Flare Gun is pathetic

PimpinPenguin

PimpinPenguin

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Well, i just got all 3 of the new Pyro weapons. And i gotta say the Flare Gun is useless. Compared to the shotgun it's slower, leaves you defend less underwater,very easy to dodge and does very little damaged. To test it out i tried it on a friend who was a scout, i had to shoot him 14 times before he died. I really see no good advantages to using it. I tried it on snipers on 2fort, which i was told it was effective against, and they ignored it cause the damage was minimal. I tried it on a sentry and one shot took a measly one health point off it, leaving the Engi plenty of time to come back and repair it.
So I'm just wondering am i using it wrong? And is anyone else using it?
 
It's pretty handy for annoying heavies that have no medic near them. I know I got killed by a few cooperating pyros who hit me all at the same time lol
 
The basic damage it does is low, but the fire damage is what its all about. It serves the same purpose to delay and break up groups that the pyro's flamethrower does.
 
It makes for a perfect sniper harasser if you can get a good shot. and if used in conjunction with the
axtinguisher you can set up large groups of enemies for a quick death from long range. Unlockables are
alternative weapons, not superior upgrades
 
When I first got the flaregun I hated it, but since I used it more its OK. I t takes a lot practice to get the aiming down, but I can anticipate the enemies movements and shoot them now. I don't like the damage on sentries though, pretty darn useless.
 
14x on a scout? wtf, it takes half a Demo's health if you let it burn through.
 
Flare Gun is actually really useful. Yes, it leaves you like an idiot underwater but on land it can help you distract Engineers and Snipers, forcing them to leave their nests inorder to get Health Kits. It also good to annoy Medics trying to continously heal a Soldier or a Heavy.
 
I love the flare gun. Sure, my scores are abysmal, but it's just so much fun to light people up.

One thing TF2 unfortunately lacks is assessing your tactical impact. A good shot forces a sniper or a medic to disengage, weakening the enemy offensive or defense, as well as sowing chaos in enemy ranks.

Same for the alternative flamer mode, the compression blast. It's really damn useful for breaking uberpartners up, throwing enemies off walkways and 'C' on CP_Gravelpit as well as juggling enemies up in the air etc. This gives an advantage to your team as well as allows you to stall an enemy advance (heh, on Furry Fortress I once managed to keep away a Medic/Demoman combo ubercharging forward by pushing them back with the blast).

So, my scores are abysmally low. But who cares.

I have fun!
 
I mostly use it for annoying snipers in 2fort, and flare vs flare wars are fun too.
 
Flare gun has it's uses sure it sucks in some situations like underwater or against sentry's but that isn't it's purpose.
I'll use the shotgun by default and sometimes switch later if the situation calls for it.
 
I love the flare gun... almost as good as having my trusty incendiary cannon back. :p

How can you not find setting people on fire from a huge distance useful? Certainly miles better than having that stupid, useless ****ing shotgun for a secondary weapon (durrrr I can shoot people underwater where I shouldn't go anyway... oh and helps rarely for finishing off burning scouts... big ****ing deal). Plus it goes well with the AXTINGUISHER! Pop 'em with a flare, work your way up... AXTINGUISH!

So yeah, good way to tell a noob pyro is you see one with a backburner/axtinguisher and still uses a shotgun. Well, not noob... idiot.
 
Letters said:
So yeah, good way to tell a noob pyro is you see one with a backburner/axtinguisher and still uses a shotgun. Well, not noob... idiot.
Click to expand...

What do pyros with the flare gun do when fighting underwater? I've always wondered about that. A spy would be completely untouchable under the little bridges on Well, just revolvering at his leisure, right, and since the axtinguisher does half damage underwater...?

