Grenade Script Rough Draft

Hey! Ive been working on the grenade video while I wait to have a less busy schedule in a week or two thank GOD. While I capture footage I figured Id give you a look at the script rough draft before my final one or two passes. At the bottom is also my bounty list that I made myself to work through as I capture footage. A little look into how I usually structure the process. Ill be releasing another Space Rig Log this week to talk more in detail about it but for now here you go!

This one is long too so it may end up being a two part video. We'll see!

Hey there miners! I’m here to talk to you about something a little different today. The topic is grenades, and their various uses. Since the release of the four new throwable devices for each class so I figure now would be a good time to dig into each of the pieces of ordnance we have at our disposal, old and new. Ill be covering general stats, use cases and limitation so you can make more informed choices on which to bring, when and why. Lets get cooking. *oh my god I cannot believe I just said that… lets just go*

So, grenades. Im going to be grouping these by class, starting with Gunners Sticky Grenade, one of the more simple throwables at our disposal. Dealing a nice 130 damage and sticking to targets, this grenade does everything you could hope to expect one to do. But, there is a less obvious use for this one as well. Any time the grenade sticks to a target it has a guaranteed 130% chance to fear the unlucky bug, usually causing it to turn and run, usually into the opposite direction and if youre lucky, into a group of its own kind. The ensuing explosion also causes a 100% fear effect near the blast too. As I said a while back, the target turning to run can open it up to weak point damage, such is the case with praetorians, but this fear effect can also cause a much needed moment of breathing room amidst a approaching swarm if you manage to stick an especially dangerous foe. Keep this in mind and use your Sticky Grenades wisely, namely for dispersing and killing groups of grunt-type glyphids rather than spamming larger, more explosive resistant enemies like oppressors, though it can work in a pinch. They can also be very useful for dealing damage to the Hiveguard during its venting crystals damage phase, just a thought. Otherwise, not too much else to cover here, they get the job done and are rarely a bad choice unless youre dealing with a lot of mactera or something.

Next up we have the Incendiary Grenade, an often misunderstood throwable with some great potential. It doesn’t explode on contact with a surface, instead covering the ground in a fast igniting combustible fluid that acts as a persistent damage and heat source in a 3.5 meter diameter area for six seconds. No, the rumors that these things are just full of lighter fluid are not true, or at least haven’t been officially backed up, anyway. AND NO YOU CANT DRINK IT AND SPIT IT OUT TO MAKE COOL FLAME CONES STOP ASKING. This sounds great on paper but in practice it can appear to be a bit underwhelming, with bugs often making it out the flames on fire, still very much alive and ready to attack you all the same. They dont deal any direct or instant damage, instead igniting enemies and keeping their temperature high. Often what happens is that the bugs will begin to notice the burning ground isn’t a good place to be, so they will walk along the walls and ceiling to reach you, they aren’t zombies so they will avoid the damage if at all possible after some initial confusion. While this does have some use in lengthening the travel time to you and possibly killing a number of enemies, its not ideal as far as immediate killing power goes. These grenades are best suited to close quarters and choke points where the heat and tick damage is unavoidable.

I do have a few things to add here though, uses that are a bit situational but interesting nonetheless. The first is their use as a passive killer while youre inside a shield. A shield will always recharge your personal shield faster than an incendiary can damage you so you can actually stand inside while the ground around you burns, killing anything waiting outside while you revive a teammate. Another use that I often bring these grenades for is when I am using the Volatile Bullets Overclock with my Bulldog pistol. Anything directly hit with an incendiary is ignited instantly, allowing you a perfect target for the insane damage boost at a moments notice. While gunner has other options for igniting targets, this is by far the fastest at medium range, which can be a life saver when you need to kill something approaching you like a bulk detonator. The last thing I’d advise these for is in the presence of Rivals. The Incendiary grenades fire is the same as Drillers sticky flames in that it not only ignites targets but keeps their heat high for the full duration that something stands in them. When given the right conditions, this means that Rivals that meander into the flames will be very easy to ignite, especially the Rival Nemesis which can be kited into tight spaces in order to get the full effect. You can also use these to quickly dispatch swarmers if you toss them right into the center of the group, making it a low self damage way to save yourself from a skittering horde. I normally bring these if my secondary relies of igniting enemies quickly, regardless of mission type.

Next is the Friendly Fir- I mean Cluster Grenade! These bundled explosives have gained a reputation among miners as often mishandled and dare I say excessive number of explosives, which makes them all the better depending on who you ask! They boast a combined payload of 360 damage divided among 9 bomblets that are released from the initial thrown cluster, all of which have a 50% chance to stun anything caught in the explosion. These things pack a huge punch and can wipe out huge groups of bugs if thrown in such a way that they detonate just over them, maximizing the bomblet spread. They can also annoy the hell out of your teammates as they are tossed out in a panic in a small enclosed space at their feet! You be the one to decide if you want to explain why that was necessary, I ain’t judging! 

Besides being a blast to use and possibly the most satisfying when throw at juuuuust the right time, these grenades do have their specific uses as well. The most general use is to simply stun things in a chaotic situation. Your explosion resistence as gunner will allow you to use these to save yourself from more damage if you need a second in a fight, just be careful. They can also be used to deal great damage to Praetorians and other big bugs if you manage to toss one right under their carapace, also known as the sternum. The bombs will be released and hopefully all explode on contact with the ground and bug, causing all 360 damage to be dealt at once, about the equivalent of spamming 3 sticky grenades. An easy way to make this happen more consistently is to power attack a hole in the ground in front of the beasts path and toss your grenade in there, ensuring they detonate in a specific spot. Another thing you can do with them is use them to clear the area around a shield you just dropped down. After the shield is up and youre inside, toss a cluster above your head. The bombs will disperse in such a way that they will land all around the edges of the shield, efficiently killing and softening most anything that is waiting outside without you having to fire, allowing you to multitask as you resupply, revive or try to relight your cigar for the 4th goddamn time.

