6 ms·

I wish I could get into this game, but I just can't. The difficulty curve isn't so much a curve as a wall (see also Dota 2) and there's weird (to me) things lik

I wish I could get into this game, but I just can't. The difficulty curve isn't so much a curve as a wall (see also Dota 2) and there's weird (to me) things like you can't change ADS to "hold the right mouse button" instead of "click the right mouse button". The most I can do in it is play against some very dumb bots. Hope it's a nice upgrade for the people who enjoy it! Good to see it has a native Linux build as well (I know all Valve games do, but in my experience native builds don't always work as well as the Windows versions under Proton). Edit: I installed it and lo and behold they have an option to make aiming a hold vs toggle. Now the only barrier is my incredible lack of talent and skill.

kupopuffs 3y ago
getting better at this game requires fundamental lessons that are hard to communicate (like counter-strafing, how important it is to have good aim AND good movement). AKA level 1 and then there's the teamwork aspect (comms, strats, etc...) aka level 2 and then there's the game sense (counter-stratting, countering opponents bad habits) aka level 3 honestly the wall can be less intimidating if you work on your mechanics (level 1), which is the base of all of this
- jakebasile 3y ago
  I probably wouldn't get past level 1! Despite playing FPS for decades at this point I've never been able to develop super accurate aiming. I'm good enough for vs CPU games (usually) but against humans I end up with around 5-10% accuracy. Oh well!
  - kupopuffs 3y ago
    aiming in this game is very precise due to the movement constraints not that I know what other games you've enjoyed But mastering movement is paramount to having good accuracy
  - cube2222 3y ago
    I used to have this problem, thinking I just can't get accurate in FPS's. Then I read that your mouse sensitivity should generally be around 30-60 cm movement to do a 360 rotation. Mine was more in the area of 5-10 cm for a single rotation (so that I could use just my wrist for movements), which is almost impossible to properly aim with. The idea is to do movements with your whole arm and micro-adjustments with your wrist. It's annoying and weird at first, but after getting used to it your accuracy gets an order of magnitude better. Not sure if that's your case, but thought I'd share if others had this problem.
    - tstrimple 3y ago
      This also helped me improve quite a lot. Though there are two types of aim which benefit from different sensitivities. Tracking aim, which is what you’d use with weapons which require multiple hits to kill like SMGs or beam weapons. You’re tracking the player with your aim as you move. Lower sensitivity really helps here. Flick aiming is typically used for sniper rifles with one hit kill capabilities. You’re not really aiming so much as relying on your reflexes and experience to snap off an instant shot. Think of those crazy 360 no scope shots. These can benefit from a higher sensitivity than tracking. Unless you’re playing a game where you’re literally just using a beam weapon, you’ll likely switch between these aim modes frequently and naturally throughout a game and having multiple sensitivities that you switch between can really fuck up your “intuitive” feel when aiming. In those cases I try to find a happy medium. Something a bit higher than optimal for tracking but usable for flicking.
    - spartanatreyu 3y ago
      ^ It's absolutely this. I always thought I played normal, but I needed this to be pointed out to me. If no one has ever seen an e-sports player's physical movements, They have very light mice (under 75g), a mouse pad about 1m (3ft) long and move their whole arm left and right to turn their character 180 degrees while using just their wrist and flexing their fingers to fine tune the cursor onto the head for a headshot. Here's how to improve: First, start reducing your mouse sensitivity by 1.5 total percent each day. This is so the change is gradual enough that you can keep playing games like normal, but you'll have brought your sensitivity down to a more manageable level. This will also give your body time to build new muscles in your arm that you'll be using for holding your arm out and moving your mouse (you don't tend to use these muscles in anything else during the day. Don't try to skip to the end even if you're fit, because you'll over exert some specific muscles in your arms that you don't use because they're hidden under other muscles). Once you're at the point where you comfortably need to move your mouse about 60cm (2ft) to perform a 180 in-game, you should start looking at aim-training. There are aim-training games that will teach you how to flick, track, etc... (If you're not exactly sure what these are, you will learn by watching some in-trainer tutorial videos) Aim-trainers are a lot more focused and intense specifically on aiming compared to regular games which means you build up specific skills in them much faster than regular games. Spend about 10-15 minutes a day in the aim trainer right before playing your games. This will train you, but also warm you up so you're already playing well when you move to an actual game. The aim-trainer will track your performance and you'll notice it gradually trend upwards bit by bit for about 6 weeks. By this point, you're probably better in some ways than the average player. But you're still going to get demolished by a few specific people you'll run into online. To start facing those players, you'll be able to go into your aim-trainer (which has recorded all of your stats so far) and see which specific skills you need to practice.
