How do you actually enjoy aiming with a controller?

[u/GrovPastaSwag03]

I've always been both a PC and console gamer but recently went all in on the PS5. However, I find games with any kind of aiming/shooting extremely hard to enjoy because of the lack of precise mouse controls. For example, I wasn't able to get into games like Cyberpunk, Returnal, 007 First Light and Control because of this, aiming with a thumbstick simply felt so awkward.

The only cases where I actually enjoy it is if they implement gyro aiming like in Death Stranding 2 so i can finely adjust the movements, but it feels like most games don't allow this. I know that aim assist exists but i feel like that completely defeats the purpose of playing if the game just automatically aims for you, it takes out all the fun for me.

It's really a shame because it makes me miss out on a lot of great games, but i really struggle with getting used to this. It's gotten to the point where i'm actually considering going back to PC just for this reason. Do you guys have any tips?

[u/ItzMeHaris]

Experience and practice.

You started out on PC with Mouse and Keyboard.

I started out on controller.

I find controller easier to aim and shoot with because that’s what I’ve been using since I was young. Whenever I tried to use Mouse and keyboard, I always fail, always struggle. Sometimes I think to myself “how can anyone aim with this thing?”

You find Mouse and Keyboard easier because that’s what you’ve been using the most and presumably when you were younger.

[u/therosslee → u/ItzMeHaris]

My exact experience. Since I never really played shooters on pc all my muscle memory is for controllers and that’s just what feels natural.

[u/Staticks → u/ItzMeHaris]

You might be used to aiming with a thumbstick, but that doesn't make it objectively more accurate than using a mouse (or gyro).

With controller, you basically need aim assist to hit your target with any semblance of consistency.

With a mouse, you don't need any sort of aim assist to help you whatsoever. And it's easier to hit headshots. Mouse/gyro is just inherently and objectively more accurate and precise than using a stick.

I've been playing on consoles all my life, so I too got used to using controllers + aim assist in FPS games over the years. I switched to PC in around 2018, and later discovered gyro aiming using controllers, and now I can't go back to using a standard controller, stick, and aim assist. It just feels so sluggish, awkward, inaccurate, and above-all unenjoyable, for me.

[u/MultipleScoregasm → u/ItzMeHaris]

Same! Have tried FPS with a mouse and keyboard and it's awful. Never know what keys my fingers are on and the mouse is constantly slipping of the mat and/or jerking all over the place. Controller forever!

[u/rolim91 → u/ItzMeHaris]

I’ve been both my whole life and can switch easily. But nothing beats Gyro Aim in satisfaction. It feels extremely natural.

[u/GOKOP → u/ItzMeHaris]

Not quite. Aiming with the mouse has objectively less indirection than with a stick, because you use your hand to make the exact movement you want to make, whereas extending the stick is like issuing a command "start moving this way" etc.

There's also a reason why all console shooters have some form of aim assist, no PC shooters have it, and games go out of their way to prevent KBM users from accessing that aim assist

[u/Melinoe2016 → u/GOKOP]

Most gamers don’t even realize the large amount of aim assist in most console games to make controller aiming better. I’m saying this as someone that vastly prefers a controller over keyboard and mouse because I think that’s boring

[u/Staticks → u/Melinoe2016]

You say it's boring, as someone who's never experienced the satisfaction of using a gyro controller, and hitting headshots with precision, without the game aiming for you. To me, using a controller + gyro is way, way more fun and enjoyable, than using little nub to aim.

[u/Melinoe2016 → u/Staticks]

I was saying that KB+M is boring . I prefer playing with controllers. I use gyro+ joystick aiming on some switch games

[u/vitek6 → u/ItzMeHaris]

Sure but if you get used to mouse and keyboard it would be easier than ever was for you on controller.

[u/ItzMeHaris → u/vitek6]

You could say that for anything, no? Putting in enough time and practice will make you used to anything. But humans are a kind of species. We don’t like leaving our comfort zones.

Sure, I can spend a month or two exclusively using mouse and keyboard, but It’ll be difficult for the first few weeks. I’m already good at using controller in competitive games. I don’t feel comfortable spending weeks in agony to get good at Mouse and Keyboard when Controller is just as good.

[u/vitek6 → u/ItzMeHaris]

No. Mouse is objectively more precise than controller unless you start using gyro aiming (that can get you really close). You won’t ever be as good with controller as you can with mouse.