And finally for Gunner, we have the brand new Tactical Leadburster grenades, a contender for the title of Friendly Fire Grenade, a reputation it built fairly quickly for itself before R&D made some tweaks to the ammunition. The Leadburster consists of what is essentially a magazine fitted to a firing mechanism in the form or a sprinkler, spraying three bursts bullets in a radial pattern in all directions. The ammunition is lower caliber so to make up for this there is a LOT of it. The grenades base is a spike capable of sticking to any surface it is thrown at making it versatile for placement options. What it lacks in finesse it makes up for in raw damage, outputting enough shots to heavily suppress any group of lightly armored enemies with little issue. It does have some falloff so try to keep it relatively close to the primary recipients of your little gift.

How do to use it though? I mean, its a hail of bullets fired in the absolute least safe way possible, but how can you turn this safety hazard into an opportunity? One way Ive been using these is to simply clear and soften rooms you have just entered or exited with known threats looming in them. Toss it into a newly opened compacted dirt wall, into a pit from high up, out into an open area with lots of flying enemies even just outside your shield while youre reloading. Its biggest advantage over cluster grenades is that it has a wide effect that triggers on contact with the ground, not after a set timer. This means it can be used at a distance or with a significant delay if thrown correctly. I find it to be particularly good at clearing smaller enemies like Grunts, Naedocites and swarmers, provided the room isnt too large. It also has great general utility against flying enemies as opposed to gunners other grenades that may be a bit harder to leverage against flying threats. Its also fantastic for larger enemies but only if you can get one underneath them, similar to how I described the clusters earlier. By nature of having a sphere shaped spray pattern and high damage near the epicenter, a well placed Leadburster under a Praetorian or Bulk Detonator can do an amazing amount of damage. If youre confident you can land them, it can be a quick and dirty was to dispose of a large approaching threat. I mean, just look at this. Really? Just make sure you dont use these as a panic button in the middle of a swarm, especially in close quarters because I can assure you that catching a bullet with your teeth is not as cool sounding at you think it is.

For Driller, we are of course starting with everyone’s favorite, the Impact Axe. Dealing 3 instances of damage, one of which being a 1.4 meter wide area damage and the other 2 direct, that all add up to 240 damage on a good hit with a guaranteed stun to boot, this throwable is nothing to scoff at. They are also retrievable, given that the second instance of direct melee damage is not dealt on impact, allowing you to clear plants and smaller enemies with the area damage before picking them up to use once again. They can also be banked for later, with any not used above the count of 4 in your inventory to be saved in a wall for later use. This makes them an incredibly efficient and lethal tool for any cultured Driller. The only things they struggle with is their difficulty with aim at medium to longer ranges as well as their lack of true wave clear. You can definitely kill more than a few bugs at once but they need to be tightly grouped. They are much better used as a pocket stun or to eliminate more threatening enemies than to clear out swaths of bugs. It is notable to point out that the stun from an impact has an AoE too so in a tough spot you can use them to halt a swarm but its not a replacement for true cleaving crowd control.

Since they deal melee type damage, they can also heal you for 5 hp per kill if you have the Vampire Perk equipped. They also deal increased damage to any frozen target due to this melee designation as well! I have also heard rumors of an ancient forbidden dwarven axe technique too, one that allows you to throw these things at insane speeds. By activating your laser pointer for a fraction of a second immediately after throwing an axe, one can cancel the animation and begin throwing another with nearly no delay. Get good at this and you can output all 8 axes into a beefy target at the expense of a few broken wrists here and there. Some say this ancient technique was taught to some of the first mining teams by Karl himself but who knows, it is a rumor after all. 

The nice thing about throwing axes is that they are generally applicable to most situations, rarely finding themselves wanting for a target. Their only true downside in my opinion is that they can be used up fairly quickly on things they aren’t really needed for. It might look flashy and feel good to axe cancel six of them into a Praetorian or Oppressor but if it doesnt absolutely have to die NOW you essentially just used more than half your grenades on a single low to medium risk target. Restraint is important to learn here, saving axes for situations that would be made easier by stopping a bug in its tracks or finishing off a particularly pressing threat. Dont get me wrong, they are a fantastic source of single target damage, giving Drillers a much needed kill button when they normally carry much more time intensive extermination methods such as fire and acid. I tend to bring axes for sure in two scenarios. Either I’m using the cryo cannon and its too tempting to not take advantage of that sweet boosted ranged melee damage on frozen bugs, or my chosen build lacks a form of quick burst damage. An example would be my Field Disperser build from the CSP video. Consider your options and choose axes when it fills a niche you need, and yes… you can bring them because theyre cool too. Just dont forget to pick up the unused axes after a swarm, theyre expensive.

