first step to any pyro's life besides learning movement and learning how to set everyone on fire as a mumbling maniac is how to..

PRESS MOUSE 2

if you already know how to do this or you have more than 15 minutes on the class you know pyro has an alt fire used to push people around. BUT THATS NOT ALL IT DO!

with the correct timing you can airblast projectiles like grenades, high speed caberknights, scout's ass, sentry rockets, huntsman arrows, and ofcourse, ROCKETS.

if you know how to press mouse2, YIPEE! You're a third of the way there!!

so the second step is timing. if they're using the direct hit, be fast and quick, so you dont get obliterated. it's very fast, and landing a reflect will make it go even faster, stacking the minicrits, its usually a 1 hit to 2 hit kill if you reflect multiple rockets. each rocket launcher excluding the original and the black box have unique speeds of rocket, so the muscle memory needed is a lot, but that comes with practice.

keep in mind, if you reflect a rocket, it will go where your crosshair is pointed, so you could reflect it back AT the soldier...
OR... AT HIS TEAM! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHH!!

just practice airblasting, and if he pulls out a shotgun (if he's smart enough to switch to one instead of using boots or a banner), keep in mind you have a primary fire, a secondary, and a melee. plenty of options to dispatch the lead poisoned lugnut of a human.

simple. any one of them (besides dragons fury) that has airblast capability. phlog is not good for doing this because the users of it are stinky, and also the weapon has no airblast, so the people who mainly use it cannot develop critical pyro skills or just want to use it to attempt a push through enemy controlled areas.

degreaser is good for airblasting then popping a combo. Also good for quick switching between weapons so you don’t get caught with your pants down holding a secondary. decent damage, 8 airblasts, and lingering flames make it a really good weapon for hyper aggressive attacks and countering soldiers.

backburner is better for flanking, but you can still airblast up to 4 rockets before you have no ammo. not as good, but still useable but better for flanking and ambushing.

Stock/stock reskin is a good all rounder for countering soldiers. 10 airblasts makes you a god, and you can deal with spam quite well. you can also combo quite nicely with it, so you can airblast a few rockets around then pop em with a flare or shotgun. Though it’s slower to switch between weapons than degreaser.

and it's as easy as that! thank you for reading my guide. if you are here to yell and harass me or others for playing pyro, please keep your mouths shut and you can go quietly off yourselves. as for the rest of the pyros who actually want to improve, congrats you did it. you are now a menacing threat to any and all star spangled idiots on the enemy team.

Anyhoo, here are some loadouts I reccomend for pyro in general, and countering soldiers:

Stock + Panic Attack + Axetinguisher - good for high damage combos and finishing off low HP enemies.

Degreaser + Panic Attack/stock + Axetinguisher - good for high damage combos and finishing off low HP enemies. Also good for being able to switch back to your flamethrower to safe yourself if a rocket is flying at you, so you’re less likely to get killed when you pull a secondary

Stock/degreaser + stock shotgun + homewrecker - good for helping engineers and stuff. stock shotgun can be exchanged for any flaregun type weapon too, if ya want.

backburner + detonator + backscratcher/powerjack - good for survivability and flanking. sneak up on those maggots in disguise and burn them to death, just hope they don't have more than 4 rockets.

if none of these work, try experimenting. find something that works for you. I cant boss you around on how to play pyro, just don't cheat, don't be a ♥♥♥♥, and have fun being a menace to any and all rocket slinging dum-dums!

see you on the battlefield!