Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (MW3)

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

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Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

MW3 Zombies Rarity VS Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart
Weapon Rarity and Pack-a-Punch are weapon upgrades that can significantly boost your overall damage in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (MW3). Read on to learn more about these upgrades and which upgrade is more efficient to get.

Weapon Upgrade Guides
Weapon Rarity Explained Pack-a-Punch Weapons Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Damage Chart

Damage Increase Comparison

Pack-a-Punch Level Rarity
Common
(Grey)
Uncom.
(Green)
Rare
(Blue)
Epic
(Purple)
Legend.
(Gold)
none 1 1.5 2 3 4
I 2 3 4 6 8
II 4 6 8 12 16
III 8 12 16 24 32

The damage increases for weapon rarity and Pack-a-Punch upgrades are all multiplicative and stack on top of each other. These damage increase multipliers are applied to your initial or base weapon damage.

This means that upgrading weapons doesn't have any diminishing returns, and it is always worth doing so until you include the Essence cost into the calculation. Use the table above to determine which combination of upgrades is equal to each other.

The above data was gathered by testing damage output on a Crossbow from no Pack-a-Punch to Pack-a-Punch Level III. The Crossbow was tested by shooting Tier II Zombies (in the yellow zone) with no armor all in the same area (the shoulders).

Since there's no damage numbers displayed, we recorded footage of how much damage was being depleted from the zombie's health bar per shot (with no Pack-a-Punch, then Pack-a-Punch Level I, Level II, and finally Level III). We then measured the health bar depletion in terms of pixels for all Pack-a-Punch levels to determine the damage difference/increase.

Essence Cost Comparison

Pack-a-Punch Level & Cost Rarity
Uncommon
(Green)
Rare
(Blue)
Epic
(Purple)
Legendary
(Gold)
none 1,000 2,000 3,750 4,500
I
+5,000
6,000 7,000 8,750 9,500
II
+10,000
16,000 17,000 18,750 19,500
III
+15,000
31,000 32,000 33,750 34,500

The total Essence cost for upgrading your weapons can easily rack up as you continue to do so. Based on the table above, Pack-a-Punch upgrades are extremely expensive compared to rarity upgrades. This difference in cost is equalized by the fact that Legendary weapons are randomly acquired.

How to Get Free Flawless Crystal and Legendary Tool Every Game

Rarity vs Pack-a-Punch Verdict

Useful to Get Both Upgrades

Since both damage multipliers stack onto each other, it's useful to get both. However, getting a Pack-a-Punched weapon is more expensive than upgrading a weapon's rarity. You can save a bit of Essence by immediately getting a Legendary Weapon via Wallbuy in the Red Zone, Mystery Boxes (random), or upgrading for free via Legendary Aether Tools (random drop).

You can save a lot of Essence, if you have any sort of Aetherium Crystal, since that will negate the need to spend on the Pack-a-Punch machine.

Recommended Weapon Upgrades for Each Zone

Zone Recommended Weapon Upgrades
High Threat Zone Legendary with Pack-a-Punch II or higher
Medium Threat Zone Epic with Pack-a-Punch I or higher
Low Threat Zone Uncommon or Rare Weapon

Above are our recommended weapon upgrades in terms of cost and damage effectiveness for each of the 3 zones.

Upgrade Comparison

If you don't want to risk going to the high-threat zone or you simply like the weapon you currently have, you can use the tables above to come up with your own conclusion as to which upgrade is best to prioritize.

You can obtain similar damage multipliers through a series of upgrade combinations, but make sure to take Essence cost into consideration.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (MW3) Related Guides

Modern Warfare 3 - Zombies Game Mode

Zombies Mode Walkthrough and Guide

All Zombies Guides

Zombies Guides and Lists
Zombies Missions Zombies Season 2
Zombies Season 1 Zombies Map
Zombies Weapons Crafting Schematics
Aetherium Challenges and Enemies
Zombies Perks Zombies Ammo Mods
Zombies Field Upgrades Zombies Gear
Contracts Zombies Power-Ups

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Comment

2 Anonymous11 months

Someone apparently didn’t read the whole article….. Do you like to comment on videos without actually watching the video?

1 Mindscrambleralmost 1 year

Where is the source for this data? I noticed that mystery box says rarity info, but where did you find pack a punch data?

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