Aim Assist=magnetism? (Destiny)
Being a halo guy I have always liked the pulse rifles in destiny even though they are somewhat underpowered. My first really favorite was of course the stranger’s rifle very good and satisfying to use in PVP. Then the 3rd or fourth week of the game Red Death was on sale from xur for the 2nd time. I barely got enough strange coins to buy it, and loved also this one. I just felt in the zone also was this in PVP, even though the stability was worse then the strangers rifle. After the TDB arrived I imminently bought three little words, but this did not feel nearly as good as Red Death. I could not understand why. It owns Red Death in stability, range and even has a tiny bit more impact and still Red Death outperforms it big time (in my experience).
I then found all these secondary weapon stats over at planet destiny and did some interesting findings:
Pulse:
Red Death
Aim Assist: 50
The Strangers Rifle
Aim Assist: 40
Three little words
Aim Assist: 23(!!)
Scouts:
Vision of confluence
Aim Assist 69
Mida multitool
Aim Assist: 30
Preadyths timepiece
Aim Assist: 84
Snipers:
Patience and time
Aim Assist: 69
Preadyths revenge
Aim assist: 20(!!)
Broken Truth-LR1
Aim Assist: 56
LDR 5001:
Aim assist: 64
My question is: What does the aim assist? What it feels like is the magnetism (when your sight was red) from the halo games. With like three little words it feels like it is a lot harder to keep my sight on target. Do you have some experiences with some weapons that seem easier to keep on target?
Also where do planet destiny find these stats?
Aim Assist=magnetism?
by Cody Miller 
, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, February 09, 2015, 12:59 (3383 days ago) @ Acheron
Also where do planet destiny find these stats?
I don't know. I was under the impression that the sight had a lot to do with the amount of aim assist, in that it added or took away from the gun's basic stat.
Aim Assist=magnetism?
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, February 09, 2015, 13:09 (3383 days ago) @ Cody Miller
Also where do planet destiny find these stats?
I don't know. I was under the impression that the sight had a lot to do with the amount of aim assist, in that it added or took away from the gun's basic stat.
I would imagine the numbers Planet Destiny is showing are the base numbers for each gun, and any given sight will add (or possibly subtract?) a different amount from those.
On the other hand, it's also possible Planet Destiny screwed up and pulled the numbers from guns with sights equipped. Hard to say without a source.
Aim Assist=magnetism?
I really like that MIDA and P's Revenge have a low glue factor, because in my experience (play style?) that 'sticky' factor is annoying as it is helpful.
Aim Assist=magnetism?
Yeah, Praedith's Revenge is, in my esteem, the best PvP sniper rifle, hands down. More because of 6 round clip, fast reloads, great stability, and the Ambush 25 scope than sticky aiming (or a lack thereof), but still. It's incredible, that gun.
Oh...
...despite frantically grinding IB each time it shows up, I'm absolutely terrible at PvP, and avoid the standard Crucible. I have fun, but I'm 'duck pacing back and forth for your targeting enjoyment' bad.
But in PvE I often take a sniper role, and deliberately ignore close opponents and leave them for my team. It's annoying having my intention thwarted when the weapon keeps 'sticking' to unintended targets, particularly when rounds are limited.
Oh...
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, February 09, 2015, 15:28 (3383 days ago) @ Penthesilean
Are we sure that's what this magnetism stat really is? Reticule magnetism isn't necessarily the same thing as bullet magnetism.
The first would be the tendency of the targeting reticule to follow or latch on to enemies.
The second would be the tendency of bullets to go toward an enemy (or to go toward a critical zone) even if the reticule position is slightly off.
I've always understood the "target acquisition" property mentioned on some gun sights to be based on the SECOND property, bullet magnetism, and initially I contributed to this thread under that assumption. However, several people have made posts which suggest they're talking about reticule magnetism. I may be right or I may be wrong, but I think we need to definitively establish which one this thread is actually about.
