Video Game Weapon Stats

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Typical stats for weapons in games.

• Attack
  Pure and simple, how effective the weapon is in combat.
  • Power
    Typical amount of damage the weapon inflicts when it hits the target.
  • Element
    Whether or not the weapon uses Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors when inflicting damage. Most weapons are Non-Elemental, but elemental weapons tend to follow the same interactions as the local magic system.
  • Damage Type
    A secondary Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors designed around what kind of armor protects against what kind of weapon. E.g. Physical versus magical damage, slashing versus piercing attacks, and so on.
  • Additional Effects
    Any secondary effects (often Status Effects) that the weapon may impose on the target.
  • Armor Penetration
    Some enemies are given a defense stat that reduces or negates damage, and being able to perform an Armor-Piercing Attack can be important.
  • Knockdown and Knockback
    Some games give different weapons the ability to trip, stagger, or stumble foes.
• Area of Effect
  How large an area the impact affects.
• Defense
  Whether the weapon can be used to defend against enemy attacks.
  • Parry/Counter Rate
    Whether the weapon can be used to defend against an enemy's attacks, and/or allow the user to Counter-Attack.
• Speed
  How quickly the weapon's user can execute attacks with it. Often varies inversely with weight; in turn-based systems, lightweight weapons may strike multiple times or have higher Action Initiative than heavier weapons.
  • Rate of Fire
    For ranged weapons, how many shots the weapon fires in a given period of time. Machine Guns tend to have high rates of fire while shotguns have lower ones, for example.
  • Reload Speed
    How quickly the next projectile(s) is loaded into the weapon. A very common aspect in FPS games.
    • Recharge Rate
      How quickly a weapon recharges. A common trait for Energy Weapons.
  • Combo Rate
    How likely it is to deal multiple hits at once.
  • Switching Speed
    How long it takes to switch to and/or from another weapon.
• Range
  Maximum distance that can exist between user and opponent and still hit them with it. Applies to both long distance and melee weapons. Can sometimes affect damage or accuracy. Some weapons even have a minimum range within which they are very ineffective or useless, such as a grenade launcher needing to fly a certain distance before the warhead arms.
• Accuracy
  Chances of successfully landing a hit with the weapon (primarily in turn-based systems). Sometimes varies inversely with damage or rate of fire.
  • Critical Hit Rate and Damage
    The chance of landing a Critical Hit and how much of a difference that critical hit will make.
• Size
  How much space a weapon will take in your inventory; may present an Inventory Management Puzzle, especially if combined with a Grid Inventory.
• Weight
  How much a weapon affects your character's movement speed.
• Hands
  Whether the weapon is wielded with one or two hands; controls whether the character is able to equip a shield (or a second weapon) in combination with it. Some weapons can even be restricted to the right or left hand only.
• Ammo Capacity
  Also associated with ranged weapons, how many total attacks the user can make with it. Weapons with secondary fire modes may have ammo tracked separately for each mode, or may draw from the same pool of ammo at differing rates. Can be broken down into:
  • Magazine / Clip Capacity
    Number of attacks possible before a reload is required for reloadable weapons, or for weapons with a recharge rate, the number of consecutive attacks possible before it is necessary to wait for the recharge. If the weapon recharges faster than it fires, the capacity is effectively infinite.
  • Reserve Capacity
    Number of rounds of ammo or number of replacement clips that can be carried at one time. Commonly this is tracked excluding rounds in the clip, so that a weapon with an empty clip but full ammo reserve must be reloaded before further ammo can be collected. The use of the One Bullet Clips trope determines if partially consumed clips are tracked or returned to a general pool.
• Durability
  How resistant the weapon is against wear and tear. Weapons may be indestructible, or may require regular maintenance to keep in working condition. See also Breakable Weapons.
• Ammo Type
  What type of ammunition a projectile weapon uses, mainly affecting whether or not different characters are allowed to share ammunition, or if different weapons draw from a common pool of ammo.
• Upgrades/Accessories
  Whether the weapon's basic capabilities can be enhanced or customized by the user. Gun Accessories and magical upgrades are very common.
• Noise
  The volume of noise a weapon makes when used, which is important in stealth. Hollywood Silencers are used to dampen the sounds of firearms.
• Projectile Speed, Arc, and Visibility
  For ranged attacks, some projectiles can be seen and dodged, and some are slow enough that the user must lead the target a bit. Other weapons are hitscan. Some projectiles are affected by gravity, and some are not. Finally, whether the target can trace a missed or non-fatal shot back to the source.
• Skill
  More common in RPG's, the types of characters that can equip the weapon and the skills a character needs to use the weapon to full effect. Some skills may have a Cooldown which limits how often they can be used.

Please do not add examples to work pages; this merely defines the term.

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