Flamer

Overview
The Flamer (short for Flamethrower) is a residual weapon that shoots out waves of slow-traveling but high-damage fire, and has a high ammo capacity and fast reload speed. This effective defensive and offensive guard weapon is best used at close range, but it can also be optimal in closed spaces due to the flame's ability to slide along walls/terrain. If you are hit by a Flamer's fire, you will suffer heavy damage, and also gain a purely cosmetic burn effect on your character that does absolutely no damage. The Flamer can sometimes be hard to counter, as it nullifies/reduces damage from almost every weapon in the game. For example, the Flamer can deflect bullets from the RPG, M79, and Avenger, as well as being able to deter Hand Grenades and Cluster Grenades.

With the Flamer

 * The Flamer is much like the Chainsaw in that it deals a lot of damage but at a very close range. The tactics are quite the same, and you can charge into battle burning through enemies.
 * Another common strategy is to camp a passage of interest, i.e. the lower tunnel in ctf_Ash by employing a flame wall that will deal some damage and leave your opponents weakened for more direct forms of attack, like a Rifle or Link Gun.

Against the Flamer

 * Since the Flamer is very close range any weapon that can fire from long distances is recommended. For a quick, clean kill, a Barrett will likely stop the flames from killing anyone. But, if you're unlucky, they have likely gotten close enough to both hurt and light you on fire, and this can be fatal.
 * As previously mentioned, rocket weapons are deflected by the Flamer, so these are not recommended against a Flamer user.
 * If the ninja is creating a firewall that you can't pass, like a firewall in one of the buildings in Elysium, you could utilize the Pulse Gun's ricochet function to take them out.

Trivia

 * The Flamer was indeed originally called the "Flamethrower", but the name was shortened due to space shortage on the weapon menu screen.