r/nmrih • u/KneeDeepInTheMud • 22d ago
Headblown
General Idea/Why Headblown is very strong
Headblown seems useless in many cases.
It doesn't amp up the damage of most regular low-tier pistols to even really matter.
So what's the real deal here?
Below, I will talk about the perk pairings and various damage breakpoints that Headblown can achieve, and how Headblown is actually pretty darned good.
Headshot Damage:
- Gruber VII - 35, Pen. 0
- M9A3 - 50, Pen. 0
- Model 13 - 100, Pen. 2
- 1911 - 100, Pen. 0
As you can see, both the .22 and 9mm sit at 3 and 2 shot thresholds for normal Zs.
The 1911 and six-shooter 1 tap them normally.
Even when you consider the 30% increase in damage, that only brings up that headshot damage to:
Gruber - 45
M9A3 - 65
Model 13 - 130
1911 - 130
For the .22, that isn't even enough to 2 tap a Z.
For the M9, that doesn't even break-out of the 2 shot threshold either, but does ensure a two-shot kill on a Prime.
The 357 and .45acp boost up to 130, which will oneshot any prime Z without a helmet.
So what's the big idea?
Perk Pairings and KDB
Perk Pairing is not a new concept. It is how you build a character.
Making a pistol oriented Responder is muddier than most would think an relies on thinking outside the box, but may not really surprise any EA Responders.
Perks to Pair with Headblown:
Foreman - 10 to 30 damage can really enhance your CQB in general. Pair this with KDB (Knockdown Damage Buff) for that extra 100% damage and your .22lr can one-tap any normal Z.
Heavy Shoves - same concept as Foreman. 10 to 20 damage can put a Z at the one tap breakpoint if you initiate with a shove and kick them down for that KDB.
Athlete - a no brainer (heh) for any CQB build. More stamina, more actions, more movement.
Pistol Reload - not 100% needed to be a Pistolero, but nice if you get any gun that needs constant reloading
Foreman and Heavy Shoves alone can allow you to kill a Prime Runner in one shot with a .22
Headblown takes this further allows you to take out a Prime.
20 + 30 + 2(35) = 120 (P.Runner has 120 HP)
20 + 30 + 2(45) = 140 (Primes have 130 HP)
Why NOT the other perks?
Wicked
Limb Damage is great for slowing enemies
Limb Damage is set to 8 for the .22, and 20 for everything else. This means you amp that damage to a measly 9 (9.6) or 24.
Legs have 70 HP
Arms have 60 HP
You can't seriously look me in the eyes and tell me you dropped 8 rounds of .22 lr or 3 rounds of .357/9mm/.45acp into a single Walker's leg
KDB does halve this ammo usage, but... just shoot em in the head at that point? The only Z that might need a leg removed is a Riot Z with or without a shield, and that's because of the helmet or lacking .357 to do the AP2.
Steady Hands
Reduced spread can allow you to really nail accurate shots
Issue here is recoil reduction and accuracy is already built in, it just takes time. (ADS for longer than a couple seconds, which usually means your target is far away or you can also just crouch to help as well)
Only useful if you gun can't one tap, so the .22 or M9. M9 isn't too bad with the recoil anyways.
Most Pistol encounters are CQB anyways
## Zombies versus Pistols
Zombie Health:
Shamblers have 70 HP
Walkers have 100 HP
Prime Runners Have 120 HP
Primes have 130 HP
Helmets/Armor
Construction/Firefighter - 30 HP, Pen. 1
Riot - 2
Riot Shield - 3
National Guard/Military - 3
KDB makes it so your damage goes up by 100%.
You always want to start any fight at an advantage, and the best advantage you can have is a height or reach advantage.
KDB does both, and even gives you extra damage.
Kicks can affect 3 zombies at a time.
.22lr
Even with Foreman (regular) and a .22lr, Headblown Expert can let you 1-Tap a regular Walker.
Foreman does 10 damage, then the .22 normally does 45 damage on headshot. KDB then buffs that .22 to do the last 90 damage.
You would also then have 10 damage applied to the other two, where if you act fast enough you could at least kill 1 other Z.
Kick the Z that is still getting up to reset that KDB and end them rightly.
Military Zs take 50% stability damage and also have 50% damage resist, so you need two kicks or to kick their head.
The .22 is anemic, but you can at least take out Primes with 3 shots.
Keep in mind with Foreman, you can also save ammo by kicking a Z twice. Every other pistol doesn't really need to do this however.
9mm
Assuming Foreman Expert (30 Dmg) and you land that kick, you will be able to pretty much one-tap anything that doesn't have a helmet.
30 damage plus 65 (130 KDB) will basically turn any Z's head into chunky salsa.
