Smoke Grenades in the default loadouts

[2nd ranger 282]

I've had it with the smoke grenades.

Does anyone use them? Even if you do, is there any reason that a team leader has to carry FOUR smoke grenades and FIVE 40mm smoke rounds? Not to mention 2 chemlights. If I play as a team leader, I have to drop ELEVEN pieces of stuff I don't use at the start of a mission. I view it as useless garbage.

A grenadier should be packing grenades. By default, the NATO, CSAT and AAF grenadier has five 40mm HE grenades, five 40mm smoke rounds and two smoke grenades. SEVEN smokes Vs. five HE. You could make an argument that a TL or SL has to carry smoke for 'marking' things (and I would still say that was unrealistic), but a grenadier? The guy's job is to blow stuff up, not mark stuff with all the colours of the rainbow. The FIA grenadier is even worse off. This guy has TWO 40mm HE rounds, FIVE 40mm smokes and two smoke shells. A guy with a loadout like that has no business being called a grenadier.

Even riflemen have them. Two smokes each. Although I'd rather every unit had two smokes than be the poor TL who has NINE of the damn things.

To make things worse, if you drop all your smokes, your guy starts complaining that he's out of ammo. Is this the reason for it? Are the gear capacities so messed up that they have to be padded out with smoke grenades, because it wouldn't look right if every soldier had 13 mags like they used to?

Can we get rid of all this stuff? If you ask me, only Squad Leaders, Team Leaders, JTACs and Medics would have smoke rounds. And even then, only two or three each. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who is current or former military about how many smoke grenades they carry, because this has been bothering me since Arma 2. I won't even get into the IR grenades.

Also, this is the amount of crap in a Hunter you have to get rid of in order to load it with useful equipment. Take away the rifles and a few of the smokes, and that's what I drop from my own gear at the beginning of every mission.

Edited February 15, 2014 by 2nd Ranger

[vegeta897 13]

I do use them, they have plenty of tactical value. Mostly when I'm pinned down or need to help someone downed in the open.

40mm smoke rounds on the other hand I never have much use for.

[lugiahua 26]

40mm smoke grenades are used to block enemy position or to mark target, but doesn't work well against AI...

[Bouben 3]

Yeah, I would also like the quantities to be reduced a bit but not completely as I use smoke grenades often.

[mamasan8 11]

1-2 smoke nades, maybe. Chemlights absolutely not needed and 40mm...just say no.

Just about none of my loadouts have smoke/chemlights. I rather pack mines and ammo/normal grenades. Those save my life more often than some smoke grenade that does nothing to remove the threat (as opposed to bullets, nades and 40mm GL-nades).

If I want a pick up, I can mark my "loc" or they can look at map. No need for smokes.

[Bouben 3]

1-2 smoke nades, maybe. Chemlights absolutely not needed and 40mm...just say no.

Just about none of my loadouts have smoke/chemlights. I rather pack mines and ammo/normal grenades. Those save my life more often than some smoke grenade that does nothing to remove the threat (as opposed to bullets, nades and 40mm GL-nades).

If I want a pick up, I can mark my "loc" or they can look at map. No need for smokes.

Don't underrate smoke grenades, they have saved my life many times.

[Belbo 462]

He has a point though: 2 smoke grenades usually are enough for the regular rifleman. A TL might carry two more and a grenadier might even carry four additional smoke grenades (40mm or not). But the amount of smoke grenades handed out to TLs, SLs and grenadiers in this game is too damn high.

[Bouben 3]

Yeah, and I can agree that chem-lights are mostly useless (not always tho).

[2nd ranger 282]

Yeah I'm not saying ditch them from the loadouts entirely. But to reiterate, a Squad Leader has nine various smoke grenades. That is just overkill. I'd suggest something like this:

SL, TL: 2 shells, 2 40mm

Grenadier: 1 shell, 2 40mm

Medic, JTAC: 4 shells

Engineer and Explosive Specialist: 3-4 shells

Rifleman and everybody else: 1 smoke shell

And that FIA grenadier loadout is just nonsense. 2 HE rounds vs 7 smokes. That has to be changed.

[theevancat 277]

Usually when I play online I use lots of smokes. Four whites and two of everything else. I have four red forties I use to mark airstrikes and two of every glowstick for nighttime illumination. Offline, however, I use none of them save for whites since the AI is useless. I agree that having them kicking around is bad.

[JamesSaga 1]

Got to say smokes have saved me many times.

I don't agree with your points about the team leader and think hes about fine (sure it could use some tuning).

Agree with your points about the grenadier, 5 is two few and some of the smokes should be replaced with grenades.

[almanzo 144]

I use smokes alot, but not 7 of them. 2 or 3 would be enough. Light sticks though, I haven't used even once I think.

[dnk 13]

I always carry 6 smokes. Especially when there's a revive script, they're life savers.

[Ridgeback 10]

I use smoke grenades (throwable, not the 40mm ones) quite often in single-player missions although it's probably force of habit because I use them all the time in multiplayer. The amount of times deploying smoke has saved me and team-mates when the odds were heavily against us has not only got me to carry plenty but others too after I have saves people's hides by providing cover with them. In multiplayer rounds team leaders and medics should always carry plenty of colored smokes for signalling but it should be riflemen carrying the regular white smokes for cover as they generally have the space to carry them in decent quantity. In single player sessions though the colored smokes should be scrapped and replaced with as previously mentioned here, mines, more ammo or more med packs.