The Stun Grenade costs 30 credits, the same as a Shovel, and the two are not competing for the same job.
A shovel kills what it hits. A stun grenade buys you a few seconds. The question is which of those you need more often.
What it is for
The Stun Grenade interrupts an entity long enough for you to move.
That is the entire value, and it is worth more than it sounds, because the alternative in most situations is a fight you were not going to win.
Use it when:
- An entity is between you and the exit and you cannot go around it.
- A crewmate has been caught and needs a window to get up and run.
- You are being followed and want to break the pursuit rather than outrun it.
In all three cases the goal is leaving, not winning.
Why it is not a shovel substitute
A shovel leaves a corpse. A stun grenade leaves a live entity that will resume what it was doing.
If you threw it and then stood still, you wasted it. The grenade is only worth 30 credits if you use the window it opens.
That is also why it pairs well with a group: one person throws, everybody moves, and nobody stops to check whether it worked.
How to use it
Throw it and go. Do not throw it and watch. The window is short and the watching is the waste.
Save it for the exit. Most crews use it too early, on an entity they could have walked around. The moment it is worth 30 credits is the moment the door is blocked.
Give it to the person least likely to panic. Throwing it at your own feet is a thing that happens.
Do not carry four. One or two in the group is enough. It is 30 credits and carried weight.
Throwing it well
Throw it past the entity, not at it. Land it behind what you are escaping from. The entity ends up between you and the blast, and you are already moving away.
Do not use it in a small room. The window is short and you are inside the same room as the thing you stunned. Corridors and doorways are where it pays.
Keep it off your own group. Throwing it into a doorway your teammate is running through stuns them too.
One person carries them. If two people each carry one, neither is sure who throws, and the pause is longer than the window.
When to skip it
Skip it if your crew already leaves early and rarely gets cornered. Crews with a strict turnaround rarely need it.
Do not skip it entirely on moons with tight corridors. On Offense, a blocked corridor is a common way to lose someone, and 30 credits is cheap insurance.
Related guides
- Best weapons — the shovel comparison and the five entities it cannot hurt.
- Best loadout — who should carry utility.
- Offense moon guide — the moon where corridors get blocked.