Railway's Guide to Aim

Hermitb · 06-30-2009, 06:58 PM

Railway's Guide to Aim

Introduction

I consider myself a pretty good shot, and people have occasionally asked me how to improve their aim so they can be as awesome as me (joke, since people don't seem to be catching that.) I like writing, so I decided to compile a list of aspects of aim. Before your attention wanes, let me say that this will be a long post (3500 words.) Skip to the numbers if you want to bypass my exciting monologue on aim...

A while ago I wrote guide to aiming on my ex-clan forums, and I've found that some of the advice I had given before wasn't necessarily the best, and I wish to recreate that guide revised, improved, and full of information on how to improve your aim. However, let me claim that while these techniques and practices have worked wonders for me, they might do nothing, or be detrimental to your aim. It is only what has helped me, and I hope it helps you, although I hold no guarantees. Also, you should note that there will probably not be new information for the incredibly seasoned gamers, but I hope most people who read this take at least one thing out of this article to improve their game.

Aim is a tricky beast. For almost every player, one minute it's there, another, it's completely gone, and I am certainly not exempt. Right when you think you've gotten a hold of this rare beast known as aim, it squirms out of your hands like the slimy rat it is.

Unfortunately, finding your grip on that dirty rat is not a linear path, there is no true secret to aim. Of course, you all know that, but I have found and compiled that are some things you can do to make this journey from nubness to proness a shorter and easier one. If there would be one secret to good aim, no matter how obvious, it would be that it requires practice. Following every step in my guide will mean nothing if you do not play often. You do not have to play daily, six hours a day, but taking frequent hiatuses will leave you stuck at mediocre aim forever. It is the sad truth, there might be some lucky angel who sniped ten people in a minute the first time he played a game, but I trust that if you are reading this guide, you are not one of those lucky people. I probably made this guide slightly too noob-friendly, but don't be offended if I accidentally assume you are a driveling moron. You're not, I just don't want to alienate someone who doesn't know the first thing about mice or whatnot.

Contrary to the previous paragraph, there are some things you can do to shorten the amount of time you need to spend practicing, and a listing of what, and occasionally why and how, is what comprises this guide. And with no further ado, let us begin on the adventure to discover delicious, consistently good aim, in three sections, technical, physical, psychological, in that order.

Techical

1.Turn off mouse acceleration and optimize your mouse settings.

Okay, I lied before when I said that practice was my ultimate secret to aim. Everyone knows practice is the secret. However, turning off mouse acceleration is a lesser known, and perhaps just as valuable secret, although it has been a fairly prolific fact on these forums. Still, it is important to reiterate basic but important facts for the people who have managed to miss every post that mentions mouse acceleration.

Simply put, mouse acceleration will make it impossible to accurately and consistently make a varied number of movements, snap shots, looking around, just basic tracking a target, impossible without years of practice. Don't tell me how you play with mouse acceleration and you (or your brother-in-law) have the best aim in the world: you're either lying your pants off, or you're one of those damn aim-angels I was talking about earlier.

Yes, there probably are some of those aim-angels that use mouse acceleration, but there's no point in putting yourself through a needless pain to get good aim. Follow this guide to disable mouse acceleration, and I recommend you read through the whole thing, it will cover many things about mouse optimization I will not in this guide. While optimizing a mouse is important to making the said journey to aim easier, it is not the only thing to be done.

2.Play with consistent and high FPS.

This may seem like another no-brainer, but it is important. However, I have found it is very important to play with consistent high FPS. Even though both 60 FPS and 120 FPS are above most LCD refresh rates, all those extra frames (for whatever reason, don't quote me on that, I heard it on these forums, and I kind of notice it too), can cause a smoother looking experience, and if you are constantly fluctuating from 120 to 60 to 80 to 50, playing consistently will be difficult.

