Overview
Learn about KillSquad’s Vector rating, which is the average of the Vector ratings for each of a hero’s equipped weapon, support and prototype. This can confuse new players, because the game’s persistent “leveling” is based on that, not on the character.This guide explains the basics of Vector, how to get and obtain weapons and gear with higher Vector ratings, how your hero’s Vector relates to the Contract Vector rating, and other aspects of Vector in Killsquad. I’m not *that* far into the game yet, and so this will be a work in progress and may have some errors initially.
What is my hero’s Vector rating? How do I calculate it?
Your character’s Vector rating is the AVERAGE of the Weapon, Support and Prototype that you have equipped. So, add up those 3 Vector numbers and then divide by 3 to get your hero’s Vector rating.
In the example below, I equipped items with Vector ratings of 17, 19 and 8. That adds up to 44, which the game divides by 3. The result is about 14.7, but Killsquad doesn’t round the averages, so my Vector rating is 14.
Is my Hero more powerful if he/she has a higher Vector rating?
No. Vector doesn’t work like, say, character levels in ARPGs. Being Vector 15 doesn’t make your hero stronger than if he/she is Vector 10, for example.
In fact you may at times have hard decisions on what to equip. For example, you may find your L40 weapon has a couple awesome unlockable passive modifiers, but you may want to equip an L50 weapon with less powerful passive modifiers on it just to get your Vector rating up higher.
It doesn’t mean your hero is strong, per se. Gradually increasing your hero’s Vector rating via the weapon and equipment used just means you can tackle higher Vector level Contracts comfortably, is how I’d put it.
I think you do gradually find new and cooler weapons and equipment as you move up through the Vector levels.
How does Contract Vector level relate to my character’s Vector level?
The Contract Vector level and your character’s level affect your damage output and the amount of damage you take.
However, say, an L20 Vector character in an L40 Vector contract would likely not do enough damage to be effective and would take extreme amounts of damage.
On the other hand taking an L40 Vector character into an L10 Contract, for example, you’ll do around normal damage and not be an Omnipotent God. 🙂
For the sake of helping new players, I’d encourage higher Vector players to play some lower Vector levels in the 10s, 20s, 30s etc. New players often struggle to find pick up group partners. You can still have fun playing on much lower Vector level Contracts.
Can I improve the Vector rating of a weapon, support item or prototype item?
No. Sorry to burst your bubble. 🙂 Rare and better weapons and equipment will have passive modifiers and sometimes active abilities that you can “unlock” at the cost of resources, but these don’t raise the item’s Vector level.
Where do I obtain weapons and equipment with higher Vector ratings?
A couple places now, and I believe eventually a third place, according to the Dev’s Roadmap.
- You may receive a weapon or equipment reward for completing a contract. You’ll see tiny icons for these on each Contract “card” on the Contracts page. When you complete the Contract, it’ll appear in your inventory. It’s not guaranteed that its Vector rating will be higher than what your hero already has equipped.
- You may purchase weapons and equipment at the Shop from the main game screen. Both the Contracts and Shops have different tiers. When you get a hero to Vector 35 for example, that will unlock Veteran Mode and “upgrade” the Shop (when that hero is using it) to offer higher Vector items.
- A late August 2019 update is scheduled to introduce an in-game Vendor from whom you can buy weapons and equipment.
Beyond this, some weapons and items have bonus modifiers that increase the chance of an enemy dropping an item during combat. I’m unclear on if this is actually working in the game currently?
I’ve blown past Vector 100 and can’t find higher Vector items. What do I do?
The short answer is, you have to wait for the new Spec. Ops. 3rd difficulty tier/league expected in a late September update and perhaps the new “in-game-session” equipment vendors promised in a late August update.
Just remember that for now Killsquad is in Early Access. Meaning it’s not complete, planned features are missing, and some “late game” aspects of the game are incomplete.
The upcoming 3rd Contracts tier “league,” Spec. Ops., is scheduled for release in an upcoming update and expected to cover Contracts in the Vector 120-150 range. That will presumably “unlock” a new Shop tier of some kind.
This does beg the question — how do players “bridge the gap” between Vector 90 and 120, since currently the game doesn’t seem to show a Contracts tier that covers the 90-120 range. Good question, and we don’t have an answer yet, as far as I know.