Reload time (DX)

This page describes the reload time attribute of weapons in Deus Ex.

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

The durations for the begin phase and end phase are hidden attributes that are not explicitly given to the player, but effectively add onto the reload time of the main phase that is display in-game. Since the begin and end phases are not affected by reload mods, weapon skill, and Targeting, the 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 begin and end phases can be derived from the attributes of the ReloadBegin and ReloadEnd animations that are specified in the DeusExItems.u package. The duration of these phases given by the value of (NUMFRAMES/RATE) respectively specified for these animations.