Firebug UNUSUALLY "weak"

[outofrealman]

I only use flamer and I dont use MAC-10. i found no problem to avoid burning zeds I dont want to. Cos taping my mouse will only light my target.

Unless I continously flaming, I will not light the whole group of zeds up. Because flamer just dont have the power of penetration. So I end up killing everything I need and still have around one can of fule towards the end of the wave, so I can spam for some fun when there only 30 zeds left.

 

[Undedd Jester]

Something that might help you outofrealman is dragging your aim around slightly when you go to ignite a group. The actual ignition comes from a more or less direct hit, a glancing blow will still wound the specimen but not set him on fire. This will also mean the flame carries on past the foes as well.

So if you use a burst fire of about 2 pips of fuel and drag your aim across your foes you will find that the whole load of them get ignited.

Its obviously not 100% perfect, but you can ignite mobs fairly easily using this tactic.

However the key point of the Firebug is distance. Hit and run. You need good situational awareness and need to ignite things early to really get use of your crisp effect. Once you master it however you may well find you become a bit of a beast against low and mid range specimens

 

[outofrealman]

Something that might help you outofrealman is dragging your aim around slightly when you go to ignite a group. The actual ignition comes from a more or less direct hit, a glancing blow will still wound the specimen but not set him on fire. This will also mean the flame carries on past the foes as well.

So if you use a burst fire of about 2 pips of fuel and drag your aim across your foes you will find that the whole load of them get ignited.

Its obviously not 100% perfect, but you can ignite mobs fairly easily using this tactic.

However the key point of the Firebug is distance. Hit and run. You need good situational awareness and need to ignite things early to really get use of your crisp effect. Once you master it however you may well find you become a bit of a beast against low and mid range specimens

I fell no problem at all to light only the zeds I need and want. Unless I'm pretty much on my own, decent teamates save me much trouble no matter what perk I use. I can keep crawlers and clots 10 feet from the team 95% of the time when I play firebug, cos I dont need to pay any attention to gorefasts and bloats. That's what a good team works.

When no crawlers and clots will get close, while sirens are the common target for most perks, it is no way the sharpshotoer or berserker miss the head of scrakes, because if i paly fire bug, I will be the one husks will be shotting. (again, if you want decent team work, no public should be joined)

However, seems most teams requires firebug to take down small to medium zeds, so I may try to use more firebug on public servers to see how that works.

 

[masteriamamind]

Sorry I have been away for a bit. what I meant by my original post is:Has the DOT damage be reduced for the flamer.

I want to go on record and say I know how to play KF.

1.I am not asking for a buff.
2.I am not complaining about "nerfs" .

I am asking a group of peers to validate my observations about the flame thrower (also pump shotgun) or tell me I am wrong. I was going to post in the tech support forum,but this isn't a proper issue to address there. Not being a troll just want to get some feed back. I should ask scary ghost since he is the code master here! (yoyo 2)

 

[drfeelgoodmd]

I feel the issue is what was stated earlier the firebug isn't weak the firebug is misused more often than he is used properly. The way the firebug should be used really depends on the map you are on, the difficulty you are on, and the who your other team mates are. I use Firebug 100% of the time on Hard for the first 3 waves no matter what map I'm on. After that it depends on the map and our team strategy. I always use it for the first few waves because I know what I'm doing as Level 6 and I earn a ton of cash the first few waves for damage and kills without having to spend hardly a dime until Wave 4.

On a map like Icebreaker I will stay as a firebug the first 10 rounds if I have a good quality team and we play on that one Upper deck about mid length of the boat. I get on the far right and just snipe everything going up the super long ladder with my Mac 10. Most things will not make it to my team's shooting range and when it does everything is weakened or dead. For a skrake I do 3 single shots. One for the initial burn and then when it wears off I fire again, and repeat one last time. This will not piss him off when done properly. It will slow him down and allow my teammate (ie support) for an easy kill. For a FP I will use one shot. More than that and you are risking pissing him off and making hell for your team.

 

[masteriamamind]

I feel the issue is what was stated earlier the firebug isn't weak the firebug is misused more often than he is used properly.

This is not about usage , its about numbers. I have been playing on my clan server (NETSKY) and haven't played retail in about 2 months. Going back to pubs, I felt the damage value for the flamethrower was weaker than before. That's lvl6 6man hard. This is about numbers not tactics. Tripwire sometimes slips in changes without announcements. It could be my imagination. That's why I am asking veteran players.

 

[Nanostrike]

The MAC10 has kinda made Firebugs ignore some alternative gear that they largely need. The Katana, IMO, is almost more useful than the MAC10 because it's always "Loaded" and does enough damage to finish off burning Zeds (Usually Gorefasts) that close in on you. The MAC10 can do that, but has a nasty habit of emptying it's clip JUST when you need it.

And those that do use the MAC10 make the same mistake newbies do with the SCAR and keep it on Full Auto instead of using Semi-Auto. The MAC10 on Full Auto will be out of ammo before you know it...

 

[_Duke_]

Well, TWI did say the weakened the DoT of the Mac-10, but you're asking about the Flamethrower. (Although I have no idea why they just wouldn't shorten the duration of the burn, rather than the burn damage... seems confusing to have two different burn values and you can't tell the difference visually)

Anyways, I know how you feel, and yeah on the higher difficulties: burn just doesn't cut the mustard. Yes, if your teammates are highly disciplined they will allow time for your burn to work, but it's probably much easier to play something else.

 

[rckrdude]

The MAC10 has kinda made Firebugs ignore some alternative gear that they largely need. The Katana, IMO, is almost more useful than the MAC10 because it's always "Loaded" and does enough damage to finish off burning Zeds (Usually Gorefasts) that close in on you. The MAC10 can do that, but has a nasty habit of emptying it's clip JUST when you need it.

And those that do use the MAC10 make the same mistake newbies do with the SCAR and keep it on Full Auto instead of using Semi-Auto. The MAC10 on Full Auto will be out of ammo before you know it...

SCAR and Mac-10 on semi-auto is a bad idea on harder difficulties. You will take hits from anything above a bloat, because one or two headshots aren't enough to kill them. Switching fire-rate is a luxury you cannot afford when there are 2 sirens and a husk in your face. If you're tapping the mouse and not holding it down, you will have more than enough ammo to get through the wave. In fact, I don't remember the last time I ran out of ammo as a commando and I never use semi-auto. There are times when its better to use the Mac-10 on semi-auto though.

 

[Rainydaykid]

Firebug seems fine, I always felt like gorefasts took a good amount of fire to take down so it didn't seem that different.

I don't think I've taken down a husk in one pump shotgun shot before...one shell from the hunting shotgun on a 6 man hard game should take him down.

One barrel from the hunty will kill a husk on HoE with a point blank headshot. I have done it many times, not sure about pump.

I have always viewed FB as a force multiplier. As a commando, I can use the bullpup on burning crowds, and it is much more powerful. The FB extends the team's weapons.