High Sensitivity vs. Low Sensitivity

[Elias Rössel]

Hey Guys. 

I normally used high sensitivity (14cm/360°) and recently i tried to play with lower sensitivity (28cm/360°). 
You really have to get used to it because, i need now need to use my whole arm instead of the wrist. 
But after a while i began to understand why so many player prefer this low sensitivity.
It felt pretty slow, which is not so good in twitch shooters like Black Ops III, but my aim improved and everything felt more stable and reliable. But it also had a big downside and that was the strain, that you have... But in a multiplayer game you want to have every little advantage to be better than the others so it wasn't that of a problem. 
However, playing Black Ops III just for fun with the Campaign or Zombies, i really got that need to go back to a more confi high sensitivity, where i can lay back, chill and use my wrist. ...which i did. But i don't want to switch sensitivity all the time, because i cannot rewrite myself constantly. 
Original i even wanted to have the same Windows sensitivity as ingame, so i could improve my mouse skill when i was working or browsing. What should i do to get the one sensitivity i can stick to, because right now i'm back at the higher sensitivity, because i also like to play casually. Any tips or advice? 

My Specs: Logitech G502 on 3200dpi 
                  4/11 Windows Sensitivity (because 3200dpi would be too high for windows stuff but i also want the benefit of smoothness)
                  Currently 0.50 in BOIII (which is kinda the lowest high sensitivity, where i'm still able to play with my wrist.
                  Any lower than that, and i would need my arm.) 

[WildStyle*]

I was the same, the thing is, with lower sensitivity, unless you have space, your gameplay style changes. Me from rushing and trying to kill everything to tacticaly waiting and killing everything, rather then trying. I went from using 2000-3300 eDPI to 1100... I miss doing random 360's and having more freedom to look around, but after playing for months with 1100 I can't give up the consistency, casual or competitive. I occasionally switch to higher DPI, but I just can't anymore. I wish I could. Cause I like roaming about and it is harder to do with lower sensitivity, but oh well I value consistency over anything else. The thing is as long as you are happy with the sensitivity, and are consistent, no need to change yourself. I only lowered my sensitivity because I was inconsistent, badly so. If you can hit your shots every day ever match with no problems then go for higher sensitivity. If you seem to be unable to aim at a target then change lower. It's a personal preference. Also if your arm is under strain sit higher, you have to have your arm in a relaxed position.your forearm should be horizontal and elbow somewhere in the 90 degree angle depending on certain things.

[Drimzi]

Edited January 28, 2018 by Drimzi

[DNAMTE]

My aim was still never better @ 63cm/360. But since i play COD and other fast FPS that sens is just too slow. If i ONLY played CSGO i would quite possibly be using that sens still.

 

Now i'm at 42cm and it is the best mix of precision and mobility for me so far.

[WhoCares?]

For games with 74vfov I am playing with 40.6 cm /360° right now.

Maybe I am going to buy a 10-keyless board and lower my cm/360° to something like 47 or 56 cm/360°, but I am not sure yet

Edited March 25, 2017 by WhoCares?

[Drimzi]

Edited January 28, 2018 by Drimzi

[potato psoas]

Assuming you have developed enough dexterity, you should pick a sensitivity. But if you have only just started PC gaming then you should experiment a bit more so you can develop enough dexterity, otherwise you won't know what you are capable of and you'll be stuck with a sensitivity that doesn't suit you.

 

My advice for picking the best sensitivity:

 

I found the best way to pick the best sensitivity is to go to a website like http://www.aimbooster.com/, set the preset to Precision, change the target size to 1 and time per target to something like 2 seconds and just mess around with a bunch of DPI settings, starting with high DPI and going down in increments of 100. You are testing what is the maximum sensitivity you can use to be completely accurate for the smallest targets. Remember that with the Viewspeed method we can truly make our desktop sensitivity the same as our in-game sensitivity, which helps with muscle memory.

As you mess around you will find that it is very difficult to not resort to locking in your grip on anything higher than 3200 DPI @ 3/11 WPS (for 1920). You need to avoid locking your grip otherwise you will have trouble tracking targets - which is very bad if you play games like Overwatch, Quake, Titanfall, BO3/IW, as targets bounce all over the place. You need your grip to be flexible and comfortable.

