Special ammo
What TornLife's research has established about Special ammo, and the questions players asked about it.
What TornLife has verified
- The wiki lists four special ammo effects: Hollow Point +50% damage and -50% penetration (enemy armor value increased by 50%); Piercing +50% penetration (enemy armor reduced to 50%); Incendiary +40% damage; Tracer +10.00 accuracy. (documented; Ammo › Special Ammo, )
- Staff (bogie) described the effects in 2018 and 2019: tracer improves accuracy, piercing reduces effective armour, incendiary raises damage, and hollow point is of little use against armoured opponents. The 2019 post says hollow point does more damage to unarmoured parts and less to armoured parts. (confirmed by Torn; Special ammo effects, )
- Shoplifting outcomes can give normal or special ammo, for equipped weapons or at random, weighted slightly toward equipped weapons. Excluded: 40mm Grenades, RPGs, Warheads, Liters of Fuel, Flares, Bolts, Darts, Snow Balls, Eggs, Stones. (documented; Shoplifting › Ammo Pool, )
- Only basic ammo can be bought in the ammo locker. Special ammo comes from Mission Credits, the Big Al's Gun Shop benefit block, Gun Shop job points, or crimes (Search For Cash and Graffiti unique outcomes, Shoplifting Big Al's, Burglary). (documented; Ammo › Special Ammo, )
- The Big Al's Gun Shop (BAG) stock benefit gives 1x Ammunition Pack containing special ammo matching your equipped weapon type. Quantities: 6x for Heavy artillery, 100x for calibers like .380 ACP, .44 Special or 12 Gauge, 250x for .45 ACP, 5.45mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 5.7mm High Velocity and 9mm Parabellum. (documented; Stock Market › Stock Benefits › Additional Benefits Description, )
- The Gun Shop player company has a 3-star special, Surplus (15 job points), giving random special ammunition, supplying currently equipped weapons if applicable. Its 1-star Sales Discount is 20% off standard ammo only. (documented; Company/Company List › Gun Shop (1/2), )
- Shoplifting Big Al's Gun Shop (a four nerve subcrime) can give special ammo in quantities of 20, 50 or 70, plus a unique outcome of 2,500 special ammo (cameras disabled and guards on break only, skill 1). (documented; Shoplifting › Big Al's Gun Shop, )
- The Gun Shop company's Bandoleer special (7 stars, passive) gives 1 extra clip for guns during attacks. Skilled Analysis (5 stars) makes target equipment and ammo always visible. (documented; Company/Company List › Gun Shop (1/2), )
- To equip special ammo, click the box with its count in the ammo page. It turns green when actively loaded. (documented; Ammo › Special Ammo, )
- Ammo is loaded automatically before each attack, and must match the gun's calibre. The ammo locker is on the items page. (documented; New Player Missions › New to Torn? › Start your Journey here! › Guns, Ammo & Ot…, )
- Not all special types exist for every calibre (no Incendiary Snowballs). Storage cap is 9,223,372,036,854,775,807. A bug where special ammo was equipped unexpectedly via a button on the loss screen was marked fixed by staff on 2024-04-29. (confirmed by Torn; Ammo › Special Ammo, )
- The Gun Shop Bandoleer special (7 stars) gives 1 extra clip for guns during attacks. (documented; Gun Shop › Specials, )
- The Big Al's Gun Shop price table lists weapons, armour and Pepper Spray but no ammunition, so the captured wiki does not show special ammo sold there. (documented; Big Al's Gun Shop, )
Questions about Special ammo
- What does special ammo do, and where can it be bought and equipped?
Special ammo changes a firearm's damage, armor penetration or accuracy. Per TornLife's 2025 wiki findings, the ammo locker sells only basic ammo. Spe…
Combat ·