Shotguns vs armor: pellets lose the same share as rifle bullets
- Checked
- Game version
- Update 2.3.30 (rules from the October 2025 build)
Escape from Duckov’s armor rule multiplies each hit by 2 ÷ (armor − AP + 2), so a pellet loses exactly the same share as a rifle bullet with the same AP. A shotgun’s listed damage is the whole shot: the MP-155’s 55 damage is five pellets of 11, and if all five land the target takes 55 before armor.
Share of damage that gets through
The same column applies to a single bullet and to each pellet:
| Target armor | AP 1 (standard) | AP 3 (AP) | AP 5 (Advanced AP) | Special Shotgun Shell (×1.4, AP −1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 140% |
| 2 | 67% | 100% | 100% | 56% |
| 3 | 50% | 100% | 100% | 47% |
| 4 | 40% | 67% | 100% | 40% |
| 5 | 33% | 50% | 100% | 35% |
| 6 | 29% | 40% | 67% | 31% |
Shotguns have no AP of their own (the BSG-F, BSG-I, Billy Gun and Poop Shitgun add 1), so the shell decides everything. With AP shells a shotgun takes no loss through Lv.3 armor, and with Advanced AP shells none through Lv.5.
The 1-damage floor
A hit that would deal between 0 and 1 damage is raised to 1. Pellets of the 12-gauge shotguns deal 8.4 to 14 damage each before armor, and still more than 2 after Lv.6 armor with standard shells, so the floor never applies to them. It matters for the Poop Shitgun’s 2-damage pellets and for single-shot toys such as the Snowball Gun.
Against Vida
Vida (220 HP, Lv.5 Heavy Body Armor 5.4) is a good test because her armor beats every AP 3 round. The fastest body-shot kill in each class, from the Vida kill record:
| Class | Gun and round | Body hits | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assault rifle | AS Val, Special AP Bullet (AR) | 15 | 0.7 s |
| Battle rifle | Custom M14, Special AP Bullet (L) | 8 | 0.6 s |
| Bow | Repeating Bow, Intermediate AP Arrow | 15 | 10.33 s |
| Magnum | ASh-12, Special AP Bullet (MAG) | 6 | 0.57 s |
| Pistol | Spectrum Blaster, Advanced AP Bullet (S) | 41 | 2.79 s |
| SMG | Custom SR-3M, Advanced AP Bullet (S) | 24 | 1.1 s |
| Shotgun | Custom MP-155, Advanced AP Shotgun Shell | 4 | 0.58 s |
| Sniper rifle | TS-128 Smart Sniper Rifle, Special AP Sniper Bullet | 10 | 4.5 s |
| Special | Cube Gun, Enhanced Small Energy Bullet | 38 | 4.18 s |
Range is where shotguns lose damage: beyond half the bullet distance every pellet deals half, and spread means fewer pellets land. This table assumes all of them hit at close range.
The best ammo record lists every shell’s share at each armor level, and the shots-to-kill calculator runs any shotgun against any boss.
Sources
- Decompiled game code: ItemAgent_Gun.cs ShootOneBullet (duckovAPI, October 2025 build)Projectile damage = gun damage × bullet multiplier ÷ ShotCount; damage floor of 1 per projectile.
- Decompiled game code: Health.cs Hurt (duckovAPI, October 2025 build)Armor multiplier per hit; a positive hit below 1 is raised to 1.
- Weapon stats (escapefromduckov.net item export, update 2.3.30)Damage and ShotCount of every shotgun.
Read next
Armor piercing vs damage: when special rounds loseThe Special Bullet (S) beats AP rounds only below armor 0.4, and the Special Shotgun Shell loses to a standard shell from armor 0 to 4. Armor ranges for every high-damage round.
Best weapons and ammo for each stage and armor tierWhich gun and ammo to carry in Escape from Duckov from Ground Zero to Lab Area 37: the quests that unlock AP rounds, damage against each armor tier, and the community's top rifles.
Ammo and armor: how armor piercing works and which rounds to loadThe Escape from Duckov armor formula, AP level and armor break for every ammo type, body armor and helmet values, and which rounds beat Lv.4 to Lv.6 armor.
Headshots and crits: why crit rate does not apply to your shotsFor the player, a shot is critical exactly when you aim at the head, and a crit meets the helmet. Which guns gain from headshots, and which bosses' helmets make a headshot worse.