Beheaded Firecracker

SS1
SSHD
IHRB
SS4

Beheaded Firecracker

General information

Type

Undead soldier

Affiliation

Mental's Horde

Individual information

Health

3 (IHRB normal variant)
10 (IHRB tier 1 variant)
19 (all other games)
20 (IHRB tier 2 variant)

Attacks / weapons

Chainsaw (20) (SSHD & SSVR only)
Projectile (4)

Equipment

Life control unit
Vocal synthesizer

Size

6 ft (1.8 m) standing

Game information

Point value

20 (IHRB)
35 (IHRB Tier 1 variant)
45 (IHRB Tier 2 variant)
150 (SS:NE)
200 (other games)

Designed by

Admir Elezović (all games except for SS:DD, SS:TRE, SS:DD:XXL & IHRB)

The Beheaded Firecracker is a recurring enemy in the Serious Sam series.

Overview

The Beheaded Firecracker is an executed Sirian soldier that has been raised from the dead with Mental's cyber-zombie technology. They have been implanted with a life control unit and vocal synthesizer. The Firecracker is equipped with a strange claw-gun in one hand, and holds his head in the other, which he uses to obtain visual and sound data. In Serious Sam HD, the gun is replaced with a chainsaw for melee combat, and the head is used as a weapon.

Appearance

In most of his appearances, the Firecracker is a headless man suited in a red T-shirt.
In Serious Sam: Next Encounter, the Firecracker's shirt is purple, making him resemble the Beheaded Rocketeer.
In I Hate Running Backwards, the Firecracker resembles the Firecracker from the Serious Sam games, seen with the same red coloration, though his head resembles the head of Herobrine, a community-made creepypasta and a popular Minecraft community icon. They also wield chainsaws like the Firecrackers in Serious Sam HD. Its updated model has a less blocky look to it and its head looks a lot less like Herobrine.

Occurrence

In Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Firecrackers are uncommon, rarely appearing in most levels. This general occlusion is boosted in Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, often replaced by Zorg Mercenaries. Firecrackers are usually found accompanying Beheaded Rocketeers, occasionally spawning on elevated places such as higher floors or low pillars.

In I Hate Running Backwards, Firecrackers will appear in groups of three, usually staying at the bottom of the screen.

Behavior and skills

When the Firecracker spots a target, he will shoot a spread of five magic missiles from its weapon, that will spread along the floor/ground in a diagonal fashion (the center projectile shooting straight). These missiles can slide along walls and other tall obstacles if they connect at a low angle. These projectiles are relatively easy to evade if the player pays enough attention to the Firecracer's attacks. Depending on their grounded location, they are considered cannon fodder in comparison to Rocketeers. Firecrackers are immune to the attacks of other Firecrackers.

In Serious Sam HD, the Firecracker will swing its chainsaw at the player if they get too close.

In I Hate Running Backwrds, they fire several energy projectiles in a fixed pattern which cannot be deflected. Their firing pattern is not aimed directly at the player like in the Serious Sam games, but rather pre-determined. Two upgraded versions Firecrackers also exist. These variants fire more projectiles, have increased health and have slightly different firing patterns. Their movement speed is also increased.

Tactics

Serious Sam 1

Compared to other enemies, Firecrackers are generally considered to be low-priority targets, thus they pose a low threat to the player.
The missiles fired by the Firecracker can easily be avoided by jumping over them.
With other enemies attacking, the Firecracker may be a potential threat if the player's health is low. If it all possible, he should be shot down from its perch or the ground to avoid being finished off without warning.
Like other beheaded enemies, Firecrackers can be taken out in two shots from the Schofield .45 or the Thompson submachine gun. Both shotguns are also effective against them.
Both alone or in groups, Firecrackers can be simple targets in comparison to Rocketeers.
In Serious Sam HD and Serious Sam VR, attempting a melee attack on a Firecracker can be a lethal gamble, as the chainsaw inflicts five times more damage than a single magic missile. If the player is quick enough, they can use the knife on the Firecracker instead of the chainsaw, as the knife will instantly kill him.
Firecrackers on elevated areas are more of a nuisance, as the projectiles travel downwards in an angled-dipping fashion.

Serious Sam: Next Encounter

The Firecracker is a bit deadlier than his Serious Sam 1 counterpart. His magic missiles do not touch the ground and stay clustered much further than in the aforementioned games. If all of the magic missiles connect, the player will suffer quite a bit of damage.
When dual-wielded, the Shofield Desert Hawk works just as well as is does on the Rocketeer. However, their increased deadliness makes it a bit dangerous to take on large groups of Firecrackers with the Desert Hawk.
Because of how dangerous the Firecracker can be, the Shofield Uzi Pistol works best to kill them quickly before they can do too much damage.

Serious Sam: Double D

The Firecracker has very low health, so nearly any gunstack works on him. Even the Type II Machine Pistol can kill him in a few shots.
Groups of Firecrackers can easily be cleared out with the 12 Gauge Shotgun or Thompson submachine gun. They both fire enough projectiles to quickly kill a group of Firecrackers.
He is a low threat when paired with other enemies. His projectiles can easily be dodged, but if the player has a moment, they should briefly target the Firecracker with weapons like the Thompson or the LM32 Rocket Launcher. A shot or two from those weapons should easily clear out any Firecrackers mixed with other enemies.

I Hate Running Backwards

As they possess the lowest base health of all the enemies in the game they can be killed by pretty much any ranged weapon in one shot, unless they are on an upgraded tier.
While Firecrackers are very weak in terms of health, they can still be a potent threat to the player.

Behind the scenes

In Test 1, the Firecracker was initially equipped with a chainsaw with his right hand and his head with the left, which was meant to fire the spread-missiles. In the final version of Serious Sam 1, the chainsaw has been replaced with a claw-like gun that fires the missiles, that resembles one used by Ugh-Zan III (only, that version shoots electrical discharges). However, the in-game description still refers to the Firecracker firing projectiles from the head. While the chainsaw-wielding design can be seen in Test 1, it's virtually useless, only serving for decorative purposes. In Serious Sam HD, the original version has returned, sporting a brand-new chainsaw.

In Test 1's files, a beta model of the Firecracker was recovered, which reveals an interesting former appearance: the red t-shirt was once a jersey with a strange pattern embedded, the military-fashion pants were matching-red shorts, a pike protruded from the Firecracker's neck, the head was red and inhuman, and the chainsaw had a futuristic-industrial texture. The Beheaded Bomber had a very similar design in the Alpha version as well, the similarities being the head, the pike, and the chainsaw.

Trivia

The chainsaw the Firecracker uses in Serious Sam HD is based on Cucurbito the Pumpkin's chainsaw from Serious Sam: Xbox.
The Firecracker in Serious Sam: Next Encounter has the Beheaded Rocketeer's shirt, and vice-versa.