Apex Legends Aim Guide for Beginners: Simple Tips to Improve Faster
Shooters, what’s going on? Librarian Husky here. Did you ever wish you could hit those shots more consistently? Well, guess what? You totally can. It’s all about learning some key basics, and I’m here to help you out.
Improving Aim in Shooter Games
I did some research, talked to good aims, even an aim coach. And in this guide, we’re going to break down the most common mistakes beginners make, and I’ll show you how to fix them. Plus, most of these tips work for all shooter games, and also whether you’re on controller or most on keyboard. So, stay until the end.
Death Gripping and Tension Management
A lot of people that are new to Apex or never actively try to improve their aim struggle with having too much tension in their arm or hand without even noticing. And this will most likely mess up your whole accuracy. When it comes to holding your mouse, you should focus on keeping your mouse somewhat relaxed. So you don’t choke it like it did something wrong. Death gripping your mouse is the number one factor of inconsistent aim. So keep your arm relaxed and concentrate on consistency and smoothness.
Prediction
In some scenarios, predicting your opponent’s movement can be very helpful with tracking it. For example, when There‘s a wall or other objects blocking the enemy, that gives you a perfect opportunity to predict their next movements. In this clip from Hollow, you can see him tracking a target that is hitting an object. Hollow knows that the target won’t keep running into the wall. It will, with almost 100% probability, shift momentum in the other direction. This is something that good aims subconsciously do that will, if you learn how to do it right, give you a big head start in mastering your aim.
But prediction isn’t always a good thing. Most players tend to predict their targets’ movement always and every time. And I can’t stress enough how bad you have to break this habit. When there is no indicator of your target shifting momentum into a different direction, you’re basically always flipping your coin when predicting. This will really mess with your consistency, which is why you have to stop doing it. Instead, you should start aiming in a way of reactive tracking. That means if your target changes direction, you do too, and only then. There are a few exceptions, for example, reading the character’s animations to identify direction changes, but this is quite complex and high skill, and I don’t think you should focus on that if you’re just starting out with aim improvements. And this already leads me to the third tip, smoothness.
A misconception that even good players sometimes don’t seem to fully understand is if your target switches directions, you shouldn’t try flicking back onto it as fast as you can. If you flick back with maximum speed, you’re going to take the risk that the target might strafe back again before you expect it and mess up your whole track. Instead, whenever the target strafes into a different direction, you should try to smoothly move your crosshair back onto it so you can react to whatever movement happens next.
Mouse Grip
Mouse grip is an essential yet often overly complicated aspect of gaming. Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all grip that guarantees superior aim. The key is finding a grip that feels comfortable and natural to you. Avoid gripping the mouse too tightly, as this can hinder your performance. Remember, there’s no need to overthink it – stick to a grip that works best for you without reinventing the wheel.
Sensitivity can be a confusing topic for many gamers. It’s perfectly fine to adjust your sensitivity from time to time, as there’s no concrete evidence of muscle memory affecting your aim. For optimal performance in games like Apex, a sensitivity range of 28 to 35 cm is recommended, equivalent to around 1.4 to 1.8 in-game sensitivity with 800 DPI. Striking a balance is crucial, as excessively high or low sensitivities can impact your ability to make precise movements or react quickly to enemy encounters.
Where to Look?
One common misconception is that focusing on your crosshair instead of your target can enhance your aiming consistency. However, this approach may lead to delays in responding to your target’s movements and adjusting your crosshair position accordingly. It’s more effective to concentrate on your target, allowing your Peripheral vision to subconsciously track their movements and align your crosshair. Peripheral vision plays a vital role in detecting changes in your surroundings without diverting your direct line of sight, enhancing your awareness of potential threats and movements.
Hip Fire
In games like Apex, mastering hip fire techniques is crucial, particularly in close-range encounters. While aiming down sights is generally recommended, it’s beneficial to switch to hip firing when facing enemies in close proximity. Even after nerfs, hip firing remains effective at short distances. Many inexperienced players tend to keep aiming down sights even when targets are extremely close, leading to missed opportunities. In such situations, opting for hip fire can give you a competitive edge.
Recoil Smoothing
Apex features a unique recoil system that allows players to mitigate horizontal recoil when strafing. It’s important to note that this only applies to horizontal recoil, not vertical recoil. By mastering recoil control techniques, you can enhance your accuracy and stability during gunfights, especially when engaging in lateral movements. Understanding and leveraging recoil smoothing mechanics can significantly improve your overall performance in the game.
Recoil Patterns and Aim Training
This is basically used by every somewhat good player, and it’s super easy to learn. Me personally, I have never been a fan of learning recoil patterns for specific guns because for me it took away my main focus, the target, and made me focus more on the recoil, which is definitely not optimal. But this is my own opinion, so other people might have different takes on that. I have to say I was completely fine without learning any recoil patterns from any gun.
1 v1s
Whether it is you loading up R5 reloaded or playing Against your friends in the range, 1 v oneing will most likely help you gain more consistency and experience in aiming. This can help you test new sensitivities, settings, or play styles and implement it into your actual games.
Stay calm
I have found myself panic aiming almost every time I’m under pressure. This happens to probably all of us in any game, but it is such a death sentence to our performance. When being under high pressure, whether it be an enemy team pushing you, a clutch situation, or when fighting the last team on an important rank match, Staying calm is your best friend. If you watch pros, you will notice that even if they’re in a dangerous or difficult situation, they will always stay calm, concentrated, and focused. Of course, they scream, making callos and everything, but don’t mistake that for panic. They are still fully focused on what is happening, which allows them to always keep their full potential. This is not only applicable to aiming. Staying calm will always help in any aspect of the game.
Yes, this tip is only for the PC players, but before you click away, hear me out. A lot of people think that aim training with trainers like Kovx or Aimlab is useless. But let me quickly sum up why it is 100% worth the time. Think about gaming like a sport. A sport has many aspects to be good at. For example, when being a volleyball player, you learn how to block, how to serve, how to set, and so on. Now, aiming is the same. There are many, many aspects and categories to it, such as tracking, clicking, switching, and a lot more. Aim trainers will not help you improve Apex aim in specific.
They will help you build a fundamental kit of raw aim consisting of all the aspects to it that you will use in-game. With aim trainers, you can identify weaknesses, focus and improve them, and maybe understand the theory behind it so you can start aiming in the most optimal way possible. I don’t want to talk about that too much here. So, check it out if you don’t know if you should start with it. And now, let’s head over to my warm-up routine that I use before start playing ranked. Again, this is my personal one and it is just a warm up. This does not replace proper aim training or practicing. So, first I load up Kovac and play some scenarios, mostly in the tracking and switching categories because those are my main big issues. I do this for about 10 to 15 minutes and after that I play some R5 reloaded 1 v ones to warm up my mechanics and fights.
Effective Warm-Up Techniques
The warm-up process is crucial for enhancing your skills before competitive matches. It involves practicing in a range to fine-tune your aim and reflexes, ensuring peak performance. Transitioning from warm-up to competitive play requires mental preparation and focus to excel under pressure. Evaluating your performance through gameplay analysis can help identify areas for improvement and refine your strategies. Remember, consistency in warm-up routines is key to sustained progress in your gameplay.
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