Ammo Bench is Confusing as Hell

[Jurassic Fart 1]

I don't understand WTF is with these ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ things. There's crap-all about it on the 'net pages I've looked at, and of course there's nothing about it in the utterly useless manual.

This crap should be intuitive lacking specific instructions ingame, but it's not. Heaven forbid there should be a training mission with that gal in Goodsprings like with the healing powder (which campfires, by the way, are intuitive!). I don't comprehend what's happening when I use breakdown versus non-breakdown.

I mean, here's the problem: For example, "breakdown" seems self-explanatory; it should mean disassembly of less desirable ammunition, right? But then what flashes on the screen when I do that confuses me: Did it craft ammo, or did it disassemble it?

Same thing when I select 20-gauge buckshot, it seems like it's taken 'em apart. How the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Hell do I use these instructionless workstations?

[Jurassic Fart 1]

I'm going to have to avoid these stupid things until someone explains this crap to me. And please don't misunderstand this for ignorance regarding actual firearms and ammo—I was civilian- and military-trained in the use of common small arms.

[Vex Hilarius]

I think it's just the layout and keybindings that throw people off, like caravan.

If you choose "breakdown *ammo*" you are taking apart that ammo that you have. There is a menu that popups once you select an ammo that says how many bullets you want to breakdown. After that you'll see in the top left corner all the components you recieved from the breakdown, like when you receive a reward from a quest.

If you see just regular ammo not with "breakdown" in front of it that's ammo you can craft. Some variants are blocked by skills, perks, etc, so those will be faded. If you select it then you'll have the option of how many bullets you want to create. The list on the right side of the crafting menu shows what components you need to craft that ammo. The amount of components are listed as the "amount you have / amount it takes". For example, say you have 3 primers for small rifles, and you want to craft a bullet that requires 1 primer, it will say "primer, small rifle (3/1)".

[Grendalcat]

Maybe this video will help?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvda5NvJdhw

Breakdown does break down the round you selected. Otherwise, you are making whatever round you selected, when it does not say Breakdown. The descriptions that flash in the upper left hand corner of the screen are telling you what components were produced by breaking ammo down, or what completed rounds were produced by making them. It takes several seconds for each description to appear, and then disappear. Since you usually produce four different products when you Breakdown rounds, it is possible to get very far ahead of the description notices when you break down hundreds of rounds, or different types of rounds. So the description flashing on the screen at any given point may have nothing to do with what you just did at the bench.

Does that explain it better?

[Jurassic Fart 1]

Okay, thanks, guys. All I have to do, then, is to ignore whatever flashes onscreen after crafting or breaking down ammo. Next is trying to figure out all the gawddamned abbreviations, Microfusion Cells versus whatevathaduck other kinds of cells, so I don't waste resources on ammo I'm preferring not to use.

Thanks. I'm starting to feel less lost.

[AlexIoS]

What does the number to right mean after the breakdown option, "breakdown 5.56mm (3)"

[Jurassic Fart 1]

It's what you get after processing.

[Jackhammer_69]

Honestly yeah, ammo was pretty difficult for me to figure out in a similar way.
MFC = microfusion cell -- rifle ammo (with Mad Bomber, can also be turned into grenades/clusters of grenades)
SEC = small energy cell - pistol ammo
ECP = electron charge pack -- BIG rifle ammo

AP = Armor piercing
HP = hollow point

Wiki pages like this one: https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/.357_Magnum_round have charts that explain exactly what goes into crafting the ammo and breakdown. I use the wiki a lot until I memorize stuff.
hope that helps with your latest issues!

[Jurassic Fart 1]

Don't feel bad. I was more confused than a dog chasing a rat tied to his tail when I first started processing ammo and stuff.

[Knux Redbeard]

A big thing you can do that helps declutter the UI is to empty your inventory of certain things. Find an ammo bench with a free box next to it. Get rid of ALL your spent brass casings and shotshell hulls. Congratulations, the only options that show up will be the ones for disassembling ammo. Break down all your undesirable ammo. Open the box back up. Ditch the brass you don't want, grab the brass you do want. Also. Lead is heavy. When you're done at the reloading bench, you'll want to find a place to drop off your extra lead.

My personal favorites: .44 magnum SWC (unlocked through Handloader perk or a conversation skill check in game). Cheap ammo for a cost effective gun with a decent scope, but now with armor piercing and bonus damage, and no downsides. 4/0 Buck Magnum is one of the best things to feed your shotgun for general purpose killin' stuff. Slugs are also a worthwhile elective, what with enough slugs never being available.

Rifle powder is much harder to come by than pistol powder. Almost the entire reason I use shotguns is because shotshells take pistol powder. Make your choice as to what sort of rifle ammo you want to use. 5mm JSP is for masochists. Hilarious sometimes but AP rounds are almost always better. 5.56 match is almost pointless. Keep a couple to feed ratslayer. Don't try and run an LMG off of it. .50MG match is actually pretty good, if highly niche. .308 JSP is sometimes worth it. .45-70 SWC is the most efficient use of rifle powder and it's not even close, but it cuts your guns to shreds and keeping stocked with brass is always a problem.

Because 5.56 is abundant to the point of lunacy, it's one of the rounds I sacrifice to fuel my rifle powder needs when 5mm isn't available. I do, however, retain a substantial stockpile because the LMG is secretly the best VATS gun in the game. 5mm I purchase just to shred, as it's the most cap-efficient source of rifle powder in the game.

[Corona Varus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb1echBkcBs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOOLnqcHnQM&ab_channel=Corrozzive

Updated the video links.