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Lessons with Shniller

S/O to Shniller for making the time to train me. Great guy, 10/10 would recommend!

Most of our time in custom match was spent working on strafing & counter strafing. Here's a rundown of things that I should work on: 

1) Strafe and tap the opposite key to come to a complete stop. When stopped, shoot-almost instantaneously. Work on counter strafing against a wall or with bots. 

Eventually, you want it to be one, fluid motion. You should be able to strafe and hit the same target (center) while moving back and forth. 

2) Preaim the expected head level prior to the swing. That way, all that's needed is a quick tap, or a very small microadjustment to get your crosshair on their head. 

3) Don't worry about "cutting the pie" when clearing angles for now. Swing that thing with confidence.

Given his great advice, here is a warmup routine that I've developed (and will most likely adjust and tweak over time):

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The Range

Static Shots - Duration: Until Comfortable

Focus: Micro adjustments 

First, with regular bots, work on static shooting (standing still). 

Goal: work on micro adjustments to get your crosshair on their head. 

In fact, what I've been doing is intentionally shooting to the left of the target's head, then the right, then dead center. This is helping me to make small corrections while standing still. The goal of this exercise is to get fluid with correcting my crosshair to the left or right when I aim too far in or shallow to the target's head. 


Moving Shots - Duration: Until Comfortable

Focus: Movement Aiming

Work on moving to the target's head. Try to keep the crosshair still (don't microadjust). Adjust with your movement. In this stage, it's easy to move and not counter-strafe (due to the short distance), but do your best to tap the opposite key regardless.

When you do have to swing wider, make sure to (1) push the crosshair to the general direction, then (2) move to strafe into target. Keep on working on the fundamental of:

A) Crosshair direction to the target

B) Strafe to target

C) Stop (counter)

D) Aim (micro-adjust) - then shoot. 


Training Mode - Eliminate 100 bots 

Focus: Combination of Movement and Micro Aiming

No time restriction. Start up the elimination mode, then go to the left or right far corner (as to see all the bots that spawn). Work now on a combination of the above. 


Sage Wall - Eliminate 50 bots (x2) 

Focus: Peek Shooting

Try to set up a Sage Wall so that it's on the far left or right. Start up the bots again. 

For the first 50, work on peeking from the right of the Sage Wall. Remember to make the movement fluent and to aim. It's okay to be slow in the beginning.


DeathMatch

Work. On. Slowing. Down.

It seems that my biggest issue is hyperfocusing on the technical aspects of shooting, rather than letting the game play out. It just so happens that my best shots and/or flicks occur subconsciously. To be in a flow state, I believe that first, I must be in a comfortable position where I am playing at my pace. 

Calm Aim is good aim. Slow is smooth. Smooth is Fast.




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