Undawn: Character Stat Guide

Characters in Undawn have a lot of various stats, which might be completely unclear for new players. What is Damage Resistance? When and why is it better than Armor? What’s the difference between Armor and Max Armor? What is better: Armor Piercing or Damage? In this comprehensive guide, you will find answers to these and other questions.

How to Check All Stats of the Character

Press “Y” or click the character level icon to open the Character info interface. Here you can see 2 tabs: «Basic» and «Advanced». Basic stats are the main stats of the character: Max HP, Armor of body parts, Max Armor, and Damage.

Advanced stats are the rest of the possible stats in Undawn, and their list is quite long. Some of the listed parameters have important nuances and work differently in different game modes, so we will explore them one-by-one.

What Do Numbers in the “Advanced” Tab Mean?

Initially, the stats in the “Advanced” tab were specified in percentages, but approximately after 1 year, the developers changed them into raw numbers.

If you divide these numbers by 10, you will get the percentage value of the stats. For example, “Critical Hit 1069” means +106.9% Critical Hit chance.

This logic does not work with all the stats, though. Below, I prepared an explanation of each of them. Be attentive, because in Undawn, upgrading materials are always limited, and it’s important to focus on improving the right stats.

Basic Character Stats

There are 6 basic stats in total, but even they might be confusing for beginners. You should understand the meaning of each of them before moving on.

Max HP

Max HP is the “Maximum Health Points” of your character. If it reaches 0, the character will obviously die. In the game’s interface, Max HP is displayed as a green bar. When the character is out of combat, their HP slowly restores over time with the speed specified in the “Advanced → Survival Stats” section (“HP Recovery Every 5s“).

Max Armor

Max Armor (do not confuse it with the Armor of body parts — it’s not the same!) is a “shield” over the character’s HP. When the character receives any damage, Max Armor absorbs it first. After Max Armor reaches 0, incoming damage will be dealt to Max HP instead.

In the interface, Max Armor is displayed as a blue bar above the character’s health. Unlike Max HP, it recovers much faster with the speed equal to the “Armor Recovery per Second” parameter, which exists but is not specified in the “Advanced” tab. My tests showed that the character fully recovers their Max Armor in approximately 15-20 seconds when not in combat. This quick armor regeneration is important in PVP.

Head, Torso, and Leg Armor

Armor (do not confuse with “Max Armor” — they are not the same!) is the stat that reduces incoming damage. The exact formula for Armor is unknown, but the more Armor units you have, the weaker the incoming damage reduction becomes for each additional unit.

Basically, each entity in Undawn (player/monster/boss/etc.) has 3 body parts:

• Head — this is obviously the head. Some entities don’t have a head, though—for example, the Ground Smasher boss, whose head is counted as the torso for some reason.
• Torso — includes the torso of an entity and their arms.
• Legs — everything beneath the waist.

Armor is equally good for PVE and PVP, but for PVP, it’s still better to increase Damage Resistance.

Damage & Basic Damage Formula

Basically, every 10 units of the Damage stat increase your damage dealt by 1%, but only values that are multiples of 10 are taken into account. This parameter is a multiplier that affects weapon damage.

Based on my tests, the basic damage formula looks approximately like this:

Weapon Base Damage ×
Weapon Polishing Damage Bonus (%) ×
Damage Units / 1000 (%) ×
Damage Increase Bonus (%) ×
Base Damage Increase Bonus (%) ×
Race Damage Bonuses (%).

I say “approximately” because I didn’t manage to get precise numbers in my tests, but the calculations are still very close to reality.

Example:

• Weapon Base Damage — 495
• Polishing Bonus — 110%
• Damage — 4449
• Damage Increase — 4%
• Base Damage Increase — 7%
• Race Damage — 24.4% (camp training)

495 × (1+110/100) × (1+4449/1000) × (1+4/100) × (1+7/100) × (1+24.4/100) = 7841.13 units of damage

As you can see, in the practical test on level 5 sheep, I got a very close result. Due to the high armor piercing of my character, the armor of the sheep doesn’t affect the damage at all. Despite the fact that the formula is not precise, it might still be useful for a general understanding of how damage works in Undawn.

