Smoke Grenades!? How to use them properly?

[Clippy]

Hey people. I somewhat enjoy FPS games and decided to try this one out. I'm good at aiming and shooting and I do pretty well with most weapons, but... I never used the smoke grenades (properly) in any game. I feel like in this game, you would benefit alot from using smokes properly and I have some questions about them.

- Are smoke grenades used for offence or defence... or both?

- Can you see "clear" while inside the smoke, or see targets inside of smoke from outside?

- Imagine playing the capture point mode. Let's say a group of enemies are capturing point A. Is it a good idea to throw a smoke in tha area, or throw it in an area beside it where you plan to go?

- Are there any benefits for lowering your graphic settings to see through smoke?

This is basically me climbing out of the noob zone and trying to utilize my whole set of tools, so bear with me on this one. Hopefully some other players can learn a few things from this. Thanks in advance for the help!

[Potatoman]

I use smoke all the time. But I'm also capping a lot of points instead of going for all the kills. I throw a smoke on the point, throw myself down on the ground while capping and then when I'm half way of capping the point I throw another smoke so I can stay hidden all the time. I myself and enemies can't see anything in the smoke or trough the smoke.

Smoke is usually best for attacking. Remember, when you are in a defensive position the enemy will come to you. There is no point in giving them extra cover with smoke. They'll even use smoke themselves to advance so you're only helping the enemy by throwing more smoke.

I like using a combination of a frag grenade and smoke. If the enemy is capping, throw a grenade on the point. If I want to cap, I throw a smoke on the point.

I guess smoke can be used as a defensive action as well. But only in certain examples.

[Potatoman]

"- Imagine playing the capture point mode. Let's say a group of enemies are capturing point A. Is it a good idea to throw a smoke in tha area, or throw it in an area beside it where you plan to go?"

I would not throw a smoke on the point. That's gonna make it hard for you to kill the enemies that are capping. But yeah, a smoke beside the point might be a smart move. Because then you can use the smoke as cover and getting behind the enemy at the point safely without getting shot by other people around the point.

[Technopath]

The principle is to obstruct vision or delay (counter-)attacks. Arguably more versatile for the attacker. For example, If you're capping a point, you can 'block off' a certain area/entrance. Same goes for neutralising certain positions when you have to move - in general. But keep in mind that concealment doesn't equal to cover.

[Valérian]

Potatoman님이 먼저 게시:

I use smoke all the time. But I'm also capping a lot of points instead of going for all the kills. I throw a smoke on the point, throw myself down on the ground while capping and then when I'm half way of capping the point I throw another smoke so I can stay hidden all the time. I myself and enemies can't see anything in the smoke or trough the smoke.

Smoke is usually best for attacking. Remember, when you are in a defensive position the enemy will come to you. There is no point in giving them extra cover with smoke. They'll even use smoke themselves to advance so you're only helping the enemy by throwing more smoke.

I like using a combination of a frag grenade and smoke. If the enemy is capping, throw a grenade on the point. If I want to cap, I throw a smoke on the point.

I guess smoke can be used as a defensive action as well. But only in certain examples.

+1, good post.

[Hartschteiler]

It is important that you understand that Insurgency is the only game right now which handles the smoke right. (imo)

From Distant :
- Nobody is able to look through the smokecloud
- You can't see the movement inside the cloud (maybe people standing near the edge)

From inside the cloud :
- You can look outside the smokecloud if you are near the edge (but not with great vision)
- You can see every movement inside the Cloud.

Edit : It might be important to play on very high settings... maybe lower settings will render the cloud in a different way so you cant see inside the cloud.

It is pretty important where you throw the smokes... many people tend to smoke off "choke points and rush throw" but remember, the enemy is not stupid, it will draw their attention and they will blindshot the smokecloud.
Better "fake" a push... smoke up (if you got 2 smokes) a specific point pretty good, the enemy will think you (and your team) are going to push... now you fire 2-3 times through the smoke and switch position... works like a charm most of the time. ;)

/sorry for bad english.

[fyserium - ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ OG]

Smoke can be used for attacking AND defending effectively.

-When defending. you can use smoke to stop enemy advances in certain positions.
You know enemies will be coming mainly from a certain hallways? Smoke it off, it'll buy you some time, as there is no reason to rush through smoke.

You can use it to move from one position to another if you're being shot at, though take your time from deploying the smoke to actually going through it. As people might shoot through the smoke in hopes of hitting you. So after deploying it wait a few seconds and go.