I suggest either using Vsync, which limits FPS to your monitor's refresh rate, or using fps_max. Personally, I don't particularly recommend Vsync, unless you notice screen tearing without it, since for almost all people, it causes noticeable mouse lag. Mouse lag is even worse for your aim than bad FPS. It's like adding another 50 ping to your game that only affects your mouse. I use fps_max 80, since it allows my LCD to smooth out the movement with the 20 extra frames over its refresh rate, but it never drops below 80, so I don't have to worry about fluctuations. Finding the perfect number will be for you to decide, and could be anywhere from 50 to 100 (anything above or below probably has no point.)

Let me emphasize how much putting fps_max into my autoexec helped. My aim was fairly below average for me for the last couple weeks, except the occasionally stints of good aim. I found the game somewhat irritating on my eyes, although I did not know at the time, from the fluctuating of FPS (which went from 140 to 80 all over the place. Although I had known about fps_max for a long time, I never actually used it. I finally decided to try it after being fed up from missing easy shots, and all my troubles, miraculously, went away. I kid you not. It's hard to say how much it will help you, but it's worth a try.

Sacrificing the pretty parts of the game can be a real annoyance for some people, but if you really want good aim, it's a sacrifice you will have to make. On my older computer, I played with lowest graphics and a high FPS config, which made my game quite ugly. After upgrading, I only play with lowest graphics + dxlevel 80. It's still not that great looking, but I prefer not missing my shot over seeing the awesome reflections in the water of the spy about to backstab me (and I couldn't turn around because I was too laggy!)

3.Purchase a decent mouse and play on a smooth surface.

I used to use a crappy, 10 dollar, optical Logitech mouse that was obviously manufactured to get people to pay money for a mouse worse than things that come with most pre-builts with the assumption I would get something good. This was before I really thought too much about my aim, so it worked for me at a time. When my brother got a G5, and I tried it out, I realized how bad my mouse was. And yet, I didn't follow suit until several months later, where I purchased a G5 myself, version 2, rather than my brother's original.

After unboxing the mouse and getting used to it after a few minutes, my game improved immensely. Gaming mice aren't just huge ripoffs for gamers with too much money, like so many crappy peripherals (e.g., most gaming keyboards with “gaming pads,” that cost $100+), they actually help. There was no placebo effect here, it's real.

When the occasional thread shows up about mice, I usually see a fair amount of people who use gaming mice. However, there are plenty who don't, who still use a mouse similar to the one I used to own. If you do not own a gaming mouse, I urge you to purchase a gaming mice, if you can afford it. You do not need to shell out $130 for the wireless Razer Mamba, or even $45 for a Logitech G5. An OCZ Equalizer at $25 is a good deal for what it offers. There are a number of different mice per price. There is probably a great mouse at every price. Just because it's more expensive, doesn't mean it's better. Just make sure that before you buy a mouse, do your research. Read reviews, try it out if you can (although that isn't too plausible, since it's easiest to find mice online), and check out this article for some “benchmarked” data on mice.

Even if you have a great mouse, you will suck if you play with your mouse in your cat's litter box. You don't need a mousepad, but they are often the best possible surfaces for tracking, without slippage. Your's desk surface might work for you, but you should try out a pad if you haven't. I have not tried an expensive gaming pad, but I can say that my 8-year old, mousepad, bought when mousepads costed ten cents, has served me well. However, one thing that needs to be heeded for every mousepad, and every surface you use, is that they will eventually require cleaning. A couple months ago, my mousepad was grimey and sticky from all the crap that come off my hand, when I finally decided to wash it. The difference was amazing. Not only did my mousepad no longer look absolutely repulsive, but movement was a great deal smoother. I headshotted peacefully that day.

Hermitb · 06-30-2009, 06:59 PM

Physical

4.Discover the most comfortable and efficient hand position and sensitivity for you.

No, I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about how you hold your mouse. There are three basic styles to hold a mouse, which are gone over in here: Palm, Flat Finger, and Claw. There are basically two, since flat finger and palm are nearly identical, just a shift for the palm, but they have subtle differences.

Gamers of every skill play with every style. Some claim that the wrist pivot of a claw grip affords more accuracy than the often sweeping motions of the arm for a palm grip, and others claim the opposite. Let no one fool you, there is no best hand position. However, when you find a hand position, you should stick with it. The reason for this, is to develop muscle memory, and if you're constantly changing techniques, your muscles will never know what to do until you play like that for a few weeks. But I switch all the time, and I pwn0rz! Shut up, aim-angel.

