Did you know that Fortnite uses two different ways to indicate hits when you are shooting? Fortnite uses both hitscan and projectile-based weapons to determine when a shot connects with a target. This article is going to dive into what these two different categories mean, as well as the weapons and items that fall into these categories
Ever wonder why snipers feel different to use than the assault rifles in Fortnite? Do you know why your reticle gets larger if you spray rather than tap fire? These questions are answered by putting the weapons in Fortnite into two different categories: hitscan and projectile.
Depending on the weapon, the way the game registers if a weapon deals damage or lands a hit is based on where the weapon lands in these two groups. Here we are going to break down these two weapon types, explain how they work, as well as what weapons fall into each category.
Hitscan is when there is no travel time between your shot and the target you are shooting. If the reticle is aimed at the correct spot and you fire the weapon, a hit is registered. There is no travel time between when the fire is shot and when it hits the target. This is something that Epic has reintroduced to the game in Chapter 6: Season 1. Guns like shotguns, assault rifles, and SMGs are all hitscan. To balance these weapons, however, there are mechanics in the game that weaken the strength that hitscan has to offer to make the experience fair for players.
Bloom is what happens when you consecutively fire your weapon for a long period of time, causing your reticle to expand. When your reticle expands from bloom, the chances of you landing your shot at the center dot of the crosshair (the portion that you aim with) are lower. Think of the crosshair as a circle almost. In your head, draw an imaginary line around the edges of the cross portion. When you fire your weapon, the shot that is fired has a chance to land anywhere inside of this imaginary circle. This is why your weapon is most accurate with the first shot, since the crosshair has not expanded yet. This is known as first-shot accuracy. Guns that rely on this mechanic are usually rifles or SMGs.
While continuously firing your weapon makes you less accurate, there are times when this is useful. Say you need to destroy enemy builds or structures; depending on how far you are from where you are shooting, the inaccuracy from the constant spraying doesn’t matter since the target you are firing at is so large, and your main goal in that situation is to destroy that obstacle. Understanding bloom regarding hitscan weapons is important because different weapons have different crosshairs, blooms, ranges, etc. So, it’s good to get a feel for the mechanic firsthand by testing weapons out on your own with each season and update.
Pellets are a mechanic specifically for shotguns. While bloom still affects shotguns in Fortnite, they are impacted differently than other guns. When you fire a shotgun, you’ll notice that more than one bullet is fired from the gun; these are called pellets. Each pellet does a set amount of damage (depending on range, damage fall-off, etc.) when it hits a target. A shotgun’s damage is determined by how many pellets hit the target. So, if a shotgun fires 10 pellets that do 16 damage each, if you hit your target with all the pellets from a shot, they will take 160 damage (not taking headshots into account).
Now, like the other weapons mentioned earlier, shotguns are still affected by bloom, so consecutively firing them will cause the pellets to spread more, making your shots inaccurate. While shotguns are mainly for close-quarters encounters, accuracy is still just as important to ensure you finish off enemies. Missing a few pellets could be the difference in your next close-quarters fight. You can read more about how shotguns in Fortnite work here.
Notice how the dummy doesn’t fall over immediately? The bullet must travel to the target.
Projectile-based weapons work exactly as the name implies: they fire a projectile, which then must travel a certain distance before hitting the target. These weapons tend to be a bit more difficult to use properly, since you need to take into consideration the travel time and distance of the target you are shooting at. The upside, though, is that projectile weapons tend to be very powerful and deal more damage per shot than hitscan weapons. Weapons that fall under this category include snipers, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and all utility-based throwing items/weapons.
Now, when using these items and weapons, each one acts differently from the other. For example, the rocket launcher fires in a straight line and explodes on impact, while the grenade launcher fires in an arc and has a slight delay before the projectile it fires detonates. Snipers are affected by gravity, so depending on how far the target is, you will need to aim higher (using the dashes along the bottom portion of the scope) to adjust your shot to hit the target. As mentioned, these weapons can take a bit of time to learn and adjust to, but they are well worth the effort, as they can have an impact in any loadout!
Fortnite is not the only game to implement both hitscan and projectile-based shooting. Plenty of popular titles implement these two different mechanics. However, it is important for players to learn the difference between the two so they can adjust their gameplay and improve using both types of weapons. Hopefully this article provided a context on how hitscan and projectiles work in Fortnite, and you can utilize this information in your next match!
