CS2 Damage Guide: How Damage Works in Counter-Strike 2

Newcomers and even experienced CS2 players who have spent hundreds of hours in the game often do not understand how damage in the game works. How distance affects it, which weapon is the most powerful, which pistol is better to choose for the beginning and middle of the game — all these are incredibly dependent on grasping the game’s damage mechanics.

That is why today we will analyze CS2 damage in detail, discuss all the subtleties, and provide you with incredibly valuable information that will help you win!

How CS2 Damage is Calculated

If you believed that damage in CS2 was straightforward, you were mistaken. The concept of “damage in CS2” is influenced by a vast array of factors and involves mathematical calculations that take place in real-time.

Next, we will consider each factor in more detail and explain how it works. But to give you a quick overview of just how many elements impact the damage you deal in CS2, here’s a brief list:

• Base Weapon Damage
• Range (or RangeModifier)
• Armor Penetration
• Penetration Power
• Headshot Multiplier
• Fire Rate (RPM) or Time-to-Kill (TTK)
• Body Part Damage Multipliers

It may seem like a lot of influential factors, and that can feel somewhat daunting. However, don’t worry. We’ll break down the topic step by step, and you’ll discover some fascinating insights!

CS2 Weapon Damage Table

Let’s start the CS2 damage guide with the simplest: base damage! Base damage is a constant value. It’s unique for each weapon, and it’s the foundation for all further damage calculations.

Pistols

When using pistols, understanding their damage output is crucial. This is especially true in the early rounds, as players rarely purchase armor, making it incredibly important to know precisely how much damage you’re dealing to an opponent.

Pistols	Damage
Desert Eagle	53
R8 Revolver	86
Dual Berettas	38
Five-SeveN	32
Glock-18	30
P2000	35
USP-S	35
P250	38
CZ75 Auto	31
Tec-9	33

Shotguns

It is possible that currently, shotguns are not a very popular weapon. However, it is also important to talk about their harm, because sometimes, at close distances, this type of weapon can turn the game around!

Shotguns	Damage
Mag-7	30
Nova	26
Sawed-Off	32
XM1014	20

SMGs (Submachine Guns)

Ever felt like you get taken down by just a couple of SMG shots, instead you have to dump an entire clip into an enemy just to get a kill? If that sounds familiar, you should definitely take a closer look at the damage stats for each SMG to figure out which one packs the biggest punch.

SMGs	Damage
PP-Bizon	27
MAC-10	29
MP7	29
MP5-SD	27
MP9	26
P90	26
UMP-45	35

Assault Rifles

Naturally, most players are curious about the most popular weapons and how much damage they deal. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and take a look!

Automatic Rifles	Damage
AK-47	36
AUG	28
FAMAS	30
Galil AR	30
M4A4	33
M4A1-S	38
SG 553	30

Sniper Rifles

Sniper Rifles are the most powerful weapons in the game, which can kill the enemy with one shot. However, their slowness and reload speed practically eliminate the chance of a mistake.

Sniper Rifles	Damage
AWP	115
G3SG1	80
SCAR-20	80
SSG 08	88

Machine Guns

Powerful firepower, a large number of rounds, and reliable support for agents — this is Machine Guns. It’s not often you can encounter this type of weapon on the professional scene, but you definitely shouldn’t neglect it!

LMGs	Damage
M249	32
Negev	35

Range Modifier

One of the most important factors that affects damage in CS2 is distance!

 We’ll try to explain it as clearly as possible, with different examples so you can actually see the difference in action.

Maybe you’ve noticed: when playing as a Terrorist with a Glock-18, sometimes you get a one-shot headshot kill, and sometimes… You don’t. Why does that happen? Was the enemy already damaged before you fired? Or is there something else going on?

The secret is distance! In the damage table we shared earlier, you can see that the base damage of the Glock-18 is 30. If you hit a clean shot to the head, you deal 4x damage — that’s 120 damage total, which is obviously enough to kill with one bullet. But distance has a huge effect on how much damage you actually deal. Each weapon in CS2 has a special value called the RangeModifier, which helps calculate how much damage gets reduced over distance.

