Is there locational damage in Skyrim

the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim

In Skyrim, will striking an enemy in certain areas do more damage (e.g: headshots = x2), or produce any other effects, such as stunning/crippling?

I understand that sneak shots do more damage, and that the damage from those/attacks from behind can be increased with points.

Best Answer

This was easy enough to test.

I equipped a weak hunting bow (I'm an archer so I'd probably 1 shot any normal npc with my usual bow), and found the nearest NPC that had no helmet on (just on the off chance that helmets can prevent head shots for some reason.)

I used getav health to read the NPC's health for every shot.

Bullseye!
Bullseye!

She took 79 damage regardless where I hit her, so no, there's no extra damage for headshots.

My tested locations:

  • Nose
  • Hand
  • Feet
  • Stomach