Carnage

At a Glance

Carnage is the LMG that turns sustained fire into a damage curve. Its talent, Devastation, builds a stack with every hit, capping at 80, and each stack adds +1% total weapon damage. At full stacks the LMG is hitting 80% above baseline, which puts it in top-tier territory for the slot. The catch is that stacks reset on reload, so the entire build is about delaying reloads while feeding the stack curve.

In TU22.1 Carnage is one of the most rewarding LMGs in the game for players who can manage magazine timing and stay engaged. It's not flashy. It's a slow burn that pays off massively if you commit.

Last reviewed: 2026-04-25 · TU22.1 · Verified vs in-game

Stats

An 80-round magazine and a 4-second reload mean you absolutely do not want to reload mid-fight. The talent rewards you for fighting through to mag empty, but the long reload punishes you if you panic. The 600 RPM is conservative for an LMG, which actually helps because you're less likely to burn through the mag without making the most of each round.

Damage shape

At zero stacks the LMG is a competent but unremarkable damage dealer. At full stacks (80 hits) it's punching at +80% TWD, which translates to one of the highest sustained DPS profiles in the slot. The journey from 0 to 80 is roughly 10-15 seconds of continuous fire, which is achievable on dense waves but not on isolated target fights.

Talent: Devastation

The mechanic reads simply:

1. Each hit on an enemy generates one stack of Devastation.
2. Stacks max at 80.
3. Each stack adds +1% total weapon damage.
4. Reloading resets all stacks to zero.

In practice the loop becomes: open fire on a wave, stack hits as fast as possible, ride the curve up to 80 stacks, dump the rest of the magazine into the wave at +80% damage, reload, repeat. The longer the engagement, the more value you extract from the talent.

The hidden depth is that hits don't have to be on different targets. Hitting the same target 80 times stacks just as well as hitting 80 different targets once. This means dense waves and bullet-sponge bosses both feed the stack curve cleanly.

Top Builds

Striker Sustain

• Brand: 4 Sokolov, 2 Petrov
• Chest: Obliterate or Vanguard
• Backpack: Spotter
• Mask: Striker
• Holster: Striker

The classic LMG sustain build. Striker stacks reward continuous hits, Devastation stacks reward continuous hits, and the two compound through the engagement.

Sokolov Brand Bonus

• Brand: 6 Sokolov
• Chest: Obliterate
• Backpack: Spotter

A pure Sokolov six-piece for maximum weapon damage scaling. Carnage's talent feeds the LMG's TWD scaling cleanly because the +80% applies on top of all the brand-set damage modifiers.

Glass Cannon LMG

• Brand: 3 Hana-U, 3 Empress
• Chest: Glass Cannon
• Backpack: Composure

For solo legendary content. Glass Cannon doubles output, Carnage stacks the curve, and the rifle ends an engagement with absurd damage numbers. Cover discipline is required because Glass Cannon also doubles incoming damage.

PvE vs PvP

PvE

In PvE, Carnage shines in sustained encounters. Bossing is comfortable because boss hitboxes feed stacks easily. Wave clears in Countdown and Summit work because dense waves let you stack quickly before the wave ends.

The weapon struggles in fast-cycle encounters where targets die before the curve reaches its peak. If your group is clearing rooms in two seconds, Carnage doesn't get a chance to ramp.

PvP

In PvP, Carnage is rarely seen because the long reload and slow ramp don't fit DZ skirmish pace. Conflict is even less friendly. The exotic is squarely a PvE choice.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• +80% TWD at full stacks is one of the largest sustained buffs in the LMG slot
• 80-round magazine supports the long stack-up window
• Strong in raids and bossing where stacks have time to reach max
• Synergizes with every brand set that rewards sustained fire

Cons:

• 4-second reload is one of the longest in the slot
• Stack reset on reload punishes mid-fight reloads
• Slow stack ramp makes the rifle weak in short engagements
• Mediocre per-round damage at zero stacks

FAQ

Do stacks decay over time? No. Stacks persist as long as the magazine is in the rifle. Only reload or death clears them.

Does the talent stack with brand-set TWD? Yes. The +80% is multiplicative with brand-set scaling, so the math compounds cleanly.

Is it good for raid bossing? Yes, because boss phases give you the time to stack the full 80 hits before the magazine empties. Carnage on a Sokolov build is one of the cleaner LMG bossing setups in TU22.1.

Does the headshot multiplier interact with stacks? Yes, headshots benefit from both the x1.5 multiplier and the +80% TWD, multiplicatively. Stacked headshots produce some of the highest LMG damage numbers possible.

Should I run it solo? Yes, particularly in Summit floors and legendary directives where engagements last long enough for the curve to reach max. Group play with fast clearers can starve the stack ramp.

What about the reload? The reload is the talent's cost. The whole design assumes you don't want to reload until you absolutely must. If your build pushes you to reload often, Carnage is the wrong LMG.

Closing

Carnage is the LMG for players who think long-term inside a single engagement. The talent rewards patience, target prioritization, and the willingness to stay in cover for the 10-15 seconds it takes to ramp the stacks to maximum. Once the curve reaches +80%, every round in the magazine is worth more than the round before it, and the rifle becomes one of the highest-output LMGs in TU22.1. Slot it, manage the magazine, delay the reload, and watch the damage curve climb. Few weapons in this game pay back patience the way Carnage does.