Just tested this on 30 daily. In most every case, it did a little more on headshot dmg. (Typically 1-3). Example: 1222 dmg to tier one (vandal), 1223 w/ explosive rounds (815+408) In ONE case it did much more. Against a red health servitor, it did 816 total, but AP rounds did 611 (~%50 more!). In Every case it did more to the body (typically twice as much), and in some cases it did more to shields (611 to ultra captain, instead of 408 w/ AP. I saw NO example of doing less damage, but I DID find why everyone thinks this happens. When you use EXPL rounds and kill an enemy w/ purely HS damage, you will only see the YELLOW damage proc. (ie: 815 dmg to a dreg, but no extra 408). This is because the crit dmg occurs BEFORE the expl damage. So If they die off the crit, there's no EXPL damage added. (This is the same reason firefly won't proc if the extra explosive damage is what kills the enemy) This also means If you have firefly and EXPL rounds together, only ONE will proc for any given shot. My initial findings show that explosive rounds are superior. As these are initial observations, I'll try to get more concrete data at a later time. EDIT 1: I've verified that the 1-3 dmg increase carries over to PVP. In the crucible I do 49 / 73 dmg per body / crit shot respectively. With EXPL rounds, it's 50/74. (Interesting, as it makes my scout a 4 body shot kill instead of 5). Also, there's the added disorientation that occurs which is pretty significant, and mild splash that will be applied to nearby enemy players. Yet again, seems like the best choice. EDIT 2: I did not intend to make this appear as a comparison between explosive rounds and ALL other choices. That is a decision you must make based on your loadout. While I prefer them over the other ROUND options, that is my opinion, and certainly things like field scout are viable choices depending on the weapon platform. EDIT 3: copied from a previous reply: [quote].... I also realized that even though sometimes firefly won't trigger, it always does eventually in large groups ( as EXPL dmg brings their health down a bit to allow a 1 shot HS kill). So in effect, usually only mobs alone are affected.. Which is fine, because they don't need to explode anyhow. The same applies for cow & gt. Sure it doesn't trigger sometimes, but it's rare that I need it if I'm only shooting a couple mobs one at a time. In those cases, much like I don't need firefly, I'm ok to miss out in my hunter buffs. On top of that, if I want it to prof, I just need to body shot once first. In large groups this is moot, because all 3 will provide left and right. Also, it only holds true for certain mobs. For example, on my Gheleons demise: dregs, psions, thralls will always trigger on a 1 shot HS. Near level acolytes, goblins, hobgoblins will not trigger, and need a body shot first. HOWEVER, of those three hobgoblins rarely "group," meaning there the only ones worth doing the body/head combo as the other two will eventually trigger anyhow (usually 2nd or 3rd kill in a pack, and on and on from there). As a hunter, I still feel the pros outweigh the cons.[/quote] EDIT 4: on recent reevaluation, I've determined that in all cases, EXPL rounds do at least %150 damage to shields and the body. EDIT 5: others have noted that explosive damage will NOT receive damage modifying buffs (crowd control, etc.) and will do less damage in these cases. This is because only the non-EXPL damage will be increased.