Grenades

hephophaphephophap asdasd Join Date: 2014-04-08 Member: 195258Members
edited June 2014 in NS2 General Discussion
I'd like to know peoples opinion on grenades.

I personally feel that the Gas Grenade is super annoying and too strong vs a base, it basically takes down like 35% hp of ever building in range for 1.5 res.
I also get a bit sick of getting spammed to death when defending. Like the GL wasn't bad enough, but you can get grenades super early into the game.

What is your opinion on grenades?

Are they a good addition, a bad addition, should they be changed?

Comments

  • sharnrocksharnrock Join Date: 2012-11-02 Member: 166084Members
    I think they are ok where they are.
  • RapGodRapGod Not entirely sure... Join Date: 2013-11-12 Member: 189322Members
    If more people realized how useful nerve gas grenades were, they'd turn op. Helps destroy all lifeforms really well. Also scouts for you (shows DMG indicator when hitting an enemy in an alien-friendly room).
  • Cannon_FodderAUSCannon_FodderAUS Brisbane, AU Join Date: 2013-06-23 Member: 185664Members, Squad Five Blue, Squad Five Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    In pub play, for 16+ servers, they are needed (not that commanders would research it unless needed). I am thinking of the impossible to crack forward base. Recent game; Data Core in Summit. With 2 gorges a crag and shift and tunnel in the corner with the extractor, it is actually impossible to break for a marine team as the DPS is not high enough to kill anything (with the amount of healing possible) in the early game. So we asked the commander to research grenades. Even then it took a while to break the forward base.

    This has 2 effects, the Kharra spent a crap ton of tRes to put up that base early. The Marines spent a crap ton of pRes to take it down. I see this as a good thing as it adds strategy to the game in how the Marines deal with situations.
  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    If coordination is used, nerve gas grenades are a bit op. By coordination, I mean with 3+ marines coming into a room to focus a hive. The NG grenade only removes armor which heals really quick, and most of the time I see the NG grenade used without any back up.
  • ThePyroSquirrelThePyroSquirrel Iowa, U.S.A. Join Date: 2013-08-07 Member: 186641Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver
    I think they are all okay except for the pulse grenade, which just seems pointless to me unless someone can enlighten me on it's proper uses. Nerve gas is a bit strong on hives but besides that I think it's fine. Cluster grenades seem a bit weak to me unless three people throw them at the same thing, but it's better than them being too strong and annoying as a result.
  • deathshrouddeathshroud Join Date: 2010-04-10 Member: 71291Members
    i think they are fine,

    the game was horrendous before grenades when 2 gorges could hold off the entire marine team long enough to stop marines ever getting decent tech later in the round. Like marines start in data core but cant get into reactor or vent due to mass gorge walls
  • HeatSurgeHeatSurge Some Guy Join Date: 2012-09-15 Member: 159438Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    They seem fine, but I would say when I feel like I want to buy a nade, I go for nerve gas 80% of the time, cluster 20% (just for lulz fireworks purposes usually, not actually to accomplish anything), and... like someone else I never really got pulse. I guess buying one is like attempting some supreme way of trolling someone by killing them (I would consider it the trollest way of killing someone, significantly beyond welder or axe). For the purposes of slowing down attacks, I see no value. Most good people don't really "spam" their attacks (i.e. "hold attack key"), so the slowdown effect is almost nonexistent.... Except MAYBE on lerks, that's it. It also lasts significantly less as an area effect compared to gas.

    TL;DR buff cluster slightly, buff pulse a lot (maybe in duration or something)
  • Brad2810Brad2810 Join Date: 2013-03-24 Member: 184313Members
    pulse. nades. the ultimate kill stealer :p just toss em' at your teammates feet and boom. free kill. if it doesn't, they attack really slow.

    nerve gas grenades are great when defending a rush, or attacking a hive.

    clusters? imo nearrly useless, except early gorge forts before advanced armoury. and perhaps when the alien com is contaminateing base, cheaper then buying a GL to kill whips. (but by then it's nearly always over anyway)

    I've been known to waste ungodly amounts of Pres on grenades if they get researched. they are just too damn fun.
  • DestherDesther Join Date: 2012-10-31 Member: 165195Members
    Nerve gas is really strong at 50 armour DPS, especially in a Hive as it stops healing
  • MuckyMcFlyMuckyMcFly Join Date: 2012-03-19 Member: 148982Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
    Pulse grenades = lower alien energy = easier to kill fade/lerk/onos.

