Part 3 of 8 in The Field Manual, Stazione's guide to how Counter-Strike actually plays, from defined mechanics to high-level theory and the detours in between. Full list at the bottom.
Some deaths in CS2 feel unfair until you do the multiplication. The AK kills a fully armored player with one bullet to the head. The M4 usually doesn't. That single difference shapes what each side buys, how each side peeks, and why the AK sits at the center of the T side's identity. Here's the math.
Three numbers decide every bullet
- Base damage: what one bullet does to an unarmored chest. AK-47: 36. M4A4: 33. M4A1-S: 38. Desert Eagle: 53. AWP: 115.
- Hit location: the head multiplies damage by 4 for almost every gun (the M4A1-S is 3.475, the Desert Eagle 3.9). The stomach is 1.25, the legs 0.75.
- Armor penetration: how much of the damage still reaches your health through armor. AK-47: 77.5%. Both M4s: 70%. Desert Eagle: 93.2%. AWP: 97.5%.
Body armor (Kevlar, $650) protects your chest, stomach and arms. The helmet (Kevlar + Helmet, $1,000 total) adds your head. Legs are never covered.
The one-shot map, worked out
These are close-range numbers against a full-health (100 HP) target, before distance falloff:
- AK-47, head, helmet on: 36 × 4 = 144, × 0.775 = about 112. Dead.
- M4A4, head, helmet on: 33 × 4 = 132, × 0.70 = about 92. Alive, at 8 HP.
- M4A1-S, head, helmet on: 38 × 3.475 = 132, × 0.70 = about 92. Also alive. Two different guns, landing on nearly the same number.
- M4 (either), head, no helmet: 132. Dead. That's the whole reason the helmet exists.
- Desert Eagle, head, helmet on: 53 × 3.9 = 207, × 0.932 = about 193. Very dead.
- AWP, chest, armor on: 115 × 0.975 = about 112. Dead. Anywhere on the torso works.
- AWP, leg: 115 × 0.75 = about 86. Alive. The one place an AWP body shot doesn't kill.
What that does to the game
The AK's helmet-piercing headshot is why the T side can win fights it "shouldn't." One clean click beats any amount of armor. The CT side, carrying M4s, has to land a second bullet on anyone wearing a helmet, which is part of why CT play leans on crossfires and holding angles with a teammate rather than winning solo duels on reaction speed.
It also changes the shopping list. When the other team can't afford rifles, a helmet matters much less, because most cheap weapons can't punch through it in one shot anyway. Deciding between $650 and $1,000 comes down to asking what the enemy can afford to shoot you with.
Distance and walls
Damage drops over distance. Rifles hold most of it through normal fighting ranges, SMGs and pistols lose a lot at long range, and the AWP barely loses any. Bullets also go through thin surfaces. Rifles penetrate well, but every wall eats damage depending on the material and thickness. A "wallbang" kill is real, but it's usually finishing off someone already hurt, not a free one-tap through concrete.
The Prosecutor illustrates the point
The panel weighs in
The Prosecutor: I came into this ready to file charges over a one-tap through my helmet. Then someone showed me the number 111.6. I've dropped the case. I'm keeping the file open.
The Ledger: Both M4s land at 92 to the helmeted head, from completely different stats. Valve balanced two guns to the same decimal and nobody talks about it. This is the most beautiful thing in the article and it's in a bullet point.
Sunshine: An entire article that's basically multiplication and I loved every line. Is that weird? That feels a little weird. I'm going with it.
Weekend Warrior: I've been buying the helmet every round, including the ones where the other team had pistols. Apparently I've been paying $350 for peace of mind. Honestly? Still worth it.
Dusty: The AK one-tap is the oldest argument in Counter-Strike. They've changed the engine, the maps, the smokes and the sound. That number stayed. Some things you don't touch.
Worth arguing about: should the M4s get a helmet one-tap, or is the AK's edge the whole point of playing T?
Argue it out in the discussion thread. That's where this actually gets resolved.
Where these numbers come from: CSDB.gg damage calculator · CS2 Wiki: Armor Penetration. Game values are current as of September 2026; Valve changes them, and we'll update when it does.
The Field Manual: how CS actually works