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This article is about the gameplay mechanic. For the medal, see Headshot (medal).

A close-up of a headshot in Halo 3. The weapon used was a Sniper Rifle. The remains of the crippled shielding and blood from the exit wound are clearly visible.

A headshot is a shot fired at an enemy's head. Headshots, when fired from a precision weapon, will instantly kill an unshielded target. Due to the size of a target's head relative to the size of their body, however, headshots are relatively difficult to perform. They are typically performed with scoped weapons. It should be noted that while any shot to the head could be (informally) called a "headshot", headshot-related awards (like medals) are only given if the headshot was a fatal shot. That is to say, a kill will only count as a headshot kill if the headshot was the killing shot.

Damage System[edit]

Headshots will instantly kill an unshielded opponent, but does not do any extra damage to shields. That is to say, a shielded opponent will take the same amount of damage no matter where they are shot.^[1] Shooting a shielded opponent in the head does exactly the same amount of damage as shooting them in the foot.

The reason that Sniper Rifle and Beam Rifle headshots can instantly kill a shielded opponent is because Sniper and Beam Rifles do more than enough damage to drain an opponent's shields and cause slight damage to Health as well. If the shot hits the head, the "leftover" damage is inflicted on the newly-unshielded opponent's head. Indeed, any damage inflicted upon an unshielded head will kill the victim immediately, provided that the damage was inflicted by a headshot-capable weapon. For example, in Halo 3, 12 shots from a Battle Rifle does a total of 72 damage. A player has 70 shield points, so 11 and ²/₃ of the shots (35 bullets total) are used for the shield and the remaining bullet does the fatal headshot.^[2] A sniper round does roughly 80 damage, 70 of which is used for the shield and 10 of which go for the body, which means a kill in the case of a headshot. In Halo: Reach, the damage system has been altered where damage applied to a shielded enemy would result in a headshot.^[3] In order to successfully produce a headshot, the player has to eliminate the enemy's shield, though the only exception to this would be the sniper rifle.^[3] In Halo 5: Guardians, headshots with weapons such as the MA5D assault rifle, the M739 SAW, and the M20 PDW do extra damage, though they don't kill instantly.

Aiming[edit]

Scoring a headshot on a multiplayer enemy is relatively straightforward, as the head is clearly identifiable and almost always visible.

Face painting is an effective technique when going for a headshot, as is the act of leading one's target. Watching the reticule on the heads-up display is also useful; in all Halo first-person shooter games after Halo: Combat Evolved, a small red dot will appear at the center of the reticule when aiming at an enemy's head.

Headshot-capable weapons[edit]

Not all weapons in the Halo series are headshot-capable. It is entirely possible to shoot an opponent in the head with a headshot-incapable weapon, but the hit will not count as a headshot.

Trivia[edit]

In Halo 3's campaign or matchmaking, players can unlock the "Headshot Honcho" Achievement by getting ten headshots with a Sniper Rifle. Additionally, scoring headshots in Halo 3's meta-game will earn more points.
In Halo 3: ODST, the achievement "Boom, Headshot" is unlocked by killing 10 opponents with headshots with the M6C/SOCOM.
In Halo: Reach's Firefight mode, AI enemies can headshot you.
In Halo 5: Guardians, headshots cause a different hit marker to signify increased damage.
- This critical damage red marker will also be shown when a target is hit in their weak spots, like a Promethean Knight's cores, a Hunter's exposed orange flesh, or the core on the Warden Eternal's back.

Sources[edit]