    Grenades are fine as they are. ;)
  • MaxAmusMaxAmus UK Join Date: 2003-12-26 Member: 24779Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow
    Early game pulse grenades a direct hit can kill a skulk with no cara :P
    Grenades are ok, i would maybe like to see them used more, cause they can be helpfull for those clutch fights
  • [AwE]Sentinel[AwE]Sentinel Join Date: 2012-06-05 Member: 152949Members
    I always thought nerve grens are a slap in the alien face. Ranged spores are removed because it is no fun to play against, but NG are just fine? Always made me lol. I would not miss them. You still have GL and FT to take out a stronghold. For 3pres, the NG is too annyoing IMO. That's just my personal feeling, I can't say if it really makes a difference in the overall balance.
  • RicezRicez Join Date: 2013-04-13 Member: 184784Members
    Completely undervalued by most players.
  • meatmachinemeatmachine South England Join Date: 2013-01-06 Member: 177858Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    I too, always wondered why pulse grenades exist. But recently I've realised if your timing is good they can seriously sway engagements. No ROF makes bitey skulks sad puppies, and biley gorges sad piggies.

    I've seen many a base rush either fail or get called off due to a pulse grenade nerfing the dps/healsPS of onos/gorge fleets. That's the best time to use a pulse grenade imo - when the enemy is desperately charging you head-on.
  • KungFuJVKungFuJV Join Date: 2003-04-03 Member: 15167Members
    Both nerve gas and cluster are good imo..it gives the the ability to take down gorge tunnel bases that would be impossible otherwise without a gl, or arcs.

    Don't think nerve is too op either, the radius is kinda small so you can skirt the edges and still get armor healed in hives.
  • BensonBenson Join Date: 2012-03-07 Member: 148303Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Hand grenades are very useful, if situational.

    Cluster Greanades:

    Very good for clearing clog walls an making entrenched areas vulnerable
    Also good for lobbing into Hives to help clear eggs.

    Nerve Gas:

    I've found these to be most useful as portable scans, especially against shade hive start
    Also good for clearing tunnels and hives

    Pulse Grenades:

    like meatmachine said, very good against gorges and oni, good against fades to, if theres a group of marines.

    GLs:

    I think these should have player damage toned down a little, otherwise they are fine. (Its easy to kill GL marines, provided you live through the nade spam on a hive)
  • xen32xen32 Join Date: 2012-10-18 Member: 162676Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    All grenades are good in some certain situations, the problem is, it's 2 pres and you don't drop em on death, because of this fact I, personally, only buy nades when I know I will be able to use both of them real quick, or else it might just be a waste, so for me grenades are an option only when there is armory or pg nearby, or when we have big coordinated push, so chances that I will die quick are kinda lowered.
    If me or my teammates could pickup nades after death, I'd take those with me much more often. Pulse could probably help me survive occasional duel against lerk or fade. But I never buy pulse unless I see something bad is closing in and I am right next to armory. Pulse if very very situational, I'd have to buy pulse over and over and run out of pres until I am finally in perfect situation for throwing a pulse.

    BTW, jumping into meatgrinder PG with pulse primed and releasing it the moment you are through can give your teammates a chance to phase and survive, and it prolongs life of PG as well, given your team more time to react or group up before jumping.
  • _INTER__INTER_ Join Date: 2009-08-08 Member: 68392Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow
    Nerve gas is a little strong. I would like to see some kind of counter to it, like Umbra, Spores or some structure ability (Ink, Heal,...). Just how Flamethrowers clear bile or spores.
    And I suggest a rework for Pulse Grenade, like mini scan or beeing able to throw them at RT's to make them electrified (NS1?)
  • IronHorseIronHorse Developer, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributor Join Date: 2010-05-08 Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
    I bet making pulse grenade last in the area like an aoe for a good 5 seconds or so would really increase their effectiveness.

