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Zombie Hunter University, Fairview

Dr. Raglan's Scientific-Minimalist School of Dead Frontier Weapons, Builds & Boss-Hunting

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Dead Frontier Weapon Effectiveness Charts

This page includes charts for:

  • Looting Weapons vs Blue Zone Zombies
  • Looting Weapons vs Green Zone Zombies
  • Looting Weapons vs Yellow Zone Mutants
  • Looting Weapons vs Orange Zone Mutants
  • Looting Weapons vs Red Zone Zombies
  • Looting Weapons vs Black & White Zone Zombies
  • Weapon Damage Per Hit With and Without 35% Damage Boost
  • Recommended Grinding Weapons
  • Over-Damage Impact on Damage Per Second

WHAT DEFINES AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON?

Weapon Effectiveness tends to be judged by Damage Per Hit, Damage Per Second, and Knockback; the latter two are dependent on Firing Speed.

The charts below focus on the effectiveness of Looting Weapons, in terms of how many shots fired, in how man seconds, are necessary to kill local zombies. We have organized the zombies according to the the zones in which the first appear. This illustrates an essential premise of Scientific Minimalism: Dead Frontier is like a series of plateaus.

Comparing effectiveness in different zones, students will see that upgrading to new weapons often yields only marginally better performance within zones, but certain weapons will show markedly improved performance in the next zone. For this reason, once a student has found a weapon that serves well in a particular zone, it often makes sense to skip over other weapons until moving to the next zone.

There are a few things to keep in mind while examining these charts.

  1. No matter what the speed of a Looting Weapon, the first blow or shot strikes instantly. Speed becomes an issue only when calculating when the next blow/shot will strike. Though it may seem that a Very Slow weapon (which strikes once per second) will take two seconds to kill a zombie with two hits, in fact it will take only a single second: the first blow lands after 0 seconds, and the next blow lands one second later.
  2. In order to achieve its fastest kill-time, a weapon often needs to deliver consecutive Critical hits; the more Critical Hits needed, the lower the odds of this happening. For example, both a Sabre Melee Weapon and  Desert Fox Automatic Pistol can kill a Long Arm in one second: the Sabre strikes twice in one second; the Desert Fox fires thrice in one second. The probability of a Sabre delivering two consecutive Critical Hits is 64%. The probability of a Desert Fox delivering three consecutive Critical Hits is 51%. The odds drop even more if stats have not been optimized.
  3. Our charts omit some Unique or Limited-Edition weapons that cannot be looted in Fairview. These tend to be expensive, and many of them duplicate (or nearly duplicate) other weapons. We have included these weapons only when they offer something that more affordable, lootable weapons do not. For example, the Longshot PP10 is the only weapon that can one-hit-kill Black and White Zone zombies.

This brings us to another important point. These charts assumes that stats have been optimized, which is highly improbable with low-level weapons used early in the game. Low Critical Hit, Low Reloading, and Low Accuracy can make a tremendous difference in the performance of a firearm. For example, any Automatic Pistol can three-hit-kill Common Zombie in the Blue Zone, but if the Critical stat is deficient, the odds of landing three consecutive Critical Hits are so astronomically small that the weapon may have to reload – a pause that can be lethally long if Reloading Stat is low.


DEAD FRONTIER LOOTING WEAPONS VS NORMAL ZOMBIES


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This chart illustrates the effectiveness of  Dead Frontier looting weapons against the Normal Zombies, which first appear in Blue Zones to the west of Fairview and continue to populate the city into the borderline Red Zones. Normal Zombies all but disappear in the Black and White Zones farther east, showing up only for outpost attacks near Secronom Bunker.

This chart organizes weapons in order of increasing Damage Per Hit, which determines how many times a weapon must strike a target in order to kill it. 

