And your looking it as that 2 percent is an over all marker. It isn't, it is "as compared to". If you have 20 people tied for the same spot ANY change "as compared to" the other 20 is going to cause a jump.
You have to remember that a 2 percent increase doesn't mean YOU are that much better, but you might be a lot better than the other players and that is where the change is.
I get that Fugitive. The numbers are the numbers. Kovel is making the point that if a stat becomes a disproportionate discriminator in rank, compared to its required difference in skill or how well you played, then perhaps it should be 'weighted' to bring those in proportion.
To further that point when you look at all the stats, hit percentage is the easiest to get a big movement in rank on. It's hard to kill more Bandits, or to
not get killed. But most pilots only think of how they are using their ammo in terms of running out. To ensure a kill, you may choose to shoot early and often (skip the discussion about allerting enemies to your presence, not talking about that trade off here.), or hold down the trigger a little extra just to be sure. You'll shoot at guys just to turn them for someone else, etc. You'll spray some troops, or shoot at a gv for the hell of it. If your in Fighter mode, these are hit% killers.
But if you are a little more careful about tossing bullets around, you can move your number a couple of percentage points. As Lusche has shown, a couple of points can move your number up a lot [until you reach the knee of the curve]. And that number can move your rank quite a bit. You won't find an easier way to improve your rank than getting carefull with a few percentage of your bullets. Try it.