Grenades
Retaining all the grenades from COD1 as well as a new smoke grenade similar to CODUO`s, the grenades have remained generally unchanged. What has changed is the way they are handled in-game. Grenades can no longer be selected as weapon, and instead are carried automatically and thrown using a specific button (Frag grenades are through using G or Middle Mouse Button by default, smoke grenades are thrown using the number 4). COD2 also features a grenade indicator to show the approximate direction of grenades to avoid being blown up.
COD2 includes new animations for grenade explosions, rendering them more accurately as fragmentation grenades rather than high explosive grenades.
Because all of the grenades are practically identical in properties, only the historical background will be presented.
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M2 Frag Grenade
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Name: Mark II Fragmentation Grenade
Country of origin: USA
Available for: American
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Historical Background
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When the United States entered the First World War, it became apparent that they lacked a standard-issue hand grenade. Basing their designs off the existing British Mills Bomb and the French F-1 grenade, the Mk I grenade was developed.
The Mk I grenade featured a serrated surface, with 40 segments divided into 8 columns and five rows, which sprayed shrapnel in all directions upon detonation. The grenade also featured a complicated safety mechanism to ensure that the thrower did not harm himself before the grenade was thrown.
This safety mechanism was the ultimate cause to the failure of the Mk I grenade. The throw had to remove the split pin, then turn the safety lever before throwing the grenade. Consequently, when trialed in combat, a fair proportioned of grenades were not properly armed. Commanders immediately demanded that the grenade be put out of service.
The Mark II grenade was then designed. It used the same charge and configuration as the Mark I, but featured a shorter safety lever, resembling the Mills grenade. The thrower could hold the grenade as long as he wanted to, provided he kept the lever closed. As soon as the lever is released, the five second fuse kicked in. These grenades were initially painted bright yellow, the official color of ordnance, but was repainted in olive drab due to the impracticality of carrying a bright yellow grenade in combat.
Nicknamed the "Pineapple" due to its shape, the Mk II had a tendency to break up into large chunks upon detonation, resulting in uneven fragmentation patterns. It was used until the Vietnam War in the 1960`s, supplementing the M26 grenade. After the War they were phased out of combat.
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Stielhandgranate
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Name: Stielhandgranate 24
Country of origin: Germany
Available for: German
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Historical Background
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Nicknamed the "Potato Masher" due to its curious shape, this German stick grenade became a typical image of the Wehrmact soldier. The Stielhandgranate featured a small explosive "head" attached to a long wooden handle. The handle allowed the thrower to throw the grenade much further than an ordinary grenade. To arm the grenade, the thrower had to unscrew the cap off the base and pull it, which started the 4-5 second fuse.
Despite its distance advantage, the Stielhandgranate was not as effective as other grenades. The main reason was because it relied more in explosive damage rather than fragmentation. The rather erratic fuse also meant that it was difficult to cook properly, resulting in grenades being thrown back or even blowing up in the thrower`s hand.
Despite popular belief, the Stielhandgranate was not the only grenade used by the German army. The Germans also used an "Egg" grenade which resembled contemporary grenades and was much smaller.
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MK1 Frag Grenade
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Name: No. 36M Mark I Fragmentation Grenade
Country of origin: Great Britain
Available for: British
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Historical Background
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Designed by the famous William Mills, the No. 36 grenade was based off the previous No. 5 grenade, which featured an attached rod to be used as a rifle grenade. The No. 36 grenade removed the rod and used a detachable base plate for use as a rifle grenade.
Instead of a serrated surface, the Mills Bomb (the name retained from the No. 5 grenade) featured deep grooves along its surface, allowing for large fragments to be dispersed on detonation. Originally the Mills Bomb had a 7 second fuse, but this was reduced to 4 seconds after experienced proved that 7 seconds was too long for a hand-thrown grenade, but was retained for use as a rifle grenade.
Like many other fragmentation grenades of its time, the No. 36 had a rather erratic fragmentation pattern. However, its blast radius was so large and powerful that the thrower had to immediately find cover to prevent self-injury. In fact, the grenade could be considered "overkill" in enclosed spaces.
The No. 36 grenade was modified to be waterproof later in the war, and was re-designated the No. 36M.
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RGD-33
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Name: Ruchnaya Granata Degtyareva 1933
Country of origin: Russia
Available for: Russian
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Historical Background
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An odd weapon in design, the RGD-33 was designed to replace the M1914/30 grenade used in WWI. The grenade itself was quite complicated. The RGD-33 consisted of three main parts:
- The grenade body, which contained the explosive elements and internal fragments, and sealed in an iron "pot".
