In the MMO shooter Destiny, the sandbox team at Bungie has spoken out to address the “Ghost Bullet” issue with handguns.
In recent days, a video has been circulating online demonstrating ghost bullets with handguns. We recently reported on these “Ghost Bullets”. This term describes the phenomenon where shots miss the target despite aiming accurately – and lag was not to blame. This issue is particularly common with handguns, especially with the Last Word, which has an extremely low range.
As this issue gained significant attention, the community manager DeeJ posted a statement from the sandbox team in the Bungie forum. Their statement: Yes, this phenomenon is real, but it is intended. Nevertheless, they want to investigate and adjust it.
When “Randomness” Becomes “Accuracy”
The YouTuber’s thesis was that precision and accurate aiming with handguns are based on randomness. Sometimes the bullets hit, sometimes they don’t. According to Bungie, the term “Ghost Bullets” is solely a community creation, although luck and randomness are indeed factors in play. Internally, they refer to it as “accuracy” (Accuracy). This is a value that is hidden in the range value of each weapon in Destiny.
However, they do not want to overwhelm the game with numbers, which is why this accuracy value is not visible in-game. It is meant to be a shooter, not a numbers game. Therefore, the goal is for guardians to be able to make assumptions about the characteristics of a weapon based on its appearance and how it functions. One might assume that the length of the barrel or the stock affects the precision of a weapon type. This way, it is more enjoyable to choose a weapon than to sift through confusing numbers.
In summary: Handguns have a relatively short barrel and no stock, therefore they do not have as high precision at greater distances as a scout rifle or a sniper rifle.
The sandbox team acknowledges that handguns can feel inconsistent and/or frustrating during high-skill battles. They have clearly heard and understood the community and are now looking at how to improve the experience.
However, it is unlikely that they will completely remove the accuracy value from the game. Instead, Bungie is looking for alternative options to “balance” handguns. Destiny is a game that continues to evolve thanks to player feedback. Therefore, they ask that players continue to provide constructive feedback to Bungie.
What do you think about it?
Here we present the “Ghost Bullets” in Destiny.
