How to improve your aim in CS:GO

Having problems hitting an enemy with your weapon? Are you only doing 98 damage in 4 hits all the time? How many rounds, and subsequently, games could be won if you did a little better with your shooting? These are the questions many players of different experience levels encounter every day when they play CS:GO. Take a seat and study how to improve your aim and accuracy in CS:GO.

First of all, let's find out what "aim" means. Aim is the ability to quickly place your crosshair on an enemy model using your mouse and, as a result, kill an enemy by shooting them. In a nutshell, it is how good you are at shooting. The correlation between good shooting and the possibility of making more frags, winning more rounds, and ranking up in the game seems pretty obvious. Although good shooting doesn't always mean you will win, it will certainly contribute to your in-game development.

Your aim depends on many factors: your sitting position, devices, hardware, aiming skills, and reaction time. Let's take a closer look at each factor.

Sitting position

The way you sit when you play CS:GO directly affects your performance. The logic is simple: the more comfortable you sit, the less tired you get, and the less effort you need to make the required arm movements. Of course, the ideal situation is to have both a table and a chair that can be adjusted in height to find the ideal setup for you.

The way you sit affects how you play | Image via Secret Lab

The general rules of sitting are: try to have your monitor at the same height as your head so that your neck has less tension and do not keep your head pitched up or down. Furthermore, your back requires support to hold your body still for long periods of time – you should keep your back straight, ideally at a right angle towards your legs. When needed, do not hesitate to use a special pillow between your back or neck and the chair's backrest. Your functional forearm should be lying on the table's surface or the chair's armrest as it may be more difficult for you to aim precisely when your arm is hanging in the air without support.

Mouse

When speaking about CS:GO, your main aiming device is your mouse (unless you use a gamepad, of course). There are many good mice available in different price ranges, and all a mouse needs is to be comfortable enough for your hand to hold it. The possibility of setting DPI is also useful, and the DPI range you should start with is at least 800. The mouse’s left or right clicks should not be too tight or too easy, as you don’t want unnecessary double clicks to happen.

There are lots of mice choices at all price ranges | Image via Gregory Vodden

It is believed that the lower DPI you have, the better it is for you to move your crosshair when you need to move it slightly, just a few pixels somewhere. If the low DPI settings don't seem convenient for you to play at, you can always compensate for it with high sensitivity settings in the game itself. But it doesn’t mean you can’t aim well with a high DPI. It’s worth experimenting and finding the best combination of DPI and sensitivity parameters for you. One more thing to pay attention to is your mousepad: make sure you have one and its size is big enough for your most rotating movements (like a 180-degree turn to kill an enemy that is shooting you from behind). This is especially relevant for low DPI settings, as it requires wider mouse movement to reach a desired crosshair position. Another thing about mousepads: don’t forget to clean them regularly, as well as your mouse, and replace a mousepad at least once a year.

Other hardware

It's not a secret that your eyes need at least 120 FPS to see what's going on more or less smoothly (300+ FPS players may now be questioning themselves if it's possible to play at such a low FPS). Your hardware and internet connection quality may also affect your shooting, as it's almost impossible to win a duel with packet loss, high ping, or low FPS. The bullets seem to go everywhere but towards the enemy.

Here's what the command "net_graph 1" shows

Aiming ability

Aiming skill is the ability to move a crosshair to a specific location. In CS:GO, you want to move your crosshair to the enemy's head faster than your opponent. Aiming consists of two parts: accuracy and reaction time. You can practice both skills to improve your gameplay.

What the map Aim_botz looks like

The most popular way to practice accuracy in CS:GO is to use special workshop maps. Some examples include Training_aim_csgo2, YPrac, Training Center, Aim_Botz, Fast Aim/Reflex Training, and many others. These maps offer a variety of settings and tasks, such as adjusting bot movement patterns and speed, practicing spray control, shooting enemies through double doors, and more. Your training should not be exhausting, as it is important to conserve energy for real matches. Additionally, regular training is crucial for improvement, just like in any sport.

Reaction Time

The other part of the aiming skill is your reaction time. It's not enough to put your crosshair exactly where you want it to be. In a competitive match, you need to do it faster than your opponent so you have a higher chance of winning a duel.