Every mistake you make when aim training (and how to fix them!)

0:00Take a look at this gameplay. Pretty

0:03impressive, right? Something like this

0:05is what most people probably think of

0:07when they hear the term aim trainers.

0:10Clips of people playing these scenarios

0:12get millions of views, and yet this

0:15gameplay shows everything wrong with the

0:17public perception of aim trainers and

0:19how to utilize them.

0:22But, why? What about this scenario is so

0:25egregious for me to make that claim?

0:28The instinctive answer is that these

0:30movements don't [music] look like what

0:32you're doing in games, but that's not

0:34actually the issue here.

0:36The real issue is basically everything

0:40else.

0:42This is exactly why so many people are

0:44so polarized about aim training and its

0:47effectiveness. I'm sure there are

0:49[music] some who haven't tried them and

0:51dismiss the concept entirely, but there

0:53are absolutely others who did give them

0:56a go in good faith and didn't find

0:58success.

1:00And in their [music] case, I think most

1:02of them are just misusing the tool.

1:05The worst part is that it's not even

1:06their fault, especially when the

1:08intuitive path people take when training

1:11has so much room for error.

1:14Let's save the more advanced stuff for

1:16later then and start there with the

1:18intuitive path [music] for newcomers and

1:20the mistakes people might make along it.

1:23Grid Shot is a lot of people's

1:25introduction to aim training, but I

1:27think most know now that just playing it

1:28alone won't get you anywhere.

1:31The targets are far too large to train

1:33any kind of fine control, [music] and

1:35having to click this quickly makes it

1:37too specific of a skill for it to be

1:39broadly applicable.

1:41You need scenarios [music] that actually

1:43push you to develop as a player by

1:45challenging you, targeting skills

1:47[music] that are important for the game

1:48you play, and addressing your mechanical

1:50weaknesses within those skills. [music]

1:53But, if you don't know what those

1:55scenarios are or how to find them, how

1:58do you figure out what to play?

2:01The answer most people tend to is

2:03playlists, [music]

2:04and it makes sense why. The alternative

2:07suddenly seems daunting, and [music]

2:09playlists look like they offer an easy

2:11solution. You don't need to think about

2:14what certain scenarios do, or how they

2:16relate to what you need as a player.

2:18Just run through this every day, and

2:20your training will be [music] complete.

2:23And to be honest, when I first tried aim

2:25training back in 2020, I had not thought

2:27about any of [music] that stuff. The

2:29concepts of mechanical weaknesses, or

2:32there being different elements to aim,

2:33was completely alien to me.

2:36All I knew is that people said to play

2:38playlists, so I did. And compared to

2:41Gridshot, which is [music] what I was

2:42playing before, the scenarios looked way

2:45more effective.

2:47For 2 weeks straight, [music] I went

2:48through the same list of 15 scenarios

2:50four times each, diligently completing

2:52my hour of practice.

2:54And after [music] the 2 weeks was up, I

2:57quit aim training.

3:00What happened?

3:02It was helping me improve, but not as

3:04much as I'd expected, given just how

3:07much time I was putting in. And

3:09considering how boring playing the same

3:11scenarios every day over and over was,

3:15it just didn't seem worth it compared to

3:17training in game.

3:19But clearly, I didn't quit [music] back

3:22in 2020, because 3 months later, I found

3:24the Voltaic Benchmarks.

3:27Even when playing a playlist instead of

3:29Gridshot, [music] I was holding on to

3:30one of the issues that scenario caused.

3:33I was auto piloting, not thinking about

3:36what [music] I was doing, or why I was

3:38doing it.

3:40The benchmarks gave me the structure to

3:42be more introspective about my practice.

3:45They made it very easy to tell what

3:46parts of my aim needed work, based on

3:48which scores were higher or lower, and

3:51then simply playing the scenarios helped

3:53bring those weaknesses up to the level

3:55of my strongest points.

3:57The scenarios here were also a lot

4:00harder than the ones I was playing

4:01previously, but that difficulty was a

4:04good [music] thing.

4:05It made me focus more and really figure

4:07out why I couldn't do what the scenario

4:09was asking of me.

4:11This is what I think the first group of

4:14people who quit aim training needed to

4:16progress further.

4:18The benchmarks very fundamentally

4:19changed how I view aiming as a whole

4:22>> [music]

4:22>> and shifted my perspective on what

4:24practice should be for me.

4:26Less [music] of an emphasis on rigid

4:28daily checklists and more of a focus on

4:31dynamically [music] selecting what to

4:32play based on what I needed at the time.

4:38That's not to say that playlists are

4:40always bad though.

4:41This mentality shift actually let me

4:44reintroduce them, [music] but this time

4:46in a mindful way.

