Reload Speed

Reloading occurs when the player attempts to fire a non-melee weapon with an empty magazine, or if the player presses the manual reload button with less than full ammo left in the clip. While the reloading animation occurs, the player cannot attempt to fire the weapon. The length of time spent on reloading is based on the individual weapon's Reload Speed, which can be altered by mods. Reload time functions as a period of disadvantage for the player, and the reloading process can be interrupted by actions like rolling, hard landings, being knocked down, meleeing, and using non-one handed abilities. However, other actions can still be taken to compensate for the inability to shoot.

Manual Reload

R

When firing a weapon until it is empty, the game does not actually immediately initiate a reload. There is a short but very real delay of roughly half a second, which significantly reduces the sustained DPS of a weapon. This delay can be averted by pressing the reload key as soon as the weapon's magazine is about to run out, assuming the firing trigger is being held down or rapidly pressed in the case of semi-auto weapons. All of the following calculations on reload speed's effects on DPS are only accurate assuming that manual reloading is being used; otherwise, your benefit from using these mods will be diminished.

Automated reloading with significant delay.

Manual reloading with increased speed.

Reload Mods

For balancing purposes (especially in the case of Riven Mods where effects of over 100% are achievable when used with regular mods), the total "Reload Time" of weapons is not targeted by mods; Having 100% "Reload Speed" on a 2 second reload weapon does not make reloading instant, but instead makes the weapon reload twice as fast, resulting in a reload time of 1 second.

Reload time is calculated following this formula:

Reload Time = Weapon Reload Time ÷ (1 + Mod Reload Bonus)

For example, a  Braton with a 2.0 second reload time and a rank 5  Fast Hands (+30% Reload Speed) would have a new reload time of:

2.0 ÷ (1+0.30) = 1.54s

• Weapon Reload Time: This refers to the base amount of time indicated on an unmodified weapon card.
• Mod Reload Bonus: This refers to the speed increase marked as percentage on mod cards, expressed as a decimal to two places.

QuickdrawModU145.png

FastHandsModU145.png

DepletedReloadNew.png

TacticalPumpModU145.png

StunningSpeedModU145.png

SeekingFury2.png

Note that while you may successfully install both Quickdraw and Stunning Speed onto a single sidearm with no discrepancies,  Fast Hands cannot be placed onto a weapon with  Primed Fast Hands, and vice-versa. Bows, snipers, and launchers benefit from the Rifle-type reload mods.

In addition, there are some PvP-exclusive mods which affect reload:

Lastly, the mods listed below don't affect reload per se, but makes the weapon gradually reload while it is holstered. These mods can be used in both PvP and PvE:

Reload Speed Powers

The following powers affect Reload Speed positively, reducing a firearm's relaod time:

• Chroma
• Gauss
• Harrow
• Volt

	2 50	Elemental Ward Depending on Chroma's elemental alignment, an offensive area-of-effect is created. Chroma and his nearby allies are imbued with defensive energy. Introduced in Update 16.0 (2015-03-19)	Heat Electricity Toxin Cold Strength: 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 ( Heat damage per second) 15 / 20 / 30 / 55 % (health bonus) Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range) Misc:2 / 5 / 7 / 10 % ( Heat status chance) 5 m (burn radius) Strength: 2.5 / 3 / 5 / 10 x (damage reflection multiplier) 10 / 15 / 20 / 30 % (shield bonus) 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % ( Electricity status chance) 50 / 60 / 100 / 200 (minimum  Electricity damage) Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range) 5 / 6 / 8 / 10 m (discharge range) Strength: 25 / 35 / 40 / 50 % ( Toxin damage chance per second) 15 / 25 / 30 / 35 % (holster damage) Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s ? / ? / 3 / 3 s (holster damage duration) 15 / 25 / 30 / 35 % (reload speed bonus) Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range) Misc:5 m (poison radius) 5 % (enemy health to  Toxin damage) 100 % ( Toxin status chance) Strength: 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 x (damage reflection multiplier) 25 / 70 / 90 / 145 % (armor bonus) 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % ( Cold status chance) Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range)
			Subsumable to Helminth

• Info
• Augment
• Tips & Tricks
• Bugs

Info

• Chroma expends 50 Energy to emit an aura of elemental energy, empowering himself and nearby allies within 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 meters for 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 seconds, providing both offensive and defensive buffs.
  • Energy cost is affected by Ability Efficiency.
  • Duration is affected by Ability Duration.
  • Aura radius is affected by Ability Range.
• Elemental Ward exhibits different effects depending on Chroma's current elemental alignment, determined by Chroma's primary emission color or the selected element of  Spectral Scream.

