Same here. But with that Trogdor map I'm basically forced to use them. How else will the peasants and thatched cottages be Burninated?
wow Debo, thanks for this. i really have been paying attention to my grenades in maps recently too because a lot of my old maps became stick fests. which usually isnt fun and takes away the whole map.
Great guide, theres only a few things I disagree with.. Frags don't really *matter*, as long as you don't overload it..you won't notice anymore than the normal spawn amount+drops. I agree with no more than two grenade type..mainly because than someone usually ends up with 6 grenades and spams like crazy. Firebombs..shouldn't really be used on a competitive map. My opinion, but I just don't think they are...iuno, bungie doesn't use em. (I think this is lag/framerate issues?) Plasmas (this is where i disagree mostly), should be on a longer respawn time than max time of 45 seconds, and shouldn't have too many in high traffic areas. Put some where someone has to go out of the way to get them..so there is a point in going to this low traffic area. I know my friends cause bigger problems with plasma, and plasmas are more of a 'weapon' than frags..so I limit them and lengthen a few respawns and force people to travel for them. All in All, great guide...+rep (I can right?)
I have to agree with the Firebomb thing. They don't make for the best second type, but then again I've yet to see anyone use them effectively yet, so who knows their potential? Though I do remember Bungie mentioning that they can cause slight lag and framerate issues, which is why they should always have higher respawn times than most other grenades. As for your comment about plasmas, I have to disagree with upping their respawn time. Plasmas are very "magnetic" and they'll always boost an area's traffic rating up one level at least. Placing them in already very high or high traffic areas is bad, obviously, but merely placing them anywhere will reroute the map's flow. Having them on higher respawn times disables their influence, and defeats the purpose of using them to promote flow. However, if you do put them in high traffic areas, their respawn time should definitely be increased.
I agree with most of the points, but Firebomb times should never drop below 60. They are far too powerful, more like a power grenade than a grenade counting to the 2 grenades. There should only ever be 1-2 on the map at any one time, because they're so damned powerful.
Yah, by upping respawns I don't mean too too high..because than they get to be forgotten. I find that when I play bungies maps, I find myself moving to areas where plasmas spawn to pick them up, so I decided to us this to my advantage, and I notice that other people will also go to certain areas to pick up plasmas once they learn their spawn. Thus I don't believe they should spawn to quick because man, I hate when people always have plasmas. 45 seconds goes by really really fast I have come to learn.
I don't think that plasmas can really change the map more than maybe a few feet. I make a point of getting the plasmas next to the middle BRs in The Pit, but that's usually to pick up said BR or to go to either Rocket or Camo hallway, and they are on the way. The ONLY grenade I've ever seen significantly change the flow of a map is Firebombs because of aforementioned damned power.
Maybe it's just my playstyle, but I go out of my way for plasmas. Especially in team slayer. Guardian I will run up the tower to grab em, I go to the BR on the Pit when I have a BR already to grab plasmas, Construct I will drop down or grab them from sniper. I rarely stick people, but plasmas are great to chuck straight at the floor when someones around a corner (ie: your at a purple lift and they are around the corner on construct), as you take there shields off and scare em out. Couple BRs and they are done. Especially when they have something like a sword. I like plasmas for almost like..quick exploding mines. Frags are great but in a hectic scene, you might not get it to stay where you want it to. Might just be me though.
Your method is good if you want orderly, standard type of play, but sometimes I don't want the player to be able to quickly switch to a frag grenade unless he is ready ahead of time, and knows how many times he has to switch. Also, sometimes I just want complete and utter chaos in a map, in which case, more grenades are better. Another thing I take into account when choosing grenade types, is how they will affect game balance, on my most recently completed map, there are two ghosts, but confined spaces, sharp turns, and plenty of places to jump down from, putting the ghost at a disadvantage. Because the ghost was already weak, I didn't want to put sticky grenades in to make it completely useless.
I recently released a map and wish I had read this before. I think I may have slightly more grenades then needed, but the map setup is in such a way that you can't Spam due to angles. Unless you perfect the high rolling arc, which is impossible in foundry due to the ceiling.
Thanks for all of the positive feedback guys. It's very appreciated. And yeah, I tend to go out of my way for plasmas/spikes too, but as a general rule very few people actually do. But then again, I grab 'em because I love getting sticks.
This is a really nice guide to grenades. I've seen some guides talk briefly of them, mainly the 2 types per map rule but other that, that's about it. Nice job, I'm going to be sure to apply this to my maps!
Wow, thanks. I had no idea what kind of grenades or how many to place on a map. However, I would focus less on frags, because if someone plays the standard Slayer game on your map, chances are that frags will be laying all around, and there will be no problem finding them.
Exactly, but as a general rule most maps take up a large portion of Foundry, and it's always best to have at least four just in case people run out. They're also really useful and necessary in games like Elimination, where the number of corpses is low since when you die, you're out.
Very helpful guide. I always do think that to many grenades tend to make you 'fumble' in clutch situations. Often resulting in the wrong grenade being thrown or death. DO IT.