PUBG Mobile Weapon Damage Explained: What Decides a Kill

PUBG Mobile weapon damage is decided by five things together: the ammo a gun fires, the class it belongs to, the body part you hit, the armor on that part, and the distance. The gun with the most damage per shot is the AWM, but damage per shot is only half the story. When you understand how the parts work together, you can judge any gun you pick up without looking at a list.

Why a PUBG Mobile damage chart goes out of date

A damage chart gives one base number per bullet for each gun. Relying on it has two problems. First, the developers rebalance guns from time to time, so a chart you find online may show numbers the game no longer uses. Second, the base number says nothing about what happens after the bullet leaves the barrel.

The rules behind the numbers change far less. Learn those, and a rebalance only moves a gun a little up or down inside a system you already know.

Ammo type and weapon class set the base damage

Every gun has a base damage per bullet, and guns that share an ammo type and a class sit close to each other.

• Assault rifles. The 7.62mm rifles, such as the AKM and the Beryl M762, hit harder per bullet and kick more. The 5.56mm rifles, such as the M416 and the SCAR-L, hit a little softer and are much easier to keep on target.
• Bolt-action sniper rifles. The highest damage per shot, paid for with a long wait between shots. The AWM sits at the top. It comes only from airdrops, together with its own ammo.
• DMRs. Semi-automatic rifles such as the SKS, the SLR and the Mini14 sit between assault rifles and bolt-actions: more damage per shot than a rifle, faster follow-up shots than a Kar98k.
• SMGs. Guns such as the UZI and the UMP45 do low damage per bullet and fire very fast.
• Shotguns. The damage of one shell is split into pellets. Up close, where every pellet lands, nothing in the game does more with one pull of the trigger.
• LMGs. Rifle-level damage with a very large magazine, as on the M249 and the DP-28.

Damage per shot is not damage per second

How fast a gun kills depends on damage multiplied by rate of fire, and then on how many bullets you land. The UZI has a weak bullet, yet it fires so quickly that it wins fights at door distance. The AKM has a strong bullet, yet its recoil makes many players miss the third and fourth shots.

So when someone asks for the strongest gun, the honest reply is another question: at what distance, and in whose hands?

Where the bullet lands

The same bullet does different damage on different parts of the body. A headshot does the most, a hit to the chest does normal damage, and hits to the arms and legs do the least.

The size of the headshot bonus depends on the weapon class. Sniper rifles gain the most from a headshot, which is why one clean shot ends a fight. Shotguns gain the least.

In practice, start your spray at the upper chest. Recoil lifts the barrel, and the next bullets climb toward the head by themselves. If an enemy shows only his legs under a vehicle or behind a rock, expect to spend many more bullets.

Helmet and vest levels

Armor takes away a share of the damage before it reaches your health. Helmets and vests come in three levels, and the values have long been about 30 percent for level 1, 40 percent for level 2 and 55 percent for level 3.

• A helmet protects only the head, and a vest only the torso. Arms and legs have no armor.
• Each hit the armor absorbs wears it down. When its durability reaches zero, it is gone.
• A piece that is nearly broken will not last through the next fight, so swap it when you find a fresh one of the same level.

The level 3 helmet matters most. In good condition, it lets you survive a headshot from a Kar98k or an M24 with a little health left. With a level 2 helmet, the same shot knocks you down.

Distance takes damage away

Bullets lose damage as they travel. How much depends again on the class:

• SMGs and shotguns lose it quickly. Past close range, an SMG needs many more hits, and most shotgun pellets miss.
• Assault rifles hold their damage well through medium range.
• DMRs and bolt-action rifles keep most of it at long range, which is what they are for.

Distance also costs you hits. Bullets drop and need time to arrive, so far targets are missed more often. This is why the choice of gun follows the distance of the fight, as our guide to the best guns in PUBG Mobile explains.

What does not change PUBG Mobile weapon damage

Attachments do not add damage. Muzzles and grips change recoil, sound and handling. An extended magazine gives you more bullets, not stronger ones. A suppressor hides where you are without making the gun weaker. A choke on a shotgun tightens the spread, so more pellets land, but each pellet hits as before.

Skins do not add damage either. A rifle with an upgraded skin hits exactly like the plain one you pick up from the floor. A skin changes how the gun looks, and nothing else.

Common questions about weapon damage

Which gun does the most damage in PUBG Mobile?

Per shot, the AWM: among the regular guns of classic mode, it is the one whose headshot knocks a player even through a level 3 helmet. For one pull of the trigger at close range, a shotgun that lands every pellet does more. In a long spray, the fast 7.62mm rifles do the most, if you can control them.

Does a level 3 helmet stop a Kar98k headshot?

Yes, when the helmet is in good condition. You survive with a little health and a badly damaged helmet. The AWM is the exception.

Do skins or attachments increase damage?

No. Attachments make a gun easier to control or quieter, and skins change its look. The damage per bullet stays the same.

Is 7.62mm always better than 5.56mm?

No. A 7.62mm bullet hits harder, but the rifles that fire it kick more, and a bullet that misses does no damage at all. Our comparison of the M416 and the Beryl M762 shows how that choice plays out.

PUBG Mobile UC on Mas4Games

Damage is the same for every player. What UC buys is appearance: weapon skins, outfits and other cosmetics. On Mas4Games you can get PUBG Mobile UC as a top-up by player ID for global accounts, or as a UC code that you redeem yourself. For a top-up by ID the store asks only for your player ID, never for your password.