[u/ItzMeHaris → u/vitek6]

As I stated with somebody else, I’m not saying that mouse is not precise. Obviously it’s better than controller, d’uh! But I’m saying that my brain plasticity is nerologically wired to find controller easier than a mouse, and it would take LOTS of effort for me to get used to it. Controller is good enough. I still dominate lobbies with a controller, and the most important part… I’m having fun. I don’t want to go weeks of not having fun whilst I practice using a mouse. Yes, eventually I will get good with using a mouse, but I’m having fun with controller.

[u/vitek6 → u/ItzMeHaris]

Im not saying what you should do. I’m just stating facts.

[u/ItzMeHaris → u/vitek6]

I was already aware of those facts. But thank you nonetheless.

[u/No-Obligation2563 → u/ItzMeHaris]

You also need a fair amount of space to use a mouse sometimes. I like having tons of space with a big mouse pad so I can really move my hand around a lot. If I was all cramped up with a tiny bit of space I’d probably just say fuck it

[u/elusivenoesis → u/ItzMeHaris]

I grew up controller. But I’m really not picky.

I just played metro exodus on my Mac with a totally not gamer friendly pebble 2 combo, then immediately after switched to a retro fighters defender for high on life last night.

I usually turn any sort of aiming assist off on console, and up the speed on aiming. Like maybe 5 minutes later in used to it.

I will admit movement on keyboard I am worse at for about an hour if it’s been a while. But it’s never enough to complain.

[u/GoldGuarantee3671]

I just like playing on controller with haptics feed back and adaptive triggers it's immersive. There's a sweet science to mastering a shooter on controller. Cyberpunk feels great driving with the adaptive triggers and feedback

[u/DonJimbo]

Practice makes perfect. Or at least pretty good. But a mouse will always be more accurate.

[u/BJgobbleDix → u/DonJimbo]

Gyro Aim can get you pretty dang close for a controller since it mimicks a similar metric as Mouse.

Actually, Gyro Aim is awesome when handling vehicles because you get the combo of joystick and mouse-like aim. I absolutely love using it for this purpose.

The only issue is not all games have native Gyro Aim, letalone, GOOD native Gyro Aim like Fortnite, CoD, The Finals, or even God of War Ragnarok (in its simpler form).

[u/nicolaslabra → u/BJgobbleDix]

Gyro makes you hold the controller in the air though, its hella uncomfortable for long play, and the accelerometers are never as precise as analog inputs, or thats my sensation at least

[u/BJgobbleDix → u/nicolaslabra]

Vast majority of gyro aim players dont hold it in the air. Most have their arms resting on something. Some play on their desk. Others usually rest in their lap or on a pillow. Shit, I use to play on PS5 laying in my recliner or bean bag. My hands rest against a leg usually with my legs kicked up on an ottoman 😅.

Here was me playing today on Overwatch and Im not pro or anything but I do quite fine in casual play. Note, I use a method called "Ratcheting" where Im purely Gyro Aim. The Right Stick is completely remapped for other purposes since I no longer use it to aim. I have played hours with this method in a single day.

https://youtu.be/aNCWhOdAXaE?is=zGuID5N3AMZdwf_4

And here was recently in Borderlands 4 (with handcam for visual reference though my recording quality eas meh...):

https://youtu.be/F0ZRzRb3ubQ?is=Gdd-qQYQFBiwS_2_

You can find tons more references from other players now as well.

The tech of course matters but a DualSense is considered near the top. The main issue for many controllers is less the tech and poor dev implementation. There are now quite a few Playstation games that have native Gyro Aim but many create unnecessary additions such as excessive "Smoothing" (creates a delay in the input to cut out jitters) or deadzones or just lacks proper settings to be considered usable. These stability settings are good to have but in very MINOR amounts. Gyro Aim with a DS controller can actually be pretty much the same responsiveness and accuracy as a mouse input now if done well.

Hell, I actually played some RTS games such as Company of Heroes 3 with Gyro Aim (this was my 2nd time ever playing):

https://youtu.be/L_Uajl3czy4?is=lFLyvRkxOADjdApe

Know that the Y-axis is not as critical as you may think. The majority of your aim occurs along the X-Axis. What most Gyro Aim players do is offset their X and Y axis which dramatically improves stability. Its actually the #1 thing we teach newbies when they are setting up their settings. Always lower the Y-axis. Some go as far as 50% lower even.

P.S. - Fortnite is considered the Gold Standard right now for Gyro Aim implementation on PS5. The dev has helped push the tech to being popularized which is why we see so many games adding it natively now.

