Pyro being my main, I don't understand all the hate against Pyro and the dreaded Backburner. I use the Backburner constantly. I've easily gotten 13 kills in one life by sneaking behind the enemy and burning them all to death. On all the servers I frequent, they give me much cred to the fact that I use the Backburner, and actually use it well. The trick is to play Pyro like you would play spy. Sneak in, go at them from behind, and retreat when you need to. Oh, and don't be afraid to die. I don't mind dying if in turn I take down 6 dudes and burn 3 of them.
And what to do in those situations when you find yourself surrounded by a bunch of dudes? Kill the ones with their backs turned, which more then often in my case is a good part of the group.
With that said, when I do come across a team/soldier that knows what they're doing I then switch over to Spy, disguise myself as a Pyro on their team, and finish the ones that hurt me the most.
Wow man you sound pretty pro!!! perhaps yo ushould post some scoreborads???
Quick question (which has been answered before): what does the Penny-Arcade servers' sv_pure setting block? I downloaded a new skin (which I'll show off by screenshot later) and some of the stuff included in it isn't showing up. I popped onto another server just to be sure, and my stuff didn't show up there either. I'm trying to figure out whether it's a problem with the skin itself or the servers I'm using.
Kupi on
My favorite musical instrument is the air-raid siren.
Again, the thing with backburner is that it's just a "win more" weapon.
The leafblower transforms a losing situation into a winning one.
SuMa.Lustre on
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited June 2009
Can't say I have much use for the Backburner. If you sneak up behind 4-5 people, they're pretty much dead anyway even without crits. Plus, no compression blast. I may not be an ace with reflecting rockets, but it's just so useful. You can protect engy buildings, bring uber charges to a dead stop, and also gain some additional defense against rockets/pipes/etc.
Sometimes I get irritated when I get backburned and almost immediately die, but then I remember that I would still almost certainly have died anyway before getting off a wild shot or two if the pyro was using the leafblower.
I actually get pretty irritated when I see too many pyros using backburners. Not because it's cheap, but because the generic flamethrower is much more helpful to the team. There just isn't a lot of opportunity to use the backburner properly, but the leafblower is pretty much always useful and effective.
Pyro being my main, I don't understand all the hate against Pyro and the dreaded Backburner. I use the Backburner constantly. I've easily gotten 13 kills in one life by sneaking behind the enemy and burning them all to death. On all the servers I frequent, they give me much cred to the fact that I use the Backburner, and actually use it well. The trick is to play Pyro like you would play spy. Sneak in, go at them from behind, and retreat when you need to. Oh, and don't be afraid to die. I don't mind dying if in turn I take down 6 dudes and burn 3 of them.
And what to do in those situations when you find yourself surrounded by a bunch of dudes? Kill the ones with their backs turned, which more then often in my case is a good part of the group.
With that said, when I do come across a team/soldier that knows what they're doing I then switch over to Spy, disguise myself as a Pyro on their team, and finish the ones that hurt me the most.
I can't cope without airblast.
Even before its ability to potentially save other players, I felt lost without it. Destroying ubers and clearing points is just too useful. I rarely get a reflected anything but when I do, it is magical.
The issue isn't whether some people are good at backburner pyro, its how much the backburner is actually responsible for that and whether that person would be better off with the blaster. People who are good at flanking maneuvers are going to be good pyros regardless of bb or blaster.
I don't think it's too useful to bring in a 'good for the team' argument because its just not well defined. Though it's not as abstract as it was before the ability to extinguish with the blast was put in.
In my experience the blaster is better because it lets me escape from and take advantage of situations that i wouldn't normally be able to. Escaping from a revved up heavy by blowing him back and rounding a corner. Reflecting rockets from a pursuing soldier while I backpedal to escape. Being outnumbered while capping the last point of a 5 cp but blowing everyone back so I can cap it before I die. list goes on and on.
So if you need to run out into the open as a pyro, eg, if you see someone/someone sees you there isn't a chance that you can burn them, would you keep the shotgun equipped and pellet enemies from a distance or keep the flamethrower equiped so you can reflect some rockets/grenades?
Also, can someone give me some tips on using the airblast? I've messed around with it and reflected a rocket or two but the way you guys describe using it makes me think I coule be a much better pyro if I knew how to use it.
So if you need to run out into the open as a pyro, eg, if you see someone/someone sees you there isn't a chance that you can burn them, would you keep the shotgun equipped and pellet enemies from a distance or keep the flamethrower equiped so you can reflect some rockets/grenades?
