After over a year’s wait, the Pyro is getting a new set of tools. The biggest update for Team Fortress 2 in some time, the Jungle Inferno update not only adds new maps, taunts, campaign contracts, and balance changes, but a new suite of class weapons for everyone’s favourite firebug.
In 2016's Meet Your Match, the Pyro beat the Heavy to get a full-fledged class pack in a future update, and as community members have noted, the wait has been over 400 days.
The big note is a jetpack, a new secondary which lets you take to the air and deal heavy falling damage to anyone you land on. You can also douse enemies with the gas can, slap enemies with the hot hand, or use the new single-shot flamethrower.
The Pyro ends up feeling a lot more mobile with its newfound airborne abilities, as shown in this gif from from Reddit user oCrapaCreeper.
The Pyro also gets a few much-needed tune-ups to their class. Hit detection for airblast has been made a consistent cone and given more reasonable attributes, making the extinguishing gush a little more reliable.
Alongside new flamethrower particles and some updates to the afterburn flames, it’s a good time to be a Pyro. The update is live now on Steam.
Comments
5 responses to “Team Fortress 2’s Pyro Has A Jetpack Now”
How is this game not dead yet?
Well its both A: Free, and B: Still the most balanced team shooter on the market.
It seems super OP but the jetpack is amazing. Pyros can get places they couldn’t before and escape from players they couldn’t before too. But it takes up the secondary slot, which means no flare gun/shotty. Same with the gas can. I like the gas can though. You can set pyros on fire! I hate the new flamethrower. It acts like the soldier’s rocket launcher with fire instead of rockets. I’ll stick to the backburner.
If you’re fighting against someone who can aim – ie not your typical pyro – then the new flamethrower is deadly, it’ll kill you in 2 or 3 shots. On the other hand, if you can’t aim then you’ll be lucky to do anything with it. It’s like a fiery Direct Hit.
Only took them 10 years. Pyro pretty much needed a distance closer the whole time.