The Complete Guide to Trigger 'Nades in Arc Raiders

The Trigger ‘Nade is a remote-detonated sticky explosive that deals 90 damage inside a 7.5m blast radius, and you control exactly when it goes off. Despite a nerf in Patch 1.11.0 (January 2026), it’s still the go-to PvP grenade because no other throwable in Arc Raiders gives you that kind of timing control. Two of them will knock down any Raider regardless of shield tier.

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How the Trigger ‘Nade actually works

The Trigger ‘Nade has no timer, no proximity fuse, and no auto-detonation. You throw it, it sticks to whatever it hits (walls, doors, trees, the ground, ARC bodies), and it sits there until you detonate it.

To detonate, keep the Trigger ‘Nade selected in your Quick Use slot and press your aim input (right-click on PC, left trigger on controller). Every placed Trigger ‘Nade you own detonates simultaneously. If you swapped to a weapon mid-fight, reselect the Trigger ‘Nade in Quick Use and the aim input will detonate your already-placed nades instead of preparing a new throw. This swap-back mechanic trips up newer players constantly.

There’s one secondary detonation method: chain reactions. Any explosion whose radius overlaps a placed Trigger ‘Nade (a Rocketeer blast, another grenade, a Synthesized Fuel canister) will set it off. They can’t be reliably shot with bullets, and if the owner dies, surviving nades stay inert unless chain-detonated.

Stat	Value
Damage	90
Blast radius	7.5m
Weight	0.4
Stack size	3
Rarity	Rare
Detonation delay	1.5s (post-Patch 1.11.0)

Armed Trigger ‘Nades have a blinking orange light and emit an electronic beep, so experienced players can spot them. Keep this in mind when placing traps.

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Two nades, one kill: the PvP math

One Trigger ‘Nade deals 90 damage. Any shielded Raider survives that. Two deal 180, which knocks down any Raider regardless of shield tier or health buffs. Since all placed nades detonate at once, stacking two in the same spot is a reliable one-press kill. Always commit two per target.

Extraction ambushes are where the Trigger ‘Nade gets the most use. Stick one or two directly on the extract call button, hold nearby cover, and detonate when an enemy team reaches for the button. A triangle placement pattern around the extraction zone (nades at three points) covers multiple approach angles. Night raids are especially effective for this since hatch keys are disabled and all players have to use elevators.

For active combat, the pre-nerf playstyle of throwing and detonating mid-air is harder now because of the 1.5-second delay added in Patch 1.11.0. The adapted approach focuses on pre-placement: stick a nade on a doorway edge before enemies push through, place one on a wall corner as you retreat through a corridor, or set them up on choke points inside buildings on maps like Stella Montis. The pattern is always: place, reposition, trigger.

Solo players get a lot out of Trigger ‘Nades. Against a pursuing squad, the “running trap” works well: stick a nade on the wall as you sprint past a hallway, keep running, and detonate once the chasers pass the placement. It’s one of the few tools that lets a solo player reliably take out a grouped squad.

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PvE applications and grenade combos

Trigger ‘Nades work against ARC too, including during Close Scrutiny encounters. Against large ARC units like Devastators and Bastions, have a teammate draw aggro while you flank, stick two nades on rear vents or weak points, retreat, and detonate during a vulnerable animation. Against drone clusters, toss a nade into the center of a hovering group before they scatter and detonate to clear three or four without spending ammo.

The strongest combos pair the Trigger ‘Nade with control items:

• Jolt Mine + Trigger ‘Nade: the Jolt Mine’s 4-second Raider stun freezes the target in the kill zone, giving you time to detonate
• Gas Grenade + Trigger ‘Nade: gas drains stamina at 25/second, preventing enemies from sprinting out of the blast radius
• Smoke Grenade + Trigger ‘Nade: smoke hides your nade placement, and enemies pushing through the cloud walk into the trap

In squads, multiple players can throw Trigger ‘Nades into the same 7.5m zone and detonate simultaneously to wipe an entire enemy squad in one press.

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What the Patch 1.11.0 nerf changed

Patch 1.11.0 (January 2026) was the only direct Trigger ‘Nade nerf. Embark stated the grenade “dominates PvP encounters” and players “favour picking it over all other grenades.” Two changes: the detonation delay doubled from 0.7 to 1.5 seconds, and damage falloff was steepened so blast-edge damage dropped while center damage stayed at 90. The goal was to kill the “trigger-in-air” playstyle while keeping the sticky bomb identity.

Community reaction was mixed. Some argued the nerf was actually a buff since the longer delay now protects the thrower from self-damage at close range. Others pointed out that pre-placed trap effectiveness barely changed, which is where most of the kills come from anyway. Embark hasn’t touched the nade since.

As of Patch 1.22.0 (April 2026), the Trigger ‘Nade is still the strongest PvP grenade in the game. It’s the only one with full remote detonation control, and that mechanic alone keeps it at the top despite the numbers adjustment.

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How it compares to every other grenade

Arc Raiders has 16 craftable grenades plus scavenged throwables. Here’s where the Trigger ‘Nade fits.

The Heavy Fuze Grenade (80 damage, 3-second fuse) is the closest alternative for raw damage. It bounces around corners and requires no manual triggering, making it easier for reactive throws, but you give up all timing control. The Snap Blast (70 damage, sticky + auto-timed) is a solid budget option. The Bison Driver hits hardest at 100 damage with a 10m radius, but it’s loot-only and can’t be crafted. Shrapnel (60 damage) and Light Impact (30 damage) are weaker options for PvP.

For PvE, the Wolfpack is in a different category: 12 homing missiles dealing 166 damage each, built for large ARC units. But the missiles ignore players entirely, so it has no PvP use. The Blaze Grenade is better for area denial with 10 seconds of fire. The Showstopper provides a 10-second ARC stun for group encounters. None of these overlap with the Trigger ‘Nade’s PvP role because none have manual detonation.

The recommended PvP loadout across most community guides: Trigger ‘Nade + Smoke Grenade + Jolt Mine.

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Crafting and blueprint unlock

The Trigger ‘Nade blueprint comes from Apollo’s “Sparks Fly” quest, which requires killing a Hornet with a grenade. Once unlocked, crafting requires an Explosives Station II with 2x Crude Explosives and 1x Processor per stack of three. The resource cost is cheap compared to Wolfpacks or Deadline Mines, which is part of why players regularly bring 6-12 nades per raid. Check material costs in the Crafting Planner.

Store them in your Safe Pocket before deploying to protect them on death. Don’t recycle Trigger ‘Nades; the salvage value (1x Processor) isn’t worth the combat utility you lose.