Probably the biggest skill gap between normal players and competitive ones in any shooter is aiming. That’s why it is pretty common to wonder how you can improve your aim in Valorant. The abilities of each agent are the things that grab your attention, but this is a shooter, and aiming is the most important core mechanic. Good aim is pretty much vital to playing well in Valorant. You can improve your aim in Valorant if you’re willing to put a bit of time into practice and mastering the mechanics.
This guide covers how to do that. These are some strategies and some tips and tricks to work on your aim. If you know your Agent’s inside and out, along with their best positions on a map, then a great aim is going to make you a fantastic player.
How to Improve your Aim in Valorant
Your Mouse and Set-Up
The first thing you really need to look at to improve your aim in Valorant is your mouse and your settings. This is what you need to know:
Mouse and Equipment
The best gaming mouse can make you a great player, but an average mouse is still going to make a big improvement for you. Try to use a mouse with a decent DPI and responsiveness. This is going to make your aim more reactive. A larger mouse pad is also helpful in shooter games since it allows you to be more precise in your movements.
You can improve your aim in Valorant no matter your equipment. However, it is better to avoid fighting both the game and your equipment if you can.
Settings
Your sensitivities in-game are going to decide how well you can aim. Since Valorant is relatively new, good advice is to emulate a game you’re already proficient in.
Mess around with the settings and generally try to match them up to your settings in Fortnite or Overwatch or Counter-Strike. Doing this is going to make the game feel a lot more familiar and cut down on time spent learning how to improve your aim in Valorant. You can also check out the sensitivities of Valorant pro players for some inspiration.
Improve your Aim in Valorant – Training
To improve your aim in Valorant, you’ve got to put some time into training. This is done both through normal games and training routines. In this guide we’ll be focusing on training routines that you can do. Practice in games is fine, but that is pretty much just playing rounds of Valorant! It is in the training ground that you can really focus and improve your aim in Valorant.
Bot Practice
The first area you’re going to practice your aim is in the bot practice area. This is the more that pops up a number of bots at once for you to take shots at. These are some tips to actually get some progress out of it:
- Don’t Spray – If you just spray your shots, you’re not practicing anything in particular. You don’t want to work on your ability to fire off shots at random. Instead, practice taking measured shots until they become quicker.
- Go for the Headshot – Trying to practice your headshots in this range will help you move your cursor towards the head more naturally. This is the kind of muscle memory you actually want to build.
- Burst Fire – Try to burst fire. This makes you actually line up your shot before you hit. Doing this might feel slow at first, but it will help you speed up. Once you can do this quickly, you’ll be able to move from target to target relatively quickly in-game.
- Dull but Steady – Taking out bot heads is really quite dull. However, it helps you build muscle memory. Stick at it and try to reach a speed that you’re happy with.
- Settings – You can change up the settings in this mode and you’ll be able to make it a bit harder for yourself. Make good use of this but try to avoid spraying even with spread out targets.
Spray Patterns
Spraying shots out feels slightly different in Valorant compared with other games. This is what you need to know to improve your aim in Valorant while spraying.
- Spray Patterns – Try to learn these. Head to the target area of the practice range to do this. Start up close and learn how the shots spread out while you’re spraying. You then need to practice keeping your shots contained on the target.
- Adjust for Spray – Once you’ve learned the spray pattern, you need to learn to adjust for it. Try to take your spray shot and move your mouse to compensate for the spray pattern.
- Muscle Memory – This can help you to build your muscle memory while spraying. If you can master this, you can keep your shots straight by compensating for the spray patterns. This is key to improve your aim in Valorant.
- Range – Be sure to adjust your range and try to get the hang of even long-range. While harder, this can be really useful in games.
Peaking
Peaking is a vital part of improving your aim in Valorant. This is peaking out from cover to take a quick shot. In this game, you can actually practice it really easily in the training ground. You can use the same target range used for spraying, but you peak through the archway entrance to this area.
- Since there are various levels of platforms involved in this area, you should be able to master lining up your cursor to the right height before you take your shot.
- Peak in and out, trying to ensure your shots are lined up each time.
- Don’t spray widely, since this is a panic move and any shots you get in are probably going to be more luck.
- If you’re practicing spray, do so in the same way as before. Keep your cursor where it should be and try to compensate for the spray pattern while peaking.
- You can still set the target to various lengths on here to get the hang of things.
This is going to help you actually use your aim in Valorant, since peaking and playing around edges are really important.
Improve Your Aim At Valorant
While the abilities of each agent are cool, aim really is the most important skill in Valorant. Getting better at it takes some time. It starts with using the right set-up, with the correct mouse and settings. Beyond that though, using the right strategies for practice and improvement are going to pay off, but it might take some time to develop the muscle memory that you need.
Our other Valorant guides can help you master the rest of the title:
- Best Valorant Weapons Guide
- Which Valorant Agent Should You Play As?
- How to Unlock all Valorant Agents
- Best Valorant Settings
- Valorant Phoenix Guide
- Valorant Tips and Tricks