Advanced Character Stats

Advanced Stats are divided into 3 groups: “Combat Stats“, “Special Stats“, and “Survival Stats“. Survival Stats are not very important, while Combat Stats and some of the Special Stats should be your priority.

Skill Strength & Skill Strength Resistance

Skill Strength increases the effectiveness of tactical and focus skills of the character, including grenades, mines, the healing device, and turrets. Initially, Skill Strength also affected the healing effect of the B39 Biotic Rifle, but at the moment, it doesn’t anymore. Now, Biotic Rifle healing depends on the Damage stat.

The Skill Strength Resistance stat is subtracted from the Skill Strength of the enemy player when they deal damage to you with the help of any skill or talent that depends on Skill Strength (for example, Grenade, focus skill, talents of the jobs, etc.). This parameter is not very important for PVP, so you shouldn’t focus on it precisely.

Critical Hit, Critical Hit Rate & Critical Damage

This stat increases the chance of landing a critical hit when dealing damage. Critical hits are marked with yellow color. They deal damage increased by the Critical Damage stat. In PVE, the effectiveness of the Critical Damage parameter decreases as the level of the target increases (for example, level 5 mobs will receive more critical damage than level 171 mobs).

Critical Hit Rate is a separate chance to deal critical damage, but unlike the Critical Hit stat, it cannot be decreased by the level or the Critical Resistance parameter of the target. An example of how you can increase your Critical Hit Rate is the Firearm Talent of the MPX submachine gun.

According to my last tests (approximately in autumn 2024), players in Undawn receive significantly reduced critical damage to their head — most likely, because of Critical Damage Resistance.

Remember, though, that you can easily find out your real Critical Hit chance and Critical Damage to players. Just take a look at the open profile of someone with a high rating, then decrease your Critical Hit and Critical Damage stats by their Critical Resistance and Critical Damage Resistance parameters, respectively:

• Real Critical Hit % (PVP) = (Critical Hit (yours) – Critical Resistance (target)) / 10 + Critical Hit Rate (yours)
• Real Critical Damage % (PVP) = (Critical Damage (yours) – Critical Damage Resistance (target)) / 10

Despite the fact that it’s hard to test precisely in practice, the system looks like this to me. In any case, both stats are very important. In one of my early videos, I even showed a calculator of critical hit effectiveness. Briefly: if your Critical Damage stat is high enough, each 1% of critical hit will increase your average damage approximately the same as 1% of Damage (10 units).

Critical Resistance & Critical Damage Resistance

Every entity in Undawn also has resistances to critical attacks:

• Critical Resistance reduces the chance to receive a critical hit by decreasing the attacking player’s Critical Hit chance.
• Critical Damage Resistance reduces the damage received when an enemy player deals a critical hit to your character.

These stats are important mostly in PVP (not in Training Matches, though).

Weakness Damage & Weakness Damage Resistance

Weakness Damage is damage to the player’s head or to the weak spot of the enemy (for example, the heads of common zombies or the stomach of the Giant Corruptor boss). The higher the level of the mob, the more the effect decreases.

When it comes to PVP, weakness damage decreases by the Weakness Damage Resistance of the target (e.g., Weakness Damage (yours) – Weakness Damage Resistance (target)). Both parameters are extremely important for PVP and PVE.

Armor Piercing & Armor Piercing (%)

Armor Piercing allows you to ignore the enemy’s Armor when dealing damage. In fact, there are 4 stats in this group:

• Head Armor Piercing — you ignore part of the target’s Head Armor.
• Torso Armor Piercing — you ignore part of the target’s Torso Armor.
• Leg Armor Piercing — you ignore part of the target’s Leg Armor.
• Armor Piercing — you ignore part of the target’s Armor, no matter which body part you shoot at.

Armor Piercing only increases your damage dealt as long as the target has Armor (again, do not confuse with Max Armor). If your Armor Piercing points exceed the Armor points of the target, the subsequent increase of Armor Piercing will not increase your damage dealt.

Armor Piercing (%) is a similar stat that ignores a certain percentage of the target’s armor when dealing damage. All the Armor Piercing parameters are very important for PVP and PVE, but there are nuances.

