Team Fortress 2's huge Jungle Inferno update out today
Light your farts
Today the Pyro will get a chuffing jetpack in Team Fortress 2 as part of the 'Jungle Inferno' update. This is a big'un, bringing one new Valve-made map, five new community-made maps, and the long-promised Pyro class update. All flamethrowers are being improved and the Pyro is armed with four new weapons too, from a beefy single-shot flamethrower to a cheeky slap (hey, it worked in Absolver).
The update was expected to launch last night but Valve delayed it for a little more testing, so it'll now hit today.
The new Valve map is Mercenary Park, a hasty rebranding of Saxton Hale's tropical Yeti Park, where people could fight yetis. It's a bit Jurassic Park-y, yeah? The five new community-made maps use the same jungle-themed assets. You'll find one Attack/Defend mode map, one Payload, one Payload Race, and two King of the Hill maps.
As for the Pyro, hoo! Having smashed the Heavy in a 2016 community event to decide which would be overhauled first, the Pyro today receives their promised class update.
Flamethrowers are fundamentally changed in several years. They're fancied up with new particle effects which are now better synchronised with what the weapon's actually doing, removing the frustration of flames which look like they should be hitting someone but don't. Airblasts are changed too, with improved hit detection and player momentum making them less frustrating for pyros, but a modicum of air control making them less frustrating for blasted players. Flamethrower afterburn is tweaked too, going from a fixed time to dependant upon how long someone was burning. All fires burn faster (and fiercer, to counterbalance that), mind.
Then there are the new Pyro items. The Dragon's Fury is a single-shot flamethrower growing more powerful with consecutive hits. The Gas Passer is a gasoline can creating a cloud which coats enemies then ignites them if they take damage. The Hot Hand is a gloveslap which deals reduced damage but does give a speed boost and leaves an insulting record of slappings in the kill feed. And the Thermal Thruster is the new rocketpack, giving a short burst firing Pyros in the direction they're aiming and dealing bonus fall damage if they land on an enemy - a bit like the Soldier's Mantreads do. Expect a great many Pyros to be flying around and trying to land on you.
All these new Pyro items can be unlocked by completing in-game tasks. Oh, and unlocking The Thermal Thruster will also give a taunt letting Pyros light their own farts:
The Heavy hasn't been entirely left out, mind. He picks up the Second Banana, a smaller snack than the Sandvich which heals half as much but is eaten twice as quickly. Some Minigun fundamentals are being tweaked as well.
The update's balance pass is tweaking weapons from every class too.
Oh, and a new premium Campaign is kicking off too, with more challenges and cosmetic rewards and all that. Whew. Big update.
"The update's almost finished, but it's a pretty big one, and we wanted another day to get everything ready and stress test it a little more," Valve said last night to explain the unexpected delay.
Hit Valve's Jungle Inferno page and the patch notes for more on everything. Oh, and in case you missed the new animated short introducing all this:
