Changes in Halo 4 Grenades

Games Other Halo
1

I noticed in Halo 4 videos that the grenades didn’t have lights on them like they have in Reach. It’s a small thing that doesn’t always get noticed until it’s gone. In Reach when a grenade was flying towards you it had a tail and a light so you could see it. Now there’s just a tail and no light.

Not the biggest thing until you realize that a map like Adrift is darker than other past Halo maps (except perhaps Warlock). When a grey grenade comes flying towards you with a grey smoke tail and no light on a dark map, you’re not going to notice it as much. With the grenade indicator that now pops up, this will change things. It means you’re no longer actively dodging grenades that you can pretty easily see coming, but reacting to them. Where we once had 1-2 seconds to alter our plans, we now have a much shorter time with less warning to avoid grenades.

On the other hand, we have more warning against grenades we only hear but don’t see with the grenade indicator. This is a small thing, but I’m curious to see how this impacts Halo in the future.

Another thing of note is that the grenade indicator means you can no longer “mine” corners. One thing I’ll do if chased is duck around a corner and toss a sticky at the coner, hidden enough that from the other side you can’t see the glow. When this is timed correctly, the person chasing can be in trouble. With the new grenade indicator that pops up in Halo 4, this tactic won’t work.

Again, not a big deal, but still something to think about.

While I’m on the topic of grenades, how about that Sticky Launcher? I remember playing Goldeneye when it came out on N64, and if someone picked up timed mines or proximity mines, then they could get an easy kill by sticking one on the top of a doorway and waiting for someone to walk through. I wonder if this will be a viable tactic in Halo 4 (I hope not).

Does the Sticky Launcher activate the grenade indicator on your HUD? Either way, it seems ceilings and doorways are much higher in Halo 4 than they are in Goldeneye, so hopefully there won’t be the same issues.

Any thoughts?

Edited after being corrected on grenade lights by h0minid56 :

> You do know that Reach was the first Halo to have a light on the grenades right? You talk like they’ve all had it.
> And don’t add a tail to them. Why make it easier for people to dodge them, since they already have indicators. Assuming they aren’t ridiculously powerful.

2

Grenade indicators replaces LED lights? :stuck_out_tongue:

EDIT:

Okay so it didn’t add this following part:

I don’t think that the sticky nades on walls have an insta kill effect, depends on radius ofcourse.

3

> Grenade indicators replaces LED lights? :stuck_out_tongue:

That seems to be the thinking behind it, but it does change the way we react to grenades. I guess we’ll have to wait until about January before we know if this impact is good or bad (took about that long before Armour Lock overstayed its welcome in Reach).

4

> > Grenade indicators replaces LED lights? :stuck_out_tongue:
>
> That seems to be the thinking behind it, but it does change the way we react to grenades. I guess we’ll have to wait until about January before we know if this impact is good or bad (took about that long before Armour Lock overstayed its welcome in Reach).

The only thing i actually wish for grenades in Halo 4, is decreased damage and increased fuse time. Practically MINI-nukes in Halo Reach.

5

This is a very valid concern, although it may be overlooked like my conern of promethean vision destroying my sabotage tatic (sneaking into a group of enemies with sword/shotty and obliberating them

6

> > > Grenade indicators replaces LED lights? :stuck_out_tongue:
> >
> > That seems to be the thinking behind it, but it does change the way we react to grenades. I guess we’ll have to wait until about January before we know if this impact is good or bad (took about that long before Armour Lock overstayed its welcome in Reach).
>
> The only thing i actually wish for grenades in Halo 4, is decreased damage and increased fuse time. Practically MINI-nukes in Halo Reach.

In my opinion, Halo 3 had the grenades perfect, but I like that the fuse time/bounce in Reach grenades took a long time to master. Still, irritating how large the explosion radius was and how much damage they did. Bumping up the player’s movement speed and jump height like in the MLG playlist definitely balanced them out, but that did nothing for the 95% of the community who doesn’t regularly play MLG.

Reach grenades changed the way people took cover as well. When ducking behind a corner, you had to back up a lot more than you did in Halo 3 to be safe from grenades. I remember playing with friends who hadn’t played Reach much, and they died from grenades more than anything else because they moved around the map like it was Halo 3, and grenades weren’t nukes.

The very slow (compared to past Halo games) base movement speed also compounded this. In needing to back up further behind obstacles to be safer from grenades took longer, and also meant it took a split second longer to pop back out from cover. This also gave players a longer natural break in the game for their bloom to reset.

Again, small things that change the larger game.

(If I can go on more: the addition of sprint made capitalizing on these moments much different as well. The extra second that someone is in cover now gives you an extra second to sprint to a different position or have a teammate flank.)

