LAM

"A multi-functional explosive with electronic priming system that can either be thrown or attached to any surface with its polyhesive backing and used as a proximity mine."

- description of Lightweight Attack Munition (LAM) The Lightweight Attack Munition (LAM) is a demolition skill weapon in Deus Ex. It is basically a grenade that can double as a proximity mine.

Background
"Disarming a proximity device should only be attempted with the proper demolitions training. Trust me on this."

- Sam Carter

During 2052, the LAM seems to be a widely used explosive world-wide by military, police, and terrorist organizations, having the role of a hand grenade that can double as a proximity mine.

By 2072, the LAM has been widely replaced by two separate explosives: a concussion grenade (for the grenade role) and a concussion proximity mine (for the mine role) by the various factions of that time period.

Characteristics
The LAM is an explosive device that can be used as either a grenade or a wall-mounted mine. As a grenade, the LAM will blow up after a few seconds. Wall-mounted LAMs will detonate after beeping for a second or two if an enemy walks by them.

Some LAMs are already on the walls when the player first enters a new map. These mines can be disarmed by walking up to them and hitting the use key.

Troops of all types have the ability to use LAMs as grenades, but UNATCO and MJ-12 troops tend to do so more than NSF troops.

The LAM is also usable underwater.

Tactics

 * As a mine, it should be placed in either areas where enemies are clustered together, or in a tight hallway. The more enemies caught in a blast, the less enemies that'll have to gun down. Opponents can be positioned a little by allowing or breaking line of sight: they will close if they can't see the player and stop to open fire if they can. Placing a LAM at a corner and luring targets around it will make them blow up as they come around the corner.


 * A thrown LAM can kill all human enemies in one shot, and severely injure monsters. Remember that the LAM can't be primed LAM, so make sure there's a good chance of hitting your target when you hit the fire key.


 * Walls can bounced off of walls, which is useful for purging enemies from a room before entering the room. All that needs to be done is to angle the LAM so that it bounces into the room, and the LAM should kill most of, if not all, the enemies in the room. This is more useful for small rooms than large rooms because enemies will have less room to potentially avoid the LAM's blast.


 * One LAM can destroy any type of door as long as its strength is not infinite. Remember that enemies can hear the explosion, so be careful.


 * A single LAM can take out small and medium robots in one hit, and destroy large ones in two. Throwing LAMs at them is the easier way to destroy them, but they can be planted them on walls if the opportunity arises. Using one as a mine will allow the player to follow up with a tossed one if the target survives the initial LAM.


 * Combining LAMs with other explosives, such as the GEP Gun or the LAW, can make very large explosions that can clear out everything in a room with the correct positioning. TNT crates and barrels can also amplify a LAM's explosion.


 * LAMs can be planted in areas the player knows will have an enemy spawn in later. This is particularly useful for dealing with UNATCO's raid on Paul's apartment and Walton Simons in the Ocean Lab. The enemies that appear if the player uses the front door when returning to VersaLife's HQ can also be taken down with this trick if the player plants LAMs at the right spots before leaving the first time.


 * Pre-emptive mining can also be useful for situations that have enemies that will not attack at first, but will after something happens, like in the labs underneath the VersaLife building. Simply place mines near chokepoints, make everyone hostile, and goad enemies into going through checkpoints. The LAMs will take care of the rest.


 * LAMs are are uncommon item, so try to be conservative with using them.

Locations

 * LAMs can be first found found in the Statue of Liberty.
 * A junkie called Lenny in the men's bathroom at Brooklyn Station has got a LAM. He wants to trade it for a vial of zyme.
 * The gangster El Ray at Brooklyn Station has got one for sale. The junkies found a whole box of them. If you kill the dealer downstairs you get it for free. If you then kill all of his gang, the Rooks, he will offer you a second one in exchange for his safety. Kill him anyway and a third one can be found on his body.
 * Smuggler in Hell's Kitchen has 5 LAMs for sale after returning from Hong Kong. He wants 3500 credits for the set.
 * Howard Strong throws LAMs at at the player when he sees them.

Trivia
Using the "Spawnmass 100 weaponlam" cheat will make the game crash due to limitations in the Unreal Engine Deus Ex is running on.

Behind the scenes

 * There is a real world multi-purpose mine called SLAM (Selectable Lightweight Attack Munition), that possibly was an inspiration for a LAM.

Gallery
Granat LAM