Firestarter Rocket Launcher

For information about the other variants, see Rocket Launcher (disambiguation).

The Firestarter Rocket Launcher is the red variant of the Rocket Launcher, purchasable for 75,000P after obtaining the Freezeframe Rocket Launcher in [ 5-3: SHIP OF FOOLS ].

Description[]

Hold Alt Fire to spray gasoline, making non-flammable enemies flammable.
Can also be sprayed on the environment to create walls of fire.
- The Terminal.

The Firestarter Rocket Launcher appears identical to the other two Rocket Launchers, only difference being that it has a red holographic gauge that keeps track of its oil reserve. When not firing, the gauge turns gray upon going under 25% of its fuel capacity.

Mechanics[]

Primary Fire[]

Pressing primary fire will fire a rocket from the barrel with about a second between each shot. They deal 3.5 damage, have a lifetime of 30 seconds, are attracted to Magnets embedded in enemies, and can also be grappled & ridden.

If the rocket doesn't hit an enemy directly, it will create a large, non-damaging shockwave that will push enemies away. Directly hitting an enemy will make it create a damaging explosion. If a rocket contacts a Magnet or a thrown Coin, it will also create a damaging explosion.

If a rocket hits an airborne enemy that normally does not fly, it will trigger a red explosion, dealing double damage with double the radius and ignoring the explosion blocking of Soldiers. This also applies to Mannequins clinging to walls and ceilings.

Rockets can be shot mid-air with a hitscan weapon, which increases explosion size, but does not trigger a larger red explosion like shot Cores or rocket airshots. Ricoshots will also target rockets with a priority greater than enemies.

Shooting the rocket with the Malicious Railcannon's beam will create a large explosion.

Alternate Fire[]

Holding alternate fire will create a stream of oil which will slowly coat enemies in a dark, sleek sheen, resembling Radiance. Oil can coat walls and make puddles on the ground. When ignited the oil will deal 1 damage every tick to coated enemies or anything that walks through the puddles, including V1. While burning, husk enemies take 50% more damage from all sources except the fire tick damage itself. Larger enemies will take more oil to fully cover but will burn for the same duration. When the enemies stop taking damage from fire, there is a grace period when they can be re-ignited by just spraying more gasoline on them.

When covered with gasoline, Malicious Faces will not deflect the explosives sent at them. Soldiers covered with gasoline also lose their explosion resistance/immunity.

V1 can skid across puddles of oil without losing momentum like walking on ice. Sliding on oil makes you move slightly faster.

Holding alt fire for 1.5 seconds depletes the oil reserve. Once depleted V1 must wait for it to reach 25% before being able to spray again.

Gasoline puddles sprayed under water will explode upon contact with another explosion.

Magnet Guidance[]

The magnets from the Attractor Nailgun, if stuck on an enemy, will also attract nearby rockets, allowing for easier direct hits. Magnets embedded in an enemy are destroyed upon three direct rocket hits, though red airshot explosions count as two hits. Frozen rockets in range of the magnet will reorient themselves towards the magnet while still frozen, allowing them to take more direct paths toward their target and potentially avoid detonating prematurely on terrain.

Strategy[]

The Rocket Launcher has the fastest swap speed of any weapon in the game (barring Railcannon's instant swap speed) and can be used as a convenient damage source at nearly any time, particularly against Cerberi who have a 50% vulnerability to rockets. However, swapping between Rocket Launcher variants will not increase the rocket fire rate, due to a global 1-second rocket swap cooldown.

On the contrary, the alt firing mode of the Firestarter is actionable as soon as you swap to it, permitting faster oil dumps for area denial or targeted ignitions.

As with other explosives, the Firestarter can be used to perform the Mindflayer instant kill.

Setting the oil on fire would make a good trap for large numbers of Filth, as with the Attractor variants of the Nail and Sawblade guns.

Setting large enemies on fire can also be a good use of the oil, as it passively deals damage while using other weapons. If one of these burning enemies touches a burning oiled surface, they'll take even more passive damage per second. Setting a Sisyphean Insurrectionist on fire will also amplify damage against it, as it is considered a husk. On top of that, oil fire stays longer than normal fire and deals more damage due to their fire vulnerability, making it an excellent option against them.

Additionally, igniting non-husk enemies and, strangely, Ferrymen ablaze will not grant them a +50% damage vulnerability.

On Brutal difficulty, spraying oil under a Guttertank and making it miss its punch makes it slip, opening it for a parry.

Because the oil conserves momentum, dashing while sliding on the oil is a great way to build up extra speed. This may also be a helpful way to get faster speeds for the Jackhammer.

Trivia[]

The showcase of the Firestarter Rocket Launcher can be seen here.
You can create a fire by punching oil on the ground with either a Skull or a torch. (For some reason doing it with the Whiplash doesn't set it ablaze)
The oil may be the fuel that's used for the rockets.
Prior to patch 15b, the oil would break doors and make them slide ways they aren't supposed to like the spawn room door. However, the hitbox for the door would still exist.
- This worked for the doors in Gluttony and Heresy which allows for some wacky final times in levels.
The Firestarter cannot be used to burn the pile in front of the secret door in 7-3. This implies that the oil is of a lower quality to that of Streetcleaners.
Dual Wield will not increase the amount of oil that can be placed, unlike the Marksman Revolver's coins. Instead, more Firestarters will simply spend the meter faster.
Explosions caused by Landmines strangely do not set gasoline on fire.
It is possible to spray gasoline and fire rockets simultaneously as long as the rocket launcher is not in its firing animation. When spraying gasoline, the rocket will enter the firing animation only once per gasoline spray.
The alternate fire for this weapon has led to many memes about oiling up Gabriel. Gianni Matragrano has yet to confirm/deny the canonical impact of Gabriel oiling up.
- However, rumors have been spread that oiling up Gabriel will be an achievement in the full game.