Aim Training & FPS Mechanics Glossary: Key Terms Explained
To kick off our Aimlabs Welcome Series, we’ve compiled a glossary of terms relevant to all things aim training. Some of these terms may be more game-specific, but they are terms that you will likely see throughout the series or across the various articles available here on the blog. Aim training groups Revosect and Voltaic have also compiled their own glossaries, which we would suggest you check out for an even deeper dive into the lingo you’ll hear in the aim training community.
A
Aim Training
The practice of deliberately working on your aim and accuracy, whether it is through in-game means such as VALORANT’s Firing Range, or Aim Training apps, games, or programs such as Aimlabs.
Accuracy
The effectiveness of your aim, and your ability to land shots. This can be broken down into stats, so if you hit nine out of ten shots on a target, you would have 90% accuracy.
Angle
The position that you’re looking at a specific location or a target from. Picture a doorway on a map in your favorite game, you could look at it straight on, or from different angles, such as from the left, the right, or even above or below, which could provide you with an advantage against someone entering that door.
B
Benchmark
A task, scenario, or playlist designed to test and identify your current skill level.
Bounce
A target behavior in a task where the target is moving in a way that jumps or bounces.
C
Claw Grip
A style of mouse grip where your fingertips and part of the palm are touching the mouse. The “claw” in the name describes the way the hand looks in this grip.
Clicking
A type of aim where the player is making more precise and deliberate shots, often with a semi-automatic style weapon.
cm/360°
The shortened version of centimeters per 360 degrees is used as a method of measuring mouse sensitivity. This tracks how much physical distance the mouse must travel to turn 360 degrees in-game. Given that mouse sensitivity settings can vary from game to game, this can help to maintain settings consistency across multiple games.
Counter-Strafe
A term used in a number of different shooters, the player will strafe back into the direction they were moving from to stop more quickly and precisely, this will improve the accuracy of their initial shot and can help prevent the player from exposing too much of their body as they peek.
Crosshair Placement
A theory regarding crosshair positioning most commonly discussed regarding holding your crosshair at a location where an opponent’s head will most likely be when you engage them. This should provide an advantage on landing impactful shots as quickly as possible.
D
Dodging
The practice of moving while aiming, as a stationary target is easier to hit. As you practice shooting while dodging, you are building up your skill set to be able to aim on the move.
DPI
The acronym for Dots per inch, which is a technical term related to a variety of computing scenarios, but in our context, it’s related to the resolution that a mouse’s sensor can track. This may also be discussed as CPI (Counts per inch) but DPI is the standard term in regard to mouse settings.
Dynamic Clicking
Used to describe aim training tasks that feature moving targets.
E
eDPI
A method of determining sensitivity by multiplying DPI by the in-game sensitivity. This method is not as popular as the cm/360° method.
Evasiveness
Often used when describing aim training tasks that feature targets that are more difficult to track and hit.
F
Field of View (FOV)
A setting used in game, often as a slider that controls a number of degrees, that changes the radius that you can view the game on your screen. A higher FOV will show you more of the game world, but it may make targets appear smaller as you’re seeing a wider radius in your view.
Flicking
The motion of aiming where the crosshair moves quickly onto a target.
Fingertip Grip
A mouse grip style where the fingertips are the only part of the hand contacting the mouse.
FPS
An acronym used for either First-Person Shooter, which is a style of game, or Frames Per Second, which represents the performance of the game. Lower FPS can negatively impact a player’s ability to aim effectively.
H
Hipfire
The method of firing a weapon without aiming down the sights or through a scope or optic.
Hitscan
A style of weapon or system in games where shots do not have travel time, and if you are aiming at the target, the shot will hit.
L
Leading
The practice of having to aim ahead of a moving target to account for the projectile’s travel time.
M
Mechanical Skill
The raw talent or ability of the player, typically in reference to aim, accuracy, or movement.
Micro-Correction
A small correction or adjustment to aim at a target, often mentioned in situations where the player’s aim was slightly off.
Micro-Flick
A quick and short flick to hit a target.
Mirroring
A practice while strafe aiming where the player matches the direction of the target.
Mouse Control
The player’s ability to move their mouse around with deliberate intention.
Mouse Grip
Describes the way that the player holds their mouse. The most common mouse grips are Claw Grip, Fingertip Grip, and Palm Grip, though other variations exist.
O
Over-Flick
A flick where the player flicks further than the target.
P
Palm Grip
A style of mouse grip where the player’s hand is resting or contracting the body of the mouse.
Playlist
A number of tasks that are intended to be played through as a collection. These can often be cultivated or designed with a specific training or warmup goal in mind, or the playlist may cover several training or warmup goals.
Precision
The skill or ability to hit targets to hit smaller targets while maintaining accuracy.
Prediction
A practice where the player is attempting to guess the target’s movement.
R
Reaction Speed
The speed at which the player is able to react to something on the screen, such as a target appearing or moving.
Reactive Tracking
A form of tracking where the player has to react to sudden or rapid changes in directions from the targets.
Reading
The ability to interpret the direction or speed at which targets are moving.
Recoil
A movement and reaction to a weapon being fired, often moving upward, which players need to account for in their follow up shots.
RNG
The acronym for Random Number Generation, which is often referenced in games to describe something that is randomized.
Routine
Similar to playlists, a routine is a set of tasks that are intended to be played together or in a sequence for the purpose of practicing, improving, or warming up.
S
Scenario
Used interchangeably with the term task. This will be used to describe an aim training minigame in which the player interacts with the targets.
Sensitivity
A setting related to the speed at which the mouse can move in response to your control and input. Lower sensitivity will be slower, and higher sensitivity will be faster.
Spread
The way that the accuracy of a weapon will begin to change as it is being fired. In examples with full auto weapons, the spread will gradually increase along with the recoil so the shots are landing in a wider field of impact.
Strafe Aiming
The practice of strafing left or right to cover space while aiming, if you’re strafing to the left toward a target, you may not have to move your mouse as far due to the adjustment in your camera and body’s position.
Strafing
The practice of moving left or right, typically with the A and D keys on a keyboard, to move your character’s body and camera. This may be used to adjust your aim, or it may be to make yourself a more difficult target.
Switching
A task style that is a hybrid of flicking and tracking, testing your ability to quickly acquire, track, and then switch between multiple targets.
T
Task
A map, minigame, or scenario in aim trainers where targets or bots are added in for the player to shoot at with different parameters intended to challenge and improve specific aspects of the player’s skills.
Tracking
A style of aiming where the player attempts to track the target smoothly and accurately for a period of time.
Trailing
An error while aiming where the player’s crosshair trails behind the target and is not maintaining accuracy.
TTK
An acronym for Time To Kill, is the amount of time it takes to eliminate a target or opponent in a game. This is related to the amount of health the target has and the amount of damage the attacker can do.
U
Under-Flick
Similar to over-flick, this is a flick where the player comes up slightly short and does not accurately flick to the target.
Utility
Relates to smokes, grenades, flashbangs, molotovs, and other equipment and abilities in games such as Counter-Strike Global Offensive or VALORANT. Utility typically creates obstacles or hazards for which the player must account.
V
VRT
An acronym for Visual Reaction Time, which is the time between when a target appears and when the player is able to react to the target.
VOD
An acronym for Video On Demand, which is typically a recording of a task or match that players can review and learn from.
W
Wide Angle
The amount of space between two targets which will require the player to move their mouse a longer distance to hit the next target.