The Flamethrower is a weapon that has appeared in every Grand Theft Auto game from Grand Theft Auto to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, as well as reappearing in the stand-alone HD Universe game, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
The Flamethrower was originally intended to appear in Grand Theft Auto IV, but was removed for unknown reasons. There is a text entry for a Flamethrower in the files, but it lacks any sort of data values.[1]
Description[]
Much as its name says, the Flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire. In all of its appearances, the Flamethrower can be easily identified by its large fuel tank, a large barrel and a small rod which contains the small flame. It is classified as a Heavy Weapon in all its appearances.
Design[]
2D Universe[]
The Flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto appears to have a more traditional appearance, having a shotgun-like design with the flame and the fuel tank on it. In the Grand Theft Auto: London expansions, the weapon is much more traditional, with a single barrel that contains the fuel tank on the back and feeds the weapon via a hose that ends next to the flame.
In Grand Theft Auto 2, the Flamethrower assumes a retro-futuristic appearance, having a much lower profile than in its previous appearances. With the fuel tank mounted horizontally and next to the weapon's barrel, the weapon again takes a shotgun-like appearance. There is also a vehicle version of this weapon, the Vehicle Flamethrower.
3D Universe[]
The Grand Theft Auto III rendition of the flamethrower is not based on a particular real flamethrower and adopts a rifle-like design, even though the muzzle resembles that of the US Army M2 flamethrower.
The renditions after GTA III are not based on any known flamethrower design either, so it is assumed that they are homemade flamethrowers, based on their fuel tanks and triggers. However, their heatshield and a part of their barrel appear to have been based on those of the Browning M2HB machine gun.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars[]
The Flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars regains its shotgun-like appearance as in the 2D Universe. Based on the HUD icon, the fuel tank is now mounted on a side.
Performance[]
2D Universe[]
The flamethrower can do damage over a large area. Any vehicles or pedestrians will be instantly set on fire within range. Most pedestrians usually die when lit on fire and only the healthiest car will survive the fire.
3D Universe[]
Again, the Flamethrower is deadly for pedestrians and can set vehicles aflame. Fire can be put out by the fire hose on a Firetruck or, in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with a Fire Extinguisher. Special vehicles that are fireproofed will be immune from damage from the flamethrower.
In GTA San Andreas only, the flames can be created on the ground and can spread, making the fire extremely hard to put out if one is started with the flamethrower, even if only one little flame was made to start out with. The flames on the ground will not affect pedestrians but can affect vehicles and the player. If a pedestrian catches on fire, the pedestrian will usually scream in agony and run wildly until his or her death.
It is one of the two only weapons that can destroy a Rhino, the other being the Molotov Cocktail.
3D Universe Overview[]
| Damage | Fire Rate [?][?]In the files, each value equals a millisecond | Range (m / ft) |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 (GTA Vice City) | 100 (GTA Vice City) | 5.1 / 16.7 (GTA Vice City) | 500 (GTA Vice City) | N/A | 100 (GTA Vice City) |
| N/A | 180 RPM (GTA III, Vice City, Liberty City Stories & Vice City Stories)
240 RPM (San Andreas) |
Cannot be determined | 50 (single propane tank) | Tank colocation | N/A |
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars[]
The Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars rendition is not very different from its predecessors, able to take out enemies on foot and set vehicles aflame. The flamethrower can kill targets in seconds, but has a limited range.
Its usage against Rhinos should be avoided, as the Military would make full use of the vehicle.
Image Gallery[]
In-game model[]
The Player using the flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto.
Claude Speed using a flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto 2.
Mike using a Flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto Advance.
Tommy Vercetti using a Flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Toni Cipriani holding a Flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
Huang Lee using a flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
Claude using a Flamethrower in Grand Theft Auto III - The Definitive Edition.
HUD icon[]
Grand Theft Auto III, PlayStation 2 version.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Locations[]
The Flamethrower is rather uncommon and thus, hard to find in the game. However, missions and side-missions are the easiest ways to acquire one.
Grand Theft Auto 2[]
- A Fire Truck is equipped with the flamethrower in the mission Fire Truck Fun!.
- Appears as a Crusher reward for the following vehicles in specific districts:
- Beamer in Downtown.
- Trance AM in Residential.
- Minx in Industrial.
Downtown District[]
- Avalon, Downtown District – Ledge north of the Avalon police station, accessible with a stunt jump.
- Avalon, Downtown District – Church east of the Shiroto car shop.
- Altamount, Downtown District – Courtyard south of the cathedral.
- Flotsam, Downtown District – Behind some crates at the east section of Flotsam docks.
- Sunnyside, Downtown District – Right set of stairs at the Loonies' garage two blocks north of the Fruitbat car shop.
- Funabashi, Downtown District – Inside the yen-shaped building east of the Funabashi car shop.
- Ukita, Downtown District – Southwest corner of the Downtown District, west end of Ukita.
- Omnitron, Downtown District – Hidden courtyard, accessible jumping from a courtyard at the southeast corner of the Zaibatsu HQ.
Residential District[]
- Belmont, Residential District – Alley east of the Belmont car shop.
- Largo, Residential District – Warehouses at the south side of the southernmost street of the Residential Street, a bit west of the Scientist Research Center.
- The Village, Residential District – Z-shaped platform in the middle of the Zaibatsu Village, near the red phone.
- Used by Scientists gang members with five negative respect bars.
Industrial District[]
- Tedium, Industrial District – Last street towards west before entering Mad Island; around the area with a container on its end, the boxes at the south side.
- Vedic Temple, Narayana, Industrial District – Stone platform northwest of Heavenly Radio, near the red phone.
- Narayana, Industrial District – West of the conveyor belt located north of the army base.
- Narayana, Industrial District – Small garden northwest of the army base.
