced with the Compression Blast, I mean I play on the goldrush server all the time and the times I see someone use Compression Blast to keep an Uber away let alone even know what Compression Blast is, is few and far between. I see your point of view and recognize it, I just don't know really how you came to it that way given the facts I just pointed out. Then again its your opinion and you are very well entitled to it.
Actually as I just noted in my post before this, I think they just saw the "+50 hps"
I think the better solution would've been to just increase the pyro hp 15-25 across the board. The +50hp was too much and made the backburner unbalanced in comparison to the air compression. They went too far in one direction with the original backburner and now they're going too far in the opposite direction with removing the hp bonus. They were right that pyros needed the hp boost, they just applied it wrong.
Agreed. There really should be some sort of reuse time on the air compressor or a limit on how much it immobilizes you (how come I can move when a rocket hits me into the air but not when the air compressor does?). One pyro should not be able to lock up an uber like that.
Of course, I suppose the easiest way to overcome that is to take out the pyro as soon as you see him.
I hate playing pyro, and when I do, I use normal thrower. And from what I've seen, most pyros see "+50 hp" not "100% crit on back" over air blast.
Well the thing about the health bonus was it allowed you to take on lvl 2 SGs if you approached them the right way...
I've always been a fan of air blast all the way though. You can juggle ubers, kill a buddy's medic despite being heavily outdamaged...and you can blow back enemy pyros to allow a friend to kill them from range and have you be the only one taking minimal damage.
I've always been a fan of air blast all the way though. You can juggle ubers, kill a buddy's medic despite being heavily outdamaged...and you can blow back enemy pyros to allow a friend to kill them from range and have you be the only one taking minimal damage.
I enjoyed playing pyro Pyro before the update.
The improvement I wanted them most was the decrease of the damage fall-off. I like the backburner crits too, as it makes killing someone from behind a bit more of a guarantee. I hated being perfectly sneaky and jumping someone from behind just to have them have plenty of time to turn around and mow me down...
I haven't played Pyro since the update because there have been 2 on every team I've joined since then
The improvement I wanted them most was the decrease of the damage fall-off. I like the backburner crits too, as it makes killing someone from behind a bit more of a guarantee. I hated being perfectly sneaky and jumping someone from behind just to have them have plenty of time to turn around and mow me down...
I haven't played Pyro since the update because there have been 2 on every team I've joined since then
Come play on Warpath and you will see a single pyro disrupt an uber frequently. No other class can single handedly disrupt an entire uber or multiple ubers in a row. This makes it unbalanced. As for the concept of "take out the pyro", that is easier said than done. You can't do much while flying around in the air. I have tried to burn the other pyro down and even sticky them with very limited results. I love playing pyro, I think I am ok at it. I just feel the compression blast is way, way, way overpowered in the hands of a good player. Now that the 50 point bonus has been taken away from the bacburner, you will see many more compression blasts. I am not excited at that prospect, as it will slow the course of the game causing stalemates.
Pyros do have low health and lighter armor so you just have to stick and move. Warpath is an open map and tough for novice pyro's. Learn to survive on an open air map and you will be golden on a map where there are tons of hiding spots. I shoot that flare gun like Billy the Kid.
"Stick and Move!"At least for me, anything regarding targeting the backs of players has always been ridiculously buggy for me. I stab the back of a heavy, yet it counts as a normal stab. I've even found someone typing a message or otherwise AFK and stood behind them and fired my backburner and didn't get any crits. The crits were only ever a bonus and more like a "OOoh, that's neat" but never anything I relied on. The +50 HP is the exact reason I used it. I could actually stand up against lower level sentries and I was actually able to be offensive and berserker like without having to sneak around. If I want to sneak around and ambush, I'll play spy, because without that extra health, the spy's gonna do it better (at least in my experience.)
Oh well, just looks like I won't be playing pyro near as much, unless there's a serious lack of competent pyros on my team that fail at breaking up ubers or something. :x
But the whole not able to flame through the gate at startup change? That's a great change. :O
Oh well, just looks like I won't be playing pyro near as much, unless there's a serious lack of competent pyros on my team that fail at breaking up ubers or something. :x
But the whole not able to flame through the gate at startup change? That's a great change. :O
it took them a while to fix that gate thing. too long if you ask me. and with the whole backburner/backstab system, it is still buggy for it to be this late in the game's development. a few months ago i 'sideswiped' a heavy and it counted as a backstab.
Backstabs are meant to be from the side also, if that's what you are talking about. I think valve did over do the little fix, though when you go for a backstab half the time you miss or the person simply shrugs it off.
Come play on Warpath and you will see a single pyro disrupt an uber frequently. No other class can single handedly disrupt an entire uber or multiple ubers in a row. This makes it unbalanced. As for the concept of "take out the pyro", that is easier said than done. You can't do much while flying around in the air. I have tried to burn the other pyro down and even sticky them with very limited results. I love playing pyro, I think I am ok at it. I just feel the compression blast is way, way, way overpowered in the hands of a good player. Now that the 50 point bonus has been taken away from the bacburner, you will see many more compression blasts. I am not excited at that prospect, as it will slow the course of the game causing stalemates.
Pyros do have low health and lighter armor so you just have to stick and move. Warpath is an open map and tough for novice pyro's. Learn to survive on an open air map and you will be golden on a map where there are tons of hiding spots. I shoot that flare gun like Billy the Kid.
Open maps just means you have to be sneakier, because those maps are mainly for Scouts since IMO they are the most under-rated class and least used unless it's in an open area map where they are actually viable to terrorize people with. You're right about no other class being able to single handedly disrupt an uber it's true, unless there's some godly demo players who can lay their stickies in such a way to constantly bump people into the air (this is a concept and I've never tested because it's too situational and I don't play demo enough). I would never try and fully burn down another Pyro when I have a shotgun which is more then capable of taking him down with less damage to myself. If a Pyro is coming at you straight like most "W +Mouse1" people, fire your flamethrower while constantly running back then once you feel you have damaged him enough pull out the shotgun and finish him. Easier said then done? Yes of course but I've managed to do this to many BackBurner Pyros before the update since I've mainly used the AB Flamethrower since the beginning of the Pyro Pack.
Every class has an armor rating which is what reduces damage or allows you to take more hits. The armor classes are only Light and Heavy. Lightest armor ratings would be Sniper, Scout, Medic, Pyro, Engineer and Spy. Each of those classes has around 150 Hps and usually die to a fully charged Sniper shot in the upper chest area unless Medic Medigun Buffed (Exception is the Pyro with 175 Hps). Heaviest Armor ratings obviously are Heavy, Soldier, and Demoman with each of them having 200 Hps or more.
Axstinguisher was always viable option to finishing off people especially in the case of facing heavier armor classes such as the ones you mentioned. A decent Heavy would 90% of the time, maul a Pyro before the Pyro would make a dent in it's Medic Buffed HPs normally but the Axstinguisher evens the field slightly even though the decent Heavy would still outdamage you overall you can hope you flamed him enough and then try and finish him with Critical Melee Hits from the Axstinguisher before he mauls you with his minigun.
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so sad...
Don't ask how we are feeling about the nerf, ask the pyro...
-Calle
Don't ask how we are feeling about the nerf, ask the pyro...
-Calle
Air blast all the way. Nothing saves you (by pushing away a lit enemy) or busts ubers like air blast. I think most pyros will go this way. And then pyro will get another nerf for their unmatched and frustrating ability to destroy ubers.
Welcome to the soldier's world, who's been nerfed more than any other class since the nerfs started. I bet that air blast gets a nerf as well.
