I have a lot of experience with both: firebomb was one of the first weapons that I was able to level up to rare T3 and T4 when I was getting started in Battle Bay, and it was on my shooter every battle for months and months. I agree with what everyone has said--it really is an awesome weapon. Good range. Huge radius makes it easy to land. There's nothing like being able to hit a clump of unfriends and set two or three boats on fire at the same time for 15+ seconds. Lots of residual benefit from teammates hitting them with cannons for burn perk damage. As a damage-dealing weapon for a shooter, it's a no-brainer. The only drawback, as Ash KOT mentioned, comes from the not-insignificant conflicts with shields in Brock's talent tree. So I suppose you might think twice if your loadout was all cannons and carronades for short- and medium-range fighting and you were trying to add one mortar for a little balance. The reduction to your shields might then outweigh the benefits of the firebomb. But that's unlikely.
Napalm, on the other hand. Napalm was the first epic weapon I got, way back when. I immediately leveled it up to 10 and used it about half a dozen times and then took it off and didn't use it again for months. I hadn't discovered these forums yet and I had no idea how to use it effectively, and I had lots of other better options at that stage of the game. I didn't scrap it, though, and I looked at that level 10 epic napalm in my inventory every day for weeks and even months, I guess. I finally got a dupe, and so I looked at two napalms in my inventory every day for weeks more. When I finally got a third, I didn't have any other pressing epic leveling to do, and I started to sink some resources into it, even though, honestly, I wasn't sure I'd ever use it much. And I still didn't, even once I got it up to 30. Somewhere in there, though, I discovered the forums, and learned how it could be used effectively. And it sounded different and interesting. So I started using it, and after a week or two got the achievement dupe, and then took it up to 40.
I would recommend you do something along these lines, too. Yes, focus on the firebomb, but keep the napalm and, even if you don't use it at all, work on it little-by-little in the background when you've got a few resources to sink into it. Because once you do get it leveled up and start using it, it's a revelation.
Firebombs (as well as pretty much every other red item) are much better at doing damage than napalm, but I'm convinced that napalm, leveled up and used properly, is much better at helping your team win. In other words, you can do more, I think, to positively influence a battle with napalm than with firebombs or anything else. What everyone else has said is right--people don't like fire, and they do whatever they have to do to get away from it immediately. It's a heady experience to be able to stop an entire team in its tracks by laying out a huge napalm pool in front of it. Or, conversely, dropping one on top of a group and sending them scurrying in different directions like cockroaches when someone flips on a light. That's power--to cause multiple unfriends to instantly drop whatever they're doing--including exchanging fire with your teammates--and go as fast as they can for the nearest edge, regardless of the strategic implications of their new location. And that's if they can go fast for the edge. Brother, get your epic napalm up to level 40 and 300 dps and you can cook lumbering shooters and defenders who are stationary or in an awkward area with walls or rocks to negotiate.
Like nearly every weapon, there are circumstances where it doesn't do you much good. The complete lack of short-range and burst damage makes it dangerous to carry on anything other than a shooter, in my opinion. Some maps are more conducive to its use than others. Some battles just don't shake out in a way that lets you use it to near full effect. But stack it with range perks and, as often than not, you can dictate much of the flow of most battles. I don't think it was a coincidence that my infamy took a big jump up when I started using it consistently after I got it leveled up. Additionally, it's a totally different gameplay experience than any of the other weapons provide. I don't have it equipped all the time, but, after a few dozen or a few hundred exclusively point-and-shoot battles, it's a great change-of-pace to metaphorically wave a wand and make enemy boats go (or not go) where you want them to. Kind of like taking a break from playing a warrior to playing a wizard, so to speak.
So... yes, go hard on firebomb and enjoy its many benefits. But keep the napalm, and keep investing in it here and there as you can, and in a few months you'll have a really, really fun toy to play with.
Not to be long-winded. But I've thought for a while about posting something about my experience with napalm, and this gave me an opportunity. Good luck!
Click to expand...