Q on experience

[Suicide Junkie]

The beam or projectile is traced either to the center of the square for a hit (so the subsequent explosion animation lines up), or randomly to one of the 8 corners & edges of the square in the case of a miss.

If shields are present for a hit, the beam/projectile stops short at the point where the shield animation intersects. Shields are only shown during a hit, not a miss.