Torn Weapons
vs. series

Penetrate vs. Puncture

Both bonuses help you deal more damage against armored opponents — but which one is actually better?

Penetrate

Reduces enemy armor rating by X%

VS

Puncture

X% chance to completely bypass armor

How these bonuses work

Penetrate

Penetrate reduces the opponent's armor rating by a flat percentage each hit. If the armor is rated 40 and you have 35% Penetrate, the effective armor becomes 40 × (1 − 0.35) = 26. This effect is consistent — it applies every single hit, every round.

Puncture

Puncture gives you an X% chance on each hit to completely bypass the opponent's armor — as if their armor rating was 0. If the proc doesn't fire, normal armor mitigation applies in full.

The calculator below shows the expected average damage across many hits, factoring in the probability of the proc firing.

Expected dmg = P(proc) × full_dmg + P(no proc) × dmg_with_armor

Note: Armor coverage (the chance that a hit lands on an armored zone vs. an exposed area) is not factored in here, as it depends on what specific armor the opponent is wearing. The calculator assumes every hit encounters armor.

Calculator

Adjust sliders to compare expected damage per hit in real time.

Penetrate

35%
25%50%

Armor reduced: 40 → 26.0

Enemy Armor

40
2060

Higher armor favors Puncture (since bypassing it entirely becomes more valuable). Lower armor favors Penetrate (consistent partial reduction).

Puncture

30%
15%52%

Avg armor bypass: 30% of hits

Penetrate Result

★ Winner

740.0

Armor reduced from 40 → 26.0 (35% penetrate)

Puncture Result

720.0

30% chance to bypass 40 armor; 70% takes full armor hit

Penetrate deals more expected damage in this scenario

+20.0