playing as firebug: am i really helping the team?

[crashmatusow]

am i really helping my team by playing firebug? i mean actually pulling my weight, like...just...whatever.

preface: i am only a level 3 firebug that usually plays on normal.

lets start with burning zeds/DOT-it seems worthless. in order to make your ammo last through later waves but....little problem here...i often find myself without room to let them burn. also spraying makes zeds hard to see. if i don't have room to let them burn, i have to hose them down, again going back to running out of ammo.

in almost every game i've played(not just kf), average spike damage>>>high DOT over a long period of time.

about the only thing he seems good at is panic situations, but i have to wonder if those would happen less if i were playing commando or support.

 

[masteriamamind]

Firebug is a quirky class to play especially at low levels. Helping out in panic situations IS your job. Firebugs are a wall of death to all be the most hardy of freaks. Use your Mac10 (semi auto unless you need a spike)to pepper the crowd and your Flame Thrower to turn the tide. In greater difficulties you will make the difference between your team wiping and recovering from panics. In order to reach your full potential as a firebug you must work on leveling it. No other class in the game evolves like the firebug. The difference between level 3 and 6 firebug is more than damage. More tactics will be available to you. There is a old guide in the forums in the tactics section just for your class. Add in the new versatility with the mac10 you will never run out of ammo. Keep at it Crash! By the time you move on to suicidal or HOE you will be ready. Give em hell:IS2:

 

[Vintage]

Firebug is the one class I want standing next to me when we're completely surrounded and overwhelmed. Throw a few flame grenades at your feet (you're immune to them) to clear zeds that are directly on top of you and your teammates and then hold down that hose and douse everything in flame.

As you reach higher levels and your Flamethrower begins to kill zeds faster you will appreciate him more. And for the love of God don't forget about your incendiary grenades. They are so good.

 

[sverek]

Firebug is most useful class to wipe zeds up to siren.

You are helping your team:
1) you lowering hp of zeds, that makes it easier for your teammates to finish them.
2) you wipe all small zeds, allowing team to concentrate on bigger zeds.

I am level 5 firebug, and I am getting most kills on HoE servers.

Things to look out when you playing firebug:
1) Control your sprays, no need to spend more than 5 ammo on single zed
2) DO NOT set scrakes or FP on fire, it will cause more problems.
3) If there permanent camping point, buy as much flamethrowers as possible and just pick another firethrower as you low on ammo.

When using MAC, always set to semi-auto mod. 1 shot = 1 zed on fire. Safe flamethrower when there lots of zeds being bottlenecked.

 

[Benjamin]

Question is, what does it do that the support specialist can't do better with its more numerous grenades and powerful shotguns that don't rely on DoT?

 

[Surkov]

Question is, what does it do that the support specialist can't do better with its more numerous grenades and powerful shotguns that don't rely on DoT?

Slows down specimens.

 

[Vintage]

Support can't throw grenades at its feet or if his teammates are blocking him, which always occurs when your line is breached. He also has long reloads, whereas the Firebug has a fairly quick reload after a very long duration of fire. Firebug is better at sustained fire and killing smaller creatures, and clearing zeds are on top of you and your teammates.

A support trying to do what a firebug does will run out of ammo long before the wave is over.

 

[Pika-Cthulhu]

Support can't throw grenades at its feet or if his teammates are blocking him, which always occurs when your line is breached. He also has long reloads, whereas the Firebug has a fairly quick reload after a very long duration of fire. Firebug is better at sustained fire and killing smaller creatures, and clearing zeds are on top of you and your teammates.

A support trying to do what a firebug does will run out of ammo long before the wave is over.

Not only that, but a FB can send flame out further and apply his DoT on them from longer range than a support can paste them all (econimically I may add) by allowing them to close in. Ammo can be a major issue for Support, not so much for a FB that can tap bursts of flame/semi-auto Mac-10.

 

[Undedd Jester]

Question is, what does it do that the support specialist can't do better with its more numerous grenades and powerful shotguns that don't rely on DoT?

