Mechanics ‣ Gunnery Mechanics ‣ Damage Types
As seen in the in-game Ariadne Zale's Aeronautical Handbook.
In Guns of Icarus Online, each weapon has up to two damage types. Depending on where the enemy ship is hit, the weapon damage will be modified. When a destroyed system is hit, the damage will instead be applied to the armor, and if the armor is destroyed, the hull.
Details about two hit types (primary, secondary also known as burst or AoE) can be found in Hit Mechanics. The weapon's damage types also affect the size of the hit markers.
| Damage Types | Balloon | Hull | Armor | Components (Guns, Engines) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.25 |
| Flechette | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.25 | 0 |
| Shatter | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2 |
| Piercing | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Explosive | 0.25 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Impact | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
Fire
The Fire damage type is not to be mistaken for fire on components although, all weapons with fire damage types have a high chance to ignite fires (see Fire-Starting Weapons). The damage type itself is effective against Balloon and Hull and is commonly used as disable/harass damage paired with Flechette damage for even faster Balloon destruction. Fire stacks apply fire damage every second which scales in size as the fire level becomes larger.
The Dragon Tongue Light Flamethrower is the most prominent member of this damage type.
Flechette
The Flechette damage type is highly effective against balloons but doesn't damage engines or guns at all. It is used as disable/harass damage to control vertical mobility and positioning and commonly paired with Fire damage.
Carronades and Lumberjack Heavy Mortar are two of the representatives of this damage type.
Shatter
The Shatter damage type is the first choice to destroy components like guns and engines. It is used as disable damage to gain control over engagements and is commonly paired with Flechette or Fire damage.
The Artemis Light Rocket Launcher and Mercury Field Gun are some of the representatives of Shatter damage.
Piercing
The Piercing damage type, is highly effective against ship's armors. It is commonly used for kill-combinations (paired with Explosive) for fast armor destruction followed by a fast kill (hull destruction).
Hades Light Cannon for long to medium range and Whirlwind Light Gatling Gun for close range are the two high DPS Piercing damage weapons.
Explosive
The Explosive damage type is very effective against hull integrity of the target ship, with the hull being permanent health. It is commonly used in dedicated kill weapons. To be effective, Explosive damage requires destroyed armor, indicated by the white hit markers turning red. Since Explosive does low damage to armor, it is commonly paired with Piercing damage weapons.
Flak and Scylla Double-Barreled Mortar are two pure Explosive damage type weapons, Others, such as Banshee and Hwacha, augment their other damage types (Fire and Shatter, respectively) with Explosive and add kill power.
Impact
The Impact damage type is effective against both hull and balloon, and moderately effective versus Armor and mechanical. It is the damage type caused by collisions with both enemy ships and terrain, as well as mines and the Nemesis carronade. Impacts with other ships or terrain is usually followed with discombobulation that causes ships to turn. Moonshine and Kerosene will dampen this effect by increasing only angular drag (with engine damage), while Impact Bumpers increases angular and lateral drag. Drogue Chute can help somewhat as well by increasing lateral and longitudinal drag. Impact damage is the only damage a Pilot can reduce, using a helm tool (Impact Bumpers).
Phobos Mine Launcher and Nemesis Heavy Carronade weapons use this damage type.
Note: Impact Damage is not related to Force, though both are most often on the same item. Force (what pushes a ship) is a different mechanic related to Thrust, and is set independently of any Impact damage.