Since the earliest days of Destiny and Destiny 2, players have had questions about the hitboxes and hit registration in the game. While most agree that the first person shooting in Destiny feels good, when it comes to important elements like precision in a PvP environment, there is a lot to be desired. Now, a new discovery has many Crucible fans scratching their heads.
Destiny 2 player Calico shared a video on Twitter showcasing the inconsistency in hitbox registration when it comes to hand cannon shots and the favorable aim assist that exists in the game. In the video, Destiny 2 players can see that there is a larger radius around a Guardian's head that will register a precision hit. If a player shoots just outside of that radius then they miss, but the hit box itself is pretty generous.
The video rotates between some of the most popular weapons in Destiny 2's hand cannon category, including the Spare Rations, The Last Word, and Thorn. Each is capable of hitting a precision shot even though the reticle is not actually positioned on the head of the opponent.
It's no secret that Destiny 2 has struggled when it comes to “ghost bullets” and hand cannon bloom, and this is another example of how Bungie is seemingly compensated for that. Unfortunately, it suggests that Destiny 2 is a far easier PvP experience than the average first person shooter. All players need to do is get the reticle close to their opponent's head and they should hit a precision shot.
This is especially troubling because hand cannons have some of the fastest time to kill ratings among primary weapons. So if the game is helping make it even easier to hit three headshots in a row, then it doesn't really highlight skill.
Calico created the video to contradict those Destiny 2 players that say that Crucible players favor the Spare Rations hand cannon for its high aim assist, but the Season of the Drifter weapon does not seem to be any different from a lot of other top choices. Nearly every hand cannon that players tend to use is Crucible has a very generous aim assist and the hit box registration in the game doesn't help.
Unfortunately, while Bungie is likely to acknowledge the video's findings and claim the devs are investigating. This is most likely a deep-rooted issue with Destiny 2 that is not an easy fix and as players have learned in Year 3, even easy fixes can sometimes take a while to be patched.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.