It's a tough choice, I know, as Valve intended but I'll stick with the shotty for a bit longer :)
 
Letters said:
So yeah, good way to tell a noob pyro is you see one with a backburner/axtinguisher and still uses a shotgun. Well, not noob... idiot.
Click to expand...
Please don't call me a noob or an idiot. Flare gun might be good long range but it's long reload and small radius makes it a shit weapon for medium range compared to the shotgun which excels at medium range. I've had many kills from the shotgun while advancing or retreating with the enemy outside the range of my flamethrower/backburner.
The shotgun is also very good against enemy pyro's, I've lost count with how many times I've weakened an enemy pyro with the shotgun before switching to the flamethrower/backburner to finish him off - it's especially effective if they are equipped with the flare gun.
 
I want the burn damage to be the same, but to take less time to go through.

That or more initial damage.

Or for the ignite to spread on impact...
 
Letters said:
So yeah, good way to tell a noob pyro is you see one with a backburner/axtinguisher and still uses a shotgun. Well, not noob... idiot.
Click to expand...

So yeah, good way to tell a moron is he accuses of most decent players on a TF2 forum of being a noob, then corrects himself and calls them an idiot.

I take it from previous responses this doesn't deserve a sensible reply.
 
Jintor said:
I want the burn damage to be the same, but to take less time to go through.

That or more initial damage.

Or for the ignite to spread on impact...
Click to expand...

I think it'd be fun if the flare gun acted a bit like the hunter darts from Ep2. If you're hit with a flare directly, it ignites you. If you hit a wall with it, it explodes after a second or two like a fireworks rocket, sending out sparks that ignite everyone close by.
 
PimpinPenguin said:
. And i gotta say the Flare Gun is useless.
Click to expand...


You know, I thought the same thing to. Until I played Sniper and Engineer. Flares guns don't kill but they are freakin annoying. Especially to a sniper. If you team is being pinned down by a good sniper a flare gun will buy a lot of time.

I prefer the shot gun over the flare any day. But if you have two pyros traveling in a pack it is good for one to have a shotgun and the other a flare.
 
PvtRyan said:
I think it'd be fun if the flare gun acted a bit like the hunter darts from Ep2. If you're hit with a flare directly, it ignites you. If you hit a wall with it, it explodes after a second or two like a fireworks rocket, sending out sparks that ignite everyone close by.
Click to expand...

That would be ****ing awesome.
 
Letters said:
So yeah, good way to tell a noob pyro is you see one with a backburner/axtinguisher and still uses a shotgun. Well, not noob... idiot.
Click to expand...

I like the security that if i'm caught underwater i can at least try to defend myself. When i had the flare gun and fell in the water on 2fort i was a sitting duck. All i could do was either try and swim away or try to axe the guy which is not effective.
A common situation i find myself is when i'm flaming someone and they jump in the water to save themselves, i usually go in after them, and a quick shotgun blast to finish them off, with the Flare Gun i just have to let them go and heal themselves.
And i suppose it useful for how you play, i like to shotgun then flame then shotgun again to finish them off. If the enemy tries retreating i can finish them off with the shotgun, but i can't with the flare gun as they are usually already on fire and the initial damage is way to low.
With the huge influx of Pyros the flare gun is ineffective against them, yet shotgun still works well. So i wouldn't call myself a noob Pyro as i can kick your Pyro's ass with my Shotgun over your lame Flare Gun.
 
I own with the flare gun and I don't wanna hear your whining.
 
IDK it seems perfect for me. It reminds me of the crossbow where you have to time it just right, rather than keep the crosshair on the enemy. That's also why I'm usually a bad sniper.
 
The flare gun isn't useless, it's just not nearly as good as the shotgun.
 
Warbie said:
The flare gun isn't useless, it's just not nearly as good as the shotgun.
Click to expand...

But you gotta admit the shotgun has lost a lot of its power relative to the new flamethrower. Before the patch, I just used the flamethrower to ignite someone (unless I was already at point blank range) and then use the shotgun for the kill. Now, the flamethrower will suffice. There's less use for the shotgun and you can afford using the flare gun.
 
I just got the flare gun and think it's a hoot to shoot people with. I killed a heavy once (low on health, crit head shot, so luck) from below the battlements up into their grate where he was lurking. VERY satisfying. It's also good for distance spy checks. If you hit him with the shotgun, you can't really tell. If you peg 'em with the flare, they'll light up and usually the others will kill him before he's in range of your flame thrower.

