Firearm Combat – Higher Caliber Gameplay

Hello Responders!

We’ve been hearing feedback about firearms throughout Early Access, especially after the Genesis update reworked melee weapons in No More Room in Hell 2. As part of our next update, Revelation (0.9), we’re aiming to deliver a holistic overhaul to firearm feel, inspired by your feedback as well as lessons we learned from Genesis.

The general goals of this overhaul are similar in scope to melee weapons but touch more broadly upon the whole firearm ecosystem:

• Each firearm should have a distinct feel based upon its real life identity.
• Guns should require effort to control effectively, with room for players to master.
• Attachments should provide more drastic and tangible benefits to a firearm.
• Ammo is difficult to hoard and impactful when found.

These firearms changes have a greater focus on individual identity that matches the player and medium expectations of video games than melee did. This means that if a weapon’s specific balance tuning went upwards or downwards, it was done to create a dynamic where each offers strengths and weaknesses and every firearm you encounter should prompt thought on if it’s an upgrade, a good secondary option, or not for this run through.

The Weapon

Every firearm has had its feel adjusted to be more distinct from each other – from handling to recoil – informed by its size and caliber. Larger weapons trade weight for damage, taking up inventory space but decimating groups of zombies. Range and handling are impacted across the board, with smaller weapons struggling past close quarters but allowing for more accuracy and control in their intended distances.

Aiming down sights now significantly benefits all weapons, with spread values adjusted to encourage thoughtful shooting. Your opening shots are now crucial, providing the only moments of ideal accuracy you’ll experience. Penetration is now a more active factor in weapon choice, as all zombie-worn gear and armor now can be penetrated through mattering on the weapon’s ammo caliber. If it exceeds the required penetrative value, the bullet will continue through to its target and deal reduced damage.

The Caliber

Speaking of ammo, it will now directly power how each weapon feels, whether it be .308WIN causing a firearm to kick back into a Responders shoulder while blasting through a distant zed head or .22 LR making for comfortable close-range operation with minimal damage and recoil.

Hipfire is still an option but most ammo types will make you struggle to hit shots reliably, meaning in desperate moments you may want to consider crouching for more control or switching to your blunt or slashing weapons. Ammo is generally heavier to carry across the board, meaning firearms have to be used wisely and in conjunction with melee to maximize effectiveness.

The Attachments

Attachments allow for more playstyle expression through a weapon, each now raising effectiveness in areas you may find a base firearm lacking. Suppressors are more important than ever, as their avoidance of zombie perception has been enhanced. (Slight spoilers for another Revelation overhaul: zombies have had their ability to hear and see fine-tuned. Tune into the full patch notes for more!).

Sights will enable faster and more accurate follow up shots, allowing certain weapons to expand beyond their archetypes and solve more problems as you venture deeper in your run.

The Path Forward

With both melee and firearms now updated on a systemic level, our core combat flow will now have foundations that match our goals for 1.0 launch. We’ll be listening to feedback on specific pain points or areas of improvement as we work on other systems and content to let these changes shine across all maps and modes. Revelation brings with it not only these firearms changes but a host of updates meant to make the game more approachable and rewarding. We’ll have more to share about Revelation this week, including its release date!

Until then, stay safe out there.
– The NMRIH2 Dev Team