Molotov

Molotov  
General  
Type Lethal, thrown incendiary (quick slot)
How it is used Thrown. Bursts and leaves a fire area
Fuse Bursts on first impact; 5 s backstop
Cookable No
Thrown back No
Blast and fire  
Burst damage at centre 40 HP
Burst full damage out to 2.5 m
Burst no damage beyond 5 m
Burst minimum damage 10 HP
Fire area life 45 s
Fire patches 15 per throw, each 2 m x 2 m and 0.5 m tall
Fire damage to players 15 HP every 0.4 s (37.5 HP per second)
Fire damage to vehicles 2 HP every 0.4 s (5 HP per second)
Availability  
Price 340 cash
Shop unlock level 1
Required items None
Internal name Id.Item.Molotov

The Molotov is a thrown incendiary. It does a small burst when it goes off, then leaves a fire area that keeps burning for 45 s. Anyone who stands in the fire takes damage every 0.4 s, which is far more than the burst does.

Overview

The Molotov is sold as a Lethal, Quick Slot item for 340 cash, and its shop listing has unlock level 1, a field that gates nothing. Its burst is small, so most of its value is the fire. The Season 2 item data adds the Molotov to the item list of each of the 24 emotes, but it does not say what that does in play.

For the other explosives, see Grenades and Explosives. For the smoke and signal throwables, see Fire, Smoke and Flash.

How it works

Throwing. The Molotov has two throws. An overarm throw sends it at 20 m/s (2,000 cm/s). An underarm throw sends it at 12 m/s (1,200 cm/s). Thrown contact adds 10 HP of impact damage.

Water. When the Molotov goes off, the game reads the water depth at the point of impact from the map’s water height grid. The data does not say how the fire responds to that depth.

Burst on impact. A thrown Molotov bursts on its first impact. It is the only throwable set to do so. The 5 s fuse is only a backstop, for a Molotov that does not hit anything. It cannot be cooked.

Burst. On detonation the Molotov does its burst damage, then starts a fire area.

Fire area. The fire is laid as patches: each throw makes 15, and each patch is a box 2 m by 2 m and 0.5 m tall. The patches last 45 s. Anyone or any vehicle inside a patch takes damage every 0.4 s. The 15 patches lie on a spiral out to about 2.5 m from the impact point. The spiral’s centre is pushed up to 3.75 m further along the throw, so the fire spreads forward from where it lands.

Burning status. A player in the fire gets a “burning” status. It darkens and blurs the screen, with a vignette effect. The data does not give a timer for the status. It ends when the player leaves the patch: a static reading of the game code finds the status removed on leaving the fire volume (not checked in play).

Burning damage from the fire counts as the thrower’s damage, so kills and score from the fire go to the player who threw the Molotov (a static reading of the game code, not checked in play).

Armor reduces the burst but not the fire: no armor rule in the data applies to fire damage (derived). The damage tables reduce friendly fire only for infantry bullets (-50 %) and large hammers (-70 %), so fire from a teammate’s Molotov has no reduction in the tables. Whether the game mode turns off friendly damage elsewhere is not in these tables.

Damage

To players

The burst does 40 HP at its centre, out to 2.5 m. Beyond 2.5 m it falls to zero at 5 m. Standing in the fire is the main threat:

  • 15 HP every 0.4 s, which is 37.5 HP per second while in the fire
  • The status applies only while the player is in the fire

To vehicles

The burst does 40 HP at the centre, which is small against vehicles. The data gives the number of burst hits a vehicle needs to lose its main health. This assumes one burst on the main section, and it does not count the fire.

Vehicle Main health Burst hits to destroy
MH-6 400 HP 10
Humvee 500 HP 13
T-72B3 750 HP 20
M113 APC SV 1000 HP 27

The fire adds 2 HP every 0.4 s, which is 5 HP per second while a vehicle stays in the area. See Vehicle damage for how vehicles take damage in general.

Season 2 changes

The Season 2 items data adds the Molotov, along with four other items, to the item list of each of the 24 emotes. The data does not say what this changes in play. The Season 2 items data lists no change to the Molotov’s damage, fire, fuse or price.

See also

Sources