Hey what is going on guys, in this video today
we're gonna be doing an updated version of
the linear vs. exponential debate for console
players specifically. I made a video like
this towards the beginning of season 2 so
roughly 4 months ago, but since then a lot
of things have changed in the game, and those
changes heavily affect the linear vs. exponential
debate as a whole. I still get plenty of comments
that say things like "Yo, I'm on linear but
my aim still feels really bad even though
I've used it for a while, should I try switching
to exponential?" So clearly linear vs. exponential
is something that a lot of people struggle
to decide between, and if you're one of those
people hopefully this video will help you.
So, without further ado, let's get right into
it.
Alright, so let's start by talking about the
most important aspect of the linear vs. exponential
debate, how it affects aiming. First, let's
talk about AR aim. Most people agree that
when it comes to using ARs on controller,
exponential is clearly superior over linear
here. The reason is, exponential has a very
smooth type of aim acceleration built into
it. This means that the speed your crosshair
moves sort of ramps-up over time, and you
can control how much aim acceleration you
get by changing the "look dampening time"
setting, and that can be found in the advanced
sensitivity section. However, if you put look
dampening time at 0 for exponential, you'll
still have some aim acceleration. That's different
than with linear because if you use a 0 look
dampening time on that, you'll have no aim
acceleration whatsoever. Now aim acceleration
is a bad thing in some situations, but when
it comes to AR aim, it's actually a major
positive. On linear, it's very hard to move
your weapon's crosshair very small amounts,
because without aim acceleration, no matter
how little you move your thumbstick in any
given direction, it's going to move at the
max speed of whatever your sensitivity is.
With exponential though, when you begin moving
your thumbstick you start off at a lower sens
and it ramps up over time. So that makes small
adjustments while tracking medium to long-range
enemies with your AR a lot easier. Back when
aim assist was really strong you'd barely
eve need to worry about that since you'd get
a nice slowdown when your crosshair got on
the enemy's body, but nowadays AR aim assist
is almost non-existent pretty much, so you're
totally on your own. I've been using linear
since about February I believe, and even after
4+ months, aiming with ARs still feels pretty
bad from time to time. I'll just throw up
1 or two clips in the background here, and
if this was the first time you saw me playing
Fortnite, you'd probably think that I have
the worst aim in the world. Now, this is so
important because I believe that being able
to hit AR shots is considerably more important
now than it was last season, and here's why.
With the 1.5 headshot multiplier nerf to shotguns,
they're unanimously the weakest they've ever
been. The tacs basically feel like pea shooters
now, and even though the charge can be decent
if you really know how to use it, it's a weapon
that's definitely better on mouse and keyboard
than controller. So because of that, it can
be a struggle to get opponents to a low enough
health where you can either whip out your
SMG and clean up the kill, or at least force
the enemy to box up and play defensive because
they need to heal. So as weird as it may sound,
lasering players at medium range with an AR
can kinda be a substitute for that. I feel
like I'm getting a lot of kills this season
by hitting 2-3 AR shots in a row on a guy,
then he boxes up, I go to his wall and phase-in,
and finally, I spray him to death with my
SMG. That right there is the main reason why
I'm legitimately considered switching from
linear to exponential. And if you're someone
who typically plays passive and you're most
comfortable in medium-range AR battles, you're
the type of player that would probably benefit
most from expo.
The next weapon category I wanna discuss real
quick is the shotguns even though I just mentioned
how bad they are. When it comes to aiming
with shotguns I think that linear does have
a slight advantage, but it's smaller now than
it was in season 2. Hands down the biggest
benefit of linear when it comes to shotguns
is being able to flick shot semi-reliably.
Definitely nowhere near as good as someone
playing with a mouse, but since there's no
aim acceleration, your flicks feel a lot more
smooth and under control than they do with
exponential. Now the problem is, the shotgun
that flick shotting is most powerful and important
with is the pump, and that's obviously no
longer in the game. It got replaced by the
charge shotgun, and due to the fact that it
shoots when you release the trigger instead
of when you initially press it, it really
isn't possible to flick shot with that weapon
at all. Yeah you will flick shot with the
tac from time to time and because of that
I still think linear is a tad bit better than
exponential for shotgun aim, but again, the
gap between the 2 is considerably smaller
than it was last season.
