Hydra Grenade Launcher

If you're looking for other versions of the weapon, you might want to check Grenade Launcher.

Hydra Grenade Launcher
Lore info
Ammunition	Fragmentation, Incendiary, EMP, Concussion, Smoke, Toxic
Game info
Type	Projectile
Appears in	Unreal II: The Awakening
Properties
Primary Fire	Release grenade (tap) Release timed grenade (hold)
Primary Fire	Release grenade (tap) Release timed grenade (hold)
Secondary Fire	Change grenade type
Secondary Fire	Change grenade type
Ammo
Weapon Ammo	5
Weapon Ammo	5
Pickup Ammo	5
Pickup Ammo	5
Maximum Ammo	25
Maximum Ammo	25

"The M406 Grenade Launcher has slots for six different grenade types. Tapping your primary fire lobs out a grenade that explodes on contact. Holding the trigger a little longer engages the timing mechanism, so you can bounce 'em around some. Secondary fire chambers the next grenade type, if you've got any. If ya like, I can tell you about the individual grenades.
(Frag grenade) Enormous explosive power and needle-sharp carbo-steel fragments. Absolutely lethal in close quarters.
(Gas grenade) It sprays out a cloud of neurotoxic gas that is so caustic it eats right through metal armor.
(Incendiary grenade) Sprays burning phosphorus and will set almost anything on fire. Make sure you don't get caught in the backflash.
(EMP grenade) The massive electro-magnetic pulse will fry almost any electrical system instantly.
(Concussion grenade) It sends out a shockwave that'll knock most of your enemies flat on their ass. Pretty impressive blast radius, too.
(Smoke grenade) Exactly what its name implies. You can lay down a smokescreen to help you escape from your enemies."

– Isaak

The M406 "Hydra" Grenade Launcher is a weapon from Unreal II: The Awakening.

Overview

The Grenade Launcher is a versatile grenade delivery system. Pressing the fire button lobs a grenade in the direction you're aiming. The higher you aim, the greater the arc and the greater the range. Normally the grenades (regardless of type) explode on impact. However, if you hold the trigger down before you release it, a timing mechanism is engaged and the grenade bounces a couple of times before it explodes. A direct hit scores the most damage on your target, but a near miss causes proximity damage.

At the beginning of the game Dalton only has access to explosive fragmentation grenades, but he will collect the other types along the way. Regular fire launches the currently loaded grenade, whose explosion can be delayed by holding the trigger for a short while. Alternate fire cycles through grenade types.

In XMP the Hydra works a little bit differently in that the different classes carry simplified versions of the weapon that can only launch two grenade types. Regular and alternate fire are dedicated to these two types. The Ranger has access to the Frag and Smoke types, the Tech has EMP and toxic, and the Gunner has Incendiary and Concussion.

Six grenade types are available (though seldom all in the same mission):

Fragmentation grenade

"Enormous explosive power and needle-sharp carbo-steel fragments. Absolutely lethal in close quarters."

– Isaak

This type of grenades is the usual one. When fired, it explodes with a quite impressive blast radius. Does up to 200 points of damage. This is the most common type of grenades and you will usually have a lot of these. This is the most common grenade type available.

Incendiary grenade

"Sprays burning phosphorus and will set almost anything on fire. Make sure you don't get caught in the backflash."

– Isaak

One of the commonly used grenade types, Incendiary grenades will disorient enemies and deal more damage than Fragmentation grenades.

EMP grenade

"The massive electro-magnetic pulse will fry almost any electrical system instantly."

– Isaak

It shuts down Plasma Field Generators with a single shot and is also effective against Auto Turrets. Also heavily damages power suits. Larger systems aren't usually affected.

Concussion grenade

"It sends out a shockwave that'll knock most of your enemies flat on their ass. Pretty impressive blast radius, too."

– Isaak

This grenade can be used to send enemies somewhere far, far away.

Smoke grenade

"Exactly what its name implies. You can lay down a smokescreen to help you escape from your enemies."