So how do you discover your hand position? That's up to you. However, be aware that your position will have to compliment your game sensitivity. I doubt anyone plays with a wrist pivot based claw grip with low sensitivity. -But my cousin... Shaddup.

Although changing your sensitivity is technical, it all has to do with the physical playstyle. Move your whole arm or your wrist? Which is more comfortable and natural feeling? Which is easier to aim with given a bit of practice? Which are you used to?

Most likely, sticking to the position that you've been used to all your life will be fine. But it's worth trying out new styles, to see perhaps if you can actually aim well with them. You might be surprised.

5. Sit with good posture and in a comfortable seat.

Even your non-gamer grandmother knows that sitting with a straight back will help you get more headshots. Slouching will get you nowhere in life, and that includes the world of computer games. A straighter spine will let your nerves breath! Even if it doesn't improve your aim over slouching, it will mean you don't have a bad back in your 50s.

Also, make sure your monitor, mouse, and keyboard, are all at the same level, between chest to stomach level preferably. Sit in a good chair with armrests (although this may be a matter of preference), and make sure your arms are level with your mouse and keyboard. If you have to either bend your wrists up or down, you are doing something bad to your wrists. Your arm to wrist joint should be nearly straight. This also reduces wrist pain and arthritis.

Investing in a comfortable office chair wouldn't be such a bad idea either, if you can afford it. I used to sit in a crappy chair that was too low for my desk; my arms and back were always aching after gaming. That shouldn't be happening.

6. Make sure you are hydrated, unhungered, well rested, and warm.

It is quite amazing how much these aspects will dictate a bad game over a good one. If you're constantly “having a bad day” for gaming, consider that you might be dehydrated, hungry, or sleep deprived, or cold. All of these things can be detrimental to your hand eye coordination and reaction time, especially sleep deprivation and low body temperature..

Consider keeping a bottle of water (or glass, but capable bottles are preferable to reduce nasty and unfortunate hardware damaging spills.) Take sips whenever you feel parched. If you're hungry, eat. I am astounded at the comparisons between my aim before and after a meal sometimes. If you feel tired all the time, sleep more. Going to bed a 3 and waking up at 9 and being a pro gamer is reserved for those aim angels. Most people don't have good coordination on 6 hours of sleep.

I personally consider warmth a very important thing to keep in mind when playing. Obviously your hands are the most important parts of your body to keep warm when playing, but don't forget about the rest of your body, including your head and feet. Wear gloves, a hat, multiple pairs of socks if you must. Perhaps I put too much emphasis on body temperature because I have Reynaud's syndrome, which is genetically inherited (most of my family has it as well), and basically means your extremities have reduced blood flow, so they are hard to keep warm in cold weather. When I'm cold, I'm terrible, so I often have several layers of clothes packed on even in not so cold weather.

7. Warm up.

A quarterback can't just jump into a random game and expect to throw perfect spirals every time when they've been sitting on their buttocks all day. You can't expect to join a random game and pointblank headshot every Scout you see. Athletes have to warm their muscles up, and get pumped, so do gamers, if they want to do well.

You should physically warm up a bit. Get your blood flowing. Do some jumping jacks or something. Don't wear yourself out, but get your heart rate up. Also, do some aiming practice, such as in this video (although it's a different game, the exercises still apply http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92LtY_BeE0.)

After some physical exertion, you might consider spending 5-10 minutes (or more) playing some tr_aim, tr_airshot, or tr_rocket_shooting to actually warm up for the game. If you're just playing for fun, you could certainly bypass this (and really everything in this guide), but you will be more consistent if you take a little bit of time to warm up.

But I never warm-up and I- shush.

8.Stay in shape.

Everyone should do this, whether they want to be good or not. But people are lazy. I'm lazy, I often skip out on some exercise when I would benefit. However, realize that exercise is surprisingly important to maintaining consistency for gaming. You will be less tired, your hand-eye coordination will be more consistent, you'll have better reaction time.

