Reload

Night of the Dead uses an ammunition system that unsurprisingly forces players to reload their weapons periodically to continue firing. The Reload Button is found on the Command Card and is hotkeyed to T.

Automatic Reload
A player will automatically reload when the weapon's magazine is empty, this reload is the same length as listed reload time. During this time, the weapon cannot be used. An Automatic reload will display the word " Reloading... " above the player's Marine in White lettering. These are generally fine on most difficulties, and can save ammunition, but are incredibly problematic on Nightmare Mode. On Nightmare, all automatic reloads are double the normal length, making the reload times for more powerful weapons such as the XM814 Heavy Machine Gun, Barrett M112, and Stinger MK-3 excruciatingly long. These auto reloads should be avoided at all costs on the higher difficulties.

Manual Reload
The player may also Manually Reload his weapon. This can be performed whenever the weapon is below 50% remaining ammunition in the current magazine. Any time the player performs a manual reload the words " Reloading... " will be displayed above his head in Blue lettering. A manual reload is 30% faster than an automatic reload, but forces the weapon to waste several rounds of ammunition in the process. For obvious reasons reloading as close to zero ammo as possible will help offset this loss.

Perfect Reload
What players should strive to do with each and every magazine. A perfect manual reload occurs whenever the player manually reloads with between zero and two rounds left in his current magazine. If successfully achieved the words " Reloading... " will be displayed in Gold lettering. Perfect reload will add a 20% increase in addition to the usual reload bonus of 30%. This allows players to reload weapons at incredible speeds. This is incredibly useful on Nightmare Mode, and is a must for any high damage class. Unfortunately, weapons that use an odd amount of rounds per shot such as the Stinger, Barrett, and Shotgun can be difficult to perfectly reload. It is often simply not possible and users must typically strive to manual reload at the lowest achievable amount of remaining ammo. Perfectly reloading 10-15 times a game will earn you 1 Rating. However, each player can only earn this once per game.

Summary

 * Automatically reloads when current magazine reaches zero.
 * Manual reloads are 30% faster, but waste some ammunition.
 * Perfect reload is between 0 and 2 bullets remaining. 20% faster than a manual reload.
 * Automatic reloads are double length in Nightmare Difficulty.
 * Hotkeyed to T on the Command Card.