In order to give a better representation of the advantages of firing speed, the chart's far-right column illustrates how long each weapon would take to kill a group of five zombies, containing one of each type (Dog, Female, Male, Fat Female, Fat Male):

  • Fastest Time is the bare minimum that would occur if Critical Hits always landed when necessary.
  • Likely Time gives an approximation of how much time a weapon will take in reality, factoring in non-critical hits.
  • Maximum Time shows how long it would take if the weapon were delivering only non-critical hits. (We have calculated Maximum Time only for weapons that can kill Zombie Dogs with two non-critical hits or fewer.)

As a general rule, students should feel comfortable carrying a weapon that is statistically likely (i.e., odds are over 50%) to kill local zombies in one second or less, usually with one or two Critical Hits.

Melee, Pistols, and Rifles all offer options that will instantly kill all of the Blue Zone zombies with a single Critical Hit 80% of the time (assuming stats are optimized, which may not be the case for freshman students looting in Blue Zones). For the most part, upgrading past this point will have little effect, but there are some exceptions:

  • Both the Iron Pipe and the Kris can one-crit-kill all local zombies, but the Kris strikes faster than the Iron Pipe.
  • The Shovel can one-crit-kill local zombies at the same speed as the Iron Pipe, but the Shovel is a Very High Critical Chance weapon. For freshmen students who have yet to invest points in the Critical Stat, the Shovel will deliver Critical Hits more often than the Iron Pipe.
  • The Webster revolver and the CK 99 automatic pistol are analogous to the Iron Pipe and the Kris: both can one-crit-kill local zombies, but the CK 99 dispatches them more quickly because of its faster firing speed.
  • The Beta RX4, the Mini-41, and the SL8 rifles are all capable of one-crit-killing local zombies. The SL8 has a higher probability of killing zombies faster because it is less reliant on Critical Hits.

Note:

  • This chart and the ones that follow omit some expensive, limited-edition weapons that are not (we think) worth the price. For example, the limited-edition Sharktail melee costs more than the Dual Blade, but the Dual Blade is more effective. We have included Corpse Gear because its 110-proficiency requirements make it useful for students who have yet to reach 120-proficiency.

DEAD FRONTIER LOOTING WEAPONS VS GREEN ZONE SPECIAL ZOMBIES


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In Green Zones, Normal Zombies are joined by so-called "Special Zombies," which are faster, more dangerous, and harder to kill. Although these new zombies continue to appear through the Red Zones, we call them Green Zone Zombies, to distinguish them from the more dangerous Special Zombies that appear later.

Again, the chart is organized according to Damage Per Hit, and the far-right column illustrates how long each looting weapon would take to kill a group of five zombies, containing one of each type. We have not calculated Maximum Time, because the probability of delivering that many consecutive non-critical hits is too astronomically high to bother with.

This chart omits weaker looting weapons seen in the first chart. Students should equip weapons that can kill zombies in one second or less with better than 50% probably of success. As the second chart shows, some weapons that performed  well against Normal Zombies come up short against Green Zone Special Zombies. For example, the Iron Pipe, the Kris, and the Webster cannot kill Blood Hounds (also called "Blood Dogs") in one second. To kill Blood Hounds in one second, students need at least a Shovel, a Kolt Anaconda, or a Beta RX4.

Perusing the chart reveals a few interesting facts. First, Rifles are well ahead of other looting weapons in Damage Per Hit. 

We also see examples of what we call the Weapon Proficiency Paradox: weapons with higher proficiency are not always obvious improvements. For example, the 75-proficiency SIC 550 rifle takes longer to kill individual zombies than the 40-proficiency M1 Garand. Because of its faster firing speed, the SIC can just about match the M1 when controlling crowds.

We can see evidence of the later in the far right column, which assumes that each weapon is eliminating a group of 5 Special Zombies, consisting of one of each species. The totals show the minimum possible time, along with an estimate of how long it would actually take (based on the likelihood of non-critical hits mixed in with critical hits). Weapons whose fastest time is also their likely time (because the fastest time does not depend on delivering all critical hits) are indicated with boldface.

