Wondering what kind of settings and tips can help improve your aim on controller? There is a variety of helpful settings which can vastly improve your aim and comfort on controller, as well as small tips which can improve your performance with a little practice!
If you’re interested in this article, do check out our other pieces on Apex Legends:
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3. 5 BEST APEX LEGENDS CONTROLLER SETTINGS FROM BACKOFFMYJANKZ
1. Optimise Optic Sensitivity
Of course, you want to find a look sensitivity and ADS sensitivity that feels right to you, some like this option higher than others, which makes this setting a personal preference. However, what I can advise you to do is optimise your optic sensitivity, so it feels good across the board, whether in 3x, 6x, or even 10x. Just under the Movement/Aiming in the settings, you can find the Per Optic Settings, where you can change the ADS sensitivity for all the available optics in the game. New players, and even some returning players, may find that they like their ADS and look sensitivity but feel as if the higher zoom optics are too slow. Using this option, you can set individual sensitivities for each of the optics, optimising your aim for a variety of playstyles. Play around with it, use the Firing Range to test out what feels good to you, and see if it makes the difference!
Optic Sensitivity
2. Deadzone
Many players may not be aware that you can change your Deadzone in the settings, and some may not even know what it is. Deadzone is the setting used on the controller to stop analog drift by making a small area around the thumbstick unresponsive to minor movements. However, if you don’t experience analog drift, decreasing its value increases the response time of your analogue movements, which, once you’re used to, will make your aim feel much more responsive, smooth and accurate. Of course, if you do experience analog drift with your controller, I would advise you to keep your Deadzone at a comfortable level to counter this, but one can still decrease its value to the point of improvement without causing drift if you play around with it and see what fits best.
3. Field of View
In the Graphics tab of the settings, you will also find the Field of View slider, a setting that expands the width of your view ranging from 0-120. Depending on your TV/monitor, you may want to adjust this until you feel comfortable; however, if you have never adjusted this setting before, I strongly advise you to turn it up to at least 90 in order to increase the amount you can see on your screen. I found the sweet spot to be around 102-106, as this allows you to see a lot more on your screen without limiting how far you can see on the map. This change will increase your aiming ability by simply allowing you to see more and therefore react quicker in short to mid-range gunfights.
After changing, you may find that far away enemies may be slightly smaller than you’re used to; however, this is easy to adjust to and, ultimately, a small sacrifice for being able to see much more on your screen. Some say increasing your FoV (Field of View) makes targeting more difficult; however, I feel as if this is only during the adjustment period, as after the player is used to the new setting, their aim and targeting will be much faster and accurate than before.
Field of View
4. Response Curve
In Apex Legends, there are 5 different response curves that change the way your analog sticks respond to input. Although there is a nice variety, ultimately, the Classic option is by far the best. Many players like to adjust their Response Curve when coming from a different FPS game in order to find something more alike. However, after watching a recent video from popular Apex Legends Youtuber iTemp Plays, the best setting for this option is most definitely the default Classic, as he revealed to be playing on Steady until very recently, which he believed was ultimately making his aim worse. If you have also played around with this setting and perhaps accidentally changed this setting, be sure to change back to the default and get used to the Response Curve that the game was intended for, as once you adjust, this will be the best option and fundamentally make your aim better.
5. Hip Fire
Although this tip is not directly to do with aiming, this will make you more comfortable and hopefully win you more gunfights up close. Coupled with decreasing your Deadzone, hip fire in Apex Legends can be extremely useful and accurate if practised. Without aiming, players can get the first shot off in a gunfight by simply hip firing, eliminating the time needed to aim in and then shoot. The developers of Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment, also made the popular Titan Fall games, in which hip fire was also extremely accurate and useful. Apex Legends is no different; practise your hip-fire accuracy in the Firing Range and get used to gunning people down without the need to aim, as this will ultimately improve your accuracy on the controller and make you feel more comfortable with your aiming ability, indirectly improving your ADS accuracy as well.
Hip Fire
6. Recoil Patterns
Lastly, like many other FPS games, the guns in Apex Legends all have their own individual recoil patterns, which can be learned and countered. The Firing Range is a great place to practise and learn these recoil patterns and ultimately improve your aim with a variety of guns when you decide to jump back into the arena. Most of the guns have a pretty straight forward vertical recoil pattern, mostly being countered by pulling your right analog down. However, some guns are much more complicated, like the Flatline, which features a horizontal recoil pattern. The best way to understand a gun’s recoil pattern is to simply shoot at the floor without touching your thumbstick, allowing you to see the bullet line. Learning these, especially with the guns you prefer, will greatly increase your aiming ability and success in gunfights, as you will be able to stay on target more often.
Recoil Patterns
I hope these 6 tips helped you improve your aim; if I missed anything, feels free to drop a comment below and let me know. Enjoy Season 7 of Apex Legends, and don’t forget to spend some time in the Firing Range!