This next grenade has had rough time justifying its place in Drillers load outs, leading to the recent tweaks by R&D to its increased radius of damage as well as the ability to cook them in your hand to reduce the detonation time when thrown. The High Explosive Grenade is the poster child of what everyone expects from your typical frag grenade. Theres a reason that this was all we had access to years ago when we first arrived here at Hoxxes IV, they were standard issue and readily available. They do just what you’d expect too, dealing 140 damage in a 4.3 meter radius with a 100% stun effect as well as 400% armor breaking after a short fuse delay. That armor breaking part is important though, giving you an expressed purpose for these things besides obliterating groups of typical insects. Anything with substantial armor plating will have plates shredded off from a close range explosion from these things, letting you deal more unmitigated damage to said targets. This means that groups of guards, Praetorians and even the occasional Mactera Brundle make ideal targets. Of course, grouped enemies fit the bill just fine too. As an added benefit, these things will roll and bounce quite a bit, letting you get them into the right spot with a bit of finesse which is always nice. This is made even easier now that you can cook the timer to the desired length too.[TEST BEFORE RECORDING]

So when would you bring these instead of axes? I tend to like these when my current build has plenty of direct damage built in, making throwing axes more of a redundant option. For example, my Non-Newtonianator build from my Sludge Pump Build video or even SHART. They fill the niche of medium sized, quick acting crowd clearing. Less space than neurotoxin but more and faster damage, less damage than a direct axe hit but more area. They also have a few fun situational uses too. Groups of mactera are susceptible to a well timed and cooked HE thrown right into their faces making them a great option for dealing with airborne threats, even including Rival Shredders since they cant be poisoned like naedocites. They also do surprisingly well against Dreadnoughts, namely the dreadnought Hiveguard. Else where in the mission they can fill the role of swarm clear when you have ammo intensive dreadnought hunting gear equipped but they stand out as a way to hit the Hiveguards venting crystals if cooked and thrown right above them in that stage of the fight. I say, now that they have had some love, give them a try and rediscover what a good old fashioned hand held explosive can do for you.

Next is a personal favorite of mine Ill admit, the Neurotoxin Grenade. They release a 7.5 meter wide cloud of flammable toxic gas that applies poison effects to every enemy that passes through. This effect deals 30 seconds of tick damage  as well as an extremely useful 30% slow, able to hold back the advance of entire swarms. The gas cloud lasts for a total of 15 seconds and cannot damage you or your teammates unless you count the explosive combustion that is caused from a heat based ignition source. Each creature given the poison effect will be dealt a total of 360 damage over the course of 30 seconds, more if the effect is reset multiple times by lingering in the gas cloud. This is in addition to the potential combustion damage, which comes out to 65 fire damage as well as being ignited from the heat for even more damage over time.

Why do I like this grenade so much? This room sized slow and poison effect allows you to effectively negate smaller threats all together. Swarmers, Naedocite and parasites are all rendered null when the gas cloud lingers near them, making neurotoxin a perfect way to to make a cavern more survivable in the chaos of a particularly bad swarm, you know, so long as no one ignites the gas right away. Not that the damage is a bad thing but it can be a bit of a waste. If you can stop it from happening early, you can use the fire damage from the combustion at the end of the 15 second linger time to maximize the total potential damage of the grenade and the maximum affected targets. Another very useful tip for these is to use them when drilling to escape pursuers. The bugs cant catch up to you at the normal speed of drilling when under the slowing effects of the neurotoxin status, making it a great escape tool. Be sure to throw these grenades early and plan ahead with them, the cloud takes a few seconds to build up so they are by no means a panic button. They may be straight forward in their use but thats the beauty of it really. Its some of the most effective, easy to apply and longest lasting crowd control available to you. And, as a foil to what I said about Axes, bring these when your current build has direct burst damage covered and needs help with larger groups of enemies. They can not only save you ammo but deal with threats you may not have even seen in the first place.

And now for Drillers newest grenade, the Springloaded Ripper. A crude and deceptively simple design that uses the stored kinetic force of a tightly wound spring to drag the teeth of its saws across the cave surface and right into your enemies. These things pack a punch, tearing right through anything standing in their way, dealing a hearty chunk of damage as well as stunning them. The catch? They travel along any surface, gravity disregarded entirely, and return to their point of origin in a straight line. This is both their advantage and drawback in one. Throwing a ripper means you absolutely must get out of the way if it has enough time to clear the ceiling and return behind you. This makes them extra risky in smaller caves but also higher value. For their full [SECONDS] duration, they will circle the path around and around. If placed right, they can block an entire tunnel off and shred anything stupid enough to walk right in. On the flip side, this also makes them an incredibly stupid option when youre trapped in a space where you cant avoid them easily. Even after the addition of the reinforced boots we got from R&D this season, a runaway ripper in a tight space with you and your team can spell doom, or be your savior depending on how well you place it. There are also some oddities to their behavior when thrown that you need to get used to. Theyre quick so the safest way to use one is to strafe sideways and toss it, making it sure to miss you especially in tight spaces. They can also do some strange things if you jump while throwing or hit abnormally shaped terrain, just be careful is all Im saying.

So, why bring these over the obvious comparison of axes? Well, they do something axes cant do, which is sustained high damage area denial. Axes will always be a safer and less positioning dependent option but in situations where you will be dealing with choke points or even your own self made tunnels and terrain, Spingloaded Rippers will be capable of much higher potential damage if used well. This is even true in the sense that Axes cannot penetrate target but Rippers can. A ripper thrown through a long line of glyphids can deal far more total damage than a single axe ever could and thats not even counting if the thing returns a second or third time. Also, remember, they arent competing for the same job, they have entirely different uses. If you dont want to think too much about it, axes are fine, but Rippers will reward a driller who treats overwhelming amounts of sawblade induced ecological damage as not just his job, but an art form.

