“The Molotov is a powerful and unpredictable area denial weapon that bursts into flames when thrown on the ground, injuring any player in its radius.”
―Official description
The Molotov Cocktail is a thrown explosive featured in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, exclusive to the Terrorists. The counterpart for Counter-Terrorists is the Incendiary Grenade.
Overview
Molotov cocktails are typically composed of a glass alcohol bottle, alcohol, or gasoline inside the bottle itself, and a lit rag for the ignition source of flammable liquid. It functions when it is shattered on a surface, releasing the contents within, and the lit rag would create flames upon contact with the liquid.
When thrown, the bottle would shatter upon hitting a walkable surface that is 30 degrees or smaller from horizontal[1], spreading the flammable liquid around. The bottle will not shatter and will bounce off all other surfaces. This not only does constant damage to those in contact, but also slows and even continues to hurt affected players for a few seconds afterwards. The flames can be extinguished by a smoke grenade, and the flames will not deploy inside smoke. Flying for too long will cause the grenade to explode midair.
When held, the player's movement speed is 245 units per second.
In the PC version of Global Offensive, all grenades can be thrown at three different ranges. Using the primary fire throws the grenade at long range, using the secondary fire bounces the grenade at short range, and using both primary and secondary fire throws the grenade at medium range.
By releasing one mouse button after the other, throws between the regular 3 can be achieved. There are a virtually infinite amount of ways to throw a grenade using this.
Getting hit by a flying grenade in Global Offensive deals a small amount of damage.[2]
Multiple flames overlapping each other will stack the damage.[3]
The Molotov Cocktail has a larger size when compared to the Incendiary Grenade, making it harder to fly through smaller gaps.[3]
Advantages
- Excellent for temporarily preventing enemies from advancing to an important area (such as a bombsite, important path or the hostages).
- Can be used in conjunction with other grenades to be more effective, or simply used to set up a defensive or offensive strategy.
- Great to push back and prevent enemies from eliminating the player with close-ranged weaponry (like shotguns, pistols, or the knife).
- Can quickly spread and trap enemies.
- Long-lasting effects.
- Helpful in allowing users to escape.
Disadvantages
- Very unpredictable (especially in the hands of newcomers).
- If thrown incorrectly, it can harm the player, the player's team members (with FF enabled), and even the hostages!
- Very distinct look compared to other projectiles, making it easily distinguishable.
- Easily seen, especially when lit, and will become the center of attention for many players.
- This weapon has to be thrown at the ground (or at least, bounce off the walls and then hit the ground) to be useful.
- Flames do not last for a very long time (7 seconds), requiring the player's attention if used to block an enemy.
- Timing and trajectory are very important to consider, as it can explode too late or bounce away from intended target.
- If thrown too high it can potentially explode while in mid-air, rendering it useless.
- Smoke grenades will extinguish the fire
- Bullets can still go through the fire
Damage
The Molotov cocktail will burst into flames on contact with the ground and ignites any player within its radius, their health will drop drastically if they don't escape soon. The duration of the Molotov's carpet of fire is about 7 seconds.
Gameplay
Tactics
- Use the Molotov Cocktail to damage and separate enemy teams. If done properly, eliminate damaged targets easily as the flames can prevent backup from the opposing team.
- If being chased by multiple enemies, throw a Molotov at the ground (especially narrow corridors or a one way path) to prevent enemies from closing in.
- This weapon is perfect for ambushing the enemy. If possible, try to throw the Molotov at the enemy's predicted path, allowing for the fire to quickly spread and gain an advantage over the enemy. The Molotov can become the force multiplier if the enemy team is close to one other, where it's possible to hurt multiple opponents.
- Timing is quite crucial for the Molotov because the fire will only last for 7 seconds. Make sure to use it only when enemy players are approaching the target area.
- Much like the incendiary grenade, the Molotov can also be used to counter ambushes.
- If the player suspects campers nearby, use the fire and its spread to flush the enemy out.
- It is sometimes more effective than HE grenades because the enemy will take a considerable amount of damage if it is used to trap the enemy.
- The C4 is unaffected by the fire, so a Molotov can be used to prevent the bomb's defusal when time is running out.
- Beware of enemy smoke grenades can extinguish the fire, although it can be considered a positive, as it might force the use of a smoke grenade that might otherwise block defensive line-of-sight.
- Be careful when covering a hostage rescue zone with flames. If a CT carrying a hostage is killed and a Molotov is thrown too close to the dropped hostage, he will take serious damage, causing severe economic penalties or receiving a kick/ban from a server if the offense is repeated.
Counter-Tactics
- Wait for the fire to go out, taking cover if needed.
- Throw a Smoke grenade to extinguish the fire the Molotov cocktail creates.
- This can also allow a Counter Terrorist to extinguish the fire next to a planted bomb and defuse it successfully, if there are no Terrorists around to guard the bomb.
- In hostage rescue scenarios, this tactic can be used for hostage rescue zones.
- Find higher ground to pick off enemies using the flames to get into position.
- Be wary of areas with higher elevation. Upon throwing a Molotov/incendiary grenade, victims will struggle to avoid damage/death from the fire or fall.
Achievements
- Weapon Specialist
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Flame Expert Kill 100 enemies with the Molotov or Incendiary grenade. |
Comparison to the Incendiary grenade
Positive
- Higher armor penetration (90% vs 73.75%)
- Faster weapon switch after deploy
- Cheaper ($400 vs $600)
Neutral
- Same damage to unarmored opponents
- Same damage radius
- Same distance/time until explosion
- Similar bounce trajectory
Negative
- Bigger projectile, making it impossible (or at least without more precise aim) to be thrown through tight gaps in which the Incendiary grenade can achieve [4]
- Slightly longer deploy time than the incendiary grenade.
Trivia
- The Molotov Cocktail was invented by Finns in World War II and its name is an insulting reference to former Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov.
- The Molotov cocktail was cut from Half-Life, Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero but reintroduced in Global Offensive.
- The Molotov Cocktail and the Incendiary Grenade are both very similar to the CS grenade (a gas grenade cut from the original Counter-Strike) as area denial gadget.
- This weapon re-used the sounds from the Left 4 Dead 2 Molotov.
- When directly standing on the fire of the incendiary grenade/Molotov cocktail, the player's screen becomes slightly darkened by the smoke.
- Before the introduction of the incendiary grenade, the Molotov cocktail was also purchasable by the Counter-Terrorists in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Beta.
- Originally, the view model of the Molotov cocktail featured the lighter being lit at all times. In an update, this has been removed.
- Alongside with the incendiary grenade, the Molotov cocktail is often considered to be "unbalanced, overpowered, and perhaps unfair" as it can prevent players from reaching important areas, such as a bombsite. More importantly, these firebombs are often thrown at the location of the C4 thus hindering the Counter-Terrorists' progress in defusing the bomb. However, a smoke grenade can be used to extinguish the fire thus reducing/eliminating the effectiveness of the fire.
- The cloth inside the bottle is a jigglebone moving with the player.
- The Molotov was also seen in the trailer, of which the last Terrorist throws to halt the progression of the remaining GSG-9 force.
- If a player was killed by fire display "<player> killed you with inferno"
References
See also
External links
- Molotov cocktail at Wikipedia.
- Molotov cocktail at Half-Life Wiki.
- Molotov at Left 4 Dead Wiki.
Template:Equipment
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