Also, can someone give me some tips on using the airblast? I've messed around with it and reflected a rocket or two but the way you guys describe using it makes me think I coule be a much better pyro if I knew how to use it.
Personally, reflecting has become a bit of a last-ditch effort for me. I'm bad at aiming the reflect and since it uses 25 ammo, I tend to avoid it unless I am in a stand-off.
The best uses I find for it are
1. Put out friendly.
2. Immediately run up to an uber and knock the medic away from his target so the sentry or team can destroy them.
3. Knock the ubered player back behind the corner they just popped out of.
4. Knock a close-quarters strong man away from me.
5. Knock everyone off the point I am trying to defend.
6. Knock everyone off the point they are trying to defend.
7. Push another Pyro back so I can shotgun them rather than attempt to figure out who is closer and who has more health.
8. Push a Sniper who didn't see me sneak up so I ruin his current shot before burning him to death.
9. Escape.
10. Scatter a push.
The thing that the backburner is particularly amazing for is coming up behind a huge mass of people pushing the cart. Time/ambush them right and there just isn't anything they can do and they all die. With the leafblower they'll almost always have plenty of time to turn around and kill you if there are more than two or three, plus the burn is more than negated by the cart healing.
The best uses for a leafblower, aside from reflecting things and putting out fires is blowing people into corners after you've lit them on fire, then taking the axe to them. Blowing people, not only ubers, is pretty effective.
This just in: Stupid people make you feel like the god damned batman when spying
After every 15th backstab or so, I just snap, go pyro then torch every living thing I see, or don't see for that matter. I get way too panicky playing as a spy to be effective but I'd love to get at least one backstab this week :P
On numerous occasions, usually playing as a pyro or heavy, if my game lags slightly, I catch on a peice of geometry or do something that makes me unexpectedley stop for a moment I burn through half my ammo firing wildly thinking I bumped into a cloaked spy. The second worst thing to being backstabbed is finding a spy and letting them get away from me, either seeing one decloak then losing him, or seeing a character with my name then losing sight of him.
I hate spies so much but I love them for how jumpy they make me.
Hotlead Junkie on
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Zen VulgarityWhat a lovely day for teaSecret British ThreadRegistered Userregular
Well speaking of Spies, now that the unlocks have been out for a decent amount of time, what is the de rigeur setup for dashing spies about town?
C&D / Ambassador? DR/Amb? C&D/Revolver?
Please enlighten us.
Hiryu02 on
Sev: Your gameplay is the most heavily yomi based around. Usually you look for characters that allow you to force guessing situations for big dmg. Even if the guess is mathematically nowhere near in your favor lol. You're happiest when you have either a 50/50, 33/33/33 or even a 75/25 situation to go crazy with. And you will take big risks to force those situations to come up.
That's kinda creepy since im lying on my bed right now
THAT BED IS A SPY
Also: I always equip the Amby, but I'll mix up Ringer/C&D based on map (i.e. maps it's easier to hide when Ringer Stealthed), or if the other team starts catching on to me using Dead Ringer.
So I think I've gained a lot of respect for both the Revolver and the Dead Ringer tonight. I was playing as a pure combat spy, just running around on the frontlines with a cursory disguise primarily shooting people and backstabbing when there's a clear opportunity, and I topped the scoreboard with 4 dominations just now on gravelpit. You'd be surprised how fast the revolver takes people down when they're distracted, and how often you can just waltz up and stab somebody when you're in the thick of things, which you can afford to be when you've got a free pass with the DR. Just pay attention as you fight, save it for when you think you're about to die, then run to safety and come back when you've got 5~ seconds left on the recharge. Also the Ambassador is a good gun but I think you need to be really really good at headshotting before it becomes a clear upgrade. Aiming at the head all the time means that when you miss you completely miss, and the more carefully you're aiming the more that hurts. Just nailing the bodyshots with the Revolver is a reliable damage source that's almost always enough to kill somebody. It's not as flashy as those headshots but it's very effective.
Getting killed by the Huntsman annoys me to no end.
That weapon is all over the place, I never feel like the sniper who got me actually earned the kill.
The fact that it does a large variable amount of damage, the hit-box wonkyness that simultaneously gives headshots to wide misses and takes away headshots from perfect shots, and finally the 1 second charge that lets them spam potentially 1-hit kills on FULL-HEALTH soldiers just makes me :x
TechBoy on
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
edited June 2009
I need to spend more time trying the Dead Ringer on non-PA servers before using it in any serious capacity.
I'm a pretty middling spy anyway and I know that I don't approach the DR in a way that makes it effective. I try to do regular spy stuff with it and it never works out for me. I know I'd be much better off by disguising as my own team and then killing people after they think they've killed me, but I never think of that whenever I switch over to DR. I'm always thinking that spies need to be sneaky and strategic instead of just shooting somebody in the face and running for it.
