Hidden Damage Limiters in PvP
In games with hero + squad elements, like Zombie Waves, the formulas for calculating damage in PvP and the exact algorithms for distributing damage are usually not disclosed by the developers (Fun Formula). This has to do with balance sheet and trade secrets. However, based on an analysis of the mechanics of the genre and discussions in the community, several general principles can be identified that are responsible for the drop in character damage.
Here's how such systems typically work:
- Hidden limiters (Diminishing Returns)
Developers often set an overall damage per second (DPS) cap or specific debuff multipliers for PvP. When you upgrade a robot to the red rank, its “weight” in the team’s total damage formula increases. To prevent the balance from breaking, the system can strictly divide the damage pool: the robot begins to deal a larger percentage, but the overall damage multiplier for the hero is reduced so that the final value remains within the limit.
- Replacing damage types
When moving to the red level, the robot often changes its attack type (for example, from physical to magical) or acquires a new type of control. In PvP, another player’s fighter can have high defense against precisely the type that now dominates the robot’s damage and to which the hero “switched” through synchronization buffs. Result: the robot’s numbers grow, and the hero’s damage numbers pass through the enemy’s “resistance”, falling visually.
- Perception error and statsIt is important to distinguish damage per hit from total damage per second. The red robot can deliver rare but very powerful blows, taking over animation priority or the team's action resource. Because of this, your character attacks less often. Or, when leveling up the robot, you accidentally removed a module from the hero that gave +100% attack, using it as material to strengthen the robot - this is a common mistake in Zombie Waves.
To find out exactly the reason, you should try to remove all the equipment from the hero and put it back on, or test the battle in training mode without the robot’s equipment. If the pattern persists, this is almost certainly an internal balance of the game or a visual bug in displaying numbers in statistics.