KF2 Firebug Guide: Weapons, Skills and Loadouts (v1055)

This guide, written for version 1055 of Killing Floor 2, describes the Firebug as a support perk rather than the high-DPS class it was in the first game. Its job is to control groups of ZEDs with panic from fire weapons and keep valuable teammates (Medics, Demolitionists and so on) safe. It can still work as damage with the right choices. For the perk overview see Firebug perk.

The Firebug.

Priority targets are trash ZEDs and medium ZEDs, except the Husk because of its high fire resistance. Do not meddle with Large ZEDs; let the team kill them.

Weapons

Weapon	Tier / price	Weight	Damage	Magazine / reserve
Caulk n' Burn	T1, 200	5	10 impact, 5 splash (5 s)	50 / 500
Incendiary Trench Gun	T2, 650	5	15 impact x10 pellets, 2 burn (5 s)	6 / 40
Spitfire Revolver(s)	T2, 325 (650 dual)	2 (4)	40	6 (12) / 192
Flamethrower	T3, 1100	8	21 impact, 10 splash (5 s)	100 / 600
Microwave Gun	T4, 1500	10	14 impact	100 / 500
Molotov Cocktail	40 each	-	60 impact, 10 per 0.5 s residual flames	-

• Caulk n' Burn: the starting pocket flamethrower, with very short range (about a Bloat's vomit). It staggers small ZEDs directly hit, good for keeping Crawlers and Gorefasts away from your Sharpshooters.
• Incendiary Trench Gun: adds spike damage so you can handle medium threats such as Sirens when others cannot, at the cost of magazine size and afterburn.
• Spitfire Revolver(s): works like the shotgun but as a middle ground when dual-wielded, with an incredibly high ammo reserve; good against most ZEDs except Scrakes, Fleshpounds and Husks.
• Flamethrower: the classic. Better than the Caulk n' Burn in damage, range and magazine. In good hands it controls crowds through ground fires that apply burn and panic.

The Flamethrower.

• Microwave Gun: used on Large ZEDs by microwaving their metal frames. It takes a large share of your weight limit and usually is not worthwhile.

The Microwave Gun.

• Molotov Cocktail: on contact it creates 5 residual flames that last 10 seconds, great for closing doorways and corridors or covering a teammate's escape. Use sparingly.
• Fireman's Knife: the perk's version of the starting knife; you should rarely need it if you manage ammo.
• Off-perk weapons: the Firebug has none worth using and should stick to its own guns.

XP and perk bonuses

XP comes from damage dealt with on-perk weapons, plus bonus XP for each Crawler killed with one. Bonuses:

• Perk weapon damage +0.8% per level and reload +0.8% per level.
• Resist ZED fire damage 30% + 2% per level.
• Immunity to own fire 25% + 3% per level.
• Starting ammo +10% per 5 levels.

Skills

Firebug skill choices.

• Supplies: personal preference; extra ammo helps in tight spots but costs damage. The author prefers High Capacity Fuel Tank.
• Spicy: Ground Fires beats Barbecue, since it greatly raises residual flame damage and slows ZEDs by 20%, plus a blue tint.
• Burn: Napalm over Zed Shrapnel, because shrapnel can knock down nearby ZEDs like a Fleshpound your Sharpshooter just missed; Napalm makes ZEDs that touch each other take afterburn.
• Flame: Heat Wave helps push back groups of small ZEDs to give teammates room, since only the Caulk n' Burn has low range.
• Advanced Training: Inferno further slows ZEDs so the team can focus on bigger threats.

Loadouts

• Trash Control: Flamethrower, Incendiary Trench Gun and a single Spitfire. Use the Flamethrower for general crowd control, the Trench Gun close up on medium threats, and the Spitfire for medium threats that outrange the shotgun. For teams that already have perks to handle Scrakes and Fleshpounds.
• Big Game Firebug: Microwave Gun and Caulk n' Burn, used sparingly when the team lacks tools for high-level threats. The Microwave's knockback helps control ZEDs while you focus a priority target, but it costs about 10 ammo at 1 per second of beam. Take Bring The Heat as the first skill.

Summary

A good Firebug at high levels cannot be replaced, since no other perk controls ZEDs like it. Contain trash ZEDs on the front line so teammates like the Medic stay alive. Because it hits nearly every ZED per wave, the Firebug often ends with the most dosh; spread it to keep cash-hungry perks like Gunslinger in the game.

Ammo management: you do not need to hold the mouse button. The Flamethrower and Caulk n' Burn shoot 4 ammo per click and create 4 bursts of fire, so well-timed clicks conserve ammo while layering fire on the floor.