  - bravetraveler 3y ago
    Honestly aim only goes so far. A lot of it's knowing crosshair placement (ie: aiming where someone would be around the corner) and comfort with moving. It helps to know rough timings for where conflicts first happen. You can filter out a lot of this posturing by having a sense of where the other team should be, given timing For example, in B-tunnels on dust2 in CS:GO and 2. With a decent spawn point, the opposing teams meet at the stairs - favoring whoever was slightly closer. It may be best to simply post up, or push through I've always been a mediocre shot compared to my peers, but my gamesense and calm nature has made me super useful on invitational teams If you're into it, just work on consistency - the rest will follow
    - baby 3y ago
      Another pro move is to aim on the wall where you crosshair will meet the target after you straff. So you aim at the wall, move left and now you’re aiming at the correct position without having had to move your crosshair, then move your crosshair again to the wall, rinse and repeat.
      - bravetraveler 3y ago
        Indeed, a key part of this crosshair placement is 'prefiring' - knowing you're about to shoot before peeking. The time-to-kill is rather low, the victor is [usually] who prepared the most - not who has the best natural aim. I decide where I go each round by my spawn point - that's one of the easiest advantages you can have; knowing which allows you to beat the other team to a position/setup. Once that initial fun is over, it's mostly about keeping a mental model of where the other team 'should be', and preparing for that. Public games are a wild animal, you lose a lot of this 'reasoning' when it's no longer 5v5 or some reasonable number. You generally assume a 2-1-2 split on the left/mid/right 'lanes' of the map; but some teams may stack when economically challenged. Many pistols beat one/two rifles, and can turn the round around!
- JohnMakin 3y ago
  sometimes it's stuff that's just weird esoteric game mechanics - like for a very long time the distance you stand from a corner while peeking will determine if the enemy can see you before you see them. You will never learn that unless someone just tells you.
  - paint 3y ago
    [dead]
  - kupopuffs 3y ago
    absolutely! some nuances are hard to learn
- scorxn 3y ago
  Agree with these points, but at 1.5 I'd insert: intimate knowledge of the maps. "Holding angles" is such a profound advantage, and requires knowing the maps inside-and-out.
  - ThatPlayer 3y ago
    This is why I'm glad they added per-map ranks in competitive.
  - tstrimple 3y ago
    To me this fits under the game sense category. I don’t think these are really a linear progression. It’s absolutely possible to get much better at “game sense” as a way of compensating for aim that isn’t that great. At high levels, you’ll see pros who can take out cheaters with an aim bot because they know enough about the maps and angles and game mechanics to overcome perfect aim and reaction time.
  - baby 3y ago
    You can get there by just playing really slow. Always wait for your opponent, don’t push, etc.
dzogchen 3y ago
I had the same experience, until a friend told me you really need a good monitor (144 Hz+) and a good mouse, otherwise you are hopeless in this game.
- baby 3y ago
  You need a good mouse anyway. The monitor heh
- Jnr 3y ago
  Just mouse should be sufficient. Back in 2015 I managed to get up to DMG rank on Macbook with a decent Razer mouse. Now you can get gaming mouse with a good sensor for ~20 eur.
- themoonisachees 3y ago
  Those help but they are definitely not required. CS is fundamentally a game about first aiming skill (which you have to train) and reflexes, and then with skill becomes a game about strategy and map knowledge. Obviously at the highest levels you're not getting very far on a $5 mouse and a 60FPS monitor but you can get about halfway up up the ranks before it starts being a problem.
- inquirerGeneral 3y ago
  [dead]
baby 3y ago
Just play fun games at your skill level, and/or play with friends. It’s all about having fun. Don’t try to get into competitive games right from the start. Or if you feel like you can, join a team at your level.
- jakebasile 3y ago
  Oh no, I never meant to get into it competitively. I don't get much joy out of that. But it'd be nice to have a PvP shooter I could screw around in every so often. CoD kind of used to be that for me, but it's both gone in a direction I don't enjoy and doesn't work well on Linux due to anti-cheat.
  - Corrado 3y ago
    Try TF2! It's super fun and not competitive at all. Sure, its a little gimmicky but most of the players are in it for a good time and don't mind messing around a bit.
  - baby 3y ago
    Aren't gungames fun at a beginner level? Or custom games also.
mdhen 3y ago
I reccomend playing arms race to get good at the mechanics of it. Constant fighting, a lot of fun, and if you're not good at moving and aiming you'll get good because it's constant practice.