Mostly I like the pop sound it makes though. :D
 
It just looks cool, and in my hands I just pick off some people. It's a really satisfying weapon to use, apart from the axtinguisher which gives you ecstasy when you chop down a person on fire.


Flare gun needs more ammo, not just 16 rounds. It would make it even better.
 
more like overpowered for its sole purpose - taking snipers out of the picture. It's really really easy to aim and it's *very* fast, and if it comes down to a 1v1 pyro vs an uncharged sniper at range the pyro will almost always win with the flaregun since it's nearly impossible to aim when being on fire when scoped. you hardly need the shotgun anyway due to the pyro's speed + how ridiculous the flamethrower's damage is :/
 
Flare gun is actually better than i first anticipated, for a few reasons.
- If the other team have no medics, when they're alight they usually run away to find some health.
- VERY useful for annoying people, but especially engineers and snipers, the flare gun is a quick way to dispose of sentrys (that is if you kill the engineer, but its very easy with the flare gun.)
- Its generally a quite effective long range gun.
 
Seagull said:
more like overpowered for its sole purpose - taking snipers out of the picture. It's really really easy to aim and it's *very* fast, and if it comes down to a 1v1 pyro vs an uncharged sniper at range the pyro will almost always win with the flaregun since it's nearly impossible to aim when being on fire when scoped. you hardly need the shotgun anyway due to the pyro's speed + how ridiculous the flamethrower's damage is :/
Click to expand...

I like how because you're a bad sniper the flare gun is "overpowered"
 
i play soldier and those are my observations (with pyro's flaregun going vs good and bad snipers alike), it deterrs the sniper wayy too much at long range compared to how the sniper cannot nearly deter the pyro as much up close.

it forces the sniper to either unscope and dodge (making him effectively useless, dodging over and over) or try to get snap headshot after headshot (and if they're using the backburner in competition they'll take 3 headshots before going down due being overhealed, and if the pyro is somewhat decent he can time it so that he gets the sniper on fire when he's paused after firing) or just charged shot him and hope to get a headshot off before he sees you (which will be extremely hard considering most snipers stay close to the team so that they have cover from the scouts, which means that the pyro will see you and fire at you, and if you're in scope it's impossible to dodge the pyro's flare gun, along with all of the other disadvantages that come with sitting there scoped in, and all of this for the close quarters combat class vs the long range class at long range? Sure he doesn't have the shotgun but it's not needed when you're using your teammates + pyros move fast)
 
You simply cannot beat the flare gun+ critical hit axe combo. It's very powerful.
 
soulslicer said:
You simply cannot beat the flare gun+ critical hit axe combo. It's very powerful.
Click to expand...

Flamethrower + axtinguisher beats the combo.

Not only you have more chances to hit a opponent with a constant stream, you can also ignite multiple opponents.

Therefore I just broke your post.
 
I've never been on fire as a sniper before... does it actually impair scoped vision?
 
yeah and more importantly it bumps your crosshair 2 times a second making it hard to aim
 
Flaregun is not useless and it's not that easy to dodge if used up close. Apart from the broken backburner and 50HP boost (oh and the increased range and no damage falloff), it's probably the most useful upgrade for the Pyro because it makes him the second most powerful class at long-range (after Sniper, since Flares move faster and are harder to dodge than Rockets and Stickies).

- It really pisses off Soldiers, Snipers and Medics.
- Unlike the Shotgun, it's a ranged, area denial weapon (forces enemies to move from their position to seek health or water)
- It gives the Pyro a massive effective range boost, allowing him to deal damage before getting within Flamer range.
- It's pretty accurate and virtually impossible to dodge from mid range and closer.
- Works great in long corridors, or fired from distance into clusters of enemy troops on the CP.
- It allows Pyros to work the angles for balconies and walkways above and out of the Flamer's range.
 
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