Byakugan01 said: To be honest, I prefer the base flamethrower, thanks to the blowback. What's so good about the degreaser?
Quicker switch-out so you can light them on fire then get crits with the Axtinguisher. Personally, I prefer the Backburner, since I tend to refill my ammo whenever possible (and I don't use the Axtinguisher unless I'm double-teaming someone with another Pyro).
Byakugan01 said: To be honest, I prefer the base flamethrower, thanks to the blowback. What's so good about the degreaser?
Degreaser can airblast as well, actually. The Degreaser exchanges 25% less afterburn damage in favor of 60% faster weapon switch, allowing you to finish off enemies with the Axtinguisher/Postal Pummeler (which will one hit kill most classes under most circumstances). If what some Beta players are saying, the Reserve Shooter's weapon swap bonus will stack on top of that, making Degreaser/Reserve Shooter/Axtinguisher an ideal setup if you know you will be dealing with other Pyros.
In my opinion, unless you're going for the Makin Bacon achievement or are REALLY good (and I mean REALLY, REALLY GOOD)at ambushing enemies from behind, there's no reason not to use the Degreaser. Its downside is negligible but it's upside is extremely dangerous with proper use.
Plus, if you're lucky enough to have the full set, you can run faster than everyone but the Scout, letting you close the distance and either Powerjack or shotgun them. Granted, 10% extra bullet damage seems bad, but 10% extra speed isn't to be sniffed at, especially since you have faster weapon switch and gain 75 HP by killing with the Powerjack. If the Reserve Shooter gets put into TF2 proper as a Pyro weapon, then everyone's gonna be hearing that sexy shotgun sound more than usual.
Also, it seems like Mokou's enjoying a weenie roast on that camp-fire.
So now you get to choose between fire&axe and puff&shoot. The minicrits are beautiful. The Shooter's also very useful against Scouts since they tend to jump a lot on their own, giving you free chances for minicrits.
Byakugan01 said: To be honest, I prefer the base flamethrower, thanks to the blowback. What's so good about the degreaser?
You get faster quickswitch with no drawback. Afterburn is so weak to begin with since TF2 now has many ways to counteract it. With the axtinguisher, postal pummeler (which is just a reskin) and the reserve shooter (which does mini-crits to airborne enemies and has a slight quickswitch bonus) means that you have to rely on quickswitching with the Pyro to a large degree. I'd say the backburner, with it's higher damage and auto-critting when attacking someone's back, is nice but ultimately much more limited. The flare gun is also a worth addition.
The detonator is weird, it was tested in the beta as a way to give the Pyro a rocket-jumping alternative, but when it was introduced into tf2, it had no real value as such and was a downgrade to the flare gun in every way.
Out of those items the only one I have is the flare gun. And I'm loathe to give up my Jarate for an axtinguisher, since I play all classes except scout and soldier.
Anelaid said: I'd say the backburner, with it's higher damage and auto-critting when attacking someone's back, is nice but ultimately much more limited.
Meh, I mostly like to sneak up behind a group of people and get a big cluster of damage and set them on fire with it, leaving them weakened for my teammates to finish them off while I get raped. It works wonders when I manage to work with a Heavy, who stays in cover until I start the fireworks. Of course, half the time I'm in a team of lone-wolfers, so I tend to go more Sniper than Pyro.
The detonator is weird, it was tested in the beta as a way to give the Pyro a rocket-jumping alternative, but when it was introduced into tf2, it had no real value as such and was a downgrade to the flare gun in every way.
A downgrade? How so? I think being able to detonate the flare is awesome, you can light up groups of people from far away and can troll snipers who think they're safely behind cover. Only downside is damaging yourself if you get caught in the blast radius.
Unless they did one of those secret updates to change the projectiles speed or radius or something. Honestly that wouldnt surprise me given the massive amount of butthurt that pyros generate.
dehsue said: A downgrade? How so? I think being able to detonate the flare is awesome, you can light up groups of people from far away and can troll snipers who think they're safely behind cover. Only downside is damaging yourself if you get caught in the blast radius.
Unless they did one of those secret updates to change the projectiles speed or radius or something. Honestly that wouldnt surprise me given the massive amount of butthurt that pyros generate.
Detonator was meant as a mobility upgrade, or tested as such, but since the beta is just there as lipservice, this ended up being irrelevent to its implementation.
Valve does not know how to balance things, as "no random crits" is a paethetic weaksite.
That said, reserve shooter is a pretty good combo with the degreaser.
*Meet the PYRO* (touhou style) Yuyuko: I fear no living thing! But... that woman... She scares me.
Aya: No! I ain't.. I ain't doin' an interview on that girl, alright?! She's not here, is she? Where's a window, I'm flying the F*$&% outta here.
Sakuya (eating a pocky stick): One shudders to imagine what inhuman thoughts lie behind that expressionless face. What dreams of chronic and immortal cruelty.
*Now imagine if you can, in Pyroland, Mokou's with Keine, happily walking around the land and the other players have chibbi bodies with Yukkuri big heads.*