In general, the totals on the right give a better sense of the trade off between Damage Per Hit and Firing Rate: Weapons with higher DPH are better for targeting individuals. Weapons with Faster Firing Rate are better for crowds.

Note:

  • This chart omits some limited-edition weapons whose performance duplicates lootable weapons.

DEAD FRONTIER LOOTING WEAPONS VS YELLOW ZONE MUTANTS


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In Yellow Zones there are no new Normal or Special Zombies. Instead, mutant forms appear. Three of them - the Small Bloat, the Reaper, and the Bone - appear only in Yellow Zones. One of them - the Siren - appears throughout the rest of Fairview.

Our third chart illustrates how well Dead Frontier looting weapons stack up against these Yellow Zone Mutants. Our general rule - that a weapon should be able to kill a Common Zombie in one second or less - does not apply to Mutants. These dangers appear too infrequently to demand this level of lethality - which in any case is difficult if not impossible to achieve without Epic Level weapons. 

Nevertheless, we have omitted weaker looting weapons that require much more than one second to kill Normal and Special Zombies. The two weaker Mutants provide a baseline for how well weapons deal with Special Zombies: the Siren has the same health points as an Irradiated Female, and the Small Bloat has the same health points as the Blood Hound. Weapons that work against these Yellow Zone Mutants work equally well against Special Zombies. It may not be necessary to kill a Bone with a single Critical Hit; however, faced with new threats in Yellow Zones, students run the risk of getting in over their heads if they cannot dispatch Common Zombies quickly and efficiently.

The Reaper and the Bone - with 200 and 250 health points, respectively - appear to be game-changers, but this is illusory. Yes, it takes many more shots or blows to dispatch them, but they appear relatively infrequently. During a solo loot run, a student is likely to encounter them one or two at a time. Even during an agro spike, they are unlikely to appear en masse.

Only during Dogg's Stockade missions "Sickle Armed Bastards" and "Bones" will students have to confront swarms of these creatures, and in those situations grinding weapons are more suitable than the looting weapons currently under discussion. Otherwise, having to strike a bone 5 or 6 times with a looting weapon is not going to impede progress to any great degree.

Only one Mutant needs to be dispatched instantly if not sooner. Ideally, students would silence a Siren with a single shot before her screams provoke agro. For the time being, our chart includes a handful of weapons that require two shots; however, we advise students to equip so-called "End Game" weapons - literally defined by their ability to one-hit-kill a Siren - as soon as possible. The lowest proficiency weapons that will one-hit-kill Sirens are the Sabre, the M24 rifle, and the Alpha Bull revolver. 

Once again, our chart's right-hand column indicates how long it would take weapons to kill a group of these zombies. It is highly unlikely that students will encounter Mutants in groups that would make these calculations relevant in real world situations; these numbers are offered for comparative purposes only, illustrating the trade-off between Damage Per Hit and Firing Speed.

Note:

  • This chart omits some limited-edition looting weapons whose performance duplicates lootable weapons.

DEAD FRONTIER END GAME LOOTING WEAPONS VS ORANGE ZONE MUTANTS

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In Orange Zones, new, more powerful Mutants replace Yellow Zone Mutants, except for Sirens, which continue to spawn. We call these new zombies "Orange Zone Mutants," but they appear throughout the remaining colored zones of Fairview - all the way to the most dangerous White Zones in the east.

Like Small Bloats in Yellow Zones, the full-size Bloats in Orange Zones present a hazard for Melee students by exploding upon death. Brutes spew vomit twice as lethal as that of Irradiated Male zombies. Leapers kill with a single blow. Fortunately, these three Mutants are slow and easy to outmaneuver. Tendrils and Spiders are fast, so it takes practice to learn how to handle them.

Orange Zone Mutants are usually too scarce to represent a significant danger in their calm state; however, they can be overwhelming when disturbed or enraged. For this reason, students in Orange Zones should be using "End Game" weapons to quickly prevent Sirens from provoking agro. 

