In Battlefield Vietnam, the US and ARVNScout classes come equipped with yellow smoke grenades. It is deployed like a grenade, but is non-lethal and creates a relatively large plume of smoke where it lands. It is of no use in Singleplayer or Co-op , as it is completely ignored by AI soldiers. In Multiplayer, it can offer a limited screening effect or can be used as a distraction. If a team is well coordinated, it can serve as a marker for air support.
Each Scout equipped with smoke grenades is issued a total of 3.
The Smoke Grenade is included in the Assault kit in the game Battlefield 2. Instead of having a spherical shape like the frag grenade, it has a cylindrical shape (sort of looks like a tiny can). It is thrown like a frag grenade (default Left-Mouse-Button for normal throw, default Right-Mouse-Button for a controlled distance throw), but instead releases smoke. The smoke grenade has many uses.
While not a usable weapon, the smoke grenade appears as signals for the squad to regroup on to advance the story. It emits red smoke from it and is not thrown but any particular character. It can appear right close to the player as in many missions or appear very far from the player such as in missions like Acta Non Verba and Crossing Over right to the point where a vehicle is needed to get there.
The smoke grenade returns in Battlefield Play4Free. Unlike its iteration in Battlefield 2, the smoke grenades can only be equipped after training is acquired for it, much like fragmentation grenades. It is a tier 2 training unlock. When tossed, it will produce a large cloud of smoke after about four second. The cloud makes it impossible for anybody to spot any person within the smoke. One may have a maximum of 5 smoke grenades at any one point, and it may be assigned to a specific numerical key.
The M18 Smoke Grenade was announced as an available weapon in Battlefield 3 on the GamesCom Fact Sheet. Currently, it is only seen in non-player-controlled situations, such as the seaborne assault on Kharg Island in multiplayer. Players do have access to other forms of smoke concealment in multiplayer.
The Smoke Grenade's main function is to confuse the enemy. You can drop it at your position for a clean get away, throw it between you and the enemy for the same purpose, or throw it at your enemy to block their vision.
If you see a tank or an APC coming your way, you can throw a smoke grenade strategically at it, blinding it momentarily so you can get away. However, the Smoke can be used to their advantage. If you throw it near your location, then you would have revealed your position to the driver and will kill you with ease.
Like frag grenades, smoke grenades inflict minor striking damage when thrown directly at a soldier. It is possible to kill enemies with a direct hit, and is reflected in stats.