Choosing Ammo

This guide works out which ammo does the most damage against each kind of armor. The numbers come from the damage tables for the M4 rifle and the GGX 17 pistol, which cover the three main rounds: full metal jacket (FMJ), hollow point (HP) and armor-piercing (AP). Tracer rounds do the same damage as the plain round of the same type.

The short answer

  • No armor: hollow point does the most damage, about twice the full metal jacket.
  • Light armor: full metal jacket is best. Hollow point drops to a fraction of its damage.
  • Medium armor and up: armor-piercing does more damage than full metal jacket on rifles.
  • Helmets: armor-piercing is the better choice against a Heavy or Super heavy helmet.

M4 damage by armor

Damage per hit to the upper torso and to the head, from the M4 table:

Armor Full metal jacket Hollow point Armor-piercing Best round
No armor, torso 27.3 54.5 21.8 Hollow point
No armor, head 65.8 131.6 52.6 Hollow point
Light vest 19.1 8.1 17.9 Full metal jacket
Medium vest 16.4 5.9 16.6 Armor-piercing (only slightly)
Heavy vest 13.6 3.7 15.3 Armor-piercing
Super heavy vest 10.9 1.5 14.0 Armor-piercing
Light helmet 46.1 13.0 43.2 Full metal jacket
Medium helmet 39.5 9.5 40.0 Armor-piercing (only slightly)
Heavy helmet 32.9 5.9 36.8 Armor-piercing
Super heavy helmet 26.3 2.4 33.7 Armor-piercing

Against no armor, a single hollow-point headshot from the M4 deals 131.6, which is enough to kill. That is the only case where one hit kills with this rifle.

GGX 17 damage by armor

The GGX 17 pistol shows the same pattern, at lower damage:

Armor Full metal jacket Hollow point Armor-piercing Best round
No armor, torso 25.4 50.8 20.3 Hollow point
Light vest 17.8 7.5 16.1 Full metal jacket
Medium vest 15.2 5.5 14.6 Full metal jacket
Heavy vest 12.7 3.4 13.2 Armor-piercing
Super heavy vest 10.2 1.4 11.8 Armor-piercing

Which calibers switch at which armor

  • Rifle calibers (5.56 mm, 5.45 mm, 7.62 mm, .308 Win) pass full metal jacket at Medium armor. The FAL does 21.0 with armor-piercing and 19.7 with full metal jacket against a Medium vest.
  • Pistol calibers (9 mm, .45 ACP, .45 Colt) do not pass full metal jacket at Medium armor. They pass it at Heavy armor. The GGX 17 does 13.2 with armor-piercing and 12.7 with full metal jacket against a Heavy vest.
  • The Deagle (.50 AE) passes full metal jacket at Medium armor: 46.6 against 43.7.
  • The Judge does not pass full metal jacket at Medium armor (29.9 against 31.2), but does at Heavy armor (27.0 against 26.0).
  • The .50 cal AMR 50 is the exception. Its arm class gives armor-piercing the same armor effect as full metal jacket, so armor-piercing never beats it. It still does the most damage of any round, at 166.3 to the upper torso with armor-piercing and no armor.

Rules to remember

  • Hollow point is for unarmored targets. Its damage against any armor is far lower than full metal jacket.
  • Armor-piercing loses 20% against bare flesh. That is why it is weaker than full metal jacket on unarmored targets.
  • Shotguns have no armor-piercing or hollow point rounds. They fire buckshot and slugs only.
  • Tracers do the same damage as the plain round of the same type. A tracer is not a damage upgrade.

Practical picks

Opponent Load
Unarmored Hollow point
Light armor Full metal jacket
Medium armor Armor-piercing (rifles and the Deagle), full metal jacket (other pistols)
Heavy or Super heavy armor Armor-piercing

For how armor works, see Armor. For how far a bullet’s damage falls with distance, see Ballistics.

See also

Sources