Even something as simple as walking for 15 minutes every day would help. I would actually suggest that you focus more on your legs than your upper body during exercise, because lower body is often neglected by gamers.

Still don't believe me that exercise is important? Still think that spending all that time exercising would be better spent practicing? Well, I can't help you (or your health), but consider the fact that during big gaming leagues, many clans require their members to work out an hour every other day. Keep that in mind.

Hermitb · 06-30-2009, 06:59 PM

Psychological

9. Know your next shot will hit. Be confident.

You might not think the mind is a big part of aiming, but it is central to a good or bad day. If you are constantly unsure if your next shot will hit, you will probably miss more shots than if you spent that time thinking you will hit the next shot. Have confidence in your aim, and you will excel. That isn't to say you will hit a shot just because you think you will. You will miss, at every skill level. But, training yourself to think that you have good aim is the beginning to becoming a breathing aimbot. Here are some quotes that put what I'm trying to say much more eloquently, which I picked up in this thread off GotFrag, which you might consider reading to supplement this guide.

Quote:

For me I feel like the biggest factor is psychological at this point. Sometimes my aim can do really well and I can compete with skilled players, but sometimes I am back at mediocre levels.

One thing is getting your focus in the right place. Just remember things like every shot counts, actually aim every shot, or whatever it is you think holds you back. Drill the thought into your head. When I used to play CS sometimes I had to constantly remind myself to go for the head. Eventually it would stick and I would get noticeably more headshots. It's easy to just get caught up in firing as quick as you can and not really having all your brain power directed right there.

I also think it is helpful to have some kind of mental preparation routine. Sounds ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ for a video game, but my biggest thing is I get overly excited, start over-correcting, and get too shakey when I'm taking snapshots. This is a skill that requires a lot of fine motor control. Whether this be something like meditation, visualization, tension/relaxation, or whatever; just try different things. Almost all skilled athletes do it for movements that require a lot of fine (Or gross for that matter) motor control (Shooting targets with an actual gun or example), and this is not really any different overall.

Practicing is good, but the psychological side of things is really important too. Your nervous system is what controls the physical. Give it a shot!

-Cowpimp.

Quote:

Also a sidenote, you gotta believe you can land these shots and actively think about them and imagine them working and how they will work. So I wouldn't get caught up too much in your sensitivity, definitely stick to one so your muscle memory doesn't need to adjust, make sure it's low enough for fine tuned shots, and high enough for more extreme turns up to 360 degrees if possible.

-TruatZ.

10. Don't always think about your aim.

Contrary to my last point, you shouldn't always be thinking about your aim. I'm not really sure how this makes sense, but it does. This is more important for snap shots, since you have little time to actually think about the shot before you make it, but it can apply to every shot. Just let your hand do the work (no need to laugh, you pervert!), it has the memory.

Quote:

I will say this much, compared to most games TF2 is more about teamwork than raw aim. Of course a Sniper or Scout needs it, but there's other classes too.

With that in mind I would suggest read The Unfettered Mind by Takuan Soho. If your mind is fettered by thoughts of aim then everything will fall (not just your aim). To me, it sounds like as time progresses the nagging notion of aim in your mind grows more and more forward thus consuming your mind entirely to the point in which it brings your game down. Practice is one thing, but once practice is over your mind should not stop on any one point.

~sofaking1ty.

Quote:

If you think too much, you won't hit. Just be one with the crosshair.

-Xpelargos.

11. Don't blame your bad aim on any of the things above.

Sometimes you just have a bad day. If you're constantly adjusting your mousepad, looking for that sweet spot, or drinking water profusely, playing with your sensitivity, warming up, etc. you will just become more frustrated. Some days I sit with good posture, am not hungry or thirsty or tired, not really overly thinking about my shots, and being confident, but I just can't hit a damn thing. Bad days will happen. Maybe you're stressed out.

---------------------------------------------------------------

And that's all, folks! I have nothing more to say, other than: make some adjustments, and prepare to gain an edge, prepare to feel the wonder of having good aim. Good luck, and have fun. I hope you learned something from this guide, or at least now have somewhere to point people when they ask how to aim.

