Incendiary launcher

The incendiary launcher fires bolts that while dealing low damage, can start fires and ignite enemies.

Acquisition

Incendiary launchers can be crafted with smithing skill 4 at a machining table after researching gunsmithing with 75 steel, 4 components and 20,000 ticks (5.56 mins) of work. Incendiary launchers can also be purchased from outlander and orbital combat suppliers, outlander settlements, or obtained from the following raider kinds:

Raider Kind	Chance	Average Quality	Health
Pirate Gunner	4.01%	Normal	70-230%
Town Guard	3.78%	Normal	60-200%
Mercenary Gunner	4.59%	Normal	70-320%
Ancient Soldier	3.59%	Normal	100%

Overview

Compared to molotov cocktails, the incendiary launcher sacrifices rate of fire for significantly faster projectiles and a doubled range.

The warmup/cooldown cycle of the incendiary launcher is the fourth longest out of all player-usable ranged weapons in the game, or sixth highest out of all ranged weapons in the game; only the pila, both centipede-exclusive weapons and both single-use rocket launchers have longer warmup/cooldown cycles. This, combined with the rather poor overall accuracy, results in the incendiary launcher having the lowest single-target damage output out of all player-usable ranged weapons in the game - though this doesn't completely rule out the incendiary launcher in terms of combat viability.

The incendiary launcher's trump card is that it's one of very few weapons that are able to start fires, which in turn can cause people and animals to take damage over time and run around helplessly - typically out of cover and into the open where they're easy targets for other people. However, this does mean that the incendiary launcher's effectiveness is significantly diminished in rainy conditions - which in some cases may be triggered by the in-game firewatcher while using this weapon.

Due to how explosives in RimWorld work, it's best to prioritize people that are behind low cover (e.g. rock chunks and trees), since high cover (e.g. walls) can block shots that land adjacent to the intended target. Explosives are also generally very inaccurate against moving targets, so try to avoid targeting those if you can.

Regarding roles in combat, the incendiary launcher is undoubtedly a support-class weapon, being able to render somewhat dangerous enemies very vulnerable for short (but potentially crucial) periods of time. However, this use case becomes all but obsolete through the midgame towards lategame as raiders wear more fire-resistant apparel, mechanoid ships and raids become more common, as well as tribal numbers getting too large for incendiary launchers to keep up with.

Due to its ability to target areas, incendiary launchers can also be used outside of combat to easily dispose of unwanted corpses, equipment, as well as help clear areas with dense foliage - though the latter can quickly escalate into huge wildfires if done during the firewatcher's cooldown period, so be prepared. Hunting unsurprisingly isn't the best idea with incendiary launchers since there's a risk of destroying the quarry.

Since the incendiary launcher has a forced miss radius as well as an area of effect, skill only matters within short range where even inexperienced shooters remain somewhat accurate, though the incendiary launcher should typically be used beyond short range in which case forced miss radius almost completely ignores the wielding person's accuracy. This also means that it's best to give the incendiary launcher to trigger-happy colonists to halve the lengthy warmup time.

Melee Combat

Tool	Attack	Damage Type	Power	AP	Cooldown	Likelihood	Base DPS
Overall	-	-	9	13%	2.00s	-	4.50
Stock	Blunt	Blunt	9	13%	2.00s	50.00%	4.50
Barrel	Blunt	Blunt	9	13%	2.00s	25.00%	4.50
Barrel	Poke	Blunt	9	13%	2.00s	25.00%	4.50

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.