For the Glock-18, the RangeModifier is 0.85. Just as an example: let’s say you’re standing 10 meters away from your enemy. When you shoot, you won’t deal the full 30 damage — you’ll only deal around 25. That’s because the distance reduces the damage. If you’re curious how this works behind the scenes, here’s the formula: Damage(actual) ​= BaseDamage * (RangeModifier)^(Distance/500).

So, if you’re more than 12 meters away and shoot someone in the head, you might not kill them, just because you didn’t deal enough damage.

For example, if you’re 17 meters away and land a headshot, you’ll only deal 95.6 damage, meaning they survive!

Armor Penetration

Another factor that has a profoundly huge impact is armor. You all know that armor protects you and often saves you from a lethal bullet, but how exactly is all this calculated? Let’s break it down in this CS2 damage explained section.

For each weapon in the game, there is its own special armor penetration indicator. This indicator is a percentage that shows the percentage of damage you will deal to an enemy if they are in armor. For example, let’s take the Tec-9 pistol.

The Tec-9 damage = 33 units, and its Armor Ratio is 1.812 or simply 90%. For example, if you shoot an enemy with armor with this pistol, you will deal 29.7 damage, but do not forget that the Tec-9 has one of the highest penetration rates. If we take the USP-S as an example, with its standard damage of 35 units, you will deal only 17 damage, because the Armor Ratio here is 1.010 or, in simple percentages, 47%.

We’ve compiled detailed armor penetration information for every weapon in a convenient photo format for you.

Penetration Power

Another factor that affects damage is Penetration Power. Believe it or not, even many pro players don’t actually know what this is or how it works. Sure, they understand the general idea, but very few could explain it clearly and in detail.

Penetration Power is a special stat that shows how well a CS2 weapon can shoot through different objects — things like wooden covers, stone walls, boxes, barrels, and other obstacles you find in the game.

Once again, there are two main types of penetration values: 100% and 200%. 100% is the standard penetration — most pistols, SMGs, and shotguns have this. 200% means higher penetration — weapons like the Desert Eagle and R8 Revolver have this. It means the bullet loses less damage when going through objects, so you have a higher chance of killing an enemy through a wall.

We don’t have exact numbers for how much damage is lost when shooting through specific materials, but here are some rough values:

• Wood, doors – ~0.5
• Brick, concrete – ~0.2 or even less

Let’s take an example. Say you’re shooting at an enemy with a Desert Eagle, and they’re standing behind a brick wall. Think of the “bench” spot near B site on Mirage — enemies often hide there. You want to kill one of them, but your shot hits the wall instead of the body. So, how much damage do you actually deal?

To calculate it precisely, you’d need to know the distance of the shot and whether the enemy had armor. But let’s assume you shot from 10 meters and the enemy was armored, standing behind a brick wall.

The base damage of the Desert Eagle is 53. At 10 meters, that drops to 46.54. Taking armor into account, it becomes 43.37. But that’s not including the wall. To make it easier, let’s round that 43.37 to 43. Now let’s calculate: 43 × (0.2 material value for brick wall) × 2 (penetration power) = 17.2 damage.

So, you can predict how much damage you’ll deal through cover — but to really understand all these mechanics and CS2 damage prediction, you need a lot of in-game experience!

Fire Rate(RPM) or TimeToKill(TTK)

The next factor that affects your damage output is Fire Rate — how frequently your weapon shoots and how many rounds it can fire per minute. You get the idea: if someone is shooting at you with a revolver, and you’re using a MAC-10, you’ll most likely win the fight, even though the revolver does way more damage per shot.

That’s because the revolver fires slowly. While your opponent might get off two shots, your MAC-10 can fire around ten bullets in the same time. Sure, each bullet does less damage, but the higher fire rate gives you the upper hand.

