I TAKE IT ALL BACK. LOL, apparently Core grenade spam is the new name of the game. "Core 514" weather its flaylocks or locus grenades, 8/10 times I fight someone who either starts a fight by trying to kill me with a grenade, OR they drop it out of desperation right before I kill them. My solution to this new found spamming...... Spam back. Me and my squad are just running strate up nanohives and standard/advanced locus grenades. Our new motto is "if we can throw more grenades then them, will win" interesting enough..... as soon as we deployed this method our scores (and morale) went back to like it was yesterday. We just finished a match using this new technique, I went 29 and 2. And my suits cheaper too, so that's nice. LOL. My personal goal is to spam them until they get a nerf, but that might just be wishful thinking. At any rate I refuse to not use them until there gone because the way I was playing yesterday just isn't valid anymore. LOL I think they call these sorts of things..... "hard counters", and as a result we were forced to hard counter back.

So yeah.... What do you guys think??? I thought it was funny how a grenade does 600 damage in an area about as wide as my proto nanohives are....... I mean..... its not game breaking I guess. But this is a problem that effects EVERYONE not just me with my playstyles (mountain snipers are exempt). It doesn't matter if your gallente, amar, min, cal, if you don't have more then 600 shields (or at-least 750 EHP) your going to get one hit killed by these things. Lol, spam FTW.

(BTW what my squad is doing right now is the extreme version of this..... limiting the amount of grenades you get from nanohives or whatever you guys might think wont make them any less powerful, because most people just aren't taking it to this level, and are still just as effective)

But seriously, am I the only one noticing this spam? or does someone else have the same problem?

...

Okay.
Grenades are fine.

Yes, they are powerful and capable of instakilling under certain conditions.
But they have plenty of limitations and balancing things, don't forget those.


First, 'nades as themselves (not hive-spammed):

• Numbers being carried are quite limited and nanohive replenishemt is a bit clumsy way.
• Nades do have some delay before throwing (not instant).
• Most effective grenade use is still cooking, which takes microplanning and time.
• Long distance throws do take skill as they tend to bounce back from corners and walls nearby.
• Not to mention the fact that nades are from the few weps able to suicide you, the most likely ones.
• And finally - Core nades take significant amount of PG/CPU while fitting meaning you'll have to bargain somewhere else. (well maybe not with CA logi running pure assault)

Second, about the hive-nade spamming:

• This tactic was hampered somewhat by recent nanohive nerf: the easier-to-fit hives hand out only few nades.
• Expect future CA Logi nerf reduce the supply of nanohives on field as well.
• As already said, spamming is usually focused on one specific spot (room/CRU/whatever) and as such is are denial with ability to kill reds in that area. Giving up on going thru that spot works - and yes it's a matter of tactics and decisions whether you want to go thru there.
• The spammers are bound with the location of their hives - they cannot roam around endlessly killing. If they just stay there at their hives for minute or so, smart reds take advantage of their immobility.
• Spammers are especially vulnerable to nades themselves (sometimes even bouncing blue nades do the trick)

The expection to this is supply depot spamming which does suck - but on the other hand is even more predictable and stationary.




The biggest problem is within the mindset of people that while knowing few microtactical starting elements they expect the situations to end always the same.
The expectations can be like "proto suit always wins lesser suits", "if I got head start on damage I must win" "If a red runs for cover he is a loser" and such.
Naturally there's so many variables rocking those expectations, and grenades are a very big one.


Nades themselves can change the course of an encounter for either way.
Hive-nade spam is also an effective momentary tactic on the field.