Grenades are a staple in nearly all First Person Shooter games and it is no different for DUST 514. There are several types of grenades in DUST and their effects and purposes can vary rather drastically. This guide seeks to give you a brief overview of all the grenade types and what they do.
Damage Type: Explosive (-20% vs Shields / +20% vs Armor)
Locus Grenades are standard anti-infantry fragmentation grenades and perform similarly to grenades in most games. Holding down the grenade button will pull and arm the grenade, allowing you to cook it. Releasing the button will throw the grenade. If you want to throw the grenade without cooking it, simply tap the grenade button and it will be thrown immediately.
Pros
- Easy and simply to use.
- Can kill some suits instantly, or severely damage stronger ones.
Cons
- Grenades only do Splash Damage, therefore Sentinels are highly resistant to them.
| Variant | Effect | STD | ADV | PRO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Reduced ISK Cost | ISK | O | O | O |
| LP | |||||
| AUR | O | O | O | ||
| Sleek | Increased Blast Radius Decreased Damage |
ISK | O | O | |
| LP | |||||
| AUR | |||||
| Packed | Decreased Blast Radius Increased Damage |
ISK | O | ||
| LP | |||||
| AUR | |||||
| Contact /Fused |
Explodes on Impact Decreased Blast Radius Decreased Carry Capacity |
ISK | O | ||
| LP | |||||
| AUR | O |
Important Notes
-
Effects When Used Against the Following Dropsuits
- Any Sentinel – Significantly Reduced Splash Damage
(Apologies for the lower resolution image, CCP has not released a high-res version)
Damage Type: Flux (Unique) (100% vs Shields / 0% vs Armor)
Flux Grenades are unique in that they do massive damage across a wide area, but only damage shields and cannot damage armor. Therefore it is impossible to kill anything with a flux grenade, but it can leave shield units without their primary defense. Flux Grenades also have the added effect of destroying any equipment within their blast radius, making them useful in clearing areas of Drop Uplinks and Nanohives, or destroying Remote Explosives safely. Finally, they do full damage against vehicles, and can be used to damage or disable a vehicle’s shields, leaving them more vulnerable to additional AV damage.
Pros
- Extremely high damage guarantees all dropsuits caught in the blast will lose all of their shields, even Sentinels with their Splash Damage Resistance.
- Will instantly destroy all equipment in the blast radius.
Cons
- Only deals damage to shields, and cannot kill anything outright.
| Variant | Effect | STD | ADV | PRO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | None | ISK | O | O | O |
| LP | |||||
| AUR | O | O | O |
Important Notes
Effects When Used Against the Following Dropsuits
- Any Sentinel – Significantly Reduced Splash Damage (Damage is still high enough to completely knock out any Sentinel’s shields)
Tips and Tricks
- Remote Explosives and Proximity Mines will still explode when disabled by Flux Grenades. Be sure to be outside the blast radius before throwing the grenade.
- The Flux effect will also pass through walls, which can be useful for clearing equipment which has been glitched into walls or other obstacles.
- Flux Grenades also have a shorter fuse time than Locus Grenades, allowing them to be cooked faster.
(Apologies for the lower resolution image, CCP has not released a high-res version)
Damage Type: Explosive (-20% vs Shields / +20% vs Armor)
Anti-Vehicle Grenades, aka AV Grenades, will hone in on any vehicle found within their seek range and detonate on impact. They do not have a timer like normal grenades, and will only explode after coming in contact with a vehicle, making them ineffective against infantry. However, they deal massive damage and can be thrown in quick succession, allowing an infantryman to deal considerable damage to vehicles at close range.
Pros
- Auto-Tracking makes these grenades easy to use against vehicles.
Cons
- Ineffective against infantry.
| Variant | Effect | STD | ADV | PRO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Reduced ISK Cost | ISK | O | O | O |
| LP | |||||
| AUR | O | O | O | ||
| Sleek | Increased Throw Range Decreased Damage |
ISK | O | O | O |
| LP | |||||
| AUR | |||||
| Packed | Decreased Seek Range Increased Damage |
ISK | O | O | O |
| LP | |||||
| AUR |
Important Notes
Tips and Tricks
- AV Grenades will remain active even when lying on the ground for a few seconds. Throwing an AV Grenade on the ground in front of a vehicle will cause it to be sucked up into the vehicle’s undercarriage when it passes by. The duration that the grenade will remain on the ground is fairly short, but it does allow AV grenades to act as shot-term AV Mines.
