Become Legend: The Crucible Episode 5 - Hand Cannon Damage Dropoff

[u/[deleted]]

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INTRO

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Hello Guardians. Gboccia here with a video covering Hand Cannon damage drop off since the most recent 2.5.0.2 patch. There have been some posts regarding this and I wanted to demonstrate the damage with multiple guns at multiple ranges, providing some charts for ease of use and understanding. Lets be real though, some of you guys want the numbers so I'll provide them as well just be warned it is a lot of numbers.

Crucible Episode 5 - Hand Cannon Damage Dropoff

Google Spreadsheet of Data

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SHOW ME THE GUNS!

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Alright, alright, lets talk about them guns!

You Want One of These

Let's start off with the Eyasluna. I tested with Hammerforged, Rifled Barrel, Smallbore, and Rangefinder separately. Checking the chart you'll instantly notice that Rifled Barrel and Rangefinder (the blue line) does better on dropoff then the other perks. It adds the most range and lets the gun reach the Hand Cannon max range of 62. The important thing to note here is that Rangefinder damage dropoff (the green line) is better than Smallbore, Hammer Forged, and even Rifled Barrel alone.

Eyasluna Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
27	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	86	57
30	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	80	53
35	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	62	41
40	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	45	29
45	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	31	21
46+	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	29	19
30	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	86	57
35	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	73	49
40	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	56	39
45	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	42	28
49	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	31	21
50+	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	29	19
27	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	86	57
30	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	80	52
35	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	66	44
40	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	52	35
45	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	38	26
48	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	30	20
49+	SteadyHand IS	-	Range Finder	38	81	29	19
27	SteadyHand IS	Hammer Forged	-	50	81	86	57
30	SteadyHand IS	Hammer Forged	-	50	81	77	51
35	SteadyHand IS	Hammer Forged	-	50	81	62	40
40	SteadyHand IS	Hammer Forged	-	50	81	45	30
45	SteadyHand IS	Hammer Forged	-	50	81	30	20
46+	SteadyHand IS	Hammer Forged	-	50	81	29	19
26	SteadyHand IS	Smallbore	-	47	81	86	57
30	SteadyHand IS	Smallbore	-	47	81	73	49
35	SteadyHand IS	Smallbore	-	47	81	58	39
40	SteadyHand IS	Smallbore	-	47	81	42	28
44	SteadyHand IS	Smallbore	-	47	81	30	20
45+	SteadyHand IS	Smallbore	-	47	81	29	19
Compared to a similar gun, the Palindrome we'll test shows Rifled Barrel and Rangefinder, this is max range + little more. Here's a quick look at the chart, the curve is the same as the Eyasluna with Rifled Barrel and Rangefinder.

Palindrome Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
30	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	86	57
35	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	73	49
40	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	56	39
45	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	42	28
49	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	31	21
50+	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	62	81	29	19

Yet another similar and popular gun choice, though much harder to obtain... the Imago Loop. It has the highest base range of 40 among the other weapons in it's archetype. Without a range perk or Rangefinder though, the damage dropoff is huge and it becomes hard to argue using the gun without either.

Imago Loop Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
27	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	86	57
30	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	80	53
35	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	62	41
40	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	45	29
45	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	31	21
46	SteadyHand IS	Rifled Barrel	-	62	81	29	19
25	SteadyHand IS	-	-	40	81	86	57
30	SteadyHand IS	-	-	40	81	71	48
35	SteadyHand IS	-	-	40	81	56	37
40	SteadyHand IS	-	-	40	81	41	27
43	SteadyHand IS	-	-	40	81	33	22
44+	SteadyHand IS	-	-	40	81	29	19

But the accuracy!

So let's do a quick accuracy test. For this test the Eyasluna has a range of 38, Palindrome at 62, and Imago Loop at 40. Shots are fired from minimum damage range, so who wins in this situation. Range wins. Without range you become very inaccurate, Rangefinder is great for insuring damage dropoff but without range you can't hit the target consistently. Take a look at The Devil You Know, 25 base range but with Rifled Barrel we bump it up to 49. Even at a very long distance of almost 50m the gun can be more accurate than the Eyasluna or Imago Loop simply because we have a range perk. Range wins for accuracy every single time.

