A render of the weapon
The Third Degree is a melee weapon for the Pyro. It is a team-colored retro-futuristic Fire Axe with a white-hot coil in lieu of a sharpened edge. The Third Degree is a direct upgrade to the stock Fire Axe, as it has absolutely no downside and can hit all enemies connected by healing beams done only by Medics. As long as there is a healing line touching someone, all of the healed/healing players will be damaged, even if several Medics and players are chained together, all players will still be damaged. If this is the only other Pyro melee weapon in a backpack, use it as it is a direct upgrade and can kill most Medic buddies and Medics in 3-4 hits, and a little burn if needed. This has random critical hits, and as melee critical hit chance by default is very high, it is often worth it to try melee in a group of Medics. Unfortunately, while being a direct upgrade it is often considered overshadowed by other melee weapons, such as the Axtinguisher dealing usually 100% crits on flaming enemies (195 damage always), compared to the unsure chance of the Third Degree, or it sacrifices utility from weapons like the Homewrecker Sapper-breaking/Sentry destroying.