CS2 Damage Falloff by Distance
Most CS2 weapons deal less damage the further away your target is. Understanding falloff helps you pick the right gun for the right fight.
What damage falloff is
Damage falloff is the gradual reduction in a weapon's damage as the distance to your target grows. A shot that does full damage at point-blank range will deal noticeably less across a long sightline. Each weapon has its own falloff behaviour, which is why some guns dominate up close while others stay deadly from anywhere on the map.
Weapons that hold up at range
- AWP — effectively no practical falloff; a hit is lethal across the longest sightlines.
- AK-47 — strong damage retention, which is why it remains a one-tap threat well beyond close range.
- Rifles generally — the M4 series and AUG keep enough damage to threaten kills at medium-to-long range, though their headshot reliability against helmets can slip as distance grows.
Weapons that fall off fast
- Starter pistols like the Glock-18 lose a relatively large share of their damage over distance, so they reward closing the gap.
- SMGs are built for close-quarters fights and become much weaker across open areas.
Exact falloff curves are not published by Valve in a tidy table, so the per-metre figures the community shares are estimates. The calculator on this site uses simplified falloff values to illustrate the trend, not to replicate Valve's internal maths.
What it means for positioning
Falloff is really a positioning lesson. With a falloff-prone weapon you want to fight close, hold tight angles and avoid long-range trades. With a rifle or the AWP you can punish enemies from distance where their guns are weaker. Picking the fight that suits your weapon is often more important than raw aim.
See the effect for yourself in the CS2 damage calculator by dragging the distance slider, and check which guns still one-tap at range.