Grenade launchers feel like cheat mode

[Econ]

I am getting near the endgame, so on a whim decided to try giving Barry and Larry assault rifles with the grenade launcher mod. They are insane! They seem to have enormous range, don't seem to miss, ignore a lot of the cover/armour issues that can limit bullets, are AOE and cost only 5 AP to fire.

(I did learn the importance of dumping 40mm flashbangs from your squad inventory - for some reason, the game defaults to loading them in preference to HE.)

I know there's been a lot of discussion about the power of stealth sniping, but grenade launchers impress me even more.

The only constraint is that 40mm HE ammo seems VERY short supply, so maybe they are best saved for the endgame.

[OZZO]

Yes, these are very good. Cheap and efficient. But you will not get enough ammo to spray it left and right.

[sooshon]

Originally posted by OZZO:

Yes, these are very good. Cheap and efficient. But you will not get enough ammo to spray it left and right.

you can actually craft a ton, I think the recipe is just 1 c4 charge for five 40mm grenades, along w/ some scrap, you can make dozens of them.

[ChaosKhan]

40 mm grenades are the best explosives in the game. All things considered, even better than Barry's charges.

You should also find C4 pretty early, and they are very easy to craft.

[Null Winter]

The actual rotary grenade launcher is pretty crummy after the first few shots, since it loses so much durability per shot that even Barry will be facing 25% or more Mishaps before the drum has been emptied twice.

[Econ]

Originally posted by sooshon:

you can actually craft a ton, I think the recipe is just 1 c4 charge for five 40mm grenades, along w/ some scrap, you can make dozens of them.

Good point - I've not exhausted my stock. I was very underwhelmed by both proximity C4 (microscopic activation radius) and timed TNT (enemies can run away), so so using C4 and TNT for crafting to make 40mm grenades and regular handgrenades respectively seems like the best use.

[Hymzir]

Those things are pretty effective in real world too. If you've seen footage form a certain conflict going on right now, you might have noticed how common those things are in the trenches. The ability to but a grenade where you want on demand is pretty handy on the battlefield. They give you so much more reach and accuracy over hand tossed grenades.

In-game they are somewhat balanced by the fact that you need a merc with high Explosives skill to make the most of them. So unless you go on full demo camp training spree with your team, they wont as universally applicable as Silenced Sniper Rifles. Pretty much everyone gets a high Marksmanship by the end.

I suppose they could be made bit more balanced overall, by adding a negative quality to them. As in making them cost more AP to shoot. If you've ever swung a gun with one of those things attached, you'd understand my reasoning. They make those rifles really awkward and cumbersome.

[DaedalusPL]

Originally posted by ChaosKhan:

40 mm grenades are the best explosives in the game. All things considered, even better than Barry's charges.

You should also find C4 pretty early, and they are very easy to craft.

How are you getting much C4 though as I've only found small amounts and am closing in on finishing the game?

[w.f.schepel]

Originally posted by Hymzir:

Those things are pretty effective in real world too. If you've seen footage form a certain conflict going on right now, you might have noticed how common those things are in the trenches. The ability to but a grenade where you want on demand is pretty handy on the battlefield. They give you so much more reach and accuracy over hand tossed grenades.

In-game they are somewhat balanced by the fact that you need a merc with high Explosives skill to make the most of them. So unless you go on full demo camp training spree with your team, they wont as universally applicable as Silenced Sniper Rifles. Pretty much everyone gets a high Marksmanship by the end.

I suppose they could be made bit more balanced overall, by adding a negative quality to them. As in making them cost more AP to shoot. If you've ever swung a gun with one of those things attached, you'd understand my reasoning. They make those rifles really awkward and cumbersome.

Fun fact, you don't need high demo with launchers. Tried and tested with a low dem merc: hits perfectly accurately as well. Might be a bug, but launchers alone make assault rifles the best weapons in the game. (If used in tandem with the stealth system + armor penetrating ammo, you get one shot kills with single shot AR attacks just the same as with rifles.)

[Aegmar]

i also don't find much c4, but i agree that (scarcity apart) 40mm Grenades are a bit OP, especially compared with other explosives.

[ChaosKhan]

C4 seems to be super rare. Only found 8 blocks in my first complete playthrough. In the second now, used all 4 that I had to craft 40mm and since then have been relying on loot drops.

The important part about 40mm is, that mishaps don't do anything. The grenade still cleanly hits the spot you aimed at. So you can give even someone with 0 explosive skill and no str (like Livewire) a modded AK-47 and he will become a very decent grenadier for situations, where just 1 short ranged grenade from Barry or Red is simply not enough.

[Cougarific]

Originally posted by Econ:

(I did learn the importance of dumping 40mm flashbangs from your squad inventory - for some reason, the game defaults to loading them in preference to HE.)

Don't discount the flashbangs tho - making enemies Tired / Numb can be very useful if you can do it to a large group. Makes clean-up a breeze.

[joaocarlos.ak472]

Originally posted by ChaosKhan:

C4 seems to be super rare. Only found 8 blocks in my first complete playthrough. In the second now, used all 4 that I had to craft 40mm and since then have been relying on loot drops.

The important part about 40mm is, that mishaps don't do anything. The grenade still cleanly hits the spot you aimed at. So you can give even someone with 0 explosive skill and no str (like Livewire) a modded AK-47 and he will become a very decent grenadier for situations, where just 1 short ranged grenade from Barry or Red is simply not enough.

but they do much more damage and have a bigger area of effect used by a decent explosive expert guy

[Shuri-Sama]

blowing up everything was always one of the good points to play jagged alliance :D. i mostly use motar (shame that it is so weak now compared to ja2) and when enemy try to get away from the area of effect my mg do the rest :D