Video preview + Q&A!

yes!

Yeah I think so! I see someones style as just a collection of elements of their aim, and by training similar elements and playing in a similar way you can absolutely get close to ppl like sarah both stylistically and skill wise

This one is a bit tough to answer because I have used asymmetrical mice before and really didn't like them, but at the time basically every one of them was some variation on the original zowie ec shape. I know the np01-s is actually very unique and seems to align with a lot of design principles I like about the op1 actually, so I don't want to write that one off for simply being an asymmertical mouse, but generally I've found them very uncomfortable to use and hard to aim with since they're just too bulky in the hand for me.

This is probably one of the least understood topics in the peripheral space at the moment and one I'm not entirely certain of myself, specifically for how it impacts your actual aiming ability. I'm working on a video at the moment which should give me some semblance of an answer, but in the meantime I do have info to add to the topic that I think has been missed by people who have covered it before. First, latency is not the most important factor of a lower polling rate. One of the most common arguments I see against it is that "humans can't notice 0.5ms lower latency" but that isn't what people are using higher polling rate for. The benefit is the consistency of inputs sent to your pc, and therefore the consistency of how mouse movements are represented on screen. I'll link a paper about this in the description when I turn this into a video soon, in my opinion we can't draw much from it in terms of conclusions for reasons I'll get into in that polling rate video but the information is still solid. The paper used the term "temporal jitter" for this visual deviation which I'll use going forward. The next is an explanation I have for why some people, myself included, swear that higher polling rate is significant visually and others can't feel the difference at all. There are two potential explanations here, the first is that temporal jitter is not only tied to polling rate. A lower polling rate could actually have a higher temporal jitter than a higher polling rate, depending on how it interacts with the monitors refresh rate. For example 1000hz on a 144hz monitor has a expected jitter size of 0.1ms, whereas on a 240hz monitor 2000hz polling rate would product an expected jitter size of 0.25ms, over twice that of 1000hz on 144! The other element here is that humans have different sensitivities for temporal jitter, I don't know what causes this but some people are just more aware of inconsistencies in movement than others. As for if it offers an advantage, everything I've seen so far is inconclusive. I'm doing some testing on this myself but I don't see me and me alone being able to 100% answer this. Personally I set my mouse to 4k and lower it to 2k if I notice fps drops in a certain game. I don't see a reason not to if your mouse has the option.

I think both have their merits and I think shimmy and bard both have very good technique in static scenarios but I do think there is more nuance to the topic than shimmy presented in his video, specifically the bit about flicks. I don't think flicks are bad generally, nor do I think they are bad on static. And honestly watching shimmys vods, I don't think he thinks this either, the movement he does is probably what most people would consider to be a flick. I think a better way to frame this idea is that uncontrolled flicks are bad, and that going slower is better than flicking without control but I don't think this idea of trying to remove flicks from our gameplay entirely is a helpful one. Especially when targeted towards newer players, I think pushing speed is really important and it's worth sacrificing a tiny bit of consistency to do so. I do have some minor critiques for bardoz's video as well though. I think there is merit to trying to remove the delay between our flicks and micro adjustments which is something bardoz's method can make harder. Placing that emphasis entirely on the initial flick and making it as fast as possible really lends itself to this idea of having two very distinct movements. When you flick as fast as you possibly can you utilise a lot of tension, which can't be instantly released for that smooth microadjustment. By slowing down mid flick it makes it easier to blend the two motions together which you can see in someone like zeonlo's gameplay. I think shimmy covered this topic a lot better in his technique segment. Even if I don't agree with everything in that video, his discussion of slowing down *before* the flick ends it very important to grasp and create a much more fluid style than bard's method can. I think both resources are good as long as you don't feel pressured to follow everything they say to the letter. Shimmy's, at least as he talked about it in his video, could potentially create a lot of issues for in game translation since having fast initial flicks is a valuable skill and still worth practicing and while I do think shimmy's method would get you there eventually, taking the words in his video at face value I think it'd get you there slower than you'd want. Same goes for bardoz's with the full sending flicks at max tension though, which is honestly something you almost never want to do and isn't what I feel like he does in his static gameplay, so I don't know. I still don't think anyone has achieved perfect static technique, so it makes sense that the technique of any given player won't be entirely optimal. I think fast flicks are very important and it's good to push yourself to go faster as long as you maintain control over that speed. Try to find a nice middle ground where you are still using a fair bit of tension but not so much that you can't start to release it mid flick for that smooth transition between a flick and microadjustment.

Hi! I'd say if you enjoyed using the viper mini and found it comfortable, the op1 is a great option. the hitscan hyperlight is a good bet too if its available for you, either works very well!

I don't think I can rate these in percentages sorry, but I do think the importance of each varies based on what you already have. Like if you have a 60hz monitor, if you have a viper mini or a similar decent budget mouse I'd upgrade monitor first. But if you're using an office mouse that can't track at all, that's got to be fixed first. I think it's all relative to what your setup's worst area is. If I had to order them I'd say Monitor Mouse Mousepad Keyboard Mouse and mousepad swap past a certain point in mice though, and keyboards can be very impactful if they are really really bad haha.