    Cluster grenades need only a 10% increase in damage because their effectiveness (along with the other grenades) should be increased by implementing faster throwing animations for all grenades to deal with a leaping, sliding, flying, blinking, charging mobile team. I've advocated for this while they were in internal testing. :-P
  • 2cough2cough Rocky Mountain High Join Date: 2013-03-14 Member: 183952Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    There's one thing that I think I'd like to see implemented... Primed Grenades. To an extent. If you have pulled the pin when you die, grenade drops and explodes, as in DoD and TFC. Cant tell you how many times I've thought I just got the nade out before I die and it turns out it didn't get tossed, tho I had pulled pin and let go, must have missed by fractions of a second. Maybe faster animations would help in general as suggested, but I like the idea of "dead nades" also.
  • ChizzlerChizzler Join Date: 2013-01-04 Member: 177532Members
    2cough wrote: »
    There's one thing that I think I'd like to see implemented... Primed Grenades. To an extent. If you have pulled the pin when you die, grenade drops and explodes, as in DoD and TFC. Cant tell you how many times I've thought I just got the nade out before I die and it turns out it didn't get tossed, tho I had pulled pin and let go, must have missed by fractions of a second. Maybe faster animations would help in general as suggested, but I like the idea of "dead nades" also.

    I'm not a fan of live grenades dropped on death in any form. It doesn't take long for the animation to pull the pin out and it'd be difficult for aliens to see, let alone avoid it once it's dropped. Losing a lifeform to a grenade you never saw from a guy you just killed BEFORE he threw it (you may not even see him equip it given the lag difference), will always feel a bit cheap.

    One could also argue it's not inherently unrealistic and that in the future there could be a secondary safety mechanic (like the pin) that will only allow a grenade to arm itself if it's got enough momentum to avoid friendly casualties
  • RapGodRapGod Not entirely sure... Join Date: 2013-11-12 Member: 189322Members
    _INTER_ wrote: »
    Nerve gas is a little strong. I would like to see some kind of counter to it, like Umbra, Spores or some structure ability (Ink, Heal,...). Just how Flamethrowers clear bile or spores.
    And I suggest a rework for Pulse Grenade, like mini scan or beeing able to throw them at RT's to make them electrified (NS1?)

    I'd agree but I like op nerve gas when no one else uses it. People get so excited over an onos kill after I take all the armor out... no respect. :-p
  • 2cough2cough Rocky Mountain High Join Date: 2013-03-14 Member: 183952Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    edited June 2014
    Chizzler wrote: »
    I'm not a fan of live grenades dropped on death in any form. It doesn't take long for the animation to pull the pin out and it'd be difficult for aliens to see, let alone avoid it once it's dropped. Losing a lifeform to a grenade you never saw from a guy you just killed BEFORE he threw it (you may not even see him equip it given the lag difference), will always feel a bit cheap.

    Well, it's not the pulling it out animation that takes too long IMO, but the throwing. The aliens could definitely see me pull the pin, which could give incentive for them to back off for a moment. They would also hear the nade drop to the ground. I figured that point would be brought up about dying to a "cheap" grenade, but what would you say then to gl spam? Countless many times I've lost my lerk w/ fullish health to a random gl. I'd say there's far less one can do about that than a primed nade going off after death.

    Additionally, if I'm paying pres for a potential x amount of damage, I wanna get my money's worth and not have it go to waste by fractions of a second. I feel it would only be really sour to die from a dead nade as an onos or a fade, which in both cases would only happen if the life-form was being greedy and very low from the engagement. In such a case, death should be the penalty for going in for that last greedy swipe. Plus, you'd have plenty of time to blink away if you see the marine pull the pin as you swipe him to death. You could be halfway out of the room by the time the nade would hit the ground, then an additional second or two before explosion.

    In comp mod or any ff setting, it would serve as further incentive to manage grenades wiser (if they're researched that is), as well as not bunch up around your buddies. I do the same thing in DoD:s.
    Chizzler wrote: »
    One could also argue it's not inherently unrealistic and that in the future there could be a secondary safety mechanic (like the pin) that will only allow a grenade to arm itself if it's got enough momentum to avoid friendly casualties

    So perhaps have the primed nade as right-click function of nade? A 4-click timer or something could go off when right-clicked for those who feel they may need the explosion one way or the other, then perhaps keep the primary attack for the grenade just as it is, no priming, hold til you toss, but lose the nade if you don't release in time and die w/ it equipped.

    I realize this is wishful thinking at this point, but it's something that has irked me a little since we first got nades.
  • ChizzlerChizzler Join Date: 2013-01-04 Member: 177532Members
    edited June 2014
    2cough wrote: »
    Chizzler wrote: »
    I'm not a fan of live grenades dropped on death in any form. It doesn't take long for the animation to pull the pin out and it'd be difficult for aliens to see, let alone avoid it once it's dropped. Losing a lifeform to a grenade you never saw from a guy you just killed BEFORE he threw it (you may not even see him equip it given the lag difference), will always feel a bit cheap.