Now, I will admit, this next part is about a tool that I dont really have a place for anywhere else in a guide. You know it, you love it, you’ve used it or at very least been a victim of it once of twice, I’m looking at you scouts… the C4! Wait… Satchel Charge… its called a Satchel Charge, when did we start calling it… eh, it doesnt matter. The Satchel Charge is Drillers signature tool of destruction and a far more flexible one that it first appears at that. Now, I’m sure were all aware that it can be used to carve out terrain with its explosions, a common set up for it being 2 1 1 2 for maximum carry capacity and carve. While this use is perfectly fine if it serves your needs, let me tell you why you should try different set ups for the Satchel. In tier one, you can decide for more radius for the damage, more damage or one more charge. All of these are valid options really, each having its uses depending on what your prefer satchels to do for you. Tier 3 is interesting, giving you one more satchel or the Volatile Compound mod which increases your damage more but in turn causes it to detonate with damage. This is VERY dangerous but, in the right circumstances, can turn the charge into a deadly weapon if treated with care. This is especially true during Caretaker takedowns and Dreadnought fights. My advice if youre going to take this mod is to know exactly when and where youll be tossing your charge and to use it right away. Do not rely on set it and wait strategies for this upgrade or you might end up like a Sco- I mean in the medbay. Tier 4 is where the interesting stuff happens. If you have only ever used the satchel charge as a terrain moving tool, allow me to convince you to try options 1 and 2 for a change here. The Fear and Stun upgrades both have a deceptively large radius for their effect, essentially making them full room crowd control options.  If you set off your charge in relative close proximity to you and your team, you can stall a swarms activity long enough to revive a team member, resupply or simple kill more enemies before they have a chance to respond. The distinction of which you bring depends on your other crowd control options or lack thereof. Stun is a great all around option, especially if your build isnt doing much in that regard, it can allow you a quick option for taking the heat off by locking bugs in place. The Fear upgrade is more useful when you have other crowd control active such as wide spread puddles of goo, sticky flames or neurotoxin grenades. The slows caused by these combined with fear can extent the duration of the fear effect much longer if timed properly, buying you even more time mid-fight to do what you need to do. I hope these examples give you a good idea of what this tool is capable of, and while it isnt a true grenade, it can be a vital part of your combat arsenal rather than just a way to move some rock or assert your dominance over your pathetic teammates… ok its still for that too. I wont apologize for art.

For the Scouts among you, Im sorry... also we will be starting with the IFG, or Inhibitor Field Generator grenade. As its name suggests, the IFG sticks to any surface and emits a field that inhibits the movement of enemies by 75%, one of the best slows in our arsenal. I think I overheard R&D people talking about how they work, something about electrically charing the Hemoplymph fluid in the bugs, causing their muscle analogue organs to seize up or something. In addition to this effect, it applies a debuff to anything inside that causes targets to take 30% more damage from all sources. This effect appears the same as the electrocution status effect and does count as ”electrocuted” in the context of weapons that deal more damage to electrified targets despite not actually dealing tick damage. This means that the Zhukov’s Conductive Bullets and Magnetic Shaft Nishanka bolts are both capable of dealing increased damage on top of the base vulnerability the grenade provides, not to mention your teammates who might have increased electric damage on their guns too.  IFGs are a great way to both hold back the tide of a swarm as well as deal extra damage to high value targets. 

Since you have six of these things, you should be throwing them out for any swarms once or twice to get some easy kills in on the approaching enemies, especially larger ones. Your team will do more damage too so try to put them somewhere in the line of  fire and easily accessible by your teammates. Not only can they be used to kill speed up bug kills and slow groups, you can also use them as a sort of personal fighting arena. Standing inside an IFG field will let you get shots in on bugs that are attacking you, making it easier to headshot or even get some melee kills in. Its very easy to line up glyphids for blowthrough rounds shenanigans when theyre so slow so make good use of it. Also, make sure to keep a couple on hand for dire situations. Slowing the approach of a bulk detonator, Oppressor or even slowing a Huuli hoarder as it runs away are all great uses for IFGs. Also, just look at the ludicrous damage you can get on dreadnoughts with these things. Definitely worth taking for Eliminations or anytime you expect to encounter more dangrous enemies like Elites and lethal bugs.

Next up is a favorite among Scouts and their teams for good reason, the Cryo grenade. They may be simple but thats just whats so good about them. Cryo grenades explode after a short fuse time or on contact with a hostile creature, dealing no damage but instantly freezing most anything with their liquid nitrogen boasting 250 freezing power. The only things that wont freeze with a single blow from these are Glyphid Oppressors, Dreadnoughts and Bulk Detonators, both requiring 2 and 3 grenades to fully freeze. As you most likely know, flying enemies die instantly and shatter once frozen and death effects such as explosions, gas, parasites, volatile guts and even the aftermath of a Brood Nexus are all negated. They also instantly kill swarmers. This is in addition to enemies taking triple damage from kinetic and melee damage while frozen. Their usefulness cant be understated.

Now, why would you bring IFGs over Cryos? It really comes down to the situation you find yourself walking into. IFGs are more numerous and can last you longer, in the process saving you more ammo and being able to affect more bugs overall, while Cryos are instantaneous and can save you just in the nick of time. Clearly, if you think youll be dealing with Mactera or swarmers, bring cryo. All of these enemies die instantly when frozen so you’ll find them very useful. One consideration for IFGs though is if you know that you already have a cryo driller on your team and Mactera aren’t going to be as big of an issue. A cryo cannon can more efficiently dole out freezing than cryo grenades so if its not a Mactera Plague mission that frees you up to utilize the more general IFGs. But, if you enjoy the instantaneous nature and utility of cryo grenades, they are almost never a bad choice. Plus you can mess with your teammates without killing them unlike SOMEONE. Just make sure not to waste them, you only have four so make those throws count instead of using them on easily dispatched enemies for style points. And please… do not put put these in the space rigs toilets as a prank. It took us two days to get Geralds ass unfrozen from the seat last time… 

Scouts next grenade, the Pheromone Canister, is one with a history of changes. Due to temporary budget cuts in the biology research division of the R&D team, what was once an extremely powerful throwable had its power reduced over time. There were fortunately some improvements to it in a recent update and I feel its my job to give you the rundown on what these grenades are capable to clarify once and for all.