kupopuffs 3y ago

getting better at this game requires fundamental lessons that are hard to communicate (like counter-strafing, how important it is to have good aim AND good movement). AKA level 1 and then there's the teamwork aspect (comms, strats, etc...) aka level 2 and then there's the game sense (counter-stratting, countering opponents bad habits) aka level 3 honestly the wall can be less intimidating if you work on your mechanics (level 1), which is the base of all of this

jakebasile 3y ago
I probably wouldn't get past level 1! Despite playing FPS for decades at this point I've never been able to develop super accurate aiming. I'm good enough for vs CPU games (usually) but against humans I end up with around 5-10% accuracy. Oh well!
- kupopuffs 3y ago
  aiming in this game is very precise due to the movement constraints not that I know what other games you've enjoyed But mastering movement is paramount to having good accuracy
- cube2222 3y ago
  I used to have this problem, thinking I just can't get accurate in FPS's. Then I read that your mouse sensitivity should generally be around 30-60 cm movement to do a 360 rotation. Mine was more in the area of 5-10 cm for a single rotation (so that I could use just my wrist for movements), which is almost impossible to properly aim with. The idea is to do movements with your whole arm and micro-adjustments with your wrist. It's annoying and weird at first, but after getting used to it your accuracy gets an order of magnitude better. Not sure if that's your case, but thought I'd share if others had this problem.
  - tstrimple 3y ago
    This also helped me improve quite a lot. Though there are two types of aim which benefit from different sensitivities. Tracking aim, which is what you’d use with weapons which require multiple hits to kill like SMGs or beam weapons. You’re tracking the player with your aim as you move. Lower sensitivity really helps here. Flick aiming is typically used for sniper rifles with one hit kill capabilities. You’re not really aiming so much as relying on your reflexes and experience to snap off an instant shot. Think of those crazy 360 no scope shots. These can benefit from a higher sensitivity than tracking. Unless you’re playing a game where you’re literally just using a beam weapon, you’ll likely switch between these aim modes frequently and naturally throughout a game and having multiple sensitivities that you switch between can really fuck up your “intuitive” feel when aiming. In those cases I try to find a happy medium. Something a bit higher than optimal for tracking but usable for flicking.
  - spartanatreyu 3y ago
    ^ It's absolutely this. I always thought I played normal, but I needed this to be pointed out to me. If no one has ever seen an e-sports player's physical movements, They have very light mice (under 75g), a mouse pad about 1m (3ft) long and move their whole arm left and right to turn their character 180 degrees while using just their wrist and flexing their fingers to fine tune the cursor onto the head for a headshot. Here's how to improve: First, start reducing your mouse sensitivity by 1.5 total percent each day. This is so the change is gradual enough that you can keep playing games like normal, but you'll have brought your sensitivity down to a more manageable level. This will also give your body time to build new muscles in your arm that you'll be using for holding your arm out and moving your mouse (you don't tend to use these muscles in anything else during the day. Don't try to skip to the end even if you're fit, because you'll over exert some specific muscles in your arms that you don't use because they're hidden under other muscles). Once you're at the point where you comfortably need to move your mouse about 60cm (2ft) to perform a 180 in-game, you should start looking at aim-training. There are aim-training games that will teach you how to flick, track, etc... (If you're not exactly sure what these are, you will learn by watching some in-trainer tutorial videos) Aim-trainers are a lot more focused and intense specifically on aiming compared to regular games which means you build up specific skills in them much faster than regular games. Spend about 10-15 minutes a day in the aim trainer right before playing your games. This will train you, but also warm you up so you're already playing well when you move to an actual game. The aim-trainer will track your performance and you'll notice it gradually trend upwards bit by bit for about 6 weeks. By this point, you're probably better in some ways than the average player. But you're still going to get demolished by a few specific people you'll run into online. To start facing those players, you'll be able to go into your aim-trainer (which has recorded all of your stats so far) and see which specific skills you need to practice.
- bravetraveler 3y ago
  Honestly aim only goes so far. A lot of it's knowing crosshair placement (ie: aiming where someone would be around the corner) and comfort with moving. It helps to know rough timings for where conflicts first happen. You can filter out a lot of this posturing by having a sense of where the other team should be, given timing For example, in B-tunnels on dust2 in CS:GO and 2. With a decent spawn point, the opposing teams meet at the stairs - favoring whoever was slightly closer. It may be best to simply post up, or push through I've always been a mediocre shot compared to my peers, but my gamesense and calm nature has made me super useful on invitational teams If you're into it, just work on consistency - the rest will follow
  - baby 3y ago
    Another pro move is to aim on the wall where you crosshair will meet the target after you straff. So you aim at the wall, move left and now you’re aiming at the correct position without having had to move your crosshair, then move your crosshair again to the wall, rinse and repeat.
    - bravetraveler 3y ago
      Indeed, a key part of this crosshair placement is 'prefiring' - knowing you're about to shoot before peeking. The time-to-kill is rather low, the victor is [usually] who prepared the most - not who has the best natural aim. I decide where I go each round by my spawn point - that's one of the easiest advantages you can have; knowing which allows you to beat the other team to a position/setup. Once that initial fun is over, it's mostly about keeping a mental model of where the other team 'should be', and preparing for that. Public games are a wild animal, you lose a lot of this 'reasoning' when it's no longer 5v5 or some reasonable number. You generally assume a 2-1-2 split on the left/mid/right 'lanes' of the map; but some teams may stack when economically challenged. Many pistols beat one/two rifles, and can turn the round around!
JohnMakin 3y ago
sometimes it's stuff that's just weird esoteric game mechanics - like for a very long time the distance you stand from a corner while peeking will determine if the enemy can see you before you see them. You will never learn that unless someone just tells you.
- paint 3y ago
  [dead]
- kupopuffs 3y ago
  absolutely! some nuances are hard to learn
scorxn 3y ago
Agree with these points, but at 1.5 I'd insert: intimate knowledge of the maps. "Holding angles" is such a profound advantage, and requires knowing the maps inside-and-out.
- ThatPlayer 3y ago
  This is why I'm glad they added per-map ranks in competitive.
- tstrimple 3y ago
  To me this fits under the game sense category. I don’t think these are really a linear progression. It’s absolutely possible to get much better at “game sense” as a way of compensating for aim that isn’t that great. At high levels, you’ll see pros who can take out cheaters with an aim bot because they know enough about the maps and angles and game mechanics to overcome perfect aim and reaction time.
- baby 3y ago
  You can get there by just playing really slow. Always wait for your opponent, don’t push, etc.

