The M2 Flamethrower is a weapon featured in Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS), Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts, Call of Duty: WWII, Call of Duty: Vanguard, as well as appearing in the Dead Ops Arcade mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops. In some games, it does not consume any ammo, but overheats, and requires the player to wait for it to cool down before firing again. It is also a Tier 1 perk in Call of Duty: World at War's multiplayer that allows a player to use an M2 Flamethrower. It is used in the same way between online and offline game modes. This perk is the last Perk to be unlocked, at level 65. If the player decides to enter Prestige Mode, it will see very little, if any, use at all.
Call of Duty: World at War
Campaign
In the single player campaign, the Flamethrower can be used by the player in the Pacific Campaign in the missions "Hard Landing", "Burn 'em Out" and "Blowtorch & Corkscrew."
In the Eastern Front campaign, flamethrowers are used by German soldiers in the missions "Vendetta", "Heart of the Reich" and "Downfall".
Multiplayer
Unlocked at Level 65, the M2 is a potent close quarters weapon. A player with a flamethrower will have a different appearance than what their primary weapon would provide, as well as a large fuel tank on their back: Rifleman model for Marine Raiders, Submachine gunner model for the Imperial Army and Machine gunner model for the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, all having a fuel tank on their back, as mentioned above. It does not do continuous damage, contrary to what one would expect from a flamethrower. It does 50 damage to the target every 0.2 seconds (it will do damage the first time it hits and is incapable of damaging the same target again for 0.2 seconds), requiring two hits to kill, five if the target is using the Fireproof perk. It can be used to clear rooms or tunnels. This weapon never runs out of fuel, it only overheats. The weapon cannot fire while it is cooling off and flashing yellow. It is very useful on smaller maps or maps with a lot of enclosed areas. It is extremely effective when combined with Juggernaut as this will allow the player to get closer even while being shot at. However, a major downside is it creates a lot of smoke and flame, effectively blocking vision. Taking out the M2 will cause the player to move at the same speed as a submachine gun or shotgun user.
This can be very useful for a sniper, as they may sometimes need a close quarters weapon and will not want to lose their second perk such as Stopping Power in order to use Overkill. However, equipping the M2 on a sniper class will cause a player to lose the Ghillie Suit they would otherwise receive, along with the camouflage benefits the suit provides.
Nazi Zombies
In Zombies, the Flamethrower can be obtained from the Mystery Box. It is received as a weapon that loses its ability to kill efficiently at round 10 on Nacht der Untoten, eight on Verrückt, six to eight on Shi No Numa, and six on Der Riese, from then on it becomes different to utilize, though in Der Riese, it can be upgraded through the Pack-a-Punch Machine. On Shi No Numa and Der Riese, it has extremely slow mobility, comparable to that of a light machine gun. It should usually be avoided after round five on solo mode, as its low damage makes it not worth keeping, on the other side, its damage increases every round, making it the only weapon that can kill well into high rounds on maps such as Nacht der Untoten. It is somewhat recommended for co-op matches although it does little damage while obscuring other players' vision. However, the fact it never runs out of ammo makes it useful if the players are camping and give the flame user support. When trying to survive at a spot in co-op, the Flamethrower can be valuable to a three to four player team as it kills and weakens zombies resulting in less ammo cost to other players. It is also great against crowds, allowing the user to deal a lot of damage to many zombies at once without wasting ammo. Also, it can be used to accumulate points by letting the zombies burn after the first burst, if the player can avoid any contact with the zombies. The Flamethrower can only be obtained by one person at a time in a single game legitimately.
The Flamethrower is exceptionally devastating when under the effects of an Insta-Kill, as its infinite ammo capacity and wide burst radius allows it to slaughter groups of zombies very quickly without consuming much ammo. In cramped corridors and tight spaces, a player with an "Insta-Kill-Flamethrower" can plow through almost anything in their way.
The Flamethrower utilizes Double Tap Root Beer slightly differently than other weapons. Instead of gaining increased rate of fire, its overall damage is increased instead, but it will also overheat faster because of that.
In Nacht der Untoten, all players can be hurt by the fire the Flamethrower leaves on the ground, making it a questionable weapon for co-op play if the players will be moving a lot. However, this particular quirk is not carried over on subsequent maps.
When Pack-a-Punched, the M2 Flamethrower becomes the F1W Nitrogen Cooled. It becomes lighter making it more mobile, it has a reduced cool-down time, and an increased time it can fire without overheating. It will also never overheat if fired in short bursts. Additionally, the Flamethrower is the only weapon that does not fire purple projectiles and emit a strange noise when fired. However, the tube that connects the tank to the weapon will glow blue, which is easier to see when aiming down the sights. It should also be noted that in its Pack-a-Punched form, repeated bursts or streams of flames will bring zombies to a considerably slow pace, allowing for players to get some distance from a large horde when needed. Also, Double Tap Root Beer allows for doubly faster cooldown time even after overheating and allowing more damage to be done.