Pheros are fairly simple in field application for how advanced the research that went into them is. The liquid inside is a synthetic mimic of the pheremones found in dreadnoughts, and that stuff is NOT easy to get for research. When thrown, they burst and anything that the fluid inside makes contact with will be targeted by and target other enemies other than you if there are targets available. Each bug with pheromones on it will have a limit to how many other bugs can target it, once it has too many other bugs will find something else to attack, possibly meaning you. So the strategy is to make sure you coat more than one bug in a group to stretch the time of the effect as far as possible. This should be pretty obvious. 

So, what do you use them for? Well firstly, they are great at distracting enemies and unlike IFGs and Cryo, they do cause bugs to take damage from each other so they can cause some damage without follow up but its wise to use the opportunity to get shots in too. One notable distraction target is mactera, since they can damage enemies with impunity and will instantly retarget which can save you from some nasty damage. Now while the damage is nice, is not significant enough for that to be the bespoke reason to use them. They shine in dire scenarios similar to Cryos. If you bring them on Exploder Infestations and Volatile Guts missions, they can serve as a way to guide the explosive insects in close proximity together so you can take advantage of their damage for yourself. This can also apply to any weapon you have that causes area damage such as certain Nishanka bolts with certain Overclocks or even Plasma Splash or Aggressive Venting on the DRAK. In these situations they can serve as less of a distraction and more of a traditional grenade in a roundabout way. Their true niche for me at least though, is when dealing with Rival Tech, as well as any group of overwhelming foes that are not easily escaped.

For some curious reason, our rivals machines are distracted by pheromones just like the bugs of Hoxxes. A theory on this is that the Rivals may be using Glyphid pheromone signals as a sort of biological radar to find threats in the caves. They do not appear hostile to the Glyphid Swarm so it would only make sense to utilize its massive sensory network and reach to detect our presence in the caves rather than set up resource intensive ground penetrating sonar themselves. Their mistake here is that our pheromone compounds can confuse the targeting on units like Patrol Bots and Shredders, causing them to blindly follow the Glyphids direction to attack whatever they deem as a threat, friendly or not.This means you can temporarily direct the fire of Rivals towards bugs or even each other. This can also work on static turret installations and even during Caretaker fights where you can force its appendages and patrol bots to fire on eachother. This not only deals significant damage but takes a lot of heat off of you and your team in tough spots. They are great for any mission with Rival presence but are also versatile enough to be used for any type of swarm, often times saving you and your teammates just enough time to breathe when youre being overrun.

The last and most recent of scouts grenades is the Voltaic Stun Sweeper, a electrically charged boomerang that seeks out targets when thrown, hitting each for 35 damage and applying an 8 second stun and electrical damage over time to each. You can carry 8 of them and have a total of 9 possible hits for each throw, bringing the total to 72 potential stunned targets. Sounds pretty alright, not a ton of damage but with a bit of utility with the stun right? I mean, an 8 second stun is insane, effectively nullifying anything struck, making them very easy to pick off. The effectiveness of the stun is doubly useful on flying enemies who are normally very difficult to hit. Theyll hover in the air useless and more than willing to take bullets to the abdomen. This can be a life saver in a pinch, halting the approach of anything getting close to you immediately, giving you enough time to reload or recharge your grapple to get more space. A comparison can be made between this and scouts other grenades in the sense that all of them slow, distract or stop bugs from reaching you. I think most miners will think of cryo grenades in that respect first, being the fastest way to stop bugs when theyre too close. While Cryos may be instant and very effective, you have less of them and may need more than one to freeze certain high value targets like bulks or oppressors. Stun Sweepers are twice as plentiful as Cryos so they will be a much more readily available panic button when youre in trouble from common swarms. You can more liberally toss these out to help keep yourself safe in the nick of time. The stun interrupts attack animations too so its a great option to halt an approaching praetorians acid spray. For this reason I like to take them when I feel like Im going to be breaking off from the team more often, especially on missions like Refinery and Point Extraction.

Now, I mentioned Bulks before for a reason. What are they normally known for? Slowly approaching threats with high hp and resistance that spell doom for a team thats stuck with their backs against the wall to them right? Normally all you can do is slow them and try to DPS them down before things get bad right? Well the Stun Sweeper has the exclusive ability to stop these behemoths in their tracks, even being able to apply the short electricity effect to Oppressors who are normally immune to this status which is more of a curiosity than useful though. If your team is trapped with an approaching bulk and cant afford to move, as a scout carrying stun sweepers, you can repeatedly stop its movement by throwing charges of your boomerang at it while your team unloads. Given, cryos can nullify the explosion if timed correctly but stun sweepers can halt the bugs approach at a safe distance if the scout it quick on the draw. Ive seen this save teams multiple times now and I cannot overstate just how nice it is to be able to lock these normally insurmountable foes in one spot. Give them a shot, especially if you have electrically damage boosted weapons.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