7

> > > > Grenade indicators replaces LED lights? :stuck_out_tongue:
> > >
> > > That seems to be the thinking behind it, but it does change the way we react to grenades. I guess we’ll have to wait until about January before we know if this impact is good or bad (took about that long before Armour Lock overstayed its welcome in Reach).
> >
> > The only thing i actually wish for grenades in Halo 4, is decreased damage and increased fuse time. Practically MINI-nukes in Halo Reach.
>
> In my opinion, Halo 3 had the grenades perfect, but I like that the fuse time/bounce in Reach grenades took a long time to master. Still, irritating how large the explosion radius was and how much damage they did. Bumping up the player’s movement speed and jump height like in the MLG playlist definitely balanced them out, but that did nothing for the 95% of the community who doesn’t regularly play MLG.
>
> Reach grenades changed the way people took cover as well. When ducking behind a corner, you had to back up a lot more than you did in Halo 3 to be safe from grenades. I remember playing with friends who hadn’t played Reach much, and they died from grenades more than anything else because they moved around the map like it was Halo 3, and grenades weren’t nukes.
>
> The very slow (compared to past Halo games) base movement speed also compounded this. In needing to back up further behind obstacles to be safer from grenades took longer, and also meant it took a split second longer to pop back out from cover. This also gave players a longer natural break in the game for their bloom to reset.
>
> Again, small things that change the larger game.
>
> (If I can go on more: the addition of sprint made capitalizing on these moments much different as well. The extra second that someone is in cover now gives you an extra second to sprint to a different position or have a teammate flank.)

http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/haloreach/Golden%20RAAM/fileshare#?details=29566734

Just sayin’ :wink:

Halo 3 had perfect grenades indeed. Hopefully they’ll be like that again.

8

I’m hoping it doesn’t become an excuse for why the enemy AI can always miraculously dive from grenades (assuming they cheat).

9

I’m sure grenades can still be “mined” around a corner, not like the person chasing you can stop sprinting soon enough to avoid damage.

10

> I’m sure grenades can still be “mined” around a corner, not like the person chasing you can stop sprinting soon enough to avoid damage.

True. But then there’s also the problem of sprinting forward and being unable to locate grenades until you are within their radius. (Problem perhaps isn’t the best word to use here - I haven’t played the game yet, so I can’t know if it is or isn’t a problem.)

‘The “change” of sprinting forward and being unable to locate grenades until you are within their radius.’

11

> > > Grenade indicators replaces LED lights? :stuck_out_tongue:
> >
> > That seems to be the thinking behind it, but it does change the way we react to grenades. I guess we’ll have to wait until about January before we know if this impact is good or bad (took about that long before Armour Lock overstayed its welcome in Reach).
>
> The only thing i actually wish for grenades in Halo 4, is decreased damage and increased fuse time. Practically MINI-nukes in Halo Reach.

This^ I raged countless times as a result of those heat seeking pocket-nukes.

12

^^^
They are sadly overpowered on normal settings.

13

Dear god! They look A LOT smaller than in Reach in the video too! THANK YOU 343!

Made no sense as too why you would have a GIANT LED on the grenade to show off to your enemies. Also made no sense in terms of how this is about 550 years in the future and the grenades needed to be bigger to do the same effects as grenades today.

14

> Dear god! They look A LOT smaller than in Reach in the video too! THANK YOU 343!
>
> Made no sense as too why you would have a GIANT LED on the grenade to show off to your enemies. Also made no sense in terms of how this is about 550 years in the future and the grenades needed to be bigger to do the same effects as grenades today.

For realism it made no sense. For gameplay, it makes a lot of sense. But again, different approaches. I agree with your point about the larger grenades :stuck_out_tongue: Reminded me of Halo 1; felt like you were playing dodgeball.

15

> I’m hoping it doesn’t become an excuse for why the enemy AI can always miraculously dive from grenades (assuming they cheat).

I’m wondering if that will actually show up in a Bulletin, or just be the explanation on the forums.

16

Well, the sticky launcher is made to mine areas, or turn unsuspecting enemy vehicles to deathtraps by placing a well hidden sticky in it :wink:
I think they mentioned an audio warning in the bulletin when you got close to a sticky nade, then again I’m not sure if you’ll hear it in a vehicle or in the heat of battle, neither the range of this warning system…

17

> Well, the sticky launcher is made to mine areas, or turn unsuspecting enemy vehicles to deathtraps by placing a well hidden sticky in it :wink:
> I think they mentioned an audio warning in the bulletin when you got close to a sticky nade, then again I’m not sure if you’ll hear it in a vehicle or in the heat of battle, neither the range of this warning system…

If they bring back the Plasma Launcher, will those projectiles have grenade indicators?

18

I dont recall grenades ever having lights on them in any previous Halo games, other than in Halo Reach.

Correct me if I’m wrong…

19

You do know that Reach was the first Halo to have a light on the grenades right? You talk like they’ve all had it.
And don’t add a tail to them. Why make it easier for people to dodge them, since they already have indicators. Assuming they aren’t ridiculously powerful.

20

> You do know that Reach was the first Halo to have a light on the grenades right? You talk like they’ve all had it.
> And don’t add a tail to them. Why make it easier for people to dodge them, since they already have indicators. Assuming they aren’t ridiculously powerful.

You’re completely right about grenade lights. I can’t believe I missed that. I just edited the OP to account for that.

I do agree with the tail though, and I would prefer lights, especially as it seems that maps may be a bit darker than in previous Halos. It’s hard to dodge a well thrown grenade, and it should be. But you should also be able to see them coming and react accordingly. My concern is with the switch from proactive avoidance to reactive avoidance. When the grenade indicator pops up, you react; when you see a grenade coming towards you, you can plan ahead (do I dodge left, right, keep going, back up…?). With the grenade indicator and harder to see grenades it becomes “Grenade is to my left; move right!!!”