Cluster Grenade
Cookable grenade that explodes in a series of smaller blasts.
- Cookable, Bounces
Cluster Grenades detonate after a short time, releasing a shower of submunitions that detonate. The resulting explosion covers a wide area, and can easily take down targets in confined spaces.
In open spaces, if you cook the grenade before throwing it, you can create a massive airburst, capable of killing targets hiding in windows or in midair, or multiple targets clumped near an objective.
Despite the multiple bomblets released by the Cluster Grenades, they are an oddly precise weapon because they don’t detonate on impact. To get the most benefit from them, you need to learn to time the release of the grenade so it detonates when it nears your desired target.
The downside to this is the time it takes. You can very easily be shot and killed while cooking any grenade in the open, so try to cook behind cover, and only pop out briefly to throw. With practice, you can learn the timing needed to hit any target in range of your throw.
It is possible to “spike” a Cluster Grenade and create a wall of explosions, potentially useful in narrow hallways or if you know you are being pursued.
Plasma Grenade
Sticky grenade that sprays burning plasma in all directions.
- Impact Trigger, Sticky
Plasma Grenades release a shower of hot plasma on impact, burning and quickly killing anyone caught in the blast radius.
Plasma Grenades detonate on impact, and they stick to players (always fatal, if you can manage it). This quick release makes them preferable to Cluster Grenades for aerial denial, both because they detonate instantly and because the burning plasma makes it difficult, dangerous, or impossible for enemies to move into the covered area.
You can use the plasma field to block a narrow hallway or cover an objective, but be aware that in the open, enemies can simply jump over the blast zone.
Because you can’t cook Plasma Grenades, and due to their method of detonation, they aren’t a great choice to use against highly mobile targets or most enemies on elevated terrain above you.
Seeker Grenade
Autonomous sticky grenade that seeks out nearby enemies and explodes.
- Seeking, Sticky
Seeker “Grenades” are really small explosive drones that automatically seek out nearby hostiles and detonate when they get in range.
These drones can be tossed a short distance, before landing and then pursuing nearby enemies.
They have a short pursuit distance and a fairly small blast that can be evaded by quick jumps, but they are lethal against unaware enemies or foes clumped in tight spaces with poor visibility against the scuttling bomb.
Seeker Grenades stick to enemies who are hit directly, but they bounce off walls and only begin actively seeking enemies when they come to rest on the ground.
Trip Mine
Magnetic trip mine that detonates when an enemy interrupts the beam.
- Wall-sticky
Trip Mines are fixed trip wire explosives, adhering to any surface that you attach them to.
Once placed, they remain until an enemy steps through the trip wire beam and triggers the detonation. There is a brief delay before this explosion occurs, and the trip wire beam is extremely visible to enemies.
As a result, these are best used when you place them around sharp, blind corners in enclosed areas, where enemies are unlikely to spot them until it is too late.
They also pair well with Cryo Mines. The slowing effect can guarantee a kill if your unfortunate victim lacks Blast Shield or Tac Resist.
In most situations it isn’t worth using Trip Mines in the open, since they’re too visible and the blast is too easily evaded. Stick to hallways and objectives where you know enemies must pass.
Exploding Drone
Launched aerial drone that explodes on impact or remotely detonates with grenade button or by double-tapping reload.
- Remote Detonated, Impact Trigger
The Exploding Drone is an unusual weapon, a floating payload that delivers your explosive in a straight line until it contacts another player, a wall, or you detonate it yourself.
You can quickly detonate the drone by double tapping reload, and because you can see your drone through walls, this makes it possible to send the drone on a flight path right into an objective area, window, or doorway and detonate it just as it reaches the desired target location.
The exploding drone can also be detonated by stray bullets, yours or an enemy’s, though it is usually easier to detonate it manually. A fast and accurate (or lucky) enemy can destroy it before it reaches its target. Don’t launch Exploding Drones over long, open spaces. They make fairly easy targets in those situations.
The drone takes a considerable amount of attention to use well, between the flight time and the timed manual detonation to use it most effectively, so be careful about where and how you use it. Time spent managing your drone is time spent not hunting, defending, or securing objectives.
T.A.R.
Rocket-propelled system that delivers a timed, sticky plastique payload.
