Punch Through

Punch Through is a mechanic that allows weapons to shoot through objects, cover and even enemies. Punch Through is typically bestowed through Mods, though certain weapons have innate Punch Through values.

A basic, unranked Punch Through mod gives a value of at least 0.1 meters of Punch Through, which is sufficient to bypass a Shield Lancer's riot shield. Thus, a skilled marksman would be able to estimate the location of enemies' weak spots while they're in cover and land a shot or two without waiting for the enemy to peek out of cover. Greater values can potentially allow the penetration of many enemies at once, and can be an effective damage multiplier when utilized against swarms of enemies.

Mechanics

Punch Through distance is the maximum depth of material (object or enemy) that a projectile can penetrate. This value is diminished as the projectile passes through the material. For example, if using a weapon with 1.2m of Punch Through distance against a line of 4 Grineer Butchers at chest height, the shot pass through only the first two and result in only the first three Butchers being hit, while increasing the punch through to 2.1m will result in all four Butchers being hit.

A Punch Through value of 1.2m is sufficient to easily pass through most single enemies in the game (Infested Boilers being a notable exception, though they're not the only one). The same rule applies to objects and terrain.

Once the projectile encounters a surface too thick to penetrate, the projectile stops normally. It is important to note that there are some objects that cannot be Punched Through by any means; most terrain is too thick to penetrate, and barriers from abilities such as  Snow Globe (both the  Frost and Arctic Eximus variants) or Nullifier Crewman fields will block all projectiles regardless of the amount of Punch Through they may otherwise be capable of. Additionally, some Bosses have weakspots that periodically close up, and cannot be penetrated by any means until they open up (such as General Sargas Ruk's exhaust vents, which only open after he performs certain attacks).

A demonstration of Punch Through interacting with a projectile weapon (in this case, an  Acrid with  Seeker equipped). Note how the Acrid's darts are veering off to the right of the reticle, as opposed to continuing forward.

Beginning in Update 9.7 (2013-08-30), Punch Through now functions somewhat properly with non-hitscan weapons. However, projectiles that manage to penetrate a surface will veer off to the side once they exit, and with significantly reduced velocity. Although Thrown Melee weapons can equip the  Power Throw mod to get Punch Through, it will only apply to enemies; the melee weapon will still bounce off any obstacles it encounters while in flight.

Weapons

Some weapons come with an innate amount of Punch Through without any installed mods. Most weapons with a charged shot mechanic will add Punch Through upon full charge, while their uncharged shots may not penetrate anything. In both cases, their innate Punch Through values will stack with any mods that grant Punch Through.

• Charged
• Innate

 Battacor (2.0m)

DECernos.png

 Cernos (1.0m)

 Cerata (1.0m against bodies)

AsymmetricBow.png

 Daikyu (3.0m)

GrineerFlakCannon.png

 Drakgoon (1.5m)

Dread2.png

 Dread (2.5m)

 Falcor (1.0m) against bodies

 Ferrox (1.5m)

 Glaive (1.0m against bodies)

PrimeGlaive.png

 Glaive Prime (1.0m against bodies)

GrnBoomerang.png

 Halikar (1.0m against bodies)

 Kestrel (1.0m against bodies)

 Lanka (5.0m)

 Miter (2.5m)

 MK1-Paris (2.0m)

CrpBFG.png

 Opticor (1.0m)

 Paris (2.0m)

PrimeBowM.png

 Paris Prime (3.0m)

SyndicateRVCernos.png

 Rakta Cernos (1.0m)

 Redeemer (no listed range, through enemies and non-terrain objects)

 Redeemer Prime (no listed range, through enemies and non-terrain objects)

TnBardRifle.png

 Tenora (1.0m)

 Vulcax (1.0m)

 Akjagara Prime (0.2m)

CrpShotgun.png

 Arca Plasmor (2.0m against bodies)

EWArtemisBow.png

Artemis Bow (1.0m)

