The latest patch for Uncharted 2 introduces some controversial damage tweaks for the game, based on the Experimental Weekend Naughty Dog hosted a few months ago.
One of the major changes listed being “Weapon damage and attributes have been rebalanced” . While this doesn’t really say much, what exactly has changed with the weapons?
Credit goes to McWooty on the Official Playstation forums for doing these tests.
Entries labelled with *1.04* are settings prior to 1.04
Entries labelled with *1.05* are for patch 1.05
Entries labelled with *EW* are for the Experimental Weekend Crushing setting. Pre 1.05.
Pistols
92FS
*1.04* Body Shots required to kill = 5. Headshots = 4. Leg Shots = 10.
*1.05* Body Shots required to kill = 4. Headshots = 4. Leg Shots = 4.
*EW* Body Shots required to kill = 4. Headshots = 3. Leg Shots = 6.
Desert-5
*1.04* Body Shots = 2. Headshots = 1. Leg shots = 4.
*1.05* Body Shots = 2. Headshots = 1. Leg shots = 2.
*EW* Body Shots = 2. Headshots = 1. Leg shots = 2.
Mini Uzi
*1.04* Body Shots = 8. Head shots = 7. Leg Shots = 15.
*1.05* Body Shots = 6. Head shots = 5. Leg Shots = 6.
*EW* Body Shots = 5. Head shots = 5. Leg Shots = 10.
Defender
*1.04* Body shots = 8. Headshots = 7. Leg shots – 17.
*1.05* Body shots = 7. Headshots = 6. Leg shots = 7.
*EW* Body shots = 5. Headshots = 5. Leg shots – 11.
Rifles
AK-47
*1.04* Body Shots = 7. Headshots = 6. Leg shots – 15.
*1.05* Body Shots = 6. Headshots = 5. Leg shots – 6.
*EW* Body Shots = 5. Headshots = 4. Leg shots – 10.
M4
*1.04* Body Shots = 8. Headshots = 7. Leg shots – 17.
*1.05* Body Shots = 7. Headshots = 6. Leg shots – 7.
*EW* Body Shots = 5. Headshots = 5. Leg shots – 10.
Sniper Rifle
*1.04* Body Shots = 2 . Head Shots = 1. Leg Shots = 3.
*1.05* Body Shots = 1. Head Shots = 1. Leg Shots = 1.
*EW* Body Shots = 1 . Head Shots = 1. Leg Shots = 2.
FAL
*1.04* Body Shots = 2 Bursts (6 bullets). Headshots = 2 bursts (6 bullets). Leg Shots = 5 Bursts (~13 bullets).
*1.05* Body Shots = 2 Bursts (5 bullets). Headshots = 2 bursts (4 bullets). Leg shots = 2 bursts (5 bullets).
*EW* Body Shots = 2 Bursts (4 bullets). Headshots = 2 bursts (4 bullets). Leg Shots = 3 Bursts (~8 bullets).
Shotguns
All the shotguns kill at point blank in 1 hit. So I tested to see how many shots it took at various roll lengths away from the target. I ran up to the target and rolled backwards 1, 2, and 3 times and tested each distance.
SAS 12
*1.04* 1 Roll away = 3 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 3 shots. 3 Rolls away = 7 shots.
*1.05* 1 Roll away = 2 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 2 Shots. 3 Rolls away = 6 shots.
*EW* 1 Roll away = 1 Shot. 2 Rolls away = 2 shots. 3 Rolls away = 5 shots.
Moss
*1.04* 1 Roll away = 3 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 3 shots. 3 Rolls away = 7 shots.
*1.05* 1 Roll away = 2 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 2 Shots. 3 Rolls away = 6 Shots.
*EW* 1 Roll away = 2 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 3 shots. 3 Rolls away = 5 shots.
Pistole:
*1.04* 1 Roll away = 2 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 2 shots. 3 Rolls away = 2 shots.
*1.05* 1 Roll away = 2 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 2 shots. 3 Rolls away = 2 shots.
*EW* 1 Roll away = 2 Shots. 2 Rolls away = 2 shots. 3 Rolls away = 2 shots.
Melee:
*1.04* Melee: 2 smacks or 1 stealth attack.
*1.05* Melee: 2 smacks or 1 stealth attack.
*EW* Melee: 2 smacks or 1 stealth attack.
Steel Fist:
*1.04* 1 Melee attack + 4 mini Uzi bullets. 1 Melee + 2 92FS pistol bullets. 1 Melee + 3 AK bullets. 1 Melee + 4 M4 bullets. 1 Melee + 1 FAL burst (all 3 bullets). 1 Melee + 1 Desert-5 bullet.