- The handle, which is used to arm the grenade.
- The "sleeve", which is placed over the body and provides the majority of the fragmentation. The grenade could be used without the sleeve as a defensive weapon, while the fragmentation of the sleeve allowed it to be used as an offensive grenade.
The fuse must first be inserted into the top of the grenade. The grenade was armed by pulling the handle, twisting it, then pushing it back up. This started the 4 second fuse, giving the thrower time to throw the grenade at the desired target.
Because of its complexity, the RGD-33 could not be manufactured in large numbers, although it did remain in use until the Vietnam War.
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AN-M8 Smoke Grenade
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Name: AN-M8 HC Smoke Grenade
Country of origin: USA
Available for: All
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Historical Background
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The AN-M8 smoke grenade was used by the US Army during World War II for signalling and screening purposes. The AN-M8 produces a thick white smoke screen that lasts for 105-150 seconds. Unlike the M18 smoke grenade, the AN-M8 only produces white smoke.
The grenade contains a hydrochloric filler to produce the smoke. Consequently, the smoke is slightly toxic and can cause irritance to the eyes, throat and lungs if exposed to the smoke for a prolonged amount of time. Military guidelines advise not to use the smoke grenade in enclosed areas without gas masks.
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General Grenade Tactics
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Due to the revamped grenade system, grenades have a different feel to them. Grenades can no longer be cooked, so they are now a throw-and-forget weapon. The grenade indicator will indicate hostile grenades, so enemies will have more chance of running out of the grenade`s blast radius, resulting in less grenade kills.
With the loss of overall effectiveness, the new one-button throw system makes throwing grenades much smoother. In COD1, players had to select grenades as a separate weapon, throw it, then switch back to their previous weapon. In COD2, with the press of a button, the player will automatically pull out a grenade and throw it before quickly picking their weapon again. While they are vulnerable while holding the grenade, they are no longer exposed to awkward
weapon switching.
This does mean, however, that grenades are easier to spam. As grenades cannot be cooked (although some servers have a grenade cooking mod), there is little point in holding a grenade for long, so it becomes easy to throw multiple grenades within seconds.
Grenades follow an arc trajectory, with the maximum throw distance being around 30-40 metres. Grenades have a fair blast radius, and can kill multiple enemies in one explosion. Because of the 5-second fuses, it`s hard to get everyone in one go, but many players become so caught up in the action that they don`t notice the grenade indicator, which results in an instant death. It is possible to survive a grenade explosion by being barely inside the blast radius, although it will set you into critical status.
Smoke grenades are very useful items indeed, despite only being available to a few weapon classes. Smoke takes a few seconds to thicken, but after a few seconds they can completely cover an area. Players will not be able to see friendly names in smoke, but their crosshairs will still turn red over an enemy target. Smoke is excellent for covering assaults and flag grabs. One of the techniques used in CODUO was to saturate the flag with smoke in Capture the Flag games. However, often this presented difficulties in actually locating the flag and grabbing it. Assault players should therefore smoke the entry and exit routes rather than the flag itself, as smoking the flag will often have detrimental results by making it more difficult to see and kill enemies.
Unlike frag grenades, smoke grenades do not have a 5-second timer, and will detonate and begin releasing smoke upon hitting the ground.
Because of the fast throw speeds, it is possible to throw both a smoke and a frag grenade in quick succession, having the effect of laying smoke cover and suppressing enemies with grenades and possibly lure them into a false sense of security by letting them think that the only grenade around is the harmless smoke grenade.
The exact number of grenades a player receives is dependent of their weapon. Each weapon section lists the number of grenades given, but for convenience this section will also list them:
-SUBMACHINE GUNS: 1 Frag, 1 Smoke
-BOLT-ACTION RIFLES: 3 Frag, 0 Smoke
-SEMI-AUTO RIFLES: 2 Frag, 0 Smoke
-SUPPORT WEAPONS: 2 Frag, 0 Smoke
-SNIPERS: 3 Frag, 0 Smoke
-TRENCH GUN: 1 Frag, 1 Smoke
In Single Player, player can carry a maximum of 4 Frag Grenades and 4 Smoke Grenades. In Multiplayer, players can only hold 3 Frag Grenades. Players cannot pick up Smoke Grenades, with the only Smoke Grenades being those that SMGs and Shotguns spawn with.
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