If you want to become a great Blackout player, you’ll have to master the weapon handling mechanics of bullet travel speed and drop-off.
Players coming to Blackout from other Battle Royale titles will undoubtedly be familiar with the concept of bullet drop, but to Call of Duty players the mechanic is new, and applies only to the Blackout mode.
In other game-modes, and previous titles in the series, Call of Duty guns have always fired in a perfectly straight line to their target, and impacted instantly, with no travel time – this type of firing mechanic is often referred to as “hitscan”, after the calculation of the same name that the game performs to determine what, if anything, each bullet hit.
In Blackout, however, bullets instead act as projectiles, with both have a travel speed and after a certain distance will start to drop – i.e. curve towards the ground – as they travel.
At close-to-medium ranges, both of these effects are negligible, so the weapons will handle much as they do in the other multiplayer modes. If you’re trying to hit an enemy at a long distance, however, factors like travel speed and bullet drop have to be taken into account, leading shots ahead of moving enemies and aiming higher to compensate for drop-off.
Complicating matters, however, is the fact that these effects do not apply uniformly – they vary depending on factors that can influence both bullet drop and travel speed.
Ammunition Type
The type of ammunition a weapon uses influences the bullet’s travel speed and drop-off, even for weapons that are in the same class. Weapons that use the 5.56mm ammo have both a slower travel speed and greater drop than those using 7.62mm, for instance.
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The same holds true across all variants of ammo, with the general rule being that the higher-calibre ammo travels faster and drops less than lower-calibre options.
Attachments
Certain attachments also impact bullet speed and drop. If you’re looking to improve your weapon’s handling in this respect, Long Barrel is your friend – as well as increasing damage at range, it’ll also make it easier to hit targets at range by increasing speed and decreasing drop.
On the flip side, adding a silencer has the reverse effect. In exchange for the increased stealth, you’ll have to account for the drop-off beginning earlier, and the bullet will travel slower. This means you’ll have to begin compensating for the effect at closer distances, as well as compensating more than you otherwise would at longer ranges.
Call of Duty YouTuber Drfit0r produced a video showcasing some of the differences. If you’re looking to improve in Blackout it’s definitely worth keeping these aspects in mind, as doing so could very well be the difference between a successful elimination and an early death.
For in-depth guides on everything in Black Ops 4’s Multiplayer and Blackout modes, visit our extensive guide hub here.