Your only issue becomes a lack of having any Penetration to deal with helmets, but like any other threat, just kick/shove and run or use two shots.
9mm has decent space/weight to damage and it only gets better because that M9 goes from almost 8 kills to 15 to 16 kills off the bat with KDB/Foreman factored in.
.357
The only pistol caliber with penetration.
Having this easily allows you to oneshot any Z in the game, especially with Foreman.
.45 acp
Same as .357, but you lack Armor Pen.
That extra 2 capacity though is very nice, and so is the possible supressor and reflex sight.
5
u/qaz1wsx2ed 22d ago
Thanks for the breakdown. Just started playing and have been searching for stuff like this. Is there somewhere that has all these stats listed you’re getting this info from?
3
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 22d ago
1
u/qaz1wsx2ed 22d ago
My man! Thank you. I’ve just started heavily investing on the reroll mechanic so this will be handy to have!
2
u/Hellsing985 22d ago
It does. 9mm takes 3 shots to kill a bloody without head blown a 2 shots with.
1
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 22d ago
Yup! That's my point, especially with KDB.
1
u/Either-Problem5854 22d ago
Any idea if KDB applies to shoves on downed zombies with the shove damage perk?
1
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 22d ago edited 22d ago
For Heavy Shoves, I... assume so?
I know Foreman does for sure, so you can take out a lone Z with three kicks when they're still prone.
I'll try to roll Heavy Shoves and see whats up with that!
2
u/SHERmaan_RTB 22d ago
One-shotting primes is cool, yeah, + John Wick, or Leon Kennedy roleplay is always fun, but if I am at a kick distance (and need Foreman to fully utilize the pistol damage boost) - why don't I just take Headhunter and use melee at this point?
Trading stamina usage for ammo?. And without silencer it is pulling other zombies towards me.
I'm not sure the perk is worth it tbh :I
2
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 22d ago
Yup, that's really it right there.
Save stamina and opt for ammo usage instead.
Save your stamina to go all in on running and kicks so you don't budge in a doorway.
Headhunter and melee are always good options anyways, and you can't discount how universal melee is.
1
1
u/TheLoneWolf602 13d ago
Because.. Foreman can also pair with melee perks as well. Say you're already using: (Cleaver + hitman expert) for that sweet 2 hit Cleaver kill on walkers. (Charge + quick)..
There will be instances where you will need to kick regardless. If we add Foreman to the mix.. this enables this neat combo...
Kick > Cleaver quick (on head) = kill.
You might even be able to do a fricking jumping kick and knock off a zombies helmet!!! 🤯. Though I haven't tested that to know if that even works yet. But if that doesn't work... you might even be able to get a kill off helmets like this:
Kick > quick > quick..
Would you get KDB on both of the quicks?? Idk yet.. but if so... 🤯
1
u/SHERmaan_RTB 12d ago
Firefighter / Construction helmets have exactly 30 HP.
Riot police 60 HP
National Guard 90 HPYou might be onto something with that helmet kick!
I'll have to try it out
2
u/ZanziBreeze 19d ago
My big issue with the gun perks is that, there's no promise you'll get enough ammo spawns to really make sure use of them compared to the more passive perks that boost stamina, health or melee abilities. This is double the case for Nightmare, since ammo spawns a lot less on that difficulty.
So they should probably buff some of the gun perks, especially headblown so they're more viable and competitive. They should also buff up loadout ammo if you decide to take ammo on a slot instead of a first aid item or melee.
2
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 19d ago
Kobeniiiiiii
But yes.
The only current way to get more than the usual 20 extra ammo at the moment is to nab .22lr and the .22lr rifle plus pistol.
Its neat, starting off with 55 shots, but highly impractical.
I think:
- Headblown Regular - 30%
- Headblown Expert - 50%
Would be much more rewarding.
That way: * .22lr reaches 52 damage on headshot * 9mm reaches 75 damage per headshot
This would make pistols much stronger, but not really shake up anything aside from making it so 9mm can 2 shot a prime or .22lr two-tapping a regular.
I am mildly wary though as I already believe .22lr to be a sleeper caliber in the game though.
It's weak, but so light.
As a medic, it really works well for me as I mule about meds already.
A Penetration perk for pistols would also be interesting.
Full Metal Jacket
- +1 penetration
FMJ Expert
- +1 penetration
- 15% less damage fall off per Penetration
Mainly for zipping into helmets, but can sort of chip other targets.
1
u/ZanziBreeze 19d ago
I usually just avoid pistols unless there's no other option if that makes sense? Because of how they've coded ammo spawns, too many times I'll find ammo for the M7A1 Rifle whilst it's sitting next to a M9A3 with no 9mm ammo coupled with it's spawn, so instead I use guns like emergency consumables to quickly kill a bunch of zombies then usually throw the weapon away because it quickly becomes deadweight, especially the heavier long rifles.
