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Cone of fire

To better simulate the effects of environment on a soldier's aim, PlanetSide uses the Cone of Fire system.

Imagine a cone with its point at the muzzle of your weapon and ending at the maximum range of the weapon. The cicle of the "bottom" of the cone is represented by your reticule. Any round you fire will go randomly inside that cone.

The following things affect your Cone of Fire:

  • Crouching (narrows)
  • Moving (expands)
  • Taking damage (expands)
  • Continuous fire (expands)
  • Jumping (expands)

Some weapons always have a very narrow Cone of Fire (for example, the Mosquito's 12mm gun) while others expand quite a bit. The Bolt Driver, for instance, when crouched and stationary has a very tight Cone of Fire, but immediately after firing or even moving just slightly it expands to a very large area.

Managing your Cone of Fire is one of the basic skills in PlanetSide.

  • Fire in bursts, not continuously
  • When possible, crouch