Generation Zero features many different ammo types (13 main groups in total), each type is made for different weapons. There are different tiers of ammo, and the higher tiers are rarer to find in your world. This guide will explain the differences between the ammo types, as well as highlight some locations that best suit grinding specific ammo types.
With the DLC you can craft most of the ammo types, included special ammo given as reward of base defense see this link: Crafting/Schematics
Note: When this guide mentions specific enemies to watch out for to obtain ammo, both Harvesters and Tanks are left out since both of these enemies drop all ammo types in large quantities, making good targets when hunting for more ammo.
Important Gameplay Information: Comparably, Armor Penetrating (AP) Rounds do less damage to components as well as less critical damage to machines than Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) Rounds do. It might be worthwhile to have two different guns on hot-swap using the different ammunitions. AP Rounds to strip armor plates away. And FMJ to dish out the damage to the exposed parts. (See under Experimental Weapons and refer to the Experimental Pvg 90 additional information excerpt as to why you should never use AP rounds for that weapon specifically.)
Being the lowest tier of ammo, it can be found anywhere in the early game, and is used by the Möller PP and Vosa vz. 68. .32 features Hollow Point (HP) as it's weaker variant, and Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) as it's stronger variant. It can be found most commonly on any Prototype-class Runner enemies.
Pros:
Very common
You start with the Möller pistol so you can always use it
Lightweight, allots higher surplus
Cons:
Hollow Point has no penetration power
Very little damage
Gets outclassed very quickly
.44 Magnum (Revolver)[]
A rare, high tier ammo which can only be found in the northern areas. It is used by the .44 Magnus revolver with a high damage potential, but very clunky because of its weight and ammo rarity. It also uses HP (weaker) and FMJ (stronger) as its types, with .44 FMJ being one of the most rare ammo types in the entire game. It can be found in the military bases up north, but can also be looted off FNIX Hunters.
Pros:
Highest damage per shot of any pistol ammo type
Cons:
Rare ammo
High weight value, allots lower surplus
9mm (Pistol)[]
The Klaucke 17 and the N9- DLC both use the 9mm (pistol) ammo. Not to be confused with the 9mm (SMG), since the 2 ammo types are not compatible. It features the aforementioned FMJ ammo type, but as the weaker variant instead of the strong variant as it was with the .32 ACP and .44 ammo. The strong ammo type of 9mm is armor Piercing (AP). It can be most commonly found in the harbor west of the first command bunker, where it can be looted off the dead soldiers, which respawn their loot rapidly. Otherwise, it is a common Military-class Runner drop.
Pros:
Common ammo type for half way through the game
A Klaucke can be found in the first location you visit, meaning you can use this ammo immediately
Can easily be farmed
Lightweight, allots higher surplus
Cons:
Is rare during very early or late parts of the game
Ammo is quickly consumed due to the rate of fire of the Klaucke and the N9
9mm (SMG)[]
Probably the most common ammo type for primary weapons, it is used by the Kpist and HP5 SMGs. Both are short range, high rate of fire weapons, meaning that ammo is consumed quickly. You have the FMJ and AP ammo types, and just like any other weapon with these types, the AP is stronger than the FMJ, but also more rare. Just like the 9mm pistol, it can be easily looted in the harbor. It often is dropped by Military-class Runners as well.
Pros:
Very common
Usable even during endgame
Easily farmable
Lightweight, allots higher surplus
Cons:
Ammo is consumed quickly
Little damage compared to other primary ammo types
The Automatgevär 4 can be found pretty early on in the game
Cons:
Ammo is used very fast
Less accurate
9x39mm FMJ/AP (Assault Rifle)[]
The 9x39mm rounds are the default ammo used by the AT-WAD assault rifle- DLC. While the weapon is a integrally suppressed sub machine gun, it is most often referred to as a assault rifle, hence the name in-game. This ammo type is easy to find on higher tier machines like FNIX Hunters and Tanks.
Pros:
Lightweight, allots higher surplus
Rounds are plentiful
Cons:
Low damage output
High damage falloff
Low round velocity
.243 (Hunting Rifle)[]
.243 is the ammo type used by the Meusser Hunting Rifle (HR). It features SP (Soft Point, weaker) and FMJ (Full Metal Jacket, stronger) as it's ammo types. Both SP and FMJ can deal high amounts of damage against Runners if hit in the fuel tank on their back, making it a good weapon/ammo choice to pick off Runners. The Meusser can be easily obtained early on, so you can always find a use for this ammo. That said, this ammo type, just like all other rifle ammo types, drops in smaller quantities than automatic weapon ammo types.
Pros:
High damage, especially during early stages of the game
Easily obtainable weapon to use the ammo
Ammo lasts very long
Cons:
Little use for the ammo outside of hunting Runners
Gets outclassed very quickly by .270 and .50 BMG
.270 Winchester (Hunting Rifle)[]
.270 SP/FMJ is the mid-tier sniper rifle ammo, used by the Älgstudsare Hunting Rifle (AS). The AS can one shot even FNIX-class Runners in their fuel tank when a 5 star variant is used, meaning that this ammo type always remains relevant even during end-game. That said, it does have the same drawbacks as 5.56mm ammo in that it drops in smaller quantities than .243, and can only be obtained further up north.
Pros:
Very strong ammo type
Can one shot most Runners small fuel tank even when a low quality rifle is used
Rips off armor plates efficiently
Ammo lasts very long
Cons:
Obtained only during mid-late game
.50 BMG FMJ/AP (Anti-Tank Rifle)[]
.50 FMJ/AP, also known as "Fifty-cal" ammo, is used by the Anti-Tank rifle, the "Pansarvärnsgevär"(Pvg 90). The Pvg 90 is a semi-automatic sniper/anti-material rifle, which can dish out a lot of damage from afar. That said, it does come with some serious drawbacks: It is one of the rarest ammo types, generally when you find it you only find a couple of bullets at a time. Furthermore, the high rate of fire, combined with the rarity of the ammo means it is exhausted quickly. Only certain Military-class Hunters drop this ammo type, the ones with the shoulder-mounted sniper rifle.
