[NapalmEnima]

Weapons in PS (and presumably PS2) lose damage over distance.

A 2% damage increase may not change the "bullets needed to kill at point blank", but it just might add a meter or two to the distance that "point blank" works out to be. So now you know you can start hosing at 5m instead of 3. Not a big deal for an assault class (who will start shooting regardless), but that cloaker now knows she doesn't need to take a couple steps before she opens up with her AMP (or whatever the PS2 equivalent works out to be).

And when you've got N different kinds of weapons in a squad all blazing away, 1% might make a difference between "my squaddy's bullet makes you run away" and "my squaddy's bullet kills you". Not often, but it'll happen. And when it does, you'll be grateful... if you actually notice (probably not, lets be honest).

That reminds me... user-devised UIs. Off to the Idea Section