Grenades in Cyberpunk 2077 range wildly from one end of the spectrum to another. It’s easy to throw out a grenade in combat, stunning, disorienting, or physically damaging enemy targets. This guide looks at the effectiveness, locations, and types of various grenades found throughout the game.
Grenades
There are eight different grenades available in Cyberpunk 2077, they typically explode several seconds later after the pin has been removed. Within these eight categories, there are also three types. These are Regular, Sticky, and Homing. Sticky Grenades stick to objects or targets they’re thrown at. A Homing grenade will search out the closest target and will make its way to them. The regular Grenade is just that, a regular grenade that plops to the ground and explodes after a few seconds. The grenade system in this game is difficult to utilize as all eight grenades compete for a solitary combat utility spot, meaning players have to swap different grenades in the inventory manually. The following list ranks grenades from the absolute worst to the effective best.
Recon Grenade
The Recon Grenade, when dispatched, will scan its surroundings for seven seconds and highlight the enemies in red. The grenade scans an area of 15 meters and, similar to Ping or Threat Detector mod, highlights the enemies in red. This grenade comes in two variants: Regular and Sticky. The Recon grenade is useless, as the Threat Detector mod from Kiroshi Optics already highlights enemies who have spotted you. For those brave or nuts enough, the Sticky variant can be bought from the weapons vendor in West Wind Estate, and the regular variant is available from Marty Jenklow at the Biotechnicia Fuel Station.
If it’s meant to be used in a stealth build, there are, again, issues. The game has no specialized grenade slot, meaning you must choose between Optical Camo and the Recon grenade. For Berserk builds, it simply defeats the purpose. Another issue is that if enemies see you throwing a Recon grenade, the combat will automatically begin, rendering the grenade pointless. Also, this grenade only offers information about the number of enemies and their respective positions for a few seconds. In the humble opinion of this guide, you’d be better off skipping this one.
Flashbang Grenade
The X-22 Flashbang Grenade blinds and stuns enemies for 6 seconds when deployed and has a blast radius of 6 meters. The flashbang grenade has had a rich history in shooting games, providing players with a much-needed respite from the action by deploying a flashbang grenade. Alas, in Cyberpunk 2077, the flashbang grenade is non-lethal, the enemies are back to normal within 4 seconds, and players still have to shoot enemies to deal them damage.
The Flashbang Grenade is available in two variants, Regular and Homing. When deployed, the homing Grenade hovers in the air and sticks to the nearest enemy target after a few seconds. It defeats the purpose of the Flashbang grenade, which is usually used for emergencies and is deployed for an instantaneous explosion. There’s a hack to this, too, as grenades will explode when shot in mid-air. Throw the Grenade and hip-fire the Tech Weapon as the grenade passes your Crosshair. This will instantaneously cause the grenade to explode.
Incendiary Grenade
The Char Incendiary Grenade comes in all three variants; regular, sticky, and homing. It’s a non-lethal grenade that creates a blast zone of incendiary particles that causes the enemies to Burn for 4 seconds. This Grenade has lower base damage than other grenades, and its blast radius is only 3 meters. It takes 3-4 of these grenades to completely drain enemies of their health.
It’s also ineffective against closely packed groups due to its limited blast radius. It is more expensive than the more powerful grenades, and the homing variant of it can be automatically crafted at Level 7. It can also be bought from the weapon trader at Corpo Plaza if you haven’t reached Level 7. The regular variant can be bought from Robert Wilson at The Second Amendment store inside V’s apartment building. Lastly, the Sticky variant can be acquired by completing “The Lost & Found” criminal activity in Westbrook.
Bio-Haz Grenade
The Molodets BioHaz Grenade is a poison-expelling grenade that creates a lingering toxin cloud that applies poison to nearby enemies for 5 seconds. Any new enemies that walk into the poison cloud during that 5 seconds still get damage applied. There are two variants available; regular and homing. The Regular variant benefits those who want quick results, and the Homing variant works for those who want to deploy and forget.
This Grenade pairs well with a few perks from the Ninjutsu section of the Cool skill tree. The Rattlesnake perk causes enemies affected by poison, unable to sprint. Additionally, the Corrosive Poison perk upgrades Poison to affect robots, mechs, and drones, although with reduced effectiveness, and deals 20% more damage to poisoned enemies. Acquiring these perks makes the poison cloud the most effective lingering blanket attack. To reap more benefits, equipping the ‘Divided We Fall‘ assault rifle is advantageous as stray bullets from this rifle explode in the Bio-hazard clouds, poisoning, and damaging enemies. The Homing variant of this grenade can be acquired from the weapon dealer in Vista del Ray, Heywood.
