I've gotten grappled from behind and didn't die, so I have no idea what's going on there. I usually have very little health at the end, but I'm still alive. It's happened at least 3 or 4 times.
I think for my next map I'm building Ammo Mule Arena. Anyone care to join me in building the four Crossfire maps from this game? Grenade III might take some creativity since it features more lifts than we have available in Reach, but I'm confident some creative mind can do it. P.S. Monday Night Combat is, fundamentally, a better game than Reach. It just didn't have the development budget needed to add a bunch of features and test and fix every bug pre-release. The first DLC and first major patch both come out soon, and the DLC is free. Pick up this game people!
Obviously some changes will have to be made. Tightening up the bot lanes for example, and doing something very, very different with spawning. The movement options and gunplay are all there in MNC though, and Ammo Mule has an actual power structure in the middle to fight for control of, which is something the other MNC maps lack. Grenade III in my opinion would work pretty well too, but major changes would need to happen to Lazerazor and Steel Peel.
I played it solid for about 2 weeks, then I got bored. It was still definitely worth the pick up and experience for $15. A lot better than Blacklight Tango Down which I bought a little before. =(