How does radiation (damage) work? (I keep dying while healthy but rad bubble is empty)

[PurpleCobras]

My survivor starts to get "injured" after spawning in home base from a previous save, despite the health bar being full. I try to take pain killers, and military bandages, food, water... It doesn't work. My radiation bubble is down all the way though from bunker exploring, but no longer in radiation zone. Is this a bug or am I missing an aspect of the game where you have radiation damage that can only be "healed" with rad pills or it kills you?

For more context; I went into a bunker with a gas mask, when my rad bubble was empty I fed myself rad pills as much as I could to loot and run out of the rad zone before being killed. I survived, but my rad bubble is totally empty. Does this need to be up or you get sick/take damage?

[PlaySurroundead]

Originally posted by Clint Torus:

My survivor starts to get "injured" after spawning in home base from a previous save, despite the health bar being full. I try to take pain killers, and military bandages, food, water... It doesn't work. My radiation bubble is down all the way though from bunker exploring, but no longer in radiation zone. Is this a bug or am I missing an aspect of the game where you have radiation damage that can only be "healed" with rad pills or it kills you?

For more context; I went into a bunker with a gas mask, when my rad bubble was empty I fed myself rad pills as much as I could to loot and run out of the rad zone before being killed. I survived, but my rad bubble is totally empty. Does this need to be up or you get sick/take damage?

Bug, I'll look into this.

[Windwalker]

I have a feeling the RAD damage needs to be worked on or the gas mask is not working as planned. I have the full gas mask and the rad number still falls very fast. Rad pills are the rarest item on the map, I think I have found 4 total rad pill bottles in all the hours I have played.

Anyway the rad number falls too fast, I went to FOB Alpha and with full gas mask, you are down to almost half your rad meter before you even make it to the first searchable item because the rad zone starts way too soon and is so big with a small little area in the middle with loot. Really not worth it.

[PurpleCobras]

Originally posted by PlaySurroundead:

Originally posted by Clint Torus:

My survivor starts to get "injured" after spawning in home base from a previous save, despite the health bar being full. I try to take pain killers, and military bandages, food, water... It doesn't work. My radiation bubble is down all the way though from bunker exploring, but no longer in radiation zone. Is this a bug or am I missing an aspect of the game where you have radiation damage that can only be "healed" with rad pills or it kills you?

For more context; I went into a bunker with a gas mask, when my rad bubble was empty I fed myself rad pills as much as I could to loot and run out of the rad zone before being killed. I survived, but my rad bubble is totally empty. Does this need to be up or you get sick/take damage?

Bug, I'll look into this.

tysm. I mostly play survival/base building games and I'm really enjoying the game so far!

[Mongoose]

Originally posted by Windwalker:

Rad pills are the rarest item on the map, I think I have found 4 total rad pill bottles in all the hours I have played.

The drop rates in this game seem to vary wildly. I've found so many rad pills I semi-wish I could trade them in for regular painkillers (I mean you can, but the cost isn't worth it), whereas I find roughly one pair of bolt cutters every sixteen hours of playtime.

[Vaxx Valentine]

After the rad meter is down you need to take pills until it is full again, then you can start exploring the bunkers again. I found rad pills more often in the hospital in the big city and the zombie boss also drops them.

[PlaySurroundead]

Originally posted by Mongoose:

Originally posted by Windwalker:

Rad pills are the rarest item on the map, I think I have found 4 total rad pill bottles in all the hours I have played.

The drop rates in this game seem to vary wildly. I've found so many rad pills I semi-wish I could trade them in for regular painkillers (I mean you can, but the cost isn't worth it), whereas I find roughly one pair of bolt cutters every sixteen hours of playtime.

Really just RNG, at some point I'll upload the loot tables so people can have a look and discuss what should change about it.

[Jᴧgᴧ]

Originally posted by Windwalker:

I have a feeling the RAD damage needs to be worked on or the gas mask is not working as planned. I have the full gas mask and the rad number still falls very fast. Rad pills are the rarest item on the map, I think I have found 4 total rad pill bottles in all the hours I have played.

Anyway the rad number falls too fast, I went to FOB Alpha and with full gas mask, you are down to almost half your rad meter before you even make it to the first searchable item because the rad zone starts way too soon and is so big with a small little area in the middle with loot. Really not worth it.

Just experienced this quick Rad drop myself at FOB Bravo Bunker. Had a 75% Rad meter, wearing hazmat mask (95%), and went in with 2 rad pills and several pain killer bottles. Wasn't even there ~12 minutes before I started taking rad damage from an empty meter, -after- taking all the pills I had to help refill the Rad meter.

I think the rad meter drains far too quickly for wearing a 95% mask (or it's bugged), and the pills need to be doubled in effectiveness (100% and 10% respectively). I can't begin to explore inside unless I go balls-out loud with ammo to clear the courtyard quickly, and then I'm just trying to replenish what I spent getting inside, and I have ~10 minutes to do it in.

Fun otherwise, but yeah.. too much of a pressure point on resources that are extremely rare to find.

[Jᴧgᴧ]

Quick update on my above feedback:

I finally managed to find a 99% Military Respirator, and headed over to one of the FOBs with around 10 radiation pill bottles to give it a test. Seemed to work a *lot* better, though that's probably because 95% -> 99% is basically an 80% reduction in rad absorption by the player. I think to clear the entire FOB/Bunker area I only used 5-6 rad pills, and took my time to make sure I looted/killed everything.

Also, rad pills appear (the more I play) to be more common than I'd seen & read about out here. Once someone becomes familiar with each rad zone, repeating it should only take 2-3 pill bottles, and those are much easier to replace given what I see with drop rates.

From that perspective, and knowing FOBs are "end-game" for the moment, the only show stopper is the overwhelming radiation rate that essentially requires a 99% mask to attempt the FOB in the first place. A 95% mask just doesn't cut it, despite seeming to be a high level of protection.

All things considered, it might be nice to see radiation aggressiveness reduced somewhere around 30-40% from what it currently is, to give someone with a 95% mask a chance at completing a FOB with a full stack of rad pills. That of course would all change should full gear sets (and an associated paper doll) make it into the game, which makes the point a moot one.

[sibrit]

Originally posted by PlaySurroundead:

Really just RNG, at some point I'll upload the loot tables so people can have a look and discuss what should change about it.

I will refuse to look at them. I love it that on some play-throughs I find an M4, heaps of ammo, food and water straight off the bat, and on others I only have the starting knife for hours on end and can end up dying of starvation.

[Tbosh]

what mask are you using? if you are not using the military gas mask, its not even worth going into a radiated zone.

[sibrit]

Originally posted by Tbosh:

what mask are you using? if you are not using the military gas mask, its not even worth going into a radiated zone.

That's the catch-22. Very rare to find the military gas masks outside the FOB's, except for the Patient Zero area. Usually found in the APC's.