• Heat
• Electricity
• Toxin
• Cold

Heat

• Generates a flame aura around Chroma and affected allies that increases base Health by 15% / 20% / 30% / 55% and inflicts 25 / 50 / 75 / 100  Heat damage per second within a radius of 5 meters with a 2% / 5% / 7% / 10% status chance.
  • The health bonus stacks additively with base health modifiers, and the amount of health gained is determined by the affected Warframe's base health at rank 0. Since Chroma has 270 health at rank 0, a rank-3 Elemental Ward with a maxed  Vitality and  Intensify will increase Chroma's health at rank 30 to 270 × (1 + 2 + 1 + 0.55 × 1.3) = 1,273.05.
  • Damage bypasses obstacles in the environment and decreases with distance.

Electricity

• Infuses Chroma and affected allies with an electric current that increases base Shields by 10% / 15% / 20% / 30% and converts incoming damage into arc discharges. An arc discharge inflicts 250% / 300% / 500% / 1,000% incoming damage as  Electricity damage to a single target within 5 / 6 / 8 / 10 meters with a 10% / 15% / 20% / 25% status chance. Arc discharges will inflict a minimum of 50 / 60 / 100 / 200  Electricity damage.
  • The shield bonus stacks additively with base shield modifiers, and the amount of shields gained is determined by the affected Warframe's base shields at rank 0. Since Chroma has 270 shields at rank 0, a rank-3 Elemental Ward with a maxed  Redirection and  Intensify will increase Chroma's shield capacity at rank 30 to 270 × (1 + 2 + 1 + 0.3 × 1.3) = 1,185.3.
  • Arc damage bypasses obstacles in the environment.
  • The final damage of an arc discharge is determined by the amount of shields and/or health lost by incoming damage. For example with a maxed  Intensify, losing 100 shields from a single instance of damage will produce an arc that inflicts 100 × 10 × 1.3 = 1,300  Electricity damage at rank 3 to a single target as long as it's within range.
    • When infused into  Hildryn by the Helminth, the Shield drained by skills is also converted into damage, but the base multiplier is 1x instead of 10x.
  • Damage from environmental hazards can also be converted into arc discharges.
  • Arcs can strike the same target multiple times, and arcs can be produced in quick succession should Chroma and allies receive multiple instances of damage that exceed the minimum threshold.

Toxin

• Emits an aura of noxious fumes around Chroma and affected allies that increases base Reload Speed by 15% / 25% / 30% / 35%, as well as weapon damage when Holstering by 15% / 25% / 30% / 35% for ? / ? / 3 / 3 seconds. Within a radius of 5 meters, the noxious fumes also have a 25% / 35% / 40% / 50% chance per second to deal 5% of an enemy's maximum health as  Toxin damage with a 100% status chance.
  • The Toxin damage will only be applied to an enemy if it is not already affected by a Toxin proc, but can occur as soon as an existing Toxin proc expires. As such, its effect cannot stack with itself but can refresh itself every 7 seconds.
  • Damage bypasses obstacles in the environment and does not decrease with distance.

Cold

• Encases Chroma and affected allies in a layer of frost that increases base Armor by 25% / 70% / 90% / 145% and creates an ice shield that reflects incoming fire back to its source. Reflected damage is increased by 150% / 200% / 250% / 300% and has a 10% / 15% / 20% / 25% status chance.
  • The armor bonus stacks additively with base armor modifiers, and the amount of armor gained is determined by the affected Warframe's base armor, according to the following formula: Base Armor × (1 + Armor Mods + Ability Modifier × (1 + Strength Mods)).
    • Since Chroma has 370 base armor, a rank-3 Elemental Ward with a maxed  Steel Fiber and  Intensify will increase Chroma's armor to 370 × (1 + 1 + 1.45 × (1 + 0.3)) = 1,437.45.
    • As with all other additive armor bonuses, Elemental Ward's bonus is applied before multiplicative armor bonuses.
  • Incoming hitscan and non-hitscan projectiles are physically redirected after hitting Chroma. As such, obstacles in the environment can prevent reflected damage from hitting enemies.
  • Hitscan projectiles are reflected directly to the source enemy regardless of distance from Chroma. Melee attacks are not reflected.
  • Non-hitscan projectiles are reflected in the direction of the source enemy.
  • Does not prevent damage to Chroma aside from the additional armor bonus and other damage reduction rules; Chroma will be hit normally before reflecting weapons fire.

