This guy frags.

4. couldn't agree more warmup is key

2. I play with very high sensitivity. Flicks are based on muscle memory. You know how much energy and what direction to throw it in. You click when you know the cursor will about to be flying over them.

3. I play by squeezing the mouse between my thumb and pinky when I'm read to lock the mouse in place (like a doorstop). Then roll the mouse on the pads of the fingers to micro adjust. Letting go and flinging with arm and elbow for larger movement.

Everything is just prediction, muscle memory, and spatial awareness. Most of my shots I can't process during, they don't seem possible. But it's because of muscle memory.

You're acting underneath your reaction time, calculating their trajectory and where they will be, flicking the mouse to their future spot with power and angle based on previous flicks, clicking it when you "feel" it would have connected usually.

Use your lizard brain!

> Your mouse sensitivity should be very low.

> Use your elbow and shoulder only for aiming.

What in the WHAT?!? As a fellow 40+ year old gamer, who's played more Q3A and UT4 AND Counter-Strike than I'd care to admit, I've never heard or scene this strategy. You must be very entertaining to watch with all the ...flailing about!

UPDATE: I watched some YT videos of competition and while there's no "flailing" there's definitely increased arm movement. TIL thanks guys!

You've never heard about using low sens and arm aiming? That's basically every counter strike player I've ever met or pro I know about (plus every other tactical shooter with low slow enough movement).

No, and I've been playing CS since Beta 3 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can confirm that this is common for players above a certain skill level (not me).

You can see something somewhat similar here, though I don't think many people use high acceleration anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEamcaYyoa0

In the handful of CS:GO/Apex competition videos I watched, none featured such extreme arm movements. I also asked my hardcore gaming teen nephew if he "arm aims" and he was not familiar at all. His exact reply was "you mean aim with your whole arm lol?"

That clip is definitely an extreme example, something like below as a hybrid example diving into arm aim and wrist aim is more typical. trouble is having your sensitivity low enough for fine motions, while still being able to do large movements like a 180 fairly easily/without having to lift and recenter, both of which depend on personal preference. Depends a bit on the game too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLO_y8CLOyU

I do a lot of work in pro level eSports, and while that video is a little extreme, full arm movement for aiming (especially for awpers/snipers) is normal.

it's the way to go, small keyboard, big mouse pad.

It's also very handy if you want to draw a nice looking circle. Much more accurate.

Arm aiming is the way.

Having played online FPS since the 90s I agree with you. I'm old but reflexes is rarely where the game is won or lost.

Good equipment is a way more important aspect and good amount of recent gametime of course.

You're not much younger than I. Only ever had a modest rig (for the times) and a rotten ping, In those days playing on US or Scandinavian servers from London with a ping of 250 was normal, and we used dial-up modems. I hit my peak in FPS at about 30 and could stay top the board in any counterstrike or team fortress server for as long as I wanted. Always got accused of cheating of course.

I put my good playing skill down to knowing the maps. Most Unreal Tournament, TFC and CS servers ran the same old maps all day and night. I had every angle and line of sight worked out. Once you had a few killer moves worked out it became muscle memory and anticipation. What you see, in terms of great frames-per-second and resolution becomes less important.

By 40 my reaction time had dropped. I got humiliated on new games. It also took longer to learn new maps and find the good timing and sweet spots. That part of my brain gets very little exercise these days.

34yo here, got called a cheater constantly, even by "top" players. Despite using a slow sensitivity myself, i would say that slow/fast sensitivity or wrist/arm aiming doesn't matter; I have seen plenty of people being very efficient with each technique. Just use what you are the most comfortable with. Something specific that tremendously helped me is putting fingers on each side of the mouse to lift it a little, the mouse is no more touching the mousepad, only your fingers, that way i can stop moving much more precisely. You no more think about aiming with the mouse but with your hand. When i need a slower sensitivity, i just lift the mouse higher. In the past i was playing with a CRT monitor at 160hz, now i am playing with a IPS monitor at 144hz (LG 27gl850-b); i have seen no difference in performing at KovaaK aim trainer[1]. Something that actually made a difference is where the sensor is located under the mouse. More the sensor was toward the back of the mouse (toward the wrist), more my aim was degrading. I also once tried a vertical mouse (Trust GXT 144) and did my best score ever in tracking, it was like holding a pen.

[1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/824270/KovaaKs/

> I'm 47 years old. > to make those flick headshots consistently.

I'd say that you are playing for strengths of your age. It is a motor coordination, teenagers are known to be bad at it. IIRC it peaks somewhere around 40 years old and then slowly declines. Can't think where to find a link, I believe I've read something about it in regard to pianists.

Good equipment... and here I am playing rust with 30 FPS (not exaggerating) and wondering why my KD barely hits 1.