How the scoring system works!

This guide will explain how the score system works and what basis points are awarded on.

Getting Hits: Timing vs Accuracy

Every time you fire a shot that successfully connects with an enemy, there are two factors you're judged on which determine your score: timing and accuracy. Each of these can award a maximum of 100 points, for a max of 200 possible score per hit.

Timing

Every song has its own beat, reflected both in the music itself and in rhythmic pulses in the environment, HUD, and your gun. If you turn on Metronome in the options, you can feel this beat in your controller. If you fire a shot perfectly on the beat, you'll get 100 points for timing, while being off-beat will give you a penalty depending on how far off you were.

The correct timing for a "perfect" on-beat shot is on every 1/8 note of the song, with a 150 ms window of error; 75ms before and after the beat. If you get a perfectly timed hit, firing again will still give you the max 100 points for timing on any additional shots within that 8th note, allowing you to do quick double-taps for fast follow up shots to take down armored enemies faster.



⚫The Pulse Sigil will appear to the right of your score for shots that are on-beat.

Accuracy

By default, Pistol Whip gives you a somewhat generous aim assist so any shots that would normally be a near miss are instead counted as a hit. However, scoring one of these "near-miss" hits will give you a score penalty, making it impossible to score a perfect 200 even with a perfectly timed shot. An accurate shot that doesn't require auto-aim (would have still been a hit with Deadeye enabled) will give you 100 points for accuracy.

There is no extra bonus for headshots, so aim for the torso.

As of the High Priestess update, Deadeye mode will now also subtract points from your score for any missed shots.


⚫The Bullseye Sigil will appear to the left of your score for precise hits.
⚫in Deadeye mode, these are the only shots counted as hits.
⚫UPDATE: After extensive testing, it seems you can sometimes get the bullseye sigil without a perfect 100 accuracy score. As far as I can tell, even a bullseye can still vary in score depending on how close to center mass your aim is.


You'll need to be both on-beat and on-target to get the max possible (200) points out of each hit.

Pistol Whips

Pistol whipping an enemy will award you points based on the speed of your punch when striking the enemy. A sufficiently powerful strike (4m/s or faster) will always award the highest possible score you could've gotten out of that enemy.

Normal enemies - 200 Points (1 shot)
Kevlar enemies - 400 Points (2 shots)
Heavy enemies - 800 Points (4 shots)

Pistol whipping will also automatically reload your gun, and will also instantly restore your armor if you've been hit.

Sadly, you can't farm more points out of armored enemies by shooting them several times and then pistol-whipping them. If you pistol whip an already-hurt enemy, it can only award you the remaining potential score for that enemy.

Multiplier

Your multiplier multiplies your score. You can increase your multiplier with successive perfect shots.















Your multiplier will go down if you get hit, but you can still build it back up afterwards.

[Ginge]

Pistol whipping score is a combination of hand speed (replaces shooting accuracy) and being on the beat.
The total score is a combination of both, just as it is for shooting.

[Wheredoyoukeepthechocolate?]

@jookbaux I'm pretty sure that there is no special score benefit to pistol whipping. You get as many points as appear when you hit the enemy, nothing more. Your rank on the song is determined as a percentage of the highest score on the leaderboard. So it is possible, though unlikely, for your score to lose a rank if the top score is beaten.

[Jookbaux]

are we sure pistol whipping has no additional benefit to your score/rank? I haven't tested in depth too much, but I swear the more you pistol whip, the higher your score/rank (is multiplied?) at the end

[Mettle Meek]

@Sentient Anomaly There isn't any score advantage to shooting an enemy before pistol whipping them.

[Sentient Anomaly]

Can you increase your accuracy by shooting guys before whipping them? Like giving 3 shots to the armored guy before the final whip.

[J!!]

Double thanks - I was very confused

[Xan]

Thanks for sharing this, I wish the scoring system was a bit clearer in-game.

[Mettle Meek]

@Aki After having done a bit of research myself I'm not entirely sure which it is, so I've removed that text from the guide so as to avoid spreading misinformation.

[Aki]

>Try not to get shot near the end of a stage, so you still have time to regain your multiplier.
Is there a reason you want to end the stage with full multiplier? My understanding is the multiplier is used on successful hits, not the end score.