Attn Developers: Please expain limited use grenades. Will we lose our Orange Grenades
The following was said on the twitch live stream on Friday about grenades in the DLC2 that was announced. I as well as many others are worried about losing our coveted orange grenades. Grenades have become the second most expensive item to buy in the game behind ARs/LMGs. It has taken me a long time to get a few orange grenades and the following quote from the stream sounds like we will lose them once they are used.
Some have speculated that the quote was mispoken and that grenades will not be lost but instead be treated like guns with ammo. If this is true, then we will not lose our orange grenades, but instead need to replenish the "ammo" in them. Please clarify which is correct. I was going to buy another type of grenade but I do not wish to if it will become "useless" after the 2nd DLC.
Another thing to consider are the perks, synergies, weapon and shield abilities, and weapon rolls which are all based upon grenade bonuses.
"Grenades are a limited use item. And Trick has told me that he also plans on lowering the cool down considerably because he wants the number of grenades you have to be the main limiting factor..."
"When you equip a particular type of grenade you'll find that the enemies that you're fighting very often drop that same grenade type, so that you can keep [it]. But if you completely run out, you're out. And you've got to go equip a new type of grenade. It's gonna make people use a lot of different types of grenades as they run out of different kinds."
Here is the live stream for those who missed it on Friday.
http://www.twitch.tv/twitch/b/453840098
Fast Forward to 2 hours and 15 minutes to see Trion.
DEVELOPER ANSWER:
*Originally Posted by TrickDempsey *
So, I have a longer discussion incoming, but I figure this clarification is important:When a stack of grenades, or any consumable, is reduced to zero, that stack remains in your inventory unless it is salvaged or sold. You may visit most vendors to get that stack refilled. Additionally, enemies will drop spikes, stims, and grenades with greater frequency based on the stacks in your inventory. So, keeping your orange grenades will still be important.
*Originally Posted by TrickDempsey *
Hi folks!One quick clarification, grenade stacks which reach zero will remain in your inventory. You can go to most vendors and refill those stacks for a fee.Now, for a peek behind the curtain!When we changed the grenades to being consumable, we did so to address a variety of issues.Grenade Identity
The variety of the grenades in game lacked identity. Due to the four axis variability of each grenade mod, many of the rarer mods were not an actual improvement over the lower rarity mods. The only axis which provided significant benefit to our players was damage. (And duration for flashbang, pyro, and bio grenades.) This created a deeply negative experience for players when looting higher-tier grenades, and generally cluttered and already cumbersome inventory. By focusing on grenade identity, we are able to guarantee that each type of grenade is distinct and each rarity an improvement.
Risk-reward
Grenades had a serious risk-reward imbalance in a variety of common situations. With a fast-fire grenade thrown from a third-person perspective, misses were common and the long cooldown on grenades made this incredibly punishing. As such, grenades become something which lacked real strategic choice. Even with all the cooldown reduction synergies and bonuses, grenades could not be relied upon as a problem solving tool. Ideally, players should be able to make significant strategic decisions prior to a fight to enable themselves to play in the style they most enjoy. The original execution of grenades did not feed this dynamic.
Economic Issues
Ark hunters are the elite scavengers and warriors of the New Frontier. They are equal parts treasure hunter, bounty hunter, and monster hunter, and an infinite supply of high explosives really stretched this fiction and prevented a players from making significant economic decisions. An intended mechanic which never played out was that players should be making a significant decision between selling their loot and scrapping it. However, there was no viable economic sink for scrip, and this removed a significant choice from players. The answer was always to break down loot for salvage to get ark keys. This robbed players of choice and the ability to own their decisions.The consumables (grenades, spikes, and stims) provide an economic pressure with significant gameplay implications. They allow players to convert scrip into significant short-term power increases. Now the scrip vs salvage decision has teeth.
Now, for clarification on some issues. “Grenade ammo” is not a thing. When a person picks up an uncommon frag grenade loot, they will get a stack of 3 uncommon frag grenades added to their inventory. If they pick up an Orange bio grenade drop, they will get three orange bio grenades added. “Smart Loot” ensures that players will primarily see drops of things they already have of the same rarity they have or lower. Essentially, players who don’t want to spend money to refill grenade stacks will rely on the luck of the drops to refill the grenades that they have in their inventory.
RESULTING FINAL POST FROM ME TO DAHANESE AFTER SEVERAL THREATS FROM HER FOR POSTING THIS THREAD AND DISCUSSING THIS TOPIC - ACCUSED OF SPAMMING AND GOING AGAINST TOS
If you want me to leave per your warning emails, then fine, I will leave. I will trade in my game tomorrow. I am in founder status for a clan that has 6000 members and I will be sure to tell everyone there this tale. All I did was start a thread with concerns about upcoming changes in the game. I have played this game since day 1, reached level 5000, reached level 20 in all weapon and vehicle skills, and still continued to play. I have recruited other players for this game and helped new people to get started in this game. I was even going to tell you I liked your dachshund in the picture since I had some while I was growing up as a child. But apparently, you do not want me here, so I will leave. I will miss the rest of you. This has been my first MMO and I have really enjoyed the social aspect of it. Have Fun and Enjoy. Ed
You guys are all misinterpreting what they said.
If you have an orange grenade, you WILL NOT lose it because you threw your fifth grenade. You will have zero of those orange grenades left until you replenish them. He said the enemies typically drop the grenade you are using, so switching to another grenade will give you something different to throw, OR...OR you can keep your orange grenade equipped and just wait to get a grenade drop for whatever type of grenade it is.
If you have a frag grenade equipped, you will get frag grenade drops from enemies. So you have to make a choice. Do you want to keep that orange frag equipped and just go without a grenade until you get a drop...or switch to a different type of grenade(bio, flash, cluster etc) and use it instead.
The way I took it was that you only lose the grenade you ran out of until you replenish it. This is actually one of the few good things they have done. It makes the game a tad bit harder, which is needed because this game is a very easy game.
There are way more things for us to complain about....most importantly our lack of content and lack of any reason to level past 1600. The only thing we really get is a smaller trade market as you level up, which kills the trade market for any high level player(since most of the population can't use his/her high level weapons). The limited grenade is a good thing imho.
What I worry about is the lag issues are horrible and now I have to go into the loadout screen to switch grenades, which will get you killed.