Thanks for reading, please offer ways to visually improve the thread or perhaps additional content, another part of aiming I didn't think of. If you see any blatant typos, or something needs to be reworded to clarify, please tell me!

Sir · 06-30-2009, 07:09 PM

I learned from soccer that if you do good, it's all you, if you do bad it's the shoes.

Do these conditions work in gaming too?

Chaosrain112 · 06-30-2009, 07:10 PM

But I play Heavy.

SirPWNaLOT · 06-30-2009, 07:14 PM

Mouse Acceleration helped me loads.

Got on, Got a 23 kill streak with soldier.

+Rep for you good sir.

InsanitySpark34 · 06-30-2009, 07:14 PM

Mindless2164`s Guide to Aim:

Put crosshair over player, press primary fire.

The end.

nanosheep · 06-30-2009, 07:14 PM

Wow I just want to say: Very informative post!

DaedricFire · 06-30-2009, 07:18 PM

Nice guide!

Programpro · 06-30-2009, 07:20 PM

Quote:

I learned from soccer that if you do good, it's all you, if you do bad it's the shoes.

I lol'd......

Twosday · 06-30-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermitb

asked me how to improve their aim so they can be as awesome as me.

Stopped reading here.

DexRok · 06-30-2009, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InsanitySpark34

Mindless2164`s Guide to Aim:

Put crosshair over player, press primary fire.

The end.

unless you're firing a rocket, grenade, sticky bomb, flare, arrow, needlegun, or jarate.

PSPSoldier534 · 06-30-2009, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaosrain112

But I play Heavy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26cOGaPOWMo

sgtdeviant · 06-30-2009, 07:38 PM

Wonderful Guide...please, mod, STICKY. STICKY STICKY STICKY.

Good guide. Made me think more of my mouse.

Stunlol · 06-30-2009, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DexRok

unless you're firing a rocket, grenade, sticky bomb, flare, arrow, needlegun, or jarate.

Also known as: Weapons that don't require precision aim.

