Flare Gun

The Flare gun is a weapon cut from Half-Life 2. It is a weapon that shoots flares that are typically used as a distress signal as well as other signaling purposes. It can be found in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta.

The weapon was to be found on the Borealis. Due to general ineffectiveness when used as weapon it was cut out of HL2 on early development. The gun still exists in Half-Life 2 but cannot be acquired, this is evidenced by Overwatch soldiers on the Coast using one to summon a gunship, to light an area after deactivating the ceiling lights during the Entanglement chapter and a Civil Protection officer firing one when the player assaults a power generator during the rebellion.

Trivia

 * In Half-Life 2: Episode One, disposable flares were introduced, that Gordon Freeman could use with his Gravity Gun, mocking the operation of the flare gun.
 * The Flare Gun concept was reused in Team Fortress 2 as an unlockable weapon of the Pyro and it is used to ignite enemies from long range.
 * SMOD adds a script for the flaregun.
 * CPs will fire flareguns upon seeing the player in certain areas. They are invariably out of the player's reach to prevent him from finding it.
 * Synergy used to have this weapon before the game had bits of content stripped for the Steam release.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2