No, this isn’t realism for realisms sake.
Lets cut to the chase:
Suppressors should increase bullet velocity just like barrel extensions, BUT should also be given durability and have limited use. Bonus points if they are also repairable at a safehouse.
Why?
Let me get the realism out of the way before talking about the gameplay reasons. Suppressors in Generation Zero are really good actually, from a realism perspective. They don’t make your gun silent, but they do reduce the range from which enemies can be effectively alerted by your gunfire. The distances are still condensed compared to real life, but you basically can’t fire a suppressed shotgun right next to an enemy without them hearing you and that’s fantastic. Too many videogames make weird mistakes with silencers, and it usually impacts gameplay negatively too.
Here’s the thing. Suppressors can’t be used infinitely in real life either. They get really hot with each shot fired, and firing continuously can destroy a suppressor in seconds. But here’s the other thing about suppressors in real life; they are basically straight upgrades to any gun they’re attached to. They increase bullet velocity, and therefore effective range and accuracy, as well as “softening” the explosion of the round. So I think these benefits should also be conferred onto suppressors used in Generation Zero, and be balanced by the drawback of durability.
I think that they suppressors should increase bullet velocity at the same rate per quality crown as barrel extensions, thus giving barrel extensions the role of “permanent upgrade” whereas suppressors would be “temporary” due to their limited uses before breaking. I think repairing suppressors should be as simple as using resources in one of the safehouse item stations we already have. Conversely, suppressors are so common to pick up in Generation Zero that you don’t necessarily NEED a bespoke repair mechanism since you could easily just loot more.
Some people might wonder why not just buff suppressors without adding durability? The answer is that suppressors and barrel extensions need to coexist for the purpose of proposing the same dilemma that they currently already do. Currently you have to choose when to favor a barrel extension or a suppressor based on the risks and benefits to both. This change I’m suggesting enhances that dilemma by giving more incentive to use either weapon attachment, since both have contrasting benefits and drawbacks. Anything that provokes the player to think about what they’re doing is a good thing, in my opinion.
I hope you like my idea, and thanks for reading!