How most feel about headshots

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by rockhead101, May 6, 2020.

  1. rockhead101

    I quit playing a number of years ago when I felt like a giant head with feet. 70% of my deaths were by headshot. Amazingly enough I found that there was an easy hitbox hack that made you appear as a giant head with feet!. I've run into a number of players that still have this amazing headshot ability. this guy yesterday had an 85% headshot ratio with a mana turret. Another guy was killing my squad from 300 + meters by headshot with an NS carbine, with 1 power sight. I could barely see him when I ADAD returned fire with a 4x sight, but he has a 59% headshot ratio with it. Daybreak is a business, they will never threaten thee revenue flow by banning too many people. I will continue to play, but will not spend a dime on the game.
  2. NotziMad

    I feel that they are too strong, but not so much as a matter of personal taste but rather as a matter of fairness and balance.

    They provide a huge (HUGE) advantage to the experienced player and/or the player who can shoot good.

    It's almost like an exclusive club thing, you know, where only a "select few" take advantage of something that is so strong.

    I swear if I told you how long I played this game before even realising this you wouldn't believe me.

    That's because it's the only game I know which is like this. (and I admit, I don't usually play FPS games, so it might be like this in some other FPS games, I was speaking mostlfy from MMORPG experience)

    I wouldn't suggest getting rid of the difference between a body shot and a head shot, but just maybe tone it down a little?
    • Up x 6
  3. gunnner10

    I agree. I die to headshots over 50% of the time. This game is Client side, which means your PC tells the server when you get a kill. This seems to suggest that this game can be easily exploited/hacked
  4. Werkitten

    Just forget about this game. At the moment, I have spent about a year in the game. I thought for a long time that these problems are related to my personal skill and training will fix everything. But the longer I play, the stronger the feeling that the skill is useless in this game. For example, I can catch a banknote in the air (this test does not pass 90% of people) but my reaction is not enough to win a shootout, death occurs before the enemy appears on the screen. And this is the only game in which this happens.
    Disgusting optimization is also not happy, even on the most minimal graphics settings, the game works very slowly, although the image quality is inferior to Quake 2
    Of course, you can spend a fair amount of money just to be able to use the usual screen resolution (no, not 4K, this is out of the question, just so as not to irritate the eyes), but is it worth it?
    Weapons in this game are terrible and there are no exceptions. My entertainment-class air rifle shoots further and more accurately than the carbines in this game. Rocket launchers fire as if the rocket is launched with a rubber band inside. Tanks give the impression of children's toys and it's not their design, but the physics of the game, they fly head over heels from any collision and, it seems, do not weigh anything.

    Yesterday I went back to the forgotten Paladins game and was shocked at how easy and enjoyable it is to play, hitting from any distance. 100-120 fps at settings close to the maximum.
    If you need more serious games, then the cost of a new PC I can buy 3-4 sets of equipment for playing hardball and play much more realistic shootouts, with perfect graphics and no problems with ping. Summer begins, a good time to get out from behind the computer.

    I am tired of having to deal with poor technical execution of the game instead of fighting the opponent.
    Occasionally, I think it's easier to make an alternative game myself than to wait for these problems to be fixed (I already have a plan, just need a programmer and designer).

    PS. It was a moment of despair, which I should take a break and cheer myself up with nutritious cookies and physical exercise ^^
    • Up x 1
  5. TRspy007


    Hackers are an infinitely small portion of the community, and they get banned usually in under a day. I've been playing since beta, I've personally encountered less than a dozen hackers. Even back in beta when they used to broadcast a guy got banned for cheating every 5 minutes, it turned out it was just the same dude(s) making accounts, and getting banned over and over again. They released the information back then, they banned what amounted to less than 20 IP addresses.


    So hacking really isn't an issue, it's what's perceived as hacking. Clientside can cause some funky stuff, you just gotta accept that there's some players who you can empty your 40 round jaguar into their skull, and they won't even flinch as they instagib you with their battle goose.

    85% hs ratio is pretty good for a mana turret, perhaps he was hacking, perhaps he simply uses it to defend stairs and has a high hs ration because hes just firing down onto the the enemies, making it easy to score headshots.