4:48After trying out the Voltaic benchmarks,

4:50I started looking for playlists that

4:52[music] actually targeted my weak areas,

4:55unlike my previous one which was just

4:57general scenarios. [music]

4:59The Kovaaks website has a search

5:01function where you can either search by

5:02[music] creator or by keywords to find

5:05something that will help you

5:06specifically instead of something

5:08designed to be decent generally.

5:11This, of course, is not the only way to

5:13[music] structure your practice, but I

5:15do think it's a very strong framework to

5:17start with.

5:18>> [music]

5:18>> Playing benchmarks to figure out what

5:20areas you're weakest in before finding

5:23playlists or individual scenarios help

5:25you train those weaknesses up to the

5:27level of your strongest points before

5:29repeating the process with your new

5:31weakest area.

5:33I designed my benchmarks specifically to

5:36encourage and [music] expand this

5:37feedback loop. If this structure sounds

5:40like something that would appeal to you,

5:42I have a full video about them if you're

5:44interested. [music]

5:46As for playlists, like any other tool,

5:49they can be great if used correctly, and

5:51I personally play through them to find

5:53scenarios that I think are useful, but

5:56you can't just search best Kovak's

5:58playlists for Valorant and expect to be

6:00training in the most effective way.

6:04One criticism that I have heard of this

6:07approach is that it doesn't really make

6:09sense if you only play one specific

6:12game.

6:13For example, if you only play Valorant,

6:16what is the purpose of tracking all

6:18evasive target switching scenarios? Why

6:21not just only play micro adjustment

6:23tasks instead, [music] since those

6:25movements are far more common in games?

6:28I absolutely get the mentality behind

6:31the skepticism. It's probably the same

6:33type [music] that created the common

6:35criticism of Gridshot, and while it sort

6:38of makes sense there, it doesn't fully

6:40apply here in my opinion.

6:43What those people are missing is just

6:45how interconnected aiming is as a skill.

6:49At the end of the day, all aiming is,

6:51regardless of the form it takes, is

6:53interpreting what you see and moving

6:55your hand to match.

6:57This definition doesn't discriminate

7:00between types of aim, which explains why

7:03practicing tracking can help your click

7:05timing, even though the two seem to be

7:07entirely disconnected. Tracking builds

7:10[music] smaller sub-skills that transfer

7:12over, which includes anything from the

7:15actual aiming motions themselves in the

7:17form of micro adjustments to being able

7:19to actively read the position of a

7:21target [music] and how they will move.

7:24That's not to say that every scenario is

7:26equally useful for every game, and there

7:29[music] are certainly some parts of the

7:30Voltaic benchmarks or my benchmark that

7:33I think you should commit more time to

7:34if you do only play Valorant, but to

7:37avoid a type of scenario completely just

7:39because it doesn't look like an

7:41engagement [music] you would see in game

7:43is another mistake I see newcomers make

7:44a lot.

7:46Aiming is [music] full of unexpected

7:48links and connections like static

7:50improving my dynamic clicking or target

7:52switching [music] improving my tracking.

7:55I've often found that even if the

7:57benefits aren't immediately [music]

7:59apparent, playing other types of

8:01scenarios will help bring up my best

8:02categories, [music] too.

8:06But what if you're a few months into aim

8:09training and have seen some improvements

8:11there, but are struggling to translate

8:13that improvement over, maybe even seeing

8:15a decrease in skill or rank in game?

8:19I [music] think this is where a lot of

8:21those good faith skeptics of aim

8:23trainers reach. They get to a decent

8:26skill level, hit a plateau, [music]

8:27and give up.

8:29This is, in my opinion, where the real

8:31meat of this topic is. [music]

8:33Even though a decrease in skills sounds

8:36like and certainly feels like a bad

8:38thing, I've found that the deepest kind

8:40of weakness identification [music] comes

8:42from realizations prompted by plateaus.

8:46Picking out a mistake or absent element

8:48of your training, revealing the missing

8:50piece [music] that was preventing you

8:51from actually implementing your aim into

8:53games.

8:55You have to look [music] at plateaus as

8:56a chance for growth instead of just a

8:59state you are currently in.

9:01I've had multiple of these over my time

9:03playing. [music] Long periods of

9:04stagnation into epiphanies into very

9:07dramatic improvements [music]

9:09very quickly.

9:11The most common reason behind this is

9:13that plateaus themselves can be a sign

9:16of that growth. When you first expand

9:19your knowledge and try to implement new

9:21techniques into your gameplay,

9:23>> [music]

9:23>> it should be expected for your overall

9:25performance to take a dip.

9:28I've had this recently with typing. I'm

9:30trying to learn to hit spacebar with my

9:32thumb instead of my index finger. Yes, I

9:35actually use my index finger. This is

9:37objectively better technique. It

9:40minimizes finger movement overall and in

9:42the long run will make me a much faster

9:44typist. But right now I'm struggling

9:47badly with every other aspect of typing,

9:50not [music] just hitting space, because

9:52of how much focus typing like this takes

9:54for me. It's not the technique that's

9:57making me worse, it's the act of

9:59mastering it.

