Headshots vs Bodyshots

[AcidParadox]

This an internal debate i have been thinking for a long time. I am not here to say what's better, I want to generate discussion between new players and veterans.



Okay, I know what you are thinking.

"God dammit acid, are you stupid or what, it's obvious that headshots are better than body shots."

Sure, they are better if you can land them all but take your aim as a decisive factor if you can get them all or not.

3 headshots vs 8 bodyshots

With perfect accuracy you can have 10 kills with headshots in 1 clip and approximately 4 with bodyshots.

Average player accuracy is between 42%-47%, with 42% that means from 1 clip of 30 bullets you can land 13 bullets per opponent, giving you an average of 2 kills per clip.

Let's say that on your last match you had a score of 89/29, that's K/D ratio of 2.793. The probability of landing bodyshots is higher than landing headshots, but headshots have a higher probability of getting the kills faster; giving you a chance to get more kills, but give you a higher risk to miss due to your accuracy.

I have seen really good players using different styles, some of them go for headshots, others go for bodyshots and there are ones that do a combination of both.


So what are your thoughts?
 

[10Tacle]

It even differs from map to map for me..

 

if you hit first, enemy gets 'knockback' which causes him to miss more, I tend to aim for head but account for spread, it's like aiming for point between the upper chest & lower throat.

 

Yes, on close distance first HS removes 40 HP (with helmet), else 50.

 

Long distance the bodyshots seem to be more reliable and also lose some of the weakness vs headshots. 

 

And in the end there's still ET with terrible hit recognition, so I don't usually think about where to aim all the time it flows naturally 

[jaie]

Headshots unless they are hitting you, then body shots, if ammo allows.

[SunLight]

which mod is that? weird hitboxes...

 

In my case, I had (not a typo, according to tb I last played 37 days ago and it's still going up ) already a hard time aiming at the general direction of the enemy so I'm not the one who can give suggestions.

 

But from a purely rational point of view, you shouldn't aim so high that your bullets (due to spread) could go over the headbox, so especially if the enemy is far (and the bullet spread is high), then you have to aim lower. The bullet spread has the shape of a square, you need to know how big it is and make sure no part of this square is higher than the headbox imho. (In close range the enemy is so big that this doesn't matter much).

And then there are players who tap 'c' during fights so you don't really know where their headbox is.

 

I would say, try to get a headshot as quickly as possible, then keep hitting and hope you get the second (and maybe the third).

 

1 hs is enough. After all, if good players give a hs every (more or less) 5 hits (at least on etpro), that means in the average case they give only 1 hs per fight (that is, playing against other good players - and dying 50% of the time - they will have 1 kill every 2 fights, and 2 hs per kill).

[Puni]

Well about me, I go for hs most of the time, finish map with X3 hs then kills & over x8 body shot per kill which means I aim for hs but eventully combine both

 

But as soon as you get the first 2 headshots in the fight you have more chances to win, 2 hs will decrease about 70 hp I think or more, so even few body shots (if you missed you'r intend hs) will do the work.
 

I consider a fight that I gave less then 3 hs to bad fight for me, even if I won.

 

Saying as Jaymod player

[Arkinder]

I've attached stats from Silent, Jaymod, and NoQuarter. If anyone feels like crunching the numbers, or providing more stats, I believe that the answer is both.
 
I'm not the most tactical player so I die a lot, okay?

 

Edit:

    map             hits/shots   k/d    h     d     a%   h%

mlb_daybreak        1136/2398  108/43  311  20670  47.4 27.4
uje_00               955/2192   99/34  206  18325  43.6 21.6
italyfp2            1075/2137  132/50  253  22734  50.3 23.5
fueldump_uvf         918/1846   62/67  230  14570  49.7 25.0
uje_00              1050/2087  104/31  218  18850  50.3 20.8
goldrush-gals        985/1957  110/62  221  21165  50.3 22.4
mml_minastirith_fp3  943/1982   85/40  234  16654  47.6 24.8
venice_ne4          1134/2306  127/52  266  21687  49.2 23.5

total               8196/16905 827/379 1939 154655 48.5 23.7
average             1024/2113  103/47  242  19331  48.5 23.7


key:
map - map name
hits/shots - bullets hit/bullets fired
k/d - kills/deaths
h - head shots 
d - damage 
a% - accuracy
h% - head shot percentage

Regards,

xenozbad

stats.zip

Edited March 20, 2015 by xenozbad

[.KeLFOuTO!r.]

Searching for hs is ofc more difficult, but searching for difficulty enables to raise our skills.

So it would improve a player's accuracy, rather than searching for easy shots on the body.

My approach anyway...

Better look for difficulty to improve.

[Speedy*]

The headshot "ding-ding-ding" sounds so satisfying, i always go for headshots. Even more satisfying is getting heashots from snipers far far away in large maps (like MLB daybreak).. but because of the large distance headshot damage is reduced i believe

[Arkinder]

which mod is that? weird hitboxes...

 

Jaymod. The hitbox is meant to be animation-accurate, "real." 

