Molotov Cocktail

Definition
A Molotov Cocktail is an improvised incendiary device created by filling a container with flammable liquid and corking the container with a piece of material which is then lit. The Molotov Cocktail is a potent, yet inexpensive incendary device that can be prepared by even the least experienced persons. The modern Molotov cocktail was named by the Finns during the Soviet attack on Finland, when Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov dropped parabomb breadbaskets (filled with TNT) on the capital, Helsinki. The Finns took the joke to heart and invented the cocktail to wash down the 'bread' from the airdrops with, and the name has stuck since. By the end of World War II the Russians had actually found a way to coat the bottle in a chemical that when the flammable liquid (alcohol) inside the bottle hit it, it would set itself on fire, preventing the need for every soldier to carry a lighter, and making them quicker to use. This however had the unfortunate drawback of the occasional soldier tripping or diving for cover and breaking the bottle open and setting himself or herself on fire. The Molotov is still used today all around the world and are commonly used in riots.

Call of Duty: World at War
In Call of Duty: World at War Molotov Cocktails are found throughout the Red Army Campaign as special grenades, unlike in Multiplayer where they are primary grenades. They are not in the Marine Raiders' Campaign because of the M2 Flamethrower. The Molotov is of good use in Nazi Zombies, again as a secondary grenade, where it can be found in the Mystery Box. When an enemy in regular campaign mode is hit with a Molotov, they will be incapacitated by the flames.

Molotov appear as primary grenades in Multiplayer, and have a 3-Phase challenge, Bartender, similar to the other grenades. The Molotov Cocktail is unlocked at level 10. You have to hit a player directly to kill them with this weapon, unless playing in Hardcore mode where an indirect hit may also succeed. Molotov cocktails have a very long lighting time in comparison to the time taken to ready the other grenades, but to balance this they explode on contact and may be held while lit for an indefinite amount of time.

Like the other fire based weapons, Molotov cocktails may start fires on the ground which last for a short period of time. Many players will refuse to walk into fire which they see as a danger (fire does not harm your health, but will restrict your vision).

Power Argument
There was controversy regarding the low damage radius and range of the Molotov cocktail in the beta version of the game, subsequently both are increased in the retail version.

Currently, the Molotov cocktail lacks the power to kill with anything but a direct hit. Most players view the Molotov cocktail as a weak weapon, and indeed it has no practical advantage over frag grenades. They both do the around same damage against tanks, however the Molotov can more readily combat tanks, as it explodes on contact, making it easier to hit the tank, but in this case the Sticky Grenade would be superior to both the Frag and the Molotov in terms of damage and ease of use. However, the Molotov has farther range of throwing, making it able to be thrown from very safe distances.

Many players view the Molotov as a hard-to-use-weapon that is ineffective to most players. Many players that play the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War feel that it is even harder to use successfully because of the lag effect. In a large map, such as Hanger, the Molotov shouldn't be used, as there will be much larger areas to avoid its blast radius.

Trivia

 * If you are killed while "cooking" a Molotov you will drop the Molotov where you died, engulfing the location in fire. This can be used as a form of manual martyrdom and is a guaranteed kill against an enemy if you were knifed. Some players will even use this quality of the Molotov in an offensive way and "Banzai Charge" an enemy in an effort to get him to knife you and thus incinerate himself.


 * If you get the Molotov on the Nazi Zombies maps, your character will say,"This is bullshit!", "That's all!?", "What a rip!","You've got to be kidding!", "I might as well just hit them with a stick!", "Ich bin...FUCKING ANGRY!!", or "Ah, shit." Indeed, the Molotov is perhaps the least useful item from the mystery box, with only four molotovs that even in early rounds can do nothing more than turn Zombies into Crawlers. However they do serve a good purpose with that and they do not take up a weapon slot, but beware it will replace the Monkey Bomb if you have it.
 * A notable user of the Molotov Cocktail is the American Mafia.
 * In multiplayer this grenade is listed as a primary grenade, but in single player, it is a special grenade.