Fire
A Heavy on fire.
This article is about fire produced by weapons. For environmental fire, see this article.
| “ | I appear to have burst into flames.
Click to listen
— The Spy on the blatantly obvious
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” |
Fire, or afterburn, refers to the damage-over-time effect inflicted on a player when hit by a variety of weapons, most commonly those of the Pyro. Fire is useful for hit-and-run tactics and for weakening or finishing off an opponent if the damage from the weapon alone is not enough to kill them. This allows attackers to score kills even while dead, as the fire damage may finish off a wounded opponent.
Upon being set aflame, a player's character will automatically scream out that they are on fire, alerting nearby Medics and teammates to their plight. Setting an opponent on fire also creates a disorienting effect on their screen view (flames will engulf the edges of the screen and a burning sound is heard). This can be used to a team's advantage if the Pyro is able to ambush a group of attacking foes. Snipers lit on fire will find it extremely difficult to perform an accurate shot, as the scoped view will move every time the Sniper takes damage from the burning (an effect the Sniper can prevent by equipping the Cozy Camper). When calling for a Medic, the balloon with the Medic symbol will be on fire, notifying a Medic of his plight. This helps put burning players as a priority to heal.
Fire can be used to perform Spy checks. A small burst of flame will ignite an enemy Spy, even if cloaked or disguised. Burning players give off an additional coloured particle effect revealing their true allegiance; this is a useful effect for distinguishing disguised Spies.
The fire effect starts immediately upon damage from a weapon that causes it. Each fire effect will last for 10 seconds. Additional hits from these weapons will restart the duration of the fire back to ten seconds. Fire damages a player every half-second for 3 HP each tick (2 HP each tick for the Degreaser), totaling 60 damage over those ten seconds (40 damage for the Degreaser). Afterburn damage cannot crit; however, it can mini-crit if the target is under a mini-crit debuff, such as covered in Jarate, marked for death, or if the attacking Pyro is buffed by the Buff Banner.
Note that enemy Pyros cannot be set on fire. While Pyros still take contact damage from the Flamethrower, they will not take further damage over time. The Pyro does, however, count as on fire for a brief second while he appears with the charred graphical effect after taking damage from a fire-inducing weapon, and while he takes no additional damage, he can still suffer critical hits from the Axtinguisher, Postal Pummeler, Sun-on-a-Stick, Flare Gun, and mini-crits from the Detonator.
It is possible to allow gibs to catch fire (if a burning player is killed by an explosion) with the cl_burninggibs 1/0 command.
Contents
Weapons which inflict afterburn
| Class | Weapon | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 Cow Mangler 5000 |
Alt-fire: Fires a more powerful shot which will ignite enemies who it hits. It will also ignite the player if they are in range. | |
 Flame Thrower |
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 Backburner |
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 Degreaser |
Afterburn caused by this weapon deals 25% less damage compared to the default Flamethrower. | |
 Phlogistinator |
Fire damage builds Mmmph. | |
 Rainblower |
Afterburn caused by this weapon also has a sparkling particle effect, only visible to players in Pyroland. | |
 Flare Gun |
Deals critical damage to any already burning players. | |
 Detonator |
Alt-fire: Detonate flare. Will ignite enemies within a certain radius. Ignites the player who fired it if fired at the ground or detonated too close. Deals mini-crit damage to any already burning players if they are hit by the flare impact. | |
 Manmelter |
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 Scorch Shot |
Shoots a flare that bounces off enemies as well as allies and explodes, igniting all enemies caught in the explosion. | |
 Sharpened Volcano Fragment |
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 Huo-Long Heater |
Surrounds the Heavy with a ring of fire when deployed, igniting anyone who comes in contact with it. | |
 Huntsman |
Arrows can be ignited by an allied Pyro firing their primary weapon, the Righteous Bison, or the Pomson 6000, as well as approaching the torches placed in DeGroot Keep. |
Surviving fire
The following will extinguish a player who is on fire:
- Picking up a Health pack, thrown lunchbox item, or a dropped lunchbox item from a dead Heavy.
- Touching a Resupply locker.
- Completely immersing one's self in a body of water. Puddles and low-level water (such as in the sewer tunnels in 2Fort) will not extinguish a burning player.
- Being healed by a Medic, Dispenser, or Payload cart for a full second will extinguish flames.
- Being splashed with Jarate by a friendly Sniper or Mad Milk from a friendly Scout. They can also extinguish themselves by throwing their respective containers at their feet.
- Being air blasted by a friendly Pyro.
- Activating the Dead Ringer as a Spy.
- Switching to the Spy-cicle, if it is not already the active weapon, as a Spy.
- Being the recipient of a regular ÜberCharge; a Kritzkrieg or Quick-Fix charge will not extinguish the flames faster than being normally healed.
- Being extinguished by the alternate fire of a friendly Pyro's Manmelter.
- Picking up ammo or weapons while using the Persian Persuader.
- Backstabbing someone while holding the Conniver's Kunai as a Spy.
The following methods do not extinguish the afterburn, but can help burning players survive by healing faster than the afterburn can deal damage or by mitigating afterburn's damage:
- Being healed by a Medic, a Dispenser, or the Payload cart for less than a full second.
- Drinking Bonk! Atomic Punch will stop any afterburn damage, although it may resume after the effects of Bonk! have worn off. Note that it does not protect against afterburn inflicted by the Flare Gun or Detonator[citation needed].
- Any form of weapon-based healing aside from the Conniver's Kunai, such as the Eyelander or Black Box.
- Being buffed by the Battalion's Backup.
- Damage resistance provided by the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen, or the Expert's Ordnance item set.
- The Medic's passive health regeneration, possibly in conjunction with the Medieval Medic item set.
- The Medic's Oktoberfest taunt.
- The Dead Ringer's 90% damage resistance.
Weapon specific
The following weapons provide additional resistance or vulnerability against fire-based attacks. Note that both contact damage (barring the melee damage from the Sharpened Volcano Fragment) and afterburn are modified.
| Class | Weapon/Item set | Effect |
|---|---|---|
 Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol |
 50% fire damage vulnerability on wearer
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 Chargin' Targe |
 50% fire damage resistance on wearer
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 The Expert's Ordnance |
10% fire damage resistance on wearer
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 Splendid Screen |
20% fire damage resistance on wearer
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 Southern Hospitality |
20% fire damage vulnerability on wearer
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 Bushwacka |
20% fire damage vulnerability on wearer
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 Spy-cicle |
On Hit by Fire: Become fireproof for 2 seconds
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Related achievements
General
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Soldier
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Pyro
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Heavy
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Engineer
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Medic
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Sniper
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Spy
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Kill icons
Death by the Cow Mangler 5000's afterburn
Suicide by the Cow Mangler 5000's afterburn
Flamethrower
Backburner
Degreaser
Phlogistinator
Rainblower
Flare Gun
Detonator
Manmelter
Scorch Shot
Deflected flare
Hadouken kill taunt
Armageddon kill taunt
Huo-Long Heater
Flaming Huntsman arrow
Flaming Huntsman arrow afterburn
Unused Kill icons
Deflected flaming arrow Huntsman
Deflected flaming Huntsman arrow headshot
Flaming Huntsman arrow headshot
Bugs
- Burning ragdolls will not be extinguished when submerged in water.
- A burning player will cease to take damage if the enemy who inflicted the afterburn changes teams, but will visually remain on fire for the default duration.
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