Aim trainer

How the aim trainer works

Pick a mode and press Start. After a three-second countdown you have thirty seconds. Along the top you see the time left, your score and your accuracy as you go, and the full results appear when the round ends. Your best score for each mode is kept in your browser, on this device only. It is a free aim trainer with nothing to download: it runs in the page, on a computer or a phone.

• Flick shows one target at a time, and each new one appears a good distance from the last. It trains the quick, accurate jump from one spot to another that most shooters ask for.
• Speed spawns targets faster and faster, from one every 0.7 seconds to one every 0.38. Each grows in, then shrinks away over 1.6 seconds. It trains target switching under pressure.
• Tracking sends one target wandering around the box. Keep your cursor on it; no clicking. It trains smooth, steady following, the skill behind beam weapons and strafing duels.

How the score works

In Flick and Speed, each hit is worth 50 to 100 points: 100 for an instant hit, 75 at half a second, 50 at a second or slower. Your total is then multiplied by your accuracy, so a round of 40 hits at 80% accuracy keeps 80% of its points. Spraying clicks across the box doesn't pay. In Speed, a target that shrinks away before you hit it counts as a miss.

In Tracking you earn a point for every 10 ms on target, so a perfect round is 3,000. The results also show your longest unbroken hold and how long, on average, it took you to get back on the target after slipping off.

Reaction time in this aim test runs from the moment a target appears to your click. It includes moving the mouse there, so it reads well above a simple click-when-it-turns-green test. Compare it with your own earlier rounds rather than with those.

Getting a fair reading

• Turn off pointer acceleration. Windows "Enhance pointer precision" makes the same hand movement cover different distances at different speeds, which is the opposite of what you are training.
• Lock the pointer if you like. With Lock pointer on, the cursor hides and a crosshair moves with your mouse, and it can't slip out of the box. Some browsers move it a little faster than your usual cursor on a scaled display. Press Esc to pause.
• Mind your screen. A 60 Hz display draws a new frame every 16.7 ms, a 144 Hz one every 6.9 ms. A faster screen shows the target sooner and moves more smoothly.
• Leave the tab alone. The round pauses if you switch away or the window loses focus, and picks up where it stopped when you press Resume.

How to practise

Short, regular sessions beat one long one. Warm up with a round of Tracking, play a few rounds of Flick, and finish with Speed. Aim for accuracy first: a clean round at a steady pace builds the habit, and speed follows. If flicks keep overshooting, your sensitivity may be too high; if you can't keep up with the tracking target, it may be too low. The eDPI calculator shows where your setting sits, and the sensitivity converter carries it between games.

Gear matters less than practice, but it isn't nothing. A light mouse is easier to start and stop, and a large, even pad gives your arm room. Our best ultralight gaming mice are a good starting point, and the mouse finder narrows things down by grip and hand size.

Questions