-When attacking. Use smoke as concealment from sniper fire or possibly an MG (though I'm sure any MG would just fire through the smoke so be aware)


Smoke can be a real game changer, it's great and every team needs to use it often.

[fyserium - ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ OG]

Smoke can be used for attacking AND defending effectively.

-When defending. you can use smoke to stop enemy advances in certain positions.
You know enemies will be coming mainly from a certain hallways? Smoke it off, it'll buy you some time, as there is no reason to rush through smoke.

You can use it to move from one position to another if you're being shot at, though take your time from deploying the smoke to actually going through it. As people might shoot through the smoke in hopes of hitting you. So after deploying it wait a few seconds and go.


-When attacking. Use smoke as concealment from sniper fire or possibly an MG (though I'm sure any MG would just fire through the smoke so be aware)


Smoke can be a real game changer, it's great and every team needs to use it often.

[Clippy]

Hey guys who commented. Really great posts, all of them actually. I hope I meet players like you in the game. Thanks for answering my question and not a single hatefull comment, how great.

Digital cookies to all of you for taking your time!

[Friendly]

I use smoke to cut off sightlines ultimately. Rarely do I use a smoke grenade that I want to run through, because visibility in the centre of it is... well practically none existant.

But yeah. Lets use push for example, since that is what I play most the time anyway. When attacking, one or more smokes can be used to protect you from snipers, something you'll do alot on Buhriz. Or an example of using it defensively, District defence. You are running from spawn, if the enemy is sniping/watching the street it is a good idea to throw a smoke to allow you and your team to cross towards B safely.

I mainly use it like this but as someone pointed out above me you could smoke a choke point and watch it with your team - the enemy will have to wait for it to disperse since running through it blindly will be a death sentence.

[=slack=]

Smoke is used to obscure an enemy's arc of fire, in order for you to move through it, or to move into it (as in an assault).

But I have almost never seen smoke used properly in Insurgency. It's almost always used without tactical considerations, obscuring friendlies' arc of fire.

Tactically it has very little use in coop mode. It is more suited for pvp.

[jballou]

Smoke is generally best used in offense, as noted by the other posters here. It is effectively useless in coop, but in PVP can be great for getting across open areas or concealing your team while getting out of a dangerous spot quickly. As a counter to that, any time a defending team sees smoke, the SAW gunner should immediately focus on the smoke and start filling it with 3-5 round bursts at hip level, spaced a second or so apart through the smoke in a side to side pattern, covering the area with effective suppressing fire. This will force the attackers to crawl or at least move more carefully through the smoke, reducing the effectiveness of the concealment for them.

[Clippy]

I played a couple of games since this post, and I must say that I feel more secure with the knowledge I posess thanks to you. I like the part about putting down a fake smoke bomb, and also enjoy it against snipers.

It also works well in corridors and small spaces as stated above :)

thanks!

[Slave King Skalavic]

This is probably one of the only fps's to make the use of a smoke grenade effective.
As others have stated, it is generally used by the attackers to advance to the capture point unscathed.

I have used it once where 2 enemies where hiding in the corners of a capture point in "Push" who would instantly kill anyone who entered the room. I threw a smoke grenade into the room and was able to crawl into a postion where i could kill both of them easily.

[Galileus]

One little thing - never, ever, EVER move THROUGH the smoke. It's not ninja ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You come out of the smoke, any sane person has his sights on you already. You try to hide in the smoke on point, any sane person fragged and RPGd you to the point where your blood evaporates.

One thing people seem to have hard time to get is smoke is best used to hide your PATH, not YOU. If your path leads you through the smoke, that's a bad call. You have the disadvantage coming out of the cloud, as you need to instantly scan large area. Everyone else is just looking at the could. And at you. And at the bullet holes in you. Na-ah! You use smoke to move behind it, with your entry and exit hidden from camping enemies. You smoke sides, you shoot enemies in front. Even if they blind-fire through the smoke, they blind fire. Being under blind fire beats the hell out of being under concentrated assault just after regaining vision in my book.

If you can't take a route behind a smoke - in other words, if the enemy that is making you trouble is in front - it's better to use frag for a fast and dirty cover and pick off the enemy right as the smoke from it fades. You can ask for covering fire or precision shots from your team snipers. You don't usually just pop down a smoke and run through it - in best ever scenario you run a roulette where it's 50/50 on you and your enemy. Not a good odds. You want to have the upper hand, and running through smoke doesn't really accomplish that.

[MadeYouLook]

Would like to add, if you play co-op, never throw it. AI bots can see through it earlier than players, and occasionally ignore it completely. Sometimes it can pay off if you get lucky, but it's not worth the risk.