There are so many misconceptions about this topic. Everyday, I hear people talking about wrist aiming vs arm aiming. Which is better, and the pros and cons. And I see youtube guides that cover the pros and cons of every aim type and I just facepalm. When people talk about wrist aiming and arm aiming, they probably mean Low sensitivity vs High sensitivity.
I will be real with you guys. Wrist aiming and arm aiming. Which is better? It is a false separation as most of the people use a combination of both. The motion comes from the arm/shoulder and you activate your wrist for stability. You should ideally incorporate both aiming techniques while aiming. Arm aiming for great distance movements and wrist aiming for micro adjustments. Utilizing both arm and wrist while aiming is most effective. Generally, pure wrist aiming is for players with very high sensitivity and arm aiming is for players with very low sensitivity.
Wrist Aiming (High Sensitivity)
With wrist-aiming, you usually put your hand at the edge of the table and put your hand on your chair armrest or just let it float in the air. With this position, in order to aim and track targets, your only option is to move your wrist. This method of aiming, is only applicable for players with high sensitivity. And generally, we want to avoid that as slow is better. Read more here: BEST Sensitivity for FPS Games.
When wrist aiming, using high sensitivity is a must. Because there is less room for movement, those fast quick turns and big mouse movements have to be made with only your wrist. Therefore, requiring you to increase your sensitivity.
There are 2 big cons to Wrist Aiming:
- It creates health issues. Because you solely rely on your wrist when aiming, it creates a lot of stress on the wrist and overtime, this can be very harmful. There are some pros who have stopped competing because of wrist injuries. [1] [2].
- It requires you to use high sensitivity. And yes, we do not like that. Like I said in my sensitivity guide, How To Find Your Perfect Sensitivity. Using high sensitivity is not ideal for you. Catering to the lower spectrum is best practice. (Ask almost every professional player haha)
Arm Aiming (Low Sensitivity)
With arm aiming, you usually put your whole forearm on the table. With this position, in order to aim and track targets, you use your whole arm to aim, therefore, requiring you to use low sensitivity. Arm aiming with high sensitivity is impossible as you won’t have the stability and you won’t be precise.
Disclaimer, again, I want to emphasis that almost no one is a pure arm aimer. We all use combination of all muscles. Wrist for stability and small micro adjustments and arm for bigger swings. So if you are an “Arm Aimer”, you are probably doing a combination, so make sure to check out the next section as well.
There is a big con to Arm Aiming:
- Making small movements and corrections is very hard with arm aiming. Your wrist was built exactly for that. Doing those micro movements with your wrist and is natural and easy. It is impossible doing that with arm aiming only.
Combination (Low Sensitivity - Mid Sensitivity)
Simillair to arm aiming, you put your whole forearm on the table. But, you use a combination of muscles to get the best aim you can. For those larger movements and quick turns, you use your arm. For micro movements and corrections you use your wrist. Win win.
Combination of arm aiming and wrist aiming is hands down the best method of aiming. Utilizing the precision and smoothness of a low sensitivity while maintaining the swiftness of a high sensitivity. Use your arm to move great distances and wrist for precise movements.
Imagine an enemy 300m away. He is so far, he is a tiny dot on your screen. But he is running horizontally and you are tracking him. You are probably going to use your wrist to track him. Now imagine the same enemy, 2 meters away. Jumping, strafing, bunny hopping side to side. You are probably going to use your arm to track him. This is just best practice.
Utilizing only one method for aiming is a waste of the human body. You should utilize everything you can in order to win the competition. That’s why, you have to become accustomed to using every part of your arm and wrist.
As I already said, I am a big fan of slow sensitivity (like most of the pros are). So make sure to lower your sensitivity for the best results. Check out How To Find Your Perfect Sensitivity to learn more.
Conclusion
So, wrist aiming or arm aiming? The answer is, use both. For great distance mouse movements, use your arm to quickly get around. For those fine precise micro adjustments, use your wrist. Balance between the 2 aiming combinations proves to be most effective.
Photo by Vinicius “amnx” Amano on Unsplash