10:01This can also apply in a more zoomed out

10:03sense to aim [music] training as a

10:05whole. Becoming aware of just how much

10:07depth there is in this one single area

10:10of FPS games can make that area your

10:12sole focus when trying to analyze your

10:15performance.

10:16This can look like taking note of

10:18specific mechanical details of why you

10:20didn't win a gunfight without realizing

10:23that you shouldn't have taken that fight

10:25in the first place.

10:27Another way this can manifest is in how

10:29you balance your time. I have a general

10:32rule of thumb that if your goal is

10:34in-game improvement, you should spend at

10:36most 20% of your total daily play time

10:39in an aim trainer.

10:40>> [music]

10:40>> But it is surprisingly common for people

10:42to go over that when they realize aim is

10:44something they need or want to improve

10:47at.

10:48Again, this doesn't mean that trying to

10:50improve your aim or your technique is a

10:53bad goal to have, just that it's

10:55important to not lose sight of the

10:57larger picture.

11:00Aim trainers also make issues in your

11:02technique easier to spot compared to

11:05in-game, where the lack of any element

11:07other than your own aim makes it very

11:09easy to pick out what you are doing

11:11wrong.

11:12This helps when trying to implement new

11:14techniques into your gameplay, since you

11:16can assess the impacts in isolation

11:18without worrying about the mental

11:20baggage that technique might apply to

11:22your in-game performance.

11:24This is a bit of a double-edged sword,

11:26however, and leads into [music] why so

11:29many people find it so hard to break

11:31plateaus, specifically in Aimer Trainers

11:34mentality.

11:36Easy to spot errors means you can always

11:38see just how many mistakes you're

11:40making, [music]

11:41and having a leaderboard right there at

11:44all times means you're always [music]

11:45comparing yourself and your own

11:47progression against others.

11:50Great when things are going well, but

11:51[music] when you were stagnating and

11:54everyone around you isn't, it's very

11:56easy to fall into a few mental traps as

11:58a way of trying to explain [music] why

12:00you were falling behind.

12:03While plateaus can be a fantastic tool

12:06to prompt yourself to learn,

12:07>> [music]

12:07>> you need to approach them in the right

12:10way.

12:11These mental pitfalls ensure that you

12:13won't. [music] They prevent you from

12:15seeing stuckness as anything other than

12:17a brick wall.

12:19For me, that brick wall took the form of

12:22popcorn [music] scenarios. I used to

12:24think I was just bad at them, that for

12:27some reason, unlike every other

12:29scenario, I was incapable of improving

12:32at it no matter what I did. [music]

12:34And while popcorn was my worst scenario,

12:37so much so [music] that it became a bit

12:38of a running joke, and it was harder for

12:41me to improve at it than other scenarios

12:43at the time, all that establishing this

12:45belief did is ensure that I would never

12:47put the time in to get better at this

12:49scenario type.

12:51This [music] mental barrier was so

12:53strong that all I could think about when

12:55playing the scenario was how bad I was

12:57[music] at it, berating myself for every

13:00miss shot, only paying attention to my

13:02final score rather than the mistakes I

13:04was making that got me that score.

13:07When I went back to [music] the scenario

13:09years later with the belief that the

13:11only thing I needed to do to improve was

13:13put [music] in the time, that mental

13:15barrier evaporated. I was paying

13:18attention to my mistakes, [music] seeing

13:19what I was doing differently from those

13:21at the top, and trying to implement what

13:22they did.

13:23In order to take the steps that I needed

13:26to [music] to improve it this scenario

13:27type, I had to ditch my old belief that

13:31I couldn't.

13:33This doesn't always manifest so

13:35transparently though. What about the

13:38terms wrist aimer,

13:40flicky aimer?

13:42These boxes that people put themselves

13:44into when trying to define how they play

13:47can sometimes, not always, but sometimes

13:51limit themselves into only improving the

13:53skills that [music] they see as defining

13:55them.

13:56Despite these labels not being

13:58intrinsically negative, this is often

14:00what prevents [music] people from seeing

14:02those key weaknesses.

14:04Even though fixing them would bring

14:06about an avalanche of improvement, these

14:08issues exist in blind spots because

14:10[music] of who they see themselves to be

14:12as players.

14:14I fell into this trap too. My

14:16self-perception as a target switcher

14:18[music] was my attempt at a

14:20glass-half-full approach to my

14:21weaknesses. Flicks were my strength and

14:24I just wasn't as good at [music] other

14:26types of aim.

14:27It's that same assumption that my skill

14:30level was just how it was and not

14:32[music] a direct result of a lack of

14:34time invested in those other skills that

14:36got me into [music] that box of being a

14:38target switcher in the first place.

