- "Ahh man. I hate burnin' through cash! Reminds me of my divorce."
- —Michael Barrick complaining about the Flame Grenadiers attacking them at Ilima Savings and Trust
The Flame Grenadier was a Locust Grenadier armed exclusively with the Scorcher Flamethrower, and, like all grenadier classes, specialized in CQC. They were first encountered during the Destruction of Halvo Bay, though only as prototypes to test their capabilities, and later on the Coalition encountered more armored Grenadiers during the Evacuation of Ilima, and later Operation: Hollow Storm. Flame Grenadiers are also equipped with a backpack fuel tank that significantly increases the fuel capacity of the Scorcher.
History[]
Locust War[]
Destruction of Halvo Bay[]
Flame Grenadiers were first encountered inside the Museum of Military Glory by Kilo Squad. Being prototypes to test their potential, they lacked armor and other equipment, which made them easy targets. They tried to destroy Nassar Embry's armor at the East Wing of the Museum. A large group ambushed Kilo inside the Archives room after they had dealt with the Serapedes inside it. They continued to appear at Halvo Bay Military Academy where they guarded Enfield Bridge from Kilo Squad, and attacked them inside the Academy. They also appeared at Seahorse Hills, Onyx Point, and the Courtroom where Kilo was charged by Col. Ezra Loomis.
Evacuation of Ilima[]
As Zeta-Six moved into the bowels of Ilima Savings and Trust, they faced multiple Flame Grenadiers that had set some parts of the building on fire, and Michael Barrick expressed his dislike for burning fire as it reminded him of the hard times he faced during his divorce. Zeta fought through many Grenadiers until they reached Jace Stratton, the only survivor of the Locust rampage throughout the building. Zeta faced more Flame Grenadiers at a parking lot where they had set many cars on fire and tried to use them to crush the Gears but failed and were slain by Zeta's members.
Operation: Hollow Storm[]
New Hope Research Facility[]
As Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago made their way out of the New Hope Research Facility to regroup with the rest of Delta Squad, the Locust stormed the facility, and Flame Grenadiers were the first Locust to attack. They blasted through a parting wall and tried to incinerate the two Gears. They were killed when Marcus managed to activate the circuitry system and they were cut down by the sentry gun. Flame Grenadiers continued to be encountered throughout the facility, (one was particularly killed by the incoming razorhail) and attempted to stop the two Gears from leaving, however they were unsuccessful.
Infiltration of Nexus[]
Under Mount Kadar, Dominic Santiago and Marcus Fenix began to infiltrate the Locust Stronghold. Flame Grenadiers were encountered defending the ancient ruins on the coast of the underground ocean. As they pushed deeper into the Hollow, they encountered another pair of Flame Grenadiers, along with a trio of Theron Sentinels, that rushed through a door the duo had previously opened. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't stop them from leaving. Another Flame Grenadier attacked the duo from a platform above them; they ignited his fuel tank and took down the whole platform, sending all the Locust into the circular razor blades below them.
Siege of Jacinto[]
On their way towards the sinkhole, Marcus and Dom had to enter the Archives Building. Dom took right and Marcus took left. Marcus encountered a Flame Grenadier as soon as he entered but quickly dispatched him. Marcus found another Flame Grenadier while giving cover to Dom at Cooper Street inside a parking lot but it was also killed and they continued their way. A last Flame Grenadier attacked Delta inside the Jacinto sinkhole along with a pair of Tickers but was blown up by their explosion.
Lambent Pandemic[]
After Delta Squad reached Azura and took a lift to reach the Maelstrom device, the Locust managed to cut off the power supply and several Flame Grenadiers and Wretches engaged them in the dark. The Gears managed to destroy them and reach a ladder at the end of the path. Inside the Maelstrom facility, a few Flame Grenadiers ambushed them. As they reached the generator room, more Wretches and Flame Grenadiers tried to stop them from turning off three generators to shut down the device. Apparently all Drone variants died out when the Imulsion Countermeasure Weapon was activated.
A Flame Grenadier with his Scorcher and fuel tanks.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the Campaign, when a Flame Grenadier is used as a Meatshield, the backpack fuel tank and helmet is automatically discarded.
- While chainsawing a Flame Grenadier from behind, the chainsaw will tear straight trough the backpack fuel tank without igniting it.
- A good idea in Horde is to kill them without setting off their fuel tanks. The corpse will still have the tanks attached, and can be used as an IED for later, if you can still see the tanks, as they occasionally die face up.
- There is no visible connection between the backpack fuel tank and the Scorcher.
- Some Flame Grenadiers appear in the deleted scene Road to Ruin from Gears of War 2.
- A few Flame Grenadiers appear at the beginning of Gears of War 3 during Marcus' dream.
- The Flame Grenadier's appearance in Gears of War: Judgment drastically changes from the one seen in previous games, resembling more of a normal Drone than a Grenadier. The most notable difference is the lack of a face mask. This hints at the Flame Grenadiers in Judgment being more prototypes than anything else. Increased armor was obviously allowed in the final version, seen in the other games.
Multiplayer[]
- Like other Grenadiers and Grenadier Elites, the Flame Grenadier can be selected as a playable character model in Multiplayer.
- The Multiplayer Flame Grenadier model does not have the backpack fuel tanks and players using the Flame Grenadier model will not spawn with a Scorcher Flamethrower.
- The Flame Grenadier debuts as a playable character in Gears of War 2 Multiplayer.
- The Flame Grenadier is a playable character in Gears of War 3, he is unlocked at level 26.
- In Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, the Flame Grenadier is an unlockable multiplayer character, available after reaching Level 27.
- The Flame Grenadier is a playable character in Gears of War 4, available in the Skorge Emergence Gear Pack.
- In Gears 5, the Flame Grenadier became available to purchase using Gears coins.
Appearances[]
- Gears of War 2 (First Appearance/Campaign, Horde, Multiplayer only)
- Gears of War 3 (Campaign, Multiplayer & Horde Only)
- Gears of War: Judgment (Campaign Only)
- Gears of War 4 (Multiplayer Only)
- Gears 5 (Multiplayer & Horde Only)