– Isaak

Toxic grenade

"It sprays out a cloud of neurotoxic gas that is so caustic it eats right through metal armor."

– Isaak

This type of grenades creates a cloud of gas that drains the health from anyone in the area. It is potentially the strongest type of grenades.

Tips and tricks

"The Grenade Launcher is a versatile grenade delivery system. Pressing the fire button lobs a grenade in the direction you're aiming. The higher you aim, the greater the arc and the greater the range. Normally the grenades (regardless of type) explode on impact. However, if you hold the trigger down before you release it, a timing mechanism is engaged and the grenade bounces a couple of times before it explodes. A direct hit scores the most damage on your target, but a near miss causes proximity damage."

– ''Unreal II Prima official guide''

• The Grenade Launcher is one of the most versatile weapons in the game. The majority of the time you will use it for direct attacks with no delay to the blast but it can also be used for firing over barriers, bouncing grenades off walls to strike from behind cover, or occasionally striking slow enemies from far away by utilizing the grenades' arc or delayed fuse (or both!) although beyond mid-range there is usually a better weapon to use. The most obvious trick is to learn when and where to use each grenade:
  • Frag grenades are meant for general use, especially against weak or low-priority enemies.
  • EMP grenades are very effective against deployables (Plasma Field Generators, Auto Turrets) and other electrical systems such as Drakk.
  • Smoke grenades are not effective against bots, but very effective against humans and will hide the player in XMP matches.
  • Toxic grenades are deadly against light targets and effective against other biological threats, though it has limited effectiveness on mechanical targets. It's useful with big slow enemies, enemies confined to fairly small areas and, of course, groups of weak enemies. Be careful not to fall in yourself.
• The Concussion Grenade is famous for "concussion jumps": as it does almost no damage, but the shockwave throws people into the air, you can use the grenade against yourself and jump further than you could normally.

Trivia

• The M406 Hydra, is named after the many-headed Lernaean Hydra due to its ability to use multiple 40mm grenade types.
• Due to the interesting coincidence, the short name of the Fragmentation Grenades (Frag) is the same as the name of a kill.

Accolades

• Despite not really qualifying as a superweapon, Sapphire Nation mentioned it as one of the greatest FPS superweapons.

"Perhaps the most versatile grenade launcher in gaming, this one is part of an underrated video game. Pressing the primary fire button lobs a grenade in the direction you’re aiming. The higher you aim, the greater the arc and the greater the range. Normally the grenades (regardless of type) explode on impact but if you are good with timing, holding the trigger before release will give it a timer as well as allow the grenades to bounce a bit before they detonate.

So far so good, a well made old school video game grenade launcher…

But what makes it so awesome is that it has no fewer than six grenade types! The classic fragmentation grenade which makes a big, loud boom, the incendiary grenade which sets everything on fire and helps disorient some of the enemies to boot. The EMP grenade is of great use against robots and machine entities, and it can slightly disorient humans too. The concussion grenade can help floor enemies or push them off in different directions, disorient a crowd of them or help players make trick jumps. There’s also a toxic grenade, which can create an area denial cloud of toxic smoke that can deal massive damage over a period of time. Finally, the smoke grenade, while less useful for a single player, is cool nonetheless as it can help confuse enemies and aid retreats or attacks.

It is a very versatile weapon with a good skill ceiling and potential. I hope we get to see more amazingly silly/versatile grenade launchers like that in future titles!"

– Sapphire Nation

Preview notes

"(...) and the grenade launcher now has six (count 'em - 6) different flavors of grenades for your pleasure. The smoke grenades are an interesting effect - unlike previous releases of smoke grenades, which just cloud a certain area of the screen, the smoke is made up of actual engine particles which are affected by external effects - like a rocket plowing through a smoke cloud will warp the cloud's shape, or a concussion grenade being detonated next to the cloud will actually push the cloud to another location. This effect has to be seen to be truly appreciated."

– ActionTrip

Gallery

See also

• UMS Grenade Launcher - from Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali
• Grenade Launcher (UT2004)
• Grenade Launcher (UT4)