    Usually, there's a few signs you can tell someone is a potential hacker:


    1. The guy is a low battle rank, and has a bizarre name, as in it's neither a joke or something you would be comfortable saying (for example) "thats sfhglAIUGWGEJKH12497, the main character I play on" .
    2. Usually hackers tend to stick with one class/weapon. If they have a really strange accuracy on the Amaterasu and that's the only weapon they have kills with, then it would suggest something is off.
    3. Because of how rare hackers are, you will not be the only one commenting on them. If you're the only one yelling "hacker, hacker" because an ASP100 mowed you down without a thought, then you know the guy is legit. However, if you call him out, and hear others commenting on his suspicious stats/actions, you can start to accuse the guy of actually being a hacker.
    4. Hackers very rarely respond to tells. Many of them simply ignore you or have their tells disabled, because they know they are doing something wrong and do not want to be confronted simply because they would end up incriminating themselves through text.
    5. The cheats are almost always the same, because it's almost always the same people doing them.
    The reason you mostly die to headshots, is because everyone goes for the head - it's the best way to kill other infantry. If they don't get the headshots, it's usually them that end up dying.

    That said, I completely agree that the headshot multiplier is a great way to haze new players. I wouldn't be against toning it down, because cutting down ttk by more than half is just a little much, especially considering that people have had years of practice doing so. There's also the fact it's a clientside game, so on some occasions you will physically not be able to react, because as you receive the 1rst shot, the other 3 have already registered, and you're dead as you make it towards cover. Especially for newer players who aren't familiar with the games mechanics and how to move/react to try and mitigate this, it can lead to some pretty frustrating and weird moments.

    The fact you made a comment and state you will continue to play despite "number of players that still have this amazing headshot ability" means it is out of the ordinary, and not a common occurrence.
    Also, please make a new account and try out those "haxs". You'll quickly see that half of these "hacking" websites are just trolls, and the ones that aren't will lead you to getting banned in under a day.
  6. TRspy007



    With the first part, it's because of clientside. Based on lat ping, by the time you get the queues on your screen to react, you're dead on the other guys screen, which is what the game takes into account. That's why you end up dying miles behind cover, medkits/shields can be bypassed sometimes and people can kill you before they are even visible on your screen. Not everyone plays with 10000 ping, but it's out there.


    The rest I almost completely agree with, you're not the first to have said this, and I'm glad you've been pretty clear about why new players pick other games over this one.

    The game is not consistent, and has so many flaws that add up to just make the experience horrible for anyone who has not copped with it for years.
  7. Gooyoung

    I agree with toning down the headshot multiplier, it's too much of instagib now and bodyshot stand no chance
    • Up x 4
  8. Yellow Rug

    You can make the shield portion of your healthpool more resistant to headshots? Kinda makes sense, cause its a force field around you that stop projectiles so it makes headshots less painful?

    Another possible solution is to open one of the continents for newer players/bad players. It can be like Koltyr except it will still give XP. Conditions to be allowed in the continent can be something like:

    - BR<30, No ASP
    - HS rate <15%
    - KDR < 0.5
    - No other characters in the account that don't meed these conditions.

    But in reality the bigger issue here is the new player experience without matchmaking. Headshots are only a piece of this puzzle. I would like to say that "that's just the game, get used to it or go play COD" but unfortunately that is exactly what most people do within their first hours in the game.

    As for hackers, I can't say I've seen any in over 500 hours. At least not obvious ones.
    • Up x 1
  9. McToast

    I think I've found the issue here :). Honestly, headshot are fine. If you can't manage to get a headshot in here and there you have to step up and actually learn how to aim properly. Read/watch some tutorials, get a decent mouse and mousepad, lower your sensitivity. I am no headshot monster either, but it's one of the few aspects of this game that really still rewards playerskill.

    And if you go play other FPS you'll notice that you usually instantly die or at least are severely wounded by a single headshot from any rifle. Planetside is NOT an RPG, it's an FPS. Weapon damage - and headshot damage - in this game is very low. I know it has to be, because of the game engine and how the netcode works, but still you need like 3-4 headshots from carbines to kill a target even at close-medium range.
  10. NotziMad

    Why would it be ok (is it ok?) for headshots to be reasonable in a MMORPG but not in a FPS?

