Intro
Having good aim in Valorant can take a lot more than just nailing flicks and headshots. The game has numerous subtle mechanics that both aid and hinder the player’s ability to aim. Even crosshairs can be entirely different for everyone and change based on other factors. While muscle memory and response time are helpful, the first step to truly improving your aim in Valorant is understanding how the game works mechanically. Once you feel comfortable with your knowledge, you can then start with drills and physical aim training to take your game to the next level.
The Basics
Valorant doesn’t function like most first-person shooters. Player movement has a tremendous effect on accuracy and bullet spray. Even using the game’s walking mechanic to move silently will still make your shots less accurate than if you were standing. Understanding this concept will be the quickest and most significant change you can make to your Valorant gameplay. Another core concept of Valorant’s gunplay is bullet spray. This means that the longer you hold fire on your weapon, the less accurate it will be. Most guns have true accuracy on their first shot and will hit directly on your crosshair, but even the second shot will be slightly off from the first. Firing in bursts can help to reduce this issue and make aiming more consistent.
Crosshair Settings
In Valorant, the crosshair is so important that it gets its own section within the game’s settings. There are three core components of the crosshair, and finding the one that suits you best can go a long way in making you feel more comfortable and improving your aim. There are inner lines, outer lines, and a center dot. You have complete control of each aspect of the crosshair, and by shortening, widening, or changing the color, you can make one that is unique and stands out for you.
The other most important aspect of crosshairs in Valorant is registering error. As mentioned above, movement and prolonged firing reduce your accuracy in the game. By enabling a setting, you can either have your crosshair show or hide these errors. When enabled, as you walk or fire, the crosshair will expand to show you the larger area at which the shots may land. When disabled, the crosshair will be static and unmoving; this is great for once you have a better grasp of mechanics and can help with being more precise in the long run. Having errors enabled is extra helpful for new players as it serves as a visual reminder of the game’s unique mechanics.
Other Game Modes
With the addition of Spike Rush, Death Match, and Escalation, there are now more ways than ever to train your aim in Valorant. Spike Rush is great to help you learn all of the weapons in a stress-free environment. Use this game mode to learn recoil patterns and nail down which weapons feel best for your playstyle. Death Match and Escalation, while less mechanic focused are super fast based and full of opportunities to practice your aim without worrying about how your deaths affect the team. Kill-focused game modes are also a great way to warm up your aim and build muscle memory before getting into ranked play. Because you can change crosshair settings midgame, Death Match is also a great place to try out multiple settings and see which works best for you.
Aim Training Tools
After learning the core mechanics of how aim works and finding the perfect crosshair, the next step to training your aim is putting in the time to practice. While this can be done in-game, the best way to truly create muscle memory and start hitting crazy headshots is to get in the shooting range. There is a built-in aim training tool within the Valorant with adjustable settings that is perfect for training and improving your aim. The key to properly utilizing this tool is not putting in hours and hours of mindless work but instead building a routine that you can do quickly and consistently.
Building a Routine
Finding a short routine you can practice regularly before playing makes a massive difference with your aim in Valorant. By building a routine, you can also build consistency that will translate in-game and give you the edge over other players. You can easily adjust your practice to work best for you, but below is a great starting point for training your aim.
To start the session and loosen up your muscles, go into the shooting range and spawn all bots. Carefully take your time to focus on headshots. This exercise helps you to reliably find headshots on players and get used to keeping your crosshair at head level. To start, you should do this for around five minutes or until you feel adequately warmed up. Next, you can ramp up the practice to increase accuracy and reaction time. To do this, select spawn 50 bots and the shooting range and focus on hitting as many as you can as quickly as possible. Do this for another five minutes or until you feel your aim is in a consistent place. The next and final step is to really push yourself. Setting the shooting range to hard, take another five minutes to try and hit as many bots with quick flicks as possible. This means one swift movement and fire. At first, you will probably miss most of your shots, but over time this exercise will make the most difference in games and help you to win crucial gunfights.
Summary
Mastering your aim in Valorant takes time and practice. The more you play, and the more time you spend in the range, the better you will feel in-game. Understanding movement mechanics and finding the perfect crosshair will allow you to take the next step and begin truly training your aim. Building a routine and consistently practicing will improve over time, and the new lower-stress game modes are an excellent place to test your new skills risk-free. Remember that how much you practice is not as important as how you practice. Being consistent with your routines and gameplay is the best way to see results when it comes to training your aim in Valorant.