- Maharishi, Industrial District – Southeast of the Tabernacle car shop.
- Lubyanka Docks, Lubyanka, Industrial District – Pier east of the Lubyanka Docks car shop, then performing a stunt jump with the ramp on its west side.
- Sennora, Industrial District – West side of the building east of the Zaibatsu cranes.
- Bayano, Industrial District – Building southeast of Bayano station.
- Used by Hare Krishna gang members with five negative respect bars.
Grand Theft Auto III[]
- Harwood, Portland – On roof of the Head Radio building. It will be on a block-like object. This object is too high for the character to jump on, so the player has to plan carefully how to get there. A Hidden Package can also be found nearby. There is a video here.
- Francis International Airport, Shoreside Vale – Underneath the west end of the Shoreside Lift Bridge (near the spray-painted wall).
- Pike Creek, Shoreside Vale – Available to buy in the unnumbered garage at the Pike Creek LCPD Compound after completion of A Drop in the Ocean for $25,000.
- Hideouts – Available after extinguishing a total of 20 fires on each island in the Firefighter vehicle mission. It should be noted the Flamethrower can be obtained very early in the game, provided the player can get to Staunton Island by jumping the girder and steel beam on the broken Callahan Bridge (both left and right side). Since Shoreside Vale is not locked at this point in the game, the player can easily drive to it using either the Subway or the Porter Tunnel, then do the Firefighter mission there until 20 fires are extinguished, then come back and do the same at Staunton before going back to Portland. This will make the Flamethrower appear even if the player has yet to do any missions in Portland.
- Can be picked up from the Colombian Cartel gang members during The Exchange.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
- Ocean View Hotel, Ocean Beach, Vice Beach – 40 Hidden Packages award.
- Starfish Island – In the swimming pool of the Rockstar House northwest of the Mansion.
- Vercetti Estate, Starfish Island – 40 Hidden Packages award and available after completion of Rub Out.
- Hyman Condo, Downtown, Vice City Mainland – 40 Hidden Packages award.
- Viceport, Vice City Mainland – By the building near the road in the southwest part of Viceport, south of the Viceport Pay 'n' Spray. From the Viceport Pay 'n' Spray, head south along the road. As Tommy is near the road curve going east, he can see the weapon icon to his right.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Flamethrower's locations map
- The flamethrower is prominently used in the mission Are You Going to San Fierro?, where Carl Johnson uses a flamethrower to destroy The Truth's weed crops in Leafy Hollow. The player cannot keep this weapon, since it will be replaced by a Rocket Launcher later on for the purpose of shooting down a Police Maverick.
- Flint County – Through the woods, next to a couple of shacks, near the rail tracks.
- Flint Range, Flint County – Inside the tool shed at Helena Wankstein's farm after Carl meets her for the first time.
- Shady Creeks, Whetstone – Deep inside the forest, near the dirt road and the dirt path crossing a shallow body of water.
- Doherty, San Fierro – At the construction site next to the garage, behind a collapsed portion of a building, beside a Pool Cue.
- Easter Basin, San Fierro – On top of the ship where the export and import side mission is featured.
- K.A.C.C. Military Fuels, Las Venturas – Underneath a low ceiling inside the military base itself.
- Tierra Robada – Inside Mike Toreno's ranch after completing Vertical Bird.
Grand Theft Auto Advance[]
- Hideouts – Available after extinguishing a total of 20 fires on each island in the Firefighter vehicle mission.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories[]
- The Flamethrower is used in the mission Friggin' the Riggin', in where Toni Cipriani uses a flamethrower collected from Phil Cassidy's Fully Cocked Gun Shop to burn fake ballot papers, Forelli Crime Family members and vans and two printing machines. It can be obtained in Toni's weapon inventory if it hasn't become out of use.
- Used in Rampages.
- Trenton, Portland – On a roof across Joey's Garage. This one is reachable by a ramp.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]
- It is used in the mission Light My Pyre by Armando Mendez, who uses a flamethrower to confront Victor Vance, who ends up killing Armando in the end.
- Prawn Island – Spawns in the edge of an alley, above it is a Red Balloon and by the alley itself is a Burrito parked. It also appears at each safehouse after popping 70 Red Balloons.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars[]
- Used in Rampages.
- Can be bought from Ammu-Nation after the mission Scrambled for $6,000.
- Castle Garden, Algonquin – Located on top of the construction site.
- During the Vigilante missions, one can easily be picked up in the "Arson" missions by killing any of the arsonists.
- Used in the mission Cash & Burn. The player can keep it after the end of the mission.
Trivia[]
3D Universe[]
- If the player uses the flamethrower in front of a mirror, the fire will not show up on it.
- In the mobile version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, the HUD icon of the Flamethrower is a modified version of the one in GTA III.
- The weapon's description in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a reference to its controversial usage during the Vietnam War.
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the player can kill a target faster by shoving them with the flamethrower and burning them. The knocked target will simply be killed without screaming in pain when they are on fire.
- In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Ammu-Nation claims to have flamethrowers for sale, though none can be bought.
HD Universe[]
- In Grand Theft Auto V, the flamethrower is seen carried by the player in Righteous Slaughter 7, but is not featured in the actual game.
- It was probably that the flamethrower was once implemented to reappear in the actual game, but, like GTA IV, was removed for unknown reasons, albeit without leftover files, suggesting it had been cut in very early stages of the development.
See Also[]
- Molotov Cocktail – Another fire-based weapon featured in the Grand Theft Auto series.
- Apocalypse Cerberus, Future Shock Cerberus and Nightmare Cerberus – Vehicles featured in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the Arena War update, equipped with a mounted flamethrower.
References[]
- ↑ WeaponInfo.xml - GTA IV
<weapon type="FTHROWER"/>