Incendiary Capsules

"The main component of this Tikhar bullet is a small glass capsule, filled with a flammable substance ignited by the contact with air."

- In-game description

Incendiary Capsules, known in-game as incendiary ammunition are a type of special ammunition found in Metro Exodus, that can be fired from Tikhar pneumatic weapon.

Overview
Incendiary rounds are small, round glass capsules, filled with a self-igniting chemical. The capsule breaks on impact and sets fire to its surroundings, or the person/mutant it struck. Incendiary rounds have metal caps in the front and stabilization fins, similar to the ones commonly found on crossbow bolts or rockets, in the back, possibly for better accuracy.

Artyom is first given incendiary capsules by Tokarev at the beginning of the Caspian level. According to the dialogue, this type of ammunition was actually invented by Tokarev in order to increase the firepower of the Tikhar. The player can later craft this type of ammo at the workbench, 10 rounds cost 40 mechanical and 40 chemical materials to craft, making it one of the most expensive ammo types in the game. They are also the rarest ammo type, as it is virtually impossible to find any in the world, so the player usually has to produce it himself.

Tikhar can be loaded incendiary ammo by pressing Tab and then holding R for a brief period of time. One capsule takes up as much space as three ball bearings in the magazine, so the smallest magazine can only hold three capsules, while the largest one can hold up to 12.

Incendiary ammunition is very effective against mutants, as it sets them on fire, stopping them from chasing the player, as they try to extinguish the fire by rolling on the ground or just scream. Most regular mutants and unarmored enemies can be killed with a single shot. Several shots in a quick succession are even enough to take down one of the heavily armored enemies with Gatling guns the player can encounter on several occasions. Given its efficiency and rarity, the player shouldn't waste incendiary rounds on just any target, but should instead save them for more intense battles or the toughest of enemies.

Trivia

 * The filling of incendiary capsules might consist of white phosphorus. This is a self-igniting allotropic modification of phosphorus that has been used in real-life incendiary ammunition since the 20th century, although nowadays, its use is banned from use as a direct weapon against humans by international treaties (but this obviously isn't a problem in the post apocalyptic world of Metro).