We are less concerned with how well looting weapons perform against the Mutants themselves: during a solo loot run, it matters little whether it takes 5 or 6 hits to kill a Brute. Weapon efficacy against Mutants becomes more important in Red Zones and beyond, where agro is more the rule than the exception. Weapon effectiveness is also an issue in Missions that target a specific species. For example, in the "Tendril Strike" mission at Precinct 13, upgrading from a Sabre (which takes at least 4 blow to kill a Tendril) to a Katana (which can kill a Tendril with only 3 blows) would make a substantial improvement.

Chart Four includes footnotes on the effect of Rage Implants to boost Damage Per Hit. Upon reaching Level 50, students obtain four slots to equip implants. Rage Implants increase DPH by 1%; adding a few of them is sometimes enough to bump a weapon above a threshold, shaving off a critical hit. (Violence Implants raise DPH by 2%, but they are so expensive that students would be better off using the money to purchase better weapons.)

Notes:

  1. This chart includes End Game looting weapons capable of one-hit-killing Sirens. We have also included the Wakizashi, because it is a 105-proficiency "Epic" weapon, which can one-hit-kill a Siren with a damage boost from Rage Implants.  
  2. This chart includes three limited-edition looting weapons that were omitted in the previous chart: the Gut Splitter, the Desert Rat, and the Longshot. These weapons would have been overkill if used against previous zombies. Against Orange Zone Mutants, they offer obvious advantages to students who can afford them.

DEAD FRONTIER END GAME LOOTING WEAPONS VS RED ZONE SPECIAL ZOMBIES

Red Zones see another major shift. Two new Special Zombies appear, but they are so prevalent that they must be regarded as Common Zombies. 

Red Zones are teaming with Long Arms and Rumblers, creating a situation in which it is nearly impossible to one-hit-kill all the Common Zombies, unless one resorts to Damage Boost drugs or limited-edition looting weapons, such as the Gut-Splitter, the Desert Rat, and the Longshot.

Fortunately, it is not necessary to go broke purchasing these luxuries. Most Elite and Epic Level Looting Weapons (i.e., 100 proficiency or higher) are adequate to the task; many can reliably kill these new Special Zombies in one second or less.

Points worth noting:

  1. The Ironsight Rifle is nearly unbeatable in Red Zones, able to kill all Normal and Special Zombies - and even some Mutants - with a single shot.
  2. The Sabre, the Sledge Hammer, and the M24 (all of which qualify as "End Game" weapons because they can one-crit-kill a Siren) perform poorly against Red Rumblers. Students who plan to loot these areas should upgrade to better weapons.
  3. The Wakizashi fares poorly against Long Arms and Rumblers (because of its low Damage Per Hit). However, with 3 Damage Implants, it performs as well as a Greyhawk or a VSS Vintorez.

Unlike our previous charts, this one arranges looting weapons by type (Melee, Pistols, Rifles) and orders them by proficiency, not Damage Per Hit. This should make it easier for students using a particular kind of weapon to scan the chart and see how much improvement they will get from upgrading.

Also, placing weapons in order of proficiency usually (though not always) puts them in order of fastest kill time. In previous zones, looting was usually a matter of killing one or two zombies lurking near a loot spot. In Red Zones, students are more like to find themselves exterminating groups of zombies before they can clear a loot spot. The estimated time values in the chart's right-hand column make it clear when Firing Rate trumps Damage Per Hit.

Of course, rapid-fire weapons often require more shots to kill a target, and more shots means higher probability of attracting unwanted attention from nearby zombies. Students should experiment with different looting weapon types to see which ones work best for them.

In this regard, we should mention that, although Melee lags behind other weapons in firepower, it remains effective for looting, because in Red Zones it is harder than ever to fire a rifle or a pistol without attracting unwanted attention. A student wielding a Dual Blade has at least a decent chance of knocking off one or two zombies and grabbing some loot before other zombies move in to attack.


