Grenade Launcher

The Grenade Launcher is a weapon that appears in BioShock and BioShock 2 multiplayer. In the BioShock 2 single-player campaign, the Launcher serves a similar function.

BioShock

The Grenade Launcher is the fourth ranged weapon obtained in BioShock. It is located in Neptune's Bounty. It fires grenades that do high damage and have a wide splash damage radius. They are fired at an arc, making targeting at long range require some estimation. Its main weaknesses are a low ammo cartridge capacity, a slow rate of fire, and the potential for collateral damage. However, the damage can be increased and immunity to collateral damage can be gained with upgrades at a Power to the People station, further increasing the usefulness of the Grenade Launcher. There is no hit location damage bonus when using this weapon; the same amount of damage is done no matter where the target is hit.

Power to the People Upgrades

Immunity to Splash Damage
25% Damage Increase

Ammunition Types - Grenade Launcher

Frag Grenades - standard ammunition for the Grenade Launcher, inflict a high amount of (piercing) damage at a radius.
Proximity Mines - rare ammunition for the Grenade Launcher, inflict a very high amount of (piercing) damage at a radius upon impact or upon detonation. Can be deployed on the scenery, where it will stick and explode once an enemy enters its blast radius.
Heat-Seeking RPG's - inventable ammunition for the Grenade Launcher, inflict a very high amount of (fire) damage at a radius and ignite the blast area. Home in on the enemy closest to them.

Strategy

Switching to another weapon or Plasmid while chambering another grenade will skip the animation, speeding up the process.
The upgrades for this weapon can be purchased in any order: If the player wishes to use the Grenade Launcher in close quarters, it is recommended they first immunize themselves against their own splash damage. If this is their main anti-Big Daddy weapon or if the player has advanced substantially through the game, however, it is recommended they first upgrade their damage output.
This weapon is very effective against groups, but also if the player isn't very accurate. Explosives deal extreme amounts of damage over a large area, and most enemies fall to a single unit of ammunition from the Grenade Launcher.
Frag Grenades can also be fired around corners. This is useful is the player is trying to make an escape or if they are shooting from cover.
The Proximity Mine is one of the game's most versatile weapons. It has many different possible uses, all of which are detailed here:
- It can be used as a defensive trap. If the player is trying to kill a Bouncer and wishes to conserve ammo, stacking several barrels together and placing a single Proximity Mine will either seriously injure or even kill the Big Daddy, depending of how many barrels were stacked. Placing a proximity mine on the ceiling above a Cyclone Trap can cause heavy damage to opponents. The player can also place Proximity Mines in hotspots. Notable hotspots include Health Stations and water, if the player has ignited any Splicers. Note that laying a Proximity Mine near a Health Station will destroy it upon detonation, so use sparingly. If the player has hacked the Health Station, do not lay Mines near it, as the station will poison any injured Splicer who goes to heal there, which usually kills them in seconds.
- It can be used offensively, like a Frag Grenade. Attaching several Proximity Mines onto a single object (preferably an explosive), results in a very high damage projectile, capable of heavily damaging or even killing Big Daddies.
- It can be attached onto friendly Security Bots, turning them into kamikazes. Security Bots have a tendency to approach the enemy at point-blank range, so while it will cost the player a Bot it will grant them the ability to easily dispatch one or several tough enemies while keeping one's distance from the fray.
- It can be attached to enemies that are frozen into blocks of ice, and will explode within a few seconds, dealing massive damage. This is extremely helpful for tough enemies like Big Daddies. This makes the upgraded Winter Blast and Proximity Mine combo one of the most effective means of dealing with tough enemies.
- If a Proximity Mine is attached to a door it will detonate the next time the door opens, even if the player is the one opening the door. This can be extremely dangerous if one has not yet obtained the Grenade Launcher Damage Immunity upgrade from a Power to the People station.
Heat-Seeking RPGs are a useful tool for sniping, and causing mayhem among groups. They home in on targets, so the player doesn't require any aim to hit a faraway enemy. These explosives also ignite everything around them, in addition to the usual blast. This means that when dealing with tough Splicers a single RPG is all it takes to dispose of an entire group of them, even if the initial explosion didn't kill them. RPG's also deal more damage than Frag Grenades, so if the player is sure of their resources they may use the former as a replacement for the latter.
This weapon isn't particularly useful for ambushing, first of all because the player risks getting injured in close quarters unless they upgrade; and secondly due to the huge amount of chaos caused by the Grenade Launcher. It's not recommended against machinery either, since lesser weapons are already capable of destroying Security Devices in one shot.

Recommended Plasmids

Winter Blast can help the player quickly and painlessly dispose of a Big Daddy when using this weapon. Usually, one freeze and around two to three explosives is enough to kill one of them, although the player would be missing out on the high amount of cash carried by Big Daddies. Avoid freezing if low on Dollars. This strategy also applies to tough Splicers.
Telekinesis and Sonic Boom can be used to "boost" Frag Grenades: By firing the grenade, quickly switching to one of the two aforementioned Plasmids and using it on the projectile will send it much farther than it would normally go. This strategy is only useful if the player does not possess any Heat-Seeking RPG's, since those can already travel long distances. Telekinesis can also be used to throw an object rigged with multiple Proximity Mines (also called an "Anti-Big Daddy Bomb"), exploding on impact.
Placing a Cyclone Trap under a Proximity Mine will allow it to kill any Splicer on any difficulty and on any level.

Recommended Tonics

Damage Research will significantly increase damage against enemies researched using the Research Camera. This is particularly useful against Splicers in the later levels of the game.
The Human Inferno line of Tonics will increase the amount of damage dealt onto enemies ignited by a Heat-Seeking RPG.
The Armored Shell line of Tonics will reduce the amount of damage received by the player if they detonate an explosive too close to them. However, once the player upgrades against this, this Gene Tonic type is made redundant for this particular use.

Help Caption

“	Press _ to fire. Launches a variety of grenades. Base ammo: Fragmentation Grenade -- Large amount of piercing damage in a radius. Advanced ammo: Proximity Mine -- A proximity mine that does a large amount of piercing damage in a radius when triggered. Inventable ammo: Heat-seeking Rocket-propelled Grenade -- A guided rocket that does a large amount of heat damage in a radius.	”

Gallery

BioShock 2

Main article: Launcher

The Launcher, similar in function to the Grenade Launcher, is available to players in BioShock 2's single player campaign. Unlike the one from the first game, it seems to be commercially produced rather than cobbled together from spare parts. It uses the same ammo as the Grenade Launcher from the first game. However, the Frag Grenades look manufactured, and not like sardine cans with fuses.

BioShock 2 Multiplayer

The Grenade Launcher returns as a usable weapon in multiplayer, and is unlocked at Rank 6.