With SMGs which so far in season 3 are the
most dominant weapons hands down, I think
linear is definitely better than exponential,
but the gap again isn't as big as some people
think. Linear and exponential both give the
exact same aim assist at point-blank range,
so if you can get close enough to an enemy
to barrel stuff them with an SMG, you're pretty
much just as likely to kill them on exponential
as you would be on linear. However, I do think
that with the no aim acceleration of linear
it is a bit easier to track enemies at close
range. I don't think it's like the most noticeable
difference in the entire world, but when an
enemy tries jumping or strafing at point-blank
range, you're going to need to make more flicky
movements to follow them. And like we talked
about in the shotgun section, those types
of crosshair movement are a little easier
and smoother to do without the aim acceleration
that expo has.
So that's the general overview of linear vs.
exponential for aim now let's talk about building
and editing. I think this is another area
where linear wins especially when it comes
to building. Hopefully, a main theme of this
debate that you understand at this point is
the fact that exponential is better for small
crosshair adjustments, and then linear is
better for bigger and flickier crosshair movement.
Well, when it comes to building, that's pretty
much all large crosshair movement. Even when
you're doing something as simple as a 90 or
a ramp rush, you're flicking your crosshair
all over the screen because you need to place
multiple pieces in different spots. There
really aren't any situations while building
where you would want the slower sensitivity
at the start that aim acceleration and exponential
give you.
With editing, it's definitely a lot closer
though because unlike building, there are
some edits that revolve mainly around small
crosshair movements, and then others that
are a lot more flicky. When I initially switched
to linear I absolutely hated the way it made
editing feel at first, and honestly, I still
don't think I'm 100% comfortable with it even
now. I think if you're already a really good
editor you'll probably like the extra control
and speed that linear gives you, but if you're
someone whose willing to sacrifice a little
bit of speed for precision, exponential is
probably gonna be a bit better for you.
The next important point I wanna talk about
is what the pros are using, and why that probably
isn't as important as you may think. I would
guess that when you looked at all the tier
1 controller pros, probably 75-80% of them
use linear, and about 20-25% of them use exponential.
So you may be thinking when you hear that:
"Well there ya go, the vast majority of pros
think linear is better, so that ends the debate
pretty much." However, you need to consider
the fact that all of those tier 1 pros play
controller on PC. And if you've watched any
of my sensitivity discussion videos before,
you know that I always try to make people
understand that controller on PC and controller
on console feel totally different. The most
noticeable difference in my opinion is that
the higher your FPS is, the easier it is to
control higher sensitivities because everything
is so much more smooth. So when you consider
the fact that the main appeal of linear is
higher speed right as you move your thumbstick,
you can see how that's much more advantageous
on PC than it is on console. Also, it's important
to understand that the majority of pros are
considerably better than about 99.9% of the
Fortnite population. I think in general since
linear gives you more control over your crosshair
movement, that extra freedom helps players
who have really good aim, but it can also
hurt players who don't. The reason why aim
acceleration is defaultly on in pretty much
every controller shooter game is because it's
designed to help players with only average-level
aim. Another factor that you should consider
if you're debating between linear and exponential
is your personal playstyle. This is a pretty
big oversimplification but at least in my
opinion exponential has a considerable advantage
with AR aim, and then linear has small advantages
in shotgun aim, SMG aim, building, and then
I think editing is pretty much a tie. So if
you're someone that plays super aggressive
and tries to turn everything into a point-blank
range fight, I'd probably recommend linear
for you. But as I alluded to earlier, if you're
the opposite and you love to use ARs or snipers
at medium to long range and you only get into
close range fights when you need to, then
I think exponential would suit you a lot better.
So, I hope you guys enjoyed this video, and
if you watched the entire thing be sure to
let me know with a comment down in the comment
section below. Let me know whether you use
linear or exponential. Be sure to leave a
like, leave a comment, subscribe, turn on
post notifications, do whatever the heck you
want, and I, will catch you guys next time!