For our first Engineer grenade we are taking a look at the Laser Utility Refraction Emitter or LURE for short. Sporting 6 dance moves and 50 hp, the LURE grenade is a perfect way to distract incoming enemies and fool them into attacking a hologram of a dancing dwarf instead of you. Its disputed why the bugs actually attack them, since they dont have eyes it could just be that the hologram projector makes a lot of noise and vibrations that they mistake for a target but I’d still like to think that they attack it simply because your dance moves are the absolute worst, you know I’m right. Its also disputed if the flossing dance is the most effective at pissing the bugs off but R&D have yet to get back to me on that. The Lure deploys once it stops rolling and lasts 20 seconds, during which up to ten bugs will switch their target to it and attack it until its hp is depleted. Once destroyed, it will deal 20 damage in a small shockwave that has a high chance to apply electrocution. Pretty self explanatory. These things can get you out of a tough situation as well as group enemies for some very effective area damage, especially with the engineers secondary weapons. 

There are some more subtle mechanics to how they work that I would like to show you. The likely hood that a bug targets the LURE is affected by their proximity to the grenade and whether or not they have a target already. The closer the deployment, the more likely the bug will fall for it. Its good to get these out just as a group of bugs is beginning an attack or as close to a pursuing bug as you can. Praetorians and Oppressors are resistant to their distractions so throwing LUREs close to them is a must to ensure they turn away from you. Also, since they can only distract up to ten enemies, throwing one into a big group wont yield as effective results and will be harder to distract the targets you intend it for. This is why the proximity thing is important when youre trying to control who gets to dance. One especially effective use is for Mactera and Exploders. Exploders will act as additional damage to anything nearby and Mactera are extra susceptible to being distracted by the grenade due to their long attention range. I actually bring these on Mactera Plagues for great effect, they’ve saved me from countless Trijaw volleys and regular glyphid swarms alike. Oh, and yes they work on Rival units as well. Not as smart as they look huh?

Next up is the Plasma Burster, a powerful throwable that can easily handle groups of bugs when properly used. These things used to have a bit of reputation for friendly fire incidents but after a few too many complain reports being sent in and some adjustments to your combat miner shields, R&D managed to reduce the damage to yourself and teammates by half. Anyways, the plasma burster detonates on impact, causing a string of 4 plasma explosions in a line the direction the grenades way thrown. This adds up to a nice 240 total damage per grenade. They also have a 100% fear effect on nearby bugs and 50% armor stripping capabilities, giving them a similar utility to HE grenades, with a bit more ability to clear out groups as they walk into the bursts. They do have a tendency to bounce off surfaces since they cant scale walls, causing them to potentially ricochet off surfaces in the opposite direct or all explode in place. This is why they were so dangerous before because the radius and movement of the busters could easily get them in your face amidst the chaos. They can also bounce off bugs armor plating so its a safer a bet to throw them at the ground in front of your target rather than right on it. 

What are they good for? Swarm clear, plain and simple. For a while I neglected to bring them because I liked the utility of Engies other grenades but Ive found that they go very well with the LOK-1 when you choose to bring it along. In fact, any primary weapon of yours that happens to have ammo economy issues is a good bet to pair with Plasma Bursters. Theyre the perfect way to supplement single target abilities with raw AoE killing power, saving you ammo in the process. I strongly advise you use these at medium range since they are still a hazard in close quarters even after the improvements made. Good news is that you now have room for 6 of these so they can be a great tool to bring when you need that extra bit of oomfph in your load out.

Next we have a the Proximity grenade. A popular choice among many engineers for their versatility, proxies are a staple and emblematic of engineers area denial capabilities. They stick to any surface they are thrown to and arm after 3 seconds, covering a 3 meter area and deal 110 damage per explosion to a total of 440 per 4 explosions for each grenade with a 3 minute total life timer. Explosions are caused by any creature entering their radius, so long as its not as small as a Glyphid swarmer, larva or Naedocite. They are also retrievable as long as they have not exploded once already, just walk up to them and hold E to pick them back up. An easy way to tell if they can be retrieved is the yellow ring around them. Unused grenades will be a slightly lighter shade of yellow than used ones. They also have a 100% fear effect on explosion to they can hold back enemies that manage to survive the initial blast, letting you kill them off and save the the remaining explosions left on the mine. 

These grenades are great but are often misused from my observations in the field. They can and WILL deal damage to teammates, so be sure that you keep them in areas you know bugs will be moving but teammates wont be. This means that the most effective placement is often times finding blind spots that need to be defended or at very least in choke points where they are unavoidable. Its not bad to put them right in the line of fire but it can be a bit overkill if your team is already paying attention to the spot. I like to use walls or even the bases of pillars, edges of cliffs and side passages as placement locations. Anywhere you wont be able to give your full attention to but can expect bugs to crawl out from. If you manage to get proxies into goods spots, especially during a defense objective, you will be rewarded with a lot of breathing room, allowing you and your team to focus on bigger problems while the proxies hold back trash mobs for a time. Just watch that you dont end up wasting an entire proxy mine on a single stray grunt, since they will be unretrievable after a single explosion even if the other 3 aren’t used. Just be sure to grab any that are in unpopular spots when you get the chance before they get accidentally set off. OH, and dont forget to throw any you have more than two when you resupply. They work similarly to Drillers axes in that you can retrieve them if theyre unused and you can have more than your maximum held amount active at one time. Agian, remember you can actually tell it theyre unused by the color of the mine itself as well as the pulsing yellow light around it. Unused mines will be a light yellow and used ones will be a slight shade of yellow darker. Hard to tell the difference when you dont now but its unmistakable once you know it. Waste not want not! Oh also you can do this, its fun.

