# Why is gun dispersion so high?

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-is-gun-dispersion-so-high/22996>\
**Category:** The Garage\
**Created:** [March 13, 2020, 4:46am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-is-gun-dispersion-so-high/22996 "2020-03-13T04:46:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DeWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 4:46am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-is-gun-dispersion-so-high/22996/1 "2020-03-13T04:46:38Z")

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I know that dispersion is high for balance and it is the original system for gun accuracy in the game but a little bit of testing has shown that sight dispersion affects the ability to hit a target. If a gun is more accurate than the sights, so long as this is the case you won’t use the guns full potential. So especially with the dispersion decreasing gunmods being nerfed why not have the guns themselves be very accurate but the base sights be crap.

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**Author:** ![The\_Lone\_Badger](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/the_lone_badger/32/8063_2.png) [@The\_Lone\_Badger](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/The_Lone_Badger)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-is-gun-dispersion-so-high/22996/2 "2020-03-13T10:56:51Z")

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You think gun dispersion is high, you should see bows.

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**Author:** ![mlangsdorf](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/mlangsdorf/32/2462_2.png) [@mlangsdorf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/mlangsdorf)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-is-gun-dispersion-so-high/22996/3 "2020-03-13T15:14:23Z")

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Poking through the code, dispersion in JSON is supposedly measured in units of quarter degrees (or 15 minutes of arc), but the JSON values are divided by 15 at the very end for units of minutes of arc. However, the actual calculation takes the JSON value / 15 and converts it to minutes of arc, so the definition in JSON\_INFO.md is wrong and dispersion is actually record in units of quarter-seconds of arc.

Honestly, that entire paragraph is nuts. Dispersion should be measured in minutes of arc and should be a floating point value, not fixed.

Regardless of that, the overall intent of CDDA’s aiming model is correct. Adding a rifle scope to a flintlock musket will not improve your accuracy very much, because the musket’s dispersion is so much that even if you are absolutely correctly sighted on the target you still can’t predict where the musket ball will go. On the other hand, using iron sights with a hyper-accurate rifle is also going to be inaccurate, since the the bullet will go exactly where you want it to go but you can’t precisely sight where you want the bullet to go.

For maximum accuracy, you need a low dispersion weapon and a low dispersion sight like a rifle scope. If that’s not working, there’s a problem.

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**Author:** ![kevin.granade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kevin.granade/32/1316_2.png) [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/why-is-gun-dispersion-so-high/22996/4 "2020-03-23T01:51:43Z")

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A post was split to a new topic: [Does direction of fire matter for accuracy?](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/does-direction-of-fire-matter-for-accuracy/23039)