Fire Thrower
Fire Thrower is Maltese ranged infantry with several area siege attacks, including a rocket and a short-range flamethrower. It is an unusually flexible unit for damaging buildings and clustered targets.
Recorded values
- Available
- Commerce Age · Artillery Foundry; Fort; Galleon; Outpost (with the "De Redin Towers" card) ; American Citadel
- Training
- 42 sec · 2 population · 13 XP per train
- Durability & mobility
- 120 hit points · 35% ranged resistance · 4.25 speed · 18 line of sight
- Grenade attack
- 16 base damage · range 4-16 · attack interval 3.0 · area of effect 2 · bonus damage: 1.75x vs. Heavy infantry; 1.25x vs. Light ranged cavalry; 0.5x vs. Artillery; 0.4x vs. Heavy cavalry; 0.4x vs. Hand shock trooper
- Siege attack
- 25 base damage · range 16 · attack interval 3.0
- Hand attack
- 12 base damage · attack interval 1.5 · bonus damage: 0.5x vs. Heavy cavalry; 0.5x vs. Hand shock trooper
- Rocket attack
- 22 base damage · range 16-22 · attack interval 4.0 · area of effect 2 · bonus damage: 1.75x vs. Heavy infantry; 1.25x vs. Light ranged cavalry; 0.4x vs. Heavy cavalry; 0.4x vs. Hand shock trooper; 0.25x vs. Artillery · requires Rockets card
- Flamethrower attack
- 5 base damage · range 4-10 · attack interval 0.75 · area of effect 4 · bonus damage: Same as grenade attack · recharge 60 · requires Flame Throwers card
- Burning damage
- 1 base damage · attack interval 1.0 · bonus damage: Same as grenade attack
Role, availability & values
It is available from an Artillery Foundry and several other Maltese structures. The profile includes a 16-range siege attack, a Rocket attack reaching 22, and a short-range Flamethrower attack with a wide area; it costs two population.
Matchup & timing
Use ranged attacks to contribute siege damage from behind the line, and only bring the Fire Thrower closer when the frontline has already occupied the enemy. Its short-range attack is powerful in the right position but creates risk if used without a screen.
Incendiary attacks and the Rockets transition
The Fire Thrower is a Maltese Commerce Age light infantry unit that combines anti-infantry damage with a siege role. It costs 50 Wood and 75 Coin, trains in 42 seconds and uses two population. The base unit has 120 hit points, 35% ranged resistance, speed 4.25 and line of sight 18. Its grenade attack deals 16 damage at range 4–16 every three seconds in an area of 2. The attack has a 1.75 multiplier against Heavy Infantry and 1.25 against Light Ranged Cavalry, but reduced damage against Artillery, Heavy Cavalry and hand Shock Troops. Its separate siege attack deals 25 damage at range 16 every three seconds. This lets it threaten buildings from a distance, but its low base hit points make it vulnerable if enemy cavalry or artillery reaches the position. Every grenade and siege hit applies burning damage: one point each second for ten seconds. That damage over time adds value when the target survives the first impact and helps explain why a Fire Thrower’s full contribution is not represented by the initial attack number alone. It also has a hand attack of 12 damage every 1.5 seconds, with half damage against Heavy Cavalry and hand Shock Troops. Do not let the unit be surrounded just because it can attack at close range; its primary value comes from firing at a safe distance. The Rockets Home City Card unlocks an alternative 22-damage attack at range 16–22, firing every four seconds in an area of 2. It retains a 1.75 multiplier against Heavy Infantry and 1.25 against Light Ranged Cavalry, with penalties against artillery and close-combat units. The extra reach changes the unit from a short-to-mid-range siege infantry into a potent ranged answer to infantry formations. Counter Infantry Rifling is particularly relevant because the source notes that it adds a bonus against infantry to the rocket attack. The card and technology require a deck and resource commitment; send them when the match plan can protect and mass the unit rather than expecting one Fire Thrower to decide a fight. A separate Flame Throwers Home City Card grants a charged flamethrower attack. It deals five damage per hit at range 4–10, with an area of 4 and an attack interval of 0.75 seconds, then a 60-second recharge. It inflicts burning damage over 6.1 seconds but does not attack Treasure Guardians or wildlife. Use it on a clustered military force or structure when the charge is ready; it is not a universal attack mode for clearing the map. The differences between the standard grenade, Rockets and Flame Throwers matter because their ranges, area sizes, rates and access conditions are distinct. Fire Throwers replace the Grenadier as the Maltese siege infantry. Compared with a Grenadier, the early unit has less raw damage but longer reach and specialist bonuses against Heavy Infantry and light cavalry. It is classified as Light Infantry, so it avoids some Heavy Infantry counters but remains weak to cavalry, Shock Troops and Artillery. Hospitallers can help screen cavalry and Armored Pistoleers can support the flank. Use the Artillery Foundry for production, or the Fort and Galleon when those options are available; the De Redin Towers card adds Outpost production. Veteran, Guard and Imperial upgrades add 20%, 30% and 50% hit points and damage at their respective ages, with the later upgrades requiring the previous tier. Definitive Edition changed the Fire Thrower’s resistance and attack balance, so current values should be used instead of older Grenadier-era guides.
Protect the siege infantry
The Fire Thrower’s different modes reward deliberate target selection. Use the standard grenade for grouped infantry within its 4–16 range, its 16-range siege attack for a building when no better siege unit is present, and the Rocket or charged Flame Thrower only after the required Home City card is available. The Rocket begins at range 16, giving the unit a way to pressure formations before they close; the Flame Thrower trades reach for a wider area and a 60-second recharge. Burning damage continues after the hit, but does not compensate for losing the unit to cavalry. Keep Hospitallers or other anti-cavalry troops near the firing line and retreat the Fire Throwers as soon as the screen breaks.
Three attack profiles and their ranges
The Maltese Fire Thrower is ranged infantry with an unusual siege-oriented arsenal. Its standard siege attack reaches 16 range, a Rocket attack extends to 22, and the Flamethrower is a close-range area attack suited to targets gathered near the frontline. These modes do not make the unit equally safe at every distance: the long-range attacks let it contribute behind other troops, while using the flamethrower requires it to move into danger. Its 120 hit points and two-population cost reward careful positioning. Keep it behind a screen for ranged bombardment and move closer only after enemy units are occupied or the target cannot retaliate effectively.
Maltese production and siege support
An Artillery Foundry is the standard listed production building, with Forts, Galleons and the Outpost access granted by the De Redin Towers card providing other routes under their respective conditions. The 50-Wood, 75-Coin cost and 42-second training time mean the Fire Thrower competes with other Maltese military investments and takes time to replace. Use it as part of a combined push: frontline troops create space, the Fire Thrower damages structures or clustered defenders, and mobile units guard against cavalry. Its short-range area attack can punish a dense formation, but a failed approach can lose a costly siege unit quickly. Confirm which attack mode is active and keep it in range of friendly protection.
Close-range matchup limits
Fire Thrower is an Aztec Infantry unit with attack profiles that perform best against Infantry rather than Cavalry. It currently has 35% ranged resistance, down from 40% before update 13.10442. Its ranged profile includes 1.75× against Heavy Infantry and 1.25× against Light Ranged Cavalry, but only 0.4× against Heavy Cavalry and Hand Shock Troops; the latter values were 0.5× before update 13.58326 and 0.3× in an earlier update snapshot. Another listed attack carries 0.5× against Heavy Cavalry and Hand Shock Troops. These low modifiers make the unit vulnerable to its close-range counters, so use it against suitable Infantry targets and keep anti-cavalry support nearby.