According to my last tests, the buffs from Damage food and music are more effective in PVP than the Armor Piercing buffs of the same level, which I tested both under Balanced Stats in a custom room and under “normal” conditions. Also, pay attention that your first priority should be Head and Torso Armor Piercing, while Leg Armor Piercing can be ignored completely. These green stats are more effective than the blue Armor Piercing stat of the same level, so you should strive to have them in your genes and equipment.

Damage Resistance

This stat is one of the most important for PVP because it reduces damage taken from players more than Armor, according to my tests. You should use food with Damage Resistance, strive to get this stat in genes and additional stats of the equipment, develop the corresponding Camp Training perk, and so on. The more Damage Resistance you have, the higher your PVP survivability will be.

Damage Increase (%)

This stat increases all the damage your character deals, including the damage of tactical skills (like turrets, grenades, etc.), and works independently of which weapon you’re holding in your hands.

You should strive to get this parameter as a purple stat of your main and heavy weapon, as well as in any other way whenever possible, because it’s equally important in PVE (damage to bosses) and PVP. Also, you can always get 3% of Damage Increase thanks to the Fullness Lv. 3 buff when your character is well-fed.

The stat doesn’t work in Training Matches or Custom Rooms with Balanced Stats.

Base Damage Increase (%)

Unlike “Damage Increase,” this stat only increases the base damage of the weapon and will not affect the damage of tactical skills. This stat is also important for both PVE and PVP, so you should strive to get it when modifying your weapons.

The stat doesn’t work in Training Matches or Custom Rooms with Balanced Stats.

Healing Effect (%)

Healing Effect increases the effectiveness of healing your character applies to himself or to allies using the B39 Biotic Rifle, Healing Device, and the drone. This parameter is only important for healers.

The stat works in Training Matches and Custom Rooms with Balanced Stats.

Skill Damage Boost (%)

This parameter increases damage dealt by various skills of the character: throwing, devices, special skills, focus skills, etc. The simplest way to increase Skill Damage Boost is to get the corresponding purple stat in gloves. The parameter is very important in both PVP and PVE because it significantly increases instant damage of skill-oriented classes (like Wasteland Hunter and Explosives), as well as DPS to bosses in PVE.

Damage Reductions (%)

There are as many as 5 Damage Reduction stats in Undawn:

• Damage Reduction (%) — reduces all incoming damage to any body part.
• Head / Torso / Leg Damage Reduction (%) — reduces all incoming damage to the specific body part.
• Armor Damage Reduction — reduces all incoming damage as long as the character’s Max Armor (blue bar) is above 0.

All these parameters are extremely important in PVP, and you can get them as purple stats of your equipment. Strive to focus on Head and Torso Damage Reduction, ignoring legs, because in reality, players usually shoot at your upper body parts.

Cooldown Reduction (%)

The parameter reduces the cooldown time of throwing skills, devices, and drone release. This stat is also very important for both PVP and PVE because it allows you to use your skills more often. The simplest way to obtain it is to get the corresponding purple stat in your gloves. In my opinion, Cooldown Reduction should be your first priority stat in gloves, rather than Skill Damage Boost and others.

Max Energy

Energy (or Stamina) is expended when the player sprints, rolls, or slides. You can see a green indicator of Energy on your screen when spending it.

This parameter is mostly useful for PVP. It can be increased in several ways:

• The Strong Body talent,
• Rest at Campfire or Rest Shed,
• The Still-Fried Bullfrog food.

Pay attention, though, that only one stamina buff can be applied to the character at the same time, so you can only have either the food buff or the buff from the campfire. Both buffs don’t replace the effects of damage and armor food. Make sure to increase your Max Energy with buffs before Camp Competition, Elite Eliminator, Training Matches, and other PVP events. This will significantly increase your mobility in combat.

Energy Recovery per Second

The amount of Energy the player recovers every second. Important in PVP but not crucial. Note that the character can’t recover Max Energy while shooting or spending it (sprint/roll/slide).

HP Recovery Every 5s

When not in combat, the character starts recovering HP every 5 seconds, depending on this parameter. This regeneration is very slow, so there is no point in developing the stat on purpose.