    (it's not just a FPS btw, it's also a combined arms open world (ie not MOBA) sandbox.)


    Also, it's not just player skill that it rewards, or player experience, it's player expensive equipment, it's player fibre internet connection, it's player "mods" and cheats.

    But the question here isn't whether headshots should give more damage than bodyshots. The question is a matter of degree, everyone agrees that headshots should be more lethal, but how much more lethal ? If you feel 250% is good, what makes you think 250% is good but not 300%? why not 400%? why not 150%?

    What makes the strength of a headshot legitimate? The point of view? Cause you know the point of view in RPGs is often first person too.
  11. McToast

    Planetside 2 is an MMOFPS. An FPS can ofc be an RPG, they are different things and one doesn't necessarily exclude the other. I wasn't precise with my first post, I apologize. And you can play PS2 like an RPG, some even do it, but it's not designed that way. That's what I first meant. PS2 is too fast and it's very difficult to get "in character" because you lack the ingame tools (like proper emotes etc.). Would you consider playing Counter Strike like an RPG? It certainly is possible, but the game simply isn't designed that way.

    About headshots: In my opinion they should be deadly. It's a small hitbox compared to the rest of the body and hits should be rewarding. Damagewise it depends on how the game is set up and how the other weapons perform. in UT98 you had the sniper rifle, which has a slow firing speed but could OHK non-armored targets. You had explosive shotguns and rocket launchers that could do the same thing. And you had a very fast firing minigun, which could not OHK targets with headshots, simply because it's RoF was much higher. The also fast firing ripper COULD OHK with headshots, but it had slow projectiles and was not hitscan...
    For a modern game somewhere in the "military" background, where most weapons are rather similar, I'd say double damage or a bit more as a starting point. In a perfect world, PS2 would have an even faster TTK with less shots required to drop a target. 3 hits body, 1 hit head. But that doesn't work because of the netcode, people sometimes die before they even see the threat as it is. Scoring headshots still needs to be rewarding, and seeing how you still need multiple headshots to kill somebody you can't lower the damage even further. Ever tried to kill a HA with a carbine at medium range? You can shoot him in the head 4-5 times and he still keeps moving. Granted, with bodyshots it's even more of a chore, but consecutively hitting the chest area is A LOT easier than consecutively hitting the head.
    And nowhere does it say you have to do only the one or the other. At mid-long distance I usually start at aiming at the head, then pulling the crosshair down to the chest as the CoF opens up. Ending the burst, I try to snap back up on the head for the next burst. At short distance just keep aiming at the head.
  12. MonnyMoony

    Headshot multiplier should be reduced. Whist being able to land headshots should of course convey a damage bonus, at the moment, the disparity between head shots and body shots is far too great, especially when you factor in nanoweave and "I-win-shield".

    In a toe to toe fight when all else is equal, the person landing head shots should come out on top. But if you get the drop on somebody and empty half a magazine into their back, they shouldn't be able to just spin around and ping you in the head.

    The HS multiplier being so large also magnifies the effect of hacks. Aimbots and hit box mods are as deadly effective as they are in large part because of the large HS multiplier.

    Even if the HS multiplier was reduced, vets with good gun control and good aim would still dominate, but it would give newbies a fighting chance and would feel fairer - especially when they did get the drop on a vet.
    • Up x 1
  13. McToast

    Why don't you aim for the head? With the apparently low TTK he shouldn't even be able to turn around, much less shoot back.
  14. Smallzz

    most of the people you'll find complaining about headshot multipliers are people who don't care to put the effort in to improve and just want to dilute the difference between skilled play and some .5 KDR noob that holds down LMB and prays to RNJesus that a few of the bullets hit the head hitbox.

    This game lacks skill based matchmaking. It sucks for a lot of people. It's the equivalent of firing up a game of League of Legends and being placed against challenger players when you have less than 50 games under your belt. But, that's the nature of planetside. You are immediately presented with a fork in the road. Do you give up, complain, and never seek to improve yourself, or do you strive to be one of the better players through hard work and practice?