dzogchen 3y ago

I had the same experience, until a friend told me you really need a good monitor (144 Hz+) and a good mouse, otherwise you are hopeless in this game.

baby 3y ago
You need a good mouse anyway. The monitor heh
Jnr 3y ago
Just mouse should be sufficient. Back in 2015 I managed to get up to DMG rank on Macbook with a decent Razer mouse. Now you can get gaming mouse with a good sensor for ~20 eur.
themoonisachees 3y ago
Those help but they are definitely not required. CS is fundamentally a game about first aiming skill (which you have to train) and reflexes, and then with skill becomes a game about strategy and map knowledge. Obviously at the highest levels you're not getting very far on a $5 mouse and a 60FPS monitor but you can get about halfway up up the ranks before it starts being a problem.
inquirerGeneral 3y ago
[dead]

baby 3y ago

Just play fun games at your skill level, and/or play with friends. It’s all about having fun. Don’t try to get into competitive games right from the start. Or if you feel like you can, join a team at your level.

jakebasile 3y ago
Oh no, I never meant to get into it competitively. I don't get much joy out of that. But it'd be nice to have a PvP shooter I could screw around in every so often. CoD kind of used to be that for me, but it's both gone in a direction I don't enjoy and doesn't work well on Linux due to anti-cheat.
- Corrado 3y ago
  Try TF2! It's super fun and not competitive at all. Sure, its a little gimmicky but most of the players are in it for a good time and don't mind messing around a bit.
- baby 3y ago
  Aren't gungames fun at a beginner level? Or custom games also.

mdhen 3y ago

I reccomend playing arms race to get good at the mechanics of it. Constant fighting, a lot of fun, and if you're not good at moving and aiming you'll get good because it's constant practice.