Projectiles are larger but require prediction.
Hit-scan are pixel-perfect but is point and click.
I could understand the argument for either of them, projectiles have a greater deal of leniency but due to requiring you to predict where the enemy is going to go and then place your cross-hair in the place that you think that they are going to be with accuracy, you could argue that projectiles require more skill.
Hit-scan on the other hand is pixel-perfect, higher mechanical skill directly correlates with higher accuracy, which isn’t necessarily the case with projectiles.
What do you guys/gals think?
Depends on the range. In close-range, the prediction aspect doesn’t really matter, especially for heroes like Hanzo or Zen who have extremely fast projectile speeds.
You may as well be hitscan with fatter bullets.
But at long range hitscan is infinitely more reliable and easier to use. Unless you’re Jjonak tier, it’s basically a crapshoot hitting anything more than 40 or 50 meters away with projectiles.
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Fundamentally, projectiles with small hitboxes takes more skill, or are more difficult. Hitscan is “just” clicking on the enemy, while having to account precision and timing. On the other hand, small projectiles requires you to account in the speed of the projectile, predict the movement pattern/route of the enemy, and position your cursor ahead of the enemy’s route accordingly.
Mechanical skill would be hitscan more than Projectile.
We could compare like hanzo and Widowmaker. Both require a lot of mechanical skill to land shots with. I think a bit part of it is range, in close range they both require the same amount of mechanical skill, since his projectile is fairly fast it’s essentialy hitscan.
From distance, widow stays the same concept of point and click, but hanzo will just have to predict and Yeet a shot, he can be accurate with it, like hitscan, but when it comes down to it, from long range a hanzo arrow hitting is based on chance, so shooting in the general direction of the enemy’s movement path is the most you can do.
I play both widow and hanzo at a mid master/low gm level. Although I’m really bad at hanzo, I still think hitscan takes more mechanical skill. I guess it kind of depends on the shot, because some shots prediction=mechanical skill, other shots, prediction=trail of events that lead to the shot landing.
I largely agree but what about medium range?
For example we asked a McCree and a Zenyatta to shoot a moving target from 10-15m away, I feel like the McCree could do so more reliably.
General statement for the average players:
Good aim = hitscan is easier
Bad aim = Projectile is easier
Then it also depends on maps, range, and choke points.
A Junkrat/Pharah/Hanzo are gonna have an easier time bursting down heroes in comparison to hitscan, since their shots are more spammable.
Hanzo is gonna be easier than Widowmaker in close range and midrange.
Widow will have an easier time with long range.
Depends on your definittion of mechanical skill.
For me mechanical skill is just how precise your aim is (clicking on what you mean to click).
So then purely mechanical skill? Hitscan because you must click what you want to hit and being off means you do nothing.
Projectile needs mechanical skill too but they need more mental predictions and such.
Think of it this way. At close ranges (sub 10m), I see projectile as about as difficult, maybe a little bit easier than hitscan. The further you go out, the more hitscan has an advantage over projectiles.
I think for Zenyatta and Hanzo in particular, the advantage equalizes at about 15 meters and then from then out I would call McCree definitively easier.
But this of course doesn’t go into the argument of “explosive” projectile users like Symmetra, Pharah or Junkrat, just the closest equivalents to hitscans in Hanzo and Zen.
I play mostly hitscan heroes (around high plat, low diamond), but I’ve started playing Zen more, and I think it’s harder to land projectiles. With hitscan, I can rely on muscle memory and not really think about it. I mean, you have to think a little bit about it, but not nearly as much as projectile heroes do since bad predictions can get you killed. Having a mental read on enemy movement patters and making predictions based on that is harder imo.
I’ve gone against some Zens and Hanzos who have such good predictions that it feels as if they are reading my mind. Not sure if that’s really a mechanical skill, but it’s definitely a combat skill. I’ve seen some sick flicks by Zens and Hanzos as well, so they definitely do take strong mechanical skills.
IMO. Strictly speaking hitscan requires more mechanical skill because hitscan bullets are smaller.
However, projectiles take more skills to hit because they also require predicting target movement and leading shots, which is more of a game sense skill than mechanics.
Hitscan requires better raw mechanics.
Projectiles require more skills.
When that Hanzo/Mei headshots you from across the map, it’s usually spam not prediction.
When that Widow headshots you from across the map, you actually know that she was trying.