Tips for GDF covert ops's smoke grenade

[libnoon]

Let's enumerate tips on the smoke grenade. I begin.

Smoke creates a blind area, for your enemies but also for your teammates. So, you should be careful to use it in a way that annoys the enemy more than your own team!

Use smoke to hide the objective guy (which might be you) while he's busy hacking, constructing or whatever, and is a standing target.

Throw a smoke in front of openings from where the enemy shoots, to disable that opening. For example, if on Refinery (last objective) a hyperblaster is defending the stairs at the southeast entrance from behind the large window in the next room, throw a smoke in front of him: the opening is "closed" and the hyperblaster loses a strong position.

[libnoon]

The smoke grenade's charge time is such that the instant your previous smoke grenade stops smoking is the instant when your smoke charge is full again.

So, you can indefinitely smoke the area you want.

[libnoon]

What happens in case GDF must plant a charge to destroy an objective?

You might be tempted to throw a smoke to protect the guy that plants the charge, but beware that the smoke could also protect the enemy's Constructors when they try to disarm it. Or on the contrary, it might be more complicated for the Constructors to find out where the charge is with all that smoke.

I think that when using smoke while your team must plant a charge, you should be careful to let your own team have a clear view on the charge, so that any constructor approaching it can be killed. Or, if you are a well coordinated team, make sure that your smoke stops just after the plant.

[libnoon]

What happens when you are defending a destroy objective?

Contrary to above, where you must time when the smoke must stop, here you must time when the smoke must begin; this is of course much easier.

I don't think it helps the defense to create smoke near the destroy-objective.

However, if the enemy has managed to plant a charge, throwing a smoke right where the charge is hides your engineers while they are disarming, and the medics around too.

It might be even better if you can spot the charge(s) before throwing your smoke grenade, because your engineers then have a HUD information telling them exactly where the charge is, independently of the smoke. Just aim at the charge and use the context menu.

[libnoon]

Be it on attack or on defense, you can use the smoke to remove the corners and angles the enemy uses.

Angles are a good tool to shoot while not being shot. People can be centimeters away from the safe spot (where technicians give health and are ready to revive), showing only a fraction of their body yet firing the hell out of their hyperblaster.

You can remove angles by throwing a smoke grenade in front of that hyperblaster. Then the enemy cannot see anything until they get completely out of the smoke, and the path between their safe spot and the spot where they actually can see you is long and unprotected.

If you are attacking, I think you should take care of throwing your smoke grenade between their angle and you, not right at their angle. This is because if your attack is successful, their angle is likely to become your angle, and the smoke could have its negative effect on your team this time.

Also remember that using smoke on an enemy opening can be different from the way you use smoke on angles.

[GorkerMorker]

Sewer is THE map for smoke. There are often alot of covert ops players running around anyway, so make sure your smoke bar is never ful for a long time.

Turrets ignore smoke. Use the smoke grenade to hide them and lure enemies in a false sense of safity.

[Verticae]

A bit more tricky, and horrible when used incorrectly: Distraction. When your team starts for a push on the left flank, toss a smoke grenade over the right. usually, one or two hyperblasters will lay down some fire onto the smoked area, giving your teammates some less resistance on their path.

[Ryan]

Maybe in competitions,
But I usually want to have a radar :P

[libnoon]

Having your third eye doing its job as a short-range radar does not prevent you from using the smoke.

However, both use the same charge pool.

[Scorge]

I find with very few exceptions that the 3rd eye is more useful than smoke. Sometimes I smoke construction objectives, but that just means that the engies will be killed by a hyperblaster instead of a railgun.

[julz_d]

Maybe in competitions,
But I usually want to have a radar :P

The recharge here is actually pretty quick if you use the 3rd - Eye like I normally do. Just deploy it in a place where you need it AND where it is hard for the Strogg to notice AND where a nade wont hit it. That's it; now you have a 3rd-eye radar and you can throw all the smoke nades you want. The only downside for this is that you can't use it as an attack, but if you are just using for radar, then it doesn't really matter anyway.

[cattledecapitation]

for defending a plant id much rather cover with my 3rd eye then smoke

other than that the smoke is fun

cool about the distraction post, i use it as distraction too for hacking (throw it near hack objective, touch it.... walk back....see enemies check smoke, backrape)

[Quovatis]

If 3rd eye and smoke were on different timers, it would be used more. However, 3rd eye is in general the better option.

[R0B0T0]

I use covert ops to help engineers and soldiers do their job. Best places for that are every objectives there are, especially bridges that should be constructed. On that maps smoke usually help engineers against railguns. Also, smoke is great to hide engineers that are repairing MCP, or soldiers that are planting HE charge somewhere.

Smokes can create quite a confusion on weird places like that last 2 objectives at refinery ;) I have tried it - you throw a smoke and then after a while you charge in with your knife... backstabbing fiesta :D

I wish if more people would use coverts like that instead of sniping (usually without radar). Covert ops' are great as support class and not many people use it that way. It's a mistake to think that they should be used only as lone wolves behind enemy lines.

[Sublim3]

Smoke lags out crappy PC's.

Lag your enemy to death!!!