    Of course bads are gonna say "there should be less reward for more skilled players" because they want to reduce the skill ceiling, diluting the difference between good players and bad, without actually putting in the effort and time that the vets did to improving. Guys with 45-55% HSR aren't just born lucky, they put thousands and thousands of hours into "getting gud". They use a proper mouse and setup, an actual mousepad, position carefully, don't expose themselves to multiple enemies at once, and lastly, spent lots of time practicing clicking heads instead of spraying and praying. If you aren't willing to put in that effort then admit that, instead of begging that any sort of skill expression be removed from the game.

    If you really must have something to cry about then cry about assimilate 5. A heavy with adrenaline shield and Assimilate 5 gets around 500 effective health back on every headshot kill. Combined with the fact that your enemy puts out less damage because they are dying faster, many vets can use new players as effective health packs, getting back more shields and overshield energy from a kill then they expended in the fight. Rework Assimilate 5 so that it only rewards half the shield health back on a headshot kill and you'll see less vets clearing a room in less than 5 seconds against potatoes. That will dramatically reduce the difference between a monster veteran and someone who can't be ***** to get gud without marginalizing the effort the vet put into clicking a hitbox 1/10th the size of the overall character model.
  15. Nehlis

    I strongly disagree with the OP's notion.
    Reducing headshot damage means it becomes significantly less rewarding for skilled aim players. 2x is generally the standard multiplier for most fps games and is honestly not even very harsh. Planetside already has a very long TTK in comparison to most other shooters, coupled with a slow recovery rate means that it becomes very hard to make a significant impact on the battlefield as a skilled player, especially as the number of participants increase.
    Yes it sucks to get the drop on someone, only to have them ding your head a couple times and kill you. Recognize that this happens because:
    1. You failed to do enough damage to them, by missing too many shots or taking too long to aim. This is purely based off of your mechanical skill.
    2. They were able to precisely aim at your head, despite being surprised, and out gun you. You did not move erratically enough or remained in the engagement for too long. Know when to disengage.
    Either way, you need to understand that they won the engagement because of a significant different in player skill.
    Hackers are very few and far between. I think I've only met one person which I would even suspect to be hacking. Understand that since the game does not have any form of matchmaking, you will be fighting against the best top players on the server and fresh newbies alike. This is actually something I feel is a core problem of the game that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately I don't have a solution for this.
  16. fuzzydonkeyballs

    infantry is too stronk imo. ttk used to be much higher and that was a good thing. i don't get it though, this line of thought of making gunplay somehow easier for a nub. i would get it if things like c4 and deci wern't available.

    what i'm trying to say is we as a community need to stop encouraging new players to try and outskill the skilled and instead go for the cheese. theres no outskilling c4 at your feet or a shotty to the face.

    aim control and positioning and all that comes with time, nothing wrong with araxing your grenades on some high brs while you wait.
  17. Solgryn

    When the AV Turret first came out it had a lot farther range and flicking it across infantry usually resulted in a hit even if it wasn't very close, because the projectile was so large I believe part of it always hit the head even on a body shot and it was a 1 hit kill. I got it when it came out to use against vehicles but found it so effective against infantry that I auraxiumed it that way, the AV turret has been changed since then but people's stats may still be high from before.
    • Up x 1
  18. Solgryn

    You can reduce your risk by keeping your head out of sight of skilled players, don't fight in doorways or in the open, hold point rooms in such a way that the skilled player has to breach in order to have line on your head with all breach points covered. The skilled player will still have an advantage as he should from practicing thousands of hours, but that advantage is reduced when you play in a more skilled manner yourself.

    Thousands of hours of practice improve a player along a curve, the first few hundred hours will improve your gameplay dramatically whereas adding hundreds of additional hours on specific things like headshot aim has diminishing returns the better you get. Learning positioning and increasing your awareness of the flow of battle will net you bigger gains than improving your aim at first.
  19. Towie

    Very true. I haven't used it since the nerf (years ago !) and so my own stats show huge (and highly suspicious) deltas to the 'norm'.

    Easy to check though - just look at his killboard and see if he is still using it now.
  20. MonnyMoony

    Wow - you know what, that actually never occurred to me :rolleyes: