Attack
An attack is any action intended to cause harm to its target; popular choices include punching, kicking, or shooting them in the head.
There are two main types of attacks: unaimed attacks and aimed attacks.
Whether an attack reaches its intended target is determined by the attacker's hit chance and a bit of luck.
Every attack triggers a short cooldown (usually around a second long) on performing any additional actions, see the attack delay section for details.
Contents
Unaimed attack
Unaimed attacks, a.k.a. normal/basic attacks, are attacks that do not target any specific body part. They use your base hit chance and critical chance values, and will always land on the target's torso.
To perform an attack, you must select a valid target.
In FOnline, same as in Fallout 1 and 2, target selection is separate from aiming, however, the latter referring specifically to a deliberate attempt to hit a particular body part (see below).
Aimed attack
An aimed attack is a deliberate attempt to hit a specific part of your target's body.
Aiming imposes an accuracy penalty on the attack, doubles its attack delay, and increases its AP cost, but in return grants bonus critical chance that scales with Luck.
The table below shows the accuracy penalties, AP cost increases, and base critical chance values associated with the body part being aimed at.
| Body part | Accuracy multiplier |
Base critical chance |
Additional AP cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eyes | x0.80 | 60% | +2 AP |
| Head | x0.85 | 40% | +2 AP |
| Groin | x0.90 | 30% | +2 AP |
| Arms | x0.95 | 30% | +1 AP |
| Legs | x0.95 | 20% | +1 AP |
| Torso | x1.00 | 0% | +1 AP |
For most characters, aiming for the torso makes no sense as it activates the AP cost and attack delay penalties with the only "benefit" being the attack type changing from unaimed to aimed.
All aimed attacks have their base critical chance multiplied by 20% and a Luck-scaling critical chance bonus with the base value of 4%. This base value can be increased by the Marksman perk synergy and the More Critical level perk.
The final bonus critical chance granted by aiming an attack is calculated as:
Final Bonus Critical Chance = Base Critical Chance x {20% + [(4% + Marksman bonus + More Critical bonus) x Luck]}
Examples
The following examples demonstrate how the bonus critical chance from aimed attacks is calculated under various conditions:
- If a character has Luck = 20 and aims for the eyes (60% base critical chance):
60% × {20% + [(4%) × 20]} = 60% × {20% + 80%} = 60% × 100% = 60% bonus critical chance. - If a character has Luck = 20 and the Marksman perk synergy (+3%) and aims for the eyes:
60% × {20% + [(4% + 3%) × 20]} = 60% × {20% + [7% × 20]} = 60% × {20% + 140%} = 60% × 160% = 96% bonus critical chance. - If a character has Luck = 20, the Marksman perk synergy (+3%), and the More Critical level perk (+1%) and aims for the eyes:
60% × {20% + [(4% + 3% + 1%) × 20]} = 60% × {20% + [8% × 20]} = 60% × {20% + 160%} = 60% × 180% = 108% bonus critical chance. - If a character has Luck = 1 and aims for the legs (20% base critical chance):
20% × {20% + [(4%) × 1]} = 20% × {20% + 4%} = 20% × 24% = 4.8% bonus critical chance, rounded up to 5%
Hit chance
Hit chance is the probability that an attack will successfully land on its target.
Hit chance calculation involves three distinct concepts: accuracy, minimum chance to hit, and maximum chance to hit.
Accuracy is a raw, unbounded value that represents the theoretical chance to hit before any limits are applied. The level of the combat skill that corresponds to the weapon you're wielding is the basis for your accuracy.
Minimum chance to hit is a lower bound that prevents accuracy from falling too low. No matter how severe the penalties, your final hit chance can never drop below this floor. By default, it equals 20%.
Maximum chance to hit is an upper bound that keeps your accuracy in check. The final hit chance cannot rise above this ceiling. Maximum chance to hit is affected by a variety of factors, most notably your target's Armor Class. By default, maximum chance to hit equals 80% but don't expect to see that exact number often.
The final hit chance displayed in-game is simply your raw accuracy, clamped between these two bounds.
Raw accuracy calculation
Raw accuracy is computed in three steps.
First, flat bonuses are added to your base skill. Second, multipliers are applied. Third, the distance penalty is subtracted.
| Step 1: Add flat bonuses | Step 2: Apply multipliers | Step 3: Subtract distance penalty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The raw accuracy value is then constrained by minimum and maximum hit chance values.