For Engineers last grenade and the final grenade in our briefing today, we have the fascinating Shredder Swarm Grenade or SSG. This throwable is actually not the damaging component itself but a disposable holder that can be thrown to unfold a group of 5 heavily modified Rival Shredders to attack hostiles in your vicinity. As explained in the description, these drones have had many components removed, allowing them to fold up and be stored conveniently. The downside to this slimming modification and target priority inversion is that they have the same problem as hacked Patrol Bots, in that they last for a limited time. We still dont have the power efficiency thing worked out so their battery lasts a total of 40 seconds. Their durability is also sacrificed with this design, each shredder only being able to dish out a total of 140 damage each, ending with a max damage number of 700 per SSG. Now, while we cant have a swarm of infinite duration shredders at our disposal, these little guys are still able to do quite a lot in their up time. Each hit slows that target by one second and has a 1.8 radius meaning that one shredder can hit multiple enemies in close proximity. They also have 200% armor breaking, allowing them to strip the armor clean off of targets automatically. They will immediately find targets once deployed and repeatedly hit them until they are killed. They will also follow you around the cave so you aren’t limited by the location where you toss them out. You can however throw them quite a distance and the shredders will find the nearest target and go to work all the way across the cave from you, only returning to your location when they have run out of proximal enemies. This allows you to use them as a deployable support for not only yourself but your teammates as long as they are in throwing range.

So what are the strong point to brining an SSG over your other choices? The two biggest things that jump out at me are the totally automated nature and the impossibility of friendly fire paired with damage. The first point is that they function almost like a fast deploying sentry in the sense that its repeatedly hitting guaranteed damage to targets around you that are automatically chosen. It acts allllmost like a damage aura around you, passively shredding enemies while you worry about something else. It can be a great thing to have while retreating, while overwhelmed or while you need to preform an action such as resupplying and repairing while still staving off bugs. This makes them great for missions like Escort or even during events like Rival hacking or when youre using rock crackers on a meteor. They allow for multitasking. The second point is very nice, since your other two grenade options for damage as an engineer can cause a LOT of friendly fire when used wrong. With SSGs, you never have to worry about hurting yourself or teammates no matter where you throw them. If you find yourself tossing grenades out mid battle and forgetting to set up proxies or finding good moments to use Plasma Bursters, SSGs will be your best friend. Are they the fastest damage dealers? No. Do they effectively control the flow of bugs in a localized area? No. But they offer lighter forms of garanteed damage and crowd control while having none of the downsides the other grenades do. They can be an absolute life saver on enemies that are particularly hard to hit too. I like to take them on Escort and Salvage missions especially but their applications are versatile enough that you cant really go wrong bringing them if you can decide what to take with. Just be sure to have enough targets around to justify use since its hardly worth throwing one of your four SSGs to take down a single bug. But I suppose if they have some downtime you can listen to them chattering amongst themselves. R&D was a bit cheeky when they reprogrammed the little guys, using their speaker modules to make them say things like Rock and Stone or Deep Rock Galactic. I swear! Listen closely next time youre around them, and give them a little slap for me. That for all the ruined beards you little buggers.

Ok! That’s all the grenades that management is currently legally allowed to let us have access to while employed on Space Rig 17! Funny enough, they thought we would only need a few HE grenades early on in the rigs deployment here on Hoxxes but as the threats of the planet became more and more apparent, we managed to negotiate a bit more overhead our way in the form of this ordnance. Make sure you put it to good use so we can justify the cost and keep that bug population down to size. Also try not to lose anymore limbs with this stuff, especially toes. We keep having to reiterate that your employee insurance DOESNT cover lost toes like it does fingers. I know I know, “they’re like, the same damn thing!”  Or whatever but the big difference is that fingers help you shoot and toes don’t! The clause clearly states that toes are “Luxury Extremeties” so just be careful out there ok? Special thanks to my patrons, [INSERT CURRENT PATREON LIST HERE] for paying for my multiple toe reattachment surgeries! And until next time, Rock and Stone!

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SCENE BOUNTIES

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-glamour shots of each grenade in the inventory from different angle X

-talking with flintlockes delight in the rig

-sterile shots of the grenade doing what they do Xx

Sticky Grenade

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-shot of grenade in action X

-multiple shots of sticky grenade killing groups of bugs X

-shots of praetorians and regular bugs running while stuck X

-sticking to walls X

-hitting the Hiveguard crystals X

-running glyphid killing others with grenade X

-spammming down big bugs X

-deleting swarmers ?

Incendiary

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-in action X

-glyphids surviving and attacking me X

-glyphids pathfinding around the fire X

-fire covering a choke point X

-fire covering ground in and around a shield X

-instantly igniting enemies and followed up by volatile bullets or necro catalyst X

