To better understand the advantages of the 12-point design, one must look at the designs that led to the introduction of the Wright Drive. Conventional Conventional designs put all of the load too close to the fastener corner. Extra fasteners were used to share the load. But industry moved away from over-engineering. Today, every fastener should be fully tightened.
Installation is more demanding and removal is more difficult.
First Generation Early First Generation designs concentrated on reducing the rounding of fastener corners by moving the stress zone farther away from the corner. However, these modifications known as First Generation AS954 tools result in a reduction of leverage. While First Generation designs reduce the tendency to round fastener corners, the relatively limited flat contact area still tends to mark, indent and distort fasteners and fittings made of soft steel and brass. It actually improves the torque load capabilities of every fastener, whether it's a soft stove bolt or a hardened aerospace fastener. Stress is distributed over a much larger area of the fastener.