Stun Grenades

"Suprise."

Stun grenades have been used for hundreds of years, and the basic design still stands. Producing a bright flash and loud 'bang' noise, stun grenades are commonly called flashbangs. They blind and deafen targets temporarily, without causing permanent damage. In this modern age, stun grenades also employ a weak EM pulse, in order to disrupt drones. This EM pulse is only strong enough to stun drones, however, as increasing the strength would require a larger package, increasing weight and bulk, meaning that any troops employing the grenade would be more liable to being stunned by the grenade, as they would not be able to throw the grenade far enough to escape the stun radius before detonation. (Note: Stun grenades do not actually affect drones, although I wish they did.)

Smoke Grenades

"Here...and gone."

Smoke grenades are a basic, albeit effective, tactical option when concealment is required. Producing a large cloud of white smoke, they block line of sight, protecting units from direct fire. Concealment does not equal cover, however, and units are still vulnerable to blind fire. Additionally, units in smoke cannot see other units, regardless of whether or not the targets are in smoke. At extremely close range, units are able to detect other units, as the smoke is not thick enough at very short distances to conceal troops. Please note that a wise enemy would direct fire towards large clouds of smoke, seeing as they are usually used to conceal units. Thankfully, no hostile UN2 fights, Strain or otherwise, seems to realize this.

Feargas Grenades

"Run!"

A relatively new development, feargas is a narcotic riot control agent commonly deployed by UNIPOL when officers are unable to contain riots. The extremely small size of the gas particulates means that they will defeat gasmasks and other such gear. This includes units wearing suits, meaning not even Decon Teams are immune to the effects of the gas. Commanders must take care when deploying these grenades, as their own units will be affected by the gas, necessitating careful tactical positioning. The gas blinds and panics affected targets, a fact that results in many commanders finding these grenades undesirable, wary of accidentally ordering troops into the gas. Although the gas is narcotic, cases of addiction are almost non-existent, as the gas causes extremely unpleasant effects on exposure. (Credit to DiveSignal, for explaining why units with sealed gear were affected by feargas.)

Gun Strike Markers

"Stand by for airstrike in 3...2...1."

The concept of a throwable airstrike marker is not new, although reliable technology has only become available relatively recently. Gun Strike Markers, or GSMs, use a combination of smoke and a transmitter to mark a location for airstike with 60 30mm DU rounds. As these rounds are fired from a standard helibase cannon, rate of fire is not exactly fast. However, the main selling point of these devices is that strikes are stackable, meaning that multiple strikes can be conducted at the same time, in the same place. This provides unmatched area denial and killpower to any commander fielding units with enough inventory space to carry the GSMs. Unfortunately, as the rounds are fired from an aircraft, they are blocked by roofs, no-fly zones, and jammers. Despite this, many commanders use them, as the killing potential is outstanding, even proving sufficient against high-level threats commonly referred to as "Neptune Command difficulty", for the resemblance in survivability, damage, speed, and mutations to Strain specimens found on Neptune. (Credit to DiveSignal, for explaining that GSMs are stackable.)

HE-I Grenades

"Fire! Explosions! Michael Bay!"

HE-I, or High-Explosive Incendiary grenades are very well liked by most UN2 ground troops, and for good reason. The grenades kill with explosive force, meaning that anything with unobstructed line of sight to the blast will be affected, as long as it is in the blast radius. Additionally, the grenade flings incendiary fragments when it detonates, lighting targets on fire and creating small, randomly distributed patches of fire. These two combined effects make the grenade very well liked by commanders as an all-purpose grenade. However, the grenades are rather expensive, and this factor results in many commanders using frag grenades as an equally versatile and less expensive option.

Frag Grenades

"The fragments from this are so deadly they'll bounce out of rooms and still somehow manage to kill you."

Frag grenades are an ancient design, dating back to when grenades were first deployed by soldiers in battle. They operate by spraying metal fragments in all directions, in the hope of killing or wounding enemy personnel. As you would expect, frag grenades have almost no effect against vehicles, since the fragments just bounce off. They are an extremely effective anti-personnel weapon, however, as the fragments possess the power to maim and kill human targets very easily, especially when multiple fragments strike a target. Frag grenades are exceptionally deadly in enclosed spaces, as fragments that miss bounce off surfaces, potentially hitting a target. Frag grenades retain a large amount of their lethality over longer distances, as the fragments continue on until they either run out of speed or hit an object. However, at these longer ranges, the likelihood of a fragment actually striking a target decreases drastically, as the fragments disperse, increasing the chance that a fragment will just fly past a target, instead of hitting them.

Incendiary Grenades

"Back, you fiends!"

Incendiary grenades have been used before, although usually in an anti-materiel capacity. However, somewhere along the line, a soldier discovered that incendiary grenades were very good at clearing out small spaces, as well as denying an area to anyone, and incendiary grenades began to shift to a more anti-personnel role. Today, in the fight against the Strain, who employ no heavy equipment whatsoever, incendiary grenades are used to great effect by troops to efficiently and safely eliminate Strain. Incendiary grenades produce a large field of fire in a star-shaped pattern, with a smaller, circular core. They are very effective against all manner of organic targets, especially against armoured hostiles, such as Maulers. Unprotected, units on fire will take heavy damage as long as they remain on fire, as well as being slowed. This has, strangely, led to troops referring to fire as "sticky." (Credit to DiveSignal, for calling fire "sticky.")

Fatalide Utility Gas Tanks

"So uh, who named this company?"

Fatalide is a company well known for their explosive gas tanks, filled with so-called "utility gas." They are the largest supplier of "utility gas" in the solar system. Ground troops quickly discovered that tanks of Fatalide gas were highly explosive, and began using them as area denial weapons. When a tank of Fatalide gas explodes, it creates a long line of fire, discouraging movement through the line.

Claymores

"Watch your step. Don't want to die, now do we, troops?"

A very effective defensive weapon, with a very strange name.This weapon is named after a medieval melee weapon developed by the Scottish. The claymore is a directional anti-personnel mine usually used to defend chokepoints. The model used today by UN2 troops fires in a 60 degree arc, without any backblast. Claymores used today are armour-piercing, meant to defeat all kinds of infantry armour. This makes them extremely effective against all manner of targets, including heavily armoured Strain. These mines were designed for use in close quarters urban warfare, as evidenced by the fact that they have no backblast, rendering them harmless to personnel standing behind them. This means that a defending force will not need to worry about careful placement of the claymores, as there is no chance that friendlies will be wounded or killed. Unfortunately, claymores are rather bulky, requiring large bags such as backpacks or duffel bags to carry.

Anti-Tank Mines

"For Anti-Tank use. Or monsters."

Anti-Tank mines, as the name indicates, are meant for use against heavily armoured targets, such as tanks. UN2 Anti-Tank mines are, amusingly, less effective against armour than claymores, since the claymores are armour-piercing, while the AT mines are not. This has led to AT mines being used in more of an anti-personnel role, especially as they create a small patch of fire when they detonate. The AT mine fires in a 360 degree arc, meaning that it damages anything around it when it explodes. It also uses a 360 degree trigger, so commanders will have to take care to not order troops too close to the mine, regardless of the direction the unit approaches the mine from. Like claymores, AT mines are bulky, and must be stored in the same types of bags as claymores.

RPG HEAP-IT

"Grenades that fly. Not good enough? OK, now they start fires. Still not good enough? Fine. Now they punch through walls."

Every letter in this weapon's name stands for something. The full expanded name is "Rocket Propelled Grenade, High-Explosive Armour-Piercing Incendiary Timed." Every single one of those words or phrases signifys a different effect. "Rocket Propelled Grenade," pretty simple, a grenade propelled by a rocket motor. "High-Explosive," again, pretty simple, it explodes. "Armour-Piercing," more complicated. This signifys that the rocket generates an Explosively Formed Penetrator, or EFP, when it hits a target. "Incendiary," back to simple, it creates a forward facing patch of fire when it explodes. Finally, "Timed," meaning it self-kills after flying for a few seconds. When this happens, anything within the blast radius takes damage. However, there is no EFP, since the rocket didn't hit a target. The EFP will punch through walls, as well as any armour you may encounter in the field. Warning: The rocket can be shot down in flight, and will explode when destroyed in such a fashion, similar to when it self-kills. (Credit to DiveSignal, for explaining how RPGs work.)

Rocket Pods

"What if rockets, but faster?"

A larger version of the RPG HEAP-IT, deployed on drones. The only way to acquire these pods is to purchase the drone that comes equipped with them. Each pod carries 6 rockets, and is not reloadable.

Spiked Minelayers

"The spikes on these things are sharp enough to kill you. That's only if the blast doesn't get you first."

These launchers deploy spiked mines that stick into the ground. The only way to acquire these minelayers is to purchase the drone that comes equipped with them. The mines detonate when any unit passes too close. Each minelayer carries 6 mines, and is not reloadable.

Railguns

"Oh, this? We call it the 'Eraser.'" (Credit to DiveSignal, for calling the railgun the "eraser tool" of Strain Tactics.)

The fearsome railgun. A weapon deployed only on UN2 experimental weapon platforms. The only way to obtain these is to purchase Experimental Heavy Weapon Platform UNX. Each round is capable of tearing through anything and everything a commander may face in the field, as well as anything and everything a commander doesn't face in the field. The railgun uses electromagnetic technology to propel each one of its shells at hypersonic speeds, fast enough to instantly kill anything it hits. Care must be taken to avoid placing friendlies in the line of fire, as the railgun's shell will tear straight through anything they are standing behind, them, and anything they are standing in front of. Each railgun comes preloaded with 10 shells, and is not reloadable.

"Dawnbreaker" Tactical Dirty Bombs

"Just like a new dawn."

A man-portable tactical nuke, the Dawnbreaker is both feared and loved by UN2 ground troops. The Dawnbreaker wipes out all units deployed on the ground in a mission zone when it detonates. Additionally, it generates radioactive fallout that covers a mission area, retarding the speed, damage resistance, and morale of all units. The Dawnbreaker is extremely heavy, and no units are capable of throwing it. Once deployed, a 60 second timer counts down to detonation. A commander should use this time to evacuate all units to the helibase, as all UN2 helibases are shielded against the effects and aftereffects of such a weapon.