KitgunChamberCatchmoon.png

Catchmoon (infinite punch through against bodies)

 Cycron (1.0m)

EWDesertWind.png

Desert Wind (infinite punch through up to ???m)

EWExaltedBlade.png

Exalted Blade (infinite punch through up to 40.0m)

 Exergis (0.5m)

ArchRocketCrossbow.png

 Fluctus (275m)

CorpusLaserRifle.png

 Flux Rifle (0.5m)

KitgunChamberGaze.png

Gaze (1.0m)

GrnAntiAirGun.png

 Grattler (5.0m)

GrineerFlameThrower.png

 Ignis (infinite punch through against bodies)

 Ignis Wraith (infinite punch through against bodies)

GrineerSparkGun.png

 Kohm (1.5m)

GrnWindUpPistol.png

 Kohmak (1.5m)

 Multron (0.1m)

InfestedLongGunTwo.png

 Phage (0.5m)

RevenantShotgun.png

 Phantasma (infinite punch through against bodies)

GrnFourBarrelRifleWeapon.png

 Quartakk (0.5m)

FiveShotSniper.png

 Rubico (1.0m)

 Rubico Prime (1.0m)

 Snipetron (2.5m)

DESnipertronVandal.png

 Snipetron Vandal (3.0m)

 Spectra (0.5m)

DualKohmak.png

 Twin Kohmak (1.5m)

DEVectis.png

 Vectis (1.0m)

 Vectis Prime (1.0m)

ArchRailgun.png

 Velocitus (5.0m)

 Vulkar (1.0m)

 Vulkar Wraith (1.0m)

SentinelElectricRailgun.png

 Vulklok (1.5m)

GrineerCannon.png

 Zarr (1.6m on Barrage Mode)

SundialRifle.png

 Zenith (listed as "INFINITY" in the arsenal, but is actually 99999.0 m)

Minimum Mod Ranks for Penetration

Body Units Punctured

Power Throw	+0.1	+0.2	+0.3	+0.4	+0.5	+0.6
Humanoid	×	×	×	×	✓	✓
Quadruped	×	×	×	×	×	×
Seeking Fury,  Shred	+0.2	+0.4	+0.6	+0.8	+1.0	+1.2
Humanoid	×	×	✓	✓	✓	✓
Quadruped	×	×	×	×	✓	✓
Vigilante Offense	+0.25	+0.5	+0.75	+1.0	+1.25	+1.5
Humanoid	×	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Quadruped	×	×	×	✓	✓	✓
Metal Auger,  Seeker,  Seeking Force	+0.4	+0.7	+1.1	+1.4	+1.8	+2.1
Humanoid	×	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Quadruped	×	×	✓	✓	✓	✓
Primed Shred	+0.2	+0.4	+0.6	+0.8	+1.0	+1.2	+1.4	+1.6	+1.8	+2.0	+2.2
Humanoid	×	×	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Quadruped	×	×	×	×	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

^{Average data, result will differ due to width variances.}

Notes

• A number of bosses actually become invulnerable when they deploy protection rather than using a physical barrier to block attacks. In those cases Punch Through will not allow damage to be dealt during these phases. The Raptors, Captain Vor and Lephantis are good examples.
•  Saryn and her teammates can burst Spores through unaffected portions of an enemy's body or burst multiple Spores simultaneously.

Bugs

• The Drakgoon's real Punch Through on Charged Shots may differ from the listed Punch Through in the Arsenal/Codex and on site. It seems to be even less than 1.5m as listed in the Arsenal/Codex. Further testing/info required.

Punch Through Mods

Primed Shred.png

MetalAugerModU145.png

SeekingForceModU145.png

SeekingFury2.png

SeekerModU145.png

PowerThrowModU145.png

Media

• These two containers are 22m apart, the Latron Prime has maxed Metal Auger.
• The bullet can puncture the first, travel ~20m and still hit the second.
• This shows Punch Through only counts solid objects, not empty space.

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