Makes it so said support player isn't caught reloading when the real crunch hits.

The main advantage of the Firebug is the ability to continually kill specimens while rarely having to let up. A Firebug and a Support specialist for example can stand together very well because the Firebug keeps the smaller zeds under pressure and dieing slowly, while the support can chip in when needed to expend maybe 1 shot to take out a group of zeds instead of 2 or 3.

Why is this better than 2 supports? The support players hit hard, which means they will overkill anything lower than a gorefast. 2 supports will typically shoot at the same things, where 1 is enough. This means that without good communication both are reloading at the same time, and making unneccesary shots all of the time.

Overall the Firebug just makes other classes more efficient.

 

[Freshmeat]

I think that support is a better class, but the balance is pretty good overall. So if you like the flames, by all means continue as a firebug.

I cannot add to what others have said about tactics, but I tend to use the FT at pretty long ranges with arched shots.

 

[Dolphin Buff Man]

There are also some postions that you can fire through, cages, mesh fences and the like that get really good when they are welded and you have a flame on them, as they freak out and can't do any damage to the team. You also need to only do small blasts because they are stuck behind the welded cage/mesh fence and this means that most of the zeds caught behind it wont be able to attack the door as they will be blocked by the zeds in front.

And as people have said, level 6 Firebug is insane, it's psossibly the most overkill on anything lower than Hard. You cna just hold down the trigger and everything dies before you, careful though, as this is not a good habit for later difficulties

 

[djsatane]

If I recall flame fired by firebug can also explode LAW rockets in flight early

 

[9_6]

At least for me, you'd make the game slightly lag if you would constantly spam fire into my view so no, that wouldn't help.

 

[noupperlobeman]

am i really helping my team by playing firebug? i mean actually pulling my weight, like...just...whatever.

preface: i am only a level 3 firebug that usually plays on normal.

lets start with burning zeds/DOT-it seems worthless. in order to make your ammo last through later waves but....little problem here...i often find myself without room to let them burn. also spraying makes zeds hard to see. if i don't have room to let them burn, i have to hose them down, again going back to running out of ammo.

in almost every game i've played(not just kf), average spike damage>>>high DOT over a long period of time.

about the only thing he seems good at is panic situations, but i have to wonder if those would happen less if i were playing commando or support.

The most important rule for firebugs:

Never flame the big zeds, unless you absolutely have to. Big zeds = Scrake and fp. Focus on the trash zeds.

Anything else is just gravy. Stick to your job and kill the little stuff and you will be useful.

There is one thing that the firebug can do that outperforms any perk: Plow the road. If your team is getting choked up against the wall, the firebug can cut a swath through group or down a hallway to safety. Nothing is more satisfying.

-

 

[Benjamin]

Support can't throw grenades at its feet or if his teammates are blocking him, which always occurs when your line is breached. He also has long reloads, whereas the Firebug has a fairly quick reload after a very long duration of fire. Firebug is better at sustained fire and killing smaller creatures, and clearing zeds are on top of you and your teammates.

A support trying to do what a firebug does will run out of ammo long before the wave is over.

True, but for supporting another team member in this situation it'd probably be much better to just be a demo and spam the M32 at the person in trouble, since a full 'clip' will kill just about everything around the person in question.

@Undedd Jester: Good points.

 

[O-cactus]

IMO firebugs should always be in the front of the squad so that they can take any of the husk's fireballs

 

[sverek]

IMO firebugs should always be in the front of the squad so that they can take any of the husk's fireballs

True, and I think firebug is playing kinda filter role. It fries little zed, but let big zeds pass.

 

[Steeps]

I know I

 

[nutterbutter]

IMO firebugs should always be in the front of the squad so that they can take any of the husk's fireballs

Personally, I think the firebug should be in the back because his shots can't be blocked.

Firebug guide http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/showthread.php?t=43503

 

[sverek]

Personally, I think the firebug should be in the back because his shots can't be blocked.

Firebug guide [url]http://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/showthread.php?t=43503[/URL]

I have feeling it gonna blind teammates with passing fire, at least in my experience.