Degreaser + Panic Attack Pyro Combo

[Aries]

Greetings fellow mercanaries! I looked through the discussion for a topic similar to this, but haven't found one, so I started one I suppose.

Anyway, I would like to know what you all think about the new Panic Attack combined with the Degreaser.

To premise this; I have been playing Tf2 since late 2013, early 2014, and have always loved the "combo" Pyro playstyle, where you puff and sting. I've been around before the Love & War update basically, and am ecstatic to see that the panic attack + degreaser ALMOST return Pyro to their old crazy fast switch speed shenanigans...

However...

Of the playtime I have had with this loadout, I can't tell whether or not it's actually viable. The switch speed between the two weapons is great in all, but my concern is particularly with the Panic Attack, as many situations I'd be using it are the same as I would use the stock shotgun. The thing is, the Panic Attack has proved more useful in some situations, whereas stock does better in others.

Essentially, I'd just like to know if the Panic Attack deserves all my care and attention or if I should just stick with good ol shotty, which I have for the past freakin' 4 years.

Thank you for any feedback and have a good day!

--PS-- The "edited" portion is cause I forget the s on greetings. Okay bye.

[Pakaku]

The Degreaser pairs well with anything, so that's not something to focus on in the equation.

Panic Attack's new spread was a really weird decision because the pellet spread is so wide. Looks like it benefits closer combat than stock.

[Aries]

Yeah that's what I was going for. Not so much the degreaser, but the Panic Attacks overall usage. I've been using stock since forever and I'm tired of looking at the same freakin model with the same texture all this time, and I love the Panic Attacks look and sound. And you're right, it's better upclose, but is it good in the long run?

The Panic Attacks accuracy degrades with successive shots, so the more shots you land that are accurate, the more IN-accurate you become. I would say, with confidence, I have an above-average aim with the shotty, so it's seeming to me that the Panic Attack would only hinder my performance. In regards to the spread, I think that's much better than stock anyway.

Also, almost forgot; Yes, the Degreaser is something to focus on in the discussion because the switch speed stacks. At least, that's what I have had the impression of since forever, as people were always talking about the degreaser + reserveshooter stacking. If I'm wrong, please correct me, otherwise, it's something to take note of.

[Pakaku]

Having above-average aim won't really help because the pellet spread itself gets wider. It would be a matter of getting closer, and the spread at its tightest accuracy is already wide as is.

Degreaser still has faster weapon switch speeds, that's what makes it better than stock. If you want to optimize that, you could run Reserve Shooter with it. There's no mini-crit on airblasted players either, so there'll be slightly less stigma against using it as well.

[Aries]

And the Reserve Shooter has Stock's spread. It's basically stock with faster wep switch but a smaller magazine...

Here's the most important question...

Can I paint the Reserve Shooter now? So it's not green?
(Yes my biggest pet peeve is style)

Ya know what don't answer that I'll figure it out myself.

Thanks for your input anyway though!

[Ryner]

Before the new update it was quite solid actually, at least after you get used to the mechanic, but now the panic kinda sucks, because although it has a really wide spread and more pellets so you miss less often, the 30% less dmg is too much punishing, as the airblast pushes more stronger now, so I find easier to hit, but a pain to meatshot.

Originally posted by Eidihn:

The Panic Attacks accuracy degrades with successive shots, so the more shots you land that are accurate, the more IN-accurate you become.

Yes and no, try to shoot without keeping the M1 pressed at a wall and you'll like the good news, the delay to reset the pattern is short.

[Aries]

I guess I'll just end up using it to goof off then, and use the reserve shooter. At least now I won't have people breathing down my back about mini-crits. I just want my old Degreaser + stock Pyro back ;-; is it too much to ask?

[Squilliam Fancyson]

Originally posted by Eidihn:

And the Reserve Shooter has Stock's spread. It's basically stock with faster wep switch but a smaller magazine...

Here's the most important question...

Can I paint the Reserve Shooter now? So it's not green?
(Yes my biggest pet peeve is style)

Ya know what don't answer that I'll figure it out myself.

Thanks for your input anyway though!

Yeah, just get a War paint from doing the Contracts. Pretty sure all warpaints can be applied to reserve shooter.

[Aries]

Mmm. Paints are too pricy. I can wait for them to drop.

[sad]

Originally posted by Ryner:

Before the new update it was quite solid actually, at least after you get used to the mechanic, but now the panic kinda sucks, because although it has a really wide spread and more pellets so you miss less often, the 30% less dmg is too much punishing, as the airblast pushes more stronger now, so I find easier to hit, but a pain to meatshot.

Originally posted by Eidihn:

The Panic Attacks accuracy degrades with successive shots, so the more shots you land that are accurate, the more IN-accurate you become.

Yes and no, try to shoot without keeping the M1 pressed at a wall and you'll like the good news, the delay to reset the pattern is short.

What? Panic Attack was solid back when you had to preload shells on classes that normally had shotguns for instant burst shots for comboing or finishers? Outside of Engineer, what's one class that can afford the lag time of preloading shells? Heavy just has more reliable secondaries in the form of the snack items, Soldier typically resorts to shotgun as a way to deal with pyros or as quick finishers when they're empty on the primary, and Pyro needs immediate burst and that's achieved more reliably with stock or pre-nerf RS.

[Leotheras the Blind]

Try degreaser and the jetpack. I played a few rounds on harvest event and it was pretty fun.

[Ryner]

Originally posted by WokAn'Roll:

What? Panic Attack was solid back when you had to preload shells on classes that normally had shotguns for instant burst shots for comboing or finishers?

Solid, not best, you could still damage them but not nuke health like RS and Flare did. It's like the Stock medic melee vs Ubersaw, it's simply outshined.

[Big Balls of D.O.G.E. 🏀🏀]

OP I can honestly say I would take the old reserve shooter over the new one, Having the gun loaded ahead of time is nice an all but the fire rate is trash imo.

Bought a strange panic ahead of the update expecting to get alot of use out of it but the fire rate makes it nigh unusable. I find myself losing shotgun duels to stocks often simply out of the sheer lack of fire rate. I find I get more use outta my lightning rod stock than the panic