Introduction
I know, the game is nearly a year old but…well, better late than never.
This is all basically a repost, albeit cleaned up and slightly revised, of a pair of posts I did back in December 2015 and May 2016, respectively, detailing the effects of attachments on the performance of the Assault Rifle; namely recoil, aim assist, and bullet spread. You can find those original posts here:
Warzone Loadout Weapons
Please keep in mind that these results were field tests done in Warzone games, so the numbers are not absolute. Also, any secondary and/or tertiary effects on items outside of the performance, such as the motion sensor or Spartan abilities, are not included. I will be adding to it, filling in some of the blanks, over the weekend, but I just wanted to get this out.
Numbers marked with a * are numbers taken from The Cageybee’s video over on youtube which you can find here:
Warzone Loadouts and Attachments – A Brief Overview
(If you want to skip to the end, or just want to know about a specific attachment, use the Find function (CTRL+F) in your web browser and type in the phrase you want from below)
Contents:
Introduction
Experiment
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Control****Results
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Kinetic Bolts - Suppressor - Extended Magazines - Laser Targeter - Long Barrel - Stabilization Jets - Threat Marker - Sound Dampener - Energy Bayonet/Knigh Blade****Conclusion
Disclaimer
Experiment
Gametype: Warzone
Weapon: Assault Rifle and all its variants
Firing Method: Full Auto (tried doing bursts, but no noticeable difference between variants)
Location: Hallway connecting the Core to the rest of the Side REQ stations (see screenshots here: Screenshot 1 - Floor marker, Screenshot 2 - Corridor)
Measurements taken using standard graph paper (.25 x .25 inch squares)****, pencil, and a measuring tape
Scopes tested: Projection (Standard), Recon/Classic, Longshot, Sentinel, CQB, Hybrid, COG (where applicable)
Variants tested: Kinetic Bolts, Suppressor, Extended Mags, Laser Targeter, Long Barrel, Stabilization Jets, Threat Marker, and Sound Dampener
Control - Assault Rifle
Default (Projection) - recoil rise of about 1.5 inches, and a tapered spread that started off narrow and bloomed to a width of 1 inch at it’s widest point. Scoped in. Zoom: 1.5x
Recon - No noticeable difference. Zoom 2x
Longshot - No noticeable difference. Zoom 3x
Hyrbid - No appreciable difference. Zoom 2x
COG - No noticeable difference. Outlines enemies in red, will also display health and shield strength on the left side of the scope body as well as a bar along the bottom that corresponds to amount of ammunition you have remaining. Max outline distance is roughly 50 meters. Zoom is a rough estimate of about 2.5x
Addendum: Will outline enemies in active camouflage
Results
Kinetic Bolts
No noticeable effect on either recoil or bullet spread.
Suppresso****r
Equal recoil rise, but the spread seemed to actually be increased; the taper started to widen out sooner.
Extended Magazines
Increases magazine size, starting ammunition, and maximum ammunition by 50%. No other noticeable differences in terms of recoil, spread, or aim assist.
Laser Targeter
Equal recoil rise, but had a spread of roughly .5 inches, a reduction of nearly 50%
L****ong Barrel
Default (Projection) - produced equal recoil rise, but only reduced spread at the tested distance by roughly 25%. Zoom 1.5x, Range +20%, Scoped Aim Assist 1.77x*
Recon - Zoom 2x, Range +20%, Scoped Aim Assist 2.1x*
Longshot - Zoom 3x, Range +10%, Scoped Aim Assist 2.8x*
CQB - Zoom 1.25x, Range +20%, Scoped Aim Assist 1.57x
Sentinel - Zoom 4x , 6x, Range +10%, Scoped Aim Assist 3.14x , 4.1x*
Stabilization Jets
The spread was roughly the same, at about 1 inch at the widest point. However, the recoil rise only measured at about .60 inches. A reduction of nearly 50%
Threat Marker
Default - displays a small red box around any enemies in your hud and their distance from you; be they Spartan, Covenant, Promethean, or even vehicles. Additionally, it will also mark the enemy(s) inside the vehicle. The maximum distance to mark an enemy seems to be about 75 yards.
Once marked, an enemy can be see around corners and through walls, for a rough time estimate of 10 seconds.
Addendum: The threat marker will also mark enemies that are cloaked with Active Camouflage.
Sound Dampener
No noticeable difference in spread, or recoil. Scoped aim assist seems comparable to Long Barrel projection sight equivalent. Perhaps there is some added aim assist unscoped? Will test further at a later date.
Energy Bayonet / Knight Blade
Seeing how these attachments affect your melee numbers instead of the weapons actual performance, I am unable to efficiently test them objectively. One thing of note though, is that the Knight Blade can stun the Grunt Goblin. It cannot stun-lock it however. There is about a couple seconds of cool down time between stuns.
Conclusions:
Now, yes, I will admit I used only the AR as my weapon of choice to test this. However, through anecdotal evidence, and watching some videos on youtube, it seems that these affects are a flat percentage applied to the weapon’s base stat.
For fully automatic, close range weapons like the SMG and AR, the Laser Targeter and Stabilization Jets should provide the best bonuses.
For weapons like the BR and DMR that have little recoil due to their firing action, and function best at the mid to long range game, the Long Barrel in addition to the already mentioned Laser Targeter and Stabilization Jets, is a good choice.
Overall, the Laser Targeter and Stabilization Jets can tighten up that spread or recoil, respectively. The Long Barrel can give you that extra inch with the biggest boosts given to the Longshot and Sentinel scopes.
The Suppressor/Sound Dampener, Kinetic Bolts, Threat Marker (while kind of cool), Knight Blade, and Energy Bayonet are situational at best. Use them at your own personal preference. However, the Kinetic Bolts are best used with weapons that have high damage output (SMG/DMR, etc) to help bring those vehicle bosses down quicker…or to knock over an enemy light vehicle (a goose, warthog, ghost (maybe)) with a Spartan Charge.
One thing about the Knight Blade attachment:
Subjectively, I think it’s one of the most useless attachments we ever received. Here’s why:
Well for one, I’m not one to go around trying to poke a vehicle in its exhaust port when it’s easier to just jam a grenade all up in it.
Two, it’s REQ Level 8, same as the stronger Energy Bayonet, but we get access to Kinetic Bolts, which lets us damage vehicles from a distance (and possible safety), much earlier (REQ level 2 at the earliest)…not to mention at REQ level 8, we have access to more and better options to disable/destroy vehicles. Stunning a Grunt Goblin only works if the rest of your team is coordinated enough to capitalize.
Objectively? If you like going full Hulk and standing toe-to-toe with a Mantis or Scorpion/Wraith trading fisticuffs, then this PoS attachment is for you. What? Ask any statistician, it’s hard to put aside bias and stay objective.
Again, I will be filling in the blanks and adding additional info during the weekend
Standard disclaimer:
This is what I have found out in my admittedly very small test batch. Any one is free to discount, criticize, and/or run the tests themselves. But if you do, please post the results and/or reasons why. Don’t just spout off how much of an idiot I am (I’m remarkably self-aware).
Again, a thank you to The Cageybee for his work on his videos.