Reload time (DX)

Reload time is an attribute of weapons in Deus Ex. This page describes the game mechanics pertaining to this attribute.

Overview
In Deus Ex, the entire weapon reload sequence consists of three parts: a beginning phase, a main phase (also generally known as the "middle phase"), and an end phase. The main phase is the only phase whose duration is explicitly stated in-game, and is also the only phase whose duration can be reduced. The duration of the main phase (and thus the overall reload time) can be reduced through the use of reload modifications, weapon skill, and the Targeting augmentation.

The durations for the beginning and end phases are hidden attributes that are not explicitly given to the player, but are part of the actual reload sequence. Since the beginning and end phases are not affected by reload mods, weapon skill, and Targeting, the actual reload time can be very noticeably higher than what is stated in-game when the player has attained the maximum number of reload mods along with master skill level.

Calculations
The duration of the main phase is governed by the ReloadTime attribute of weapons and is affected by the following factors:


 * The addition of reload modifications decreases the weapon's base reload time (for the main phase) by 10% per reload mod, up to a total of a 50% reduction when 5 reload mods have been installed.
 * After reload modifications are accounted for, the modified duration of the main phase is further reduced by the following, in a multiplicative manner:
 * Weapon skills provide a 0, 10%, 25%, and 50% reduction from untrained to master for the corresponding type of weapon.
 * Targeting augmentation increases the weapon skill factor by an additional 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, respectively from tech 1 to tech 4.

The additional factor from Targeting is added to the weapon skill's base factor, and the resulting sum is then applied to the modified base reload duration as a multiplicative percentage reduction. For example, if the weapon already has 5 reload mods, the modified base duration is 50% of the original base duration. Then, the combination of master skill level and tech 4 Targeting provides a total reduction of 70% reduction in duration, which reduces final duration to 50% × (1 - 0.70) = 15% of the original duration.

The durations for the beginning and end phases can be derived from the attributes of the ReloadBegin and ReloadEnd animations that are specified in the DeusExItems.u package. For a particular weapon, the duration of the beginning phase or end phase is equal to the value of (NUMFRAMES/RATE) specified for the ReloadBegin or ReloadEnd animation.

Actual reload times
The reload times of all weapons that have a reload animation are shown below. The "Main Phase" value is the one shown in-game. The column labeled "Total Addt'l" is the total additional time from the beginning and end phases that is added to the main phase value.