Fire Bottle

The Fire Bottle (or known as petrol bomb, gasoline bomb or molotov cocktail) is a type of improvised incendiary thrown weapon in Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption.



The simplest form is a glass bottle containing petrol fuel or a highly alcoholic beverage, with the source of ignition such being a burning cloth stuffed into the neck of the bottle. The cloth serves as a wick and is most effective when the cloth is in contact with the primary incendiary fuel. When used, the cloth is lit and the bottle hurled at a target. When the bottle smashes on impact, the ensuing cloud of petrol droplets and vapor are ignited, causing an immediate fireball followed by a raging fire as the remainder of the fuel is consumed. Modern variations include thickening agents, such as motor oil, to increase burn time and viscosity.

In Game
In Red Dead Redemption, the fire bottle is an effective thrown projectile and can be used from cover to assault enemy positions and ignite stagecoaches.

The fire bottle is unlocked in the single player in the mission The Demon Drink. Alternatively, the player may unlock the fire bottle early by completing the Nosalida Hideout upon arriving in Nuevo Paraiso.

In Multiplayer, the fire bottle is less effective than Dynamite, unless a player can predict a target's movements and lead his or her throw. When a player is caught in the radius of a thrown fire bottle he stumbles around uncontrollably for a few seconds trying to put out the fire and takes heavy damage. The fire bottle can also be good at getting enemies who are hiding behind cover.

Altogether, the fire bottle will rarely kill an enemy, and is more of a knock-over weapon. When used the enemy will just fall over in flames and wriggle around on the ground, which can allow the player to then finish him off while he is on the ground without him shooting back at you. If approached by an enemy carrying a fire bottle, a player can shoot the bottle, causing it to ignite in the enemy's hand.

In single player, with the infinite ammunition cheat activated, the fire bombs may start to glitch and pass through walls and the ground without any combustion or damages to NPCS.

The Fire Bottle is also a good way to get a $5,000 bounty on your head for the Friends in High Places achievement. The best place is the road from Plainview to Mexico. If you see a wagon, toss a fire bottle at the back and it will hopefully fry anyone in the back. The driver will then go and get law enforcement.

Trivia

 * At the time of Red Dead Redemption, petrol fuel would have been a rare commodity but strong alcohol would be relativley common. Additionally, there is no historical evidence of the fire bottle existing prior to the Spanish Civil War (1936). It became popularized during the Winter War (1939) in Finland and the USSR as a cheap weapon for the Finns to use against the Soviets. The Finns named it the "Molotov Cocktail" after the Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. The in-game weapon would likely use widely available ethyl alcohol, a less-desirable fuel for the fire bottle.
 * Possibly a developer oversight, after obtaining level 3 Dead-Eye fire bottles, throwing knives and dynamite can be used to mark targets in Dead-Eye mode, this will cause the projectile to simply act like a homing missile and fly straight at the target and guarantee a hit which is good for a fleeing victim.
 * Shooting a bottle held by an other player will make it explode.
 * Unlike Dynamite, the fuse on the Fire Bottle will never shorten.
 * The Fire Bottle will not explode underwater, but water does not extinguish a person who is burning from a Fire Bottle.