: I've found the pulse grenades useful from the beginning, sort of like mini
: power drainers. They're hard to kill enemies outright with (unless you
: corner them), but they knock out shields if you land them and someone's
: feet. Or knock out the shields of a clustered group of enemies
: simultaneously.

The pulse grenades don't deploy instantly. There's plenty of time for Crawlers or Grunts to jump out of the way and avoid most of the damage. Enemies are rarely clustered close enough together to get two or more at the same time, and chokepoints are similarly rare.

I can get that the pulse grenade is supposed to be a niche weapon with its own strengths and weaknesses, but grenades are so clunky to cycle through that it's hard to select one on the fly. Combine this with the small blast radius of every other grenade, and it seems like grenades are no longer a solid leg of the golden tripod. They're just something you throw because you're out of ammo and have to try something

: So why are we
: complaining about how the Forerunner weapons are too similar to existing
: guns, then turning around and complaining about the one that's new and
: interesting?

Because something can be unique and interesting, but also awkward and underpowered. : )