diff --git a/lib/app/scoring.js b/lib/app/scoring.js
index 1dae9caae1..25405fdb8a 100644
--- a/lib/app/scoring.js
+++ b/lib/app/scoring.js
@@ -76,14 +76,12 @@ Calculates Exp & GP modification based on weapon & lvl
 
 
 expModifier = function(value, modifiers) {
-  var dmg, lvl, modified, weapon, _ref;
+  var dmg, lvl, modified, weapon;
   if (modifiers == null) {
-    modifiers = null;
-  }
-  _ref = [user.get('items.weapon'), user.get('stats.lvl')], weapon = _ref[0], lvl = _ref[1];
-  if (modifiers) {
-    weapon = modifiers.weapon, lvl = modifiers.lvl;
+    modifiers = {};
   }
+  weapon = modifiers.weapon || user.get('items.weapon');
+  lvl = modifiers.lvl || user.get('stats.lvl');
   dmg = weapon * MODIFIER;
   dmg += (lvl - 1) * MODIFIER;
   modified = value + (value * dmg);
@@ -98,14 +96,12 @@ Calculates HP-loss modification based on armor & lvl
 
 
 hpModifier = function(value, modifiers) {
-  var ac, armor, lvl, modified, _ref;
+  var ac, armor, lvl, modified;
   if (modifiers == null) {
-    modifiers = null;
-  }
-  _ref = [user.get('items.armor'), user.get('stats.lvl')], armor = _ref[0], lvl = _ref[1];
-  if (modifiers) {
-    armor = modifiers.armor, lvl = modifiers.lvl;
+    modifiers = {};
   }
+  armor = modifiers.armor || user.get('items.armor');
+  lvl = modifiers.lvl || user.get('stats.lvl');
   ac = armor * MODIFIER;
   ac += (lvl - 1) * MODIFIER;
   modified = value - (value * ac);
diff --git a/src/app/scoring.coffee b/src/app/scoring.coffee
index 3637ff4a9d..0a1a1e1100 100644
--- a/src/app/scoring.coffee
+++ b/src/app/scoring.coffee
@@ -57,9 +57,9 @@ Calculates Exp & GP modification based on weapon & lvl
 {value} task.value for gain
 {modifiers} may manually pass in stats as {weapon, exp}. This is used for testing
 ###
-expModifier = (value, modifiers=null) ->
-  [weapon, lvl] = [user.get('items.weapon'), user.get('stats.lvl')]
-  if modifiers then {weapon, lvl} = modifiers 
+expModifier = (value, modifiers = {}) ->
+  weapon = modifiers.weapon || user.get('items.weapon')
+  lvl = modifiers.lvl || user.get('stats.lvl')
   dmg = weapon * MODIFIER # each new weapon increases exp gain
   dmg += (lvl-1) * MODIFIER # same for lvls
   modified = value + (value * dmg)
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ Calculates HP-loss modification based on armor & lvl
 {value} task.value which is hurting us
 {modifiers} may manually pass in modifier as {armor, lvl}. This is used for testing
 ###
-hpModifier = (value, modifiers=null) ->
-  [armor, lvl] = [user.get('items.armor'),user.get('stats.lvl')]
-  if modifiers then {armor, lvl} = modifiers
+hpModifier = (value, modifiers = {}) ->
+  armor = modifiers.armor || user.get('items.armor')
+  lvl = modifiers.lvl || user.get('stats.lvl')
   ac = armor * MODIFIER # each new armor decreases HP loss
   ac += (lvl-1) * MODIFIER # same for lvls
   modified = value - (value * ac)
diff --git a/test/user.mocha.coffee b/test/user.mocha.coffee
index 04802e0a5c..7c0f5b979e 100644
--- a/test/user.mocha.coffee
+++ b/test/user.mocha.coffee
@@ -43,23 +43,24 @@ freshTask = (taskObj) ->
   model.at("_#{type}List").push taskObj
   
 ###
-Helper function to determine if stats-updates are numerically correct based on scoring
-{modifiers} The user stats modifiers as {lvl, armor, weapon}
-{direction} 'up' or 'down'
+Helper function to determine if stats updates are numerically correct based on scoring
+@direction: 'up' or 'down'
+@options: The user stats modifiers and times to run, defaults to {times:1, modifiers:{lvl:1, weapon:0, armor:0}} 
 ###
-modificationsLookup = (modifiers, direction, times=1) ->
+modificationsLookup = (direction, options = {}) ->
+  merged = _.merge {times:1, lvl:1, weapon:0, armor:0}, options
+  {times, lvl, armor, weapon}  = merged
   userObj = cleanUserObj()
   value = 0
-  {lvl, armor, weapon}  = modifiers
   _.times times, (n) ->
     delta = scoring.taskDeltaFormula(value, direction)
     value += delta
     if direction=='up'
-      gain = scoring.expModifier(delta, modifiers)
+      gain = scoring.expModifier(delta, options)
       userObj.stats.exp += gain
       userObj.stats.money += gain
     else
-      loss = scoring.hpModifier(delta, modifiers)
+      loss = scoring.hpModifier(delta, options)
       userObj.stats.hp += loss
   return {user:userObj, value:value}
   
@@ -102,21 +103,21 @@ describe 'User', ->
         expect(task.value).to.eql 0
         
       it 'test a few scoring numbers (this will change if constants / formulae change)', ->
-        {user} = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'down', 1)
+        {user} = modificationsLookup('down')
         expect(user.stats.hp).to.eql 49
-        {user} = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'down', 5)
+        {user} = modificationsLookup('down', {times:5})
         expect(user.stats.hp).to.be.within(42,44)
 
-        {user} = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'up', 1)
+        {user} = modificationsLookup('up')
         expect(user.stats.exp).to.eql 1
         expect(user.stats.money).to.eql 1
-        {user} = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'up', 5)
+        {user} = modificationsLookup('up', {times:5})
         expect(user.stats.exp).to.be.within(4,5)
         
       it 'made proper modifications when down-scored', ->
         ## Trial 1
         
-        shouldBe = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'down', 1)
+        shouldBe = modificationsLookup('down')
         scoring.score(uuid,'down')
         [stats, task] = statsTask()
         expect(stats.hp).to.be.eql shouldBe.user.stats.hp
@@ -124,7 +125,7 @@ describe 'User', ->
 
         ## Trial 2
         freshTask {type: 'habit', text: 'Habit', completed: false}
-        shouldBe = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'down', 10)
+        shouldBe = modificationsLookup('down', {times:10})
         scoring.score(uuid,'down', {times:10})
         [stats, task] = statsTask()
         expect(stats.hp).to.be.eql shouldBe.user.stats.hp
@@ -204,7 +205,7 @@ describe 'User', ->
         lastCron = moment(model.get('_user.lastCron'))
         expect(today.diff(lastCron, 'days')).to.eql 0
         
-        shouldBe = modificationsLookup({lvl:1,armor:0,weapon:0}, 'down', times)
+        shouldBe = modificationsLookup('down', {times:times})
         # Should have updated points properly
         expect(stats.hp).to.be.eql shouldBe.user.stats.hp
         expect(task.value).to.eql  shouldBe.value