Standard Weapons:
- Primary - Flamethrower
The Flamethrower's range is very limited, however it deals massive damage through this entire range. Apart from the direct damage, the Flamethrower also sets your target on fire, causing the target to continue to burn for a short time when no longer being fired upon. Pyros themselves are vulnerable to the direct damage but not to the afterburn, due to their flame-retardant suits. The afterburn can be extinguished by the Medic's Medigun, a Dispenser's healing stream, contact with water, or any type of Health pack.
It is interesting to note that while the afterburn can be doused, a player in the water is still able to be damaged directly by the Flamethrower's stream of fire. And if a Pyro is swimming in a body of water, he/she can still use the Flamethrower to attack other players above, or even under water, if his/her "head" is above said water. (i.e. Constantly pressing the space bar to wade)
The Flamethrower fires a stream of flame particles in a narrow cone which travel quickly at first, then slow down and drift slightly upward before expiring. It shoots 22.5 particles of flame each second, consuming 12.5 ammunition per second. Particles borrow motion from the Pyro who shot them, tracking the Pyro's movement from side to side. At its maximum range, the Flamethrower is not accurate enough to put a constant stream on a single target.
- Secondary - Shotgun
It fires fairly rapidly, 10 bullets per 1 ammo, every 0.6 seconds, and can deliver high damage at close range but has a high damage falloff. As the Engineer's most powerful weapon, he uses it primarily for defending his Dispenser or Teleporter and for engaging an enemy attempting to exploit a weakness in his Sentry Gun. The Pyro uses his shotgun for engaging targets unreachable by his Flamethrower and the Soldier will generally rely on the shotgun if his rockets have been expended, or to otherwise preserve rockets for when they are more needed. The shotgun is also a useful weapon to equip if the Heavy is running from point to point.
Taunting with your Shotgun equipped as a Pyro will activate the special Hadouken taunt attack.
- Melee - Fire Axe
In most circumstances, the Flame Thrower is a much better choice for targets in melee range. The fire axe is typically used on unaware enemies and for humilation purposes as it has a high crit chance which the flamethrower does not. The critical hit animation for the fire axe is a swift right to left horizontal swing.
Unlockable Weapons:
- Primary - Backburner
It is unlocked after 15 of the Pyro achievements are completed (excluding 'Milestone 1'). It is currently placed as a Level 10 Flamethrower in the loadout menu. This version of the flamethrower is built for the Pyro who likes to ambush their opponents. It removes the compression blast capability, instead guaranteeing critical hits whenever it’s used on an opponent from behind. The backburner registers up to approximately a 45 degree angle to the back of someone's left or right. So, roughly a 90 degree angle centered behind where they are facing. This is significantly less than the Spy's backstab range, which appears to be any angle in the 160 degrees behind where a player is looking.
- Secondary - Flare Gun
It replaces the shotgun in the secondary weapon slot. With the flare gun equipped, a Pyro can ignite an enemy at long range, but this does require careful aim on their part. It’s particularly useful for causing havoc on Snipers and Engineers who want to keep their distance. It is listed as a Level 10 Flaregun in the loadout menu, and is unlocked after getting 10 of the Pyro achievements.
The Flare Gun's shot travels in a straight line for a relatively long range (from 2fort's battlements to the end of the bridge roof on the opposite end), and then its trajectory curves down drastically. The projectile can still ignite enemies while it's "falling", but disintegrates on contact with any surface.
The Flare Gun is one of the two weapons where damage done increases with range.
Taunting with your Flare gun equipped as a Pyro will activate the special Hadouken taunt attack.
- Melee - Axtinguisher
It is a Level 10 Fireaxe. It is unlocked after you have gained 22 Pyro achievements. By itself, the Axtinguisher does half the damage of the regular Fire axe, but will always crit if a target is on fire, and never crit on a non-burning opponent (not even during Humiliation or charged by the Kritzkrieg). The weapon may perform the crit animation when swung, complete with the electricity sound effect, but will not inflict crit damage unless the target is burning. This weapon pairs well with the the Flare gun, and can serve as a complementary finishing move for flanking and ambush maneuvers. On non-burning opponents, the Axtinguisher is the weakest melee weapon in the game. Multiple pyros can work together to make this weapon more effective.The Axtinguisher is best used as an ambush weapon. In direct combat, it is a risky weapon to use, as the time necessary to switch weapons makes you an easy target. However, the extremely high damage makes it very useful when ambushing classes with high health, particular Heavies, and, to a lesser extent, Soldiers and Demomen. It is often preferable to use the Axtinguisher in these situations because in a given enough time, these classes can easily outdamage and kill the Pyro.