---

• Elemental Auras of any type from two or more Chromas do not stack and only the first aura will apply its benefits as long as the player is within buff range. For example, two  Heat auras do not increase damage nor health values, and possessing a  Heat aura will negate receiving a  Cold aura.
• Has a casting delay of 1 second. The animation interrupts movement and other actions.
• Elemental Ward cannot be recast while active.
• Elemental Ward does not work on Nekros' Shadows.
• Subsuming Chroma to the Helminth will offer Elemental Ward and its augments to be used by other Warframes. The Ward's effects are determined by the Warframe's primary emission color.

Augment

Main article: Everlasting Ward

Everlasting Ward is a Warframe Augment Mod for  Chroma that allows allies to retain  Elemental Ward's effects upon moving out of its range, lasting for a percentage of Elemental Ward's remaining duration.

Everlasting Ward

Tips & Tricks

• Heat
• Electricity
• Toxin
• Cold

Heat

• In a pinch, the bonus Health provided by the Ward can be used as a quick heal, as the Health granted is automatically added to your remaining health and is not reduced from your remaining health when Elemental Ward wears off.
• The Ward is capable of damaging containers and hazards, albeit fairly slowly. Combining Elemental Ward with Spectral Scream and range mods will make for a useful farming tool so long as you have the energy to maintain it.

Electricity

• Can be used to great effect on Survival and Exterminate missions where enemies approach you from all directions and are often difficult to locate or target. At maximum Ability Strength, the damage reflected can easily finish off weaker enemies and potentially stun any survivors.

Toxin

• Works very well with weapons that require you to reload frequently or have long reload times.
• Its dmg increase is considered as a Universal base dmg increase, same as  Vex Armor and  Arcane Arachne
• Can reduce recharge delay for  Cycron or a Kitgun equipped with  Pax Charge, however, it does not affect recharge rate.

Cold

• Properly modded, a  Cold-oriented Ward can provide an armor bonus high enough that can counteract the armor penalty generated when casting  Effigy.
• The damage reflection is calculated using the damage before any damage reduction.

Bugs

• Allies who enter, leave, then re-enter the radius of  Heat-oriented Ward will not regain the buff on the same cast of Elemental Ward. This results in an empty space where the bonus health should have been, even if they took no damage at all.
  • This causes  Medi-Ray and other healing abilities to attempt to heal the player, but if the player gets out of Elemental Ward's range, their health will return to normal again, wasting the health restored in the process.
• The in-game UI shows the armor bonus from the  Cold aura as a flat bonus rather than a percentage.

Elemental Ward's alignment emits an aura of noxious fumes around Chroma and affected allies that increases base reload speed by 15% / 25% / 30% / 35% and holster rate by 15% / 25% / 30% / 35%. Within a radius of 5 meters, the noxious fumes also have a 25% / 35% / 40% / 50% chance per second to deal 5% of an enemy's maximum health as damage with a 100% status chance.

	4 100	Redline Push Gauss' battery beyond the redline, supercharging his Abilities and setting Fire Rate, Attack Speed, Reload Speed, and Holster Rate into overdrive. When past the redline, bolts of arcing electricity dance periodically from Gauss, exploding en masse when the ability is deactivated. Introduced in Update 25.7 (2019-08-29)	Strength:100 / 200 / 300 / 400 ( Impact and  Puncture area damage)
			Duration:15 / 20 / 25 / 30 s (duration) 6 - 30% / 9 - 45% / 12 - 60% / 15 - 75% (fire rate buff) 5 - 25% / 6 - 30% / 7 - 35% / 8 - 40% (attack speed buff) 4 - 20% / 6 - 30% / 8 - 40% / 10 - 50% (reload speed buff) 4 - 20% / 6 - 30% / 8 - 40% / 10 - 50% (casting speed buff)
			Range:N/A
			Misc: ? m (activation knockback radius) +20% (battery limit release) 50% (projectile accuracy) 50% (energy discount for Mach Rush) 100% (melee damage bonus and stagger chance for Kinetic Plating) 100% ( Cold freeze chance and  Heat ignite chance for Thermal Sunder) ≤100% ( Blast enemy armor reduction for Thermal Sunder)