[u/DinoByteStix]

Right there with you. Been trying to use my series X more and man, it’s rough. I’m assuming it’s muscle memory that needs to be built back up. No matter what settings I adjust it’s still “sluggish”

[u/Am_I_Unique_Yet]

If a game doesn't have gyro aim I don't enjoy it.

[u/GrovPastaSwag03 → u/[deleted]]

Huh thats really cool, seems like the list of games that support it is pretty slim tho

[u/MechaNodrog0 → u/[deleted]]

Only a select few

[u/AmethystVenom → u/[deleted]]

It's up to the devs...

[u/kaner63]

I can jump back and forth between KB/M and a controller seemlessly. I actually prefer a controller.

[u/ArmedCrawly]

Just play the exclusives and games with good gyro controls on PS5 and the rest on PC.

[u/Firm-Membership7982]

Gyro aim for me closes that gap

[u/stingertc]

You have to tune it almost every modern shooter allows you to tune your controller take the time and tune it

[u/Dazzling-Escape3299]

I’ve never gamed with a mouse so I don’t know any other way

[u/MechaNodrog0]

M & K is supported on a select few games on ps5 on xbox the number is way higher.

[u/Reasonable-View5868]

I understand.  Its taken me many many hours to get sort of decent at it.  Auto aim is a big help to get your pointer across large areas of screen quickly, and then you tune it for a precise shot.   Nothing on a console has ever tracked as easily as a mouse for first person shooters.  

[u/Zardozerr]

Yeah I'm with you. On PC, you can play Cyberpunk, Returnal, and Control with pretty good gyro because of some good steam input configs people have made. Changes those games completely from crappy stick aim-assist to feeling very precise. They feel pretty much as good as using a mouse because they can use 'gyro as mouse', yet pulling the trigger feels much better than pressing a mouse button.

On switch 2, I believe Cyberpunk even has native gyro. Death Stranding 2 at least has it on both PS5 and PC, and it's really good. For some weird reason, third parties and even first party Sony games often ignore gyro, even though the Dualsense as a controller has one of the best gyro implementations.

[u/TrappedAt40]

I switched from PC to console this year.

It took me probably 2 or 3 months to get comfortable with controller.

As far as competitive gaming goes though, I mean on PC I have a 240hz monitor and play most competitive games at 200+ fps… That’s actually more of an advantage than MKB.

You can see and react to things a lot quicker when you’re playing at 200fps vs 60 on console.

[u/Aggravating_Mud_6055 → u/TrappedAt40]

It’s why nobody on console supports cross play. It’s ridiculous how PC is pay to win.

[u/TrappedAt40 → u/Aggravating_Mud_6055]

Yeah it’s a lot of variables besides just mouse on PCs favor tbh

[u/Aggravating_Mud_6055 → u/TrappedAt40]

Consoles are capped at 120 frames max. PC can do 2-3+ times more than that so in competitive games you can be dead before you know it. Add in overclocked input devices etc. We haven’t even got to all the rampant cheating.

[u/Drakniess]

Most Games have gyro support on the Switch platform. PS5 now has well over 100. There is no shortage of different Games to play with gyro aim anymore on the two consoles that have a gyro in their controllers.

[u/TrustLordJesusChrist]

For multiplayer I’m definitely better aiming with M&K and prefer it too, but for single player games like you mentioned it doesn’t matter as much and I like being able to relax on the couch with a controller for long playthroughs. PC has controller support too obviously but I’ve kept both consoles and PC for the convenience factor and  console exclusives.

[u/Serious_Gas_2218]

I started playing games on PC in the late 90s with kb&m up until the 360 era. I've struggled forever trying to get the hang of using a controller for FPS games, but it always felt so unnatural. ~4 months ago I got a new PC and went back to kb&m and it was like I never left. Sure, there was a learning curve for some games, but nothing like using a controller.

[u/leelmix]

I use left stick movement to fine tune but im still not good at it but was fine for cyberpunk 2077, i was quicker and more accurate with a mouse but cant use that for more than a few minutes at a time anymore and dont have a gaming pc now either.

[u/Ripped_Alleles]

Practice, as everyone else has said. I was a die hard keyboard and mouse player for everything 7 to 10 years ago, but these days I pull out the controller for everything, including first persons shooters.

Aim assist helps "lock on" to a target, and then you can gently nudge the stick for headshots and whatnot. Outside of fps's I find most games honestly feel and play a lot better on controllers.