To decide your best sensitivity, go down in increments of 100 DPI (use 3/11 WPS) and aim to get 100% accuracy. Eventually you will get to a DPI where your accuracy does not improve and you feel just as comfortable on higher DPIs. You want your DPI/sensitivity to be somewhere around here, and maybe a little bit higher (as you will probably improve on your dexterity).

 

The other thing to consider when choosing a sensitivity is how well it will converts between different resolutions. Unless you have a mouse that can adjust itself in increments of 1 DPI then you should consider choosing a DPI that you can play on any mouse (increments of 100) and for a particular set of resolutions. Given the way the industry is going, I'd say multiples of 1920 work best and are the resolutions you should consider buying and using in the future. The lowest integer multiplier is 2, so the best multiples of 1920 are 3840(4K), 7680(8K), 15360(16K), 30720(32K),etc. Once you have found a comfortable DPI, you make sure that it converts well enough between different resolutions and WPS settings. 400DPI@6WPS converts smoothly as 800DPI@4WPS, 1600DPI@3WPS, 6400DPI@2WPS. It is useful to have many different WPS options to choose from as you never know what sensitivity range a game might use. E.g. I have to use 800DPI@4WPS for Planetside 2 because anything higher doesn't work.

Keep in mind that the only important thing with resolutions is the horizontal value - it doesn't matter what vertical value you use. If you are like me and not very rich (can't afford too many monitors) then you should get a 16:10 monitor as they are better for browsing than 16:9 and also give you more vertical information in-game if the game uses a resolution base FOV type (like Overwatch)... and it's also close to the golden ratio. If you don't have a 1920x1200 monitor, you should get one. And if you wanted to play on 16:9 (for the extra FOV) then you can just use a custom resolution and you can play on 1920x1080 but with black bars on the top and bottom (which makes it look really cinematic). You can do it in reverse for 16:9 but black bars on the side doesn't look too good and extra vertical height really helps for browsing.

The only problem with 1920 is that it doesn't convert well between 21:9. If some games support ultra widescreen, you can use a custom resolution to play on 21:9 and get EVEN MORE FOV. I have a 1680x1050 monitor that converts well between 16:10, 16:9 and 21:9. But who knows, the industry might stop using 21:9. I particularly don't like it very much as an aspect ratio. I prefer 24:9 as 24 is 1.5x 16, which is a much easier multiplier to convert between. 20:9 might work even better but it would be harder cause you NEED a mouse that has DPI increments of 50.

 

 

I probably don't make any sense, but I tried to word it as best I could. Hope I helped.

Edited March 26, 2017 by Joshua Willis

[DNAMTE]

In my opinion your sensitivity/ mouse movement range should be soley based on how you play / game you play.

 

For example i could safely assume the majority of targets in a game like CSGO are going to appear inside your view direction, generally you know which direction your enemy is going to appear. Compare this to a game where targets can seemingly appear anywhere around you, requiring a sensitivity that can accomidate essentially a much larger target zone.

 

Ultimately that is what will BEST dictate your sensitivity. If we use an aim trainer that has targets ~3pixels confined within a relatively small target box, players using a very low sensitivity in general will score much higher. The opposite could be assumed within a simulation using larger targets in a 360' target zone.

 

I think anyone can become GREAT at ANY sensitivity. But I genuinely believe they could be GREATER using one that better fits whatever game / game style they are playing.

 

Ultimately you have to decide what game/ role you suits you. Don't try writing on a postcard with a paint roller, Don't try painting a wall with a ball point pen.

 

 

When it comes to monitor size or more specifically resolution I think this has allot to do with your eyes focus. It's my opinion that your focus within a game should remain centred, not looking left and right. Where your eyes look your crosshair should follow, always.

 

If your sitting around arms length from your monitor. Focusing dead centre, tell me, how much of the screen can you actually focus on? Widescreen simply becomes unnecessary and potentially distracting. That's my opinion.

I Think if you use the extra FOV 16:9+ provides as peripheral ONLY then its no hindrance. But not required either.

 

Eye movement in unison with your cursor/crosshair should be the ultimate goal.