Flare Gun

* Flare Gun
* Dual Flare Gun

Flare Gun icon

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(1)

Dual Flare Gun icon

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(2)

The **Flare Gun** is a special, rare Pistol that uses Flare Ammunition and deals no damage. It was added in the v0.5.0 "*Air drop it like it's hot*" update on July 26, 2018.

## Info

Unlike most normal guns, the Flare Gun uses a special type of Ammunition, the Flare (distinguished by its orange circle border). The Flare Gun deals no damage, but it summons an Air Drop on the spot where it is fired (regardless of whether the Flare Gun was fired in the Red Zone or not), which is identical to that of naturally spawned Air Drops.

The Flare Gun can be found very rarely in most Crates, Lockers, Barrels, etc. They can also spawn on the ground too, though it is quite rare as well. In most maps/events, the Flare Gun's drop rate is unchanged. On the Woods Map, the Flare Gun is quite rare to find as world loot, though the Flare Gun case in the Logging camp is a guarantee drop. On the 50v50 Map, the Flare Gun is extremely rare to find as world loot, due to probable balance reasons with Military Air Drops being present; however to compensate for that, the 2 Commanders on the map receive a loaded flare gun upon promotion in their 2nd slot. On the Desert Map, the loot drop rate for Flare Guns are significantly increased.

## Sound

* Firing
* Reloading
* Reloading (Dual)

## Strategies

* Many strategies applying to the Air Drop also apply here.
* Because Air Drops have great loot, they will also attract many people, turning the area surrounding it into a war zone very quickly. The player should consider this before shooting the Flare Gun, and be prepared to get targeted once the Air Drop has been looted..
	+ They player can use this attraction to their advantage by creating a trap using Mines or ambushing players who try to loot the Air Drop.
	+ Firing in the Red Zone, although dangerous, will deter enemies from reaching the airdrop. Health items are strongly recommended to minimize the impact of the Red Zone's damage.
* It is best to put this weapon away or fire it immediately, as the rarity will make the player a target due to the Flare Gun's rarity.
* The player can use the properties of the summoned Air Drop to their advantage. For example, if the player finds a Hardstone Block/Boulder, they can fire the Flare Gun directly adjacent to said Obstacle and it will break when the Air Drop lands.
* Although Flares can be found in Large Ammo Crates, it is usually better to discard this gun after use as the weapon slot will be more useful than the slim chance to fire another Air Drop.
* There are certain strategic locations where the player can take advantage of the Air Drop.
	+ The Beach is a good option to fire the Flare Gun, as it will limit half the directions enemies may come from.
	+ A Hut or collapsed Shack will allow the player to fire the Flare Gun inside, letting the player to see any incoming threats as well as providing some cover.
	+ Launching a Flare near the entrance of a building can hide the player from anyone else trying to take the Air Drop, and also gives a potential escape route in case the player has to retreat.

## Trivia

* The Flare Gun has greatly increased drop rates in the Desert Map and the old *Meteor shower* event.
* The Flare Gun is commonly mistaken to have dealt 10 damage in the past, however this had to do with people accidentally swapping its damage and falloff values.
* The Air Drop can drop a Flare Gun, despite the fact that the purpose of the Flare Gun is to call an air drop. With extreme luck, an infinite amount of Air Drops can be summoned by keep summoning Air Drops that, in turn, drop Flare Guns.
	+ This does not apply to the Military variant.
* Flare Guns projectiles can visually travel through Obstacles and players.
* The Flare Gun was initially unable to be dual-wielded. It was given the ability to do so in the v0.7.4 "*Rotato potato*" update.
* The Flare Gun is the first weapon in the game to not deal direct damage.
* The Flare Gun is the second gun in the game to have its own unique ammo type.
* It usually takes about 15 seconds after a flare is fired for an air drop to appear, then 8 seconds for it to hit the ground.
* The Flare Gun ejects a 12 gauge shell when fired. This makes sense since the in-game model resembles an Orion model flare gun, which fires 12 gauge flares.
* The Flare Gun cannot be fired in a building or bunker. When this is attempted, a message comes up saying `Gun cannot be fired here!`. Due to a bug, it can sometimes be fired in buildings with destructible roofs, although it usually can't.
* The Flare Gun's reload sound was originally the exact same as the QBB-97's reload sound, but without the cocking bit at the end.
	+ The Flare Gun has since then got its own unique reload sound.
* Realistically, if the flare hits an enemy, it should cause damage through burn wounds. However, in surviv.io, it doesn't. This is likely due to the fact that the survivr is actually shooting the Flare Gun at the air as opposed to shooting directly at the aimed area.
	+ This is also backed up as when firing the Flare Gun under a tree, the flare goes on top of the leaves.
* The shot and bullet from a Flare Gun have the lowest velocity and speed of any projectile in the game.
* Flare guns are used as emergency signals in the real world, or as a light in the darkness.
* Flare Gun, along with OTs-38, G18C, OT-38 and P30L, are the only dual-wieldable Pistols that can have their dual-wielded versions dropped as a single item.
* Dual Flare Guns can actually spawn in Tier World, albeit being confirmed as a rarer drop than the M249 and 15x Scope.
* Firing a flare in the Halloween Map, where it is dark, does not illuminate the area in any way.
* When the Desert Marksman Helmet was first introduced, the Endless Ammo perk granted by the helmet allowed for infinite Air Drops to be spawned using the Flare Gun.
	+ However, in a secret update during the "*Perky potatoes*" event, Endless Ammo was changed so that it no longer affects Flare ammo.

## History

* 0.7.4
	+ Added the ability for Flare Guns to be dual-wielded
* 0.5.0
	+ Added Flare Gun to the game

## Gallery

The Flare gun being firedDual flare guns being firedTwo Dual Flare GunsDual Flare Guns on ground in the Normal MapTwo Flare Gun spawns in a ContainerTwo individual Flare Guns in the HUD before the 0.7.4 updateA survivr holding a Flare Gun in the Cobalt Map.
## Links

* https://surviv.io/img/loot/loot-weapon-flare-gun.svg
* https://surviv.io/img/loot/loot-weapon-flare-gun-dual.svg