06-30-2009, 06:58 PM	#1
Hermitb Join Date: Aug 2008 Reputation: 90 Posts: 2,041	Railway's Guide to Aim Railway's Guide to Aim Introduction I consider myself a pretty good shot, and people have occasionally asked me how to improve their aim so they can be as awesome as me (joke, since people don't seem to be catching that.) I like writing, so I decided to compile a list of aspects of aim. Before your attention wanes, let me say that this will be a long post (3500 words.) Skip to the numbers if you want to bypass my exciting monologue on aim... A while ago I wrote guide to aiming on my ex-clan forums, and I've found that some of the advice I had given before wasn't necessarily the best, and I wish to recreate that guide revised, improved, and full of information on how to improve your aim. However, let me claim that while these techniques and practices have worked wonders for me, they might do nothing, or be detrimental to your aim. It is only what has helped me, and I hope it helps you, although I hold no guarantees. Also, you should note that there will probably not be new information for the incredibly seasoned gamers, but I hope most people who read this take at least one thing out of this article to improve their game. Aim is a tricky beast. For almost every player, one minute it's there, another, it's completely gone, and I am certainly not exempt. Right when you think you've gotten a hold of this rare beast known as aim, it squirms out of your hands like the slimy rat it is. Unfortunately, finding your grip on that dirty rat is not a linear path, there is no true secret to aim. Of course, you all know that, but I have found and compiled that are some things you can do to make this journey from nubness to proness a shorter and easier one. If there would be one secret to good aim, no matter how obvious, it would be that it requires practice. Following every step in my guide will mean nothing if you do not play often. You do not have to play daily, six hours a day, but taking frequent hiatuses will leave you stuck at mediocre aim forever. It is the sad truth, there might be some lucky angel who sniped ten people in a minute the first time he played a game, but I trust that if you are reading this guide, you are not one of those lucky people. I probably made this guide slightly too noob-friendly, but don't be offended if I accidentally assume you are a driveling moron. You're not, I just don't want to alienate someone who doesn't know the first thing about mice or whatnot. Contrary to the previous paragraph, there are some things you can do to shorten the amount of time you need to spend practicing, and a listing of what, and occasionally why and how, is what comprises this guide. And with no further ado, let us begin on the adventure to discover delicious, consistently good aim, in three sections, technical, physical, psychological, in that order. Techical 1.Turn off mouse acceleration and optimize your mouse settings. Okay, I lied before when I said that practice was my ultimate secret to aim. Everyone knows practice is the secret. However, turning off mouse acceleration is a lesser known, and perhaps just as valuable secret, although it has been a fairly prolific fact on these forums. Still, it is important to reiterate basic but important facts for the people who have managed to miss every post that mentions mouse acceleration. Simply put, mouse acceleration will make it impossible to accurately and consistently make a varied number of movements, snap shots, looking around, just basic tracking a target, impossible without years of practice. Don't tell me how you play with mouse acceleration and you (or your brother-in-law) have the best aim in the world: you're either lying your pants off, or you're one of those damn aim-angels I was talking about earlier. Yes, there probably are some of those aim-angels that use mouse acceleration, but there's no point in putting yourself through a needless pain to get good aim. Follow this guide to disable mouse acceleration, and I recommend you read through the whole thing, it will cover many things about mouse optimization I will not in this guide. While optimizing a mouse is important to making the said journey to aim easier, it is not the only thing to be done. 2.Play with consistent and high FPS. This may seem like another no-brainer, but it is important. However, I have found it is very important to play with consistent high FPS. Even though both 60 FPS and 120 FPS are above most LCD refresh rates, all those extra frames (for whatever reason, don't quote me on that, I heard it on these forums, and I kind of notice it too), can cause a smoother looking experience, and if you are constantly fluctuating from 120 to 60 to 80 to 50, playing consistently will be difficult. I suggest either using Vsync, which limits FPS to your monitor's refresh rate, or using fps_max. Personally, I don't particularly recommend Vsync, unless you notice screen tearing without it, since for almost all people, it causes noticeable mouse lag. Mouse lag is even worse for your aim than bad FPS. It's like adding another 50 ping to your game that only affects your mouse. I use fps_max 80, since it allows my LCD to smooth out the movement with the 20 extra frames over its refresh rate, but it never drops below 80, so I don't have to worry about fluctuations. Finding the perfect number will be for you to decide, and could be anywhere from 50 to 100 (anything above or below probably has no point.) Let me emphasize how much putting fps_max into my autoexec helped. My aim was fairly below average for me for the last couple weeks, except the occasionally stints of good aim. I found the game somewhat irritating on my eyes, although I did not know at the time, from the fluctuating of FPS (which went from 140 to 80 all over the place. Although I had known about fps_max for a long time, I never actually used it. I finally decided to try it after being fed up from missing easy shots, and all my troubles, miraculously, went away. I kid you not. It's hard to say how much it will help you, but it's worth a try. Sacrificing the pretty parts of the game can be a real annoyance for some people, but if you really want good aim, it's a sacrifice you will have to make. On my older computer, I played with lowest graphics and a high FPS config, which made my game quite ugly. After upgrading, I only play with lowest graphics + dxlevel 80. It's still not that great looking, but I prefer not missing my shot over seeing the awesome reflections in the water of the spy about to backstab me (and I couldn't turn around because I was too laggy!) 3.Purchase a decent mouse and play on a smooth surface. I used to use a crappy, 10 dollar, optical Logitech mouse that was obviously manufactured to get people to pay money for a mouse worse than things that come with most pre-builts with the assumption I would get something good. This was before I really thought too much about my aim, so it worked for me at a time. When my brother got a G5, and I tried it out, I realized how bad my mouse was. And yet, I didn't follow suit until several months later, where I purchased a G5 myself, version 2, rather than my brother's original. After unboxing the mouse and getting used to it after a few minutes, my game improved immensely. Gaming mice aren't just huge ripoffs for gamers with too much money, like so many crappy peripherals (e.g., most gaming keyboards with “gaming pads,” that cost $100+), they actually help. There was no placebo effect here, it's real. When the occasional thread shows up about mice, I usually see a fair amount of people who use gaming mice. However, there are plenty who don't, who still use a mouse similar to the one I used to own. If you do not own a gaming mouse, I urge you to purchase a gaming mice, if you can afford it. You do not need to shell out $130 for the wireless Razer Mamba, or even $45 for a Logitech G5. An OCZ Equalizer at $25 is a good deal for what it offers. There are a number of different mice per price. There is probably a great mouse at every price. Just because it's more expensive, doesn't mean it's better. Just make sure that before you buy a mouse, do your research. Read reviews, try it out if you can (although that isn't too plausible, since it's easiest to find mice online), and check out this article for some “benchmarked” data on mice. Even if you have a great mouse, you will suck if you play with your mouse in your cat's litter box. You don't need a mousepad, but they are often the best possible surfaces for tracking, without slippage. Your's desk surface might work for you, but you should try out a pad if you haven't. I have not tried an expensive gaming pad, but I can say that my 8-year old, mousepad, bought when mousepads costed ten cents, has served me well. However, one thing that needs to be heeded for every mousepad, and every surface you use, is that they will eventually require cleaning. A couple months ago, my mousepad was grimey and sticky from all the crap that come off my hand, when I finally decided to wash it. The difference was amazing. Not only did my mousepad no longer look absolutely repulsive, but movement was a great deal smoother. I headshotted peacefully that day. Last edited by Hermitb : 06-30-2009 at 09:49 PM.