DEAD FRONTIER END ZONE LOOTING WEAPONS VS BLACK & WHITE ZONE SPECIAL ZOMBIES


Once again, our chart groups weapons by type: Melee, Pistols, and Rifles.

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At last we come to the Black and White Zones, teaming with five new Special Zombies, all of which are supercharged with enough Health Points to qualify as Mutants. These creatures are faster and more dangerous than their Red Zone cousins, and streets are so crowded with them that it is impossible to walk a straight path without bumping into them.

Black Long Arms and Irradiated Long Arms have a longer reach, especially the latter, whose vomit causes more damage than any other Special Zombie. In crowd situations, it is easy to loose concentration and wander too close. Black Rumblers are a bit too slow and bulky to be truly intimidating except in crowds, but Irradiated Rumblers (which explode upon death) are a tremendous threat to Melee and Chainsaw Players. Flesh Hounds are a major nuisance when agitated; the trick is to avoid them or kill them before they become agitated.

If the Red Zones did not prove the point, by now it is apparent that bottom-tier End Zone looting weapons (e.g., Sabre, M24) are no longer as effective as they were in Orange Zones. It is possible to loot with these weapons in Black and White Zones, but the experience can be slow and frustrating. Therefore, we recommend upgrading to 120-proficiency weapons - or at least 110-proficiency Corpse Gear - as soon as finances allow.

Comparing this chart with the one for Red Zone zombies illustrates an important lesson: which weapon is best depends on the opposition. Against Red Long Arms and Red Rumblers, the Longshot did little if anything that the Ironsight could not do, and the Desert Rat beat both of them, because of its faster firing speed. In Black and White Zones, the Longshot outperforms both the Ironsight and the Desert Rat, because the Longshot can one-crit-kill all the new Special Zombies.

 The Worg rifle will perform well, and the Doubleshot revolver can kill these newcomers in less than a second - it almost feels as if students are still in the Orange Zone! The limited-edition Marksman G8 rifle essentially duplicates the Doubleshot's performance. The ultra-expensive Longshot rifle is the only weapon currently available that can one-crit kill Black and Irradiated species of Rumblers and Long Arms. Following close behind is Desert Rat Pistol (also incredibly expensive), with can take out these mutants with 2 shots fired in half a second.


DEAD FRONTIER LOOTING WEAPONS WITH 35% DAMAGE BOOST

This chart illustrates the 35% increase in Damage Per Hit that results from Damage Boosters. These boosters usually take the form of drugs purchased in the Credit Shop or looted from seasonal zombies; there are also weekend events when damage is boosted for all students.

The chart lists looting weapons in ascending order of Damage Per Hit, without regard for firing speed, probability, or proficiency. Students can easily compare the differences in number of hits that different weapons take to kill zombies, with and without the boost, noting whether a slight difference in base DPH becomes more significant when boosted. For example, the Battle Axe inflicts 1 more damage point per hit than the M1 Garand, but the hit profile for the weapons is identical. On the other hand, the Alpha Bull inflicts 1.5 more damage points than the Battle Axe, which results in a slight difference: the Battle Axe needs 2 Critical Hits to kill Red Long Arms; the Alpha Bull needs only 1 Critical Hit and 1 Non-Critical Hit.

The chart does not calculate results that require more than 4 hits to kill a zombie. The odds of 4 consecutive Critical Hits is 41%, meaning that more often than not it would take 5 hits to kill a zombie; beyond that, the odds of killing a zombie that requires 5 or 6 Critical Hits are too low for the difference caused by Drug Boosts to be worth bothering about.

Generally speaking, if a student is using a looting weapon that needs more than 4 hits to kill a Common Zombie, it is time to upgrade to a new weapon.


