We can argue about the finer details all day long, but the way I see it there are still two huge problems with the hotfix flamer (& in very preliminary testing, they still seem present in the dev/range-reduced build). & not to pick on you Janeway, but you touched on both points... just the wrong side of them
it is honestly so frustrating for me to read these responses. the flamer is a perfect example of not being OP in the SLIGHTEST in higher level games but perhaps being frustrating in lower level matches. it's frustrating to me because here is a gun that could truly shake up the face of the competitive scene and give some much needed diversity to brawlers, but because people don't know how to handle fire in pub matches (or perhaps even with high level people who weren't around in beta and so haven't experience actual true balance with the flamers) it is gaining the reputation as OP nerf-bait... please awkm give this change some time and let the community learn how to handle it, I promise you it will be seen as balanced soon enough...
I know the competitive scene is very important and a big thing on the forums, but in a game with such a small community this is the exact opposite of the approach we need!
GoI will never grow if pub servers are easily dominated by frustrating flamer teams. It will take exactly 1 game against a double double-flamer pyra team for any new players to quit and never come back. Given that the flamer's main role is to be frustrating, I think we need to be VERY careful that it's not such a dominant choice against noob ships. I have no idea how we'd actually achieve this (Sammy, any ideas?) but it seems like the ideal 'nerf' would be something that makes it less commanding in noob games but more useful in competitive games in the hands of expert. Something to make it tougher to use (but still good when used correctly) would probably get close?
I have not felt overwhelmed by the flamer at it's hot fixed state when I have my crew with me. we load up our heatsink rounds and chem spray our hull and balloons and laugh at the incoming fire.
Whether or not it is counterable shouldn't be the deciding factor in OP/fair...
if the presence of a single weapon on board the enemies ship demands a specific engitool+ammo setup, that is not balanced. As Sammy said, even one flamer on the other team pretty much necessitates a chem spray/extinguisher for every crew member. Now if the enemy is rocking a double flamer or similar ship, obviously you should need to counter it with your crew's setup... but for 1 single weapon to have this effect should be the telltale sign that it is still too powerful.
TLDR;
1) The flamer is way too annoying, dominant, and easy to use in noob games-- this will frustrate a lot of first timers right back out of the game
2) A single flamethrower dictates the other team's tools. No one weapon by itself should be such a gamechanger
