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Tweak your DPI settings for better aim in FPS games.
Trying to fix up your aim? We've got some suggestions that can help.
Wordsmith at SteelSeries. Enthusiastic about Dota 2 and fighting games. A cat dad.
When playing FPS games, aim is paramount. But there are so many components that add together to enable you to play your best. There's the mouse comfort, quality, your surface, and also settings such as DPI.
We'll focus on DPI today, and see how it can help you aim better in your favorite FPS games, such as Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends.
Dots per inch (DPI) refers to the measurement of the sensitivity of your mouse, determining how much your cursor moves in response to physical movement. A higher DPI means the cursor will cover more pixels on the screen with less physical movement, while a lower DPI will result in slower cursor movement for the same physical motion. It's essential to strike a balance to achieve the ideal sensitivity that matches your playstyle.
Some may use CPI (counts per inch) vs DPI (Dots per inch) to describe mouse sensitivity. Many gaming equipment companies will use these terms interchangeably, though they technically describe different things.
Of course, keep in mind that if you already are fine with your mouse sensitivity, you may not want to change it. However, consider the possibility that you could aim more easily and with greater precision when changing it. Some practice and experimentation can go a long way, even if it is just to confirm your preferences.
Generally a lower DPI is better for precision aiming. With this, it's easier to track movements, so you can keep your cursor over your opponent, especially when at certain distances.
Additionally, it's easier to make important micro-adjustments. If your mouse DPI is too high, trying to make these tiny movements for precise shots isn't going to work, and your cursor will go too far.
Of course, find your sweet spot in these numbers; you might want it to be slightly more or less sensitive. At the end of the day, it's all about your personal preference.
It's not that surprising, but you most likely want to keep your DPI pretty similar in Call of Duty as well. You could raise the sensitivity slightly for those fast close-up encounters, but overall, keeping your DPI at the same or very similar level is generally recommended.
It will be easier to track the movements of the enemy in this way, keeping you on track and landing valuable headshots.
Yep, you probably expected this by now, but this both common sense and what most good players follow. Keeping your DPI relatively similar or even the same across games.
If the settings are absolutely too low for you, you can try raising it to 1,600. Again, you'll have to experiment a bit and see what works best for you.
Changing your mouse DPI is easy, especially with SteelSeries products, such as Rival 3 Gen 2.
Simply open GG, the free software that updates and configures all your gaming gear, in one place. Then head over to the Engine tab, and you will see a list of your devices. Click on the banner of your mouse when it's plugged in or on, and you will see a menu like above.
You can see the Mouse Sensitivity Levels on the right, with preset levels for easy tabbing. Change it and click "Save" on the lower right.
You can get a lot more granular with these settings, adjusting the polling rate, angle snapping, and you could even adjust the DPI independently of the X and Y axes (not recommended unless you are an advanced player or have specific reasons for that).
If you don't like tinkering with settings as much (with keyboard ones as well), you can take advantage of QuickSet, and it will do it for you, on a per-game basis.
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