Multiplayer Equipment & Grenades — Call of Duty: Black Ops II Guide

Multiplayer Equipment & Grenades

Mastering your equipment and grenade choices in Black Ops II Multiplayer is crucial for dominating the battlefield. This section breaks down each item, offering strategic insights and actionable tips to maximize their effectiveness in various combat scenarios.

Lethal Grenades

Lethal grenades are your primary tools for dealing direct damage, clearing objectives, or flushing out entrenched enemies. Understanding their blast radius, fuse times, and optimal deployment is key to securing kills and assisting your team.

• Frag Grenade: The classic, reliable explosive.
  • Strategy: The Frag Grenade can be "cooked" by holding the throw button, allowing you to control its detonation time. This is invaluable for airbursting enemies behind cover or ensuring a kill on a fleeing opponent. Practice cooking times in custom games to perfect your timing. Use it to clear objectives like Hardpoint zones or to force enemies out of chokepoints.
  • Deployment: Best used for direct engagements or clearing small areas. Throw over walls or around corners to catch unsuspecting foes.
• Semtex: A sticky, timed explosive.
  • Strategy: The Semtex adheres to any surface or enemy it hits, detonating after a short fuse. This makes it excellent for "sticking" opponents for guaranteed kills or attaching to vehicles and objectives. It has a smaller blast radius than the Frag, but its stickiness makes it more precise.
  • Deployment: Ideal for aggressive pushes, clearing rooms, or denying access to specific areas. Stick it to enemy Shield users for an easy takedown.
• Combat Axe: A retrievable, one-hit kill projectile.
  • Strategy: The Combat Axe requires precision but rewards skilled players with instant kills. It can be retrieved after use, allowing for multiple throws if you can safely pick it up. This makes it resource-efficient for aggressive players.
  • Deployment: Best for close-to-medium range engagements. Practice quick-scoping with the axe for impressive highlight plays. Can also be used to destroy enemy equipment like Claymores or Sentry Guns from a distance.

Tactical Grenades

Tactical grenades are non-lethal but incredibly powerful for disorienting, revealing, or slowing down enemies. They are essential for setting up pushes, defending positions, and gaining crucial intel.

• Flashbang: Blinds and disorients enemies.
  • Strategy: Throw Flashbangs into rooms or around corners before entering to temporarily blind and deafen opponents. This gives you a significant advantage in gunfights. Combine with a quick push to capitalize on their disorientation.
  • Deployment: Crucial for room clearing, objective assaults, and pushing enemy lines. Always throw before peeking.
• Concussion Grenade: Slows movement and blurs vision.
  • Strategy: Similar to the Flashbang, the Concussion Grenade impairs enemy movement and aim. It's particularly effective against aggressive rushers or enemies trying to escape. The effect lasts longer than a Flashbang, making it great for area denial.
  • Deployment: Use to slow down enemy pushes, defend chokepoints, or make it easier to track and eliminate fleeing targets.
• Smoke Grenade: Creates a cloud of obscuring smoke.
  • Strategy: Smoke Grenades are invaluable for breaking line of sight, crossing open areas safely, or reviving teammates under fire. They can also be used offensively to block enemy vision while you flank or push an objective.
  • Deployment: Essential for objective play (e.g., planting/defusing bombs in Search & Destroy), crossing sniper lanes, or providing cover for revives.
• EMP Grenade: Disables enemy electronics and HUD.
  • Strategy: The EMP Grenade is a powerful counter to enemy Scorestreaks and equipment. It temporarily disables enemy HUDs, making it difficult for them to see their minimap or crosshairs, and destroys placed equipment like Claymores, Sentry Guns, and Guardian systems.
  • Deployment: Throw at enemy objective points or known equipment locations. Excellent for pushing against heavily fortified positions or neutralizing enemy air support (though it won't destroy them, it can disrupt their targeting).
• Trophy System: Destroys incoming projectiles.
  • Strategy: The Trophy System is a deployable piece of equipment that automatically shoots down two incoming enemy projectiles (grenades, rockets, etc.). This is invaluable for defending objectives or creating a safe zone for your team.
  • Deployment: Place near objectives (Hardpoint, Domination flags), in high-traffic chokepoints, or to protect a sniper's nest. It's a passive defense that can save your life and your team's.
• Tactical Insertion: Designates a new respawn point.
  • Strategy: The Tactical Insertion allows you to place a beacon that acts as a temporary respawn point. This is incredibly powerful for maintaining pressure on objectives or quickly returning to the action after being eliminated. However, it can be destroyed by enemies.
  • Deployment: Place in a secure, hidden location near an objective you're trying to capture or defend. Avoid placing it in open areas where enemies can easily spot and destroy it. Use it to flank enemies or quickly return to a contested area.

Equipment Considerations & Synergies

• Perk Integration: Consider perks like Scavenger to replenish your grenades and equipment, or Engineer to spot enemy equipment and booby-trap care packages.
• Class Setup: Tailor your equipment to your playstyle. Aggressive players might favor Semtex and Flashbangs, while objective players might prefer Smoke Grenades and Trophy Systems.
• Map Knowledge: Learn common grenade spots and angles on each map. Knowing where to bounce a Frag or where to throw a Smoke for maximum effect will significantly improve your game.
• Team Play: Communicate with your team about your equipment usage. A well-timed Flashbang followed by a team push can break enemy defenses.