• Info

Info

• Gauss expends 100 energy to overclock his battery, blasting away enemies within ? meters around him and gaining access to 100% of his battery for 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 seconds. During Redline, Gauss grants himself bonus weapon Fire Rate by a minimum of 6% / 9% / 12% / 15% at empty battery to a maximum of 30% / 45% / 60% / 75% at full battery, melee Attack Speed by a minimum of 5% / 6% / 7% / 8% at empty battery to a maximum of 25% / 30% / 35% / 40% at full battery, and Reload Speed and Casting Speed by a minimum of 4% / 6% / 8% / 10% at empty battery to a maximum of 20% / 30% / 40% / 50% at full battery. While active, Redline drains 2% battery power per second. Redline deactivates on duration end or by manually pressing the ability key again (default 4 ).
• Redline introduces a new counter onto the battery gauge, shown as a percentage value between 0% and 100%. While the battery level is above 80%, the Redline counter gradually increases. The speed of the increase is based on battery level, with the counter decreasing if the battery level drops below the Redline limit. When the Redline counter reaches 100%, battery drain from abilities will be completely negated.
  • Redline counter maximum growth scales inversely with  Ability Duration (e.g. more duration reduces growth), calculated as: 100% / ( Duration × 1/3 ). This means the Redline counter cannot be maxed earlier than 1/3rds of its duration.
  • While battery power level is above the Redline limit release, damaging projectiles of arcing electricity will periodically shoot out from Gauss and home in on nearby enemies with 50% accuracy, dealing 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 damage, with a distribution of 81.25%  Impact and 18.75%  Puncture damage with a moderate status chance and guaranteed  Stagger effect. On deactivation, a variable number of projectiles are simultaneously released from Gauss and explode on impact with enemies.
    • Number of projectiles released during Redline and on deactivation are affected by battery power level above the redline battery charge (>80%).
    • Projectiles will become more accurate and strike enemies more frequently, with the higher the battery power level beyond the redline limit.
  • When Redline expires, battery drains to amount displayed on Redline counter (e.g. if the counter is at 20%, the battery will decrease to 20%).
• Ability Synergy:
  •  Mach Rush energy cost is halved when cast during Redline.
  • While the battery level is boosted during Redline,  Kinetic Plating also grants Gauss a 100% base melee damage bonus and 100% chance to stagger enemies on hit.
  •  Thermal Sunder gains bonuses to its status effects when Redline is active and above the redline battery charge (>80%):
    • The  Cold proc freezes enemies solid instantly.
    • The  Heat proc deals full damage-over-time against enemies.
    • The  Blast proc permanently strips away the current amount of armor based off of battery power level, up to a maximum of 100% with a full battery charge, before inflicting its damage.

	2 50	Penance Sacrifice shields to boost reload, and fire rate while converting damage inflicted on enemies into health for Harrow and nearby allies. Introduced in Update 21.0 (2017-06-29)	Strength:50% (initial heal) 5% (lifesteal on hit) 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% (fire rate bonus) 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% (reload speed bonus)
			Duration:4 s (base time) 1.25 / 1.33 / 1.43 / 1.54 s (bonus per 100 shields)
			Range:N/A
			Misc: 50 m (affinity range) 120 s (max duration)

• Info
• Tips & Tricks

Info

• Harrow expends 50 energy to flagellate himself twice with his thurible, sacrificing all of his shields and Overshields to gain 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% Fire Rate and 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% Reload Speed while restoring his Health by 50% of the amount of shields and overshields sacrificed. While active, 5% of any damage dealt by Harrow to enemies converts into health for Harrow and allies within his Affinity Range. Penance has a base duration of 4 seconds, plus extra duration of 1.25 / 1.33 / 1.43 / 1.54 seconds for every 100 Shield and Overshields points drained, up to a maximum of 120 seconds.
  • Affinity Range is not affected by  Ability Range but is affected by Fosfor and  Vazarin's  Mending Unity.
  • The amount of shields to be drained is determined on activation. Shield points from  Condemn will not be drained if gained during Penance's casting animation.
  • Each time Harrow flagellates himself, 50% of the total shield points are subtracted.
• Can be recast while active to stack extra duration to the remaining time.
• Allies affected by the lifesteal include all Warframes, Companions, Eidolon Lures, summoned allied units such as Specters, allied Invasion units, Hostages, Kavor Defectors, Sortie and Arbitrations Defense Operatives, and Defense Objects.
  • On Defense Objects, Penance restores up to 50 health per second.
• While active, stylized art appears beneath the aiming reticle; when a player is healed by Penance, colored text denoting the amount of health healed from damage dealt briefly replaces the art for several seconds. Both visuals are affected by Harrow's Warframe energy color.
• Harrow's wounds on his back from flagellation emit piercing light in his chosen Warframe energy color.
• Casting Penance stops all of Harrow's movement and actions.