[1] YouTube: Halo 3: Shot Location Damage Experiment

[2] Bungie Weekly Update 02/08/08

[Interview-3] GameInformer: Exclusive Interview On The Halo: Reach Sandbox

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:Sniping Headshot.jpg|thumb|A headshot made with a sniper rifle.]]
+{{Status|Gameplay}}
-A '''headshot''' is a tactic used in both [[Campaign]] and [[Multiplayer]] to score instant kills. This occurs when a bullet or projectile is fired at an enemy's head causing higher damage. This is more effective than the bullet hitting the enemy's body. Headshots are most commonly performed with semi-automatic weapons that have good accuracy such as the following:
+{{Cleanup}}
+{{Disambig header|the gameplay mechanic|the medal|Headshot (medal)}}
+[[File:Halo 3 Picture 2.jpg|thumb|A close-up of a headshot in Halo 3. The weapon used was a Sniper Rifle. The remains of the crippled shielding and blood from the exit wound are clearly visible.]]
+A '''headshot''' is a shot fired at an enemy's head. Headshots, when fired from a precision weapon, will instantly kill an unshielded target. Due to the size of a target's head relative to the size of their body, however, headshots are relatively difficult to perform. They are typically performed with scoped weapons. It should be noted that while any shot to the head could be (informally) called a "headshot", headshot-related awards (like [[medals]]) are only given if the headshot was a fatal shot. That is to say, a kill will only count as a headshot kill if the headshot was the killing shot.
-[[Image:Halo_3_Picture_2.jpg|left|thumb|200px|A close-up of a headshot in Halo 3. The weapon used was a Sniper Rifle. The remains of the destroyed shielding and blood from the exit wound are clearly visible.]]
+== Damage System ==
+Headshots will instantly kill an unshielded opponent, but does not do any extra damage to shields. That is to say, a shielded opponent will take the same amount of damage no matter where they are shot.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p54yFedYHb4 '''YouTube:''' ''Halo 3: Shot Location Damage Experiment'']</ref> Shooting a shielded opponent in the head does exactly the same amount of damage as shooting them in the foot.
-List of headshot weapons, with headshot power/effectiveness rating against shielded enemies, and flesh (1 to 10, 10 being the strongest)
+The reason that Sniper Rifle and Beam Rifle headshots can instantly kill a shielded opponent is because Sniper and Beam Rifles do more than enough damage to drain an opponent's shields and cause slight damage to Health as well. If the shot hits the head, the "leftover" damage is inflicted on the newly-unshielded opponent's head. Indeed, any damage inflicted upon an unshielded head will kill the victim immediately, provided that the damage was inflicted by a headshot-capable weapon. For example, in ''Halo 3'', 12 shots from a Battle Rifle does a total of 72 damage. A player has 70 shield points, so 11 and <sup>2</sup>/<sub>3</sub> of the shots (35 bullets total) are used for the shield and the remaining bullet does the fatal headshot.<ref>{{Cite BWU|13233|02/08/08}}</ref> A sniper round does roughly 80 damage, 70 of which is used for the shield and 10 of which go for the body, which means a kill in the case of a headshot. In ''Halo: Reach'', the damage system has been altered where damage applied to a shielded enemy would result in a headshot.<ref name="Interview">[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/31/exclusive-interview-on-the-halo-reach-sandbox.aspx '''GameInformer''': ''Exclusive Interview On The Halo: Reach Sandbox'']</ref> In order to successfully produce a headshot, the player has to eliminate the enemy's shield, though the only exception to this would be the sniper rifle.{{Ref/Reuse|Interview}} In ''Halo 5: Guardians'', headshots with weapons such as the [[MA5D assault rifle]], the [[M739 SAW]], and the [[M20 PDW]] do extra damage, though they don't kill instantly.
-*[[Sniper Rifle]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 10 (pure power)
+== Aiming ==
+Scoring a headshot on a multiplayer enemy is relatively straightforward, as the head is clearly identifiable and almost always visible.
-*[[M6D]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 10 (pure power + fast rate of fire)
-*[[M6G]] headshot power/effeciveness against shielded enemy: 9 (pure power)
+[[Face Painting|Face painting]] is an effective technique when going for a headshot, as is the act of leading one's target. Watching the [[reticule]] on the [[heads-up display]] is also useful; in all ''Halo'' first-person shooter games after ''Halo: Combat Evolved'', a small red dot will appear at the center of the reticule when aiming at an enemy's head.
-*[[M6C Magnum]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemy: 8 (extremly fast rate of fire makes up for some of the power)
+== Headshot-capable weapons ==
+Not all weapons in the ''Halo'' series are headshot-capable. It is entirely possible to shoot an opponent in the head with a headshot-''in''capable weapon, but the hit will not count as a headshot.
+*[[Battle rifle|BR-series Battle Rifles]]
+*[[M392 DMR]]
+*[[M395 DMR]]
+*[[M395B DMR]]
+*[[M6 Series|M6 series sidearms]]
+*[[SRS99 series|SRS99 series sniper rifles]]
+*{{Pattern|Zubo|beam rifle}}
+*{{Pattern|Gadulo|needle rifle}}
+*{{Pattern|Sulok|beam rifle}}
+*{{Pattern|Vostu|carbine}}
+*{{Pattern|Mosa|carbine}}
+*[[Z-110 Boltshot]]
+*[[Z-250 lightrifle]]
+*[[Z-750 binary rifle]]
-*[[Beam Rifle]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 10 (pure power)
+== Trivia ==
+* In ''Halo 3''{{'}}s [[campaign]] or [[matchmaking]], players can unlock the "[[Headshot Honcho]]" [[Achievement]] by getting ten headshots with a Sniper Rifle. Additionally, scoring headshots in ''Halo 3''{{'}}s [[Campaign Scoring|meta-game]] will earn more [[Campaign Scoring#Style Multipliers|points]].
+* In ''Halo 3: ODST'', the achievement "[[Boom, Headshot]]" is unlocked by killing 10 opponents with headshots with the [[M6C/SOCOM]].
+* In ''Halo: Reach''{{'}}s [[Firefight]] mode, AI enemies can headshot you.
+* In ''Halo 5: Guardians'', headshots cause a different hit marker to signify increased damage.
+** This critical damage red marker will also be shown when a target is hit in their weak spots, like a [[Promethean Knight]]'s cores, a [[Mgalekgolo|Hunter]]'s exposed orange flesh, or the core on the [[Warden Eternal]]'s back.
-*[[BR55HB SR Battle Rifle]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 8 (power)
+== Sources ==
+{{Ref/Sources}}
-*[[Covenant Carbine]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 8 (fast rate of fire makes up for some of the power)
+[[Category:Tricks and cheats]]
+[[Category:Real-world terms and phrases]]
-*[[BR55 Battle Rifle]] headshot power/effectiveness against shielded enemies: 9 (power)
+[[Category:Multiplayer lexicon]]
-Headshots require a great amount of accuracy, so using weapons that do not aim well (such as the [[Assault Rifle]]). A one-hit-kill can be made with the [[Shotgun]] (body or head), although it is difficult and takes practice.
-Headshots are most commonly executed by more skilled players than the average rookie, due to the high level of skill involved in shooting someone in the head while running as opposed to a killing shot to the chest such as the [[Rocket Launcher]] would provide.
-Note that the [[Assault Rifle]] and the [[SMG]] don't provide any increased damage for headshots, along with many other fully automatic weapons such as the [[Plasma Rifle]].
-When the crosshairs of headshot-capable weapons are over an enemy's head, they turn bright red and a small red dot appears in the middle of the crosshairs.
-[[Category:Tricks and Cheats]]
-[[Category:Terms and Phrases]]
-[[Category:Multiplayer Lexicon]]