Limber up your fast-twitch weapon-switch reflexes. Valve's dropped word that the next update for Team Fortress 2 - centering on the Pyro class - will include a new weapon called the Axtinguisher, among other things.
The Axtinguisher does half damage as a regular axe, unless the target is on fire. Then it's an automatic critical hit. So my friend Sander, who plays Pyro relentlessly, will now add "swing ax if anyone gets close" to his "backpedal and barbecue" combat strategy.
Valve didn't say when the new stuff hits, only that it's "almost completely wrapped." This latest build incorporates feedback from the April update to the Medic class. That one delivered three new unlockable weapons. However, in addition to the Axtinguisher, Valve says there will be "significant changes to the Pyro class for everyone," regardless of unlocked items, but didn't specify. So stay tuned.