Flasbang vs stingball

[Der durch die Scheibeboxxxer]

Flashs does 2 rounds incapacitate but it's removed when damage is taken.
Sting ball does 1 round but effect stays when damage is taken. Which one is better???

[walter]

Depends what you need it for - if you need to apply AOE damage the stingball is better, but you have to kill all enemies in that one turn (or at least reduce them enough to make them harmless).

If you need more time and are using single target damage, the flashbang is better.

Also depends on the specific targets as some enemies are immune to stuns or flashbangs.

[Tamiore]

Flashbangs also allow you to disengage if you incapacitate all enemies.

[cypherusuh]

Originally posted by Tamiore:

Flashbangs also allow you to disengage if you incapacitate all enemies.

To adds, keep in mind that stun and incapacitated is similar, but different, status effect

[Der durch die Scheibeboxxxer]

Originally posted by walter:

Depends what you need it for - if you need to apply AOE damage the stingball is better, but you have to kill all enemies in that one turn (or at least reduce them enough to make them harmless).

If you need more time and are using single target damage, the flashbang is better.

Why are sting balls better than flasbangs with aoe damage? A tactic I like to use is frag+ burst and then a flasbang.

[Greb]

Flashbang is more defensive, I guess. Large AoE to incapacitate a bunch of enemies buying yourself some space, while you reposition, reload, heal, take some turns for abilities to cool down, or completely disengage, stealth and run away. Cheap and easy to make in huge quantities with a feat that makes them very spammable.

I have never used or even heard of Stingball. What's that? Either way, applying one turn of stun makes it sound more offensive than defensive in nature, considering you can keep laying into a stunned person without them breaking free from it, etc. Hitting a group in an AoE and then slapping something underneath their feet like fire, acid or gas sounds like a good strategy - then positioning for a burst attack during your next turn where they've not been able to move etc.

Question really boils down to your situation, and if you need stun or incapacitation more. They're very similar status effects, but also very different. For one thing, incapacitated enemies lose line of sight, whereas stunned enemies can still see you.

Stun can be used defensively though. There's a psionic ability to place a trap on a tile, which stuns opponents for two turns - quite defensive when used in bottlenecks, turning the enemy into a pseudo barrier, of sorts. Unrelated to Stingball vs Flashbang I guess, but just wanted to point out that Stun isn't entirely an offensive effect, etc.

[WalrusJones]

Stingballs are useful because the enemy doesn't get a resistance check, and nearly all humanoids have 7 mechanical threshold or lower. Thus, they create a scenario where a whole room full of dudes can't act except the one dude in metal armor, whom you aimed shot and now he is dead.

[Szarekh the Silent King]

Originally posted by MagicalSmalrusWalrusJones:

Stingballs are useful because the enemy doesn't get a resistance check, and nearly all humanoids have 7 mechanical threshold or lower. Thus, they create a scenario where a whole room full of dudes can't act except the one dude in metal armor, whom you aimed shot and now he is dead.

But stingball grenades won't be useful against NPCs with Thick Skull perk, because they will get daze status instead of stun. Almost all native warriors in Expedition have this perk, so stingball grenade will be useless against them.

[happybjorn]

Flashbang is much better, but both can be useful. Making a group stun immune (second wind) is a short term solution, but sometimes that is all you need.

[Thrax]

Stingballs are useful against low mechanical threshold enemies, because if they have to resist all the damage to not be stunned. Less overall utility, but it certainly is not strictly inferior.