Tips & Tricks

• Mod for a higher shield pool to gain more extra duration for Penance by default.
• Harrow can opt to choose to build Penance over Ability Strength for quick bursts of fire rate and lifesteal, or Ability Duration for sustained fire rate and reduced need to deplete Shields to recast. While the former is useful in quick missions and Assassination runs, the latter can be useful in endless missions such as Survival, considering the added protection afforded by a Duration-based  Covenant.
• Use  Condemn to quickly replenish shields and Overshields to fuel Penance' extra duration.
• Build up your shield and Overshield pool again after casting Penance, then recast Penance to stack extra duration onto your remaining time to keep the ability active much longer.
•  Guardian,  Protect,  Brief Respite &  Arcane Barrier are useful for this ability as they are capable of restoring Harrow's shields.
• Cast  Covenant before or after using Penance to protect yourself from damage when you are at your most vulnerable state.
• The fire rate bonus also affects melee weapons.
• Can reduce recharge delay for  Cycron or a Kitgun equipped with  Pax Charge, however, it does not affect recharge rate.

Harrow flagellates himself twice with his thurible, sacrificing all of his shields and Overshields to gain 20% / 25% / 30% / 35% ranged and melee weapons fire rate and 40% / 50% / 60% / 70% reload speed bonuses.

	2 25	Speed Volt energizes his body and nearby Warframes, giving them increased speed and dexterity for a short time. Introduced in Update 5.3 (2013-01-10)	Strength:75% (speed buff) ?% / ?% / ?% / 25% (reload speed buff)
			Duration:9 / 10 / 11 / 12 s
			Range:25 m

• Info
• Augment
• Tips & Tricks

Info

• Volt expends 25 energy to energize the surrounding area, increasing the mobility of himself and his allies within 25 meters. Affected players will gain ?% / ?% / ?% / 25% weapon Reload Speed and 75% melee Attack Speed and Movement Speed bonuses, lasting for 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 seconds.
  • The attack speed buff grants an additive bonus that will stack with other attack speed modifiers. (e.g.,  Fury combined with Speed at max rank and +30% Ability Strength will increase Volt's attack speed by 0.75 × 1.3 + 0.3 = 127.5%).
  • The movement speed buff grants a multiplicative bonus that will stack with other movement speed modifiers. (e.g.,  Rush combined with Speed at max rank and +30% Ability Strength from  Intensify will increase Volt's sprint speed by (1 ×  1.3) × (1 + ( 0.75 ×  1.3)) − 1 = 156.75%).
  • The reload speed buff grants an additive bonus that will stack with other reload speed modifiers. (e.g.,  Quickdraw combined with Speed at max rank and +30% Ability Strength from  Intensify will increase Volt's reload speed by  0.25 ×  1.3 +  0.48 = 80.5%).
• Allies can backflip to remove Speed if they wish to opt-out.
• Increases the distance of Maneuvers like the sliding front flip and wall run as a result of the faster sprint speed.
• Can be used while performing many actions without interrupting them, including reloading.
• Can be recast while active.

Augment

Main article: Shocking Speed

Shocking Speed is a Warframe Augment Mod for  Volt's  Speed that causes him and his allies to inflict  Electricity damage and status to enemies within close proximity while moving.

Shocking Speed

Tips & Tricks

• Great for catching up with teammates that need to be revived, fleeing from tough enemies, or taking the lead.
• Excellent skill to use for a cell (now called squad or team) looking to get through a mission quickly.
• Can be combined with  Rush for speed only rivaled by the likes of Gauss, Titania, etc.
• Combine with  Fury and  Berserker Fury for absurd attack speed on melee weapons.
• Can be used to avoid enemy fire due to reduced enemy accuracy and to dodge almost all Corpus due to their weapons' projectile travel time.
• Can reduce recharge delay for  Cycron or a Kitgun equipped with  Pax Charge, however, it does not affect recharge rate.
• Using Speed before switching to Archwing mode significantly boost Archwing's flight speed

Volt energizes the surrounding area, increasing the mobility of his allies within 15 / 20 / 22 / 25 meters. Affected players will gain 8% / 13% / 15% / 17% weapon Reload Speed and 10% / 15% / 25% / 50% melee Attack Speed and Sprint Speed bonuses, lasting for 5 / 6 / 8 / 10 seconds.

