Time to Kill Calculator

A core building block of combat balance

Time to kill directly shapes how a game feels in combat - shorter TTK creates fast, punishing engagements where positioning and first-shot accuracy dominate, while longer TTK allows more room for reaction, retreat, and sustained trading.

Worked example

For a target with 200 health against 50 damage per second:

TTK = 200 / 50 = 4.0 seconds

Frequently asked questions

Why do game designers care so much about TTK? TTK is one of the most tunable levers in combat design - shooters aiming for tactical, methodical play (like tactical shooters) typically use short TTK, while games favoring sustained gunfights and mechanical skill expression often use longer TTK.

Does this account for burst damage or headshots? No - this assumes a constant, steady damage-per-second rate. Games with burst damage, critical hits, or headshot multipliers have more variable, situational TTK that this simple average calculation doesn't fully capture.