Finding the "Perfect" Sensitivity – Using Scientific & Anecdotal Data

[Press]

Wow, this is honestly a bit paradigm-shifting for me. I've always operated under the logic of “there are so many uncontrollable, unknowable factors that can trip you up so this one (sensitivity) being consistent is really important” and this seems to be saying more along the lines of “there are so many uncontrollable unknowable factors that can trip you up, and since sensitivity is one that you can control, you're better off learning how and when to use it to compensate for said uncontrollable unknowable factors.” (Am I comprehending that right?)

That is honestly a perfect summary, yes! Essentially, only three things can happen when aiming:

• You hit the target.
• You undershoot (you don't move enough to hit them).
• You overshoot (you move too far and miss them).

The optimal outcome is to hit, obviously, and not even the best aimers hit every shot. But if you, say, tend to overshoot more often than you undershoot (whether in that specific session or long-term), then the easy and obvious solution is to lower your sensitivity so you are less likely to move too far. Sticking to the setting that is not working just because “it normally does work” is a fallacy that you can easily fix, especially with some practice and awareness.

And do not underestimate the aforementioned "honeymoon effect": It is one of the most effective little tricks you can have to immediately improve your aim, which will improve your confidence, which will improve your gameplay generally, which will improve your aim...

Side note, I was fascinated by the study mentioned in the Viscose video about motor control improvement and the brain-theory behind how it works. It's so cool that people are studying this stuff!

There are quite a few pretty interesting and good studies on aim, but all of them to my knowledge are on mouse aim. I did not want to bring them up here just to not further blow up this post, and to not have to explain the differences in detail, but the research exists and it is fascinating!

 

[Arkethel]

I think it's understated how much things like posture matter when aiming in this game. I'd also like to add that if you use a TV with bad input lag it can also severely impact how well you aim. Just like any other competitive shooter, your setup matters.

 

[youre_a_squib_now]

Consider also that tracking the same movements at different distances requires very different hand/cursor speeds to match. The closer you are to a target, the more important it becomes to keep it in your view as it moves around you; the further away it is, the more important it becomes to be precise when it counts..

I want to illustrate that point in a way where we both have to assume that you play Splatoon with a mouse instead of gyro (just because a mousepad is an easier way to visualize the point than tilting the controller). The same principles of cursor movements apply either way.

For this point, you need to realize that an enemy as rendered on screen essentially 'translates' as space on your hypothetical mouse pad. To hit the target on the screen, you must move your mouse on the pad in such a way that the cursor will be on the hitbox.

The further away an enemy is, the smaller it is on your screen; meaning the smaller its hitbox is; meaning the margin of error when moving the mouse on the mousepad gets smaller.

View attachment 8562
View attachment 8563

This, in turn, means that having a lower sensitivity will give you more effective space on the pad to hit your target. Lowering your sensitivity will effectively enlargen the 'translated hitbox' in your real aiming space, making it easier to hit the target at any range – with the trade-off that fast movements generally will be more difficult to pull off. This applies in reverse for higher sensitivities: they make the targetable space effectively smaller, but allow for higher maneuverability of the camera.

View attachment 8560View attachment 8561

So the main trade-off when choosing any sensitivity is to find a compromise between maneuverability and accuracy. The longer the range of the weapon and the further back it plays, the more important it becomes to be accurate. As an E-Liter, you will usually have all targets in your field of view, just because they're all far away from you and you typically have a vantage point position. Because of this, the 'effective zoom-in effect' that low sens has when translating in-game hitboxes to real-life movements typically make lower sensitivities more beneficial than high sensitivities.

The diagrams would probably be more helpful if I had literally ever used a mousepad to aim (and even a mouse I've only used for a handful of hours), but I think I understand what you mean. I had chosen the higher sensitivity in part because I frequently play shorter-ranged weapons such as the nautilus where I need to be able to turn nearly 180 degrees quickly, and I wanted to keep a consistent sens on both weapons, but after reading all this and trying out different sensitivities I think it's okay if I change the sens for different weapons.

 

[youre_a_squib_now]

Also, I was already aiming better on my first couple games with 2.5 sens even without any time to adjust. so you're definitely right about it basically being a bigger target

 

[Yosi Spring]

Very intriguing post, I never thought about aim in this way!

Quick question though - I originally switched to +5 motion because I thought it would reduce wrist strain, help with mashing (it's easier to mash if your controller is in the same position), and help with Charger trickshots (360s). If my goal isn't necessarily to improve my aim, would you still recommend frequently switching sens?

 

[Press]

Very intriguing post, I never thought about aim in this way!

Quick question though - I originally switched to +5 motion because I thought it would reduce wrist strain, help with mashing (it's easier to mash if your controller is in the same position), and help with Charger trickshots (360s). If my goal isn't necessarily to improve my aim, would you still recommend frequently switching sens?

If you want to improve your hand-eye-coordination for any reason, switching the sensitivity can help!

 

[skyguys]

Excellent post. Got me thinking a lot about how my sensitivity has changed throughout the years and why that happens besides noticing issues with controller.

Best part about this informative thread is that it can be indexed by Search engines. Aka it's viewable by a single google search. And not lost within the sea of Twitter.

 

[s9221300]

5 +mc 3.5+ sticks eliter 4k

 

[youre_a_squib_now]

5 +mc 3.5+ sticks eliter 4k

Have you read this post?

Consider also that tracking the same movements at different distances requires very different hand/cursor speeds to match. The closer you are to a target, the more important it becomes to keep it in your view as it moves around you; the further away it is, the more important it becomes to be precise when it counts..

I want to illustrate that point in a way where we both have to assume that you play Splatoon with a mouse instead of gyro (just because a mousepad is an easier way to visualize the point than tilting the controller). The same principles of cursor movements apply either way.

For this point, you need to realize that an enemy as rendered on screen essentially 'translates' as space on your hypothetical mouse pad. To hit the target on the screen, you must move your mouse on the pad in such a way that the cursor will be on the hitbox.

The further away an enemy is, the smaller it is on your screen; meaning the smaller its hitbox is; meaning the margin of error when moving the mouse on the mousepad gets smaller.

View attachment 8562
View attachment 8563

This, in turn, means that having a lower sensitivity will give you more effective space on the pad to hit your target. Lowering your sensitivity will effectively enlargen the 'translated hitbox' in your real aiming space, making it easier to hit the target at any range – with the trade-off that fast movements generally will be more difficult to pull off. This applies in reverse for higher sensitivities: they make the targetable space effectively smaller, but allow for higher maneuverability of the camera.

View attachment 8560View attachment 8561

So the main trade-off when choosing any sensitivity is to find a compromise between maneuverability and accuracy. The longer the range of the weapon and the further back it plays, the more important it becomes to be accurate. As an E-Liter, you will usually have all targets in your field of view, just because they're all far away from you and you typically have a vantage point position. Because of this, the 'effective zoom-in effect' that low sens has when translating in-game hitboxes to real-life movements typically make lower sensitivities more beneficial than high sensitivities.

I found it to be quite helpful when considering what makes different sensitivities valuable.

 

[stripes]

ahh i remember a while back in inkademy when Press got on my case for blubbering about muscle memory wrt sens. i've been much less afraid to change it up now and have been much happier with a lower sens than what i initially ran, so i thank you for that lol