Scrounger Break Point Mechanics: Handmaiden Swift Bow High Ammo Build
1Does anyone actually use a build like this? I've run it a few times in public games as a joke/test. With 20% crit, extra ammo, and scrounger, it appears that Swift Bow Handmaiden can increase her ammo capacity by about 5x, as I counted about 330 shots before running out of ammo on a 70 capacity weapon. I recorded another demo with 370 shots. Averaging the two makes 350, which
would be quintuple ammo on a base of 70.
This is an idealized demonstration as there is 100% accuracy on the dummy (missed shots can't scrounge ammo in a real game). Swift bow is the only bow that actually hits a new scrounger break point with Handmaiden's extra ammo talent.
What is a "scrounger break point?" Scrounger recovers 5% of max capacity ammo when you crit. But, what happens when 5% of max ammo is not an even number? Vermintide rounds max ammo capacity to the nearest 20 when calculating the amount recovered, minimum 20 (will not round to zero, e.g., even throwing axes will recover 1 ammo). There is no partial credit between break points, but the game will round up if you are closer to the higher break point than the lower one. Assuming you fired a single shot (excluding both volley crossbow special shots, or salt repeater special shot), subtract 1 to determine net ammo gain.
Max ammo capacity and scrounger recovery:
"20 break point" 1 to 29 ammo = 1 recovery (5% of 20 = 1), 0 net
"40 break point" 30 to 49 ammo = 2 recovery (5% of 40 = 2), 1 net
"60 break point" 50 to 69 ammo = 3 recovery (5% of 60 = 3), 2 net
"80 break point" 70 to 89 ammo = 4 recovery (5% of 80 = 4), 3 net*
"100 break point" 90+ ammo = 5 recovery (5% of 100 = 5), 4 net**
*(Only Handmaiden with optional ammo talent and Swift Bow hits this break point).
**(Only Swift Bow Waystalker hits this breakpoint).
Handmaiden with swift bow and optional ammo talent moves from 50 to 70 ammo capacity, and from 3 to 4 recovery.
Other careers where an optional extra ammo talent hits a breakpoint:
-Merc with repeater. Ammo capacity moves from 40 to 52, and from 2 to 3 recovery.
-WHC with repeater. Ammo capacity moves from 40 to 52, and from 2 to 3 recovery.
-WHC with volley crossbow. Ammo capacity moves from 45 to 58, and from 2 to 3 recovery.
Also note that, as of last year's balance patch, Vermintide has pseudo-random crits, which means the game tries to smooth out crit distribution a bit rather than allowing true randomness. For scrounger purposes, this is probably a good thing.
Not sure this is the best way to calculate, but I typically estimate effective total ammo by converting the crit chance into an effective 100% chance to recover partial ammo. In other words, a 20% chance to recover 4 ammo is like a 100% chance to recover 0.8 ammo (multiple 20% by 5 to make 100%, and divide 4 by 5 to make 0.8). At 0.8 ammo recovered per shot, that is like spending only 20% ammo per shot, which is like multiplying your total ammo stack by 5x.
max base ammo / {1 - [scrounger recovery / (100 / crit chance)]} = effective total ammo
Handmaiden @20% crit with swift bow and regular ammo:
50 / {1 - [3 / (100 / 20)]} = 125
Handmaiden @20% crit with swift bow and extra ammo talent:
70 / {1 - [4 / (100 / 20)]} = 350
merc @20% crit with repeater and regular ammo:
40 / {1 - [2 / (100 / 20)]} = 67 (rounded up)
merc @20% crit with repeater and extra ammo:
52 / {1 - [3 / (100 / 20)]} = 130
You can see what a difference the extra ammo talent makes if you actually hit a new scrounger break point, especially on careers that offer 20% crit, like Merc and Handmaiden. Handmaiden with extra ammo gets roughly 3x the effective total ammo as without the talent, and Merc gets roughly 2x.
For reference, some other "high ammo" careers:
Waystalker @15% crit with swift bow:
100 / {1 - [5 / (100 / 15)]} = 400 (not much higher than Handmaiden)
Kruber Hunter @20% crit and repeater:
60 / {1 - [3 / (100 / 20)]} = 150
Bounty Hunter @15% crit with volley crossbow (without blessed shots):
68 / {1 - [3 / (100 / 15)]} = 124 (rounded up)
Conversely, when you aren't hitting a new scrounger break point, the extra ammo talent doesn't provide much of a boost. You probably shouldn't bother with extra ammo talents unless you are hitting a new scrounger break point:
WHC @15% crit with dual pistols and regular ammo:
30 / {1 - [2 / (100 / 15)]} = 43 (rounded up)
WHC @15% crit with dual pistols and extra ammo:
39 / {1 - [2 / (100 / 15)]} = 56 (rounded up)
What about the optional crit when dashing through enemies on Handmaiden? Up to 25% additional crit for 10 seconds.
Handmaiden @45% crit with swift bow and extra ammo:
70 / {1 - [4 / (100 / 45)]} = unlimited (average net gain in ammo)
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