Wanting to make each hit feel impactful has been what started this mod, and stagger is a crucial part of it. This articles details the third iteration of this mechanic and hopefully the last.


Simply put, a stagger will occur if: Attacker's power > Target's power


But what determines power? The first two iteration of this mechanic have a complex formula relying on the weight of the weapon vs target's armor weight / creature mass. This iteration however, simply catagorizes weapon/armor/creatures according to the table below:

Power 0
Daggers, Unarmed (claws),  any creature smaller than a human (Wolf, Skeever, Wisps... etc)

Power 1
One handed swords, staves, bows, humanoid and human sized creatures (Chaurus, Dwarven Sphere, Horker, Spriggan... etc)

Power 2
Axe and maces, heavy armored humans, larger than human creatures (Troll, Sabre cat, Bear... etc)

Power 3
Two handed swords, crossbows, much larger than human creatures (Frost atronach, Dwarven centurion, Lurker... etc)

Power 4
Two handed axe and hammers, gigantic creatures (Giants, Dragons)

Special rules:
When powers tied, target will flinch but not really stagger
e.g.: a mace on a iron armored bandit will flinch him but not much else

The greater the difference, the bigger the stagger
e.g.: a warhammer will create a much more noticible stagger

Blocking prevent stagger
e.g.: even warhammer won't stagger a blocking light armored bandit (this is same as vanila actually)

However, power attack's stagger ignores block
e.g.: while a great sword's power attack hitting a blocking target will have its damage reduced, the target will still be knocked out of it's blocking stance and stagger


TLDR:
Power attack > Block > Normal Attack