Pros:
Extreme power
Rips through armor even better than the .270
Excellent range and best velocity and damage falloff
Even its FMJ can rip armor plates off
Cons:
Very rare ammo
Ammo is consumed very fast
Heavyweight, allots small surplus
Only 3 can be crafted at a time
12 Gauge (Shotgun)[]
12 Gauge is the only shotgun ammo type in the game, used by both the Pump-Action and the Sjöqvist Semi-Auto shotguns. For who are unfamiliar with shotguns, these weapons shoot multiple projectiles in a single shot, relying on the multi-shot nature to hit their target, instead of accuracy. It has 3 ammo variants: Birdshot, Buckshot and Slugs.
Birdshot has low accuracy, low damage per pellet, but a lot of pellets per shot. It is regarded as the weakest ammo type of the three. While it does rip off armor reasonably well, it's damage falloff is very steep, meaning you have to be very close to your enemy to deal damage. Can be useful to intercept Ticks and fast Runners.
Buckshot has less pellets, but much better accuracy and damage per pellet. It is arguably the best shotgun ammo type, capable of dealing with any kind of enemy.
Slugs converts the shotgun into more of a sniper, and is best used combined with a silenced, scoped pump-action shotgun. It has excellent accuracy, but only shoots out one, large slug. Has good armor penetration. Slugs are much less common than the other types.
Pros:
Bird/buck is very common
Deals massive damage in extreme close ranges
Multiple ammo types opens up different range possibilities
Cons:
Slug shots are quite rare
Extreme damage falloff at ranges with Bird/Buck shots
Heavy, allots smaller surplus
HEDP/HCDP/HRDP/EMP/Smoke (Recoilless Rifle)[]
High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Round
High-Explosive Dual-Purpose (HEDP) is the default ammo used by the Granatgevär m/49. While the weapon is actually a recoilless rifle, it is always referred to as a rocket launcher, which also lead to the community naming this ammo type "Rockets".
Electromagnetic Pulse Rounds (EMP) are the EMP ammo type. Which is able to shut down enemy machines for short periods of time, which is useful for co-op and disabling a machine so you can lay traps around them before they come back online. (Note damaging machines in this state will make them reboot sooner.)
Smoke Rounds (Smoke) are used for close combat tactics or escape and will deal NO DAMAGE to machines if you fire them directly at them. However, if the enemy is equipped with OPV (Object Penetrating Vision) or IR (Infra Red) thermal vision the smoke screens effects will be rendered moot. Use smoke only against big targets like Tanks and Harvesters. If you destroy their optics first before you use smoke and get close enough to set mines or fuel tanks under them. Players can use HEDP and EMP rounds as their splash damage effect can set off your laid explosive traps, compounding the damage effects.
Highly Corrosive Dual-Purpose Rounds (HCDP)* are very effective at tearing off a sleuth of armor plates with a single blast or rocket. However note that components will take very miniscule damage from this round. Players are recommended to use it to remove armor plates from the machine only to make it more vulnerable to other forms of damage.
Highly Radioactive Dual-Purpose Rounds (HRDP)* is a round that isn't necessarily for dealing damage to machines and can be considered a more effective form of "smoke" round. It fires rounds of high radioactivity that have the capability of disabling hostile machine optics. Rendering them completely incapable of seeing the player. Note however, they aren't deaf.
Smoke Round
Highly Corrosive Dual-Purpose Rounds (HCDP Round) can only be acquired through crafting at a consumables crafting bench.
Highly Radioactive Dual-Purpose Rounds (HRDP Round) can only be acquired through crafting at a consumables crafting bench.
Additional Information:See Experimental Ammunition information under Experimental Weapons for more information as to the inner workings of Experimental ammunitions.
Highly Corrosive Dual-Purpose Round
Pros:
Electromagnetic Pulse Round
HEDP can destroy groups of Runners with a single hit if they are packed close enough together
HEDP can destroy Hunters (prototype) in only two hits.
HEDP is your best bet when taking down Tanks
HCDP are best vs armor, but not as much to damage components, best use of them is vs tanks or harvesters
EMP can stun tanks long enough for you to run up to them and place mines, and then running away (EMP-Mine Technique)
Cons:
Ammo is consumed quickly
Relatively rare ammo (only if you are able to craft them)
The RLG-7V HE rounds are the default ammo used by the RLG-7 Rocket LauncherDLC. This is one of the more powerful ammunitions in the game, but is hard to come by. This ammo type is extremely rare to find, even on higher tier machines like FNIX Hunters and Tanks.
Pros:
High damage vs large group of armor plates
High velocity
Great splash damage
Cons:
Extremely rare ammo (although it can be crafted)
Ammo is consumed quickly
Bad damage vs small components
Trivia[]
Although the names of the exact caliber are not specified by the lack of the ending numbers. We can made assumptions via by the numbers.
The 7.62mm is based on the 7.62x51mm NATO although the use of the same ammunition for the AI-76 and Kotenok Sniper Rifle suggests that they both 7.62x51 NATO. however, they use a completely different type of ammunition. The AI-76 (AK-74) use 7.62x39mm and the Kotenok Sniper Rifle (SVD DMR) use the 7.62x54mmR. This in turn means they cannot be able to use the same rounds as these other weapons.
9x39mm is based on the special subsonic round 9x39mm of the same name
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