GRINDING WEAPONS CHART


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The mathematics of grinding are convoluted, boring, and repetitive in a way that is not particularly illuminating: basically, as Damage Per Second goes up, the number of seconds to kill a horde of zombies goes down. In our charts for looting weapons, it made sense to run the numbers, because a small change in Damage Per Hit could mean the difference between one or two shots to kill a zombie, which in turn could mean the difference between quickly killing a target and getting some loot or taking too long and attracting other zombies. When grinding, these small differences tend to average out, making them less significant.

Consequently, the Grinding Weapons chart provides some basic information and recommendations, in order to help students make their own decisions.

Points To Consider

One:

Each Zone has its own mix of zombies. The chart shows the health points for the weakest, the strongest, the median, and the overall average.

As a general rule of thumb, a grinding weapon with DPS to match the average Health Points of all the zombies in the area should be adequate. This translates into taking approximately one second to kill each zombie - some more, some less.

This is more of a guideline than a hard rule, for reasons that become clear upon examining the numbers. In most zones, the average health is below the halfway point between the strongest and weakest zombie. The low average indicates that there is a greater number of weak zombies than strong zombies; therefore, a weapon will handle most zombies in the area even if it does not reach the "one second per zombie" thresshold.

From Blue Zones to the western Red Zones, the Health Point average rises because stronger zombies are added to the mix, but Normal Zombies are still present. Grinding Weapons that work well against these zombies will continue to be useful as long as these weaker zombies are in the majority.

In the Western Red Zones, Normal Zombies disappear, so the average health begins to approach the midpoint between the strongest and weakest zombies. In Black and White Zones the average catches up. At this point, a grinding weapon that cannot kill one zombie per second will have trouble with every member of the horde, not just with one or two Mutants mixed in with easy targets.

Two:

The recommendations in the chart are for general grinding, the sort that happens when a student is looting and an agro spike hits. Heavier firepower may be needed for outposts attacks and intense extermination missions, especially if they involve particularly dangerous species (such as "Intercept the Unknown").

Three:

Shotguns are a special case. Their DPS lags behind other grinding weapons, but the offer high knockback. If student's goal is self-defense rather than racking up experience points, semi-automatic and fully-automatic shotguns (Sega, USAN, AA-12) work very well. Students seeking more damage per shot can try the Mannberg and the Painshot. The Ace Barrel and the exorbitant Buckblast are the only shotguns with DPS approaching that of Machine Guns.

Regarding Our Recommendations

The suggestions in the chart are based less on mathematics and more on experience. That is to say, our staff and test subjects have used those weapons in those zones, and they worked reasonably well. However, the reasons for inclusion are not always based on Damage Per Second, so a few words of explanation are in order.

Generally speaking, Scientific Minimalism recommends the lowest-proficiency weapon adequate for the task at hand, eschewing overkill. For example, in a grinding session in a Blue Zone, it might make sense to use an UMP, whose critical hits are powerful enough to one-hit-kill every species of Normal Zombie. It would, however, make no sense to upgrade to a Criss Victor: the higher DPH of the weapon's critical hits will not kill Normal Zombies any faster, and the increased DPH of the non-criticals will only marginally improve the kill-rate.

Blue Zones

In Blue Zones, the zombies are so weak that grinding weapons are not necessary. A good looting weapon, such as a Kris knife, will do the job. If students insist on using a grinding weapon, the Dilmar, the FM P90, and the PP90 are relatively cheap, and they can handle the weak Normal Zombies. The two sub machine guns are included based less on DPS than on ammo capacity - 50 rounds each - which makes them good for freshman students with no points in Reloading.

Students will not want to take these thee weapons into more dangerous territory. The Ronan Pro is a little better - good enough to take from Nastya's Holdout and use in Dogg's Stockade until money is available for an upgrade.

Yellow Zones

Of the recommended weapons, the one most likely to be practical is the M16 assault rifle, because it delivers good DPS without heavy stat demands for Strength or Critical.

