Overview
A player selects the HE Grenade from the grenade slot and throws it into a predicted opponent position. Detonation can injure players close enough to the blast, so the grenade can pressure a group holding a corner or contribute damage before an entry. Walls, distance and the target’s armor affect the result. Carrying the grenade also costs money and occupies part of the round’s utility budget.
A grenade explosion can briefly dissipate part of a nearby CS2 smoke. That creates a short sight window. It can expose an opponent concealed on the far side or let a teammate contest an angle. Timing matters: the view lasts only briefly, and a player needs to be ready to act as it opens.
When to use it
Use the HE when a player has useful information about an enemy group or when damage can support a coordinated push. Throwing it at an empty area gives away utility and can alert the opposing team. A grenade may also force an opponent off a covered position so teammates can take space.
Before trying to clear smoke, coordinate with a teammate who can watch or challenge the opening. Firing blindly without information may reveal the shooter and produce nothing. Check where teammates are standing and whether friendly-fire rules can affect them. The grenade is part of the team’s plan, not a substitute for a primary weapon.
Throwing & inventory
The trajectory depends on the throw, walls and map elevation. Practice a placement before relying on it to reach a specific corner or window. Consider how long it takes to arrive and whether teammates can move into the opening when it detonates. A late grenade after the team has already crossed may have little value.
The team has a finite budget for grenades. Discuss which player carries HE, smoke and flash utility so that an explosive buy does not leave the execute without cover. The CS2 mode and update affect equipment availability and price; exact figures should carry a source date.
CS2 applicability
Smoke dissipation is described here as a CS2 interaction. Exact grenade damage and purchasing values are separate CS2 properties; do not use hitbox tables from another Counter-Strike game.
HE Grenade throw animation correction
The April 17, 2026 animgraph_2_beta patch fixed the HE Grenade throw in both the viewmodel and worldmodel. The viewmodel is the local first-person presentation; the worldmodel is what other players see on the character. The patch identifies an animation correction, not a change to fuse time, blast damage, throw strength or grenade trajectory. It became part of the live CS2 build on April 20, 2026 with the rest of the Beta changes. See Animgraph 2 (Beta) and Grenade Throws.
HE Grenade and smoke through walls (March 30, 2023)
The March 30, 2023 Limited Test update changed the interaction so HE Grenades no longer affected smoke through walls. This records the named obstruction condition; the patch does not describe damage, smoke dispersion or a particular wall material.
HE Grenade interaction with Nuke vents (May 7, 2024)
The May 7, 2024 CS2 update fixed a bug that prevented HE Grenade explosions from breaking the vents in de_nuke. This is a map-object interaction: the explosive effect can now break the named vents as intended. The patch does not describe their exact location, the number of vents affected or any new route created by their destruction, so those details should not be inferred.
This note links grenade behavior to Nuke's environment rather than changing the HE Grenade's damage, radius or fuse. It records a correction to the interaction between an explosion and map geometry. Consult Nuke for the map context and this entry for the grenade's general role.