If there’s one thing to know about Counter Strike: GO, it’s that practice makes perfect. Knowing the maps, training with the weapons… everything helps when it comes to climbing the ranks of the Valve FPS. For this reason, we’ve rounded up our best tips and guides to control the spray (recoil) of the game’s most lethal weapons, plus a couple of mini-games to hone your aiming skills.
Spray Control
Spray control essentially boils down to compensating for recoil by moving your mouse in the opposite direction while shooting.
AK-47
The ultimate terrorist assault rifle, its power is matched only by its powerful recoil.
With this weapon, your first shot will always be deadly if you hit the enemy’s head, but if you have to keep shooting, it’s best to do bursts of 2–3 shots. As seen in the image, there comes a point when it’s almost impossible to compensate for this monster weapon’s recoil.
M4A4
While its leading shot may not be as powerful, it’s much more versatile, making it possible to shoot bursts of 7–8 bullets.
AWP
The most powerful sniper rifle of all games, one shot is enough to finish anyone off. Even walls can’t stop these bullets. Being a bolt, this rifle has zero recoil, so where you aim is where the bullet goes. What’s key with this rifle is your recovery and repositioning the scope if you miss the first shot or if you’re after another target.
Games to improve performance
AIM LAB
This game is completely free and is available on Steam as an early access. It’s also fully customisable as it lets you add the features of any of the 500 shooters it has on its list.
But that’s not all — Aim Lab also measures performance, studies statistics and gives you tips on how to improve. And not just your aim, but all related skills: visual detection speed, attention span, short-term memory, audio-spatial skills and decision-making.
What makes Aim Lab so popular with professionals is its detailed post-training reports describing your strengths and weaknesses. These reports show graphs and tables that break down the training sessions down to the smallest detail.
3D Aim Trainer
3D Aim Trainer is free software which you can either download, play in your browser or use on iOS and Android mobile devices. Hence its current success.
3D Aim Trainer focuses on five basic FPS skills within Academy mode. These are:
Flicking: Quickly moving your mouse to a recently appeared target’s position
Clicking: Predicting your target’s movement as it moves across the screen
Tracking: Fixing your eyes and crosshair on a target as it moves
Target switching: Moving from one target to another as quickly as possible
Strafe aiming: Systematically hitting a target while you’re both moving
What makes 3D Aim Trainer unique is that its training sessions are designed to simulate the most popular shooting games in the industry, so players get a better practice go with this app than with any other tool.
It’s also incredibly straightforward to use. You choose a skill you want to improve, add the FPS game you want to simulate, and 3D Aim Trainer automatically starts the lesson.
