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Gametitle-FO3

A frag grenade is a thrown explosive in Fallout 3.

Characteristics

Frag grenades are standard grenades creating an explosive blast and dealing significant damage, with a high chance to cripple limbs. It seems to have the same blast radius as its more powerful energy-based variant, the plasma grenade. They are commonly used by melee-equipped raiders and super mutants when they are out of melee range.

Thrown grenades are affected by physics; they may bounce or roll unexpectedly if not thrown carefully. However, in-game physics can also be used to an advantage; such as throwing grenades through doorways or bouncing them around corners to ambush enemies out of sight.

Grenades are an optional target in V.A.T.S., and can even be shot out of the air, causing them to detonate. This can be used to an advantage, as they will deal damage to an enemy if they are holding them or in close proximity when they explode. Grenades can be thrown point-blank in V.A.T.S with less danger due to the fact that the player character only takes 10% of the damage in V.A.T.S. they would take when outside V.A.T.S. Additionally, throwing grenades with V.A.T.S and subsequently landing a successful hit will cause the grenade to explode right at the target's feet, making V.A.T.S the most efficient way to use grenades to best effect (unless throwing it around a corner or through a hole in the floor/celling).

A grenade that has been thrown toward the PC will show up on the HUD as a red arrow denoting its direction relative to current position. Move in the opposite direction as quickly as possible to escape the blast radius and minimize the damage to both overall health and limbs.

It is also possible to plant live grenades on an non-player character by passing one from one's inventory to the non-player character's inventory via reverse-pickpocketing. This will kill the non-player character, regardless of how much health they have, making the frag grenade far more deadly. Getting caught putting a grenade in an non-player character's inventory makes them take it as stealing something from them, and return the grenade to the inventory though it won't detonate. Successfully killing a non-player character using this technique can give the Psychotic Prankster achievement.

Variants

  • Sim version Operation: Anchorage (add-on) - A version used exclusively in the Anchorage Reclamation simulation, it differs from the standard Fallout 3 variant only in that it cannot be dropped, although it still can be transferred between containers or given to your companions.

Locations

Notes

  • Super mutants call grenades "potatoes" or "hot potatoes" (strangely, Moira Brown refers to frag mines in the same way), swampfolk call them "pineapples".
  • Grenades can be shot out of the air in V.A.T.S.
  • It is possible to acquire a damaged frag grenade. If this happens,it is possible to repair it with other damaged grenades though it will do reduced damage.
  • Holding the grenade in one's hand after pulling the pin does not make it detonate.
  • A virtually limitless supply of Frag grenades can be had by trading in energy weapons, scrap metal, sensor modules, and power armor at Fort Independence.

Behind the scenes

  • The frag grenade does not appear to expel any fragments; the damage radius also supports this. It seems that the frag grenade works more like a concussion grenade.

Gallery

See also

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