The status of HEFA and Shrapnel

[Snooper44]

It has come to my attention the past few days playing marine that I've noticed the use of HEFA grenades. (I have not been as active the weeks prior so this is the first I am noticing it in a while. So I ask this question:

Why is it still implemented? HEFA is garbage to be frank. The damage it does it laughable so much that tier 2s, tier 3s, and the queen will go out of their way to just ignore them when thrown and still attack unless they are practically on 1% health. Most xenos just rest to avoid being damaged by it also and then get up and continue like nothing happened.

Meanwhile, for marines it is an overwhelming disaster. One grenade thrown by a marine has the potential to shatter bones, rupture organs, and leave most marines in pain crit. Marines that throw it do practically zero damage to xenos but it can absolutely devastate handfuls of friendlies at a time. This has become so well known and infamous that I have seen ROs, SLs, and even COs outright ban giving any marines HEFAs because of how detrimental they are to the frontlines of marine's forces. The same can be said about the shrapnel mortar shell and the cluster OB. Both utter shit that do practically no damage to xenos, but to marines its a absolute slaughter. The only 'shrapnel' type weapon decent are the flak sniper rounds.

So what are the solutions to this problem?

A. Improve damage done to Xenos
One HEFA grenade can fuck an entire marine force from across the screen. If they are throwing it and risking FF it SHOULD do some heavy damage if it hits the enemy and maybe embed in their bodies like it does for marines. If not, why have it other then for memes which have gotten old.

B. Remove it entirely and reserve for events (HVH)
As it stands, HEFA and other shrapnel based weaponry is only useful against humans as it does no damage to xenos and doesn't embed deadly shrapnel in their body that does damage on every step. It is frankly a detriment to marines to have, the only time I have really ever seen HEFA used has been in some very frank obvious griefing against the marine forces during pushes and some 'accidents' that kill off most of the offensive party. Leave it for HVH when it can actually be worth something.

[SirMandrake]

It's useful for ugl wombo combo with hedp loaded first, and that's pretty much it. I don't find it as bad as when it was released, but hedp is still superior, and hefa still hurts most marines pushes more than it helps.

[Memesky]

IIRC the point of it is to be used in cades, it does low damage to cades. Also it's good when you mutiny and want to yeet that mutiny baiting Captain Lauffer

[Critilius]

I hate to see HEFA being thrown in front lines because eventually a marines fails at throwing it and couple of these scenarios usually happen

1) HEFA compleatly stops a marine push.

2) When defending behind Cades compleatly obliterates the garrisoning unit and the cades causing the exenos to overwhelm defenses

3) It does minimal damage but causes broken ribs and lung damage resulting in marines possibly SLs,Specs being medevaced and not combat effective for a significant duration.

All these happen while exenos take no damage.

[davidofmk771]

HEFA would simply have to do more damage on hit to be useful.

Make shrapnel more likely to miss in all cases if necessary, the impact it has on marines (good possibility of debilitating damage) vs xenos (small amount of healable damage) is downright awful. I'd rather get shredded and seriously fucked up by a single shrapnel than ever see these things get used as they are now outside of the ONE CASE i've found use for them that feels balanced with the risk, which is blowing down annoying thick resin hives.

[CABAL]

It was my go-to suicide nade, but since nesting is pernament, it has no purpose at all. You really have to be nade GOD to cook this nade and drop it exactly on tile the beno is standing to do heavy damage. But if you are that good, you would get better results with HEDP.

HEFA has no use.

[AcuteCircle]

remove hefas, if i play req i jsut throw the box down the asrs chute, its a grief nade

[Just L]

I make sure to throw the HEFA boxes down ASRS any time I am playing as a req guy or command role. They serve no purpose, since shrapnel doesn't do anything to xenos.

There has not been a single case I have ever seen of a HEFA grenade being useful. The explosion is tiny in terms of knockdown/stun, the damage is nonexistent, but the grief potential is sky high. It genuinely feels like this grenade is in the game solely as a noob trap, especially since the M15 Frag grenade is extremely powerful. So people see HEFA and go "Oh this must be sorta like the M15", except it's not at all.

[sg2002]

HEFAs are a meme. We really need HEFArianism as a possible religion choice, HEFA order is religious chivalry order, right? So I'm against any changes to HEFAs on religious reasons.

In theory yes, you can use HEFA to tap a xeno you stunned with HEDP. I've yes to see it or do it successfully myself.

Using them behind the cades is bad, because you do very little damage to xenos, but some damage to cades, so it's just not worth it.

One practical use I see for HEFAs is with the grenadeer PFC kit. You load all the HEDPs in your first M41, all the HEFAs in the second. Use HEFAs to destroy xeno weeds and walls when storming the caves.

[shogun-liquid]

I always thought HEFA was good for mutinies, cades or scenarios where its a HvH event?