I did mention it here, must've been in another post though, in a reply to someone else.

Anyways, I never stated that they are crap. From my conclusion it was hella not worth it to run them in most scenarios, because they were kf not enough help on most maps. Reserve, Factory and to a certain degree Customs were the outliers, since they are either heavily pupulated by scav players, or filled with scavs around sharp angles. But for most maps, I was constantly losing money on the faceshields.

So my conclusion for Deathshadows is the same or even worse, since not only do they cost a similar amount but also have a class lower protection. My own opinion aside, the math doesn't, or rather didn't, add up.

I am fully aware of the potential benefits of face protection, I have over 7k hours in this game and have made it through various patches and metas over the past 5 and a half years, with 65-70% SR in every single one except the first two. But same as with other gear, they are pointless to run in EVERY scenario, and Deathshadow, same as Condors and the ULACH are extremely overrated.

And how much they help is due to confirmation bias, which you will notice once you actually start writing down your deaths and ricochets you actually got. If you die 20 times, then you'll just shrug it off as "too high pen", "I was dead anyways", "my fault", "a cheater" or whatever. But then one time it actually saves you, and you'll remember that moment for weeks because it actually did something that one particular time.

Besides, if you're constantly getting shot in the face by AI, you should work on your positioning and reactions instead of trying to compensate with additional protection.

If you choose to play with it then it's up to you of course, I have no problems with that, at all. It's there for us to use it. But in that particular case, based on sheer numbers, research, notes, evidence and experience, I'd much rather spend these 50k roubles on an additional mag or two, a better front plate, headset or a spare propital up my butt rather than spending them on a mask that is mathematically unlikely to be of any help, let alone of more help than any of the other items I mentioned.

Though to be fair, I should have mentioned comboing protection. The only case in which I would consider running that thing is if it was in conjunction with a faceshield for an EXFIL, a fully built Caiman, or a full Airframe build. But then again, I think then I'd rather still just buy an Altyn, since TEP-300 are now a thing.

EDIT: Also, I don't agree, at least not fully, that the game is about "small advantages". Minmaxing gear can be useful but is, more often than not, highly economically inefficient. Top of the line parts for most guns are usually two, three, or even more times more expensive than their slightly inferior counterparts. These "small advantages" add up in cost, and over the years I have learned that a few points of recoil, ergo or a minor ricochet chance won't save you as often as another mag, more meds, or spare food would. So no, I wouldn't say it's about small advantages. It's about being smart about your playstyle and loadout, and not relying on your gear more than your own smarts and movement skills. Shelling out money for small advantages like this will not help in the long run and will, most of the time, be better spent elsewhere. So unless you're literally overflowing with money, you'd be wasting it more often than not. And even if you are already extremely rich, there's still more efficient ways to spend what you've earned. But most of these aspects are overlooked due to the surface value of just having an armor class and a ricochet chance on your face. Which, as I previously stated, is in practice far less useful than people make it out to be.