Enemy damage types and resistances explained
A weapon’s headline damage is only the starting point. Enemies reduce each damage type separately before their general Defence is applied, so a lower-damage weapon can be the better answer to a particular target. Use this guide with the relevant enemy page and weapon page.
Match damage to protection
| Damage type | Reduced by | Where to find the values |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | Impact Absorb | Impact appears on weapons and ammunition; Impact Absorb appears on armour and enemies. |
| Puncture | Puncture Deflect | Puncture appears on weapons and ammunition; Puncture Deflect appears on armour and enemies. |
| Slash | Slash Resist | Slash appears on weapons and ammunition; Slash Resist appears on armour and enemies. |
| Disintegrate | Phase Shift | Disintegrate appears on weapons and ammunition; Phase Shift appears on armour and enemies. |
True damage bypasses both the matching protection and general Defence. Disintegrate damage is reduced by Phase Shift but bypasses general Defence. Defence penetration lowers both of those protections for the hit.
How Defence penetration works
Defence penetration lowers both parts of an enemy’s protection: the matching resistance for each damage type and its general Defence. It does not add damage by itself; it lets more of the damage you already deal get through.
For example, 25% Defence penetration leaves an enemy using 75% of its normal resistance and Defence. Against 40 Puncture Deflect, a 50-point puncture hit therefore loses 30 to Puncture Deflect rather than 40, leaving 20 before general Defence instead of 10. At 100% or more, these reductions no longer apply.
It is most valuable when your main damage type meets a high resistance. True damage does not benefit from it because true damage already ignores resistance and general Defence.
How to choose between two weapons
- Check the weapon’s damage breakdown. Do not add its components together and stop there; a weapon can deal several types at once.
- Look at the enemy’s matching resistance. A high Puncture Deflect value is a warning that puncture damage will lose much of its value before Defence is considered.
- Account for Defence Penetration. It reduces the relevant resistance before the damage is deducted. It also helps against general Defence.
- Then compare the remaining damage. General Defence is shared proportionally across the impact, puncture and slash components that survived resistance. Disintegrate damage skips general Defence, so only Phase Shift and Defence penetration reduce it.
There is always at least one point of final damage from a non-zero hit, so a resistance is not complete immunity. It can still turn an apparently strong damage type into a poor use of ammunition or time.
Example: Corrupted Soldier
The Corrupted Soldier has 10 Impact Absorb, 40 Puncture Deflect, and 5 Slash Resist. Before general Defence, a 50-point single-type hit leaves 40 impact damage, 10 puncture damage, or 45 slash damage. With otherwise similar weapons, that makes slash the strongest of those three examples and puncture the weakest.
This is not a universal weapon tier list: a real weapon can split damage across types, carry penetration, or have a different rate of fire. It is the reason to read an enemy’s resistance line before spending scarce ammunition.
Resistance examples
| Enemy | Impact Absorb / Puncture Deflect / Slash Resist | Useful comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Corrupted Officer | 10 / 40 / 5 | Like the Corrupted Soldier: compare slash or impact before puncture. |
| Migaja | 5 / 20 / 5 | Impact and slash lose less to resistance than puncture. |
| Fungal Matriarch | 0 / 10 / 0 | Only puncture has a listed matching resistance. |
| Scary Highlander | 20 / 25 / 20 | Impact and slash are equal on these values and both beat puncture before Defence. |
| Arson Doctor | 25 / 45 / 15 | Slash has the lowest listed matching resistance; puncture has the highest. |
This table compares impact, puncture, and slash. Some enemies also have a Phase Shift value; the dangerous enemies guide lists it. A weapon’s damage mix and Defence penetration can still change which choice performs best.
Practical combat checks
- If a target seems unusually durable, compare the damage type you are using with its matching resistance before assuming your weapon is under-levelled.
- When swapping ammunition or weapon parts changes Defence Penetration, treat it as a direct answer to resistance rather than a vague quality bonus.
- For a mixed-damage weapon, improve the component that the current enemy actually lets through; the displayed total alone does not tell you that.
- True damage ignores matching resistance and general Defence, but its amount still needs to be weighed against the weapon’s complete damage profile.