The Steel MS800 and the Grinder are also good. They require more Strength and Critical, but do not need any Reloading or Accuracy. 

The HK60 could be devastating against zombies in Yellow Zones, but students are unlikely to have the necessary Accuracy and Reloading in place.

Orange Zones

Two outposts are located in Orange Zones, Precinct 13 and Fort Pastor. The latter is farther west and hence in more dangerous territory. Weapons listed at the top of each category for this zone are good for Precinct 13. For Fort Pastor, weapons at the bottom of each category are preferable.

Red Zones

The Western Red Zones are the last region where students may try to get by with merely adequate grinding weapons; beyond this region, it is best to go for the best one can afford. We have recommended a couple of expensive Corpse weapons, the Corpse Ripper and the Corpse Grinder, because they offer great DPS for 105 and 110 proficiency, respectively.

Black and White Zones

Grinding with chainsaws is dangerous in Black and White Zones because of the high percentage of Irradiated (i.e., exploding) Rumblers. Nevertheless, students will find that chainsaws remain effective for defensive purposes (they will hold off a horde to cover a retreat) and, when handled with care, they can be used to grind for experience points. High Endurance and Strength Armour and a plus in this regard.

We have included the ridiculously expensive Buckblast, because it is the only way for shotgun students to wield DPS on par with that of Machine Guns. We have not included the Gau-19 or the Wraith Cannon because, so far, we have never been in an agro situation where they were necessary. The XLGunner-8 provides more than enough DPS and knockback to handle zombie hordes in these zones.

There may of course be some missions and boss-hunting situations in which the Gau and the Wraith Cannon would prove useful, even necessary.


OVER-DAMAGE CHART & DPS

The following chart illustrates the problem of Over-Damage. Basically, there are three reasons weapons may not deliver their advertised Damage Per Second. The first two are obvious: Accuracy and Reloading. If a weapon pauses to reload or if it fails to hit its target, that mitigates DPS. The third reason is easier to grasp in visual form.

NON CRITICAL

NON CRITICAL

NON CRITICAL

NON CRITICAL

CRITICAL

 SHOT 1

2.8/2.8

 SHOT 2

2.8/5.6

SHOT 3

2.8/8.4

SHOT 4

2.8/11.2

SHOT 5

14/25.2

Dead Dog Zombie (20)

SHOT 6

2.8/2.8

SHOT 7

2.8/5.6

SHOT 8

2.8/8.4

SHOT 9

2.8/11.2

SHOT 10

14/25.2

Dead Female Zombie (21)

SHOT 11

2.8/2.8

SHOT 12

2.8/5.6

SHOT 13

2.8/8.4

SHOT 14

2.8/11.2

SHOT 15

14/25.2

Dead Male Zombie (24)

SHOT 16

2.8/2.8

SHOT 17

2.8/5.6

SHOT 18

2.8/8.4

SHOT 19

2.8/11.2

SHOT 20

14/25.2

SHOT 21

2.8/28

SHOT 22

2.8/30.8

Dead Fat Female Zombie (30)

SHOT 23

2.8/

SHOT 24

2.8/5.6

SHOT 25

14/19.6

SHOT 26

2.8/22.4

SHOT 27

2.8/25.2

SHOT 28

2.8/28

SHOT 29

2.8/30.8

SHOT 30

14/44.8

Dead Fat Male Zombie (34)

The chart depicts what might happen if an Uzi sub machine gun were firing at a group of five Normal Zombies in order of health: a Dog Zombie, a Female Zombie, a Male Zombie, a Fat Female, and a Fat Male. The damage inflicted by each shot is added up to provide a running tally of the total inflicted on each zombie. For example, Shot #5 is a critical that inflicts 14 damage points, which when combined the previous non-criticals adds up to 25.2 (hence, 14/25.2).