14:40I had a weakness with my fine control.

14:43Of course I did. It wasn't a part of my

14:45style. Even though my fine control was a

14:48big part in what was preventing me from

14:50becoming a more consistent player even

14:53within target switching.

14:56Like I said, aim is so interconnected as

14:58[music] a skill that defining yourself

15:00in a way that only lets you engage with

15:02one segment of it will leave you

15:04massively handicapped as a player.

15:08This is [music] not me saying that

15:09having a style is always bad, just that

15:12it often serves as an [music] excuse to

15:15ignore weak areas of your aim even

15:18though improving those weak areas will

15:20help you implement your style better.

15:24There is one final barrier that can

15:26prevent this though, one that might be

15:28so strong that you are still willing to

15:30ignore those weaknesses, even

15:32consciously knowing how much they might

15:34be holding you back.

15:35What if other types of aim just aren't

15:38as fun?

15:39This was why I stuck with target

15:41switching for so long. I didn't enjoy

15:45the other subcategories.

15:47At the time, I thought that I was good

15:49at it because I enjoyed it, but in

15:51retrospect, I think it was the other way

15:53around. I enjoyed it because I was good

15:56at it, and I was good at it because I

15:58had put [music] in the time to improve.

16:01Weakness creates preference. Even though

16:04I used to hate tracking, [music]

16:06nowadays, I find it far more fun and

16:08rewarding than target switching after

16:10putting in the effort to get better

16:12[music] at it.

16:13All that said, there is still often some

16:16commitment needed to find [music] the

16:18fun if you want to learn a new type of

16:20aim. For more goal-oriented people, this

16:23might be trying [music] to climb the

16:24ranks of the benchmarks, but for me, it

16:27often took the form of the scenarios

16:28themselves. [music]

16:30When trying to break my mental barrier

16:32on popcorn, I started playing a bunch of

16:34different iterations of the scenario.

16:36>> [music]

16:37>> Larger, slower, smaller, but the one

16:39that finally made it click into place

16:41for me was called popcorn voltaic fat

16:45pigeons. Something about how

16:46transparently goofy the scenario was

16:49made it easier for me to [music] ditch

16:51any preconceived notions of my skill and

16:53just enjoy it. And that is when I

16:57started [music] to learn. The easier

16:59difficulty made chaining kills together

17:01make sense. I understood how to read the

17:03arcs of their [music] movements. I felt

17:04like I was in control of each run.

17:07And when going back to the normal

17:09scenario, the [music] scenario that I

17:11previously despised, I took that

17:14knowledge and that [music] enjoyment

17:16with me.

17:17it unlocked a scenario that was

17:19impossible to approach otherwise.

17:20[music]

17:21So, thank you, fat pigeons.

17:27I think the overarching theme here is

17:29that it's important to not get stuck

17:31into rigid ways of thinking. [music]

17:33All of these, stylistic definitions,

17:36presupposing your own skill level,

17:38ignoring potential avenues for

17:40improvement, [music]

17:41are all symptoms of this.

17:43And I get why this happened. It's easy

17:46to [music] find something that works and

17:48just to keep doing it. But

17:50experimentation is absolutely necessary

17:53for improvement. Everything we

17:56understand [music] about aim and the

17:57theory behind it comes from people

17:59trying something new, figuring [music]

18:01out if it helps or hurts them, and then

18:04trying something else.

18:06If you leave [music] your mind open to

18:08these new ideas, if you let yourself sit

18:10with the stuckness, in my experience,

18:13you'll often end up naturally drifting

18:15towards a solution.

18:20Fortunately, a lot of the time you don't

18:22have to wallow in uncertainty because

18:25other people have been stuck before you.

18:27Namely, me.

18:29I have found myself in basically all the

18:32common pitfalls throughout the five

18:33years I've spent trying to improve my

18:35aim. And want to go through some of my

18:38previous plateaus, what the underlying

18:40cause was for each, and how you can

18:42address that cause if you think you are

18:44stuck for the same reasons.

18:47To call something back [music] that I

18:48said a bit ago, I found that the Voltaic

18:50benchmarks being fairly challenging was

18:53something that boosted my improvement

18:54compared to the playlist I was doing

18:56previously.

18:58This is a fairly common sentiment

19:00throughout the community, the idea that

19:02harder scenarios will universally make

19:04you a better player.

19:06After all, if you can hit a small

19:08target, then the large one should be

19:10easy.

19:11Right?

19:13When most people start [music] aim

19:15training, they're probably playing

19:16scenarios like tile frenzy or grid shot,

19:19which are effectively useless.

19:22I don't want to write them off entirely,

19:24but for anyone who isn't an absolute

19:27beginner to mouse and keyboard, I don't

19:29[music] see what these tasks can do for

19:31you other than training raw speed, which

19:34there are better ways to train.

