Focus Fire is a horrible perk (Destiny)

by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Thursday, August 20, 2015, 19:26 (3480 days ago) @ someotherguy

True. TTK matters too, which Handcannons excel in. But Focus Fire gives you a slower TTK as well as reduced DpS iirc. I'l have to double check, but from memory the damage increase is so low that on a Shingen archetype the TTK increases from 1.2s to 1.33s.

I suppose that could be true, if the fire rate is decreased by a greater factor than what the damage is increased by. It's probably difficult to just compare percentages since they're moving in opposite directions. One would have to, as you said, actually calculate the DPS AND TTK (BTW, Bungle, great job naming your new expansion so that it has an acronym that's already in widespread use in the Destiny community - LOL) for each scenario to really get a feel for it.

It's easier to manage recoil on handcannons

You might have actually hit upon the main reason I've always felt more effective with Focused Fire than without it. With it, I'm typically nailing more headshots. It might be that not having focused fire does more theoretical damage, but depending on how unstable that particular weapon is, you might also be missing criticals too much for it to matter. That one will obviously vary depending on the weapon and its other perks. Hitting a string of headshots with a Shadow Price is a different matter than doing it with an Unwilling Soul.