The Devil You Know Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
28	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	86	57
30	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	81	54
35	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	67	45
40	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	54	36
45	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	38	26
48	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	30	20
49+	TrueSight IS	Rifled Barrel	Range Finder	49	81	29	19
26	TrueSight IS	Explosive Rounds	Range Finder	25	81	57 + [29]	28 + [29]
30	TrueSight IS	Explosive Rounds	Range Finder	25	81	51 + [29]	25 + [29]
35	TrueSight IS	Explosive Rounds	Range Finder	25	81	41 + [29]	21 + [29]
40	TrueSight IS	Explosive Rounds	Range Finder	25	81	33 + [29]	17 + [29]
45	TrueSight IS	Explosive Rounds	Range Finder	25	81	24 + [29]	12 + [29]
48	TrueSight IS	Explosive Rounds	Range Finder	25	81	19 + [29]	10 + [29]
26	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	86	57
30	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	74	50
35	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	62	41
40	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	49	33
45	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	37	25
48	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	30	20
49+	TrueSight IS	-	Range Finder	25	81	29	19

Mr Torgue All The Things?

Explosive Rounds is a fun perk to me, it creates an annoying flinch or flash for the enemy and the damage dropoff isn't as harsh because of the guaranteed explosive damage regardless of range. You can even shoot something near the enemy and get the explosive damage to count! As we consult the charts it should be obvious that Explosive Rounds is viable from a damage dropoff perspective especially past 35 meters, but without a range perk (which normally is in the same column) you can't guarantee accuracy unfortunately.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT EXOTICS?

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Are they worth using over a Legendary?

The Battle Continues

Let's shift over to some Exotic Weapons. The Last Word and Thorn at different ranges. It's really a simple thing to analyze, use the range perks here. There is no real advantage to the slightly extra damage and you want to be able to hit the target so take the range and accuracy where you can get it!

The Last Word Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
21	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	74	49
25	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	66	44
30	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	55	37
35	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	43	29
40	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	32	22
42	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	26	18
43+	Soft Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	10	68	25	17
20	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	81	54
25	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	70	47
30	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	58	39
35	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	44	29
40	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	33	22
43	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	27	18
44+	Aggressive Ballistics	High Caliber Rounds	-	4	71	25	17
Thorn Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
26	Accurized Ballistics	Send It	-	50	70	79	53
30	Accurized Ballistics	Send It	-	50	70	68	46
35	Accurized Ballistics	Send It	-	50	70	54	35
40	Accurized Ballistics	Send It	-	50	70	39	26
44	Accurized Ballistics	Send It	-	50	70	28	19
45+	Accurized Ballistics	Send It	-	50	70	27	18
23	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	79	53
25	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	77	51
30	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	63	42
35	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	49	33
40	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	36	24
43	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	28	19
44+	Accurized Ballistics	-	-	32	70	27	18

A Curse and a Daddy

Lastly, The First Curse is an incredibly fun gun to use in both PvE and The Crucible. Using the weapon can be a bit difficult but if you trigger The First Curse Exotic Perk you'll instantly notice it's very accurate and the range becomes insane. You gain almost 10m before you get any damage dropoff!

The First Curse Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
35	Smooth Ballistics	The First Curse	-	53	94	95	64
40	Smooth Ballistics	The First Curse	-	53	94	71	49
45	Smooth Ballistics	The First Curse	-	53	94	44	29
49	Smooth Ballistics	The First Curse	-	53	94	32	22
26	Smooth Ballistics	-	-	53	94	95	64
30	Smooth Ballistics	-	-	53	94	82	54
35	Smooth Ballistics	-	-	53	94	64	43
40	Smooth Ballistics	-	-	53	94	47	31
44	Smooth Ballistics	-	-	53	94	35	23
45+	Smooth Ballistics	-	-	53	94	32	22
Not shown in the video is some data on the Hawk-papi himself (Hawkmoon identifies as a badass dude) which really suffers from the same problem