Honestly both of those have always been my approach for plateaus! Swapping my mouse or mousepad shifts how I approach aiming and think about practicing. Changing my approach can help a lot, focusing on a different part of aiming, a different skillset or trying a technique helps too and usually for me plateaus are mental, so just having something new to focus on helps heaps.

I guess it'd be a clicking thing in that case? It's very strange to have an issue with one but not the other though. For the raw movement of microadjustments my favourite scenarios have been cloverrawcontrol or controlsphere since they punish overadjusting so heavily, but scenarios adjacent to rawmousecontrol or pasu reflex speed might be useful too since they'll require you to click as well.

I honestly don't think comparing differences in performance between products is placebo, for me it's the starting point for a lot of my reviews. "I'm playing bad on this product, what's causing that difference in performance?" Or for mousepads, they have a pretty drastic effect on my aiming style and from there I can work backwards to figure out what properties of the pad are that are causing that change. Comfort is an interesting one though, since I used to think that the most comfortable mouse would be the best for aiming too, especially since a mouse that causes you hand pains will prevent you from practicing long term but honestly the more mice I try the more I think you have to strike a balance between comfort and aiming potential. Like the most comfortable mouse for me would probably be something that almost fits flush with my hand in a palm grip, like how the g502 does for a lot of people. But that prevents any fingertip adjustments whatsoever and wouldn't work for aiming at a high level. I think finding a shape that strikes that balance for you, both comfortable and flexible enough to aim well with, is a massive part of finding your perfect mouse. I agree there are other elements though, weight, sensor position, weight balance, build quality overall. I don't know, there's so much that goes into it that it's hard to narrow out a single thing like comfort.

I see siege being adjacent to games like cs and valorant when it comes to aiming styles, at least compared to apex or overwatch the three all play fairly similar and so I think a lot of what I said in my artisan video about why someone might want a slower or faster pad still applies. So control pads offer benefits for stability on microadjustments and flicks, faster ones for fluidity and freedom of movement, and you can choose which suits you best based on your style. I still think the best pads I've used are artisans, with the type99 being best for control, raiden for speed and the zero for a fairly neutral experience.

I haven't tried it but have seen northernlion play it LOL theres one scenario type that looked similar which is 3 click scenarios which I actually think r very useful for in game training c:

I think you can still reach a good level! But I do think at some point you'll find at least some aspects of that mouse too limiting. 130g is a LOT and means that any movement will create a lot of extra inertia which requires more tension to counteract. Tension budgeting gets a lot harder on heavier mice because of that and I think that will be compounded by palm grip. The main way I offset higher amounts of tension is by utilising different muscle groups, so if I'm tensing a lot in my fingertips I'll start making movements with my wrist instead, but here you only have 2 of the three muscle groups to utilise. I guess you could look into a modded version of that mouse if you really wanted to push yourself? I'm sure it would be possible to get into the 90 gram range at least which will be a big upgrade! If you haven't already, swapping out the mouse skates will make a big difference too.

This is a fantastic question, thank you! I actually feel like it's quite rare for someone to be approaching scenarios fundamentally wrong at a high level, there are absolutely examples of newer players playing static in completely the wrong way but once you get to like, master? grandmaster? You'll almost be locked out of anything higher if you have a fundamentally wrong technique, and something adjacent to proper technique is something you'll be almost forced into. I think what's more common, and this is an important distinction I promise, is for someone to need to alter their technique slightly to improve further. I think it's more helpful than thinking of it as a complete restructuring of your aim since your not developing entirely new skills, just refining what you've already learned. Reframing it this way made the idea that I had to change a fair bit about how I was aiming easier to swallow for me at least. As for how to actually know if you need to do that.... that's the hard part haha, I don't think good technique is well defined at all and the common advice, just watch top players, is useful but always left me with the question of, is my technique just different from top players or is my technique worse? So here's my best attempt to define it: Good technique involves trying to make only the mouse movements that you have to while keeping the total number of distinct movements low. So for example, perfect technique on tracking is tracking the very edge of the bot, reducing the total amount of movement when the target changes directions. The second principle, reducing the total number of distinct movements, comes into play on scenarios like linear clicking. Flicking past the target and waiting for it to go back under your crosshair is better here, even though it involves more total movement, since it is a single distinct movement. Whereas flicking to where the target actually is will require a microadjustment, a second movement which creates more potential causes for error. I don't think this is a perfect definition and I'm sure you can find exceptions to these rules, but generally when evaluating my own technique that's the framework I use.

This is a tough one, personally I tried fingertip and found it honestly kind of unapproachable because of how much stopping power I lost. I know it's meant to be the best grip for microadjustments and it's what I default to when browsing the web and stuff so it's obviously comfortable, but yeah I could never get over that stability issue. My personal answer was to swap over to claw and find some variation of it that felt comfortable for me, but if that isn't achievable for you on your current mouse you can get very good with fingertip with enough practice! Something that could help is that applying downwards force is still doable, it just should be done with your ring and pinkie finger instead of pressing down onto the mouse itself.

I think they absolutely can help! I know people like matty never take breaks but I've always found myself coming back feeling very mentally refreshed after even a short one, it helps me keep my approach varied and stay mentally sharp. I personally don't play every day these days, and I'll occasionally take weeks off if I'm particularly busy. The weeks off probably hinder my progress a little if I chain too many together, but other than that I really don't think so

Hi and thank you! I'm sorry but I've never really voice trained so I'm not a very good person to ask for this haha. I've seen some discussion of resources in the raw input discord though, that might be a good place to look?

I think having not just good mouse skates but the right skates for your pad is insanely undervalued right now, especially for glass. Honestly I can't use stock skates anymore on most mice because aftermarkets have the potential to be sooo much better. For glass my favourite skates are the rennsports, they sound better and are way smoother than anything else I've tried on glass pads. For cloth, my favourite are the artisan dots easily but they aren't released yet, once they do I recommend those but for now the ultraglide silence are my picks. As for the engagement thing, I'm not really certain for this one. I do think aimtraining is something that benefits a lot from conscious, focused practice rather than just mindlessly playing scenarios or routines, but I don't think playing on autopilot makes it completely useless. I still found playing a little a day to keep myself sharp worked while I was bored out of my mind doing it, and you don't need to play much to feel those benefits! Personally I like to put on something in the background while playing like a long form video or podcast to keep my mind occupied, helps with the boredom a bit.

Yeah glass is really tough honestly, I haven't ever been very good on glass honestly so ended up asking pinguefy for their thoughts, and the main standout thing from that was stopping technique. Usually on cloth pads people lean into the friction of their pads to slow their mouse down, on glass that is absent so you kind of have to turn to alternate stopping techniques. This is something we talked more about in the voltaic video about flicking technique, and all that applies to glass tenfold imo so trying to apply some of the techniques talked about in that video should help! I think it might be worth looking into aftermarket skates as well, my favourite are the rennsports, they made glass pads feel a lot smoother and more consistent.

I like playing pokeball scenarios for this! It is kind of like static but without the clicking and really helped me focus specifically on having clean and smooth flicks between each target.

This is probably one of the least understood topics in the peripheral space at the moment and one I'm not entirely certain of myself, specifically for how it impacts your actual aiming ability. I'm working on a video at the moment which should give me some semblance of an answer, but in the meantime I do have info to add to the topic that I think has been missed by people who have covered it before. First, latency is not the most important factor of a lower polling rate. One of the most common arguments I see against it is that "humans can't notice 0.5ms lower latency" but that isn't what people are using higher polling rate for. The benefit is the consistency of inputs sent to your pc, and therefore the consistency of how mouse movements are represented on screen. I'll link a paper about this in the description when I turn my answers for these questions into a second channel video soon, in my opinion we can't draw much from it in terms of conclusions for reasons I'll get into in that polling rate video but the information is still solid. The paper used the term "temporal jitter" for this visual deviation which I'll use going forward. The next is an explanation I have for why some people, myself included, swear that higher polling rate is significant visually and others can't feel the difference at all. There are two potential explanations here, the first is that temporal jitter is not only tied to polling rate. A lower polling rate could actually have a higher temporal jitter than a higher polling rate, depending on how it interacts with the monitors refresh rate. For example 1000hz on a 144hz monitor has a expected jitter size of 0.1ms, whereas on a 240hz monitor 2000hz polling rate would product an expected jitter size of 0.25ms, over twice that of 1000hz on 144! The other element here is that humans have different sensitivities for temporal jitter, I don't know what causes this but some people are just more aware of inconsistencies in movement than others. As for if it offers an advantage, everything I've seen so far is inconclusive. I'm doing some testing on this myself but I don't see me and me alone being able to 100% answer this. Personally I set my mouse to 4k and lower it to 2k if I notice fps drops in a certain game. I don't see a reason not to if your mouse has the option.

I think it's a bit more than just preference. Glass pads and cloth pads are very fundamentally different and because of that require fundamentally different techniques as well which makes it not worth swapping to for most pros. There's the obvious element of speed, people typically like slower pads for tac shooters but I do think the surface being solid specifically has a larger impact than people realize. There are some aspects of glass pads that I think, in theory, could be good for some people in tac fps games, for example on cloth, it's very common to struggle with pressing down into the pad in stressful situations which creates a lot of extra uncontrolled friction for you to fight against which you really don't want in those moments. Glass prevents you from doing that so that potential inconsistency is gone but at the same time that variable friction isn't always a bad thing. On cloth, if you're good enough you can lean into that slowdown to dynamically control that friction to get a faster or slower pad when you need it. I think this is fairly common among tac fps players too, it's how I started implementing it in my gameplay and it's why I'll never main a glass pad. Having it be the same speed all the time is a negative for me. There's a lot more to this discussion though, I think the idea people seem to have at the moment that glass = more skillful therefore it will make you better is a bit reductive but I'll save that for a future video. As for if someone could become a pro on glass, absolutely! There are already some incredibly good valorant players who use skypads for example, I just think for current pros it's not worth the time investment for, in my opinion, basically no reward in these games.