Grenade Launcher (Q3)

 

Grenade Launcher
Production information
Type	Missile
Technical specifications
Damage Per Hit	100 [direct impact] 1-100 [splash damage]
Maximum Ammunition	200 rounds 50 (Quake Live)
Fire Mode	Semi-automatic
Ammunition Type	Grenades (dark green)
Operation	150 units radius splash damage 2.5 seconds of grenade fuse Projectile bounce rate of 0.5
Rate of Fire	75 rpm (1 grenade per 800 milliseconds)
Muzzle Velocity	700 units per second
Accuracy	Low
Range	Low-medium
Usage
Era(s)	Quake III Arena Quake Live
Counterweapon(s)	Rocket Launcher (Q3)
[Source]

In Quake III Arena the Grenade Launcher (or simply GL) tosses grenades. The grenades explode after only 2.5 seconds, but that's still longer to explode than in previous incarnations. In addition, they have an exaggerated bounce, making it difficult to time the explosion just right for killing foes. The Grenade Launcher is more of a utility for close range area denial, instead of a weapon.

At player slang, grenades also called "pineapples".

Strategies

• Because of how long it is for grenades to explode, the GL should generally not be used as a weapon to fight an opponent with. Slow projectile speed combined with slow fuse, makes it a risky weapon on close combat. It's rather an utility that you seek the comfort of it in a 1v1 match. Despite being seen as a basic camper weapon, Grenade Launcher can't be utilized that way solely.
• If you want to fight an enemy with the GL, remember that you need to make direct impacts with the grenade. Otherwise, the grenades will harmlessly bounce away from where you are fighting. Grenade projectile speed is approximately double of standard player movement speed and moves in a arced pattern.
• If you see two or more players fighting in the distance, fire a few grenades at time. Usually, at least one of the grenades will damage or kill an opponent. Doing this might anger some players, but some would consider such outbursts part of the fun of spamming grenades.
• Because the GL make less noise than Rocket Launcher, it can be useful if you are being chased and you are in corridor-like area, turn around and dump a few grenade, you foes will either being hit by grenades or stop, which gives you time to escape. Short range weapons like Shotgun or Lightning Gun will be forced to give a break to the chase upon encountering stacked grenades.
• Use it to cover your tracks when you're retreating, roaming the map on a fixated route to restock goodies, to pepper the entrances to an area, leave a gift to the opponent after swap taking teleporters, and to launch a surprise attack on two people fighting. Otherwise, don't use it. If you have to fight somebody at the vast open areas, take out your standard Machine Gun or any other long range capable arsenal you posess.
• Especially if you are trying to run backwards or planning to retreat somehow; try to bounce them off the surfaces like rear walls and the ground. Bouncing the shells off the ground for long ranges can be a fitting action for potfiring at chokes or forcing your opponent to jump out of optimal combat distance making them a predictable target.
• Grenades bounce back from surfaces until their momentum is throughly spent. Utilizing that may give surprising results at enclosed spaces where its fuse time would be unnecessarily long. Grenade is surprising when it's dumped at deep pits from behind a ledge or tossed behind a safe cover at medium distance. Half-height bounce rate after peak fall distance, can be abused to cover large gates by jump shots from rear.
• The GL is useful for killing unaware players or block the health or armor pickups that they're about to take with low ground rolls before you set foot inside. The GL is also good for area-denial by blind firing, covering the rooms and objectives. When you don't have a direct view of your foe, you can pepper lower levels or important gates to repel low profile Railgun snipers or choke fire enemies.
• If you want to actively use the GL, seek even ground with your foes to blind fire from corners and gates, or height advantage to rain down grenades from ledges to block their entrance. Try to randomly use ground bounces to deny below areas, else opponent will evade blind fired grenades with ease as long as you spam it from a same angle. When you're below the opponent, it won't have the same area denial effect unless you lob the grenades up at a small alcove or gate.
• When too up close with foe, a well thought ground roll towards solid obstacles may change the flow of the combat at corners or narrow halls. A ricochet may catch the opponent off guard. At the open areas going up close and personal would cause you to get sucker punched or obliterated if opponent knows how to move. At such moments you need ground-roll grenade to cover the distance slower, try to "egg it down" on the ground by crouching first then try to back away.
• In a crowded match, teleporters or Personal Teleporter item can be used to get a drop on people to catch them off-guard with a barrage of grenades. Giving a "shock trooper" effect, increasing paranoia and cause them to check twice before passing by certain teleporter exits.
• If you see somebody with it, it usually means they're trying to run away. If they don't notice you, shoot them a few times, because they're probably pretty weak as-is. If they retreat, run away, because they'll try to lure you in a few grenades as well.
• When you need to evade grenade shots, try simply side-jumping and stutter step in mid-air to fake your intentions. That will confuse the grenade user for doing the direct hit and you will hopefully take less damage from grenade blasts. If you're up close against a grenade user, stick close to the walls as their missed shots will hit and bounce back, when they try to keep distance or take cover however, it's smart to move for the open areas to evade spam.
• Grenades can be used for Grenade Jumping. For that to apply, player should "pin" the grenade projectile by shooting down at the ground under desired jump point to lock them in a vertical momentum then retreat and time a jump before it arms. More artsy jumps can be done if player gets keen with bounce mechanics and utilize walls and lower floors.
• The Rocket Launcher can be used to detonate grenade projectiles when shot nearby. Blast radius will be enough to set off grenades and will make foes think twice before entering a narrow gate once they see your combo. Toss of 1-2 grenade shells will be more than enough to cover a large gate or corner with a detonating rocket blast.
• Especially useful when shutting your tracks at the corners from a closing-up chaser or block nearby pickups for a small while in an active combat. A single grenade blob followed by a RL shot for setting it off, can block an important pickup in an active combat as you retreat, or utilized in gaining more height from a Rocket Jump at the cost of more self-damage.
• In Quake Live it's not possible to set off grenades with Rocket Launcher anymore. To have a greater lift, the player has to time the grenade fuse with their Rocket Jump.

Advantages

• Have larger splash radius than the Rocket Launcher.
• Grenades detonate on impact with an enemy.
• Great for flushing out positions and laying ambush traps.
• Grenades can bounce off of surfaces to lock it in a position.
• Upon chasing a weakened foe, grenade barrage can deter people away from important pickups.
• Splash damage can be utilized in Grenade jumping.
• Deals more splash damage than the Rocket Launcher in Quake Live.
• Grenades can be set off with Rocket shots in Quake III Arena.

Disadvantages

• Grenades are launched at short range.
• Grenades can be easy to dodge if used incorrectly.
• Ineffective against high above ledges, due to bounce.
• Slow projectile speed, hard to direct impact.
• Unnecessarily long fuse time, ground bounce required at denies.
• Hard to guess where projectile will bounce off to.
• Regardless of distance height advantage or cover required to use effectively.
• Grenades can't be set off by Rocket shots in Quake Live.

Trivia

• The GL's icon is a frag grenade, but the grenades shot by the GL look nothing like a frag grenade.
• The GL's appearance is similar to the one used by Ogres in Quake.

Gallery

The Warthog 3000 in Quake: Champions