 

Regards,

xenozbad

[Aniky]

Honestly, nowadays mostly depends on players connection, it doesn't even matter that much what u go for, when player is unhittable due to ET having such a bad registry mode or them having such a bad connection u will struggle hitting anything at all in my opinion. Also depends what your own ping is, as 140-150 ping gives u that delay, that's noticeable enough when going for some duels, as u simply dont hit the same as u would with 50 ping.

Otherwise, putting all of that a side, if u are in better position of surprising enemy, and in short range, always aim for the head, knockback and damage is the advantage u gain instantly, leaving it for enemy harder to outaim u in that certain duel and gives u more chances to finishing it off. In other situations i simply adapt to whatever ping and map allows me, if i see i can actually hit headshots, i normally just go for it, specially at beginning of duels.

Other than that, mixing bodyshots sometimes at close range also has advantages, as u can kill him quicker than aiming for the head, but again, it depends on the ping and registry of the hitbox as thats main thing that u will notice when aiming at certain opponents.

[Internet Explorer]

Lol soo much math

 

I love getting headshots when players are lined up... I always go for the head

[Jobba]

Always going for the head, even from long range. You always benefit with learning to steady your aim better if your with the head. I usually use body shots as a rebound, like If I can't hit the head on point then i'll build up a rhythm and get the head. 

When im lazy and impatient ill just start shooting the body though.

[DuckCookieMonster]

The headshot "ding-ding-ding" sounds so satisfying, i always go for headshots. Even more satisfying is getting heashots from snipers far far away in large maps (like MLB daybreak).. but because of the large distance headshot damage is reduced i believe

 

 

 I have to 2nd that. That ding is almost like when a monkey gets a treat when pressing a button. He learns to keep pressing the button. I give up accuracy going for headshots even tho I never look to see my headshot count. Call me a monkey, but that "ding" and a positive k/d ratio is all I care about.

Edited March 26, 2015 by DuckCookieMonster*420

[Piotr2]

There are so many schools which going to matter. Aniky said

 

Honestly, nowadays mostly depends on players connection, it doesn't even matter that much what u go for, when player is unhittable due to ET having such a bad registry mode or them having such a bad connection u will struggle hitting anything at all in my opinion. Also depends what your own ping is, as 140-150 ping gives u that delay, that's noticeable enough when going for some duels, as u simply dont hit the same as u would with 50 ping.

Otherwise, putting all of that a side, if u are in better position of surprising enemy, and in short range, always aim for the head, knockback and damage is the advantage u gain instantly, leaving it for enemy harder to outaim u in that certain duel and gives u more chances to finishing it off. In other situations i simply adapt to whatever ping and map allows me, if i see i can actually hit headshots, i normally just go for it, specially at beginning of duels.

Other than that, mixing bodyshots sometimes at close range also has advantages, as u can kill him quicker than aiming for the head, but again, it depends on the ping and registry of the hitbox as thats main thing that u will notice when aiming at certain opponents.

this point is catchy. I had several times issues like this due to lag connection failure. I am pretty sure I was aiming had and shoot at time and no single bullet reach head, But anyway it is common true about hitboxes in jaymaod are wierd. I got some points at jay but I started lately some games on etpro and this confussing me much cuz it so hard to kill enemy, but i know base of this is not connection issues just my lack of abilities.

[Philip Sangalang]

Sorry for the resurrection of the topic but from my experience:
1) If you want to be any good, you should always be going for headshots. Even if you miss, you are still training to snap and track towards the primary target zone, and thus improving your aiming skill. If you ever need to switch to a 1-2 shot kill game like COD or BF, you will easily be able to adjust your now fine-tuned aim to go for center mass instead. But it's much harder to go the other way - training to just hit center mass, and then hoping you can get headshots later when it is critical.

2) The only exceptions are in general game situational purposes:
i) The opponent is almost dead, and therefore bodyshots will ensure kill and reduce chances of missing completely with a headshot.
ii) Your shot is bad (or bad at that time), and therefore you aim for more upper body/neck (not center mass).
iii) You are sniping (either as covert, or just long range fire). Even when sniping, aiming for headshots are preferred, but there will be times on long range maps like beach, where you would prefer to just dole out damage to slow them down or keep them back.

Conclusions:

Since aim drifts high and low over playing time, it is generally my feeling that as you feel more confident, you raise your crosshair higher up the body (even aiming to their hair or just above their head). This ensures more and more headshots, and better quality training on your aim. As you start missing shots, you lower and lower until you hit the neck, then stop. This allows you to not completely miss your shots, while regaining confidence and good aiming practice. If you gain confidence before reaching the neck, you can just start going back up again without ever reaching for the neck level.

 

That being said, even against AET or Euro players, I still prefer to aim above the neck, or even high. I feel that you can jump start your aim much better by simply aiming head all the way. Perhaps if I'm in an important match/scrim, I might play it a bit safer and aim lower for a few critical minutes where I know I can still get the kill with "body" ie. neck shots, but generally you will lose worse if you rely on that kind of aim against top players. Maintaining an air of confidence is really important.