Call of Duty: Vanguard players have discovered guns don’t hit exactly where you aim.
This feature, called bloom, adds a bullet spread effect to weapons such as assault rifles and submachine guns when fired in aim down sights (ADS) mode.
This bloom effect is not mentioned in the game – and it hasn’t been seen in a Call of Duty since Sledgehammer’s 2017 entry, WW2. Even then, bloom has never been in effect to this extent in a Call of Duty game before, such that it significantly impacts primary weapon bullet spread.
In most Call of Duty games (certainly the last three), your bullets hit exactly where your reticle aims in ADS.
With bloom in effect in Vanguard, this is not always the case. There is some bullet spread, even when in ADS. The effect is different for each weapon, but Vanguard players may be surprised to learn it impacts the super popular MP-40 and STG44. Bloom appears to impact SMGs more than any other weapon class.
This was first discovered by TrueGameData (check out the video showing the values ​​below):
TheXclusiveAce picks up the story with their own testing, in the video below:
Confirmation of Vanguard bloom has sparked a vociferous debate within the Call of Duty community. Some are happy it’s in the game, as it makes weapons less accurate at ranges they’re not meant to be effective at. For example, bloom discourages the use of assault rifles and SMGs – the two most popular class of guns in Vanguard right now – at long range. That’s how it should be for these guns, after all.
On the other hand, some Call of Duty fans believe bloom has no place in a competitive shooter, and insist bullets should go exactly where you expect them to when aiming down sights.
TheXclusiveAce points out when you ADS in Call of Duty you have no indication of this bloom effect, which means you can aim perfectly and still miss your shots without understanding why, causing frustration.
The average Call of Duty player may feel like they’ve missed their shots unfairly, and because they’re probably not plugged into the community or watch videos from Call of Duty enthusiasts, they won’t have any idea why it’s happening.
TheXclusiveAce also suggests bloom reduces the skill gap in Call of Duty, benefiting players with less accurate aim because those who are perfectly accurate may miss some shots they shouldn’t.
However, there appears to be a way to mitigate this bloom effect (according to research conducted by TrueGameData). Each weapon has an accuracy value, which, the in-game stats tell us, is made up of a variety of values ​​for things like recoil control and centering speed (there’s no mention of ADS spread here).
However, tests have found that if you increase a weapon’s accuracy, you tighten the bloom. Conversely, if you lower a weapon’s accuracy, you increase the bloom effect.
So, if you want to tighten up that bloom, go for attachments that add accuracy, such as muzzle stabilizers. If you stack a weapon with accuracy attachments, you can pretty much rid a weapon of bloom.