EMP Grenade
The Electromagnetic pulse grenade unleashes an EMP pulse for 5 seconds. The EMP grenade is the most effective and spectacular of the three elemental grenades. The grenade deals electrical and base damage to robots, mechs, drones, and turrets. It also deals massive damage to human enemies, as in Cyberpunk 2077, all humans have cybernetic modifications which the EMP pulse looks to target, dealing physical damage as well.
The Sticky variant can be bought from the Sunset Motel in the Badlands. The Homing variant can be acquired in Wellsprings, Heywood. Similar to the previous grenade, this one also has a weapon closely related to it, the legendary Yinglong SMG, which causes EMP blasts on occasion. Players looking to use the EMP Grenade should equip the Yinglong SMG to enhance damage levels further as well.
Ozob’s Nose Grenade
The most powerful grenade in the game in terms of damage is the legendary Ozob’s Nose. The crafting specifications for this Grenade are acquired by completing the sidequest “Send in the Clowns,” where we get to meet Ozob Bozo, a clown who has a red grenade for a nose. It’s the only legendary grenade with a blast radius of 6.5 meters and deals damage levels up to 12,000, simply annihilating enemies. It explodes with a purplish smoke, like something out of a circus. The colorful party effect makes the powerful grenade feel playful and silly.
The Ozob’s Nose comes with a caveat; players need to be on Level 18 on Technical Ability as the Edgerunner Artisan perk is required to craft the Ozob’s Nose. Additionally, the quest “Send in the Clowns” appears late in the game, and the remaining two powerful grenades are accessible earlier on in the game. From a technical point-of-view, the Ozob’s Nose is the most powerful grenade in the game but can’t unlock earlier on in the game.
GASH Anti-Personnel Grenade
The epic Gash Anti-Personnel grenade comes in a singular variant, a combination between a regular and a homing grenade. When the grenade is deployed, it will hover over the surface where it lands and, instead of seeking the nearest enemy target, will unleash a myriad of 21 small lasers in every direction, dealing Thermal damage to enemies for 5 seconds. The lasers are relentless and deal massive amounts of damage within a 4-meter radius.
This grenade is very effective when thrown in the middle of a cluster of enemies. A handy tip: Throw it at your enemy’s feet, allowing it to bounce and deal extra damage from the 21 lasers. Additionally, throwing it at the enemy’s feet ensures that you don’t overthrow the grenade, and it can deal the maximum amount of damage. It’s the most user-friendly grenade in the game, doesn’t require huge amounts of skill, and focus, and inflicts deadly amounts of damage. The crafting specifications for the grenade can be acquired by heading to the Assault in Progress in Santo Domingo, Rancho Coronado.
Frag Grenade
The most effective grenade in Cyberpunk 2077 is the common F-GX Frag Grenade. It’s a basic Frag grenade that explodes, dealing 5653 in base damage and Bleeding in some instances. The best thing about this uniquely powerful grenade is that it can be crafted immediately and requires common crafting components. It’s very effective in the early game and surprisingly doesn’t lose its efficacy during the latter stages of the game. The Sticky variant of this grenade should be used against bosses like Cyberpsychos as they explode as close to the enemy as humanly possible. Similar to the Ozob’s nose, throwing grenades and then shooting it is an overpowered way of playing the game, as it massively increases damage. The grenade can be acquired from the weapon vendor in Aldecaldos, Badlands. You might have to wait for a day if it doesn’t initially show up, try sleeping in the bed as you can’t wait in the camp.
The Homing variant of the grenade is an eerily terrifying sight to behold. It can be bought from Robert Wilson at the Second Amendment Store or the weapon vendor at Arroyo. For a game like Cyberpunk 2077, where enemies always have some dialogue, even during combat, throwing a homing grenade at them makes them go eerily quiet. It is truly something to observe. Upon throwing a homing frag grenade at a target, robots and other targets in the vicinity will stop what they are doing and blankly look at the homing grenade. The robots, in this instance, will have a warning message play over, and over “Danger. Danger. Danger.” The human targets will stop what they are doing and look at the dazzling lights before the homing grenade plunges into them and explodes, obliterating them entirely and leaving no trace whatsoever. The devastating power and effectiveness of the Frag Grenade is a testament to the rare silence, enemy targets observe when they see the homing Frag grenade.
That’s all from this guide. Remember to use the Grenadier perk from the Engineering Section and try shooting the grenade before it lands to get increased damage, and range from the grenade.