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Damage Types and Resistances

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A hit on target isn’t damage yet. Between “I landed it” and “the enemy lost health” stands defense, and it reacts differently to different kinds of threat. Let’s break down what damage types exist in the game, how the two layers of defense work, and why a weapon that’s perfect against a beast can hammer uselessly against armor.

Five damage types

Every attack carries a single damage type, and defense is calculated separately for that type. In the current version, damage has five distinct “families” of resistance:

  • Physical — bullets, shrapnel, blows, claws. The most common type in ordinary combat.
  • Radiation — dangerous not just for its damage: contact with radiation leaves lasting aftereffects.
  • Toxic (poison) — same story: on top of direct harm, it adds a poisoning condition that keeps grinding you down after the hit lands.
  • Energy — a separate threat, against which ordinary “thick” armor doesn’t automatically help.
  • Fire — also calculated against its own resistance and often arrives as a secondary effect of explosions.

The key takeaway: armor that holds up beautifully against bullets isn’t required to protect you just as well from fire, energy, poison, or radiation. Resistance to each type is its own thing.

Two layers of defense: threshold and resistance

Once an attack has passed the hit check, the damage runs through two different mechanisms on the target.

  • DT — damage threshold. This is a flat number that is subtracted from incoming damage. It applies once per action/shot.
  • DR — damage resistance. This is the percentage by which the remaining damage is reduced.

The order is exactly this: first the threshold is subtracted, then a percentage is taken off the remainder. That’s why a weak attack against the right defense can technically connect yet barely move the fight along — zero damage is possible if defense outweighs the incoming harm.

The general layer and the per-type layer

Both DT and DR are made up of two parts: a general layer (working against any applicable damage) and a per-type layer (physical, radiation, toxic, energy, fire). Worn armor adds its contribution to both layers — but how useful it is depends on the attack type. That’s why the very same defense can be a wall against gunfire and nearly empty against energy or fire.

Penetration (armor piercing)

Special ammunition and effects let you bypass the contribution of worn armor specifically: armor-piercing rounds or a high enough penetration rating on the attacker switch off the DT/DR of the target’s equipment. But penetration doesn’t leave the target defenseless across the board — the creature’s or character’s own resistances stay in place. The armor-piercing approach solves one problem (heavy armor), but it doesn’t cancel the question of exactly what you intend to finish the target off with.

What else affects the outcome

  • Broken armor doesn’t protect. While an item is intact, it provides full DT/DR; the moment it breaks, its protection drops to zero until repaired.
  • Poison and radiation are more dangerous than their damage. They leave behind conditions that keep grinding the character down after the hit itself.

Practical takeaway

A weapon doesn’t exist in isolation from the enemy’s defense. What instantly takes apart a weak beast can helplessly hammer against armor. If a fight feels like it’s dragging on, the problem usually isn’t the character’s courage but the wrong tool: sometimes you need raw damage, sometimes penetration, sometimes a different type of effect — and sometimes the best solution is not to get into it at all.