Pyrocitor

"Having problems with swarms of small creatures? The Gadgetron Pyrocitor is the answer! This flame-thrower device will toast 'em fast! Caution: Larger Enemies may take longer to cook…"

- Gadgetron weapon presentation manual

The Pyrocitor is an incendiary weapon manufactured by Gadgetron featured in Ratchet & Clank. It is a short-ranged flamethrower, which exhausts ammunition quickly, but can easily defeat smaller enemies. It upgrades to the Gold Pyrocitor.

Ratchet & Clank
The Pyrocitor becomes available from Novalis onwards and is the first weapon that is available to purchase from a vendor. Upon completion of the game, the Gold Pyrocitor becomes available for 30,000 bolts and 4 gold bolts. It is also used by test dummies on Kalebo III when fighting Ratchet.

Up Your Arsenal
The Pyrocitor was used by Test Dummies in the testing arena but was not usable by Ratchet.

Characteristics
The Pyrocitor is a large weapon, colored silver with red trim. It has a large base with a handle protruding from the side, along with a large scope and a large, red muzzle. There is a red gas canister just below the weapon with a tube connecting to the muzzle, which supplies the weapon with its flame. The flame thrown is relatively short-ranged and is continuous. When upgraded to the Gold Pyrocitor, the flame becomes green rather than orange.

Combat
The Pyrocitor's main use is to fight large groups of small enemies in relatively close range. As it has a high ammunition capacity and can easily defeat weaker enemies, the Pyrocitor is very effective against large swarms of enemies or enemies that cover a wider distance. A good example is the sandsharks on Aridia, where the Pyrocitor can make the mission far easier than the OmniWrench can. However, the Pyrocitor is very poor against larger enemies which require more hits to be defeated. Due to its lack of targeting, and Ratchet's lack of strafing, the Pyrocitor cannot easily focus on a single target, but is instead better at "spraying."

The Pyrocitor is very useful for a large portion of the game, until the player acquires the Morph-O-Ray or the Tesla Claw. The Morph-O-Ray outclasses the Pyrocitor in that it requires no ammo and is useful against the same enemies. The Tesla Claw outclasses the Pyrocitor as it can target specific enemies, meaning it is useful against large mobs of small enemies and larger enemies, while the Pyrocitor can only effectively combat the former. Other than the Tesla Claw and the Blaster, the Pyrocitor does not have many peers among Ratchet & Clank ' s weapons.

The Gold Pyrocitor has more range and deals more damage than the base version. This means that enemies with two hit points, such as Puffer Fish and ExtermiBots, now only take one hit to kill.

Behind the scenes
The Pyrocitor was one of the first weapons showcased to Sony, alongside the Suck Cannon, used in an early version of Metropolis on what would be Kerwan.

The Pyrocitor featured in the Ratchet & Clank demo, where the flames moved more quickly than those of the weapon in the full version of the game. This meant that the spin technique was less effective with this version as the trail wouldn't bend as much. It is unknown why this was changed.

The ammo for the Pyrocitor found in Ammo Crates was identical to the fuel tank seen on the weapon itself, albeit much more stubby. Insomniac employee Alex Hastings has called the Pyrocitor one of his favorite weapons.

Weapon summaries
"Pyrocitor! This fearsome weapon really shines at close range. Great for taking out those pesky small enemies"

- Vendor description

"Having problems with swarms of small creatures? The Gadgetron Pyrocitor is the answer! This flamethrower device will toast 'em fast! User Tip: Hold Down Circle for a constant stream of fire."

- Help Menu description

"Having problems with swarms of small creatures? The Gadgetron Pyrocitor is the answer! This flame-thrower device will toast 'em fast! Caution: Larger Enemies may take longer to cook…"

- European instruction manual description

"The Gold Pyrocitor is Gadgetron's deluxe version of its popular flamethrower. This weapon does more damage and does it faster than the original. It also has a greater range and a soothing green flame."

- Help Menu Description