TF2 Pyro Detonator Jumping Guide: How to Fly as Pyro
The Detonator gives Pyro the mobility of a Soldier rocket jump with a tenth of the difficulty. Here is how detonator jumps work and the routes that make them pay off.
Pyro is the second-most mobile class in TF2, and almost nobody uses it. The Detonator — a flare gun that detonates on command — lets you jump like a Soldier, reach flanks no other Pyro can, and escape fights that would otherwise be lost.
The jump is easier to learn than a rocket jump and harder to use well. This guide covers both.
How the detonator jump works
The sequence is the same every time:
- Fire the flare at your feet (or the ground below you).
- Jump immediately after the flare lands.
- Detonate (right mouse) while you are rising.
The flare explosion pushes you upward, the same way a Soldier’s rocket does. The differences are that the explosion is smaller and the timing is looser — you have roughly half a second between the flare landing and the moment the jump stops helping, which is a far more forgiving window than a rocket jump’s.
The self-damage is minimal: roughly 10 health per jump, compared to a Soldier’s 40-plus from a point-blank rocket. You can chain detonator jumps almost indefinitely.
The three jumps
The vertical jump. Fire straight down, jump, detonate. You go straight up. Use this to reach ledges, rooftops, and the tops of crates.
The horizontal jump. Fire at an angle forward and down, jump, detonate while moving forward. You fly forward and up. This is your gap-crossing jump and your escape jump.
The sticky-style jump. Fire at a wall, jump toward it, detonate when the flare hits. The bounce carries you along the wall face. This is the advanced version — it gets you angles the first two cannot.
What you give up
The Detonator replaces your secondary. You lose:
- The Shotgun, which is your reliable mid-range damage option
- The Flare Gun’s crit-on-burning-players damage
- The reserve ammo that keeps you fighting through a long engagement
In exchange you get mobility. That trade is worth it on maps with vertical flanks and ledges — and it is a losing trade on flat maps where the Shotgun would have won you fights.
The other cost: every detonator jump makes noise and reveals your position. Jump when the enemy team is not watching the route you are taking.
The routes that pay off
Payload flanks. Most payload maps have side routes the enemy team does not watch. A detonator jump gets you onto the high ground behind their spawn, where their Snipers and Medics are not looking up.
Chokepoint skipping. Maps like badwater and dustbowl have chokepoints that stall pushes for minutes. A detonator jump skips the chokepoint entirely and puts you behind the defense.
Sentry nests. A level 3 Sentry cannot shoot straight up. Detonate-jump above it, then flare it from the top, where the wrangler shield does not cover.
Escapes. When a fight goes wrong, the detonator jump is your exit. Fire, jump, detonate — you are over the wall before the enemy finishes turning around.
The combat reality
A Pyro with a Detonator has no mid-range weapon. Your flamethrower range is short, and the flare is your only projectile. This means:
- Ambush, do not duel. Your jumps get you into position. The kill comes from the flamethrower, at close range, from behind.
- One flare, then flames. The flare ignites, the flames finish. The detonation is for jumping, not for damage.
- Retreat with the same tool you attacked with. Every jump that gets you in also gets you out. Use it.
The one thing to remember
Fire down, jump, detonate while rising — that is the whole mechanic, and it takes ten minutes to learn. The part that takes longer is knowing where to jump, and that is just map knowledge. Learn the flank routes on the maps you play, and the Detonator turns you into the only Pyro on the server who arrives from above.