Headshot Damage Calculation

[TheDarkZone]

So I have been playing around with my build a little trying to maximize headshot damage, and I have a question I cannot find a definitive answer to. Do guns have an inherit headshot damage bonus that we do not know about. I know that marksman rifles get a bonus of anywhere from around +130% up to +180%. I'm talking about SMG's and assault rifles though.

I was messing around with my guns and trying to figure out why my headshot damage is so high. I have an MP5 with headshot damage of +201%. The only bonuses are brutal (+24%), Sentry Gear (+30%), and a scope with +21% headshot damage. That adds up to +75%. Where is the other +126% coming from? There is nothing in my gear or other attachments giving bonus to headshot damage. 

It gets better.

I equipped an AK47 with zero mods. Just messing around. It has +160% headshot damage. All it has is the brutal talent. WTF?

Back to the MP5. Sometimes, without doing a thing, the headshot damage drops to +163%. No change in gear or mods. I just check it, and it has moved. Once while it was at 163%, I unequipped my Sentry Gear to see what would happen. It dropped to +112%. Two pieces of Sentry provides +30%. Why in the world did it drop 51%?

Is there a logical explanation for any of this which I am missing or is the calculation (which should be a simple task of just adding a few freaking numbers together) FUBAR, much like the DPS calculation?

 

[g1nt3r]

That is odd, perhaps they do have some hidden inherit headshot damage boost. Perhaps @Xeromaus knows, he's a pretty smart cookie.

 

[Xeromaus]

Headshots on all weapons are your normal base damage kicked up by 50%. The only two exceptions are Assault rifles (75% boost) and marksman rifles (randomized boost listed on weapon).

Looking into this now.

Edit #1: The +30% headshot damage on sentries seems to be giving me +45% instead. I can't yet explain why with any better reason than "the value is wrong". I'd appreciate anyone reading this that can test it to do so and see if your results agree with mine.

Edit #2: +20.50% headshot damage scope is giving me +31% headshot damage.  There seems to be a multiplier at work here somewhere, both for the previous edit and this one, but damned if I can see it atm.

 

[TheDarkZone]

My Sentry gear seems to be giving me 51%.... :13_upside_down:

 

[Xeromaus]

My Sentry gear seems to be giving me 51%.... :13_upside_down:

Well, that's something then. Whatever multiplier is at work here is greater in your build than mine. I stripped off EVERYTHING that boosted headshot before reapplying the 2 piece sentry, swapping most pieces for tacticians gear (which didn't increase the headshot %) and leaving me with the standard +50% headshot on my non-scoped AUG.

Edit: I'm also somehow getting a +37% headshot damage boost when I add a 3rd piece of sentry...totally lost as to why so far.

 

[TheDarkZone]

Want another monkey wrench thrown in?

When I go into the firing range, my headshots are hitting at about +400% with my MP5. My DMG is 8125 and my headshot are hitting for about 33,000 (red number). At orange (which should be critical hits to the head), it is ranging anywhere from 54,000 to over 62,000.

Right now my build offers +163% headshot damage (or +201% depending on the game's mood at that moment) and +77% critical hit damage. If you add those together, and even throw in the +45% marking bonus for sentry if you want to for the hell of it, it only adds up to +285% (or 323% depending again on the game's mood).

I get the same numbers against live enemies.

Oh, I do have one weapon talent that does 13% more damage at 10 meters or less. I forget the talent name. Even throwing that in, it doesn't account for the discrepancy.

The only thing I can think of is the developers did their math all wrong on this. One or some of the bonuses might be stacking on the percentages instead of the DMG number. For example, my critical hit damage bonus of +77% might be giving a 77% bonus on my +201% headshot damage instead of a 77% bonus on my 8125 DMG number. A 77% bonus to the 201% number, would boost that up to 354%.

(201 x 77%) + 201 = 154.77 + 201 = 354.77

When it really should just be

201% + 77% = 278%

Now add in the 13% bonus for my weapon talent in the same way, and you are adding another 46% onto the 354% number and we are at 400%.

Or am I looking at this all wrong?

It still does not explain why numbers are fluctuating all over the place, or how in the world I have a +201% headshot bonus in the first place.

 

[Xeromaus]

The only thing I can think of is the developers did their math all wrong on this. One or some of the bonuses might be stacking on the percentages instead of the DMG number. For example, my critical hit damage bonus of +77% might be giving a 77% bonus on my +201% headshot damage instead of a 77% bonus on my 8125 DMG number. A 77% bonus to the 201% number, would boost that up to 354%.

(201 x 77%) + 201 = 154.77 + 201 = 354.77

When it really should just be

201% + 77% = 278%

Now add in the 13% bonus for my weapon talent in the same way, and you are adding another 46% onto the 354% number and we are at 400%.

Or am I looking at this all wrong?

It still does not explain why numbers are fluctuating all over the place, or how in the world I have a +201% headshot bonus in the first place.

The bonuses to damage (as well as reductions to incoming) are added cumulatively.

 

[Xeromaus]

OK, this is frustrating as hell. I can't find a single thing that applies a multiplier in the way we're seeing. That leads me to believe that either:

• there's a hidden value at work here
  

or:

• the values as shown on gear/mods/attachments are just wrong
  

For the record, I'm ok just being happy with getting more, but it's going to grate on me until I figure out the "why" now.