M2 Flamethrower

The M2 Flamethrower is a Call of Duty: World at War Tier 1 perk that allows a player to use an M2 Flamethrower. It is used in the same way between online and offline game modes. It doesn't use any ammo, but overheats, and requires you to wait for it to cool-down before firing again. It originates from Call of Duty: United Offensive, where it can be used throughout the Russian campaign. However, that was its only appearance and usage before Call of Duty: World at War, where its usage both in singleplayer and multiplayer was expanded. 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, or more likely no service.

Singleplayer
In the single-player campaign, the Flamethrower can be used by the player in the Pacific Campaign, although German soldiers sometimes use flamethrowers in the Soviet Campaign. It is also possible to kill enemy soldiers by shooting the fuel tank, causing the flamethrower to explode and killing nearby enemies during the missions Vendetta 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. 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 or maps with a lot of enclosed areas. However, a major downside is it creates lots of smoke and flame, effectively blocking vision. Taking out the Flamethrower will cause the player to move at the same speed as a sub machine 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.

Nazi Zombies
In Nazi Zombies, the Flamethrower is received as a weapon that loses its ability to kill efficiently at round (10 on Nacht Der Untoten, 8 on Verruckt, 6-8 on Shi No Numa, and 6 on Der Riese), from then on it becomes useless unless upgraded. On Shi No Numa and Der Riese it will slow you down as if you were carrying a machine gun. It is not recommended for Co-op matches as it does little to no 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. In Nazi Zombies it is also great against crowds, allowing the user to deal lots of damage to many zombies at once without wasting ammo.

It can be very useful on Nazi Zombies with insta-kill. The flames wash over zombies and pass them unlike most bullets. A short burst can clear an entire room.

On Der Riese you can upgrade the Flamethrower using the Pack-a-Punch machine, making it more mobile, reducing its cool-down time, and increasing the time it can fire without overheating. When upgraded, it will also never overheat if fired in short bursts. When upgraded, the flames stay the same color. The Flamethrower is the only weapon that does this. However, the tube that connects the tank to the weapon will glow blue (easy to see when aiming down-sight)

Double Tap affects the flamethrower in Nazi Zombies, making it overheat faster yet makes it do slightly more damage.

Tactics

 * It is extremely effective against dogs in multiplayer, though it is far less useful against the hellhounds of Nazi Zombies.
 * For the reason mentioned above, a good idea is to get yourself cornered to a wall and let the dogs come in.
 * Firing the flamethrower in bursts helps avoid overheating.
 * It is almost never wise to aim down sights of a flamethrower, it will obstruct your movement, and it does not improve your accuracy much (if at all).
 * Always take cover when activating a flamethrower as you need to charge the weapon.
 * A flamethrower will provide lighting in dark, tight areas where CQC is usually present, such as Makin and the heavy trench like fighting and dark lower floors in the Dome.
 * Stopping Power does have a noticeable effect on the flamethrower. Though, it doesn't seem to cancel out Juggernaut or Flak Jacket.
 * Switching to the M2 flamethrower the first time after a spawn/re-spawn will cause a short delay like most other weapons, prevent this by switching to the M2 flamethrower when you spawn then quickly switch back.
 * Can be used on Headquarters effectively because the majority of the HQs are inside buildings as in Upheaval.
 * The flamethrower is a great substitution for smoke grenades when in buildings (for your teammates, not you), as you distract, kill, and blind, making it easier for your team to win a War match.
 * Equipping the flamethrower with Juggernaut, Signal flares, and Extreme Conditioning allows you to use the above tactic to get to the battle early and provide cover fire.

Call of Duty: World at War (DS)
On the Nintendo DS version the flamethrower is found in a supply drop on Mission 2, but instead comes with 300 seconds of fire. Unlike the console and PC versions, where one burst will take down a troop, in the DS version enemies take time to die, and they can still shoot as well. This makes the flamethrower a less desirable weapon. It is also not available on DS Wi-Fi play. If the player melees with the M2 flamethrower, they will hear the melee sound, but wont see a melee animation.

Trivia



 * Via a glitch on the Wii and Xbox 360 versions players can transfer this perk with any tier 2 and tier 3 perk to a different profile by using custom class and switching profiles then the perks would be unlocked.
 * The player can get the Trophy/Achievement "Firestarter" if you only use the flamethrower as a main weapon through any mission. Grenades and knives may be used but special grenades may not. If you fire even one bullet, you will not get the trophy/achievement.
 * On the Xbox 360 version, the range is longer then in the Wii, PS3, or PC versions.
 * 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. This can be tested using the death card that makes enemies explode with headshots.
 * The Challenge called "Pyro" is achieved by killing 10 people with the M2 Flamethrower.
 * It is possible to aim down the sights with this weapon, the result being elimination of the circular cross hair, and slower movement speed.
 * In the iPhone version of" Nacht der Untoten", the M2 Flamethrower can be obtained from the sniper cabinet for 2000 points.
 * The flamethrower in reality during WWII was used by all Allied or Axis factions, however, they had different flamethrower designs.
 * Due to the graphical limitations of the Wii, the tube connecting the flamethrower to its fuel tanks will sometimes be disconnected from the tanks.
 * On the level "Blowtorch and Corkscrew", the flamethrower grip will be coated with rust.
 * The Wii version of the flamethrower uses the Hardcore reticule.
 * In Call of Duty: World at War (DS), the flamethrower is only available in the mission "Into The Jungle". Unlike other special weapons in the game (Panzerschreck, sniper rifles), it can not be found lying around in multiplayer maps.
 * In the PC edition of Call of Duty: World at War, in the mission "Vendetta", if you use the cheat give_all, you can get it, but it makes no noise.
 * On "Hard Landing", while your trying to get to the Triple 25's, if you flame one of your troops long enough he will look like he is burned all over, similar to how it looks when you flame a dead body.
 * If you or any teammates die with the flamethrower, the tanks don't explode if they're shot.
 * If you walk up-close to an object (as close as you can get) and fire the Flamethrower, no fire will appear.
 * It is odd that when you or an ally have the Flamethrower, it doesn't blow up when shot at or when the character dies, but happens when you shoot an enemy that has the Flamethrower. A mission that is easy to see an ally die without the flamethrower tanks blowing is "Hard Landing", when the man with the flamethrower is killed by the two MGs.
 * In Nazi Zombies, the fuel tanks, for some odd reason, don't appear.
 * This is the only weapon that can kill the player in one hit even on easy.
 * Some players consider this weapon to be noobish, because it doesn't take much skill, and you can easily get a high killstreak.
 * It also appears in the Russian campaign of Call of Duty: United Offensive.
 * the Flamethrower is a bad choice to use with the knife. For some reason, the damage timing and hit are off, so you can be killed while you are knifing someone by that same person.
 * When Pack-a-Punched the name is the F1W Nitrogen Cooled which may mean For the Win Nitrogen Cooled in 1337 (leet).

Video
thumb|left|Gameplay with the M2 Flamethrower|350px