The issue with weapon damage distribution that has existed since version A21

[dzxmsf]

Version

A21.3~V3

Platform

Windows

TFP’s weapon damage distribution mechanic is crude and simplistic—it simply adds flat integer damage values, yet this creates a fundamental flaw.
Take the Auto Shotgun as an example: standard buckshot ammo deals 10.1 entity damage per pellet and fires 10 pellets per shot. The Auto Shotgun has a flat base_add bonus of +10 entity damage, so each pellet’s final damage is calculated as 10.1 + 10 = 20.1, multiplied by 10 pellets in total.
But when switching to armor-piercing slugs, the ammo only fires a single projectile with a base entity damage value of 175. The weapon still applies the fixed +10 flat bonus, resulting in a total damage of merely 175 + 10 = 185. This flawed calculation logic causes armor-piercing slugs to output far less total damage than regular buckshot.

This damage calculation approach also breaks the fixed damage ratio between hollow point rounds and armor-piercing rounds. For ammunition with high base damage values, every weapon quality upgrade and additional attachment further dilutes their relative damage ratios, leading to increasingly unbalanced damage scaling over time.

The fairest way to distribute weapon damage values would be to adopt the perc_add percentage-based modifier instead of flat base_add integer bonuses.

gunShotgunT0PipeShotgun:"base_add" value="-2"
10.1-2=8.1、175-2=173
10.1-20%、175-20% ✔

gunShotgunT2PumpShotgun:"base_add" value="5"
10.1+5=15.1、175+5=180
10.1+50%、175+50% ✔


gunShotgunT3AutoShotgun:"base_add" value="10"
10.1+10=20.1、175+10=185
10.1+100%、175+100% ✔

Furthermore, I disagree with the design that frames hollow point rounds and armor-piercing rounds as a simple superior/inferior pair. Under this setup, the two ammo types fail to offer distinct, unique niches of their own.

Both hollow point and armor-piercing ammunition each require their own dedicated perk book to unlock, yet they are designed as a clear superior/inferior relationship. This design choice makes the separate skill book investment feel completely unrewarding.

 

[Revilo2332]

checking

 

[dzxmsf]

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This is the revision solution I implemented via custom mods. Besides that, the newly added Item Magnitude stat variance system marked with star icons in Version 3.0 has triggered severe balance collapse. It is entirely possible for high-magnitude Knuckle Wraps to outdamage Iron Knuckles, which recreates the chaotic tier imbalance problem that existed before A21, where gear power levels lacked rigid hierarchical differentiation.

 

[dzxmsf]

checking

I also have several suggestions regarding mechanical reworks for tools such as wrenches.
These tools only boost block damage in a crude manner, which allows Tier 3 wrenches to function as effective steel pickaxes.

Therefore, I propose the following adjustment: set their base damage against generic terrain blocks to an extremely low value, while greatly increasing their damage dealt to dismantlable machinery and devices.

In short, two separate block damage multipliers need to be implemented, so that these tools deal distinct damage values to different categories of blocks.

 

[Revilo2332]

TFP’s weapon damage distribution mechanic is crude and simplistic—it simply adds flat integer damage values, yet this creates a fundamental flaw.
Take the Auto Shotgun as an example: standard buckshot ammo deals 10.1 entity damage per pellet and fires 10 pellets per shot. The Auto Shotgun has a flat base_add bonus of +10 entity damage, so each pellet’s final damage is calculated as 10.1 + 10 = 20.1, multiplied by 10 pellets in total.
But when switching to armor-piercing slugs, the ammo only fires a single projectile with a base entity damage value of 175. The weapon still applies the fixed +10 flat bonus, resulting in a total damage of merely 175 + 10 = 185. This flawed calculation logic causes armor-piercing slugs to output far less total damage than regular buckshot.

This damage calculation approach also breaks the fixed damage ratio between hollow point rounds and armor-piercing rounds. For ammunition with high base damage values, every weapon quality upgrade and additional attachment further dilutes their relative damage ratios, leading to increasingly unbalanced damage scaling over time.

The fairest way to distribute weapon damage values would be to adopt the perc_add percentage-based modifier instead of flat base_add integer bonuses.

gunShotgunT0PipeShotgun:"base_add" value="-2"
10.1-2=8.1、175-2=173
10.1-20%、175-20% ✔

gunShotgunT2PumpShotgun:"base_add" value="5"
10.1+5=15.1、175+5=180
10.1+50%、175+50% ✔


gunShotgunT3AutoShotgun:"base_add" value="10"
10.1+10=20.1、175+10=185
10.1+100%、175+100% ✔

Furthermore, I disagree with the design that frames hollow point rounds and armor-piercing rounds as a simple superior/inferior pair. Under this setup, the two ammo types fail to offer distinct, unique niches of their own.

Both hollow point and armor-piercing ammunition each require their own dedicated perk book to unlock, yet they are designed as a clear superior/inferior relationship. This design choice makes the separate skill book investment feel completely unrewarding.

Hello dzxmsf,

after a brief check and chat with the team I can confirm that the shotgun stats will be revisited in a future update.

For the other things you've posted here, these are not considered a bug and won't be changed as for now.
Also please keep a thread to a single topic only.

Best,
Revi

​

 

[dzxmsf]

Hello dzxmsf,

after a brief check and chat with the team I can confirm that the shotgun stats will be revisited in a future update.

For the other things you've posted here, these are not considered a bug and won't be changed as for now.
Also please keep a thread to a single topic only.

Best,
Revi

​

I used shotguns merely as an example. This flawed damage calculation logic applies to every weapon in the game. I hope the dev team will not only adjust shotgun stats as a temporary fix.