User:Argus Blood

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Here you will find information about all my characters, as well as an in-depth mathematical study of weapons efficiency I did a while back.

Note: calculations of efficiency were updated 10/20/2005 to reflect improved search statistics from the wiki.

My Characters

Argus Blood

Level 20 Scientist

Profile: [64945]

Class: Necrotech Employee

Level: 20

Group: Ridleybank Liberation Army

Joined: 2005-08-16 05:14:30

Bio: This isn't why he went to MIT. This bloody virus changed everything. Now he's just as likely to be seen weilding an axe as a sliderule, and his scientific genius has become a matter of life and death...and life...and death...andlife...

Note: Argus previously was a member of the Head Hunters, but became disgruntled when they didn't do anything. He now lends his axe, and his Necrotech skills, to the RLA.

Vermont Slayer

Level 33 Civilian

Profile: [50447]

Class: Caiger Mall Survivors

Level: 33

Group: None

Joined: 2005-08-06 23:59:15

Bio: She was the Chosen One. Killing vampires was her destiny. Then this virus hit and even the undead skedaddled. What's a girl to do? Pick up a fireaxe and keep killing. Undead, Urban Dead -- they all need killing, don't they?

Grnath

Level 11 Zombie

Profile: [199671]

Class: Zombie

Level: 11

Group: None

Joined: 2005-10-19 03:59:35

Bio: A decayed and dessicated corpse, Grnath's ragged clothes hang loosely over his frame despite his bulging muscles. There's something vaguely intelligent and very threatening about his haunting blue eyes.

Note: I started this zombie character about three weeks ago in response to urgings from a zombie-playing friend who complained constantly about the unfairness of the game to zombie characters. She (yes, there are girls on the internets) swore that I would foreswear headshot and come to sympathize with her if I played a zombie character for a while.

I have to say that I have not. As you can see, as of this writing Grnath has already reached level 9. And, frankly, I find it no more difficult to level with this character than I did with my necro or my fire fighter. In fact, I find death and the need to be revived at least as much a handicap as headshot for the low-level player without group affiliation. So to all of you complaining about the game's supposed great imbalance I say: huh?

Efficiency of Ranged vs. Melee Weapons

In deciding on the most effective weapons strategy for my two human characters, I did a calculation of the relative efficiencies of melee and ranged weapons, taking into account ap spent searching for ammunition, loading weapons, and attacking. I present these calculations here for anyone who is interested.

Firearms Efficiency

In the following discussion I assume that people using firearms use both pistols and shotguns in conjunction, effectively making them one weapon. In practice, it is not possible to separate the efficiencies of the two weapons, since efficiency relies on searches which yeild ammunition for both weapons. I also assume that the individual considering use of firearms has both basic firearms training and advanced training in both pistol and shotgun. Based on the numbers, it is better for individuals without all these skills to use a fireaxe.

Definition of Efficiency

The efficiency E of any weapon can be defined as the amount of damage D (in hit points) inflicted divided by the number of turns required to inflict that damage. This makes logical sense, as the goal of any attack is to cause as much damage with as little expenditure of AP as possible. Thus mathematically efficiency can be defined as: E=D/T

Calculating Damage

For combined use of pistol, damage is equal to 5 times the number of hits with the pistol (Hp) plus 10 times the number of hits with the shotgun (Hs). Thus D=(5Hp+10Hs)

The number of hits with the pistol is .65 times the number of pistol rounds (Np) you have: Hp=.65Np

The number of hits with the shotgun is .65 times the number of shotgun shells (Ns) you have: Hs=.65Ns

For any given number of searches Q:

Np=6QFp

Ns=QFs

Where Fp and Fs are the find percentages for pistol clips and shotgun shells, respectively.

Substituting these values into the formula, we get D=5[.65(6QFp)]+10[.65(2QFs)]

Simplifying, we get D=(19.5QFp+13QFs)=Q(19.5Fp+13Fs)

Calculating AP Required

The number of turns required to inflict this damage is equal to the number of turns spent shooting pistol rounds (Np) plus one turn loading every six rounds (1/6*Np) plus the number of turns spent shooting shotgun shells (Ns) Plus 1 turn loading every shotgun shell (Ns) plus the number of turns spent shooting (Q). Thus: T=Np+(1/6)Np+Ns+Ns+Q

Simplifying we get T=(7/6)Np+2Ns+Q

Substituting 6QFp for Np and QFs for Ns, we get T=(7/6)(6QFp)+2(QFs)+Q= Q(7Fp+2Fs+1)

Final Formula

Thus the final formula for efficiency of ranged weapons is:

E=D/T=Q(19.5Fp+13Fs)/Q(7Fp+2Fs+1) = (19.5Fp+13Fs)/(7Fp+2Fs+1)

Dependency on Search Location

As you can see from the formula, the efficiency of these weapons is highly dependent on the the search locations used and on accurate figures for the find percentages for pistol clips (Fp) and shotgun shells (Fs). The most accurate values I could find for these variables are located at the wiki and are probably not based on a statistically valid sample. These values show that the efficiency of one's firearms usage will depend on where one searches and (if searching in a gun shop) whether one has bargain hunting:

Gun Shop
Police Department No Bargain Hunting Bargain Hunting
Fp .0719 .0784 .1089
Fs .0618 .0754 .1109

Plugging these figures into the formula above, we get:

Overall Efficiency of Firearms Usage

Efficiency of Firearms:

Gun Shop
Police Department No Bargain Hunting Bargain Hunting
Total Efficiency 1.356 1.476 1.797

Melee Weapon Efficiency

The efficiency of attacks not requiring ammunition is much easier to calculate. For such attacks it is merely equal to damage times hit %. For Fire Axe with advanced axe training, for example: E = .40 * 3 = 1.2.

Thus the efficiency of all attacks can be listed in a table as follows:

Weapon Type
Efficiency XP/HP per 100 AP
Firearms (Searching Gun Shop w/ BH) 1.80 180
Firearms (Searching Gun Shop w/o BH) 1.48 148
Firearms (Searching PD) 1.36 136
Fire Axe 1.20 120
Punch .025 25

As you can see, provided one has all the weapons skills, firearms are the more efficient way of dispatching Zombies, despite the fact that a good portion of one's time must be spent in searching for ammunition.