GrenADE III Arena is one of the six arenas in the Crossfire game mode.
Strategy[]
The number one mistake people have when playing this arena is having too many Pro's on one side of the map. Not only does this make the other side of the map harder to control, it gives the other team more of an advantage when attacking your Money Ball. The trick is, to make sure that there is an even number of Pros on each side. Unless you are someone who can travel the arena quickly (i.e., the Assualt or Assassin,) if you see too many of your team mates on one side of the arena, focus your efforts on covering the other side. In an emergency where multiple Pro's will have to stay on one particular side (Jackbot spawn or massive Pro attack,) it's always best to have at least one Pro being able to stay behind and cover the latter. Due to the wide open spaces this arena provides, it's hard to get a good foothold and camp in one area. Rushing will be your best friend here, never stop moving and always try to switch sides of the arena to gain an edge on the other team. Also be aware that GrenADE III Arena has the most Ejectors of any arena: five. Furthermore, all of them are positioned in open areas easily accessible to the edges. This makes the arena one of the most conducive to Ring Outs.
Notes[]
The area in the middle of the map is extremely useful for getting to the enemy's Money Ball (an Assassin can dash and jump from the upper level of their base, run across, and use a Smoke Bomb jump to reach the upper level of the other base; an Assault can Fly and Charge across), but a quick way to die if someone uses the Ejector with you on it. Bullseye also always appears here, so be cautious about swarming him in this arena.
Turret Strategies[]
Each side has two turrets with identical strategies, one on the outside and one up front on the inside by the Jump Pad. If you don't have a Support player, the outer one will often be a waste of money, because it's the most open of all turrets. If you do build something there though, the basic idea could be a ShaveIce turret. This is primarily for the idea of slowing down juice-rushing players, especially those who would take the Jump Pad directly into your base. If you can hack it, a rocket turret can be very deadly here, because it can see right through the arch and threaten bot-pushers. The same logic also applies to the ShaveIce, because it will affect more than it would at the inner nub. The inner turret (by the jump pad) could reasonably be good for a rocket, but if you are going to build a Long Shot anywhere, it's here.
General Class Strategies[]
Assault[]
The Assault is uniquely mobile in this arena. His Fly ability lets him go from arch to arch effortlessly and can even (at level 3) go right into the enemy's spawn from the front. An Assault in your spawn ring is extremely difficult to deal with here, especially since he can escape easily and safely. This map is extremely friendly to ring-outs, so properly placed Bomb usage is extremely deadly. One bomb can easily take out whoever happens to have taken position near your bot spawn. When Bullseye appears, you can also use it in place of an ejector to take out players that are trying to hit him.
Gunner[]
Gunner has a bit of a problem here, what with the arena being so friendly to snipers. He can still be quite threatening in his usual way. Stay low towards the outside and escort the Bots; this will reduce your exposure to snipers staying near their base. The base RockIts are very exposed to mortar strikes, though the one closest to the jump pad is rather covered from your ideal mortar range. He and the Tank can also just barely reach the top of the bot spawn towers (start from the glass barriers) to get themselves into the enemy spawn, though they will take significant burn damage in doing so. In a pinch, the Gunner can use the jump pads that would normally take one from the center ring into the base and cut the flight short with their Slam ability.
Tank[]
Like the Gunner, he can just barely get on top of the bot spawn towers to enter the enemy spawn ring. Given that you'll be taking some burn damage, you may want to be ready to upgrade your passive skill when you're in should you want to try this. Because the arena is so open, Charge is especially deadly to anyone on the same arch as him. He can also push bots rather easily here without being overly concerned about the Sniper.
Sniper[]
This map is one of the most open around, so the Sniper can have a good old time here. He'll have to rely on explosive rounds to deal with the lower levels, though. Sniper has many useful perches including your base's front door and basically everywhere on the upper level. Traps are not necessarily the most reliable though, as any of the choke points that would normally catch people from jump pads are all avoidable. For example, if you get to the opponent's bot spawn, an ice trap at the corner where their jump pad would put them will not necessarily work. A player can curve their jump to get on the other side of the glass barrier and walk around. You'll have to rely on your other close-range tricks in that case, and that's not a fight the sniper wants. Still, the Sniper has tremendous field control, and someone skilled in all aspects of the Sniper's play style will be a very significant threat.
Unfortunately, the Sniper is not really able to snipe at the money ball from a strong position. The best place to do so is a nearly indistinguishable ledge at the side of the outermost jump pad, and once someone's set himself on getting him, he doesn't have much he can do to get away. Also, the openness can work against you as well, as you may find yourself dueling an opposing sniper.
Support[]
This is probably the least friendly map to the Support, but he's got some tricks. A Firebase right at a bot spawn, properly attended, can be extremely difficult to deal with. That firebase alone will make sure you don't have to worry about one lane of bots, so you're free to develop the other side's turrets to that task. Support's primarily role is going to be more about putting a leash on his other players so that they can be as great a threat as possible. If you have multiple Supports playing, you might consider putting one at your front door both to get rid of would-be front-door salesmen and to hit people going into the center ring. However, always be vigilant for Snipers, as they can very easily eliminate, from afar, non-moving Supports who are not behind cover--be aware of all of the angles from which they could shoot you.
Assassin[]
Assassin can be quite deadly in this arena, but also at significant risk to herself. Because the Assassin is one of the best at bot-pushing, she'll be spending a lot of time on the ground and vulnerable to ejectors. If she does get an assassination on an enemy player, she's gonna have to do a lot of work to get away afterward. She does have a unique level of mobility though, able to quickly move between both halves of the map with minimal effort. She can even use her Smoke Bomb jump to get from the center ring into the spawn ring, allowing her to constantly hit the money ball.
Trivia[]
MNC remodeled the arena after they bought it from the show, "America's Next Top Congressman"
Located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean