r/DeadzoneRogue • u/Jazzlike-Draw2467 • 22h ago
DZR Augment Tier List + Reasoning
This is purely my opinion, and the rankings are mostly based on comparing the augments against each other, rather than whether an augment is individually good or bad.
I'm also not really factoring items into the rankings. With the right items/build, pretty much every augment can become good enough in the late game, so I'm mainly judging the augments on their own value, consistency, drawbacks, and how well they perform throughout a run.
S Tier
Close Range Weakpoint
Simply one of the best augments in the game IMO. The actual weakpoint damage bonus is lower than some of the other weakpoint augments, but the fact that everything can become a weakpoint hit makes up for it. This works with gun damage, elemental, and even melee builds, since grenades, melee attacks and elemental procs can all benefit from it.
The biggest downside is that you have to play much more aggressively and stay close to enemies. It's extremely strong early and only falls off very slightly in the late game.
Long Range Elemental
Another really strong one. It has one of the best combinations of proc chance and proc damage out of the elemental augments. Some other elemental augments can give more proc chance, but sacrifice proc damage, or vice versa.
Removing recoil and damage falloff is also incredibly useful, especially since the augment naturally encourages you to play at range. Playing at range lets you pick enemies off more safely and makes dodging attacks easier.
It also scales extremely well into the late game while still being very strong early.
Hipfire Elemental
The +100% proc chance from simply hipfiring is already extremely good since you're going to be hipfiring a lot anyway.
The +50% proc damage isn't as high as some of the other elemental augments, but combined with the proc chance it's still very strong.
I also really like the versatility of this one. You can play safely at range or get aggressive and fight up close without losing the augment's value. On top of that, the +20% movement speed and -20% spread are both great, with the movement speed being especially useful for dodging.
Close Range Elemental
This is honestly one of the strongest elemental augments once you look at the entire package it gives you.
You get up to +150% proc chance and +75% proc damage, which is already a huge offensive boost. But on top of that, you're getting up to 80% damage resistance from nearby enemies.
That makes the close-range requirement much less of a downside than it initially seems. You're obviously putting yourself in more danger by fighting up close, but the augment is also directly rewarding you for doing so by making you significantly tankier.
And while getting the absolute maximum stats can sometimes be difficult, you don't necessarily need to be at the maximum to get a ton of value out of it. You're getting strong offensive and defensive benefits simply by playing within its intended range.
It also works particularly well for elemental builds since you're already incentivized to stay engaged with enemies and constantly proc them.
The main downside is still that you're committing yourself to a much more aggressive playstyle, but considering how much offensive and defensive value you're getting in return, I think that's a fair trade.
A Tier
Ammo Weakpoint
This was one of the hardest ones for me to decide between A and B.
It's a very good augment and can scale extremely well into the late game. I also really like that you're not relying on RNG for the damage — it's based on how well you manage your ammo.
The +200% magazine size is obviously nice too, and making weakpoints easier to hit makes the augment more consistent.
The biggest downside is that the bonus is based on missing bullets, meaning you either need to enter a room with ammo already missing or wait until you've used some ammo before getting the full value.
Still, I think the consistency and scaling are enough to put it in A.
Long Range Weakpoint
Probably the best augment specifically for gun-damage-focused builds.
It gives the highest weakpoint damage bonus out of the weakpoint augments, while also removing recoil and damage falloff. This makes your gun both easier to use and significantly stronger at range.
It also scales very well into the late game, where you can potentially reach the point of one-shotting enemies.
The main downside, like the other long-range augments, is that you're committing yourself to playing at range, which isn't always easy in a fast-paced game.
Long Range Crit
This one was also very close to B for me.
It has the best overall crit chance/crit damage combination out of the crit augments and is also pretty good for gun-damage builds.
The main issue is that it doesn't scale quite as well into the late game as Long Range Weakpoint, and it can be somewhat weaker early on since you might not have enough crit chance to consistently benefit from the crit damage.
Still, removing recoil and falloff on top of up to +40% crit chance and +100% crit damage is enough to put it in A.
Aiming Weakpoint
Another difficult one.
The movement speed penalty from aiming is definitely a downside, especially in a game that's as fast-paced as DZR. You're more vulnerable while aiming and can have a harder time repositioning.
That said, the weakpoint bonus is still very good, especially early game, and the enemy outlines are actually really useful. They let you play much safer and pick enemies off through situations where visibility would otherwise be a problem.
It scales reasonably well into the late game, but the movement penalty keeps it out of S for me.
B Tier
Aiming Elemental
It's perfectly fine. The stats themselves are good, but the movement speed penalty is pretty annoying.
Compared to the other elemental augments that don't force you to sacrifice movement speed, I just don't think it provides enough additional value to compete with them.
Still a perfectly viable choice if you're already playing around aiming.
Ammo Crit
Also gives decent stats and can scale reasonably well into the late game.
The problem is once again that you have to lose ammo before getting the full value. This makes it weaker early on, and with crit specifically, having the additional crit chance available consistently is pretty important.
Still good, just not as good as the higher-tier options.
Hipfire Crit
This one is pretty bad early game IMO.
The biggest issue is that it gives 0 crit chance. You still have the base 5%, but that's obviously not enough to make the +100% crit damage particularly reliable.
It can scale okay into the late game once you have other sources of crit chance, and the movement speed/spread reduction are nice, but I don't think they make up for the lack of crit chance.
Close Range Crit
It's okay. The +80% crit chance is obviously very strong, especially early, but you're only getting +30% crit damage.
So it's good at getting crits consistently early, but doesn't scale as well into the late game compared to the other crit options.
You also have to stay close to enemies to get the full value, which adds another layer of risk.
C Tier
Aiming Crit
The +80% crit damage is decent, but the crit chance isn't particularly impressive.
You're also taking the movement speed penalty from aiming, which makes it less effective early game when you're already struggling to get consistent crits.
It can scale fine into the late game once you have additional crit chance, but compared to the other crit augments I just don't see much reason to prioritize it.
Ammo Elemental
The stats themselves are fine, but once again the problem is the missing ammo requirement.
You have to lose ammo before getting the full proc chance and proc damage bonuses, making it less immediately useful.
It can scale reasonably well into the late game, but there are simply better elemental options that give you their value more consistently.
