Grenade Launcher
The Grenade Launcher is one of the more interesting weapons in Respawnables. While there are many other explosive weapons in the game that could be compared for their splash damage, the Grenade Launcher incorporates elements of the Hand Grenade gadget, something that is entirely unique to it and one other weapon (which is really just the same thing except with a few small changes). So if the weapon is so unique, is it a good weapon? Unfortunately, no. Besides being one of the better newbie weapons early on, the Grenade Launcher has very little utility compared to various other explosive-based weapons in the game.
Let’s get into some specifics with the weapon. Firstly, one clip contains six grenades. By holding the fire button, you can shoot them one after another in fast succession. The grenades, which deal roughly 70% damage to a player with a standard amount of health, will detonate a few seconds after being shot. The grenades behave a lot like the Hand Grenade gadget, except the weapon gives them a massive launching boost which allows you to fire grenades at long ranges. The grenades will roll and bounce slightly, but nothing too dramatic like the Super Grenade gadget. |
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The main flaw with these mechanics is the amount of time after which the grenades detonate. The one or two seconds they take to explode makes aiming especially difficult against moving targets, and is more than long enough for players to notice the shots coming their way and moving to avoid them. It will take a fair bit of practise to get used to these mechanics, and even then, it’s probably not worthwhile over the better explosive weapons in the game.
The second flaw is in the damage. At the time of the weapon’s release back when Respawnables itself was first released, its damage was certainly decent and enough to sustain the weapon. This was when the game wasn’t so fast paced and the fastest-killing weapons to kill took at least a second or two to kill a player. However, two years later in a fast-paced game full of one-shot kill weapons, the Grenade Launcher struggles to compete, being weaker and harder to aim than many other weapons in the game. At the moment, Thumper, Dragon’s Breath Cannon, Howitzer Gun and others are superior options to the Grenade Launcher. If you own these weapons, they are certainly better options, even the latter two which pack awful agility.
With all my criticisms aside though, let’s discuss some of the weapon’s redeeming qualities. The first would be the ability to fire while reloading. You probably would have noticed when using shotgun weapons that you can fire a shot between each time the player adds a bullet to the weapon; the same applies for this weapon, except with its grenades. Each animation is fairly quick as well, which means that reloading is less of an issue for this weapon than it is for various other competing weapons (e.g. Missile Launcher which takes a literal eternity to reload four lousy shots). The next would be the pressure it applies to players. When a player runs into a series of grenades, all the explosive counters on the screen can confuse and pressure players. Overwhelming players with grenades is a potential way to trap them and make it difficult for them to escape. I’ll discuss some tips on how to trap players with the grenades now.
My first tip is one that was popularised by iChase. If a player is running after you, face down to the floor and fire your grenades downward. They’ll stay in place and form a trail of grenades behind you. Hopefully, the player behind you will run into them and die. Since the grenade takes some time to detonate, you should have moved away from the range in which the explosion can harm you before the grenades explode. Another tip is to utilise corners. If you use the Spotter gadget, you can see where players are and set up a trap for them when they turn a corner. This is one of the better ways to trap with this weapon, as the player will have little to no time to react when they come around.
As mentioned before, sending a massacre of grenades in your enemy’s direction is a good way to apply pressure. This should be obvious, but constantly firing at the player is the best way to beat them. Do pay attention to your placement of grenades though; firing them in front of the player’s path is a good way to trap them.
I’ll conclude this already long review with a brief comparison to the Dual Grenade Pistols. Before Respawnable’s 3.0.0 update, I would have recommended the Dual Grenade Pistols for their higher agility and generous reload time. However, as you may have guessed, I now believe the standard Grenade Launcher is the better weapon. Version 3.0.0 changed the reload animation to one that takes much longer to complete, making the weapon a lot less smooth overall and pretty much means you can only lay two grenades at once, which is really unfortunate. So if you’re reading this to tell which is better, I recommend this standard Grenade Launcher. It still isn’t exactly a good weapon though; I feel that if they made it so its shots one-shot kill, it’d be more viable.
The second flaw is in the damage. At the time of the weapon’s release back when Respawnables itself was first released, its damage was certainly decent and enough to sustain the weapon. This was when the game wasn’t so fast paced and the fastest-killing weapons to kill took at least a second or two to kill a player. However, two years later in a fast-paced game full of one-shot kill weapons, the Grenade Launcher struggles to compete, being weaker and harder to aim than many other weapons in the game. At the moment, Thumper, Dragon’s Breath Cannon, Howitzer Gun and others are superior options to the Grenade Launcher. If you own these weapons, they are certainly better options, even the latter two which pack awful agility.
With all my criticisms aside though, let’s discuss some of the weapon’s redeeming qualities. The first would be the ability to fire while reloading. You probably would have noticed when using shotgun weapons that you can fire a shot between each time the player adds a bullet to the weapon; the same applies for this weapon, except with its grenades. Each animation is fairly quick as well, which means that reloading is less of an issue for this weapon than it is for various other competing weapons (e.g. Missile Launcher which takes a literal eternity to reload four lousy shots). The next would be the pressure it applies to players. When a player runs into a series of grenades, all the explosive counters on the screen can confuse and pressure players. Overwhelming players with grenades is a potential way to trap them and make it difficult for them to escape. I’ll discuss some tips on how to trap players with the grenades now.
My first tip is one that was popularised by iChase. If a player is running after you, face down to the floor and fire your grenades downward. They’ll stay in place and form a trail of grenades behind you. Hopefully, the player behind you will run into them and die. Since the grenade takes some time to detonate, you should have moved away from the range in which the explosion can harm you before the grenades explode. Another tip is to utilise corners. If you use the Spotter gadget, you can see where players are and set up a trap for them when they turn a corner. This is one of the better ways to trap with this weapon, as the player will have little to no time to react when they come around.
As mentioned before, sending a massacre of grenades in your enemy’s direction is a good way to apply pressure. This should be obvious, but constantly firing at the player is the best way to beat them. Do pay attention to your placement of grenades though; firing them in front of the player’s path is a good way to trap them.
I’ll conclude this already long review with a brief comparison to the Dual Grenade Pistols. Before Respawnable’s 3.0.0 update, I would have recommended the Dual Grenade Pistols for their higher agility and generous reload time. However, as you may have guessed, I now believe the standard Grenade Launcher is the better weapon. Version 3.0.0 changed the reload animation to one that takes much longer to complete, making the weapon a lot less smooth overall and pretty much means you can only lay two grenades at once, which is really unfortunate. So if you’re reading this to tell which is better, I recommend this standard Grenade Launcher. It still isn’t exactly a good weapon though; I feel that if they made it so its shots one-shot kill, it’d be more viable.
TL; DR
I hold the Grenade Launcher in a higher regard than the Dual Grenade Pistols after version 3.0.0, but it's still outclassed and isn't worth using at higher levels.