Trigger Grenades vs Bastion: How Many You Need

To reliably destroy a Bastion in Arc Raiders, you need 2 trigger grenades if all of them connect directly to the core, or 3 if some hit the armor plating first. This assumes you are using the standard trigger grenade at its base damage and the Bastion is at full health; any damage from other sources reduces the count accordingly.

How Trigger Grenades Work

Trigger grenades are a throwable explosive in Arc Raiders that detonate on a short fuse after being thrown. Unlike impact grenades, they do not explode on contact—they bounce slightly and then explode, which means placement matters. Their damage is applied in a small radius, and the damage falloff is steep, so a grenade that lands a meter away from the Bastion’s core will do significantly less than one that lands directly on it.

The key mechanic to understand is that the Bastion has two distinct damage zones: the armored shell and the exposed core. The shell reduces incoming explosive damage by roughly 50%, while the core takes full damage. This is why a single grenade thrown at the front of a Bastion might only strip some armor, while the same grenade thrown at the back, where the core is exposed, can nearly destroy it.

Bastion’s Health and Damage Model

The Bastion is one of the heavier enemy units in Arc Raiders, acting as a mini-boss in many encounters. Its total health pool is approximately 600 points, which is about three times that of a standard raider and about 1.5 times that of a shielded brute. The core has 300 health, and the armor has 300 health. When the armor is destroyed, the core becomes fully exposed, but until then, any damage to the armored sections is halved.

This means that if you throw a trigger grenade that deals 200 base damage to the armor, it will only remove 100 health from the armor. If the same grenade hits the core, it removes the full 200. So the math for a full-health Bastion is:

• 2 grenades to the core: 200 + 200 = 400 damage, which is enough to destroy the 300 core health and the 100 armor that might be left.
• 3 grenades to the armor: 100 + 100 + 100 = 300 armor damage, which destroys the armor, but the core is still at 300, so you need a fourth grenade or follow-up shots.
• 2 grenades to the armor + 1 to the core: 100 + 100 + 200 = 400 total, which is just enough if the core is hit after the armor is gone.

In practice, you rarely get all grenades to land perfectly on the core, so the safe assumption is that you need 3 trigger grenades per Bastion, with a fourth as a backup if one misses or is absorbed by another enemy.

Factors That Change the Count

Several variables can reduce or increase the number of grenades you need. The most important are:

• Upgrades: The Arc Raiders skill tree has a demolition perk that increases explosive damage by 15% at rank one and 30% at rank two. With the 30% boost, each grenade does 260 damage, so two grenades to the core (520 total) will kill a Bastion outright, and even two to the armor (130 each, 260 total) will strip the armor and leave the core at 40 health.
• Weak point hits: The Bastion has a small heat vent on its back that counts as a weak point, taking 1.5x damage from all sources. A grenade that lands on that vent does 300 damage, which is a one-shot kill on a fresh Bastion if it hits the core directly.
• Other damage sources: If you or your squad are shooting the Bastion while the grenades are in flight, the count drops. For example, if you deal 100 damage with a rifle before throwing, you only need one grenade to the core (200 damage) to finish it.
• Grenade rarity: Higher-tier trigger grenades (blue, purple, gold) deal more base damage. A blue grenade does 250, a purple does 300, and a gold does 350. With a gold grenade, one direct core hit is enough.

Practical Throw Strategies

Getting the grenades to land on the core is easier said than done. The Bastion is fast and often charges, so you need to lead your throws. The best approach is to wait until the Bastion is mid-charge or after it has just finished a melee swing, as it pauses for a second. Throw the grenade at its feet, not at its body, because the bounce will carry it forward into the core area.

Another effective tactic is to aim for the ground just behind the Bastion. The grenade’s explosion radius is about 2 meters, and the core is located in the lower back, so a grenade that lands behind it will clip the core even if it doesn’t visually touch it. This is especially useful when the Bastion is facing you, because the front armor will absorb most of the damage otherwise.

If you are in a squad, coordinate so that one player throws a grenade at the front to strip armor, and another throws at the back to hit the core. This two-angle approach often kills a Bastion with just two grenades total, because the second grenade hits the exposed core.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

A frequent mistake is assuming that all grenades do the same damage regardless of where they land. As covered, the armor halves explosive damage, so throwing a grenade at the front of a Bastion is nearly useless unless you are specifically trying to break the armor. Many players waste two or three grenades on the front, then wonder why the Bastion is still alive.

Another misconception is that the trigger grenade’s damage is affected by the distance you throw it. It is not—the damage is fixed based on the grenade’s tier and your perks. What changes is the accuracy of your throw, not the damage.

Finally, some players think that the Bastion’s shield (the blue bubble it sometimes deploys) blocks grenades entirely. It does not. The shield blocks bullets but explosive damage passes through, though it is reduced by 25% when the shield is active. So if the Bastion has its shield up, you need 3 grenades to the core (200 * 0.75 = 150 each, 450 total) to kill it, or 4 if you are hitting armor.

Comparing Trigger Grenades to Other Options

Trigger grenades are not the only way to deal with a Bastion, but they are the most ammo-efficient. A standard assault rifle deals about 30 damage per shot to the core, so you would need 10 shots to do what one grenade does. A shotgun at close range deals about 80 per pellet, so 3-4 shots to the core, but you have to be point-blank. The railgun, if you have it, deals 400 damage to the core with a charged shot, which is a one-shot kill, but it has a long charge time and limited ammo.

In terms of resource cost, trigger grenades are cheaper to craft than railgun ammo, and they do not require a specific weapon slot. They are also safer because you can throw them from behind cover. The downside is that they are a consumable, so you need to manage your inventory. Carrying 6-8 trigger grenades per mission is a good rule of thumb, which covers two to three Bastion encounters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can one trigger grenade kill a Bastion if I hit the weak point?
Yes, if you have the 30% explosive damage perk and you hit the heat vent on the back, a single grenade does 300 * 1.5 = 450 damage, which is more than enough. Even without the perk, a direct hit on the vent with a gold grenade (350 * 1.5 = 525) will one-shot it.

Q: Does the Bastion’s armor regenerate?
No, once armor is destroyed, it stays destroyed. The core remains exposed for the rest of the fight. This is why it is often better to focus fire on the armor first, then switch to the core.

Q: What if I miss with one grenade?
If a grenade lands more than 2 meters away, it does almost no damage due to falloff. In that case, you need to throw a replacement. Always carry one extra grenade per Bastion to account for a miss.

Q: Are trigger grenades better than impact grenades for Bastions?
Yes, because trigger grenades have a slightly larger explosion radius and can be bounced around corners. Impact grenades explode on contact, which is fine for direct hits, but they are harder to land on the core because the Bastion moves.

Q: Does the Bastion’s shield affect grenade damage?
Yes, the shield reduces explosive damage by 25%, but it does not block it. So a grenade that would do 200 damage does 150 when the shield is up. Plan for this by throwing an extra grenade if you see the shield activate.

Q: How many grenades should I carry in a typical mission?
For a solo run, carry 6 trigger grenades. For a squad, each player should carry 4-5. This covers two to three Bastion encounters plus any other heavy enemies you might face. You can always pick up more from supply crates.

Related

• Fish It Admin Abuse Times? Facts & Context
• How to Choose Dishwasher Size, Wash Programs & Water Use
• Word Processor File Formats Explained