Flare Gun

Overview
The Flare Gun is a small handgun-like weapon that, instead of firing bullets or pulses, will fire flares, setting any target they hit on fire.

Metrocops and Soldiers are particularly vulnerable to flares, as upon being struck by a single flare, they will suddenly start flailing in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames. After a moment, Metrocops will suddenly drop dead, whereas Soldiers will oddly freeze in place for a moment before dying. Even Augmented units aren't immune to this effect.

Not all enemies are affected by this, however. Aces will have absolutely no reaction to being set on fire, and both Antlions and Antlion Guards will not respond either.

Citizens have an interesting reaction to being set on fire; they will suddenly start shouting 'No!' repeatedly until they die, and will constantly start running backwards and to the side. NPCs such as Alyx and Barney have a similar reaction, but they will not say anything while running.

Acquisition
The Flare Gun can be found in Route Kanal, shortly after first obtaining the airboat. It can be found in a crate on a small patch of land, away from the valve in front of a gate. It is next to another crate, which contains a box of flares.

If missed there, it cannot be obtained again.

Advantages
-Will make short work of most humanoid Combine units.

-Reloads quickly.

-Efficient with ammo, provided the player aims carefully.

-Has two modes of fire; short range, and long range, determined by secondary and primary fire, respectively.

-Flares move fairly quickly.

Neutral
-Flares fly in an arc, which can be helpful for hitting targets behind cover or below the player, but can make hitting long range targets difficult.

Disadvantages
-Can only load 1 flare at a time.

-Has little effect on some enemies.

-Can only be found once.

-Can be easily missed by those who aren't interested in item crates.

-Limited range.

-Flares are not very common, and the player is only able to carry 20 in reserve.

Tactics
-For paired Soldiers, the player is able to burn one of the Soldiers, then gun down the other, then smack down the burning Soldier with a melee attack. This is inadvisable against larger groups of enemies.

-Remember that the Flare Gun doesn't work on every enemy. Try not using it against enemies such as Aces or Poison Zombies.

-The Flare Gun can be used to employ hit and run tactics, setting an enemy on fire, then running off and letting them burn to death.

-Remember that the Flare Gun instantly kills Metrocops after a brief moment. Save your ammo and use your flares on Augmented or Riot units.