As I understand it, when a weapon reaches REL 0, it cannot be used any more before it's fixed.
It's not a jam or that something like that. It's simply broken.
Correct. I thought though that that was the complaint - i.e. weapons don't just become paperweights if they go wrong; something less catastrophic occurs like it starts misfeeding more regularly etc.
One could implement some rule that states that the lower a weapons reliability is at the time (ie. if it's at 3 out of 5, etc.) then it's more likely to have a mishap, I suppose.
But the way REL is written in the game, it really is to represent when a weapon is as good as a paperweight. Because that's when you've worn down the weapon to the degree of it simply not working any more.
I suppose you could write a critical damage list for weapons when they reach 0 in REL, but it wouldn't be something where the weapon keeps working but at a diminished capacity (other than to use as a club), but rather what the final "nail in the coffin" problem is for the weapon.
BUT, that would also include pretty narly stuff that isn't really fixable with "one spare part and some tools", like a barrel explosion from a squib, out of battery detonation or headspacing issues.
Either way, the way REL is supposed to work, when it reaches 0 the game is literally unusable as a firearm until it is fixed.
It's not gonna just jam or have its magazine drop out unexpectedly.
It is gone, kaputt, fubar, non-functional.
Technically, though, a REL zero situation shouldn't happen with any weapon in-game as long as they're well kept and maintained.
But that's easier said than done sometimes, especially if the players are civilians.
But statistically, getting a REL zero situation in one go from a weapon that's at REL 5 to start with is pretty unlikely.
You'd have to be using a weapon with a high ROF and rolling a toooon of ones on your ammo rolls.