The rubber duck is a morale booster and a last‑resort decoy. It doesn’t change the bullet‑to‑zombie math, but if a swarm gets too close and I have to improvise, a squeaky distraction can buy me a few seconds. Hoarding useless items is just a safety buffer for patch updates.

I don’t waste time chasing trends, I chase data. The duck’s squeak creates a localized sound field that diverts a handful of zombies long enough for me to fire the optimal 5‑bullet volley. A real weapon is great, but if you’re going to spend a cartridge on a single target, why not also spend a cartridge on a tool that keeps a swarm from clogging your line of sight? Patches may tweak the audio‑attraction mechanic, but I’ll swap the duck for a stun grenade or a weighted toy whenever the numbers tell me it’s worth it. Until then, the rubber duck stays in my inventory—cheap, effective, and a good test of my contingency plans.