I feel as though the Accuracy stat would actually apply the bullet magnetism you speak of. I could be wrong, hence why I said feel, but from experience, I know I'm not the most accurate shooter (stupid thumbs!), but more accurate guns seem to give me slightly bigger hit boxes. In PvE for example. There are times where I know my reticule is just off the head of an enemy and yet when I pull the trigger, sure enough I get a head shot.
In my comment below, I am definitely talking about reticule magnetism, which I love when it helps me, but hate it even more when it hurts me. I'd turn it off if I could.
Bullet, I think
I did some testing a while ago and (in Handcannons at least) the "improved/excellent target acquisition" made no difference to reticle magnetism that I could tell. The reticle was no more "sticky" woth one of those equipped than without.
I never posted it though because it's completely qualitative/anecdotal, and I didn't notice any great increase in bullet magnetism either (when intentionally aiming slightly off-target). I do find those sights easier to headshot with though, so something must be happening.
Bullet, I think
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Tuesday, February 10, 2015, 07:38 (3382 days ago) @ someotherguy
It might be that the sights only make a difference in magnetism with respect to critical hit zones, rather than to the enemies' whole bodies?
Reticle.
It will visibly 'dip' or veer to an unintended target, 'stick' to it, and force me to drag it away or unscope and re-aim.
It always happens when I aim for the head (because, sniper), and the head of a closer opponent is 'close' by line of my site, but not actual distance to each other.
I try to aim at distant head that visually is 'just over the shoulder' of close opponent - reticle keeps sticking to closer opponent's head.
Reticle.
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, February 09, 2015, 21:16 (3382 days ago) @ Penthesilean
*sigh*
I know YOU are talking about reticule magnetism. I'm trying to clarify whether OP was also talking about that. And, in fact, whether that's actually what the "magnetism" stat refers to at all.
Reticle.
I feel like it's reticle magnetism as well. It's just anecdata, but there are definitely some guns I avoid because they feel too sticky When aiming.
I wonder if the value is more like how long it takes before the reticle becomes sticky?
Sorry.
I shouldn't piece-meal a thread over a phone and reply absent-mindedly reply.
I wish we could turn magnetism off...
by ZackDark , Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Monday, February 09, 2015, 13:05 (3383 days ago) @ Acheron
Countless times it has robbed me a kill on Burning Shrine...
I wish we could turn magnetism off...
by BeardFade 
, Portland, OR, Monday, February 09, 2015, 15:04 (3383 days ago) @ ZackDark
Agreed. I know you shouldn't get in a 2-on-1, but nothing worse than being one bullet shy of killing one of them when they strafe across each other and your reticule follows the other guy. Then you have 2 people near death and you are certainly dead. Gah. Pisses me off just thinking about it.
I wish we could turn magnetism off...
Oh man, this happens to me all the damn time.
Aim Assist=magnetism?
From reading the replies it sounds like nobody really knows.
Logically, more magnetism is always helpful (if there was 100% magnetism, you would not even have to aim, therefore this is beneficial at lesser values). Whether or not the reticle follows targets is a separate issue.
Weapons with higher aim assist are the better guns, all else equal. In fact, this may be one of the more important stats.
Aim Assist=magnetism?
From reading the replies it sounds like nobody really knows.
Logically, more magnetism is always helpful (if there was 100% magnetism, you would not even have to aim, therefore this is beneficial at lesser values). Whether or not the reticle follows targets is a separate issue.
Weapons with higher aim assist are the better guns, all else equal. In fact, this may be one of the more important stats.
But that's not the case. Again, Praedith's Revenge is one of the finest, if not the finest, crucible sniper rifle, and it has a very low magnetism number.
Aim Assist=magnetism?
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 09:23 (3381 days ago) @ Kahzgul
But that's not the case. Again, Praedith's Revenge is one of the finest, if not the finest, crucible sniper rifle, and it has a very low magnetism number.
Dwarf_loa said "all else equal." That phrase means that if two guns were otherwise identical, but one had higher magnetism, that one would perform better.
It does NOT mean that guns with higher magnetism are automatically better than those with lower magnetism, regardless of other factors. It means precisely the opposite.