Unreliable Weapons

[Existential 1]

It seems weird to me that as I wander the rusted hulks that testify to the rapidly degrading state of post-apocalyptic technology, every weapon I find has perfectly zeroed sights and never, ever jams.

Even without any model changes, I would love it if every weapon had a bit of unique character. "You can take my old shotgun, but be warned that it fires a bit high and to the right."

The possibility of weapon jams would spice up encounters. Perhaps some jams could even permanently disable the weapon. This could force some interesting improvisation, both during the fight and in the immediate aftermath.

(I know this is probably an engine-level wish that would be outside the scope of this mod, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.)

[Dawn (DayZ) 27]

This would be really hard to implement into the game.. aaaaalot of coding will be needed for this..

Though it would be nice.. Anyone that had found a weapon that had a perfect Zero on the sights would have a advantage, which could make these weapons even more valuable..

Having a Perfectly Zeroed .50 cal while most people have weapons that jams and such would be really overpowered :D

[deepfried 95]

No this is just not realistic, like in stalker where your weapon breaks after firing a few dozen shots... where as in reality most military firearms are tested to not jam or malfunction after firing thousands of rounds.

Weapon degradation is always annoying and it adds nothing useful or enjoyable to a game.

Sorry to shoot you down but weapon degradation has been a pet hate of mine since system shock 2.

[Existential 1]

Think of it then as a quasi-realistic twist that fits the game's aesthetic and puts a little extra narrative in your otherwise predictable engagements. I'm not talking weapons that have a 10% chance of exploding on use. I'm talking weapons and ammo that, in many cases, have been passed down for years and stored improperly, failing to act like they are brand new. Most gunsights would still be "close enough". And maybe there's only like a 0.5 - 1% chance of any given bullet jamming, with only a fraction of those jams doing permanent damage.

PROS:

-Fits the feel of a world where the power is out, vehicles are busted, and beans are worth fighting over.

-Inserts a bit of hope/risk into PvP and PvZ encounters that one would expect to be hopelessly one-sided.

-Provides a natural "resource sink" to counter what I'm sure is a steadily escalating number of high-end weapons on most servers, even without duping.

-Gives a well-stocked player reasons to continue looking for gear, sometimes at deliciously inconvenient times.

CONS:

-Some players would find unreliable weapons the most annoying thing in the universe. After all, if you've spent thousands of hours playing games where guns "just work", it can feel as jarring as having your mouse die on you.

I just find it kind of silly that right now, if I go to an out-of-the-way little town and shack up in a barn for a while with a healthy ammo supply, I can just declare open season on all zeds in the vicinity. Barring an unlikely player in the area, nothing will *ever* go wrong. I know, because I've racked up over 1000 kills on my current character just for the hell of it.

[TheProphecy 33]

I'm going to have to disagree on this subject. The last thing I want is to find some nice gear and play for a few hours, get into a firefight with another player and die because my gun jams. The counter to well-stocked players has already been talked about, and it's as simple as lessening the amount of guns/ammo available.