Posts
This is pretty great.
When they're not retarded, it is.
Wow man you sound pretty pro!!! perhaps yo ushould post some scoreborads???
Oh man, I was just on Goldrush as sniper getting stabbed/headshotted by spy iowa. Feel bad for that dude.
Also, the second screenshot of Zek is ace.
The leafblower transforms a losing situation into a winning one.
Sometimes I get irritated when I get backburned and almost immediately die, but then I remember that I would still almost certainly have died anyway before getting off a wild shot or two if the pyro was using the leafblower.
I actually get pretty irritated when I see too many pyros using backburners. Not because it's cheap, but because the generic flamethrower is much more helpful to the team. There just isn't a lot of opportunity to use the backburner properly, but the leafblower is pretty much always useful and effective.
I can't cope without airblast.
Even before its ability to potentially save other players, I felt lost without it. Destroying ubers and clearing points is just too useful. I rarely get a reflected anything but when I do, it is magical.
I don't think it's too useful to bring in a 'good for the team' argument because its just not well defined. Though it's not as abstract as it was before the ability to extinguish with the blast was put in.
In my experience the blaster is better because it lets me escape from and take advantage of situations that i wouldn't normally be able to. Escaping from a revved up heavy by blowing him back and rounding a corner. Reflecting rockets from a pursuing soldier while I backpedal to escape. Being outnumbered while capping the last point of a 5 cp but blowing everyone back so I can cap it before I die. list goes on and on.
Also, can someone give me some tips on using the airblast? I've messed around with it and reflected a rocket or two but the way you guys describe using it makes me think I coule be a much better pyro if I knew how to use it.
Personally, reflecting has become a bit of a last-ditch effort for me. I'm bad at aiming the reflect and since it uses 25 ammo, I tend to avoid it unless I am in a stand-off.
The best uses I find for it are
1. Put out friendly.
2. Immediately run up to an uber and knock the medic away from his target so the sentry or team can destroy them.
3. Knock the ubered player back behind the corner they just popped out of.
4. Knock a close-quarters strong man away from me.
5. Knock everyone off the point I am trying to defend.
6. Knock everyone off the point they are trying to defend.
7. Push another Pyro back so I can shotgun them rather than attempt to figure out who is closer and who has more health.
8. Push a Sniper who didn't see me sneak up so I ruin his current shot before burning him to death.
9. Escape.
10. Scatter a push.
God doing that is so satisfying.
After every 15th backstab or so, I just snap, go pyro then torch every living thing I see, or don't see for that matter. I get way too panicky playing as a spy to be effective but I'd love to get at least one backstab this week :P
On numerous occasions, usually playing as a pyro or heavy, if my game lags slightly, I catch on a peice of geometry or do something that makes me unexpectedley stop for a moment I burn through half my ammo firing wildly thinking I bumped into a cloaked spy. The second worst thing to being backstabbed is finding a spy and letting them get away from me, either seeing one decloak then losing him, or seeing a character with my name then losing sight of him.
I hate spies so much but I love them for how jumpy they make me.
Hothead
Spy behind you
That's kinda creepy since im lying on my bed right now
C&D / Ambassador? DR/Amb? C&D/Revolver?
Please enlighten us.
THAT BED IS A SPY
Also: I always equip the Amby, but I'll mix up Ringer/C&D based on map (i.e. maps it's easier to hide when Ringer Stealthed), or if the other team starts catching on to me using Dead Ringer.
That weapon is all over the place, I never feel like the sniper who got me actually earned the kill.
The fact that it does a large variable amount of damage, the hit-box wonkyness that simultaneously gives headshots to wide misses and takes away headshots from perfect shots, and finally the 1 second charge that lets them spam potentially 1-hit kills on FULL-HEALTH soldiers just makes me :x
I'm a pretty middling spy anyway and I know that I don't approach the DR in a way that makes it effective. I try to do regular spy stuff with it and it never works out for me. I know I'd be much better off by disguising as my own team and then killing people after they think they've killed me, but I never think of that whenever I switch over to DR. I'm always thinking that spies need to be sneaky and strategic instead of just shooting somebody in the face and running for it.
What's the latest tuftoo news? How many threads have I missed?
Grats!
Grats, just got married 3 weeks ago myself.
Uhh... latest news? Arrows can actually be reflected now, and I don't suck with the huntsmen anymore.
Wisdom.
Same to you crash.
Whatever you say, Princess.