Minimum chance to hit modifiers
Minimum chance to hit starts at a base of 20% and is modified by the following.
| Modifier | Source |
|---|---|
| Up to +40% | Long Range (weapon perk) |
| +20% | Sharpshooter (level perk) |
| +1% | Soldier (class perk) |
Maximum chance to hit modifiers
Max chance starts at a base of 80% and is modified by the following.
| Modifier | Source |
|---|---|
| +1% per 25% of skill | Relevant combat skill |
| -(AC / AC MOD x 2)% | Target's AC, attacker's ammo |
| +5% | Binoculars (without Quartermaster) |
| +10% | Binoculars (with Quartermaster) |
| +10% | Military Binoculars (without Quartermaster) |
| +20% | Military Binoculars (with Quartermaster) |
| +4% | ACC (T1 WE stat) |
| +4% | S.DMG (T2 WE stat) |
| +5% | Awareness (level perk) |
| Up to +40% | Long Range (weapon perk) |
| +20% | Sharpshooter (level perk) |
| +5% | Small Frame (trait; PvE only) |
| +5% | Normal damage type bonus |
| +1% | Tactical Actor (PvE perk) |
| +1% | Soldier (class perk) |
| -10% | Target has Agility ≥ 20 |
| -15% (-50% for Regulator) | One Hander using 2-handed weapons |
| -5% | RadX (drug) |
| -5% | Target consumed Radiated Brain |
| -5% per point | Strength below weapon requirements |
Special modifiers
The following effects override or modify the standard hit chance calculation in unique ways:
- If the target has the In Your Face! level perk, and the attacker is on an adjacent hex, their minimum and maximum chance to hit = 50%. This value may be further modified by the Life Steal weapon perk.
- If the attacker is blinded, their maximum hit chance is halved.
- If you have more action points than your opponent, their chance to hit you is reduced by 1% for each point of Endurance you have (capped at 20%).
Formulas
Raw Accuracy = Flat Bonuses x Multipliers − Distance Penalty
Minimum Chance to Hit = 20% + Minimum Chance to Hit Modifiers
Maximum Chance to Hit = 80% + Maximum Chance to Hit Modifiers
Final Hit Chance = clamp(Accuracy, Minimum Chance to Hit, Maximum Chance to Hit)
Attack delay
Attack delay is the minimum time (in milliseconds) that must pass after an attack before any subsequent action can be performed.
The lower your attack delay, the faster you are. Each weapon has its own base attack delay value and, as of Patch 6.3.5, so do items that restore hit points.
The table below lists various modifiers that affect attack delay. Bonuses reduce attack delay (good), while penalties increase it (bad).
| Type | Modifier | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonuses | -200ms | Fast Attacks (level perk) | Flat reduction |
| -20% (-50% for Regulator) | Fast Shot (trait) | Applies to single shots only; does not affect rockets/flamers | |
| -5% | Attack Speed (AS) (WE stat) | ||
| -5% | Melee Mastery (S.HTH) (WE stat) | ||
| -40% | Cowboy (level perk) | Limited to pistols | |
| -50% | Quick Fingers (perk synergy) | Single shots only (excluding melee and throwing attacks) | |
| -10% | Soldier (class perk) | Limited to Support Rifles | |
| Up to -20% (-35% for Hubologist) | Bonus Attack Speed (weapon perk) | Varies by rank | |
| -0.5% per Leader's Charisma | Leader's mobility flags | Scales with Leader's Charisma | |
| -1% for each point of Luck | Bounty Hunter (class perk) | ||
| -10% (random chance) | Random Boy rolls | Unlucky rolls apply a +3% penalty instead | |
| Penalties |
+100% | Aiming | |
| +2% per stack | Slow stacks | ||
| +1% for each point of Charisma | Priest (class perk) | ||
| +25% | Raider (class perk) | ||
| +3% (random chance) | Random Boy rolls | Lucky rolls apply a 10% reduction instead | |
| +30% | Target has Quick Recovery | Applied when attacking a target with this level perk | |
| +0.5% for each point of Intelligence | Intelligence |
Special cases
- Wrecker's attack delay depends on how far the target is: it starts at 100ms if the target is on an adjacent hex and increases by 100ms more for each extra hex
- Heresy sets the minimum attack delay to 1200ms
- Killer's rage sets Killer's attack delay to 700ms for 10 seconds
Miss and critical miss
When an attack fails to reach its intended target, it is a miss. Your chance to miss is 100% minus your hit chance.
Similarly to hits, misses can be critical. For every 5% of your weapon's missing condition, the critical miss chance increases by 1%.
| Weapon condition | 100% | 95% | 90% | 85% | 80% | 75% | 70% | 65% | 60% | 55% | 50% | 45% | 40% | 35% | 30% | 25% | 20% | 15% | 10% | 5% | 0% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical miss chance | 0% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 8% | 9% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 14% | 15% | 16% | 17% | 18% | 19% | Broken |
The Jinxed trait overrides the condition‑based critical miss chance, fixing its owner's, and their attackers', critical miss chance at 50%.
When a critical miss occurs, one of the following effects is randomly triggered:
- The weapon loses all of its ammo.
- The weapon is destroyed.
- The weapon drops to the ground.
- The weapon "explodes," resulting in randomized condition loss.
Strike
The attack that starts your battle timer ("Strike") may benefit from an extra effect depending on your class.
Most classes have no special ability associated with initiating combat but those that do often rely on it heavily; for example, Combat Master's strikes allow the class to teleport right to the target from up to 40 hexes away to deliver a powerful surprise attack.
