M7057 flamethrower

"It takes a certain kind'a lunatic to use a flamethrower…"

- Anonymous E2-BAG/1/7 serviceman

Description
The M7057/DP is a standard chemical flamethrower, which projects and ignites a stream of a volatile, semi-liquid fuel. Flamethrowers are cumbersome and relatively difficult to use (psychologically as well as mechanically). It appeared in the multiplayer of Halo PC and Halo 3.

Observations
Referring to the M7057/DP as a weapon is a bit of a misnomer as the dee pea in its nomenclature indicate that it is a defoliant projector—to be used to rapidly clear away heavy foliage for in-theater construction projects and to destroy new or persistent growth from emplaced and/or hardened military assets. That having been said; despite being all but obsolete militarily its effectiveness as a psychological weapon is undeniable—unfortunately the psychological effect is a double-edged sword.

Disadvantages
Several things counterbalance the Flamethrower's high damage rate. First, it reloads slowly and is subject to overheating. Second, ammunition is often unavailable. And third, the Flamethrower can damage its own user if one walks into the trail of flame left behind by the weapon. This lets the enemy run away while stopping the user from giving chase. If used at a distance, the Flamethrower takes longer to kill an enemy and might not even damage them. Finally, the Flamethrower is very rare. There are only one or two of them per map. Moving also affects the damage put out by the flamethrower. If you move forward while firing, the flame will be more damaging, but when moving backwards, the flame does about the same as an assault rifle. Therefore, while using this weapon in combat, your movement options are limited.

Influences
The Defoliant Projector Flamethrower was inspired by a similar flamethrower from the Marathon series. The shark-like decal on it is borrowed from the game as well. In Marathon, however, it is featured on the rocket launcher. The Defoliant Projector's number, 7057, is a alpha-numeric callback to the Weapon from Marathon's name, the TOZT. There is also a high chance it was influenced by the flamethrower from the Aliens movies, as was the assault rifle.

Defoliating usage
Due to the weapon's name, it may be used as a way of clearing vegetation. A defoliant is a chemical sprayed or dusted onto plants to make there leaves fall off, and effectively kills them. The M7057 would distribute the defoliant (although it would be burning) over shrubs, bushes, and small trees that would impede a force's way, clearing a thick jungle path or burning an area where they could then set up camp, unimpeded by overgrowth. "Defoliant" may also simply refer to the fuel's effect on vegetation, but not actually describe the chemical properties of said fuel.

Multiplayer Role
Using the Flamethrower in small spaces or in groups of enemies works best, and the trail of flame blinds snipers by producing a temporary smokescreen. It is especially effective if used to retreat by running backwards away from an enemy to leave a trail of flame, deterring would-be pursuers from giving chase to a wall of fire. This weapon can also take out groups of people in vehicles, provided they are close and moving relatively slowly. Effective uses include infiltrating an enemy base and defending the flag in CTF. It is also a very good ambush weapon, as it does a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

Trivia

 * The Flamethrower's number designation,7057, can be translated from "number speak", and it means the TOST. It may be a reference to the Marathon Flame Thrower, which was named the TOZT-7, or it simply relates to the flamethrower's function, to toast things.


 * In the cutscene of the level Keyes, where the Master Chief retrieves Captain Keyes' neural implants, the Master Chief was meant to burn Keyes' skull out of the Brain Form and retrieve the implants. However the burnt skull was said to be too gruesome to put into the game, so the flamethrower was removed.


 * Those who played Halo 2's campaign should recall the comment made by an Elite ally during the mission to a Forerunner facility around Threshold: "We should have brought weapons to burn these bodies. Every one is a vessel for Flood." Recently, someone modded the Halo 3 Beta to look for bits and pieces of data. This has been removed to avoid Bungie conflict. But a number of tags were discovered. One of them being a reference to "picking up" the Flamethrower, and another as an "incinerator" medal or achievement. This lends credence to the theory that the Flamethrower may make a final appearance in Halo 3, as a normal weapon or possibly even a support weapon.