Down the Irons is one of the best boosters in Uncharted 2, because of the value it adds to the default weapon you start with. But by how much? We’re going to find out in this post, and how the booster compares with it’s blindifre counterpart.
Please note that these tests were conducted BEFORE Down the Irons was slightly nerfed in Title Update 1.03
To find out, I went into machinima mode in multiplayer and picked “The Stage” which is basically like a training room of sorts. I went to the wall where the weapons are and without Down the Irons, I stood where the shade ends and fired at the wall. This is what happened:
From left to right M4, AK47 and FAL. Without Down the Irons.
As you can see, recoil with AK47 is quite bad. M4 doesn’t suffer as much and that’s why it’s the better weapon, and FAL of course, always hits the spot.
Next I put on Down the Irons and did the same test:
From left to right M4, AK47 and FAL. With Down the Irons.
As you can see, Down the Irons offers the most improvement for AK47, while doing absolutely nothing for FAL.
Next I tested blindfire standing still without any boosters. The accuracy is not bad, and surprisingly does not suffer from any recoil unlike aiming.
From left to right M4, AK47 and FAL. Blindfire without From the Hip
I also did a Run and Gun test from further out, and ran towards the wall while holding the trigger down. The accuracy is quite bad at first with shots totally missing, but it gets better as you get closer of course.
From left to right M4, AK47 and FAL. Run and Gun without From the Hip
I then equipped From the Hip, and did the run and gun test again.
From left to right M4, AK47 and FAL. Run and Gun with From the Hip
Quite a huge improvement while running and gunning.
Next was the standstill blindfire test.
From left to right M4, AK47 and FAL. Blindfire with From the Hip
Holy shit. What a difference. I couldn’t believe it at first, so I more than doubled the distance and tried again.
From left to right M4 Blindfire, M4 Aiming, AK47 Blindfire, AK47 Aiming. With From the Hip
Wow. So if you have From the Hip equipped, blindfire is actually more accurate than aiming. Just for your information, this is how far out I stood for that last test.
See that magazine on the ground? That’s how I was standing for the previous test. (With Down the Irons I was standing where the shade ends).
For the final test I stood even further away. To be precise, on top of these three blocks.
And here are the results of my tests:
M4 Stand Blindfire, M4 Aim, AK47 Blindfire, AK47 Aim - Long range with Down the Irons
M4 Stand Blindfire, M4 Aim, AK47 Blindfire, AK47 Aim - Long range with From the Hip
M4 aim vs AK47 aim - Long range without Down the Irons, fighting recoil
M4 aim vs AK47 aim - Long range with Down the Irons, fighting recoil
M4 blindfire, M4 aim, AK47 blindfire, AK47 aim - Long range with From the Hip
Very interesting to note that without Down the Irons (and with From the Hip) blindfire is more accurate than aiming! There’s little benefit when using the M4.
So here’s the upsides and downsides of each booster:
From the Hip
Pros
- Excellent accuracy when standing still
- No recoil when blindfiring combined with the accuracy is deadly
- Added bonus of extra accuracy when running and gunning
Cons
- Need to stand still / be in cover to get the best accuracy from blindfire. But it works from any kind of cover!
- Aim at long range sucks!
Down the Irons
Pro
- Massive accuracy improvement while aiming for AK47 (default weapon)
Cons
- Doesn’t affect FAL at all, and if you can consistently get the M4, you can use another booster
- Well none really, why do you think everyone uses it?
Well there you have it. From the Hip has some surprising potential if you are able to utilize cover, since you get a massive accuracy bonus. For long range you can also just stand still and blindfire of aiming.
Great Article, feel free to compare other boosters and their potentials.
i just did my purple parts on my hi nu yesterday. wha lao, black base cannot la 🙁 the whole thing became damn dark. Now i wondering if i should have more obvious shade on the white parts or not lol.
purple can’t really stand out on a black base. i’m wondering next time if i could do a black base, white to shade, than purple AND purple+white highlights.. but that would seem like ALOT of coats lol!
@kly
Yeah best results, but alot of work! I personally would just go dark purple base coat, then purple + white highlights.
I am surprised that so few people have read or commented on this tremendous article. The methodical approach you took in your testing is incredibly enlightening in regard to each weapon’s capabilities and limitations.
Have only been playing UC2 Deathmatch for a couple weeks and have been getting my a** chewed up on a consistent basis (ignoring pistols, trying to survive in the center of maps, etc). Will try to implement this information and see if my game improves.
Thanks again.