I know that there are a ton of players, myself included, who feel that the aiming in the beta is…“off”, for lack of a better word. Some games, there are few to no issues with the aiming, and in others, it seems as though there are factors determining the outcome of duels which are not in our control.
First, Bullet Magnetism is a bad, bad trend in FPS’s today. It needs to be toned down, a lot. Bullet Magnetism trivializes the long-distance duel aiming ability. It reduces the amount of skill required to aim. It severely impacts the effect of strafing. It rewards players for being “close, but no cigar”. It adds elements of randomness which only add to player frustration, in an already somewhat fast-paced and less methodical game. And most of all, it simply doesn’t belong in the game to the degree that it is. If you want a competitive game, tone this down.
Second, Aim Assist… Aim Assist should be re-calibrated. I like the fact that it is reduced. I want that extra bit of skill gap that the reduction provides. However, I believe that 343i has perhaps gone too far in the other direction, in favor of the previously mentioned bullet magnetism. Aim Assist as it functions now, either keeps you glued (stuck) on the player, or is seemingly not there at all. A shooter game needs aim assist to some degree. If you don’t believe me, go play Halo: CE with aim assist off. It’s not a great experience. Add the abilities of opposing players to dodge, and it certainly becomes a necessary evil. You don’t want it to be noticed, but you also don’t want everyone to have to play on 1 sensitivity to hit their shots. In short, a balance is key. Aim assist should guide you, but not determine your shots. When a player makes a solid strafe or thrust, that aim assist should be displaced in an appropriate way. As it stands, this balance is not there.
Finally,different weapons should not have radically different aim assist levels. I understand that the sniper is a difficult weapon to use, but there needs to be another way to compensate for this rather than hand-feeding people kills with them. There are plenty of times I have legitimately missed a target, but the magnetism has brought it back into their face. That’s not empowering to me - it feels like I got a cheap kill. And the opposite is true… I feel like certain weapons are impossible to get that effect with. Aim assist certainly varies, greatly, even, between weapons, and I don’t feel like that should be the case. Perhaps the sniper gets slight assistance, but nothing like we see now.
All of these changes, in conjunction, add to a feeling of randomness. They help take control away from the player and make certain engagements feel …“wrong”. The skill gap should always be there, but there needs to a give-and-take so that it is not impossible for casuals to land shots. The same shot should hit in the same way, every time. There should be no added effects. When the player can visually see shots missing but counting as hits, there is a problem. I hope you can address this balance between aim assist and bullet magnetism for the full game.
In closing, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the issue. Does aiming feel “perfect” to you? If so, why? If not, why not? This is an important aspect of an FPS that I want 343 to nail, and this is a good place to consolidate all of the communities thoughts and suggestions on the issue.
TL;DR
Bullet Magnetism is far too high.
Aim Assist is inconsistent and slightly low.
Aim Assist should not have a great variance between different weapon types.
Proper balance between AA/BM is not present in this beta.