Every gamer knows the feeling of missing a headshot by a few pixels. Loosely related to an individual's muscle memory, aiming in first-person shooter games also depends on other aspects like crosshair settings and game mechanics.

But there have to be some sure-fire ways to improve your aim in shooting games, tips that help you go straight for the enemies' head and be on top of the scoreboard post-victory.

Here are some practical tips that will help you instantly get better at aiming in first-person shooting games like Valorant and CS:GO.

1. Understand Your Weaknesses First

Most gamers often spend countless hours practicing their aim without even analyzing what's causing their aim to be inconsistent. Is it your slow reflexes? Perhaps you have trouble tracking the enemies' movement? There are several other reasons for poor aim in games, and knowing what's wrong with yours is the first step to improvement.

Instead of finding excuses for missed shots, you should start thinking why you couldn't hit the enemy. Many FPS games have a death camera that shows a replay of the duel, which is extremely helpful for anyone planning to improve their aim.

Once you know where you're lacking, you can practice shooting in aim-training apps like Aim Lab for a few minutes each day. But remember that playing the game with real people is much better than spending hours practicing with bots in a training app.

2. Tweak Your Mouse Sensitivity

If you always find yourself moving your mouse too much or too less while aiming, you need to fiddle around with your in-game sensitivity. Professional gamers try different sensitivities before finalizing what works the best for them and that's what you should do too if you're serious about gaming.

Having a higher sensitivity will allow you to make quick turns in the game environment while lower sensitivity would increase precision and accuracy when you're locking in on a target. You should try to find the sweet spot in the middle where the sensitivity is high enough so you don't have to drag your mouse endlessly to shoot an enemy behind you and low enough to aim at the head (or the body) accurately.

You can also play around with your mouse DPI and disable mouse acceleration in the operating system settings for better control.

3. Fix Your Crosshair Positioning In-Game

crosshair positions in game

One of the most common issues with players with a bad aim is their improper crosshair positioning. Aiming at the ground is the best way to lose in an FPS game. As a serious gamer, your crosshair should be at enemies' head level at all times. This would significantly reduce the distance between your crosshair and the target and will help you take better shots.

Also, when you're waiting for an enemy to appear from the side of an obstacle (wall, for example), you shouldn't keep the aim extremely close to the surface, as your reflex might not be quick enough to fire as soon as the enemy appears. The enemy will already have moved forward and away from your crosshair by the time you process the situation and shoot.

fix crosshair positioning

What you can do to prevent this is to place your crosshair a few pixels away from the wall. This ensures that when the enemy appears, you get enough time to react with the enemy still within the range of your crosshair, making it easier for you to fire both timely and precisely.

4. Customize Your Crosshair Size

big and small crosshair difference

The first thing to do before you start a match is to tweak your crosshair. A smaller crosshair allows you to aim more accurately as you know exactly where the bullet will hit the target. Some gamers prefer a small square as their crosshair, while others find that their accuracy improves with a dot crosshair.

A lot of this comes down to personal preference too. You might feel that a larger crosshair is better for spraying while a smaller one ensures perfect headshots. Depending on your playing style, you can choose between a large and small crosshair.

5. Learn Tapping to Control Recoil (Also Learn Recoil Patterns)

The recoil and gun mechanics in shooting games make the game feel more realistic. But this random movement of the crosshair can make it difficult for you to aim, just like in real life.

The most efficient method of recoil control is tapping, which means that you tap-fire by clicking the mouse frequently instead of holding the button down, which is also known as spraying. Tapping gives you enough time to reposition or "control" the recoil so the crosshair doesn't shift away from the target.

recoil patterns in csgo

In PC games like CS:GO, each weapon has a different recoil pattern, which is a fixed route the crosshair follows when you spray. If you can't do without spraying, consider learning these recoil patterns. You can then drag your mouse in a pattern opposite to the recoil pattern to control the weapon recoil and maximize accuracy while spraying.

6. Avoid Sprinting While Shooting

Similar to recoil, the bullet spread mechanism gets activated when you shoot while sprinting. This affects your aim as many bullets fail to hit the target because of the spread.

Fixing this is easy. Don't sprint at all times while playing FPS games. Move slowly and quietly while checking corners for enemies. The difference between the bullet spread while sprinting vs. crouching is significant. You might have heard that crouching makes your aim more accurate. This is because less player movement results in less bullet spread.

7. Improve Your Game Sense

Most FPS game maps have certain locations in the game where you can camp, or get a better shot at enemies. Learning where these spots are and regularly checking corners is a good way to get some kills. You can even pre-fire corners if you're sure that an enemy is camping there.

You can even do without a perfect aim if you know where enemies are more likely to hide. This intuition is also known as "game sense."

You can improve your game sense in FPS games by:

  1. Playing the game more often
  2. Watching professional gamers' live streams
  3. Watching tutorials on the internet

8. Get Better Hardware

Hardware is as important as the game itself. Having a lightweight gaming mouse will assist you in aiming, as you'll have to make less effort to drag or reposition your aim. A proper desk, chair, and mouse pad will also prove to be effective in improving your gaming skills.

Since the mouse is the most prominent piece of hardware you use when aiming, you should look out for gaming-specific features while buying one. For instance, a mouse with a built-in DPI button will help you change your mouse DPI while in-game. Using the mouse software, you can set custom DPI values and switch between them by pressing the said button.

Better Aim Makes All the Difference While Gaming

Your aim can be a make-or-break factor in deciding the outcome of a match. Aim training is equally important as playing the game, especially if you're a professional gamer. Having a mentor can also help you improve your gaming skills, but that might not be an option for everyone.

Your hardware's performance also plays a huge role when you're playing a game. A low-spec computer can give up on you while you're in-game, by offering a low frame rate when you're in front of an enemy. Knowing how to boost the performance of your computer for better gaming will have a positive impact on your overall skills.