M7057 flamethrower

For the Halo Wars' flamethrower, see NA4 Flamethrower.

"It takes a real lunatic to use a flamethrower…"

- Anonymous E2-BAG/1/7 serviceman

The M7057/Defoliant Projector, more commonly known as the M7057 Flamethrower, is a UNSC heavy ground weapon.

Design Details
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 tactically employ. It originally appeared in the multiplayer of Halo PC and Halo 3. It also appeared in several Halo 3 campaign levels and one campaign level in Halo3:ODST. Referring to the M7057/DP as a weapon is a bit of a misnomer as the "DP" 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 emplacements and/or hardened military assets. It is normally used with a cart, instead of being carried.

The Halo 3 version of the M7057/DP varies slightly from its first appearance in Halo PC, being roughly two times heavier (with about twice as much fuel) with a shorter and wider nozzle (which means a shorter but wider, deadlier spray); however, both Flamethrowers, still retain the similar shark decal, despite these changes. The Flamethrower is extremely powerful in Halo 3, and can kill its target (even a Warthog) in less than three seconds before it overheats.

It is one of two Human weapons that overheat, with the other being the Spartan Laser. It has a built in failsafe system that stops the weapon firing when it reaches a certain temperature. If the weapon could be fired while overheated, it would melt or explode, and the heat and the flames would harm the user. In Halo PC, the Flamethrower overheats if used non-stop when depleting 40% of the fuel.

In Halo 3, the M7057/Defoliant Projector is in the Support Weapons category, like the Missile Pod and AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun, meaning wielders use the weapon in a third-person perspective and move at a slower movement rate, and must drop the weapon to melee and cannot use Grenades or Equipment, with the exception of Invincibility and cloaking in Campaign. This feature does not apply to Halo PC.

Advantages
In both Halo PC and Halo 3, the Flamethrower is very powerful, laying waste to any opponent in close quarters. It can be used strategically to put flame in front of entry ways as a denial of entry, or to shoot it while running backwards around a corner (giving you the ability to damage them but denying them a direct line of sight to you). However, the Halo 3 version sports a larger fuel supply, unlike its Halo PC counterpart.

The Flamethrower is one of the deadliest close combat weapons in the game, besides the Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer. The spread, stickiness, and lethality of the flame makes it nearly impossible to escape when in the hands of a skilled player. However, in rare cases, if a player walks through a Bubble Shield or a plasma shield (like on Snowbound or Epitaph), the game engine will ignore the damage and the player will survive (with low shields). The Flamethrower can also be used as a psychological weapon, as its mere appearance strikes fear into the enemy.

Disadvantages
In Halo PC, the Flamethrower's reload rate is very slow, making the player vulnerable to all sorts of attack. Additionally, the Flamethrower, along with its fuel supply, is very rare, and respawns at a very slow rate. The Flamethrower is also incapable of doing ranged attacks; therefore, while using this weapon in combat, your movement options are limited. It also flouts a powerless range ability, which can ‘‘clearly’’ be seen from afar, making you a target for snipers or sharpshooters.

In Halo 3, like with all support weapons, you cannot refuel the Flamethrower, and you move slower and cannot melee. You also cannot throw grenades or use equipment without having to drop it first. Enemies can just walk towards you in flame-clad armor, causing you to take damage. The Flamethrower is only a threat in confined space; in open spaces, it's very hard to directly harm your opponent.

Influences
The Defoliant Projector was inspired by a similar flamethrower from the Marathon series. The Defoliant Projector's number, 7057, is an alpha-numeric call-back to the weapon from Marathon's name, the TOZT which means TOST in leet speak.

The shark-like decal on it is borrowed from the WWII fighter plane model Curtis P-40, which had the tiger-shark decal, painted on it by the Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group).

Campaign Tactics
With the Flamethrower's campaign introduction in Halo 3, it has become one of the best anti-Flood weapons. The hardest type of Flood to fight, the Flood Pure Forms, will die nearly instantly, upon lighting on fire, and destroy any Infection Forms that run over the flames. Though still highly effective against Flood Combat Forms, they still live for some time while on fire, which can produce some awkward moments of avoiding their charging, flaming bodies.

A good attribute is that it can begin killing multiple combat forms at once, with the ones on fire possibly lighting other ones on fire. Once they die, their bodies are consumed by the fire and will not be able to be resurrected by Flood Infection Forms. In fact, any Infection form that runs towards the body will also be consumed by flame. It can also be used to destroy a pile of Combat Forms, so they won't come back if an Infection Form finds them.

Multiplayer Tactics
In Halo PC, it is available in every multiplayer map, but in small numbers. In Halo 3, the Flamethrower, by matchmaking default, only appears on the map, Construct.

