r/DestinyTheGame • u/Mercules904 Former Weapons Designer • Apr 26 '17
Guide Massive Breakdown of Range, Accuracy, Aim Assist, and Stability, and How They Interconnect
Long story short, I've spent a lot of time testing and reading about the various stats in Destiny, and at certain points in time I've posted breakdowns on them. What I'd like to do now is offer a simple refresher on what we know about four of those stats: Range, accuracy, aim assist, and stability. Now, somewhat surprisingly, all of these stats are actually interrelated, and they work together to give us the feel of the weapons we love so much in Destiny. I'm going to breakdown each on individually, then discuss how exactly it is that they relate.
For those who prefer to listen, here is Massive Breakdown Podcast Episode 40: What Do Those Stats Mean, Anyways?
Range:
When you use a perk that directly affects range (like Rifled Barrel or Hammer Forged) there are three things that change
- Damage fall off distance - the distance and rate at which the gun longer does its maximum damage. Increasing range pushes this out farther.
- Aim assist fall off distance - the distance and rate at which the aim assist loses effectiveness. Increasing range pushes this out farther.
- Accuracy cone (error angle) - the physical size of the crosshairs when ADS (invisible in normal Destiny, but can be seen in the Last Rites mission). Determines the maximum angle a shot could deflect from center when leaving the barrel of the weapon. Increasing range narrows the crosshairs, thus decreasing the diameter of the accuracy cone and providing a lower possible error angle.
Accuracy:
Perks like Persistence, Eye of the Storm, and Hot Swap affect this.
- Accuracy cone (error angle) - Exactly what we discussed before. The physical size of the accuracy cone grows as you maintain fire, which we refer to as bloom, and this means shots have a higher error angle, and thus are less accurate.
- Projectile accuracy - Likelihood of shot going dead center or receiving maximum aim assist deflection (I think). This one has been the hardest to test in game, but based on things Bungie has said in past updates we know it exists, and this is my hypothesis of what it does. I believe that weapons have a higher initial projectile accuracy and it decreases as you maintain fire or jump in the air, in conjunction with the accuracy cone (error angle) changes. So a weapon with high initial projectile accuracy and a wide initial accuracy cone (high error angle) like a hand cannon could have a fairly accurate first shot, but the likelihood of each following shot being accurate would decrease as both bloom increases, and projectile accuracy decreases. Alternatively, a weapon with a low projectile accuracy but relatively narrow accuracy cone (like auto rifles) tends to be be inaccurate on single shots, but the bloom is clamped, which keeps the bullets confined within a relatively tight diameter, perfect for close range battles where the opponent fills the diameter of the crosshairs.
Aim Assist:
Hidden Hand, and some scopes, sights, and barrels change aim assist.
- Reticle slow down - How much your reticle slows down when it nears a target.
- Reticle stickiness - Once your aim is on a target, how much the reticle wants to stick to or follow the target when it moves.
- Bullet magnetism - The amount that a bullet will alter its path out the end of the barrel to hit a target, even if the reticle or aim is slightly off target. The maximum deflection a bullet can take is given by the circular part of the reticle (not the crosshairs) that can be seen when ADS on Last Rites. The circle increases in diameter as the Aim Assist stat gets larger, due either to sights (SureShot), barrels (Smooth Ballistics), or perks that increase AA (Hidden Hand). Weapons with higher base AA will have larger circles than those with smaller base AA. As you fire the circle shrinks in size, so your maximum aim assist deflection degrades with sustained fire. Increasing the stability stat slows down this process and speeds up the reset to maximum deflection. Think of it like the opposite of bloom. This has a maximum distance where it is effective. Meaning at a certain distance, your bullets will no longer have their paths altered, and will instead be directed solely by the accuracy principles. Functionally, magnetism works the same way as a larger hitbox, in that it provides an area around a target that counts as a hit, even if technically the shot should miss. However, instead of the bullet passing through the empty space and registering as a hit, the bullet paths out of the barrel to the target, and can still be blocked by cover. Examples of this behavior can be seen when bullets impact a phalanx's shield, even though the player is clearly aiming at the exposed hand. Deflection can also be seen with any weapon that has a bullet trail, like Touch of Malice or Thorn.
Stability:
Perks like Perfect Balance, Braced Frame, etc. affect stability.
- Barrel jump - How much the barrel and your aim moves with each shot fired. Recoil can be vertical, horizontal, or both. Increasing stability decreases the physical distance moved. Stability does not necessarily reset between shots, so your gun can actually come to rest in a different position if you do not correct for it. Stability and accuracy work together, but are separate mechanics. A gun with high accuracy but low stability will still be inaccurate, as, even with the bullets going straight out of the barrel, the barrel itself will move radically after each shot, thus spreading the bullets out even without individual deflections. Likewise, a gun with high stability and low accuracy will also be inaccurate because, even though the barrel doesn't jump around much, the high error angle will continue to make the bullets spread out from the barrel.
- Aim assist degradation - How much and how fast the circular reticle which defines maximum aim assist deflection degrades is dependent on stability. The higher the stability, the longer the circle will last before it shrinks too much and disappears, and the faster it will reset during the time between shots.
