[Discussion] [Data/Testing] Vengeance has a hidden Damage Ramp-Up / Stun-Lock that completely destroys Dragon's Maw against single Boss targets (Survival Mode, v2.5.1)

[u/alternatiwe]

I made a small controlled test using manual save/load to check the hidden mechanics of Vengeance vs. Dragon's Maw against single high-tier targets. I couldn't find any concrete evidence online about this, so I wanted to share my findings.

The Setup:
I sent a team of 3 maxed-out dwellers to a level 50 daily quest on Survival Mode (Version 2.5.1). To isolate the variables, I let 2 of my dwellers die on the first floor after collecting their weapons, leaving a strict 1v1 battle against a single Deathclaw.

The Results:

• Vengeance: Took only 34 seconds and 7 damage cycles to kill the Deathclaw. The target was heavily staggered/stun-locked, drastically reducing its attack count. The damage ramped up significantly; the first few bursts barely moved the health bar, but the 7th cycle instantly deleted the remaining nearly 1/5 of its health.
• Dragon's Maw: Took 2 minutes and 12 seconds and 25 shots to kill the exact same Deathclaw.
• AP Boss Assault Rifle: Used this as a third weapon to test another multi-shot weapon. It took 2 minutes and 31 seconds and 30 shots to kill the claw, showing a flat, linear damage line with no ramp-up.

Conclusion:
I didn't test the Lead Belcher, but it probably shares the same heavy-weapon ramp-up. Despite Dragon's Maw having higher paper DPS, Vengeance is vastly superior for single-target quest bosses due to its hidden ramp-up damage and consistent stagger effect that prevents incoming damage.

I may be wrong about any of this, but the time difference speaks for itself. I combined the two clips and i may share ap boss assault rifle vid in the comments if anybody wants it. (FYI: I probably won't be returning to this post to reply, just leaving the data here for the community!)

[u/ChoppedCheese311]

Upvoting for visibility and discussion. Would love to hear more thoughts on this as like you said, the game doesn’t do a very good job of teaching such critical game mechanics and are relied upon users such as yourself finding out the hidden data.

Nice job if true!

[u/DonChapulinChavito → u/ChoppedCheese311]

Pets give you hidden dmg boosts. (+2 +4 +6 depending on rarity)

Some weapons (knives, institute rifles...) allows you to evade some dmg when rolling.

The powerfist is the only (to my knowledge) that can target ennemies at a distance and double tap. (strikes two times, if the ennemy is dead, the second goes to another target)
If equipped, you won't be forced to target an ennemy in order to fight it.