-patrol bots and nemesis taking fire damage while flying through the flames X

-killing a bulk det X

-killing spitballer X

-killing swarmers X

Cluster Grenades NEED MULTIPLAYER

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-in action X

-shot of groups of bugs getting fucked by them X

-shots of my teammates taking a shit load of damage from them

-stunning nearby bugs X

-tossing one right under someones feet

-tossing one directly under praetorians X

-clearing outside a shield X

-close danger self clearing X

-shot of gunners cigar

Tactical Lead Burster

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-in action X

-funny bullets hitting my team

-Show damage close and damage far X

-shot of gunner looking at spent burster X

-hitting flying enemies X

-thrown into a new room

-thrown into a choke point

-thrown underneath a praetorian X

-killing a bulk det with a few of them x

-throwing one way too fucking close to myself X

Impact Axe

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-in action

-shots of axes hitting everything pretty much

-retrieving axes

-banking axes for a big fight

-more shots of sick axes kills

-long range hit because Im cool

-more shots but of me missing long range hits because Im not that cool

-hitting packed bugs for multikills

-stopping approaching bugs

-healing with vampire

-hitting frozen targets

-janky ass looking fast throwing technique

-spamming a bulk

-show myself wasting axes on random bugs during a fight

-using with cryo

-comboing mid swarm with cleave DoT

-field disperser combo

-picking them up off the floor

HE Grenades

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-in action

-cooking and throwing HEs

-shot of them in the legacy edition

-show them breaking armor? (determine if this is even worth talking about)

-shots of HEs banking off surfaces for nice kills

-shots of HEs stripping armor IF POSSIBLE

-hitting more groups of enemies while using single target

-hitting mactera with cooked grenades

-hitting hiveguard

-hitting naedocites, shredders and swarmers

-more banking shots cause its cool

-blowing myself up?

Neurotoxin Grenades

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-in action

-show them combusting and self damage

-show bugs crawling through the gas

-show it absolutely destroying naedocites and other small enemies

-show early combustion

-show perfectly timed combustion

-escaping a swarm with gas behind me

-chaotic swarm nullified by a single gas grenade

-more shots of me fighting in gas

-Spingloaded Ripper

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-in action

-both straight forward and in a loop and possibly on tube shaped terrain

-self damage

-show it protecting us

-show one absolutely fucking us over

-shots of them doing fucky wucky things

-strafing throws

-compare axes to rippers in various scenarios, like chokes, fields, rooms

-show me doing the funny thing with the floor dug out and the ripper traveling on it

-a bunch of good shots of rippers doing their jobs

Satchel Charge

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-scary shot of drillers face

-show the other classes running in terror or protecting themselves

-show name in the terminal zoomed in

-shots of beautiful C4 carnage

-carving terrain

-show it bullying a caretaker

-destroying praetorians with high damage set up

-the mods of course

-hitting hiveguard

-scouts dying to explosions

-medbay shot of driller or scout

-show massive stuns happening in tight situations

-show fear in a similar situation

-more fun shots of C4 use

IFGs

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-in action

-hitting enemies with weapons in and out of the field

-show how they absolutelyt wreck high hp targets

-slowing the approach of a swarm

-slowing dreads and bulks

-show good positioning for IFGs

-close range brawling and shooting inside an IFG

-lining bugs up for multikills

-slowing Huuli horder

-HUGE damage to dreadnoughts

Cryo Grenades

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-in action

-freezing groups of bugs

-show bugs unfreezing

-killing frozen bugs

-freezing praetorians

-freezing oppressors and bulks

-freezing dreadnoughts

-killing huge amounts of flying enemies 

-killing small enemies

-avoiding death effects with freeze, especially brood nexus

-saving myself from instant damage with cryos

-clutch throws with trijaws and praetorians

-clutch freezing a bulk when its about to explode

-more mactera and swarmers

-show how redundant they are when someone else has cryo

-instant freezes

-trolling teammates

-shot of driller again, looking menacing

-show how easily they can be wasted

Pheremone Canister

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-in action

-dreadnought phero shot

-dying dreadnought

-coating one bug

-coating multiple

-used on close range bugs

-used on mactera

-used on exploders

-used on volatile guts

-aggresive venting

-cryo and fire bolts

-explosive bolts

-show rivals being distracted as well

-show them working in the midst of a caretaker fight

-show chaos being nullified by pheros

Voltaic Stun Sweeper

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-in action

-show a ton of shots of the things stunning whole swarms

-show mactera getting absolutely fucked by these things

-definitely shots of me dancing around through a swarm stunning things fluidly

-shots of cryos doing similar things

-shot of cryos on bulks

-sweepers stunning bulk into infinity

-shot of me fighting away from team on my own

-shot of oppressor getting electricuted

-combo-ing with electrically boosted weapons

-stunning bugs out of their animations, especially praetorians.

-just a ton more shots of them doing their jobs well

LURE

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-in action

-shot of grunts attacking it close up

-shot of dwarves dancing like idiots

-flossing shot

-audio of ninja at new years

-show it shocking bugs at end of hp

-show bugs getting instantly distracted by one while chasing

-show range in effect

-show range affected larger enemies

-show ineffective deployment in large groups

-especially show them working on mactera and menaces

-show them working on rivals

Plasma Bursters

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-in action

-shots of them fucking up swarms

-shots of them hitting teammates, for the funnny

-show the odd behavior when interacting with walls and ceilings

-show cool banking shots of the behavior used well

-bouncing off bugs armor plating

-pairing well with single target primary

-safe deployment

-stupid deployment

-more action shots of badass kills

Proximity Grenades

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-in action

-going off from timer

-going off on swarms

-not going off on small enemies

-show used and unused grenades right next to eachother

-show fear being applied

-blatant wasteful usage

-show WAY too close to the team

-show them being used in smart spots

-example of proxies defending odd angles during a swarm

-show me banking proxies for later

-shot of me using a bunch on a dreadnought

Shredder Swarm Grenade

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-in action

-close up shots of the shredders themselves

-slapping them

-swarm clearing potential

-ripping armor off bugs and slowing them

-long range tosses to help teammates

-show multitasking with shredders in the background

-listen closely to their voices

-show them wasted on a couple grunts

-escort defense especially