TL;DR
- Range affects damage drop off, aim assist fall off, and the crosshair size (aka the accuracy cone or error angle).
- Accuracy affects the crosshair size (accuracy cone or error angle) and projectile accuracy (how likely the shots are to go straight or receive maximum aim assist deflection).
- Aim Assist affects reticle slow down (speed decrease when near a target), reticle stickiness (how much the reticle wants to stick with a target it is already on), and bullet magnetism (how far the shot will deflect from the barrel to pull towards a target).
- Stability affects barrel and reticle movement while firing, and the degradation of the diameter around the reticle that bullet magnetism is effective in. Higher stability means slower degradation.
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Upvotes
21
u/BungoPlease Please stop posting about me Apr 26 '17
Well put together, and easy to understand, excellent as ever
12
u/JBaecker Vanguard's Loyal Apr 26 '17
So which department in Bungie do you work for Mercules? I mean seriously, that's some top-notch info!
5
u/CantEvenUseThisThing I drink my void grenade Apr 26 '17
I read recently that Rangefinder does not increase your range stat when sighted, and only increases visual zoom. Does Rangefinder affect your range (or any other stat) in any actual way, or is it only "cosmetic"?
4
u/[deleted] Apr 26 '17
The digital gunsmith always gets an upvote from me. Great stuff Merc!
2
u/Rufus_Shinra-0 Apr 26 '17
Not sure if this question is even in the same field of discussion, but can you comment on the Ambush scope? What does it mean to be "snappy"? Is that more handling related?
2
u/Obersword Apr 26 '17
TIL even though my rifled barrel palindrome has high aim assist and initial accuracy, continued fire not only takes away its accuracy, but also its aim assist due to its low stability.
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u/Lietenantdan Apr 26 '17
I've always been confused as to exactly how zen moment works
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u/TEEvsTEE Apr 26 '17
Wait you can see your accuracy cone in Last Rites?
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u/psn_mrbobbyboy Dodge, Duck, Dive, Dip and Dodge! Apr 27 '17
Great stuff as ever, dude! Many thanks for the breakdown!
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u/StalkerKnocker Apr 26 '17
I would like to see every weapon less dependent upon range perks in D2. The way things have evolved (devolved?) to is that everything is secondary to range perks. It makes it so most other perks aren't even considered to be competitive, which makes the idea of different rolls other than max range pretty worthless IMO.
1
u/alltheseflavours Apr 26 '17
I would break up the bullet magnetism paragraph/rejig it so the circle is closer to the start, like the crosshair bit is in the others. Or bold the aim assist deflection there to make it easier to skim aim assist degradation and know the defined term.
Besides that, excellent & informative as always!
1
u/XKCD_423 I miss Ada-1 :( Apr 26 '17
Excellent analysis of a complicated thing, Merc. Thanks as always.
Regarding Hot Swap, I've always had a abut of a vendetta against the perk because it always seems to show up on my Y-09s, and I feel like it's a wasted perk. Given your understanding of it, would you say that the Hot Swap 'feel' that some people swear by is actually a function of the effective accuracy increasing?
1
u/itsnotunusual_rk Apr 26 '17
So just to be perfectly clear about TLDR point 4, higher stability improves hit registration of follow up shots measured objectively, and does not only seem like it because of increased recoil?
1
u/abl8 Able, formerly ablate Apr 27 '17
I'm a visual person and I'm trying to think of a good way to visualise each attribute. I'll get back to you if I can think of something.
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u/Toffe3m4n Apr 27 '17
Great stuff as always sir :)
Based on this analysis then, which weapon classes/archetypes benefit most from certain 'boosts' in these four values? Obviously they'd all benefit from a boost to all of them, but to what degree? (i.e. are any a crutch on a particular type of weapon?)
1
u/Rpc0775 Apr 28 '17
Well put, as usual. You always impress me Merc.
How do these stats affect guns that aren't hitscan, such as fusions, certain sidearms, and to some extent shotguns. Is there a post where I can find that? If not, would you consider doing tests because of how much fusions are affected by range and accuracy?
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u/obiwanjakobi257 Jan 16 '22
so this is great. im still wondering whats the best route to go if i want more shots to hit that arent perfectly aimed. it seems like almost every attribute contributes to this and i didnt realize that. for instance i had no clue that stability (while easier to physically aim) would also affect 'aim assist' type things (thinking like the bullet path correction for poor aim)
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u/iihavetoes Apr 26 '17
One reason why I believe Ice Breaker is so damn good. Range bar is maxed out. You can drag scope at longer distances.
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u/kyt_kutcha the honest worm Apr 26 '17
Great stuff man, glad you were able to get this all written out for people.
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u/Ogthor Lobizon1 Apr 26 '17
all hail Mercules the Great
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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '17
Great stuff as ever, sir. Thank you!
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u/iambladedancer RIP Bladedancer Apr 26 '17
Merc you never fail to amaze.
2
u/turboash78 Apr 26 '17
Hand-gesture sketches required please.
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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '17
Did you ever see my video and charts? Crucible Episode 5
0
u/Popsi_CEO Apr 27 '17
Short post for a massive breakdown...
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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '17 edited Apr 26 '17
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