TF2: How to use the detonator

The detonator, as most of you know, is a secondary for pyro, it's less used than more popular alternatives, like the flare gun or reserve shooter, but it's quite versatile.

Stats

The detonator is a secondary weapon for pyro, it's similar to the flare gun.


Shot type Projectile
Damage type Fire and bullet
Ranged or Melee damage? Ranged
Base damage 23 dmg
Flare detonation 11-25 dmg
Critical 69 dmg
Mini-crit 30 dmg
Afterburn 60 total dmg
Afterburn (mini-crit) 80 total dmg
Maximum splash range 6.88 ft/110 hu
Self damage (rocket jump) 33-38
Attack interval 2 s
Afterburn duration 10 s

TL;DR: 100% mini-crits on burning players
-25% damage penalty
+50% damage to self
Alt-fire: detonate flare
This weapon will reload automatically when not active.

Uses

The detonator may lack the high damage of the flare gun or reserve shooter, but it has many uses:

1. Thanks to the detonate function, the detonator can hit enemies behind cover.
   
2. The detonator is much better at long-range spy checking than the flare gun as it is harder to dodge.
   
3. The detonator can remove large groups of sticky-bombs with one detonation, it can even remove them round corners.
   
4. Last, but not least, comes detonator jumping, combining it with the Backburner can be devastating on certain maps where flank routes are otherwise not accessible.

Detonator jumping

As the pyro is such a short range class, getting up close and personal with your ennemies is extremely important, detonator jumping is a great way to close the distance between you and your ennemies. It can also be used to get into some ridiculous spots to get behind the ennemy.




If you are looking to do more difficult jumps, you may need to use self-detonation, a technique in which you hold right click before firing to detonate the flares as soon as they come out of the barrel. Doing this will take away more hp than a normal jump (39-42) but is more powerful:
By running to the right and looking down before firing, you will go 20hu higher than a normal jump.
You can fire behind yourself to get launched lower and farther than a normal jump. I pretty much always use self-detonation, as the 5 damage more is worth the extra distance.

For more detail, watch the entire video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgSdBW9njK0

Detonator jumping can also be used in combat:
-catching up to ennemies who are running away from you
-dodging projectiles
-returning to your team when in danger
-positioning in general
- and this:

When to use it

The detonator deals less damage than all other pyro secondaries. It's a direct downgrade to the scorch shot if you dont jump or airshot, so it should only be used if there are alot of flank routes that are only acessible by jumping with it, or if you can easily jump mid-combat with it.

Practicing

The detonator is much more difficult to learn and to use than the scorch shot or flare gun, practicing is very important.

Here is a config that is very useful for timing the detonations. (the whole channel is focused on detonator/powerjack jumps)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e0vWfzh0UU
Jump map: http://tf2rj.com/forum/index.php?topic=430.0 (tips: think outside of the box; you'll need self detonation)
https://www.youtube.com/user/sketchek (R.I.P)
https://www.youtube.com/user/VorobeyGaming

Do you not have a detonator? https://scrap.tf/

[daliymonster412]

thanks man you the best one of my favs to use to annoy the enemy team they are never on full btw

[CasualWorks]

I just realized that The Detonator deals 69 damage with crits. Nice.

[Duwutch]

Nice guide! really helped me ( i made the entire enemy team mad because of one epic detonator detonation, and i got accused of wallhacking). Also the detonator is great against heavy med combos, because you can hit both with it

[Mattt]

@NewTurtleBread3 Senpai III Thanks, It's my first one. Detonator jumping got a big buff during gun mettle, self detonation is even better than what I wrote in the guide, i'll edit it later, but you can jump higher than a normal jump by aiming at the right place. On places like upward last the detonator is op, you can get anywhere and surprise a lot of players. I stopped using degreaser + detonator after tough break, because of the axtinguisher nerf.

[Fumo Bnnuy n Friends]

good guide
but as is the scorch shot is better
even if you can't flare jump as much
you can just enough to get to hard to reach spots

they really need to buff the dedonator or nerf the flare jumping/remove it from the scorch shot