Strategy:Reloader

0.9.9.5

General Tactics

Unsurprisingly, the only benefit of Reloader is that it grants faster reloading. The first level allows you to reload at 80% of normal reload time, the second at 60% and the third (only accessible via extended maximum) at 40%.

There are quite a few reasons why a player may want to build their character with this trait. First and foremost is as a part of any shotgun build: as all shotgun master traits require Shottyman, that means you automatically need Rel2. No need to think here. Ammochain also falls into this category, given that it requires the same level to gain access to it at all.

Reloader also allows for a lot safer means of corner-shooting your enemies. Corner-shooting is a technique where you stand near the corner, so your enemies can't see you meaning they can't shoot you. Take the following example:

...........X
..@#########

As shotguns don't miss and have 7 damage per 1 tile of knockback (usually is 12 per tile) they are a great weapon used to for corner-shooting. Thus you can shoot, knocking back the enemy, who then moves in your direction again, at which point you repeat the process until the enemy dies. Unfortunately, sometimes enemies are fast or tough enough to get to you before you can kill them in this manner: this is where Reloader comes in. By decreasing your reload time, you decrease the window of opportunity for particularly nasty opponents to break through your knockback method of assault.

Mostly, what is written above applies to higher difficulties, as on lower ones you can get away without corner-shooting and will usually pick up a combat shotgun before late-game enemies appear, at which point the need for Reloader is a lot less relevant. Additionally, while Finesse's attack speed bonus is a bit lower it is much more useful: if you are not going for Shottyman or Ammochain, consider taking it instead of Reloader as a generally-superior trait.

There are some weapons that require a very large amount of time to reload: running out of ammo for your BFG9000 or chain-fire weapon mid-fight can cause a very serious problem. Specifically, BFG9000 takes two seconds to reload (not to mention only two shots per clip), chain-fire weapons take two or more (up to 3.5!), so reloading them while under enemy fire is dangerous. With Reloader, the problem mostly vanishes. This kind of situation, however, is typically the result of bad gameplay in the first place. One should consider proper planning over open-space firefights, at which point Reloader isn't quite as necessary.

Reloading can also be a very significant issue when it comes to pistol builds. With proper trait-building, pistols are among the most powerful weapons in the game, but normal pistols have 6 only rounds in a clip and a 1.2s reload time. That means you are going to have reload mid-fight pretty often: Reloader will alleviate this concern with fairly acceptable reload times, allowing your enemies less of a chance to strike back. However, there are also quite a few alternative options when it comes to reloading pistols: proper usage of Gun Kata removes reloading problem entirely and with Sharpshooter you can equip ammochain in your prepared slot. In other situations it's usually easier to assemble speedloader pistol. So while taking Rel can be useful for pistol build, usually there are more important traits to take.If you think there's none you can try bulk-modding your pistols and taking Rel.

In short: unless you need Reloader as a requirement for master builds or Shottyman, there is little reason to take it.

Basic strategy posted by AlterAsc 09:13, January 15, 2012 (GMT).

0.9.9.8

Reloader was buffed to reduce reloading time by 30% per level, with all three levels of Reloader now reducing your reloading time by an incredible 90%. This Reloader buff makes it a very useful trait for the early game on the harder difficulties when you're primarily relying on the basic Shotgun to fight big enemies and large crowds of smaller enemies; a level in Reloader is twice as effective at reducing the total shoot and reload time of the Shotgun than a level in Finesse, so a level in Reloader much more significantly increases the chance that a Hell knight or Baron of hell you're corner shooting dies before it reaches you, that the horde of Demons you're shotgunning goes down before they maul you, and that you get fewer attacks thrown your way when standing your ground in the open against groups of Formers and Imps. This buffed Reloader will also allow Shotgun builds to even more effectively utilize the power of the Double shotgun (and the Focused double shotgun once they assemble it, and the Super shotgun if they find it), when multiple levels of Reloader now will often result in their reloading time being faster than their movement time (especially in conjunction with a Shell box).

Despite this big buff, Reloader is still a rather low priority trait. When you get clip Shotguns, Finesse will become more effective, as it'll let you shoot those several shots faster and often the threat will be neutralized when it comes time to start reloading or you're in a position where reloading time doesn't matter, or a Shell box alone would have reloaded fast enough to handle it without any need for Reloader. Then non-Gun Kata Pistol builds could really benefit from no longer needing to rely on ammo boxes and making Dualgunner more practical in general, but Pistols demand the investment of so many other traits that you'll be hard-pressed to fit in any investment for Reloader. Then non-Ammochain rapid builds don't even have the option to get Reloader, as both Cateye and Entrenchment block it. Then melee builds' primary weapon type of course gets no benefit from Reloader at all, and masterless builds will likely still find Reloader to be low priority, when getting Hellrunner, Whizkid, and building up Son of a Bitch is so crucial. Not to mention that if you find a Nano mod and so make your primary weapon infinitely fireable, any levels in Reloader will become absolutely meaningless for it. What was written in the above guide still also applies, proper strategy will often entail not reloading with enemies in sight, so you rather invest in traits that alleviate the need to reload mid-fight in the first place.

Still though, how useful Reloader now is in the early game cannot be understated. If you're not playing a Shotgun build and are struggling to survive in Phobos, especially on Ultra-violence or Nightmare!, with your cause of death frequently being enemies getting to you before you can kill them with a Shotgun, a level in Reloader can be a serious boon to getting you over that early hump, even if that Reloader level ends up doing little later. What good is optimizing late-game performance if you can't even survive long enough for that to matter? Omega Tyrant (talk) 19:45, 25 July 2024 (UTC)