Armor Mechanics
Each infantry operator enters combat with a baseline total of 100 HP. Incoming impacts subtract from this pool based on firearm type, loaded ammunition, struck anatomical zone, protective gear over that zone, and distance travelled by the bullet. Every projectile resolves through an individual computation since damage calculations execute per strike. Reaching zero health causes a soldier to become downed.
Hit Zones
Bullet impacts register across twelve distinct locations: head, neck, upper torso, middle torso, lower torso, pelvis, upper arm, lower arm, hand, thigh, calf, and foot. Receiving a shot to the head represents the most hazardous location, while hands and feet remain the least dangerous. Whenever a projectile trajectory traverses multiple regions, separate damage is evaluated for all intersected areas and the greatest value is applied.
Damage Multipliers
Every anatomical target possesses a baseline multiplier, which is supplemented by a specific category multiplier from the firing weapon. Both modifier values are multiplied with one another. Any protective gear shielding that anatomical area mitigates the resulting hit value. Whatever damage quantity remains is subtracted directly from character health.
Standard anatomical multipliers prior to factoring in weapon category bonuses:
| Body Part | Base Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Head | 1.00 |
| Neck | 0.75 |
| Upper torso | 1.10 |
| Middle torso | 1.00 |
| Lower torso | 0.95 |
| Pelvis | 0.90 |
| Upper arm | 0.60 |
| Lower arm | 0.50 |
| Hand | 0.30 |
| Thigh | 0.60 |
| Calf | 0.50 |
| Foot | 0.30 |
Additional cranial bonuses provided across weapon classes include 2.35 for assault rifles, 2.1 on SMGs, 2.35 with LMGs, 1.5 using shotguns, 2.45 on DMRs, and about 4.27 for sniper rifles.
Armor Levels
Defensive equipment occupies two distinct gear slots, consisting of a body vest alongside a head helmet. Vest ratings comprise Light, Medium, Heavy, as well as Super heavy tiers, whereas helmets include these four options in addition to Pilot and Tank grades. Greater protection tiers absorb an increased amount of incoming damage. Damage reduction rates provided by vests correspond to 30% on Light, 40% on Medium, 50% on Heavy, and 60% on Super heavy. For headgear, damage mitigation equals 30% for Light, 40% for Medium, 30% for Pilot, 50% for Heavy, 60% for Super heavy, and 55% for Tank.
Every individual armor item incorporates its own durability pool. Connecting strikes degrade this durability total until the item completely shatters at 0. Damage mitigation remains constant regardless of item degradation, as identical reduction applies across all four durability stages.
Protection applies only to the specific body parts each equipment piece covers:
- Standard vests shield the upper along with middle and lower torso sections.
- Equipping a Super heavy vest extends coverage across both the pelvis and upper arm.
- Head protection is provided by wearing any helmet.
- Additional neck coverage is granted when utilizing Heavy, Super heavy, or Tank helmets.
- Because vests and helmets never overlap across zones, a single piece of protective gear applies at any given location.
- No protective equipment covers hands, feet, lower arms, or leg segments like thighs and calves.
Equipped defense lowers incoming projectile harm according to its designated percentage. For example, a 50% Heavy vest reduces an M4 upper-torso strike from 27.3 damage down to 13.6.
Ammunition Interaction
Different bullet selections actively modify how defensive armor performs. Overall protective efficacy fluctuates depending on whichever cartridge type is chambered. Standard full metal jacket along with tracer rounds experience complete armor damage reduction. On unarmored flesh, hollow point deals about double the damage delivered by full metal jacket, but defense values count more against these rounds and eliminate most of its advantage against any equipped armor. Striking unprotected targets with armor-piercing inflicts 20% less damage, though defensive gear yields weaker reduction against it. This mitigated reduction varies by firearm weapon category: defense retains 70% against small arms, 60% facing medium arms, 50% versus high arms, and 100% with special arms. Guns lacking an assigned arm category maintain a 30% reduction rate.
Ammunition efficiency varies according to the defense of the target:
- When encountering Light armor, full metal jacket delivers superior results.
- Under these conditions, armor-piercing performs slightly weaker while hollow point proves much weaker.
- Versus Medium or higher defensive tiers, armor-piercing achieves higher damage output.
- The primary role of hollow point involves engaging targets lacking any armor.
- Output against any armored foe falls far lower than that of full metal jacket.
M4 Analysis
Firing the M4 eliminates an unarmored opponent with two headshots, whereas four torso impacts are required. Striking the neck or head yields the most significant impact. Player limbs serve as inefficient target areas. Downing someone through hands or feet demands 14 M4 hits, compared to 7 to 8 hits on arms and legs. Equipping heavy protection across the torso increases needed M4 torso shots to kill from 4 up to 8.
Per-shot upper torso and head damage values for the M4 loaded with full metal jacket ammunition:
| Armor Worn | Upper Torso Damage | Head Damage |
|---|---|---|
| None | 27.3 | 65.8 |
| Light | 19.1 | 46.1 |
| Medium | 16.4 | 39.5 |
| Heavy | 13.6 | 32.9 |
| Super heavy | 10.9 | 26.3 |
Total M4 shots necessary to down a target across individual defense tiers:
| Armor Worn | Upper Torso Hits | Head Hits |
|---|---|---|
| None | 4 | 2 |
| Light | 6 | 3 |
| Medium | 7 | 3 |
| Heavy | 8 | 4 |
| Super heavy | 10 | 4 |
Against a Medium vest, the M4 inflicts 16.6 utilizing armor-piercing versus 16.4 with full metal jacket, while scoring 14.0 compared to 10.9 against a Super heavy vest. Equipped protection fails to shield against every landing impact. Landings on the head bypass vest mitigation to deal full head damage, while arm strikes receive no reduction from any armor piece.
Sources
- Official WARDOGS Community Wiki: Armor (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Official WARDOGS Community Wiki: Health and Damage (CC BY-SA 4.0)