FMK
New member
Just a few preliminary notes before I dive into it, these observations are based on default-everything, as one tends to assume that's what everything is/supposed to be balanced around. Also, crafting Recog/Fort Bites is currently broken because recipes.xml has their crafting requirement as "craft_area="campfire" craft_tool="chemistryStation"" instead of "craft_area="chemistryStation"", whoops.
Steroids
Relatively common lootable from anything medical
Craftable by level 50 with Gas x1, Grain Alcohol x1, Testosterone Extract x1
Removes encumbrance and gives +3 Strength for -50 water
Lasts for 10 minutes
Potential Addiction: -1 Strength for 10 minutes
These things are great early on, they're common enough that you'll almost always have a few spare to use, and they allow you to transport full inventories of loot around at full speed prior to having access to a vehicle. Even if it wasn't for the fact that alive bears are like unicorns, by the point you're able to craft them you'll easily have 25+ steroids if you've looted some med stores.
Overall, a quite useful drug early on, but no reason to ever craft it and its usefulness falls off pretty heavily once you have a vehicle and some inventory upgrades. Pretty balanced where it is, but might need some sort of late-game buff to incentivize use, especially if you're 10/10 Strength.
Recog
Quite rare lootable from anything medical
Craftable by level 60 with Acid x5, Grain Alcohol x1, Scrap Polymer x5, Vitamins x1
Increases ranged weapon damage by 500% and gives +2 Perception for -30 water
Lasts for 30 seconds
Potential Addiction: -1 Perception for 10 minutes
So I can't really see where this would be useful, aside from maybe pulling an entire town's worth of zombies and then murderstomping them into oblivion. They're way too rare to ever really have a handy supply of, and by the point you can craft them you'd be able to 1 to 2 tap most zombies anyways, on top of which 5 acid is still extremely expensive and limiting on top of being competed for by wheels for vehicles. 7 day hordes, where it'd have the highest potential, is basically useless because of how short it lasts combined with how limited supplies are.
This straight up needs a buff, at least make it last for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, even if it means increasing withdrawal chance and making the withdrawal harsher.
Fort Bites
Quite rare lootable from anything medical
Craftable by level 80 with Blood Bag x5, Grain Alcohol x1, Rotting Flesh x20, Vitamins x1
Increases armor, heat, and cold resistance by 50, gives +2 Fortitude, and heals 20 max health damage for -30 water
Lasts for 30 seconds
Potential Addiction: -1 Fortitude for 10 minutes
30 second duration + rarity and late game craftability means you'll almost only ever be using it re-actively rather than pro-actively. So in theory, a good 'oh ****' item that you can pop if you're ever in a highly threatening situation. You'll only ever have a handful of them at most prior to being able to craft them, which is going to be a long time away. Recipe isn't too expensive, and your limiting factor will almost certainly be rotting flesh, which is perfectly fine. Problem is, it's only in theory -- if you're ever in a situation where you need to pop it, chances are that in the time it takes to use it, you'll be half dead with multiple levels of bleeding on you, which armor does nothing to help against.
Make it cure bleeding and give bleeding resistance for its duration and it'd be perfect for what seems to be its only use case.
My 2c on the new drugs in their current state.
Steroids
Relatively common lootable from anything medical
Craftable by level 50 with Gas x1, Grain Alcohol x1, Testosterone Extract x1
Removes encumbrance and gives +3 Strength for -50 water
Lasts for 10 minutes
Potential Addiction: -1 Strength for 10 minutes
These things are great early on, they're common enough that you'll almost always have a few spare to use, and they allow you to transport full inventories of loot around at full speed prior to having access to a vehicle. Even if it wasn't for the fact that alive bears are like unicorns, by the point you're able to craft them you'll easily have 25+ steroids if you've looted some med stores.
Overall, a quite useful drug early on, but no reason to ever craft it and its usefulness falls off pretty heavily once you have a vehicle and some inventory upgrades. Pretty balanced where it is, but might need some sort of late-game buff to incentivize use, especially if you're 10/10 Strength.
Recog
Quite rare lootable from anything medical
Craftable by level 60 with Acid x5, Grain Alcohol x1, Scrap Polymer x5, Vitamins x1
Increases ranged weapon damage by 500% and gives +2 Perception for -30 water
Lasts for 30 seconds
Potential Addiction: -1 Perception for 10 minutes
So I can't really see where this would be useful, aside from maybe pulling an entire town's worth of zombies and then murderstomping them into oblivion. They're way too rare to ever really have a handy supply of, and by the point you can craft them you'd be able to 1 to 2 tap most zombies anyways, on top of which 5 acid is still extremely expensive and limiting on top of being competed for by wheels for vehicles. 7 day hordes, where it'd have the highest potential, is basically useless because of how short it lasts combined with how limited supplies are.
This straight up needs a buff, at least make it last for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, even if it means increasing withdrawal chance and making the withdrawal harsher.
Fort Bites
Quite rare lootable from anything medical
Craftable by level 80 with Blood Bag x5, Grain Alcohol x1, Rotting Flesh x20, Vitamins x1
Increases armor, heat, and cold resistance by 50, gives +2 Fortitude, and heals 20 max health damage for -30 water
Lasts for 30 seconds
Potential Addiction: -1 Fortitude for 10 minutes
30 second duration + rarity and late game craftability means you'll almost only ever be using it re-actively rather than pro-actively. So in theory, a good 'oh ****' item that you can pop if you're ever in a highly threatening situation. You'll only ever have a handful of them at most prior to being able to craft them, which is going to be a long time away. Recipe isn't too expensive, and your limiting factor will almost certainly be rotting flesh, which is perfectly fine. Problem is, it's only in theory -- if you're ever in a situation where you need to pop it, chances are that in the time it takes to use it, you'll be half dead with multiple levels of bleeding on you, which armor does nothing to help against.
Make it cure bleeding and give bleeding resistance for its duration and it'd be perfect for what seems to be its only use case.
My 2c on the new drugs in their current state.