In Overwatch, does falloff damage happen because bullets deteriorate or just spread?
Some say that a bullet from Soldier will apply the same damage no matter how far it travels. That being said, we would expect McCree's bullet not to have falloff damage, but it does. So which one is right?
The idea is that D.Va, for example, has tons of falloff damage. However, if it's only due to spread, then the falloff will be compensated by "easier hit". Which one is true?
This question has 2 downvotes already. Looks like people think this is a stupid question. So let me explain. I used to think that the bullet gets "weaker" the farther it travels. Then I read this:
Stupid question: How does that work? Bullets further from the center of the crosshairs do less damage? Damage never degrades over distance?
The damage doesn't degrade as it travels, so a single bullet fired from the Heavy Pulse Rifle does the same damage if it hits a target 2m, 10m, or 30m away.
-- Blizz_ScottMercer
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/3dezkd/hey_roverwatch_were_here_for_a_quick_qa_about/
Basically someone at Blizzard says that for Soldier:76, each bullet does the same damage. That means the "falloff" happens merely due to the spread of bullets.
That's what I want to know. Is all damage falloff like that? Does that mean D.Va is actually pretty good at "crowd" control on large range. Yes less damage, but she surely hits more people. I think this would explain why D.Va's Mech is good for destroying barriers.
The rule of thumb seems to be that hitscan attacks have falloff and projectiles do not. That being said, single bullets heros like Widowmaker do not have fall off. Single bullets from heros like McCree seem to have falloff which violates this theory.
So I am adding this stuff to show I did quite a bit of research before asking this question. My guess is there is no "real falloff". Only bigger spread at longer distance making guns less effective.
That is the point of the question. Is there a "real falloff"? The quote I put in the question suggests no. All "falloff" happens because of what XremeBaumer says.
"Falloff" is a very specific term, and refers to the way bullets deal less damage at long ranges compared to shorter ranges.
Usually a bullet will deal its maximum damage up to a certain range, then scale down linearly with more distance, down to a minimum damage.
Spread only affects the trajectory of bullets, not their damage.
In Overwatch, weapons can have falloff, spread, both, or none. Generally, hitscan weapons have falloff, while projectile weapons don't.
There is no single rule that applies to all heroes. Every weapon in the game has different stats and therefore different rules to remember. In your question you mention both spread and falloff which are actually entirely different systems.
Spread does not affect damage but rather your accuracy. For example, Soldier: 76's weapon will be pinpoint accurate to your crosshair for the first 3 shots. After that he experiences "spread" meaning his bullets are no longer pin point accurate but each one will hit a random angle of your crosshair. You can see this happening as the crosshairs will expand showing you how wide the spread is. The longer you fire continuous the wider the spread becomes.
Spread for shotgun type weapons is slightly different however. D.Va for example never has pinpoint accuracy as the pellets will each hit at a different angle. The crosshair will give a rough approximation of where you can expect the bullets to go.
Falloff damage means the farther away you are from your target, the less damage you will deal to them. Falloff is determined on a per weapon basis, there is no one single rule. For characters that do experience falloff damage, it will start dropping at 'X' range and reach its lowest point at 'Y' range (X-Y meters). Anything closer than that deals full damage.
Now we can take a look at how these all come together to affect the characters you are asking about.
Soldier: 76 experiences damage falloff at 30-55 meters. Since you also mention projectiles in your question, know that his rockets are a projectile and therefore have no falloff damage. source
McCree on his primary fire has falloff from 22-45 meters. However he also has a secondary fire "fan the hammer" which has a different falloff range of 18-30 meters and also affected by spread unlike primary fire. source
D.Va's weapon is not a single bullet like Soldier or McCree. Her weapons fires 11 pellets in a spread pattern which also are affected by falloff going from 10-20 meters. So at farther ranges not only are fewer pellets going to hit your target, but those that do hit deal less damage. source