KF2 Flamethrower and Caulk & Burn: How to Use Them Right

This guide from the early-access days of Killing Floor 2 is for players who see the Firebug and want to spray fire everywhere. The weapons reward a calmer style than bullet weapons.

How the weapons deal damage

• The Flamethrower and the Caulk & Burn do some impact damage, but their main damage is damage over time (DOT): ignite the zeds and let them burn.
• Both leave small pools of fire on the ground for about 2.5 seconds. The pools also deal damage on contact and ignite other zeds.
• At the time of writing the two weapons were nearly identical. The Flamethrower has longer range, more ammo and 15 more impact damage, which is little in Killing Floor.

Firing technique

• One pull of the trigger fires a burst that uses 4 ammo, makes 4 impacts and creates 4 fire pools.
• You can aim the whole burst at one zed, or sweep your aim during the burst to spread the fire over more zeds.
• Do not aim at the center of mass. Aim at the legs: you still get impact and splash damage and hit crawlers, and the pools on the ground add to your DOT.

Ammo math

• A full load of Flamethrower ammo can deal at least a maximum of about 40,000 damage.
• A full load for the Caulk & Burn can deal about 25,500.
• This assumes each 4-ammo burst hits 4 zeds and ignores ground fire pools.

If you feel these weapons run out of ammo, you are probably not using them well. In short: aim at the feet and tap the trigger.

See also Firebug Caulk & Burn tap-fire guide.