Incendiary launcher

The incendiary launcher is a moderately-heavy, single-shot weapon with medium effective damage per shot, very long time between shots, moderate range, and moderate effective accuracy. It is currently the only explosive weapon that doesn't have a forced miss radius. Its incendiary projectiles will ignite anything it hits, making it particularly effective for disabling tough raiders, and also for destroying insect hives during infestations. Due to its accuracy, raiders with this can become very problematic if not dealt with quickly since your colonists will helplessly run out into the open and then get shot or even burn to death if not rescued quickly enough.

Combat performance

Initially deals 10 damage with its explosion, with an additional 6 on average as targets will usually take damage twice from the fire before extinguishing themselves. If their extinguishing attempts are interrupted, such as by brawlers, they will take more damage from the fire.

It usually takes 3 shots to down an unarmored human with an incendiary launcher. Since both the fire and the explosion does not target a specific body part, and burns are more painful than other injuries, it usually does not cause fatal damage.

The incendiary launcher's accuracy is considered effective due to the fact that its explosion burns the tile it lands on and all adjacent tiles, making up to a 50% chance of hitting the target so long as they aren't moving and are not behind walls. As it's hard to miss shots against immobile targets, any shooter will generally fare well, making it a very skill-friendly weapon. Prioritise equipping trigger-happy colonists with it to halve its lengthy warmup time.

Acquisition

Incendiary launchers can be manufactured at the machining table after researching machining, with 75 steel, 4 components and 22,000 ticks (6.11 mins) of work. Scavenged from downed invaders. And purchased from outlander combat suppliers and towns, or from an orbital weapons trader.

Analysis

The incendiary launcher is a dangerous weapon that's not to be underestimated. It's capable of widespread destruction in dry climates, so enemies armed with it should be dealt with carefully. Tactical use is necessary since it doesn't deal much direct damage.

The incendiary launcher is significantly more accurate and long-ranged than molotov cocktails. It is most effective in midgame onwards; even so, it is still more of a niche weapon, for situations such as insect hives or pairing with brawlers.

Graphs

The following graphs take the incendiary launcher's effective damage and accuracy into account, using a Normal quality weapon fired from a healthy shooter against a single target.