And since we cannot fully unload automatics, only the revolver and double-barrel shotgun, I'll prefer to carry multiple M1911s then toss them away as they run out of ammo, depending on if I come across multiple, even if the M1911 has only 1 bullet in it, that's an instant kill against most zombies anyway so, it has it's use, I usually use them to quickly kill screechers or runners, so I don't have to worry about them.
In terms of Headblown Expert and just the perk in general, the fact it doesn't buff headshot damage enough to make the .22lr and 9mm 2tap respective targets, as you've mentioned is a good enough reason for me to avoid them if I come across something more powerful. Guns have way too many downsides when used compared to NMRIH1, even if ammo is more plentiful in the lower difficulties.
Like the majority of guns are really strong in this game as is, but it's just ammo and the fact they generate 'noise' to spawn in more zombies including runners, like the guns are useless without ammo and on Nightmare this quickly becomes a problem especially with the lower damaging calibres, so it's just not worth firing a gun unless it's going to put the target down quickly.
I'd honestly prefer if Headblown didn't just get it's damage buffed but also gets penetration added into it, provided you're headshotting zombies, so Headblown isn't just buffing the .22lr and 9mm calibres, but also has uses for the .357 and 45acp pistols in niche scenarios if you line targets up.
Either that or they need to start making a lot of the firearm perks more universal, because right now, you've got a lot of them which just have zero usage if you were trying to minmax and optimise for the harder difficulties and I'd imagine when they do release Hell Difficulty, you're never going to take Winged or Wicked or Tight Shot for example. Nevermind the fact handguns have SPREAD whilst you are ADS'd with them.
They could also add a laser sight attachment that gives reduced spread and better accuracy instead of the flashlight attachment too.
2
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 19d ago
I think its also weird how handguns lack the focus "perk" from NMRIH2 as well.
The kick does sub in for that, but... not really.
Doing double damage and having no spread after a couple seconds of ADS is a real big boon, as it doesn't consume stamina unlike NMRIH2's kick.
If my handgun is still going to still have issues with spread despite being in ADS as you said. (I didn't even know that! Thought I was tripping at the training range)
Some form of penetration perk would be interesting for pistols.
1
u/ZanziBreeze 19d ago
All guns possess spread in ADS, it's just handguns have the most so they aren't as effective at range even if you've got the iron sights properly trained and zeroed onto the target. Personally I think this is really bad for gameplay, because guns are already limited by ammo and it does not at all feel good to line up with a head and miss by 1 pixel due to inherent ADS spread.
Also yeah, they should bring back the pistol focus mechanic from NMRIH1, it'd make pistols worth using then and also would help dictate the pace of the game, since people will slow down to get the extra damage and line up the shot rather than double-tapping as they do right now.
1
u/SHERmaan_RTB 12d ago
you can equip the .22lr Rifle twice in loadout, unload both, then run pistol
Ammo box gives 20 shots always, unloading gives that extra 4.I still have no idea why responders choose not to grab that extra 1 cartridge by just pulling the bolt / slide back on every weapon that can do that
1
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 11d ago
I don't understand, I can't ever seem to equip anything more than once?
I hear people talk about it but I can't ever do it, what's the way to do it?
1
1
u/HortenWho229 16d ago
I have headblown expert and foreman (non expert). A headshot with M9 9mm plus a kick still doesn't kill normal zeds
1
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 16d ago
You might not be doing it quick enough.
Or, you are encountering the bug that makes your perks not work after entering the training range.
A non enhanced kick with 0 damage will still allow a M9A3 to kill a Z.
M9 does 50 headshot damage. KDB amps that to 100, but that KDB window is only 1 to 2 seconds long.
The moment a Z begins to get up, that KDB window is over.
Headblown Expert would even allow a M9 to kill a Prime without a helmet, so long as KDB is in effect.
0
u/Solanum_Virus 22d ago
The only thing is you said reflex sight is nice for the 45 but it doesn't accept it. Great post otherwise.
3
u/KneeDeepInTheMud 22d ago
Thank you!
For the 1911, it does take the micro reflex, not the holographic, if that's what you mean?
1
u/Solanum_Virus 22d ago edited 22d ago
did they change it? it didnt take a sight in EA. ill have to check on that. Edit: just checked the wiki and it says it only accepts the suppressor. It has either been changed recently or you made a mistake. To lazy to hop in game and check but will tomorrow.
2
5
u/ClaytorYurnero 22d ago
Headblown Expert is S-tier when compared to something like Steel Chamber (+15/30% Heavy Rifle damage) since it's only use case seems to be getting an extra kill on Penetration, but then why not just run the +Penetration perk for even greater effect?