Well,ive been bowling long enough to judge how much a ball hooks.I bowl on a med/heavy house pattern and never had a problem with my FB handling whatever volume of oil they put out but enigma would skid and never recover..so im comparing my experience using both balls
Then you've got a seriously condition specific layout on the Enigma, an oil soaked/over-polished Enigma, or you have a misguided sense of "skid" versus "roll"
I'll agree with J_Mac on this one. Generally, the Enigma is supposed to be stronger than the First Blood. However, if the Enigma is used on lighter volume patterns, the ball will puke on the backend because the flare potential was used up front. Because the motion was used up front, it will lose its energy in back and you'll get very little movement. That's what makes the ball look like it is not hooking when in reality all the hook potential was used in the front of the lane.
Another example would be my own arsenal with my Defiant and Frantic. If I'm on a long or high volume pattern, the Defiant will always shine and my Frantic will skid too much. Go to lighter volumes, and it's the opposite. The Frantic will have much more motion because the Defiant will have used it's flare potential up front and then lost it's energy in the back.
Around where I live, there are only 2 centers that I can even throw my heavy oil Defiant. That's strictly because of the heavy volume at 1 place, and because of the synthetic surface (Anvilane) at the other. Even then, most times I don't have to unless I'm on a sport short or 43'+ long pattern.
My opinion is that the oil volumes are what's causing the First Blood to appear stronger than the Enigma. I'm not knocking your judgement or knowledge. but I think that the volume is too light for the Enigma to be effective, or you may not be playing deep enough with it. Keep in the mind that the Enigma is a true heavy oil ball. You need oil and plenty of it to be effective. 90% of standard THS will never have the volumes of oil needed to use a ball that strong. It's also probably why you're getting a good look with the First Blood, because it is a good match for the volume of the pattern at your specific center. From what I saw this year in my league, the First Blood is great on medium and some medium-heavy patterns.
Now, depending on how long you've had the Enigma, it's typically a good idea to do a bake the ball/throw it in the Rejuvenator and do a resurface after every 50-70 games. The covers with the Enigma, Defiant, Sync, 912T, etc, will soak up a ton of oil. Those covers will require more maintenance to keep them in top shape.