One-Handed Action

Main article: One-Handed Action

One-Handed Actions are actions that can be done while reloading or charging. They are called such because the animations to cast these abilities generally use up to one hand each, leaving the other hand free to reload weapons. This does not imply that all ability animations which show only one hand doing things are one-handed abilities; it only refers to the fact that a hand is still able to be reloading a weapon while the ability is being cast. One can take advantage of this mechanic to further increase their efficiency and flow of actions.

Sustained Damage Per Second

Players looking to achieve as high as single-target damage as possible might wish to consider the effects of reload speed modifiers on their weapons. Burst damage considers damage as an instantaneous sample of averages, relying purely on the damage dealt by each attack and how many attacks can be dealt per second. Sustained damage, on the other hand, relates to encounters that last beyond a single clip and therefore must include reload time into its average.

Currently, modding for reload speed is a poor choice on almost every weapon in this regard, due to the opportunity cost of using the same mod slot for elemental damage or the like. There are some conditions where reload speed can be considered valuable, however.

Reload Speed vs Fire Rate

Sustained DPS works as a function of total damage dealt over the combined period of firing the weapon and finishing the reload. If the combined period is split into two parts, then an increase in either can be easily compared the other. For example:

•  Viper is a pistol that spends its entire clip in 0.97 seconds. It then needs 1.1 seconds to be reloaded.
• For 7 mod capacity, a player can install either a rank 5 Quickdraw or a rank 3  Gunslinger.
• Rank 3 Gunslinger increases the Viper's fire rate from 14.4 to 21.31, reducing time spent firing from 0.97 seconds to .66 seconds. Combined with the reload time, the viper deals 224 damage over 1.76 seconds, assuming no crits or damage modifiers, for a sustained DPS of 127.27.
• Rank 5 Quickdraw decreases the Viper's reload time from 1.1 to 0.74 seconds. Combined with the firing time, the viper deals 224 damage over 1.71 seconds, for a sustained DPS of 131.99.

The Viper is a rare instance of a weapon with nearly-equal firing and reload times. The vast majority of weapons have a greater percentage of time spent firing compared to reloading. Furthermore, as players progress in the game, their limiting factor becomes mod slots, not mod capacity, and so a more apt version of the above comparison would be a rank 5 Gunslinger (at 9 capacity) where its 72% increase in fire rate far outperforms the 48% increase in reload speed. Only weapons where the reload time significantly dominates the firing time (the Tigris, for example, spends 1 second shooting and 1.8 seconds reloading) should one even consider choosing Reload Speed mods in opposition to Fire Rate mods.

Reload Speed vs Magazine Capacity

Magazine capacity increases the amount of ammo in a single clip while keeping fire rate constant. Therefore, if any weapon of any fire rate has its magazine of any capacity increased by 60%, it will take 60% more time to finish off its clip, except for rounding discrepancies, or weapons with spool-up. Because sustained DPS considers both the time spent firing and the time spent reloading, magazine size also acts nearly identical to reload speed, by reducing the percentage of total time spent reloading as opposed to firing. For example:

•  Grakata spends its entire clip in 3 seconds, and then spends 2.4 seconds reloading. As a percentage, ~55% of sustained Grakata usage is firing time, while ~45% is reloading time.
• Max rank  Fast Hands reduces the reload time to ~1.85 seconds, making firing time represent ~61% of sustained Grakata DPS.
• Max rank  Magazine Warp increases firing time to 3.9 seconds, making firing time represent ~62% of sustained Grakata DPS.

Without even calculating the resulting DPS, it can be shown that a 30% increase in magazine capacity has almost the same effect as a 30% increase in reload speed. That means that, if ever in the situation to choose between the two effects, consider the other factors.

• For rifles, a maxed  Fast Hands drains 2 fewer mod capacity points than a maxed  Magazine Warp for the same DPS change.
• For shotguns, the  Tactical Pump mod drains the same as  Ammo Stock but the latter makes a 60% magazine increase while the former only makes a 30% reload speed increase.
  • However, the  Strun and  Corinth reload one shot at a time, meaning a larger magazine takes proportionally longer to reload. Therefore, Tactical Pump is better for these two.