19:36When those new players branch out and

19:38try scenarios like 1 wall 6 target

19:40small, they improve a lot more since the

19:42scenario targets a lot more.

19:45Making the dots smaller fundamentally

19:48changes what players are required to do.

19:50It now rewards precision as well as

19:53speed and actually requires you to micro

19:55correct.

19:56This is what the Voltaic benchmarks did

19:58for [music] me. They got me past that

20:00initial plateau by using harder

20:02scenarios that, [music] by the nature of

20:04their increased the difficulty, trained

20:06skills that were more applicable to

20:08in-game aim.

20:11In my opinion, this what makes the

20:13harder scenarios better for improvement

20:15in this instance, but that isn't the

20:18lesson a lot of people took.

20:20So, the visible lesson of harder

20:23scenarios equals more improvement began

20:25permeating throughout other categories

20:27of aim at around the same time as I

20:30began to branch out to other FPS games

20:33and started playing tracking scenarios.

20:36I had next to no experience tracking,

20:39but since the most popular scenarios at

20:41the time were these, I started out

20:43there.

20:44And no matter how much time I put into

20:47those tasks or how much better I got at

20:49them, I did not improve whatsoever at

20:52tracking targets in games. [music]

20:55Like I said, making a scenario harder

20:57fundamentally changes what it does and

21:00how you approach it, and more often than

21:03not, you need to have a good foundation

21:05to work from to get any benefit from

21:07very hard scenarios.

21:09You can't bunny [music] hop in

21:10Counter-Strike without first learning

21:12how to A-D strafe, and you can't play

21:14extra control sphere without learning

21:16and being good at the skills that

21:18underpin it.

21:20There absolutely is a value to pushing

21:23[music] yourself and trying something

21:24harder than you are used to, but there

21:27is also a point where a scenario is too

21:29hard to get any value from.

21:32Even at my current skill level, I still

21:34find both easier and harder scenarios

21:36helpful.

21:37Easier scenarios build that foundation

21:40and help you refine your technique

21:41because the potential sources for error

21:44are reduced. Harder scenarios ensure

21:47that you can maintain that good

21:48technique in new, more strenuous

21:50situations. [music]

21:52Outside of general time management

21:55mistakes, this is what I think the most

21:57prevalent issue is for people who can

21:59perform well in Kovaak's, but can't

22:01translate that to FPS games. They

22:04haven't [music] taken the time to build

22:06those foundational skills. Those are

22:09what you bring over when you pick up a

22:10new game, and they are what you augment

22:12to match its mechanics.

22:15Harder scenarios will always be there to

22:17help you build out from your

22:18foundations, but the foundation has to

22:21come first.

22:25The next plateau I worked through was

22:26related to these game-specific

22:28challenges more directly, and was

22:31because of something that sat completely

22:33off my radar when I was trying to

22:34improve my foundations. Movement. More

22:38specifically, movement sync.

22:41While I was aware of the fundamentals of

22:44movement, mirroring and anti-mirroring

22:46and variations of both, I had always

22:48struggled to implement and blend them

22:51seamlessly.

22:52There was always this step to my

22:54movements that made integrating the two

22:56into my gameplay a bit awkward.

22:59So, what was the cause?

23:02Despite all of my tracking practice

23:04being done while stationary, actually

23:06staying on target while moving was easy

23:08enough to pick up. Instead, it was my

23:11own direction changes that would throw

23:13me off.

23:14It should be possible to remain on

23:17target perfectly throughout these. You

23:19know when you are going to change

23:21direction and can move the mouse to

23:23match, but I'd consistently lag behind.

23:26I was reacting to my crosshair leaving

23:29the target instead of intuitively

23:31compensating for my own movements.

23:34The solution to this for me was actually

23:36really simple. This is scenario.

23:39It exclusively focuses on syncing your

23:42aim with your direction changes and

23:44doing 15 minutes of this a day for a

23:46couple weeks helped so much with how

23:48sharp my tracking felt in game.

23:51But, playing this scenario also

23:53illuminated something else.

23:56It has gradual direction changes, so it

23:59takes time for you to go from moving in

24:01one direction to the other.

24:04What this means is that your mouse

24:06movements should match this shift in

24:08speed, slowly following the target.

24:11When I started playing it there, my

24:12approach was to make the adjustment

24:14[music]

24:14instantly. And upon trying to slow that

24:17movement down, I found myself unable to

24:20do it smoothly.

24:22Watching recordings of my tracking in

24:24other scenarios, I noticed that exact

24:26same thing. I had to snap back to the

24:29target.

24:31Since starting to look for it, this is

24:33something I've seen in a lot [music] of

24:34players who develop their aim primarily

24:36through aim trainers and I think limits

24:39them outside of it as well.

