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With the Chargin' Targe or the Splendid Screen the Demoman can charge causing a variety of effects, but mostly propelling the Demoman forward.
Chargin' Targe Splendid Screen

Recently while playing Hightower I charged a Pyro while being air juggled with successive back blasts. Usually the charge is a good way to escape an air juggle, but I seemed to get caught by another back blast before I could escape the juggle.

So that makes me wonder, can the Demoman's charge be back blasted by a Pyro?

Also, does it matter whether the Demoman is already airborne?

Can the entire charge be back blasted, from start to finish?

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    The charge is longer than the airblast activation time, but I suppose a charging demoman doesn't travel faster than a rocket or a pipe. That said, rockets don't have melee attacks, so the window of opportunity to be airblasted is probably very small - but still it's definitely there.
    – badp
    Jan 20, 2014 at 0:40
  • @badp Maybe if I had charged away or laterally from the pyro, I could have escaped because I would have left the back blast volume sooner. But I still wonder if the entire charge can be cancelled at anytime? I guess the answer is leaning yes.
    – Mark Rogers
    Jan 20, 2014 at 0:58
  • I don't think the charge is cancelled, but the distance you get knocked back feels about the same distance as the charge. In my experience if I get knocked back during a charge, I may as well have not charged.
    – Son of a Sailor
    Jan 20, 2014 at 8:06

1 Answer 1

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If a pyro airblasts you mid-charge, you are knocked back exactly like any other class. Your charge bar however instantly stops draining and begins filling again, which is unique because under any other circumstance your charge bar is always fully depleted.

A partially drained charge bar means you can begin another charge MUCH sooner than usual. If you just start to charge a pyro and they airblast you, you can almost immediately charge again. If a pyro is attempting to airblast you off a cliff (such as the one on hightower), you can actually spam the charge button and sometimes charge over them unscathed. This is much more effective with the Persian Persuader, as it doubles your charge recharge rate.

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  • A partially drained charge bar also means you have no real means to combat a pyro. It's annoying, because pyro has the upper hand (airblast, on both charge/projectiles), and the demoman has only a few options if running with a shield.
    – childe
    Jan 21, 2014 at 1:38
  • @Retrosaur It's not annoying, just a fact of life. Shield demos and pyros should mostly avoid direct confrontations with each other because neither can kill the other very effectively. The demo should always have the option of grenades though.
    – jw013
    Jan 21, 2014 at 14:51
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    @jw013 A pyro with a shotgun can easily destroy shield demos
    – childe
    Jan 21, 2014 at 19:22

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