06-30-2009, 06:59 PM	#2
Hermitb Join Date: Aug 2008 Reputation: 90 Posts: 2,041	Physical 4.Discover the most comfortable and efficient hand position and sensitivity for you. No, I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about how you hold your mouse. There are three basic styles to hold a mouse, which are gone over in here: Palm, Flat Finger, and Claw. There are basically two, since flat finger and palm are nearly identical, just a shift for the palm, but they have subtle differences. Gamers of every skill play with every style. Some claim that the wrist pivot of a claw grip affords more accuracy than the often sweeping motions of the arm for a palm grip, and others claim the opposite. Let no one fool you, there is no best hand position. However, when you find a hand position, you should stick with it. The reason for this, is to develop muscle memory, and if you're constantly changing techniques, your muscles will never know what to do until you play like that for a few weeks. But I switch all the time, and I pwn0rz! Shut up, aim-angel. So how do you discover your hand position? That's up to you. However, be aware that your position will have to compliment your game sensitivity. I doubt anyone plays with a wrist pivot based claw grip with low sensitivity. -But my cousin... Shaddup. Although changing your sensitivity is technical, it all has to do with the physical playstyle. Move your whole arm or your wrist? Which is more comfortable and natural feeling? Which is easier to aim with given a bit of practice? Which are you used to? Most likely, sticking to the position that you've been used to all your life will be fine. But it's worth trying out new styles, to see perhaps if you can actually aim well with them. You might be surprised. 5. Sit with good posture and in a comfortable seat. Even your non-gamer grandmother knows that sitting with a straight back will help you get more headshots. Slouching will get you nowhere in life, and that includes the world of computer games. A straighter spine will let your nerves breath! Even if it doesn't improve your aim over slouching, it will mean you don't have a bad back in your 50s. Also, make sure your monitor, mouse, and keyboard, are all at the same level, between chest to stomach level preferably. Sit in a good chair with armrests (although this may be a matter of preference), and make sure your arms are level with your mouse and keyboard. If you have to either bend your wrists up or down, you are doing something bad to your wrists. Your arm to wrist joint should be nearly straight. This also reduces wrist pain and arthritis. Investing in a comfortable office chair wouldn't be such a bad idea either, if you can afford it. I used to sit in a crappy chair that was too low for my desk; my arms and back were always aching after gaming. That shouldn't be happening. 6. Make sure you are hydrated, unhungered, well rested, and warm. It is quite amazing how much these aspects will dictate a bad game over a good one. If you're constantly “having a bad day” for gaming, consider that you might be dehydrated, hungry, or sleep deprived, or cold. All of these things can be detrimental to your hand eye coordination and reaction time, especially sleep deprivation and low body temperature.. Consider keeping a bottle of water (or glass, but capable bottles are preferable to reduce nasty and unfortunate hardware damaging spills.) Take sips whenever you feel parched. If you're hungry, eat. I am astounded at the comparisons between my aim before and after a meal sometimes. If you feel tired all the time, sleep more. Going to bed a 3 and waking up at 9 and being a pro gamer is reserved for those aim angels. Most people don't have good coordination on 6 hours of sleep. I personally consider warmth a very important thing to keep in mind when playing. Obviously your hands are the most important parts of your body to keep warm when playing, but don't forget about the rest of your body, including your head and feet. Wear gloves, a hat, multiple pairs of socks if you must. Perhaps I put too much emphasis on body temperature because I have Reynaud's syndrome, which is genetically inherited (most of my family has it as well), and basically means your extremities have reduced blood flow, so they are hard to keep warm in cold weather. When I'm cold, I'm terrible, so I often have several layers of clothes packed on even in not so cold weather. 7. Warm up. A quarterback can't just jump into a random game and expect to throw perfect spirals every time when they've been sitting on their buttocks all day. You can't expect to join a random game and pointblank headshot every Scout you see. Athletes have to warm their muscles up, and get pumped, so do gamers, if they want to do well. You should physically warm up a bit. Get your blood flowing. Do some jumping jacks or something. Don't wear yourself out, but get your heart rate up. Also, do some aiming practice, such as in this video (although it's a different game, the exercises still apply http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g92LtY_BeE0.) After some physical exertion, you might consider spending 5-10 minutes (or more) playing some tr_aim, tr_airshot, or tr_rocket_shooting to actually warm up for the game. If you're just playing for fun, you could certainly bypass this (and really everything in this guide), but you will be more consistent if you take a little bit of time to warm up. But I never warm-up and I- shush. 8.Stay in shape. Everyone should do this, whether they want to be good or not. But people are lazy. I'm lazy, I often skip out on some exercise when I would benefit. However, realize that exercise is surprisingly important to maintaining consistency for gaming. You will be less tired, your hand-eye coordination will be more consistent, you'll have better reaction time. Even something as simple as walking for 15 minutes every day would help. I would actually suggest that you focus more on your legs than your upper body during exercise, because lower body is often neglected by gamers. Still don't believe me that exercise is important? Still think that spending all that time exercising would be better spent practicing? Well, I can't help you (or your health), but consider the fact that during big gaming leagues, many clans require their members to work out an hour every other day. Keep that in mind.