*1.05* 1 Melee attack + 2 mini Uzi bullets. 1 Melee + 1 92FS pistol bullets. 1 Melee + 2 AK bullets. 1 Melee + 4 M4 bullets. 1 Melee + 1 FAL burst.
*EW* 1 Melee attack plus ANY one bullet.
Shield
*1.04* 2 Bashes. 1 Bash + 3 mini Uzi bullets. 1 Bash + 2 92FS Pistol bullets. 1 Bash + 1 Desert-5 bullet.
*1.05* 2 Bashes. 1 Bash + 2 mini Uzi bullets. 1 Bash + 1 92FS Pistole bullet. 1 Bash + 1 Desert-5 bullet.
*EW* 2 bashes or 1 Bash plus any bullet.
GAU
You can’t shoot one bullet at a time with this gun. It fires in really quick bursts.
*1.04* 2 “bursts”
*1.05* 1 “burst”
*EW* 2 “bursts”
M32-Hammer
*1.04* 2 grenades. 1 “hit” + 2 mini Uzi bullets. 1 “hit” + 1 92FS pistol bullet. 1 “hit” + 1 Desert-5 bullet.
*1.05* 2 grenades. 1 “hit” plus any bullet.
*EW* 2 grenades . 1 “hit” plus any bullet.
Other Changes to 1.05
– The “Leg” hit box is now the same as the body. So aiming is easier.
– The 92FS pistol kills in 4 shots ANYWHERE on the target. Don’t bother aiming for the head.
– The Sniper kills in 1 shot ANYWHERE on the target. Don’t bother aiming…
– One bullet makes a big difference on the AK and M4. It just “feels” better and kills just at the perfect time I think.
– Steel Fist-ing is a bit easier now.
– 2 handed shotguns have better range now. Because each pellet does more damage, not as many have to hit for the kill. A few times in this test, the spread was JUST right so it killed in 1 shot on 1 roll away. Not often though.
The change that probably will effect you the most is the Sniper Rifle now being a 1 hit kill. The rest of the weapons only take at most 1-2 bullets less to kill, the main change is the removal of the ‘leg’ hitbox. Previously where AK spray would have hit your legs causing less damage, now cause full damage, so you will die faster than you think. I personally think this is a bit much and the ‘leg’ hitbox should be put back into place.
The rest of the changes as on the NaughtyDog website:
Title Update 1.05 includes the following:
- Weapon damage and attributes have been rebalanced
- On-screen display of medals awarded during a match has been updated
- Implemented detection and removal of flagrantly idle players from the active matchmaking player pool
- Cash penalty for leaving matches has been adjusted and is now tiered by player level as follows:
- Levels 1 – 20 = -10,000
- Levels 21 – 40 = -20,000
- Levels 41 – 60 = -40,000
- Updated player networking protocols to remove all occurrences of “error syncing player data,” Level resets and Ranked playlist Skill Level resets
- Added crawling ticker display of leaderboard statistics to the multiplayer menu screen
- Updated multiplayer menu screen to include a “Trophy” selection to enable players to display and track progress on the new Trophies included in the Drake’s Fortune Multiplayer Pack
- Collision and geometry updates to various multiplayer maps
- 13 new medals have been added
- Defender – Kill a player that is actively shooting one of your teammates
- Finish Him! – Get the last kill of the game
- First! – Get the first kill of the game
- Fly on the Wall – Kill a player who is climbing
- No Cigar – Kill the treasure carrier while they are about to score the treasure
- None Shall Pass – Get 5 Kills while in the hill during a King of the Hill game
- Protectorate – Shoot and kill 5 enemies that were damaging the treasure carrier
- Put’em Down – Kill someone in the knockdown state with a pistol weapon
- Retaliation – Kill the last player that killed you
- That Was Embarrassing – Earn a shutout in plunder
- Tip Off – Be the first player to grab the treasure in a plunder match
- Tricky – Kill a player with a pistol weapon while hanging
- Unlucky – Die 5 times in a row without getting a kill
Thank you very much for your time and research into this. I’m suprised i haven’t seen this anywhere else yet.
Were you implying the AK is better than the M4? “One less bullet.” I’d still prefer the M4, less spread while aiming which undoes any potential advantage of the AK shot damage.
I really enjoy the new stats, no longer does it take a round of an AK to kill someone at a distance.
Do you enjoy the new patch?
I didn’t run these tests, McW00ty on the US PSN forums did 😛
Despite taking one more bullet to kill, the M4 is still vastly superior to the AK due to the faster rate of fire and less recoil.
I enjoy the new patch apart from the 1-hit kill sniper and the removal of the leg hit box. These 2 things I believe ND should reconsider. Apart from that I’m enjoying it, since my primary weapon (the 92FS) got a nice buff.