The Flamethrower is best used in close quarters combat. The trail of flame can act as a temporary smokescreen to blind snipers with. 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, use caution because the Flamethrower's damage is reduced when running backwards. It is effective as a denial of area weapon, you can set fire to doorways or flags to discourage anyone from crossing that area, and damaging those that do (possibly even catching on fire and killing unshielded opponents).

As a Slayer weapon, it is recommended to use it to surprise people entering enclosed spaces, as it is very lethal up close. You can shoot the flames around a corner as you run backwards around a corner, and any opponents who choose to take the risk of pursuing them will be roasted by flames but unable to get a line of sight to get you themselves.

Sometimes, players even wait near some strategic points, with Active Camouflage and a Flamethrower, for example they may wait at the point at which players land after flying out of a Man Cannon and burn the helpless victims. Or sometimes they can hide at one side of a door and when a player runs out, you can burn the player to ashes.

Most types of equipment can often be used to your advantage when escaping the flames, like deploying a Radar Jammer (although it is now not available in matchmaking) to confuse the enemy if he/she can't exactly see you due to the continuous flames, and since you'll be moving about, the enemy can't exactly identify you from the "fake" red dots on his/her radar. Deploying a Power Drain will cause the wielder of the Flamethrower to cease fire temporary to avoid having their shields to be drained if smart enough, however, if the wielder continues to fire they risk being drained of shields and be prone being killed by stray weaponry fire.

UNSC Remarks

 * "Foxtrots die pretty quick once you put the fire to 'em. We oughta burn 'em all. Low-life bastards. Burn all those low-life Alien Foxtrots."
 * "Gotta get too close for it to be any use offensively — if you're gonna use it as a weapon best to use it in a defensive role—fill up passages and weak-points in your perimeter with fire."
 * "Makes short work of weeds and thickets — but I wouldn't carry one into combat. Not on your life."
 * "I can see where it would be real effective in ousting dug in troops, but you aren't gonna be making any friends using it that way."
 * "I don't see why carrying around a big can of super-flammable stuff right next to my ass is such a good idea."
 * "You know those things ship with a cart, right? You aren't expected to carry them anywhere… they are not a weapon that you use on people… not even on alien people."
 * "It takes a real lunatic to use a Flamethrower…"

Trivia

 * The Flamethrower is called M7057. If you were read it as you would leet (1337), it would read TOST. Toast.
 * Present-day flamethrowers have a range of up to one hundred meters (about 300 feet). Strangely, 540 years in the future, the range has decreased by 86%, the weight has significantly increased, and the ammunition has decreased, but it is possible that it is just for gameplay and is not as a canon element.
 * Strangely, even though UNSC remarks claim that their comrades wield the Flamethrower, you can't give it to them in game. This may be due to game-balance issues. The only time when a Marine is seen wielding one ever is at the Halo 3 level Floodgate, it is seen being used inside the factory, (the spot where your surviving Marines hold position) holding it like Master Chief. You need to be in camera mode or playing on a lower difficulty to see the Marine holding it, because he dies in a few seconds.
 * In the cutscene of the level Keyes, where the Master Chief retrieves Captain Jacob Keyes' neural implants, the Master Chief was meant to burn Keyes' skull out of the Brain Form/Proto-Gravemind and retrieve the implants. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the Flamethrower was removed. Lorraine Mclees was the one who actually had to skin the whole "burnt" skull and she added that she had done her job so well that "the skull was so gruesome no one could look at it."
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, when a Spartan wields a flamethrower, he flips back a cover to expose a button. Next to the button is the character 下 or 'xia' (meaning "down" in Chinese).
 * In Halo 3, if you go underwater in Last Resort, Valhalla or High Ground, the Flamethrower will still work underwater and be able to burn people. However the flames must have already clumped to something and spraying into the water will have absolutely no effect on Spartan or Elite players. Strangely, in Avalanche and Snowbound, if one fires at the snow it will burn as if it is ground.
 * The only level that features the Flamethrower in Halo 3: ODST is Data Hive. It is not featured in Firefight mode whatsoever.
 * In Halo 3, the Flamethrower can be used to easily achieve a Death from the Grave Medal or an Incineration Medal. If you simply hit an enemy with enough sustained fire, it will kill them. If you have already hit an enemy with the flamethrower when you die, they will die via flame damage seconds later.
 * In Halo 3, shortly after firing a flamethrower, a bright flash which comes from the flames will partially blind you.
 * The Flamethrower in Halo 3 is the only Support weapon affected by the Infinite Ammo option in Custom games, since it is also the only support weapon that cannot be detached from turrets.
 * The Flamethrower in Halo: Combat Evolved is one of the most unique weapons in the Halo trilogy; it is the only weapon that has to be reloaded and overheats. In Halo 3, however, this was changed, and the Flamethrower instead acted like a plasma weapon.