See the comparison for Pack-a-Punch vs Weapon Tier in Call of Duty Black Ops 6 (BO6) Zombies Mode. Learn about the damage comparisons between Rarity and Pack-a-Punch upgrades, as well as which upgrade is worth getting.

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

Weapon Damage Charts and Tables
Weapon Damage Multipliers Comparison Pack-a-Punch Damage Tests (XM4) Weapon Rarity Damage Tests (XM4) Combined Upgrades Test (XM4)

Weapon Damage Multipliers Comparison

PaP Level	Rarity Level
	Com.	Uncom.	Rare	Epic	Legnd.
None	1x	1.5x	2x	3x	4x
I	2x	3x	4x	6x	8x
II	4x	6x	8x	12x	16x
III	8x	12x	16x	24x	32x

Based on tests, Pack-a-Punch has larger damage increases compared to Rarity levels. The damage increases follow nearly the same pattern as previous titles like Modern Warfare III Zombies and Cold War Zombies.

Multipliers are greater when upgrades are combined, so it is best to progressively upgrade both Pack-a-Punch and Rarity to maximize your weapon's damage output.

The following sections provide damage tests done with an XM4 against regular, non-armored zombies in Liberty Falls.

Pack-a-Punch Damage Tests (XM4)

Pack-a-Punch and Cost	Upper Torso Damage	Critical Damage
None	21	111
PaP I 5000 Essence	42	222
PaP II 15000 Essence	84	444
PaP III 30000 Essence	168	888

Damage may vary depending on the body parts shot.

Pack-a-Punch (PaP) upgrades provide a larger boost to weapon damage over Weapon Rarity, since the 1st upgrade provides a 2x damage increase already compared to the Uncommon Rarity Upgrade's 1.5x.

PaP upgrades are done at a Pack-a-Punch Machine and needs Essence, which drop from enemies. To get a higher PaP level, interact with the machine again with the upgraded weapon in hand. Each upgrade will cost more Essence than the last.

Best Pack-a-Punch Weapons

Weapon Rarity Damage Tests (XM4)

Weapon Rarity and Cost	Upper Torso Damage	Critical Damage
Common	21	111
Uncommon 500 Salvage	31	166
Rare 1000 Salvage	42	222
Epic 2500 Salvage	63	333
Legendary 5000 Salvage	84	444

ⓘ Rarity costs are summed when you upgrade a weapon past 1 level or more.

Rarity (or Weapon Tiers) has less overall damage boost compared to PaP. Its combination with PaP, however, is multiplicative, so make not sure not to sleep on it!

Weapon Rarity may be obtained randomly as part of Wall Buy or Mystery Box weapons, or through the Arsenal Machine at the cost of Salvage.

How to Farm Salvage

Combined Upgrades Test

Upper Torso Damage (XM4)

PaP Level	Rarity Level
	Com.	Uncom.	Rare	Epic	Legnd.
None	21	31	42	63	84
I	42	63	84	126	168
II	84	126	168	252	336
III	168	252	336	504	672

The above table references Upper Torso Damage with the XM4. Damage done per shot may vary depending on body parts and the time-to-kill against zombies become higher as they gain more health in higher rounds.

Critical or Headshot Damage (XM4)

PaP Level	Rarity Level
	Com.	Uncom.	Rare	Epic	Legnd.
None	111	166	222	333	444
I	222	333	444	666	888
II	444	666	888	1332	1776
III	888	1332	1776	2664	3552

The above table references Critical Damage values with the XM4. Critical Damage is always consistent, and applies to headshots or enemy weakpoints.

Critical Damage can be boosted further with the perk Deadshot Daquiri.

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Verdict

Get Both Upgrades

Above shows the base upper torso damage scaling of the XM4 per upgrade.

Whether you decide to go for one or the other, Rarity being the easier of the two, it is best to go for upgrading both since lacking in either will severely limit your weapon's damage potential: 4x for only focusing on upgrading Rarity, and 8x at most for only focusing on Pack-a-Punch.

Pack-a-Punch is the Best and Easiest to Get

Of the two upgrades, the Pack-a-Punch upgrade will be the easiest to get and also gives the largest damage multiplier to your weapon independent of weapon rarities.

Ignoring weapon rarities, however, will bottleneck you from reaching 4 other higher multipliers (12x, 16x, 24x, 32x); only being able to use around 21% (79% less) of your gun's maximum damage potential.

There is no holding you back from getting both buffs, so it is best to maximize both Rarity and Pack-a-Punch levels for your weapon if you want to go past that 8x damage multiplier up to a 32x.

Rarity Weapon Tiers are Harder But Help PaP

Weapon rarity upgrades are harder to get since Salvage does not easily drop as Essence. They do not provide as much damage multipliers on their own unless they are paired with a Pack-a-Punch upgrade.

Rarities can, however, can come paired already with Wall Buy and Mystery Box, and the chances of getting higher rarity weapons are better the higher your zombie round is. You will still want to prioritize PaP due rarities on their own not dealing enough damage.

All Arsenal Machine Locations

Balancing Upgrades

Multiplier	Equal Combinations
32x	Legendary + PaP III
24x	Epic + PaP III
16x	Legendary + PaP II Rare + PaP III
12x	Epic + PaP II Uncommon + PaP III
8x	Legendary + PaP I Rare + PaP II Common + PaP III
6x	Epic + PaP I Uncommon + PaP II
4x	Legendary + No PaP Rare + PaP I Common + PaP II
3x	Epic + No PaP Uncommon + PaP I
2x	Rare + No PaP Common + PaP I
1.5x	Uncommon + No PaP
1x	Common + No PaP

Should you decide on computing ahead how to balance out your damage between the two, the above table shows the expected combinations you can go for to get equivalent damage in a descending route (start at the bottom).

Black Ops 6 (BO6) Related Guides

Zombies Guide: Everything You Need to Know

All Zombies Mode Guides