How does the damage for a Rocket Launcher work

team-fortress-2tf2-soldier

I main Soldier, so I want to know my weapon to its fullest capability. To do that, I want to know about how much damage each shot will do before it hits, or before I even fire it. What is the damage equation for the Soldier's Rocket Launcher, and how does it work?

Best Answer

To tell you this, first you have to know how damage works in TF2.

The first thing to mention is that, by default, any non-critical hit is subject to damage spread. That is, it doesn't hit for the same amount every time. Server owners can disable this through a server setting.

For most weapons, the amount of damage it does depends on the distance between the shooter and the person it hits. This (strangely) also applies to projectiles instead of being the distance the projectile travels. This is usually referred to as damage falloff or distance falloff.

For the stock rocket launcher:

  • Short range hit is going to be 105-112 damage.
  • Medium range hit (which is about 15-45 feet or so) is 50-90 damage.
  • Long range hit is 45-60 damage.

Being an explosive weapon, enemies within a certain range (9.1 feet according to the wiki) will take splash damage. Damage drops by 1% every 1/16 foot they are away.

There are 3 additional important notes here:

  1. Engineer buildings are not subject to damage spread or critical hits. Meaning that a sentry always takes 90 damage from a stock rocket hit, critical hit or not. Splash damage modifiers still apply.
  2. Mini-crits are not subject to distance falloff and will always do between 122-151 damage on a hit (except to Engy buildings). Splash damage modifiers still apply.
  3. Critical hits are not subject to either distance falloff or damage spread. A hit will always do 270 damage (except to Engy buildings). Splash damage modifiers still apply.
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