24:41There are some scenarios this works well

24:44for, like tracking tasks that require

24:46you to be quick to actually catch up to

24:48the target, or flicking scenarios where

24:51snapping between bots is clearly the

24:53intent. But, if these scenarios are all

24:55you play, then this will become a

24:57widespread habit.

25:00Being accurate while being fast won't

25:02instantly make you accurate while moving

25:04slowly. So, exclusively playing

25:06scenarios that reward this style will

25:09leave mechanical gaps.

25:11You can generally view games through

25:13this lens as well. Overwatch typically

25:15demands a snappier [music] corrections,

25:18while Apex asks for smoother ones to

25:20match the game's slower acceleration

25:22speeds.

25:23Although, even within the same [music]

25:25game, there is a huge range of

25:27correction types present. Always aiming

25:30at the same [music] speed heavily limits

25:32how dynamic your aim can be.

25:34This is another reason why it's so

25:37important to [music] play both easier

25:38and harder scenarios. Varying your

25:41practice builds your technique up to the

25:43point where it becomes malleable to the

25:45situation you're in.

25:47Instead of habitually aiming in the way

25:49most comfortable to you, you will be

25:51able to change the speed and style of

25:53your aim to match [music] what is asked

25:55of you.

25:56How I worked through this habit and

25:58develop that malleability was to

26:00basically rebuild my readjustments from

26:03the ground up. I played scenarios like

26:06these [music] with a conscious focus on

26:08taking as long as I needed to correct to

26:10the target,

26:11>> [music]

26:11>> making sure I didn't feel rushed or

26:13pressured to flick back.

26:16I also noticed that playing without hit

26:18sounds helped this process, too. It made

26:20sure I was reacting to seeing [music]

26:22the target move instead of hearing the

26:23hit sound cut off, making the process

26:25more visually involved.

26:28For flicking, I played [music] scenarios

26:30with smaller targets. Since perfectly

26:33landing your initial movement is so

26:35unlikely here, making a single rigid

26:37movement is pretty heavily discouraged.

26:40Instead, [music] a more fluid approach

26:42works better here to make transitioning

26:44into a micro-adjustment more seamless.

26:47This ensured that I could do both,

26:49snappy flicks when required, but fluid

26:51ones when speed wasn't as important.

26:55This habit of trying to make movements

26:58too quickly seems to be a very common

27:00one. When reviewing people who struggle

27:03to translate their aim from aim trainers

27:05[music] into FPS games, it is the main

27:08technique related issue I notice.

27:10[music] And I think it's underlying

27:12cause underpins a lot of what I've

27:15discussed [music] in this video.

27:17When aim training, it is very easy to

27:19fall into the habit of short-term

27:22optimizations to push your score further

27:25at the expense of longer-term

27:27improvements.

27:29This doesn't mean that getting higher

27:31scores can't be representative of

27:33improvement, but the path to getting

27:35higher scores in a short time frame

27:38doesn't necessarily align with the best

27:40way to get better long-term.

27:43For me, trying to flick faster and

27:45faster did let me get higher scores

27:46[music] in the moment, but I hit a wall

27:49at a certain point that required

27:51long-term weakness correction to

27:53address. [music]

27:55This manifests everywhere though.

27:57Prediction in reactive tracking is

27:59another one. It might help eke out some

28:01PBs right now, but won't develop good

28:04technique in the long run.

28:06This is why it's so important to both

28:09analyze your own improvement and keep

28:11tabs on it over longer time frames. You

28:14will make a better decisions regarding

28:16what to practice if you aren't focusing

28:18on maximizing your scores from run to

28:21[music] run.

28:22Getting better at something isn't a

28:24linear process. [music] There will be

28:26points where you get worse for a bit

28:28before improving again. And keeping the

28:31big picture in mind and looking at

28:33technique [music] instead of score is

28:34how I try to avoid getting demotivated

28:37in those situations. [music]

28:39I have a full video on how I like to

28:41analyze my gameplay from a technique

28:43standpoint. If you think this short-term

28:45[music] focus is something you struggle

28:46with, that framework should be very

28:48helpful for you.

28:52Before I end this video off, I want to

28:54touch on one last mentality related

28:56thing that I'm sure came to mind for a

28:58few people after the end of that

29:00segment, which is the elements of

29:03genetics.

29:04How am I supposed to believe I can get

29:07better if I know I'm genetically

29:09limited?

29:10And in my opinion, this is the worst of

29:13those mental traps I mentioned before.

29:16The nature versus nurture debate has

29:17been going on for decades, and I get

29:19being skeptical that I, a 21-year-old

29:22YouTuber, will be able to end it in a

29:24single video.

29:26That is why I'm not going to try to. My

29:28argument instead is that the impacts of

29:30genetics on FPS skill should have zero

29:32impact on how you go about improving at

29:34them.

