Hey, here's a crazy thought: How about we actually INCREASE the Firebug's damage output when he gets nerfed? Sounds paradoxical, but I think it's doable. Perhaps these changes would be preferable?
Caulk n' Burn
Base damage increased to 17 (was 10)
Max ammo decreased to 50+250
Spitfire/Dual Spitfire
(Hidden) At Level 15, the Firebug will gain Tactical Reload specifically for the Spitfire, along with a 10% reload speed penalty This penalty is to stack with the passive reload speed bonus. Honestly, the main thing that kills the spitfire for me is the lack of elite reloading. (Elite reload + 10% reload speed penalty would still be faster than the standard spitfire reload animation)
Flamethrower
Base damage increased to 30 (was 18)
Max Ammo reduced to 100+300
Microwave Gun
Base damage increased to 30 (was 16)
Max Ammo reduced to 100+300
Airblast knockback increased by 100% (should be able to avoid fleshpound hits completely now)
Fire Damage type
Bloat: Damage increased to 1.75. (Was 1)
Wasn't the Bloat originally vulnerable to fire to make up for the Firebug's inability to headshot him? I think this should be brought back, albeit to a lesser scale
Scrake: 0.45 (Was 0.3)
Probably best to still keep the Scrake as a flame retardant enemy. In higher difficulties, the Scrake can spawn pretty early on, which can force an ill-equipped team to rely on focus fire tactics rather than proper takedown methods seen in later waves.
Quarter Pound: 0.5 (Was 0.37)
See above note.
Microwave Damage type
Clot variants: 0.5 (was 0.25)
Rioter: 2 (was 0.25)
Crawler: 0.75 (was 0.2)
This is mostly to help the Firebug adhere to his "Killing Crawlers and bloats with perk weapons" leveling requirement
Stalker: 0.7 (was 0.2)
I think this makes a fair degree of sense since the cloaking device is probably a metal object, even if we don't see it.
Bloat: 1 (was 0.8)
Caulk n' Burn
Base damage increased to 17 (was 10)
Max ammo decreased to 50+250
Spitfire/Dual Spitfire
(Hidden) At Level 15, the Firebug will gain Tactical Reload specifically for the Spitfire, along with a 10% reload speed penalty This penalty is to stack with the passive reload speed bonus. Honestly, the main thing that kills the spitfire for me is the lack of elite reloading. (Elite reload + 10% reload speed penalty would still be faster than the standard spitfire reload animation)
Flamethrower
Base damage increased to 30 (was 18)
Max Ammo reduced to 100+300
Microwave Gun
Base damage increased to 30 (was 16)
Max Ammo reduced to 100+300
Airblast knockback increased by 100% (should be able to avoid fleshpound hits completely now)
Fire Damage type
Bloat: Damage increased to 1.75. (Was 1)
Wasn't the Bloat originally vulnerable to fire to make up for the Firebug's inability to headshot him? I think this should be brought back, albeit to a lesser scale
Scrake: 0.45 (Was 0.3)
Probably best to still keep the Scrake as a flame retardant enemy. In higher difficulties, the Scrake can spawn pretty early on, which can force an ill-equipped team to rely on focus fire tactics rather than proper takedown methods seen in later waves.
Quarter Pound: 0.5 (Was 0.37)
See above note.
Microwave Damage type
Clot variants: 0.5 (was 0.25)
Rioter: 2 (was 0.25)
Crawler: 0.75 (was 0.2)
This is mostly to help the Firebug adhere to his "Killing Crawlers and bloats with perk weapons" leveling requirement
Stalker: 0.7 (was 0.2)
I think this makes a fair degree of sense since the cloaking device is probably a metal object, even if we don't see it.
Bloat: 1 (was 0.8)