In Destiny, we delve deep into weapon stats. What do stats like range, precision, aim assist, and stability really do?
Destiny is not meant to be a “numbers game”. You shouldn’t have to sift through dozens of statistics with every new weapon while pulling out your calculator. Instead, Destiny aims to be a shooter where Guardians choose weapons that feel good to them, look appealing, and are fun to play with. The developers have emphasized this in the past.
Therefore, players are not bombarded with numbers in-game. In fact, you see remarkably few numbers in the menu. Rate of fire, damage, range, stability, and reload speed are only displayed with bars; only magazine size and attack level are shown in numerical form.
All other stats, such as aim assist, are not visible in the game at all. If you want more information about the weapons, you have to visit external sites. But even these cannot uncover all the secrets surrounding the weapons in Destiny. What exactly does aim assist do? And how do the stats influence each other?
Weapon Theory – What the stats do to help you hit better
The Guardian Mercules904, who is known in the English-speaking community as a weapon expert and crucible enthusiast, has thoroughly examined the values on the weapons. As he writes, he has spent a lot of time testing the various stats in Destiny. Now he explains what range, precision, aim assist, and stability actually do.
These overlap and influence one another. Together, they determine how the weapon feels in the hands of the Guardian.
Range
Range is a value you should primarily increase on hand cannons with the appropriate perks. If you use “Extended Barrel” or “Hammer Forged”, three things change on your weapon:
- Damage Falloff Distance: Weapons in Destiny deal less damage at certain distances to the target. This is the damage falloff, or “Damage Falloff”. The furthest distance at which you still deal maximum damage is called optimal range. By increasing “range”, you expand this optimal range.
- Aim Assist Falloff: Additionally, the distance at which aim assist is effective is increased. More information on this below.
- “Error Angle”: This value determines how far a shot can deviate from the center once the bullet has left the weapon. Under sustained fire, this error angle increases, meaning that even if you aim directly at the center, not every shot lands directly in the center. If you increase the range value, the error angle narrows – the shots are more precise.
Precision
Precision is a value that is not displayed directly in the game. You can increase it with perks like Persistence, Eye of the Storm, or Hot Swap. This improves two things:
- The “Error Angle” (the value that is also influenced by range)
- The “Projectile Precision”: This refers to the probability of whether a bullet lands directly at the center or gets deflected. This value has proven particularly difficult to test, which is why Mercules is not entirely sure here. As an example, the hand cannons: They have poor values at the error angle, meaning that when you fire shots rapidly, the bullets fly all over the battlefield. However, since hand cannons have a high “projectile precision”, the first shot is still extremely precise. It lands exactly where you aim. With rapid follow-up shots, the projectile precision suffers.
Aim Assist
Aim assist is influenced by perks like “Hidden Hand” or various scopes. It does the following:
- Crosshair Stickiness: When you have an enemy in your sights, the crosshair wants to “stick” to it and follows slight movements.
- Bullet Magnetism: The bullet hits the target even when you slightly miss it. The bullet essentially changes its path after leaving the weapon. This aim assist is only effective at certain ranges (can be increased by range). The function of magnetism can be seen as a larger hitbox – as an area around the target in which shots still count as hits when you aim there.
Stability
Stability can be increased with perks like “Perfect Balance” or “Reinforced Frame”. It has two effects:
- Barrel Movement: With each shot, the weapon has a certain recoil. This jerking motion can occur vertically and/or horizontally. The more stability you add to the weapon, the less it moves during shots.
- Aim Assist Degradation: The higher the stability, the longer and faster the aim assist works again.
Official numbers on these observations are not available from Bungie. Therefore, you should take them with a grain of caution. What are your experiences with these values?
Enough theory – which weapons are top-tier? Here we present 6 weapons that dominate in the Trials of Osiris.
