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The Balzer LM10 Napalm Cannon is a flame projector found in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
Monolith Timeline[]
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin[]
PDA listing[]
- Main article: Napalm Cannon
The Balzer LM10 fires bursts of ignited napalm, making it extremely useful in situations where indiscriminate firepower must be brought to bear on multiple hostiles. Collateral damage when using this weapon is unavoidable. A superior weapon for close-in engagements, though care must be taken to avoid operator injury.
Description[]
A curious weapon, the Balzer LM10 is no ordinary flamethrower; rather than firing a constant stream of ignited fuel, it shoots a single coherent projectile, and has a deceptively long range for a weapon of its type. Any target struck by the projectile (which has a small splash damage radius) will be set on fire; for Michael Becket, this will just mean slowly applied additional damage and an onscreen flame effect, but enemies will be totally incapacitated for a time while they attempt to extinguish the flames. This does not include Remnants or Replica Heavy Armors, as they will simply ignore the flames and continue attacking as normal. Worse, Replica Assassins and ATC Black Ops Pyros are also outright immune to being set on fire.
In spite of its unique nature, as a primary weapon the LM10 is a difficult weapon to use; ammo is extremely scarce with only a handful of weapons found in the entire game, and the tendency for flames from the traveling projectile to obscure the projectile itself makes it hard to get a feel for aiming the weapon. In addition, the LM10 has mediocre damage for a weapon of such uncommonality. This, coupled with a small magazine and very scarce ammo means it is unlikely to see much action, even if the player does decide to hold onto it. Rather, the Napalm Cannon is more effective as a support weapon, as its stun-lock makes it more effective in stopping and weakening tougher enemies for a killing blow, which results in better ammo conservation. Therefore, it is a mistake to treat the Napalm Cannon like any short-ranged assault weapon. It is a medium-ranged support weapon that is meant to weaken and incapacitate most enemies in both defense (health and armor) and offense (dropping of primary weapons).
Among enemies, the LM10 is used only by ATC Pyros; red-suited soldiers who are similar in toughness to Replica Heavy Armor units. The first LM10 is found in the hands of one such soldier, encountered in Interval 02 - Discovery.
Tactics[]
- Use caution while firing from cover, because if the projectile hits the cover, then the player will take the heat.
- The "projectiles" of the weapon are easily deflected or stopped, even by metal railings and glass windows, so take this into consideration when firing the weapon.
- The LM10 is effective against most ATC and Replica enemies, though Heavy Armors and ATC Pyro are immune to the fire.
- The enemies caught in flames will be stunned for a brief-period, and also makes them drop their primary weapon. This surprisingly makes the weapon quite effective against Replica Heavy Troopers, Replica Elites, Armacham Black Ops Heavy Soldiers and Armacham Black Ops Elites as they will be stun-locked and become vulnerable.
- Contrary to some, the LM10 does not always kill Abominations in one hit, as they can withstand three before going down, but the Abomination caught on fire will try to put the flames out, giving the player time to kill it without reprisal. If the LM10 is used on them at close, they will still attempt to chase and attack the player, at medium range however, they will run away, and eventually burn to death.
- LM10 is no longer obtainable after Interval 05, however, giving the rarity of the oppotunity that player can use this weapon after Interval 04, the role of LM10 is largely replaced by the automatic shotgun, which is more practical and reliable as the close range weapon.
- LM10 has a surprisingly long effective range, this weapon can still be effective if the enemies are at long hallways, otherwise, use this weapon at close or choke point to make sure the flame finds its mark.
Achievement / Trophy[]
Kill 10 enemies with the LM10 to get the Achievement / Trophy "Kiss The Cook." The Achievement is worth 15 Gamerscore points.
Trivia[]
- The gauge on the upper body of the weapon is a semicircular meter that functions as an ammo gauge for the 10-round magazine. The magazine itself is the grey drum-shaped object mounted on the side of the weapon towards the front.
- The LM10 has no counterpart in the series, though the Arc Beam in F.E.A.R. 3 can set enemies on fire as well.
- This weapon can burn out 75% of a player's health or armor by one direct hit in Hard mode, Slow-Mo and rapid movement is the player's only hope to avoid these projectiles.
- The LM10 is also available in multiplayer, though the fuel capacity is 6 rather than 10 but it functions identical to its single player counterpart and is obtainable by both teams.
- Given the nature of the weapon's projectiles, it most likely fires spurts of gel fuel, which are ignited by the pilot light at the end of the barrel as they exit.
- Originally, no matter how much ammo the player had for the weapon, the gauge of it would never change. This is changed after one of the game's patches.
- ATC and Replica troopers will use their ACM46 pistol after being hit by the LM10.
- The weapon may be inspired by the napalm launcher, a similar weapon, in one of Monolith's earlier games, Blood.
Gallery[]