Firing 8.57 rounds per second, the Uzi theoretically inflicts 45.6 damage points per second, which should add up to enough to kill a crowd of 30 Normal Zombies in just under 17 seconds. (Here is the math: Assuming an even distribution of zombie types (Dog, Male, Female, etc), the total Health Points of 30 zombies would be 774. Dividing 774 Health Points by 45.6 Damage Points Per Second indicates that it would take 16.97 seconds to inflict enough Damage to kill all 30 zombies..)

The chart, however, reveals something different. It takes 30 shots to kill all five zombies. This means it would take 150 shots to kill 30 zombies. 150 divided by 8.57 is equal to 21 - four seconds longer than anticipated.

What is happening? The Answer is over-damage.

The Uzi's base damage for a non-critical hit is 2.8 damage points; a critical hit inflicts 14 damage points. An optimized Uzi fires 20% critical hits - one out of every five shots. As the chart shows, the combination of non-criticals and criticals tends to waste damage:

  1. Shots 1-5 inflict 25.2 damage points on the Dog Zombie, which has only 20 health points. 5.2 damage points are wasted.
  2. Shots 6-10 inflict 25.2 damage points on the Female Zombie, which has only 21 health points. 4.2 damage points are wasted.
  3. Shots 11-15 inflict 25.2 damage points on the Male Zombie, which has only 24 health points. 1.2 damage points are wasted.
  4. Shots 16-22 inflict 30.8 damage points on the Fat Female, almost exactly the same as her 30 health points.
  5. Shots 23-30 inflict 44.8 damage points on the Fat Male, who has 34 health points. 10.8 damage points are wasted.

That is a total of 22.2 wasted damage points. This is why the Uzi takes longer to kill a crowd of 30 than one would calculate based on the numbers.

In real world applications, the difference between killing 30 zombies in 17 seconds versus 21 seconds may not seem like much, but these small amounts multiply over time, especially during prolonged agro situations. Students wondering why they are not racking up as many experience points as they expect during outpost attacks should invest more in Reloading and Accuracy. They should also take a close look at the actual Damage Per Hit Numbers for the grinding weapon and see how they add up against individuals, not just averages spread over crowds.

But What if the Critical Hits Landed Differently?

Note: The above chart assumes that every shot hits a target and that each zombie is killed in sequence. It is possible to imagine different sequences which result in faster kill times, but the above scenario represents a decent middle-ground estimate. For a comparison, take a look at the next chart which shows the different possible combinations of critical hits and non critical hits from an Uzi that can add up to enough damage to kill a Fat Male Zombie with 34 health points.

NON-CRIT

2.8

NON-CRIT

2.8

NON-CRIT

2.8

NON-CRIT

2.8

CRIT

14

NON-CRIT

2.8

NON-CRIT

2.8

NON-CRIT

2.8

NON-CRIT

2.8

CRIT

14

TOTAL

SHOTS

2.8

5.6

8.4

11.2

25.2

28

30.8

33.6

36.4

 

9

 

2.8

5.6

8.4

22.4

25.2

28

30.8

33.6

47.6

9

 

 

2.8

5.6

19.6

22.4

25.2

28

30.8

44.8

8

 

 

 

2.8

16.8

19.6

22.4

25.2

28

42

7

 

 

 

 

14

16.8

19.6

22.4

25.2

39.2

6

As the chart clarifies, assuming that every sequences of five shots includes one critical hit and four non-critical hits, there are four possible sequences that will add up to enough damage to kill a Fat Male Zombie. Two of them require nine shots; one requires eight, one requires seven, and one requires six.

The amount of Over Damage ranges from 2.4 points in the first sequence (36.4 damage points - 34 health points = 2.4) to 13.6 points in the second sequence (47.7 damage points - 34 health points = 13.3). 

Statistically, the least likely scenario is the final one, in which the first shot is a critical hit; this will happen 20% of the time. 80% of the time, one or more non-critical hits will land before a critical hit. Probability converges on the middle sequence, which is the one also depicted in the previous chart.