Festering Chance Reduction (%)

When zombies attack you in the game, they have a chance to inflict a festering wound on the character. This chance will be reduced by the Festering Chance Reduction parameter. The stat is completely useless, so you shouldn’t worry about it at all.

Hunger & Health Drain Reduction (%)

Hunger and Health are two of the survival indicators of the character:

• Hunger Drain Reduction means that your character will get hungry slower.
• Health Drain Reduction means that the character will lose its Health slower, for example, when affected by weather.

These stats are not important, so you shouldn’t prioritize them.

Energy Drain Reduction (%)

The higher this stat, the slower your character will lose Max Energy (Stamina) when sprinting, rolling, or sliding. This parameter is only important for intensive PVP events. For example, it’s very useful in Training Matches because your character must constantly stay as mobile as possible.

Rescue Speed (%)

Characters in Undawn don’t die instantly after losing health. Instead, they become knocked down, and during a short period of time after this (around 1 minute), they can still be rescued by allies. The higher the Rescue Speed stat, the faster you will be able to rescue your knocked-down teammates. At the moment, this parameter isn’t important because the Medic class can rescue allies from a distance thanks to the Focus Skill.

Hidden Stats

However, this Undawn character stat guide would be incomplete without mentioning so-called hidden stats, which exist but are not displayed in the player profile. Here is the list of them.

Race Damage Increase (%)

At the moment, I am aware of 5 such parameters:

• Damage Increase Against Animals (completely useless)
• Damage Increase Against Zombies (important for PVE damage to bosses)
• Damage Increase Against Humans (important for PVE damage to bosses and mobs)
• Damage Increase Against Buildings (mostly useless)
• Damage Increase Against Characters (very important for PVP)

There are a few things you need to understand about these stats:

• Players in Undawn are not “humans”; they are “characters.” Damage to Humans means damage to human-type mobs and bosses.
• Zombies are any infected entity, whether it’s a mob or boss.
• Buildings are structures of player homesteads and some entities in the game, like the ship from the Raging Seas event.

Of all these stats, the most important one is Damage Increase Against Characters. You can get this parameter through the Fortification upgrades. It will increase your damage dealt in PVP encounters.

Race Damage Reduction (%)

There are 4 parameters of this type in the game:

• Damage Reduction Against Animals — completely useless because any animals in Undawn are not a threat to a player.
• Damage Reduction Against Humans — might be useful in weekly Special Ops and some events, but in reality, rather useless.
• Damage Reduction Against Zombies — might be useful in weekly Special Ops and some events, but in reality, also rather useless.
• Damage Reduction Against Characters — a very important parameter for PVP, which reduces incoming damage from players. You can increase this stat through the Fortification system.

Throwing Damage Increase (%)

This parameter can be increased through Additional Stats on equipment. It increases the damage of any throwables (like grenades) from the Esc → Skills → Throw section. Presumably, it’s an absolute multiplier that increases the damage of throwables.

Device Damage Boost (%)

Under “devices,” you should understand Auto Turret, Automatic Flamethrower, Electric Device, Tactical Car, and various mines. I haven’t tested this stat precisely, but I still consider it important both in PVP and PVE. Presumably, it’s an absolute multiplier that increases the damage of the corresponding tactical skills.

Weapon Damage Reduction (%)

There are several parameters of this group, and all of them can only be obtained as Additional Stats of the armor (equipment):

• Submachine Gun Damage Reduction,
• Assault Rifle Damage Reduction,
• Shotgun Damage Reduction,
• Light Machine Gun Damage Reduction,
• Sniper Rifle Damage Reduction,
• Melee Damage Reduction.

All these stats reduce incoming damage from the corresponding weapon type by a certain percentage. The most important of them are Shotgun / Sniper Rifle / Submachine Gun / Assault Rifle Damage Reductions because players usually use these types of weapons in PVP.

Gathering Speed (%)

You can obtain this stat temporarily from Pumpkin and Mushroom Soup, as well as from the Campfire buff. It increases your material gathering speed in the world (mining, chopping trees, etc.).