Aiming in CS GO CS GO Guide and Tips
How to control full auto, burst and recoil? Check our aiming guide for CS GO.
Last update: 30 January 2018
In FPS (First Person Shooter) games, aiming plays a crucial role. Without proper accuracy you won't be able to get good results, thus significantly increasing the time needed to develop an account in the game or to climb in ranked ladders. If you are missing 8 out of 10 shots, you will be spending more time watching other players as a spectator than fighting, decreasing chances for winning significantly. In this chapter, you will find information that can help you improve your accuracy in the game.
Proper crosshair positioning
As it is commonly known, the most effective way to eliminate enemies is to shoot at their heads to deal as much damage as possible. It's worth getting into the habit of placing the crosshair just at the level of the opponent's head. This way the first shot you perform will have the maximum chance to eliminate the target.
- The player that focuses the crosshair on an opponent's head has higher chance to eliminate an enemy.
- When looking from behind the wall, try to aim the crosshair at the position where the opponent's head might appear.
- Keeping the crosshair at the level of the opponent's head will decrease the amount of time you need to react and potentially correct the crosshair when a target appears in sight.
- Watch where opponents like to wait for enemies and always check those places while keeping the crosshair at the right height.
- When the target remains in motion, you must anticipate its path and set the crosshair in the place where an opponent's head might appear in a moment.
In order to develop the reflex of placing the crosshair at the level of the opponent's head automatically, you can practice on the Fast Aim / Reflex Training map available from the Steam Workshop. You are placed in the center of the map and bots are rushing towards your position from every side. By rotating around your own axis, you can train proper aiming at different angles.
Correcting weapon recoil
Each of the weapons available in the game has its own recoil - it forces the player to correct the position of the crosshair when performing longer series of shots. Learning the route of bullets during recoil is necessary to master the weapon mechanics. It's very important to learn this route for the most commonly used rifles in the game.
A training map called Recoil Master - Spray, available from the Steam Workshop can help here. All weapons are at the player's disposal and the monitor suspended from the ceiling shows the crosshair movement that must be performed during continuous shooting to compensate for the recoil of the weapon. The green dot visible on the board is also very helpful - it moves along the correct path while shooting which allows the player to track it and understand the correct recoil compensation mechanic even better.