As an avid Remnant 2 player and content creator, I often think about what makes different guns and ammo types feel so distinct in combat. While playing, you get a sense that each firearm and projectile performs uniquely. What most players may not realize is that there is complex physics simulation running under the hood to make this gunplay feel so visceral.
In this article, we‘ll break down the factors that affect projectile performance when firing guns in Remnant 2. Understanding these dynamics allows players to make more informed choices about weapon and ammo selection. It also gives content creators interesting technical details we can share when analyzing new gear that gets added to the game.
The Basics – Velocity, Mass, Shape
To understand what affects projectiles in Remnant 2, we first need to cover some ballistic basics. The core attributes are:
Velocity – The speed and direction a round travels after being fired. This determines damage, range, drop-off, and accuracy. Higher velocity projectiles impact targets sooner and suffer less trajectory change while flying through the air.
Mass – The quantity of matter/material that makes up a projectile. With guns, this usually refers to the bullet weight. Heavier rounds transfer more kinetic energy into targets, causing more damage. But they lose speed quicker from air resistance.
Shape – The form and design of a projectile. Shapes like cylinders and spheres cut through air better retaining velocity. Irregular shapes can tumble creating unpredictable trajectories. Finned ammo stabilizes flight but have more drag.
In Remnant 2, various guns, ammo types, mods, and gear boost these attributes differently. Understanding these trade-offs is key to building powerful and specialized loadouts.
Internal Ballistics – Propulsion Forces Inside The Firearm
The first phase affecting projectiles happens inside the weapon itself during firing, known as internal ballistics. The ignition of gunpowder creates rapidly expanding propulsion gases. Pressure builds until the projectile starts moving down the barrel.
Here are key internal factors affecting performance:
Barrel Length – Longer barrels allow more complete powder combustion pushing rounds to higher speeds before exiting. Short barrels leak gases sooner limiting velocity.
Twist Rate – Spinning stabilizes bullets in air. Barrels have etched grooves that twist rounds. Fast spins keep irregular ammo flying straight. Slow spins work for aerodynamic ammo.
Chamber Size – The open space behind a loaded cartridge. Larger chambers contain bigger powder charges. Overcharged ammo has extra "oomph" behind it increasing speed and damage.
Recoil – The equal and opposite reaction when firing. Heavy recoil forces limit rate of fire. Muzzle brakes, compensators, heavier weapons, reduce felt recoil and pushback allowing sustained fire.
Load Type – Specialty ammo changes performance through shape, mass, powder type, etc. Explosive, elemental, overcharged, and other rounds have unique properties.
As you can see, a lot happens as a projectile travels those few inches down a firearm barrel. That‘s why certain guns feel so different even though general dimensions might be similar. The internal mechanics give each their signature ballistic profile.
External Ballistics – Projectile Dynamics In Air
Once exiting the muzzle, rounds enter the atmospheric external ballistics phase. The environmental interactions also drastically affect trajectories as bullets fly to targets.
Gravity – Acceleration downward due to the planet‘s mass. Minor at short ranges. Makes bullets drop over distance. Higher velocity ammo resists more.
Air Density – Thickness and moisture content of surrounding air. Thin air has less resistance enabling straighter faster paths. Humid dense air slows projectiles quicker.
Angle – Canting the firearm barrels aims rounds along an arched trajectory instead of flat. Angled fire shoots farther by exploiting air resistance and gravity drops.
Wind – Strong lateral gusts can blow projectiles off target to a degree. Irregular shaped and slow ammo is affected most. Firearm optics help compensate aim.
Target Motion – Anticipating and leading a strafing target makes rounds more likely to connect. Easier with high velocity bullets and continuous fire weapons.
Like with internal, these external factors differ drastically based on equipped firearms, mods, ammo selections, and gear. Sniper rifles send fast cylindrically shaped bullets in flat narrow trajectories ideal for long ranges. While shotguns blast out scattered low velocity irregular pellets best used up close.
Terminal Ballistics – Projectile Impact Physics
The final ballistic phase involves complex physics modeling if and when bullets actually strike targets. The collisions and resulting energy transfers determine damage dealt.
Angle Of Attack – Projectiles penetrating straight on versus at sharp angles disperse kinetic energy differently to surrounding tissues.
Yaw Tumble – Irregular projectiles striking targets often yaw and tumble. Tipped rounds distribute traumatic damage unpredictably through targets.
Cavitation – Bullets passing through tissue forms temporary wound channels and cavitation effects far exceeding the projectile width. Devastating damage ripples outward.
Fragmentation – Some rounds intentionally break apart upon hitting targets, transforming from single projectiles into volatile shrapnel blasting outward. Soft target damage spreads.
The mass, velocity, rotational forces, and other properties are simulated at the moment of impact. Critical hits on body weak points get bonus damage multipliers for heightened lethality taking these terminal ballistic effects into account.
How Gear Affects Projectile Performance
All sorts of equipment boosts help improve the above ballistic factors for enhanced firearms projectile performance:
Scopes & Optics – Telescopic sights, red dot holograms, and other aiming optics stabilize aim screen sway providing enhanced trajectories. Auto leading reticles compensate for gravity bullet drop giving sniper rounds flatter paths. Upgraded sights increase aiming speed, target acquisition, peripherals awareness, and highlight enemy weaknesses.
Muzzle Attachments – Various muzzle devices alter bullet dynamics upon leaving barrels. Flash hiders hide positions. Suppressors dampen noises and flashes. Compensators offset recoil letting sustained fire happen while staying on target. Others enhance speed, control, crit damage, threat generation, etc. They bring major functionality changes.
Magazine Mods – Specialized magazines improve ammo capacity, reload speed, fire rate, lucky bullet chances, and even boost core ammunition performance altering internal ballistics. Some magazines completely change ammo properties by equipping explosive, toxic, cryogenic, energized, orcorrosive rounds. Modded mags bring major enhancements.
Elemental Damage – Various weapon and gear mods imbue rounds with Incendiary, Shock, Corrosive, Frost, Radiation, etc elemental energies modifying terminal ballistic effects. Elemental combinations also stack damage-over-time (DoT) debuffs spreading traumatic energetic effects through surrounding tissue. Innovative elemental builds fabricate new projectile behavior.
Skill Specialization – Each archetype has signature skills enhancing firearm lethality like the Gunslinger‘s Trick Shot granting bonuses to equip weapons. Various damage type skills also boost related elemental projectiles by increasing status buildups and DoTs. Skill and Class synergies bring damage multipliers exceeding the sum of individual parts.
With the right specialized build, projectiles reach extreme velocities delivering intensely amplified damage on targets. Maxed skills, stacked gear mods, optimized stats, and synergized passives transform ordinary firearms into exotic traumatic projectile launch systems. No longer hindered by stock limitations, specialized systems break simulated ballistic boundaries unleashing tremendous potential.
In Summary
Remnant 2‘s gunplay feels so visceral because intricate ballistic physics runs behind the scenes calculating a wide array of interacting factors that affect firearms projectile performance every time the trigger gets pulled. Mastering these dynamics enables knowledgeable players and content creators to fabricate specialized builds to truly customize gameplay.
Understanding the nuances that influence a bullet‘s trajectory inside the weapon, flying through air, and transferring force on impact allows for ultra-fine tuning. As developers add new guns, mods, gear, skills, and content… even more boundary pushing build potential gets unlocked!
Hopefully this guide gave you some insight into the complex technical side of Remnant 2 weapon systems while highlighting opportunities to craft specialized playstyles. Let me know in the comments your favorite firearms features and what you think should get added next!