29:35Regardless of if they are or aren't

29:37important, believing that your genetics

29:39are impactful can only ever hurt your

29:42own growth as a player.

29:44I see there being four possibilities.

29:47One, genetics [music]

29:48do matter, but you think they don't

29:51matter, in which case you improve as

29:53much as you can, get a lot better than

29:56you are now, and learn a lot about how

29:58to improve, which will help you in every

30:00other aspect of your life.

30:02Two, [music] genetics do matter, and you

30:05think yours will hold you back, in which

30:07case you will fall into that trap I

30:08mentioned earlier of predefining your

30:10own skill, even if [music] you still

30:13have a lot of room to grow.

30:16Three, your genetics don't matter, and

30:18you don't think they do, where the first

30:20outcome happens again. You get better

30:22and develop a better understanding of

30:24how you learn skills.

30:26And finally, if genetics don't matter,

30:28but you think yours will hold you back,

30:30you'll arbitrarily limit yourself for no

30:33reason at all.

30:36I guess there might be another category

30:37where genetics do or don't matter, but

30:40you think you're God's gift to gaming,

30:42and end up being overconfident in your

30:43own abilities and overcommit to gaming

30:45and drop out of school to try and go pro

30:47or something, but

30:48either way, I think that's dumb. So,

30:51moving on.

30:53I really don't see a reason to assume

30:55you will be genetically limited compared

30:57to others, especially when we have no

30:59idea how close we are to the human limit

31:01of mechanics [music] overall and have

31:03even less idea of how genetics ties into

31:06that.

31:07>> [music]

31:07>> Of course, there are exceptions. There

31:10are certainly conditions that make

31:11improving harder, but even then, I've

31:14seen people [music] push through things

31:16like hand tremors and end up reaching

31:18the highest levels of gameplay. This guy

31:20can't even move his arms and he's crazy.

31:24If you enjoy FPS games [music] and the

31:26process of improving at them, I don't

31:28see a reason to give up on that just

31:30because you think you might be held back

31:32by something at some point.

31:35The reply I've seen myself turn to this

31:37line of thinking is something akin to,

31:40"If genetics aren't factor in how

31:43quickly people improve, then why do some

31:45people get better so much faster than

31:47others?"

31:49There are two explanations that I can

31:51think of that to me seem more likely

31:54than a purely genetic one.

31:56The first is that seemingly unrelated

31:58skills can have a massive impact on how

32:01fast someone can learn a new one.

32:04If someone played a lot of sports,

32:05[music] for example, they have practiced

32:08processing information and reacting to

32:10the things they see. If someone played

32:12the piano, they've [music] worked on

32:13their finger dexterity and so on.

32:16On top of direct translations like that

32:18though, learning is a skill in [music]

32:20of itself and anyone who has been good

32:22at one thing will have an easier time

32:24getting good at another.

32:27The next explanation [music]

32:28is about technique. Some people just

32:31start off with better technique than

32:32others.

32:33This can be for [music] a variety of

32:35reasons. For example, as a kid, you

32:38might have had your table too high and

32:39hung your arm off the side. Therefore,

32:42aiming with only your wrist becomes

32:44[music] a habit, one that you have to

32:46intentionally unlearn before you can

32:48integrate your arm into your aim.

32:51Someone who never had this ergonomic

32:53issue might use their arm the whole time

32:55and not [music] have to go through that

32:57long learning process.

32:59They will start training that muscle

33:01group earlier and progress [music]

33:02faster.

33:04This can happen with any number of

33:06components of your setup or your

33:07settings or even just aim itself.

33:10Someone's intuitive approach might be

33:12more aligned with what's [music] optimal

33:13than someone else's.

33:15How people approach fast strokes is a

33:17very common one. Some people get stuck

33:20in a habit of over correcting [music] to

33:21each one that requires conscious

33:23recognition and focus to fix, while

33:26others intuitively realize [music] they

33:28should move their mouse less and don't

33:30get stuck there at all.

33:32Even though someone who doesn't [music]

33:34experience as many hitches might seem to

33:36progress faster than you, that doesn't

33:39mean you can't catch up. You [music]

33:41just have to figure out what those

33:43hitches might be for you.

33:47The obvious, [music] but somewhat cheesy

33:49conclusion I want to draw from this is

33:51that a sensible level of self-belief is

33:54essential [music] for improvement. Both

33:56too much of it and a lack of it can

33:58blind you to weaknesses [music]

34:00in your aim and prevent you from putting

34:02in the time you need to correct them.

34:05I truly believe that anyone [music] can

34:07get to a very high level in FPS games

34:09and aim trainers, and it really sucks to

34:12see people ensuring that they will not

34:14reach that level simply because they

34:16don't believe [music] they could ever

34:18get there.

