⚡ The Short Answer
In Fortnite, the standard Assault Rifle — the gun everyone just calls "the AR" — deals 30 damage per body shot and 60 to the head at point-blank on the current build, falling to 27 / 54 once you push past its 50-metre effective range. At 360 RPM that's about a 0.47-second time-to-kill on a full-HP opponent up close, stretching to roughly 0.83s at range. Those are community-reported values; your in-game numbers will wobble a little with bloom and the occasional quiet hotfix that never makes the patch notes.
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🎯 Context Before the Numbers
The AR is the default crutch weapon for a reason: it's the one gun you can pick up in almost any match and trust to do the job from 5 metres to 50. But "does 30 damage" is only useful if you know what happens after the first shot connects — and that's where most damage charts stop short.
Fortnite's assault rifles are governed by two mechanics that charts usually ignore. First, damage falloff: the AR loses a sliver of damage past 50m, so long-range trades favour the marksman-rifle or DMR instead. Second, bloom — the reticle visibly spreads while you hold fire, which is why mag-dumping from the hip feels weaker than disciplined tapping even though the per-shot number never changed.
So the honest answer to "how much damage" is really three numbers: the body number, the headshot number, and the number you'll actually land when a real opponent is sliding, building, and shooting back.
📋 The Numbers
Values below are community-reported reference estimates — always confirm in-game, as numbers shift with every patch.
Assault Rifle — live stats (current patch)
Body and headshot damage, fire rate and time-to-kill measured in-game on the current season build. Treat these as a baseline; bloom and positioning move the effective number.
| Parameter | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Body damage (point-blank) | 30 | — |
| Headshot damage | 60 | — |
| Fire rate | 360 RPM | — |
| Time-to-kill (0m) | 0.47s | — |
| Effective range | 50m | damage starts to fall off past this |
| Magazine | 30 (45 extended) | — |
| Reload (empty) | 2.3s | — |
How damage changes with distance
The AR barely drops over its effective range, then bleeds damage past 50m. This is why it wins mid-range fights and loses sniper-range ones.
| Parameter | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0–25m | 30 body / 60 head | — |
| 25–50m | 29 body / 58 head | — |
| 50–75m | 27 body / 54 head | — |
| 75m+ | 25 body / 50 head | — |
🔄 Version Comparison: Old vs New Patch
Changes between 2025 and 2026 seasons
🆕 Current (2026)
📦 Previous (2025)
⚠️ Common Misconceptions, Cleared Up
A few ideas about this game that don't hold up — and why.
MYTH: "The AR is the best all-rounder, so you should always carry it."
✅ REALITY: It's the safest default, not the best at anything. Up close the Pump Shotgun deletes you three times faster, and at sniper range a DMR or bolt-action simply out-damages it. The AR wins the boring middle where most fights actually happen — not every fight.
📊 DATA PROOF: At under 10m the Pump out-TTKs the AR roughly 3:1.
MYTH: "Higher RPM always means more DPS."
✅ REALITY: Damage per shot matters more the moment bloom kicks in. The AR's 360 RPM × 30 = ~180 effective DPS only holds if your shots keep landing; spamming fire past 30m scatters the reticle and your real DPS collapses even though the RPM never changed.
📊 DATA PROOF: Disciplined tapping beats holding fire past ~40m despite identical RPM.
MYTH: "Headshots double your damage."
✅ REALITY: On the AR the headshot multiplier is 2.0×, so 30 becomes 60 — but only the shots that actually hit the head count. Whiffing for the headshot tax is worse than steady body shots that connect.
📊 DATA PROOF: AR headshot multiplier = 2.0× (30 → 60).
🚀 Putting This Into Practice
Things you can actually try next time you play.
Use the AR the way it actually performs
A few habits that turn the raw numbers into wins, based on how the damage curve behaves in real lobbies.
- Land your first two shots on the torso to force the opponent to reset, then climb to the head — don't start by hunting the headshot and missing.
- Stay inside 50m. The moment a fight stretches past effective range, switch to a DMR or just close the distance.
- Tap or short-burst at range instead of holding fire; the bloom recovery is what keeps your per-shot damage real.
- Pre-reload at 8–10 rounds left during rotations. The 2.3s empty reload is a death sentence if it happens mid-firefight.
📌 Version Notes
Verified against the current season build. Epic tunes assault-rifle damage and bloom almost every major update, and the occasional hotfix ships without a line in the notes — so if your AR suddenly feels different, you're probably not imagining it. We re-check after every patch.
🔗 Related Data Articles
⚠️ Compliance Notice
Community-estimated reference values, not official data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the respective game developers. Verify all stats in-game, as numbers change with every patch. All game names and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
🔗 Keep Exploring
📝 Wrap-Up
Verified against the current season build. Epic tunes assault-rifle damage and bloom almost every major update, and the occasional hotfix ships without a line in the notes — so if your AR suddenly feels different, you're probably not imagining it. We re-check after every patch.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1Does the Assault Rifle do more damage with attachments?
The base AR takes a magazine attachment (30 → 45) and a scope, but in standard Battle Royale it doesn't have damage-boosting modifiers — the per-shot number stays 30/60. What attachments change is control and reload, which indirectly raises your effective DPS by helping more shots land.
Q2Why does my AR feel weaker than the stats say?
Almost always bloom. Holding fire past ~30m spreads the reticle, so your shots miss even though each one still "does 30." Tap or burst at range, and the felt damage jumps back up to match the chart.
Q3Is the AR better than the SMG or Shotgun?
Different jobs. The SMG wins point-blank sustained fights; the Shotgun wins the first pull inside a box; the AR wins the 10–50m lane where most engagements actually occur. Carry the AR as your default and swap for the others based on how close the fight is.
📚 Sources & References
The figures on this page are community-reported reference estimates, cross-checked against the community and official sources below. Where a developer hasn't published exact figures, values are clearly marked as estimates and should be verified in-game, as they change with every patch.