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06-30-2009, 07:09 PM	#4
Sir Join Date: Jun 2008 Reputation: 56 Posts: 1,270	I learned from soccer that if you do good, it's all you, if you do bad it's the shoes. Do these conditions work in gaming too?

06-30-2009, 07:10 PM	#5
Chaosrain112 Join Date: Feb 2009 Reputation: 12 Posts: 806	But I play Heavy.

06-30-2009, 07:14 PM	#6
SirPWNaLOT Join Date: May 2009 Reputation: 14 Posts: 528	Mouse Acceleration helped me loads. Got on, Got a 23 kill streak with soldier. +Rep for you good sir.

06-30-2009, 07:14 PM	#7
InsanitySpark34 Join Date: Feb 2009 Reputation: 38 Posts: 921	Mindless2164`s Guide to Aim: Put crosshair over player, press primary fire. The end.

06-30-2009, 07:14 PM	#8
nanosheep Join Date: Jan 2008 Reputation: 168 Posts: 3,585	Wow I just want to say: Very informative post!

06-30-2009, 07:18 PM	#9
DaedricFire Join Date: Jul 2008 Reputation: 84 Posts: 2,940	Nice guide!

06-30-2009, 07:38 PM	#14
sgtdeviant Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Reputation: 1 Posts: 134	Wonderful Guide...please, mod, STICKY. STICKY STICKY STICKY. Good guide. Made me think more of my mouse.