Fire

Far Cry 2

Fire is an important element in Far Cry 2. Fire has been developed in the game to add realism, and to help overall tactical gameplay.

Fire's nature

Fire is a dangerous tool to use; sometimes it may go towards the player, and sometimes it can demolish a Guard Post. The player cannot control the fire, he can only unleash it. Naturally, fire will stop when there is a lake or a river nearby. Sometimes, the fire may catch on large trees, which could cause a chain reaction, setting other vegitation in that area on fire as well, and resulting in an inferno. The player should be aware of fire, as it is capable of circling around the player.

Use of fire

You are capable of igniting flames in many ways. The easiest way would be to throw a Molotov Cocktail in a dry, grassy area, such as a Savannah. Fire does significant amounts of damage to enemy tools such as vehicles, enemies themselves and ammunition boxes. Other methods of igniting a landfire would be shooting plants with a Flare Pistol or a LPO-50 Flamethrower. Although the fire can ignite in jungles, it is not as effective because there is a lot of moisture present.

Enemies will be terrified of the fire if it is near them. Once an enemy is trapped between a wall and fire, he has nowhere to run, essentially leading to his death unless the fire burns out before the flames engulf him. The same applies to buddies, with the exception that they do not die. Instead, they are downed and the player must go revive him/her, if he can.

Far Cry 3

A simple fire can turn into a firestorm

Fire is a natural element found in Far Cry 3. It can be utilized as a weapon, distraction, or can naturally occur if fire is introduced into the wild brush of the Rook Islands.

Fire can be used against enemies as well as the player, either directly or indirectly, depending on how careful the player is or which enemies the player is fighting.

There are several ways to cause a fire; the Molotov, the Flamethrower, with a bow and Flame Arrows or the Flare Gun. There are always other conventional ways such as blowing up a vehicle/fuel barrel/rocket/grenade near trees, bushes, tall grass, and sometimes houses and other buildings nearby which will then ignite and spread accordingly.

Fire spreads very rapidly, and can be very powerful. It can kill enemies, animals, and even the player in a matter of seconds, so use caution if fire is your weapon of choice. Fire also spreads very realistically, in lush-green foliage; fire will only move a few meters from its initial impact zone before dissipating (but will burn in that one area for a longer time), although more dried / yellow-coloured brush and grass will result in a massive fire that will sweep from grass and bushes to trees and even buildings (though they will not be destroyed only appear charred and left in black ash).

Wind does not seem to have a factor in fires any longer, and the only storms found on the Rook Islands are rainstorms which highly limit fire spreading and intensity, this differs from Far Cry 2 which came with its own wind/storm system. But a good way to 'determine' the fire's path is to look at the tip of the fire, the tip slants in an angle towards the closest flammable object (a tree, patches of grass, a building or enemy). The areas that are immediately burning will be covered in ember-patches (red-dotted burn textures) that are sort of a sign to get out of the fire's path. Keep this in mind when scorching the earth around you.

There are enemies who use fire well, such as Privateer Heavy Flamers (flamethrower heavies) and Pirate Molotov Throwers (molotov throwing guys). These enemies aim for flammable objects (including the player) in order to slow the player or block them in. Taking these guys out quickly is essential as they can drive you out of cover, and drain your health considerably compared to the other enemies.

Trivia

• Holding the "aim" button while shooting the Flamethrower holds the gun outwards which lowers the chances of being set on fire yourself.
• The Flare Gun is a more accurate/powerful Molotov, although, it does not have as big of a radius like the Molotov.
• Shooting Molotov enemies causes them to burst into flames, who then sprint at the player, in their final attack.
• Shooting the gas-tanks of Heavy Flamers drains their health in massive amounts, but causes an explosion, so be wary.
• Flame Arrows are useful for starting fires silently.
• It is possible to have unlimited fire as the repair tool can set fire to grass by simply crouching and looking to the ground then 'firing' it (it is unknown if the repair tool can set objects on fire directally so using it on grass and letting it spread is the only known tactic so far)