Damage types and enemy weaknesses: a verified lookup workflow

Damage advice becomes unreliable when a weapon name, a damage type, and a damage class are treated as the same thing. Abiotic Factor uses damage types for weaknesses, resistances, and immunities. It also groups attacks into Light, Medium, Heavy, and Super classes for shield blocking. A useful loadout must pass both checks.

This page does not claim to list every enemy or weapon. The official Damage Types reference and an entity's Compendium entry are the current lookup sources. The examples below show how to turn those entries into a route decision without inventing damage-per-second values, stun windows, or fixed kills.

Read the two systems in order

The chart is an original lookup workflow based on the official damage system. It is not a scale diagram and does not estimate combat time.

Weakness, resistance, and immunity

The current Damage Types reference uses three Compendium colors. Green marks a weakness, yellow marks a resistance, and red marks an immunity. The current page also explains the mechanical difference: a weakness can produce critical hits, a resistance sharply reduces the incoming type, and an immunity removes that damage. Check the live reference for exact percentages because those values are balance data and may change.

This method also prevents a common wording error. "Reach," "ranged," and "close combat" are tactics, not damage types. They belong in a positioning column, not in a weakness table.

Damage class and shield blocking

The official system groups attacks into four blocking classes: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Super. A shield can block its listed class and lower classes. A Medium shield can therefore fully block Medium and Light attacks, but not fully block Heavy. The current reference states that Super damage cannot be blocked by shields.

The off-hand rules add conditions to that hierarchy. Stronger physical attacks can be partially blocked and still apply status effects. Each successful block costs stamina; below the marked stamina threshold, the player cannot block. Energy-based attacks normally bypass shields, with the Hardlight Shield providing a documented exception for deflecting attacks such as an Exor Monk's psychic blast while charged. Verify the exact attack and shield before relying on the class table.

Damage class is not a tier list for the player's weapons. A Heavy attack can be slow, expensive, or wrong for the target's type response. Always perform the type check and the class check separately.

Verified enemy examples

Order Grunt, Medic, and Captain

The current Damage Types page lists Grunt, Medic, and Captain as weak to Sharp damage. That makes a current Sharp weapon a candidate, not a complete tactic. Their individual behavior and squad composition still determine range and cover. In particular, the Captain reference includes ranged, melee, and grenade pressure. Do not translate a Sharp weakness into "stand close and trade hits."

Electro-Pest

Electricity is the wrong answer to an Electro-Pest. The current Damage Types reference lists it as immune to Electricity. Its own page documents a shock ring and recommends ranged attacks or evading the ring before a melee counter. This is a useful example of why an enemy name is not enough: an electrical creature does not imply an electrical weakness.

When the Electro-Pest is charged, close attacks can expose the attacker to its response. Create distance, wait for a safer window, and switch away from electric damage. No fixed number of knife or pistol hits is claimed here because weapon values, difficulty, body-part health, and attack accuracy all affect the result.

Exor

The current Exor page identifies Electricity as a weakness. It also describes a ranged quill burst, dodging, and melee attacks. Bring cover and movement space with the matching damage type. The old advice to use a net as a guaranteed teleport counter mixed Exor and Exor Monk behavior and is not part of this page.

Armored Exor

Do not reuse the standard Exor row for the Armored Exor. Its current page lists Acid and Electricity as weaknesses and firearms as a strong resistance. It also combines ranged quills, movement, teleport capability, and a biological grenade. The route needs cover and a retreat lane even after the damage match is correct.

This example shows why variant names matter. A copied family label can hide a different weakness, resistance, attack set, and harvested item.

Composer

The Composer is not an ordinary target with "no weakness listed." Its current page explains that conventional early weapons are not a practical kill method. The documented kill options are specialized late equipment, while the normal first-visit response is avoidance. Because the Composer lacks hearing and detects by sight, break visual contact and use spaces it cannot enter, while remaining away from doorways where it can still reach.

Do not convert "deaf" into "safe." Once it sees the player, it can chase and its grab is lethal. The damage lookup produces an avoidance decision here rather than a weapon ranking.

Leyak

The Leyak is an entity-specific counter case. Its current page says it cannot be harmed conventionally and identifies high-energy electromagnetic exposure such as X-rays as its weakness. The Damage Types page classifies X-Ray Field as a special type that does not deal ordinary damage; it applies a specific effect to entities vulnerable to it.

Use an X-Ray Lamp, X-Ray Tower, or their documented OX variants to repel it and obtain Leyak Essence. Direct unobstructed observation can also make a normal approach vanish, but the current Leyak reference notes that an actively chasing Leyak requires an X-ray device to stop moving. An Energy Pistol is not listed as the Leyak counter and has been removed from this guide.

Build a sector loadout from verified rows

Do not label an entire sector "Sharp" or "Electric." A sector can contain multiple factions, variants, environmental hazards, and optional rooms. Build a small worksheet for the intended route.

The worksheet limits both overpacking and false confidence. It also provides a reason for every specialist item in the inventory.

Recovery when a weapon feels ineffective

1. Stop spending ammunition or durability and create distance.
2. Confirm the entity variant rather than using a family name.
3. Read the Compendium response colors and current individual page.
4. Check whether a shield is blocking the attack class.
5. Switch to the prepared alternate only when its type and range solve the identified problem.
6. Retreat if the required counter is not present.

Do not infer resistance from one missed shot or a blocked front angle. Likewise, do not call a weapon a guaranteed counter after one critical hit. The purpose of the lookup is to explain the interaction before drawing a conclusion.

Version-safe combat notes

Exact weapon damage, durability, status duration, and hit counts are deliberately left to current item pages. A homemade table that multiplies assumed fire rate, pellets, or stun time can look scientific while ignoring reload time, misses, body-part health, difficulty, and patch changes.

When a precise number is necessary, place the source beside the number, record the game version, and state the calculation. If any input is unknown, leave the result unresolved. For most route decisions, damage response, shield class, supply access, and retreat conditions are enough.

Related guides

• Weapon comparison method
• Enemy threat triage
• Exor farming and harvested drops
• Leyak mechanics and containment