Projectile vs. Hitscan; Accuracy, Precision, Bloom. Cones.
It helps to know what happens when you pull the trigger.

There’s a lot here. The point of everything below is:

• To get first shot accuracy with a sniper, you need to stand still and ADS.

• You don’t need to stand still or ADS with a shotgun. Please don’t.

But you are here because you like to read. So here’s some reading for you. First, let’s start with some definitions.

Some Definitions

Projectile weapons behave according to the rules of physics. Bullets will take time to fly towards a target, and they will drop in response to gravity.

Hitscan weapons are the stuff of computer games. There is no bullet travel time – when you pull the trigger, the bullet reaches its destination instantly. There’s also no bullet drop with a hitscan weapon.

In Fortnite, as of this writing, most weapons are projectile. In Fortnite’s earlier days, most weapons were hitscan.

Accuracy and Precision can be described by this chart.

This is a great chart. Accuracy is if your shots are going to the target that you’re aiming at. Precision is how repeatable your shots are. In real life, accuracy is adjusted by adjusting your gun’s sights so that the sights point to where the bullets go. Precision is affected by the quality of your ammunition, and by things such as how hot/deformed the barrel gets as you shoot. Precision is often considered more important. If your equipment is of high quality, you can get all your bullets to fly to the same spot each time (precision). At that point, it’s easy to get accuracy by simply adjusting your sights to point to that one spot.

The phrase Cone of Accuracy is another way to talk about precision. The bullets leaving your gun fly inside a cone. That cone gets larger the further out the bullets go. The cone can also become wider at close distances if you’re moving or if you’re shooting rapidly.

How does this matter in Fortnite?

Fortnite sights are calibrated for accuracy. But how you shoot affects accuracy and precision in different ways.

While Moving and Hipfiring

Your sights in Fortnite will spread far apart as you move, and then come closer together when you stop moving. This reflects the diminishing accuracy (not on target) and precision (wider cone). If you slow down and stop, the sights shrink. This shows how your accuracy and precision improve as you stand still. You can actually think of the space inside the sights as the size of the far end of the cone of accuracy.

Some weapons are less affected by movement. Guns with laser sights have great hipfire accuracy and precision, even when you’re moving. This means if you keep the target in the middle of the screen while moving, you’ll hit it. Shotguns also do well – they shoot a spray of BB pellets (the “shot” in shotguns) towards a target, so their accuracy and precision are less affected by movement. This is why I always recommend learning to shoot shotguns while hipfiring, with your finger off the left trigger. Don’t you dare ADS a shotgun up close! You just don’t need to.

ADS and First Shot Accuracy

While standing still with ADS, many weapons such as sniper rifles give you “first shot accuracy”. Your first shot will be perfect: accurate and precise. The idea is that your gun barrel hasn’t heated up, your breathing is calm, your first shot goes exactly where it’s meant to go. After the first shot, your precision will diminish. Even though you’re aiming on target, the bullets won’t go exactly to the aimpoint, but will be close.

Did You Make it This Far? So What’s the Point?

You probably have had to put the kids to bed by the time you’ve reached this far, or have one to the bathroom at least once. Thanks for sticking with me.

Here are the takeaways from this article:

• To get first shot accuracy with a sniper, you need to stand still and ADS.

• You don’t need to stand still or ADS with a shotgun. Please don’t.

That’s it.

I could have made this article really short. Maybe I should have…