What Does Rapid Fire Do on SMGs?

This post is going to be exactly what it says on the tin. Above is an example of the kind of video I used to get the numbers I'm about to disgorge; I looked for the frame in which the first bullet disappears from the magazine indicator in the HUD, then the frame where the last one disappeared, and used that to count how many frames elapsed while emptying the magazine. There are a few guns that varied despite me just holding down both triggers during the test; this is either due to glitches in my capture setup, glitches in my xBox, or variations due to the reloading animations. It's hard to tell, but there were no discrepancies larger than 7 frames on the unmodified MP7, or an average of 0.175 frames per bullet.

The frames per bullet values are pretty self explanatory, and divide the SMGs into two tiers; the PM-9 and PP90M1 shoot noticeably faster at about the same rate, and the rest of the SMGs shoot at approximately the same rate. The boosts from Rapid Fire are similarly tiered; the PM-9 and PP90M1 get a large bonus to their fire rate and, hence, DPS, while the other SMGs all get approximately the same boost, with one notable exception.

The MP7 gets very little benefit from Rapid Fire, and may not be worth using. I'm sympathetic to the idea that a 10% boost in damage can make a difference, but I haven't been able to crunch the numbers in a way that makes a strong case one way or the other. It is definitely less useful than on the other SMGs, though.

In conclusion, here are the SMGs compared a few ways:

 Ordered by benefit they get from Rapid Fire, most to least.

•   PM9        31-34% reduction in frames or 23.8-25.6% increase in speed
•   PP90M1 32% reduction in frames or 24.3% increase in speed
•   P90         22-25% reduction in frames or 19.3-20.1% increase in speed
•   UMP45  20-23% reduction in frames or 16.6-18.8% increase in speed
•   MP5       20% reduction in frames or 16.6% increase in speed
•   MP7       10-15% reduction in frames or 9.5-13.1% increase in speed

Ordered by rate of fire without rapid fire, fastest to slowest.

•   PM9,        3.81-3.9 frames per bullet
•   PP90M1, 3.8888888 frames per bullet
•   MP7,        4.225-4.4 frames per bullet
•   P90,          4.8-4.88 frames per bullet
•   MP5,        4.833333 frames per bullet
•   UMP45,   4.84 frames per bullet

Ordered by rate of fire with rapid fire, fastest to slowest.

•   PM9 Rapid Fire,         2.9 frames per bullet
•   PP90M1 Rapid Fire,   2.91666-3.3125 frames per bullet
•   MP5 Rapid Fire,          3.83333-3.866666 frames per bullet
•   MP7 Rapid Fire,          3.825 frames per bullet
•   P90 Rapid Fire,            3.9-3.92 frames per bullet
•   UMP45 Rapid Fire,      3.9375-4.03125 frames per bullet

The raw numbers are after the jump.


MP5, 4.833333 frames per bullet
  176-321 145
  427-572
  679-824

MP5 Rapid Fire, 3.83333-3.866666 frames per bullet
  253-368 115
  565-681 116
  879-995 116

UMP45, 4.84 frames per bullet
  1009-1164 155
  1273-1428
  1536-1691

UMP45 Rapid Fire, 3.9375 or 4.03125 frames per bullet
  1320-1446 126
  1644-1773 129
  1972-2101 129

PP90, 140, 3.8888888 frames per bullet
  51-191 
  306-446
  560-700

PP90 Rapid Fire, 2.91666 or 3.3125 frames per bullet
  64-170  106
  393-498 105
  720-825 105

PP90 Bling, 2.94 or 2.963 frames per bullet
  101-261 160
  375-534 159
  649-808 159

P90, 4.8 or 4.84, or 4.88 frames per bullet
  958-1198  240
  1315-1557 242
  1674-1918 244

P90 Rapid Fire, 3.9 or 3.92 frames per bullet
  1078-1273 195
  1495-1691 196
  1912-2108 196

P90 Bling, 3.94666 frames per bullet
  885-1181  296
  1298-1594
  1710-2006

PM9, 3.81-3.9 frames per bullet
  47-172  125
  285-407 122
  521-645 124

PM9 Rapid Fire, 2.9 frames per bullet
  68-161  93,
  275-368 93
  481-574 93

MP7, 4.225-4.4 frames per bullet
  983-1152  169
  1265-1437 172
  1550-1726 176

MP7 Rapid Fire, 3.825 frames per bullet
  712-865   153
  979-1132  153
  1246-1399 153

These numbers were acquired in a Private Match, but for comparison, I tested the MP7 Rapid Fire as shown in the video.

MP7 Rapid Fire in Drop Zone, 3.65-3.8 frames per bullet
  53-205  152
  327-473 146
  588-737 149