Is The Manmelter underated?

[The Pilot Observer]

I'm just gonna post some hated weapons and ask if there underrated so this isn't me saying I like nor hate them.

[her eminence]

I think there's just way better flare alternatives for all circumstances.

[DarkCrystalMethod]

A nice accurate shot from far away for pyro... and always a crit if you absorb an allies fire. Whats not to love?

[Uscari]

I love the concept of the Manmelter, love the firing sound, love the look of the gun, but it's not underrated.

Extinguishing allies as a way of getting crits is a lot less consistent as a form of getting damage out than abusing splash flares for DoT against multiple targets or hitting burning targets directly.

Pyro's secondary is critical to his self defense because his flamethrower is the most range limited weapon in the game other than melees.

The Manmelter simply doesn't put out the damage to be a proper deterrent against mobile, powerful combat classes that bully any Pyro not prepared to fend them off. Unlike the Detonator or Scorch shot, the Manmelter provides no mobility or knockback to offset this disadvantage, and it's harder to hit with than either of those weapons.

The crits are nice, but too rare to compete with the general utility of other flares. It also saves flamethrower ammo, but you already have plenty of ammo to extinguish just using your flamethrower.

The manmelter needs a rework that makes it less dependent on the extinguish ability to put out damage, but still behaves like a flare that synergizes well with the Phlogistinator.

I've talked about adding a charge mechanic similar to the huntsman that makes this weapon deal up to 60 damage and slows down a target slightly, with extinguishing making your shots minicrit. You could still fire at 30dmg every 2 seconds but if you delay your shot and prepare ahead of time, you can be somewhat more threatening to combat classes attempting to route you.

[GladiatorDragon]

It isn't terrible, but there are alternatives that are generally more useful. Detonator/Jetpack for flank-style Pyros, Scorch Shot for long-range harassment, Flare Gun for combos, Shotgun for reliable backup fire, Reserve Shooter for... something, and the Panic Attack for... something. It makes sense that the Manmelter would not be used much, as it's good, but not as useful as other options. The crits rely upon there being a pyro (or other source of afterburn like Cow Mangler or Hou Long Heater) on the other team that is decent enough to light people on fire, but bad enough to not finish them off (or just spamming flares).

[HoBoMiKe]

i hate trying to use it, but that doesn't make it a bad weapon

[rad_knight]

No, it’s not.
The only real upside is the crits if you extinguish somone with it(which you won’t do since 20 health is much more usefull) the high projectile speed that no one needs. It does also have infinite ammo, but I’ve literally never run out of flare ammo ever, so I don’t see that as usefull

[CamoJakIV]

The Manmelter is...ok. I mean, extinguishing teammates to get crit shots is kind of cool, and it's a decent secondary if you have Phlog so you can retain some team support element. However, to get the most use of of the weapon, it relies on the enemy team having Pyros, Soldiers having the Cow Mangler, and/or a Heavies with the Huo Long Heater. Without any opponents to inflict afterburn on your teammates, you're left with an inferior flare gun, and would be better off using the actual Flare Gun at that point.

[Random™?]

manmelter is good if you know WHEN to use it