strategy

Airblast; the demoman

by ZombieSkittles on February 2, 2010

Today, while playing a game on CTF_Turbine, one of the Demomen on my team was whinging about how the Pyro’s airblast ability is an unnecessary buff that just ruined the game, and it should be removed. He even went on to actually say that the airblast made Pyros  “completely immune” to any attack from a Demoman.

Most of us laughed in his face. However, some people agreed with him. So I felt the need to make this post, pointing out how the demoman could avoid the apparently invincible pyro.

Red_DemomanDon’t be a Targelander demoman. Since the war update, every demoman who has gotten a hold of the Eyelander and Chargin’ Targe has felt the need to equip them, and then use only them. The amount of demoman who run around waving just the Eyelander may have the advantage for now, but as time goes on and people learn how to handle themselves properly against it, it’s going to prove a hindrance rather than a helpful combo. Trying to run up to the clever pyro decapitate him with the melee weapon proves futile when he can just light you on fire and airblast you away until you die.
That being said, the Chargin’ Targe is designed to be handy against fire, with a 50% fire damage resistance.

You still have your grenade launcher. This is an extension of the previous point. With people obsessing over the Targe/Eyelander combo, not enough love is given to the grenade launcher. If the Pyro is blowing you away so you can’t do a close combat death, shoot him from a distance. He can deflect the grenades, sure, but he can only airblast a maximum of 8 times, and that’s if he doesn’t use any primary flamethrower fire. You have more grenades than he has airblast, plus you have the ability to shoot them as fast as he can airblast, and in whatever direction you wish. Throw some over him then push him back with others so he runs into the earlier ones. Simple, easy.

Consider your sticky launcher. The sticky bombs have always been handy, but with the introduction of the Chargin’ Targe, many people don’t have it equipped anymore. However, I still use it over the Targe because it allows for the tactical exploding of my enemies. If I’m face to face with a pyro, I’ll sometimes use the sticky launcher because it allows me to power up and shoot up over him, which brings us to what I said the point before. The only difference is I can detonate them when he’s close to them, rather than having to quickly push him to them.

All else fails, run away. Nothing is really keeping you fighting the Pyro. If his airblast is still frustrating you, run away. Throw some sticky bombs behind you so he won’t instantly chase you, and let someone other teammate handle him.

I know that I haven’t covered nearly half the different ways a Demoman can go against a Pyro, and if you’re reading this, please comment with your own tactics and strategies for this particular problem.

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Taking down a Tank

by ZombieSkittles on January 28, 2010

Taking down a Tank can be difficult even on the easier game settings, so thinking of facing one on advanced or expert is terrifying for me. However, there is ways to get over this hurdle with the least amount of hurt possible.

One such way, which I’m quite fond of, involves a molotov cocktail and a whole heap of running. When the Tank is sighted, throw the cocktail at him and light him on fire. Once he’s ignited, MOVE! Run in the direction of the start point, jumping over stairs and stuff. Unlike games like Team Fortress 2, enemies in this game stay lit on fire and take damage until they finally die. Tank’s and other infected also work via the AI Director, and will traverse the terrain sometimes awkwardly; climbing things players easily leap across. Using this, you can usually outrun the Tank and survive until he dies, with little to no damage done to your team.

128996This is how you also get the easily obtained Towering Inferno achievement (earned by simply lighting a Tank on fire), if you hadn’t already. You can thank me later, or now in the comments. Also, if you have your own tactics for taking down a tank, feel free to share them in the comments.

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Blast of fresh air

by ZombieSkittles on January 20, 2010

pyrotime1 I’m an avid pyro player; always have been, most likely will always be (at least until I finish all the achievements). I remember when I first started playing, and unlocked my first item for the game, which was coincidently The Backburner.  I took one look at it and decided that I wanted to use it forever. It gave me guaranteed critical hits when I flame an enemy from behind, and all I have to give away is the ability to blast compressed air! Easy trade.
However, after playing some more, I’ve swapped back. I’ve grown as a player and learned that while the Backburner is a useful item, the air blast ability is not something to be tossed idly aside. I’m aware though, that many people continue to play with the backburner for the same reason I did; because they didn’t understand the power of the air blast properly. It seems the flamethrower’s alt attack is something that is often glazed over while the player is too busy lighting everything around him or her on fire, so I thought I’d share the uses of the air blast for those who aren’t quite aware of them.

  1. It puts ignited teammates out. The game is all about getting the different classes to work together as a team, and the pyro certainly isn’t left out of the equation. To counter other pyros, the air blast allows the player to extinguish a player who was lit on fire, stopping them from taking the continuous flame damage they’d otherwise sustain, and allow them to participate longer.
    Of course, just as many pyro players don’t know about this, neither do many other players, and they’ll run the opposite way of a friendly pyro, and make a desperate and pointless attempt to get to a medkit instead.
  2. It reflects projectiles. The pyro can be lethal to soldiers and a pain for demoman with the air blast ability. It allows a player to reflect rockets away and back at the enemy soldier, as well as a demoman’s grenades. As an added perk when they’re reflected, they become your team’s projectiles instead, and any kills made with them are attributed to you. Imagine that soldier’s frustration when his easy critical rocket kill is turned around and he finds himself gibbed and respawning.
    Also, you can air blast sticky bombs, moving them away from the demoman’s intended location. Frustrating him and clearing the way for your teammates.
  3. It pushes enemies away. Not only does the flamethrower’s alternate attack blow away projectiles, it also pushes away actual enemies, leading to lots of tactical advantages. For example, if you run into a scout who’s trying to rush a point, you can push him back, and if you’re on a bridge, you could really piss him off and throw him off the bridge with it. If an enemy is trying to kill you with his melee weapon, the time you buy from pushing him away could be crucial to your survival too.
    Another use which will really help your team is when an enemy medic ubercharges one of their teammates and tries pushing past your team. The medic has to keep a connection with the teammate to be effective, so what better way to ruin their plans than to split them up by getting between them and pushing the medic back. Most of the time their teammate will be too concerned with running forward and killing to even notice, leaving them defenceless.

That’s what the air blast is capable of. Of course, the air blast ability is useful in a lot more situations than what was listed above, but these were just examples so you can get in your head the power contained in this often overlooked ability.

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