Hits-to-kill tables count one attack at a time, but real fights mix attacks. Because of how armor works, a cheap hit first can make the next big hit land almost entirely on health, and that can save a whole hit. These combos are what good players do on purpose.
Every strip below is calculated with the game's own damage formula: the red part of a bar is health, the blue part is armor (drawn at its real worth, 2 damage per point). Hover a bar for exact numbers.
Why combos work#
Armor absorbs 70% of every hit, but only while there is armor left. A hit that arrives when armor is almost gone dumps nearly everything on health.
So a small hit that removes "just enough" armor changes where the next big hit goes. The classic case: two skulk bites leave an un-upgraded marine on exactly 10 health. A parasite first takes 3.5 armor, so the second bite finds almost no armor and kills.
Skulk#
Parasite + 2 bites#
The bread-and-butter skulk kill on an un-upgraded marine. Parasite from range (it also marks the marine for your whole team), close in, two bites.
Without the parasite the same two bites leave the marine alive:
How many bites you need after 0, 1, 2... parasites:
| Target | Skulk bite hits needed after this many parasites | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| Marine A0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Marine A1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Marine A2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Marine A3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
 Jetpacker A0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many parasites save a skulk bite compared with the cell to its left.
Focus bites#
Focus makes each bite hit harder. Even one Veil gets the 2-bite kill on an A0 marine without a parasite:
With 3 Veils, parasite + 2 bites also kills A1:
| Target | Skulk bite hits needed after this many parasites | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Marine A0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Marine A1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Marine A2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Marine A3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Full-health targets (Focus 3). A highlighted cell means that many parasites save a skulk bite compared with the cell to its left.
Xenocide#
Xenocide does 200 at the centre of the blast: enough to kill an A0 or A1 marine alone, and a bite finishes an A2 marine.
| Target | Skulk bite hits needed after this many xenocides | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | |
| Marine A0 | 3 | kill |
| Marine A1 | 3 | kill |
| Marine A2 | 4 | 1 |
| Marine A3 | 4 | 2 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many xenocides save a skulk bite compared with the cell to its left.
Lerk#
Spikes do little per hit but strip armor from range; then bites land on health.
| Target | Lerk bite hits needed after this many lerk spikes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Marine A0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Marine A1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Marine A2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Marine A3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many lerk spikes save a lerk bite compared with the cell to its left.
Fade#
The fade's two attacks combine: Stab is one big hit, Swipe is fast. Stab first, then swipe:
| Target | Fade swipe hits needed after this many fade stabs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marine A0 | 3 | 1 | kill |
| Marine A1 | 3 | 2 | kill |
| Marine A2 | 4 | 2 | kill |
| Marine A3 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Jetpacker A0 | 3 | 1 | kill |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many fade stabs save a fade swipe compared with the cell to its left.
Swipe first, then stab, gives the same totals on most targets:
| Target | Fade stab hits needed after this many fade swipes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Marine A0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | kill |
| Marine A1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | kill |
| Marine A2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marine A3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many fade swipes save a fade stab compared with the cell to its left.
Onos#
Stomp does 40 heavy damage (armor absorbs only half as much as usual) and stuns. Against armored marines it saves a gore:
| Target | Onos gore hits needed after this many onos stomps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Marine A0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marine A1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marine A2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Marine A3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many onos stomps save a onos gore compared with the cell to its left.
Against an A0 marine 2 gores kill anyway, so Stomp is only for the stun. Against A1 and A2, Stomp + 2 gores kills where 3 gores were needed; against A3 it is Stomp + 3 gores instead of 4. Stomp has a 4 s cooldown, so plan on one Stomp per fight.
Marines#
Shotgun + pistol#
A full shotgun blast takes most of a lifeform's armor and health, and the pistol finishes faster than a second blast (the shotgun fires every 0.85 s). Pellets that miss count against you, so these assume all 17 pellets hit.
| Target | Pistol hits needed after this many shotguns | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | |
 Skulk, biomass 1 | 5 | kill | kill |
 Gorge, biomass 1 | 13 | 5 | kill |
 Lerk, biomass 1 | 12 | 4 | kill |
| Fade, biomass 1 | 21 | 12 | 4 |
 Onos, biomass 1 | 80 | 72 | 63 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many shotguns save a pistol compared with the cell to its left.
Late game the same finish needs more shots:
| Target | Pistol hits needed after this many shotguns | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Skulk, biomass 9, Carapace 3 | 8 | kill | kill | kill |
| Gorge, biomass 9, Carapace 3 | 17 | 9 | kill | kill |
| Lerk, biomass 9, Carapace 3 | 15 | 7 | kill | kill |
| Fade, biomass 9, Carapace 3 | 27 | 19 | 10 | 2 |
| Onos, biomass 9, Carapace 3 | 123 | 115 | 106 | 98 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many shotguns save a pistol compared with the cell to its left.
Shotgun + rifle#
Shotgunners often carry a rifle teammate; or a rifle marine picks up a shotgun. Bullets needed after each blast:
| Target | Rifle hits needed after this many shotguns | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Skulk, biomass 1 | 10 | kill | kill |
| Gorge, biomass 1 | 26 | 9 | kill |
| Lerk, biomass 1 | 24 | 7 | kill |
| Fade, biomass 1 | 41 | 24 | 7 |
| Onos, biomass 1 | 160 | 143 | 126 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many shotguns save a rifle compared with the cell to its left.
Grenade + rifle#
A direct grenade hit is 74.38 damage, about the same as 7 rifle bullets, but grenades shine against groups and structures, not single lifeforms.
| Target | Rifle hits needed after this many grenades | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Skulk, biomass 1 | 10 | 3 | kill |
| Gorge, biomass 1 | 26 | 19 | 12 |
| Lerk, biomass 1 | 24 | 17 | 10 |
| Fade, biomass 1 | 41 | 34 | 27 |
| Onos, biomass 1 | 160 | 153 | 146 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many grenades save a rifle compared with the cell to its left.
Mine + rifle#
A mine kills a fresh skulk outright and takes about half of a lerk or gorge:
| Target | Rifle hits needed after this many mines | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | |
| Skulk, biomass 1 | 10 | kill |
| Gorge, biomass 1 | 26 | 13 |
| Lerk, biomass 1 | 24 | 11 |
| Fade, biomass 1 | 41 | 28 |
| Onos, biomass 1 | 160 | 147 |
Full-health targets. A highlighted cell means that many mines save a rifle compared with the cell to its left.
What armor and weapon upgrades buy#
| Upgrade | What it breaks |
|---|---|
| Armor 1 | Parasite + 2 bites (needs a 3rd bite), Focus 2-bite skulks, 3-bite lerks (4 bites), Xenocide stays a kill |
| Armor 2 | 3-bite skulks (4 bites), 3-swipe fades (4 swipes), Xenocide alone (needs a bite) |
| Armor 3 | 2-stab fades (3 stabs), 3-gore onos (4 gores) |
| Weapons 1-3 | Fewer bullets per lifeform; see the Hits to kill calculator for the exact breakpoints at every biomass |