Ammunition Guide

Selecting the right ammunition resolves which projectile delivers the highest damage against every armor tier. These statistics derive from damage charts evaluated on the M4 rifle alongside the GGX 17 handgun, spanning three core loads: full metal jacket (FMJ), armor-piercing (AP), and hollow point (HP) projectiles. Tracer variants inflict identical damage compared to standard munitions of equivalent classification. Firing a tracer provides zero increase to offensive power.

Short Answer

  • When engaging unarmored adversaries, hollow point delivers peak lethality, inflicting about twice the damage of full metal jacket.
  • Against targets protected by Light armor, full metal jacket proves superior.
  • Upon hitting Light armor, hollow point effectiveness falls to a mere fraction of baseline output.
  • From Medium armor onward, armor-piercing cartridges achieve greater damage than full metal jacket when fired from rifles.
  • For head protection, armor-piercing serves as the preferable option when countering a Heavy or Super heavy helmet.

Rifle Damage

Impact values registered per strike across the head and upper torso according to M4 statistics:

Target 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

On an unarmored torso, the M4 outputs 27.3 damage using full metal jacket, 54.5 with hollow point, and 21.8 via armor-piercing. Striking a Light vest, the M4 inflicts 19.1 with full metal jacket, 8.1 with hollow point, and 17.9 using armor-piercing. Versus a Medium vest, the M4 deals 16.4 through full metal jacket, 5.9 with hollow point, and 16.6 using armor-piercing. Against a Heavy vest, the M4 records 13.6 for full metal jacket, 3.7 with hollow point, and 15.3 for armor-piercing. Against a Super heavy vest, the M4 registers 10.9 with full metal jacket, 1.5 with hollow point, and 14.0 using armor-piercing.

Landing an unarmored headshot using an M4 hollow-point round yields 131.6 damage, providing sufficient lethality for an immediate elimination. This scenario represents the sole circumstance where a single projectile from this weapon eliminates an opponent. With the M4, armor-piercing delivers 16.6 compared to 16.4 for full metal jacket on a Medium vest, while widening to 14.0 versus 10.9 when facing a Super heavy vest.

Handgun Damage

Results for the GGX 17 sidearm reflect a comparable distribution, albeit producing decreased overall damage values:

Target 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

When impacting an unarmored torso, the GGX 17 inflicts 25.4 with full metal jacket, 50.8 with hollow point, and 20.3 with armor-piercing. Targeting a Light vest, the GGX 17 delivers 17.8 with full metal jacket, 7.5 with hollow point, and 16.1 via armor-piercing. Against a Medium vest, the GGX 17 posts 15.2 with full metal jacket, 5.5 with hollow point, and 14.6 using armor-piercing. Facing a Heavy vest, the GGX 17 deals 12.7 with full metal jacket, 3.4 with hollow point, and 13.2 using armor-piercing. Against a Super heavy vest, the GGX 17 produces 10.2 with full metal jacket, 1.4 with hollow point, and 11.8 through armor-piercing.

Handgun chamberings (9 mm, .45 ACP, .45 Colt) fail to overtake full metal jacket when confronting Medium armor. Instead, these sidearm calibers surpass standard loads once engaging Heavy armor. Specifically, the GGX 17 yields 13.2 using armor-piercing compared to 12.7 with full metal jacket when striking a Heavy vest.

Caliber Thresholds

  • Primary rifle calibers including 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, 5.45 mm, alongside .308 Win exceed full metal jacket effectiveness at the Medium armor threshold.
  • As an example, the FAL outputs 21.0 using armor-piercing versus 19.7 for full metal jacket against a Medium vest.
  • Firing the .50 AE Deagle outperforms full metal jacket on Medium armor, dealing 46.6 compared to 43.7.
  • The Judge fails to surpass full metal jacket on Medium armor (registering 29.9 versus 31.2), but overtakes it against Heavy armor (posting 27.0 versus 26.0).
  • An exception to these caliber trends occurs with the .50 cal AMR 50.
  • Because its weapon classification assigns identical armor mitigation to armor-piercing and full metal jacket, armor-piercing never surpasses standard munitions.
  • Against an unarmored upper torso, its hollow point ammunition (designated as Flesh Damage) inflicts 415.8, achieving the highest value among tested rounds compared with 207.9 from full metal jacket and 166.3 using armor-piercing.

Core Rules

  • Hollow point rounds are intended strictly for unarmored opponents.
  • When impacting any tier of protective gear, hollow point damage drops well below full metal jacket.
  • When striking exposed flesh, armor-piercing incurs a 20% damage penalty.
  • This reduction accounts for its diminished performance relative to full metal jacket against unarmored targets.
  • Shotguns lack access to specialized armor-piercing or hollow point munitions.
  • Their ammunition choices remain restricted solely to buckshot and slugs.

Recommendations

Target Protection Recommended Round
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

Sources

  • Official WARDOGS Community Wiki: Choosing Ammo (CC BY-SA 4.0)