The concept is pretty simple, so there’s no need to explain it further. You can find more detailed Time-to-Kill (TTK) information for each weapon in the photo below.

Headshot Multiplier

The Headshot Multiplier is, without a doubt, the most crucial factor influencing damage. While it’s been touched upon earlier, this vital mechanic warrants a dedicated discussion.

You’re likely aware that a headshot almost invariably results in an instant kill, especially against unarmored opponents. But what’s the underlying reason? The simple truth is the Headshot Multiplier, which applies a x4 damage bonus to every weapon.

For instance, if your weapon deals 30 damage, a headshot will multiply that by 4, resulting in 120 damage. However, it’s important to remember that other variables like distance and armor also factor into the final damage calculation. Nevertheless, the core principle remains: all damage is generally multiplied by 4 on a headshot.

CS2 Body Part Damage Multipliers

Many experienced players are familiar with this information, but newcomers may find it interesting. In CS2, every shot matters, especially if you’re not shooting for the head but trying to shoot the body. There’s an important nuance here: shooting the chest is the worst choice, as it offers no multiplier or additional bonus.

However, shooting the stomach is known to be more advantageous; this way, you slightly increase damage to the opponent. This is probably because bulletproof vests in reality cover the chest and hardly protect the stomach. That is why Valve made such a decision and increased the damage when shooting the stomach.

Sure, you can aim for the head, but if you’re a beginner, hitting such a small target can be tough. It’s much easier to aim for the stomach.

Another thing to keep in mind is recoil: as soon as you start shooting, your weapon will begin to kick, and the bullets will climb upward with each shot. That actually works to your advantage, if you start aiming at the stomach, the recoil naturally moves your bullets up toward the chest and head.

This means you can land multiple shots on the upper body without even controlling the spray, which makes it much easier to kill an enemy in one burst.

So if you’re new to the game, try aiming at the stomach — your kills will become more stable and predictable.

Hitbox Multipliers
Head	400%
Chest & arm	100%
Stomach and back	125%
Leg	75%

Headshots vs Body Shots: What Matters Most

This is actually a pretty interesting topic: what’s better, aiming for the head or going for the body? Most players will say that, of course, headshots are significantly more effective, and it’s impossible to disagree with this, because the damage you inflict is 4x greater.

However, not everyone plays the game skillfully enough to always aim for the head and kill with one shot. Often it happens that a player just wants to play with friends after a workday, and perhaps this person is already tired, and they don’t have enough experience and practice to shoot for the head. In such a situation, it’s certainly better not to try to be a cyber athlete, but simply to aim a little lower.

This way, you will 100% hit the opponent’s body a few times and possibly kill them, but that’s definitely better than shooting at the head, missing, and then trying to control weapon spread.

Sure, headshots are a key skill for any player, but if we’re honest, many players play for fun, so if you want to win without stressing out, it’s better to choose the body for your shots.

Best Damage-Dealing Weapons in CS2

It’s incredibly difficult to choose a weapon and call it the best damage-dealing weapon in CS2, but if we consider all the factors we discussed, the legendary AK-47 is currently the best weapon. This CS2 rifle has very high damage, armor penetration, and obstacle penetration, as well as a fairly low TTK, which makes it a powerful weapon at any stage of the game.

While the AK-47 is exclusive to the Terrorist side, don’t despair if you’re playing as a Counter-Terrorist. The M4A4 is a fantastic alternative, though it has surprisingly seen a dip in popularity on the professional scene recently. This decline might be due to the M4A1-S receiving an accuracy buff, making it more precise. However, when it comes to raw damage output, the M4A4 still holds an edge!

To Sum Up

What an incredible journey into damage prediction in CS2. We hope we were able to explain all the nuances and make all the damage mechanics easier to understand. If you liked it and want more intriguing and educational articles, then stay with us and read our blog.

We’ve got plenty more coming, and we’re doing it all for you!

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