- Cookable, Impact Trigger
An unusual “grenade,” the T.A.R. is really a sort of wrist-mounted grenade launcher.
When activated, you can prime and “cook” a grenade that is launched rapidly wherever you aim your crosshairs.
The grenade travels rapidly and detonates on impact. This makes the T.A.R. a fairly powerful weapon against mobile targets, and it works well with heavy jump usage. You can easily go sailing over a target and end them with a quick grenade shot.
With practice, you can airburst the launched grenade to pick off targets in midair or in windows, and as it travels more quickly than the Cluster Grenade, it can be more effective against moving enemies.
Note that scoring a kill requires a close detonation, so ideally you want to be in an elevated position for most shots (or in midair).
Flechette Grenade
Splits into multiple propelled grenades on impact.
- Impact Trigger, Splits on Contact
A variation of the Cluster Grenade, the Flechette Grenade fragments instantly when it impacts a wall, releasing several grenades that then explode.
Because the Flechette Grenade cannot be cooked, it is useful for quick “bank shots”—tossing the grenade at a wall or even the floor to bounce the split bombs into a desired area.
Keep in mind that while it is faster to throw a Flechette Grenade than it is to accurately cook and toss a Cluster Grenade, you pay for this with the loss of precision, and Flechette Grenades don’t saturate an area quite as well as Plasma Grenades.
That said, they are still very effective for blocking off narrow hallways, and they can do a number on an enemy team that is clumped up around an objective.
Like Cluster Grenades, they can also be useful for clearing out emplaced enemy Tacticals or Trip Mines.
Black Hole Projector
Creates a singularity that pulls in enemies with crushing force.
Very useful in confined spaces, and less useful elsewhere, the Black Hole Projector is not really a “grenade” at all. It’s a small device that you can toss a short distance. It activates once it comes to rest on the ground, creating a short-lived singularity that pulls in nearby enemies.
The projector is fatal if an enemy comes into contact with the heart of the singularity, but the pull can be resisted with quick action and jumping.
Note that because the pull is intense, even if you don’t score a kill with the projector itself, the slowing and pulling from the singularity can allow you or your teammates easy kills.
The projector is also a remarkably good escape tool in confined spaces—you can destroy them if you shoot the base/device. Also, since you cannot kill teammates with them, they are a very useful defense to throw right on top of a group of teammates taking a Dom point or similar objective. Just remember to stay away yourself, as your own Black Hole will kill you!
Bio Spike
Thrown ballistic knife that explodes on enemy impact. .Can be recovered after use.
- Recoverable
A lethal throwing weapon that detonates on impact with another player, potentially allowing for multi-kills if you are accurate and lucky, the Bio Spike can be held before throwing, giving you a moment to line up a shot. Because it has a travel time, landing a hit on a moving target is not easy, but if you do, you are rewarded with a one-hit kill, and a follow-up blast that can damage or kill other nearby enemies.
You can also recover the Bio Spike from the ground or wall as long as it doesn’t land in an unrecoverable location.
If you are in an active firefight or near an objective, don’t spare any attention for recovering a tossed spike. You’re likely to get killed while fumbling around trying to pick it back up.
The Bio Spike embeds itself in walls if thrown mostly straight, but at a sharp enough angle, it ricochets. This can cause you to lose your spike or score an impressive bank shot kill.
C4
High explosives that stick to surfaces and can be detonated remotely with grenade button or by double tapping reload.
- Remote Detonated, Wall-sticky
A powerful remote-detonated explosive, C4 can be detonated .by double tapping the Reload button once placed or while still in the air.
This gives you access to the fastest of all of the “controlled” explosives—quicker than cooking a Cluster Grenade or ARM Launcher, and faster moving than the Exploding Drone (though without quite as much range from the manual throw).
C4 is ideal for eliminating targets in known positions (or “dirty campers,” depending on how much they’re annoying you). It also works very well for clearing out small rooms or objectives in confined spaces.
C4 can be used as a trap, if you place it on a ceiling or behind a door frame and keep an eye on an area. This is most useful if you are fighting with a long-ranged setup and you can monitor the C4 position easily.
If you want gear to cover your back, a Trip Mine or Cryo Mine is generally a better choice, as they don’t require your attention to function.