34:19Speaking from my own experience, a lot

34:22of the time the only thing holding me

34:23back from achieving the goals I'd set

34:25for myself was that I wasn't investing

34:27the time and thought in that [music] I

34:29needed to achieve them.

34:31And more often than not, the reason I

34:33wasn't doing that was because I didn't

34:35believe that my goal was possible for

34:37me.

34:38When you change that, when you believe

34:40that whatever score or skill level is

34:43achievable, you will put in the effort

34:45to make it happen.

34:47And it will happen.

35:00Um hello. Thank you for making it to the

35:02end of this monstrosity [music]

35:05video. And thank you to my patrons whose

35:07names you can [music] see on the screen

35:09right now for supporting me through my

35:11um

35:12extended absence at this point. It has

35:14been quite a while.

35:15I want to talk about [music] that. I

35:16want to talk about where I've been, uh

35:18why it has been so long since I've

35:21posted, and if this [music] is going to

35:23become a trend because I've I've seen

35:25some people say like, "Oh, I really hope

35:26you don't quit making videos." Like

35:28that's how that's how long it's been at

35:29this point.

35:30>> [music]

35:30>> Um

35:31and to answer that one immediately, this

35:33is still my job. This is still what I do

35:35[music] full-time. I spend most of my

35:37working hours working on videos still.

35:40Um and yeah, I'm not going [music] to

35:42quit YouTube or anything like that. I I

35:45certainly want to keep doing this, so

35:47um

35:48so if that's the case, [music] you know,

35:49where have I been?

35:51Part of it is that this video just took

35:52a really long time to make. [music]

35:54There was so many like changes that I

35:56had to make after doing a lot of work

35:58that um

35:59you know, I brought the project up from

36:01the [music] usual hundred-ish hours that

36:03it takes me to make a video to 250 to

36:06maybe even 300 at this point. This has

36:09been a big project. I um

36:10>> [music]

36:11>> have read an entire book in the research

36:13phase for this video. I spent [music] a

36:16lot of time um working on the script and

36:19refining the script, and unfortunately a

36:20lot of that refinement happened after I

36:23had already edited something, so I had

36:24to go back and change it, and it just

36:25added a ton [music] of time. But the

36:27real reason that this took so long is

36:30because of my hand.

36:32For anyone who hasn't seen, [music] I've

36:33been dealing with pretty bad hand pains

36:35for the last 6 months, and I was trying

36:37to work through them for a while, but it

36:38just made it worse.

36:40Um

36:41So,

36:42>> [music]

36:42>> if you want a longer discussion of this,

36:44I have one on my second channel, but

36:45long and short of it is that I was using

36:47a trackball for the first [music]

36:49maybe 5 months of this year, and editing

36:52on a trackball is insanely slow. It was

36:55a big part of why that hour count for

36:57this video is so unbelievably high

36:59compared to everything else I've [music]

37:00made.

37:01Um

37:02Anyway, as I'm recording this on the

37:0426th of May, I am getting better. I'm

37:07seeing [music] a doctor finally.

37:09Uh I couldn't find anyone before. And

37:12doing a lot of exercises, and I'm using

37:14a mouse again. So, I'm editing with the

37:15mouse, which is why I'm pretty sure that

37:16I'll have this out pretty soon,

37:18relatively speaking. You know, I don't

37:20think it'll be another 2 months from

37:21recording this that uh the video ends up

37:24coming out, hopefully.

37:26Um but that's not to say that I've been

37:28doing nothing during my break. I have

37:30moved houses, which also delayed the

37:32project a lot, and then also have made

37:34season 2 of my Curve [music] Expert

37:36Marks. They're not quite done yet for a

37:38reason I can't explain till later, but

37:41they are ready to play on Curve Expert

37:43and if you go to [music] the link in the

37:45description or the pin comment or I'll

37:46put it, you can play them. And I think

37:48they're really good. I'm so proud of how

37:50these have turned out. But that was also

37:53an insane amount of work to put into a

37:55project.

37:57It took so long. [music]

37:59So long.

38:00And then I have also mostly finished

38:03writing a video script talking about the

38:05benches,

38:06uh and that is going to go through every

38:09scenario [music] individually and talk

38:10about what it does, how you should

38:12approach it, um which is obviously just

38:16an ungodly amount of work. It is going

38:17to be a really long video.

38:19>> [music]

38:19>> Uh so, I've got an editor for it, and

38:21we're going to be working together over

38:22the next couple months to hopefully get

38:24that done in a reasonable time frame.

38:27Um

38:29Yeah, the the first half of this year

38:31has been pretty rough for me, but I

38:32think I'm through the worst of it, I

38:33hope.

38:35Um

38:36Thank you all for your patience. [music]

38:37It really means a lot to me. I hope the

38:39wait has been worth it. I hope I've made

38:41something good. Yeah. Um

38:44I think that's all I have to say, so

38:46uh bye.