M2 Flamethrower vs. FIW Nitrogen Cooled
| M2 Flamethrower | FIW Nitrogen Cooled | |
|---|---|---|
 |
 | |
| Damage | 30 continuous (increase of damage every round) | 45 continuous |
| Fire mode | Automatic, but overheats | Automatic, but overheats |
| Rate of fire | Infinite | Infinite |
| Magazine size | Infinite | Infinite |
| Max ammo | Infinite | Infinite |
| Reload | No reloading, but there is a cooldown time if overheated | No reloading, but there is a cooldown time if overheated |
| Mobility | Low | Medium |
| Extras | Longer overheat time, shorter cooldown time, higher damage, more mobility. |
Gallery
Call of Duty: Zombies
On the iOS version of zombies, in Nacht der Untoten, the player can get it from the Sniper Cabinet for 2000 points, but it will replace the player's current weapon. Despite this, it is a good trade as it is one of the better weapons for this version. The flamethrower is also available in the Mystery Box on all the zombies maps.
Gallery
Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS)
On the Nintendo DS version, the Flamethrower is only found in a supply drop on the second mission: "Into the Jungle". It does not have infinite ammo but instead comes with 300 seconds of fire. Unlike the console and PC versions, where one burst will take down a troop, on the DS, it does not overheat and when crouching, it has a higher damage; however enemies take time to die and can shoot as well: this makes the flamethrower a less desirable weapon. It is also not available in multiplayer. If the player melees with the M2 Flamethrower, they will hear the melee sound, but will not be able to see a melee animation.
Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts
The M2 Flamethrower is first available in the second part of Basic Training. Roebuck tells Miller to take the M2 Flamethrower after a Marine is shot when burning down a barricade to move forward. It is also available in "Typhoon of Steel". Because the weapons provided are an M1 Garand and a Thompson, the M1 is best advised to swap with the M2 Flamethrower. It proves an advantage when out of ammo because it regains fuel when not being used and its wide flame radius and damage is quite useful in close quarters. It does have its downsides though. The fact that at a certain point before overheating and letting it refuel is that it requires to overheat completely before refueling which is quite disappointing when a huge horde of enemy soldiers need to be cleared out. And the fact that the mobility is quite low and the same level as the Bazooka, sprinting is limited quite a lot when using this weapon. A rare glitch occurs where enemy soldiers only catch fire when in the center of the flame which is yet again another downside. The iron sights take more time to bring up, even slower than the Bazooka. But it is still quite a good weapon nonetheless.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
The M2 Flamethrower does not make a proper appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops as it is mostly replaced in function by the Flamethrower attachment, but does appear as a Power Up in the Dead Ops Arcade map Dead Ops Arcade.
For limited amount of time, the flamethrower can be used although firing the weapon severely reduces the amount of time. It can set multiple zombies on fire at once. Note that the flamethrower severely restricts visibility of the map where fired, more so than any other weapon.
Development
It was planned to be in Kino der Toten and "Five", but it was scrapped along with the Wunderwaffe DG-2 and the Molotov Cocktail.
Gallery
Call of Duty: WWII
Unlike previous iterations, this version has limited fuel. Refilling ammo will not work, just like the MG 42 in the campaign.
In multiplayer, it is the flamethrower used by players on the Allied Powers when they obtain through the Flamethrower scorestreak. If a player is on the Axis Powers, they will obtain a Flammenwerfer 35 instead.
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Call of Duty: Vanguard
The Flamethrower M2 returns in Call of Duty: Vanguard, where it is exclusive to the Campaign. It can be found and used in the mission Numa Numa Trail. Like its predecessor, the amount of fuel is limited.
Gallery
Trivia
Call of Duty: World at War
- When the propagating flames touch certain objects (such as wood), it will eventually cause visible damage. This can also be done to already-dead bodies of enemies who have not initially been killed by fire.
- Strangely enough, if an enemy is hit in the head with a flamethrower in single player, they will not burn to death as normal, but instead simply fall over. This might be because it is being registered as a head shot.
- On the Nintendo Wii version, even if shot in the head, they may sometimes try to pat out the fire.
- Due to the graphical limitations of the Nintendo Wii, the tube connecting the flamethrower to its fuel tanks will sometimes be disconnected from the tanks.
- The Nintendo Wii version of the flamethrower uses the Hardcore reticule.
- If the player walks up-close to an object (as close as possible) and fires the Flamethrower, no fire will appear.
- When aiming down the sights with the Flamethrower, it is possible to notice that it is not held at a straight angle; it is pointed slightly to the left.
- On the Nintendo Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War, shooting a soldier with a flamethrower anywhere in the body will result in the fuel tank exploding.
- In Call of Duty: World at War multiplayer, it is possible to survive being burned by the flamethrower. If this happens, the player's model will reflect the damage by having torn clothes and burnt skin.
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