Fire starter

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Fire starters are tools in Pikmin 4. They are small flaming pinecone-shaped objects that can be picked up and carried around by Red Pikmin. A Red Pikmin carrying a fire starter can then be thrown at an object to burn it, which can destroy dried plants and weaken icy enemies.

Fire starters are connected to objects in areas and caves called bonfire altars. These are found in fixed locations and can either be flaming or extinguished. Each flaming bonfire altar can supply one fire starter at a time.

Mechanics

Red Pikmin carrying fire starters cannot ride Oatchi, and appear separately from other Red Pikmin in the HUD to allow the player to select one to throw. Fire starters have a time limit before they burn up and disappear, but can be thrown an unlimited number of times within this period. The time limit is represented by a circular health wheel above the fire starter, which steadily depletes over time. If a fire starter Pikmin is thrown at the floor, it will drop the fire starter, which can be picked up again by throwing another Red Pikmin at it.

Throwing a Red Pikmin at a bonfire altar to pick up the fire starter on it will mean there is no fire starter on the bonfire altar until that fire starter burns up and disappears. Extinguished bonfire altars can be lit by throwing a fire starter at them, which will light it aflame permanently and make a new fire starter appear on it. Lighting a bonfire altar will also reset the time limit on the fire starter used to light it. Since each altar is responsible for one fire starter, if the player can manage to visit several in time, they can obtain multiple fire starters. The standby Pikmin HUD indicator's health wheel will reflect the fire starter in the squad with the least time remaining.

Uses

The primary use of fire starters is to destroy dried plants when thrown at, in order to open up a path or object that was previously blocked by the plants. The fire starter will not be used up by this, so the Red Pikmin holding it can be called back and the fire starter used again, but it will not reset the time limit.

For combat, fire starters can be thrown at enemies for various effects. Charging at an enemy using a fire starter Pikmin will not work.

• Frosty Bulborbs, Dwarf Frosty Bulborbs, and Snowflake Fluttertails instantly lose their protective coating of ice if they have it. This makes the fire starter disappear.
• Frosty Bulborbs and Snowy Blowhogs lose one third of their health if there is no protective coating of ice. This makes the fire starter disappear.
• Dwarf Frosty Bulborbs lose all their health if they don't have their coating of ice. This makes the fire starter disappear.
• Freezecakes will simply take no damage and instead freeze the Pikmin. This makes the fire starter disappear.
• For other enemies, either nothing happens or they are never encountered near fire starters to know.

Throwing a fire starter at frozen hydro jelly or at an ice wall will instantly destroy it. In either case the fire starter disappears, and in the case of the ice wall, it is possible for the Pikmin to become frozen.

Throwing a fire starter at a Fiery Bulblax will reset the time limit on the fire starter.

In cold cave sublevels, having a lit bonfire altar will warm up the room and stop Pikmin from feeling cold.

Locations

• Areas
  • Blossoming Arcadia: In Olimar's Shipwreck Tale only, there is a network of 7 bonfire altars around this area.
  • Giant's Hearth: Fire starters are a major mechanic of this area. There are 9 bonfire altars in total.
• Caves
  • Frozen Inferno: Fire starters are a major mechanic of this cave and are found on all 4 sublevels.
  • Cradle of the Beast: 2 bonfire altars are present on the first sublevel.
• Dandori Challenges
  • Trial of the Sage Leaf: There are 6 bonfire altars in the second challenge, "Snow Problem".
  • Aerial Incinerator: Features 3 bonfire altars.
  • Strategic Freezeway: Features 6 bonfire altars.
  • Hot Sandy Duel: Fire starters are placed on the top-left and bottom-left corners of this arena, opposite the players' Onions which are placed on the right.

In addition, fire starters and bonfire altars appear in the Piklopedia entries for the Frosty Bulborb, Dwarf Frosty Bulborb, and Snowflake Fluttertail.

Gallery

a picture of a Fire starter in Giant's Hearth

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Names in other languages

The following article or section is in need of assistance from someone who plays Pikmin 4. Particularly: Fill in the names in other languages, for the main languages at least.

Language	Name	Meaning
Spanish	Brasa	Ember

See also

• Bomb rock