    Well, it's not the pulling it out animation that takes too long IMO, but the throwing. The aliens could definitely see me pull the pin, which could give incentive for them to back off for a moment. They would also hear the nade drop to the ground. I figured that point would be brought up about dying to a "cheap" grenade, but what would you say then to gl spam? Countless many times I've lost my lerk w/ fullish health to a random gl. I'd say there's far less one can do about that than a primed nade going off after death.

    Additionally, if I'm paying pres for a potential x amount of damage, I wanna get my money's worth and not have it go to waste by fractions of a second. I feel it would only be really sour to die from a dead nade as an onos or a fade, which in both cases would only happen if the life-form was being greedy and very low from the engagement. In such a case, death should be the penalty for going in for that last greedy swipe. Plus, you'd have plenty of time to blink away if you see the marine pull the pin as you swipe him to death. You could be halfway out of the room by the time the nade would hit the ground, then an additional second or two before explosion.

    In comp mod or any ff setting, it would serve as further incentive to manage grenades wiser (if they're researched that is), as well as not bunch up around your buddies. I do the same thing in DoD:s.
    Chizzler wrote: »
    One could also argue it's not inherently unrealistic and that in the future there could be a secondary safety mechanic (like the pin) that will only allow a grenade to arm itself if it's got enough momentum to avoid friendly casualties

    So perhaps have the primed nade as right-click function of nade? A 4-click timer or something could go off when right-clicked for those who feel they may need the explosion one way or the other, then perhaps keep the primary attack for the grenade just as it is, no priming, hold til you toss, but lose the nade if you don't release in time and die w/ it equipped.

    I realize this is wishful thinking at this point, but it's something that has irked me a little since we first got nades.

    Your argument regarding the grenade launcher is somewhat valid, but equally that's a weapon that is extremely visible, comes with a loud distinct firing sound and a bulky projectile... there are occasions where you can get direct impacted by one of those before you've even seen the weapon fire on your screen. fortunately those moments are few and far between, and most kills have some warning beforehand, i mean, that weapon has been carried (usually equipped) from the marine base.. that in itself is a visual cue you don't get with grenades.

    I'd agree that in a 1v1 fight you can see a marine switch to his grenade and can decide if it's worth engaging before he throws it or switches weapon.. in a group fight, that's much less likely, and good luck hearing the pin get pulled over the sounds of chomping skulks and death crys.
    Also, revisiting the lag issue.. the marine can pull out the pin on his screen before dying, but on the aliens, he killed you before the pin was pulled... it's then down to the server to make a decision on which really occured, so you could be taken out by a grenade you believe you stopped, though you could argue that's the case already with thrown grenades.
    As a marine you also have the option of pulling out a grenade at any time (e.g. empty clip, low hp) and holding it with the pin out. if you die, it goes off any may do enough damage to finish off the enemy, or they back off and you switch to your primary to reload.
    As an alien you have to be more cautious of marines bunched close together.. if one of them drops a grenade on death, the AOE covers all of them. currently you generally avoid throwing anything but nerve gas at your feet due to the damage it deals to yourself.. not an issue if you're already dead.

    Overall I don't think it would particularly unbalance the game, but i'm not a fan of the same mechanic in other games. Personally i'd like to see grenades able to be picked up by teammates like other items instead, so it's not instantly wasted res if you die holding them. Ultimately, unless your walking around with the pin pulled out it only takes about 1 second to throw a grenade after pulling the pin out... it's a fairly large buff to grenades to combat the annoyance of almost getting your grenade thrown before dying that leaves the a small potential for abuse in specific circumstances.
  • KungFuJVKungFuJV Join Date: 2003-04-03 Member: 15167Members
    Flashbacks to ns1 "jump through the phase with your hand grenades out!!"
  • RapGodRapGod Not entirely sure... Join Date: 2013-11-12 Member: 189322Members
    I think Dropping primed grenades on death would be balanced if the explosion is slighty delayed (by a second) and aliens are notified by an audible sound of the grenade dropping.

    Perhaps Aliens could have some interesting interaction with Gas Grenades. For example, the grenade could be damaged and destroyed by alien attacks, so a hero alien could risk its life, pounce on the grenade to extinguish it and save the team's assets.

    Bile bomb
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