Stagger Multiplier

The Stagger Multiplier is used for calculating the stagger damage inflicted by a weapon. Every enemy has its own stagger HP and stagger damage depletes from this stagger HP. Whenever an enemy's stagger HP is fully depleted the enemy will enter a light stagger animation and their stagger HP will be reset to its initial value. Stagger HP is tracked per enemy, so players don't need to deplete the entire stagger HP in a single shot, and multiple players can all contribute to staggering the same enemy.

Most enemies will also be staggered when a body part is broken. Boss enemies, such as the Tank or Mother, cannot be staggered in this way, and can only be staggered by depleting their stagger HP. Breaking an enemies body part will cause the enemy to enter a much heavier stagger animation, generally involving the enemy losing their footing, rather than just flinching back. The health of each bodypart is tracked individually, and the enemy's head also counts as a bodypart for the purposes of this stagger. The stagger occurring from a body part breaking is independent from stagger HP/damage.

Stagger Multiplier by Weapon

Weapon	Stagger Multiplier
Drekker CLR Short Rifle	0.5
HEL Rifle	1
Burst Cannon	1
Arbalist V Machine Gun	1
HEL Revolver	1
PDW	1
High Caliber Pistol	1
Revolver	1
Burst Pistol	1
Machine Pistol	1
Carbine	1
Assault Rifle	1
Heavy SMG	1
HEL Gun	1
Heavy Assault Rifle	1
Burst Rifle	1
DMR	1
Double Tap Rifle	1
SMG	1
S870 Shotgun	1
Bullpup Rifle	1
Precision Rifle	1
Sniper	1
Choke Mod Shotgun	1.35
Veruta XII Machine Gun	1.45
Pistol	1.5
Rifle	1.75
Combat Shotgun	2
Sawed-off Shotgun	2
Slug Shotgun	2
Scattergun	2
HEL Shotgun	2
HEL Autopistol	5

Melee

Melee weapons also have a Stagger Multiplier:

Weapon	Light Stagger Multiplier	Charged Stagger Multiplier
Sledgehammer	1	1.3
Knife	1	1
Bat	5	7
Spear	1	1

The Stagger Multiplier varies smoothly between its light and charged values, scaling with the cube of the charge time. That is, for a given charge amount $x$ (between 0 and 1), the Stagger Multiplier of the hit is given by:

$\text{Stagger Multiplier} = \left(\text{Charged Stagger Multiplier} - \text{Light Stagger Multiplier}\right) \cdot x^3 + \text{Light Stagger Multiplier}$

For example calculations involving melee weapons see Melee#Example Calculations.

Example Calculations

All calculations are done assuming the weapons deal full damage, not diminished by falloff.

Shooting a Charger with the Pistol

$\begin{align} \text{Stagger damage to the Charger} &= \text{Damage(Pistol)} \cdot \text{Stagger Multiplier(Pistol)} \\ &= 4.64 \cdot 1.5 = 6.96 \end{align}$

The Charger's remaining stagger HP is $6.5 - 6.96 = < 0$, so the Charger is staggered.

Shooting a Giant with the HEL Autopistol

$\begin{align} \text{Stagger damage to the Giant} &= \text{Damage(HEL Autopistol)} \cdot \text{Stagger Multiplier(HEL Autopistol)} \\ &= 1.01 \cdot 5 = 5.05 \end{align}$

The Giant's remaining stagger HP is $40 - 5.05 = 34.95$, so the Giant is not staggered (but is staggered after 8 bullets($8 \cdot 5.05 = 40.4$)).

Headshotting a Striker with the Bullpup Rifle

$\begin{align} \text{Stagger damage to the Striker} &= \text{Damage(Bullpup Rifle)} \cdot \text{Precision Multiplier(Bullpup Rifle)} \cdot \text{Stagger Multiplier(Bullpup Rifle)} \cdot \text{Headshot Multiplier(Striker)} \\ &= 2.1 \cdot 1 \cdot 1 \cdot 3 = 6.3 \end{align}$

The Striker's remaining stagger HP is $5 - 6.3 < 0$, so the Striker is staggered.