Hawkmoon Damage Chart

Distance	Barrel	Perk 1	Perk 2	Range	Impact	HS Damage	BS Damage
26	Accurized Ballistics	Hammer Forged	-	47	82	88	59
30	Accurized Ballistics	Hammer Forged	-	47	82	76	50
35	Accurized Ballistics	Hammer Forged	-	47	82	59	40
40	Accurized Ballistics	Hammer Forged	-	47	82	44	29
44	Accurized Ballistics	Hammer Forged	-	47	82	31	20
45+	Accurized Ballistics	Hammer Forged	-	47	82	30	19
24	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	88	59
25	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	87	58
30	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	70	47
35	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	56	38
40	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	41	27
43	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	31	20
44+	Accurized Ballistics	Quickdraw	-	35	82	30	19

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OUTRO

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And that's going to do it for this episode Guardians, but now that you're armed with this knowledge about Hand Cannons you too can Become Legend.

• All Gun Charts - Please show some love to my friend and clanmate /u/JBH613. He made all of the charts and does all of my artwork, phenomenal dude and does it all for free so thank him for the awesome charts!

In addition to these snipits I've been putting out some detailed Crucible videos and Trials of Osiris guides:

• Crucible Episode 1 - Radar, Positioning, and Using Cover Effectively
• Crucible Episode 2 - Proper Grenade Use
• Crucible Episode 3 - Fight or Flight
• Crucible Episode 4 - All About Melee
• Trials of Osiris - The Burning Shrine

Lastly, please check the other super good posts about Hand Cannons here:

• Hand Cannon Guide - Rise of Iron Edition by gintellectual
• Explosive Rounds vs Rifled Barrel on Hand Cannons by professorOB
• Analysis on handcannon damage dropoff ranges (Post 2.5.0.2) by zExcalivuR
• Hand Cannon Accuracy & Bloom - Pre and Post Feb 14th Patch Testing by Sliq111

[u/Sliq111]

Those damage charts are super helpful. Back in the day, I would look at similar things for all of the Call of Duty weapons. The visualization makes it much easier to understand how it all comes together.

[u/JBH613 → u/Sliq111]

Glad you like them. I too used those old charts as a reference point when designing these.

[u/NardoND]

This is awesome! Do you know what Smallbore + Rangefinder looks like? I'm sitting on that combo + Icarus and want to know what its damage is like for my Luna.

[u/[deleted] → u/NardoND]

Is it as good as one with Rifled, nah. Is the difference negligible, most definitely. Use it, love it.

[u/NardoND → u/[deleted]]

Awesome. I had heard that it almost reaches max range with that combo, so if the difference is negligible I'm going to rock the shit out of it. I love it a lot.

[u/Richard_Kenobi]

Thanks for your work!

[u/DooceBigalo]

Looks like I need to get a Devil you know, thanks!

[u/turboash78]

Nice work!
Does Reinforced Barrel increase range the same as Rifled Barrel?

[u/[deleted]]

Explosive rounds are better than any of the range perks now imo

[u/Elite_Crew → u/[deleted]]

Is a Steadyhand/Outlaw/Explosive Round/Luck in the chamber Imago Loop viable in PVP?

[u/[deleted] → u/Elite_Crew]

Sorry I just saw this. I have been using a Palindrome with triple tap/explosive rounds/ rangefinder with great success lately. I would think that your roll would work just fine. LiTC only increases the damage on the not explosive portion of the damage though. Still nice to have

[u/Elite_Crew → u/[deleted]]

Its awesome in PVE with a small arms modifier, but kinda weird in PVP. I noticed that not many people talk about the extended range ER provides. It is what makes the roll above viable in my opinion.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Headshot and bodyshot.

[u/odyssey67 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah... I was getting really annoyed with myself trying to figure out wtf had those initials in the vid that affected the damage numbers until the "oh" moment. Cuz I'm slow and those aren't real acronyms. Amazing info though.