Question for causal players, not grinders that like the crossbow

[ShaggyLives]

Do you think it's worth the materials to get the 15% extra damage between normal arrows and tungsten arrows? I get back about 9 out of 10 arrows I shoot but I don't play to mine materials. I play to clear the map. Maybe after I've upgraded my weapons and armor to max and I have mats left over but it's really 50/50 for me at this point.

[-V-]

I would say that if u plan on just doing solo content with no hard or pro dungeons no need to min/max ammo.
U can solo all silos/dg on normal with regular ammo

[Effusion]

Better arrows are worth it because you get them back and dealing enough damage to kill enemies in one hit makes a big difference. I'd recommend steel instead though because they're almost as good and tungsten uses acid, which is a big resource bottleneck.

[DarkEternal]

I believe that arrows use the same damage scaling as bullets.
If that's the case, then copper arrows do +4% damage and psi damage, while steel would do 5% and tungsten does 10%.
So, yeah. You should definitely invest in tungsten ammo. I use it for my AR and LMG build and it's awesome.
Think about it like this: On average, you'll need to fire 2 steel rounds to equal the damage that one tungsten round can do. More or less as it does double the extra damage at 10% vs 5%.

[ShaggyLives]

Originally posted by DarkEternal:

Think about it like this: On average, you'll need to fire 2 steel rounds to equal the damage that one tungsten round can do. More or less as it does double the extra damage at 10% vs 5%.

This is bad math sir. If your gun with regular ammo does 100 per shot, 5% bonus would be 105 per shot and 10% bonus would be 110 per shot. Every 22 shots of the 105 equals 21 shots of the 110. So is it really worth it if you save 1 bullet every 21 shots?

[im lazy]

Originally posted by ShaggyLives:

Originally posted by DarkEternal:

Think about it like this: On average, you'll need to fire 2 steel rounds to equal the damage that one tungsten round can do. More or less as it does double the extra damage at 10% vs 5%.

This is bad math sir. If your gun with regular ammo does 100 per shot, 5% bonus would be 105 per shot and 10% bonus would be 110 per shot. Every 22 shots of the 105 equals 21 shots of the 110. So is it really worth it if you save 1 bullet every 21 shots?

As someone who's not too far in, it'd really depend with high damage per shot weapons with low fire rate, like crossbow or sniper. That 5% could easily be the difference in taking out an enemy in one shot.

[RedFaster]

Generally speaking, slow-firing weapons that can kill in one hit are more worthwhile than slow-firing weapons that can't.

[TheAceOfSpodes]

Suppose its really just a threshold question.

Does that extra 5% make it so you more frequently one shot enemies?

Because it doesn't really matter if its an extra 500% (the math doesn't add up but I'm using hyperbole to make a point), if it still takes 2 arrows you're just wasting damage on overkill.

So if that bonus damage puts you over the edge, go for it. Using 1 arrow instead of 2 is def worthwhile.

But if 1 arrow is currently doing 80% of a enemy's HP, and an upgraded arrow does 85% of that HP, its still 2 arrows regardless so you might as well spend less resources and use cheaper arrows. Its the same TTK.

[RedFaster]

Originally posted by TheAceOfSpodes:

Suppose its really just a threshold question.

Does that extra 5% make it so you more frequently one shot enemies?

Because it doesn't really matter if its an extra 500% (the math doesn't add up but I'm using hyperbole to make a point), if it still takes 2 arrows you're just wasting damage on overkill.

So if that bonus damage puts you over the edge, go for it. Using 1 arrow instead of 2 is def worthwhile.

But if 1 arrow is currently doing 80% of a enemy's HP, and an upgraded arrow does 85% of that HP, its still 2 arrows regardless so you might as well spend less resources and use cheaper arrows. Its the same TTK.

So then it depends on how much time you're spending shooting enemies in the head and having only a sliver of health remaining. The correct answer must be to see for yourself if it is worthwhile for you.

My advice: stop looking for metas and use your own mind to make decisions.

[ShaggyLives]

Originally posted by Effusion:

Better arrows are worth it because you get them back and dealing enough damage to kill enemies in one hit makes a big difference. I'd recommend steel instead though because they're almost as good and tungsten uses acid, which is a big resource bottleneck.

This turned out good advice for the acid comment but also found a good reason to stick with steel arrows. I have a mod for my crossbow that heals me when I kill a marked target. So in a busy area, where I take some damage, it's good I don't kill everyone with a headshot. First shot marks and the second one heals me. I'm level 48 and cleared a level 49 area with full health.

[BurlsoL]

Steel arrows are super cheap once you get access to a drill. There is no reason not to use them.

[I am Legend]

Speaking as a player that is also a filthy casual. Tungsten ARROWS are absolutely worth it as you can just collect them after each kill, as long as you hit the target. However, Tungsten bullets are definitely not worth the acid cost as a solo/casual player unless you love to grind acid. Which sucks because damn near every single thing in this game takes freaking acid. It's kinda ridiculous tbh, there needs to be more than 2-3 end game mats.

[BurlsoL]

Originally posted by I am Legend:

It's kinda ridiculous tbh, there needs to be more than 2-3 end game mats.

While yes... It is good that clearing through lower level quests still give you some materials that are useful. The problem, really, is that things like supply crates tend to have mostly just trash in them, so most of your acid is coming from kills (that uses up ammo) or side activities (that use up even more ammo). Reducing the acid costs for gunpowder, explosives, or refining metals would go a long way.