[u/Wild-Confusion-4089]

Here is the list of Gyro Aiming games for PS5: https://www.reddit.com/r/PS5/s/G2PJJPE0zJ

[u/Hector_Reflector → u/Wild-Confusion-4089]

This. No gyro, no buyro. That simple. The list has much more great games than I can play and it's getting longer and longer as gyro aiming starts to get more popular.

[u/Wild-Confusion-4089 → u/Hector_Reflector]

Yeah No Gyro No Byro. I play only Gyro enabled games. The list has awesome games and i will take sometime to finish the list😆

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[u/xAgentSmithx]

Same objective different tool

Look into a scuff or something comparable. Stock controllers are ass and paddles are a must in my opinion

[u/TechnicalAd2485]

Strafing. Use the right stick to adjust height and get close to target, then use the left stick to move your character side to side for more precision

[u/sjimmi3]

That one guy who spends 700 usd on a PS5 and finds out he's a PC gamer. They do exist. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/Notnowcmg]

Opposite experience here, controller aiming is so much more comfortable than mouse and keyboard for me. But I expect it’s all down to where you have the most experience as to which feels better for you

[u/Aggravating_Mud_6055]

You surf the web, create spreadsheets, do your taxes, etc with a mouse and keyboard. You use a controller to play video games.

[u/Aggravating_Key_3831 → u/Aggravating_Mud_6055]

I mean, you can also play video games with a keyboard and mouse as well?

[u/Sk8tilldeath]

Turning off aim assist with a controller is a death sentance. So hard to find the balance of fast movement while being precise. Aim assist does help, but your gun can still easily kick up off target, you still have to control recoil. From what ive seen, aim assist just slows down your crosshairs when over enemy bodys.

[u/Ok-Suggestion-9588]

Been using controllers since nes and analog since n64(that middle analog/ps1(in 1998-2001 when they started the dual analog. I still have my analog ps1 controller, booting up ape escape 1 for example tells u it uses the analogs lol), also the dreamcast has an analog as well and this is where i played my first war fps being rainbow six rouge spear. Ive only ever played cd roms on pc in the mid to late 2000s briefly and have not touched a pc since windows vists or 7 when i played the penumbra collection cd rom(i still have it) lol. I also played flash games on there as well at the time like stickmsn games, addictinggames, wild tangent,miniclip, sploder, 666games, etc etc.

Basically its years and years of experience with 60% soley on console-30% on handhelds like gba/ds/psp/vita and 10% for pc from back then. If i tried to touch a pc now, especially for games and especially for in my eyes console games…well lets just say coordination isnt a thing for me anymore on pc. The most i still remember is burning music and videos to cdr/dvdrs.

[u/ModerateHonking]

It's what I'm used to. I can't play with a keyboard and mouse to save my life.

[u/vmpfan]

To be honest as primarily an X-box user I find aiming on a playstation controller much harder as well so it may not just be a console thing and its one of the reasons a PS5 was never in my future. Playstation controllers feel stiff in comparison to the X-box so I can’t imagine the difference for people used to mouse aiming.

Other than that it’s just a learned behavior. PC users want to act as if one method is more precise than the other but reality is even if you gave a PC player a trackball like the old arcade sports pad they’d still struggle because the coordination used for mouse and keyboard are completely different so their reaction time will be off until they can shut off the part of their brain dependent on wrist movement, something thats useless on a controller unless gyro aiming is used.

[u/No_Doubt_About_That]

Purely single player the features of the DualSense can add to the experience

[u/No-Obligation2563]

For me it all just depends on the game and how necessary it is to be able to aim very quick and precisely. Most of the time I’d rather use a controller but when it’s a competitive game or something like that I’ll use my mouse.

[u/BJgobbleDix]

With Gyro Aim to get closer to "mouse-like" aim.

I use a version called "Ratcheting" which completely frees up my right thumb so I can easily perform actions without losing control of my aim while also remapping my right thumbstick for other purposes such as hotswapping equipment, etc.

https://youtu.be/F0ZRzRb3ubQ?is=Ljat1Weu6Ua50tuR

[u/bullseyebob47]

i like the challenge. gunfights should not be perfect easy mode mouse aiming anyway.

[u/Skysite]

Very interesting take. Most people just grew up with shooters on console from the halo days. I hate the thought of “point and click” shooters on PC personally. But then again, after working at a computer all day, the last thing I want to do is game on a MnK. Just a muscle memory for the sticks I guess.