I searched this part of the forum and strangely couldn't find anything on this.
Most damage perks have different tiers in the database with scaling damage. (For Example: http://auno.org/ao/db.php?cmd=search...oncussive+Shot)
What I've been told over the years is basically this:
0-999 AR = 1st tier
1000-1999 AR = 2nd tier
2000+ AR = 3rd tier
Is this accurate? I'd test it myself but I can't bring my current AR below 1000 or above 2000 without some serious effort.
Thanks!