It is an unfortunate fact of life that human reflexes slow down as we get older. Medical studies suggest that reaction times peak at 24 and go downhill from there – and nowhere is this more ruthlessly illustrated than in the world of online first-person shooters. Head on to the average Call of Duty, Apex Legends or Overwatch server as a 35-year-old and it can feel as if you’re surrounded by superhuman teenagers with hair-trigger instincts who rack up multiple kills while you’re still deciding whether or not you should have inverted the controls.
Fortunately, there’s much more to being good at these games than the ability to hit the fire button faster than anyone else. Approaching middle age doesn’t mean you have to hang up your laser gun and start playing train simulators. You just have to be more strategic.
Here are some tips for mature gamers who want to remain competitive, even if their reflexes aren’t so bothered any more.
Invest in the right equipment
OK, you’re going to have to stop playing on that 70-inch LED display in your living room – with such a vast screen it’s impossible to keep an eye on everything happening at once. Top esports players use smaller monitors – usually 27-inch, with super fast response times of between 1ms to 5ms. It’s a really good idea to invest in a decent headset too, so you can get proper spatial audio. That way you know where footsteps – and bullets – are coming from.
Stop sprinting
Whenever you respawn after getting shot in an FPS it’s really tempting to hit the sprint button so you can leg it straight back into the action. Don’t. Stop it. Sprinting does have a role in shooters, but in very specific scenarios. When you sprint, you’re less aware of the environment around you, and it takes longer to get your gun into a firing position. For at least a few matches, walk everywhere until you get into the habit.
Lurk at the edge of the map for a while
The centre of the map is basically the slaughterhouse where most encounters occur and where lightning fast reactions are required. When you’re learning a new map or game, try to stay on the outskirts, picking off enemies as they cross your vantage points. If you’re playing a battle royale game, stick to the very edges of the active area, right on the cusp of the storm. You won’t get as many kills, but you’ll be limiting the number of angles you’re vulnerable from and you also won’t be running into a hail of gunfire every three seconds. Once you’re comfortable, start moving inwards.
Always be prepared
When traversing the map, continually point your gun toward the area from which enemies are most likely to appear – ie doorways and windows. When you enter a room, check the corners. If there is a window, don’t run straight past it – you’re begging to be sniper fodder. Run along the opposite wall. Unlike pure reflexes, spatial awareness is a skill all players can learn and improve.
Use your mini-map … and your senses
Most first-person shooters give you a little mini-map display in the corner which shows what’s going on in the area around you. It’s likely your teammates will be shown as little dots or arrows, but your opponents will be invisible – unless someone on your team uses an ability to reveal enemy positions. It’s vital, therefore, to use the map as a deductive tool. By the location of your teammates, you’ll be able to work out where the enemies are. For example, if your squad is all bunched up and pointing in the same direction, you know they’re engaging the enemy – and maybe you can sneak around and flank them. If your team is all spread out and looking in different directions, it means there’s little direct engagement going on and you need to be very careful in the areas they’re not occupying because that’s likely where the other team members will be creeping about.
It’s important to combine this with other sensory info. For example, Call of Duty has a compass at the top if the screen which shows you what direction enemy fire is coming from. And all modern shooters make enemy footsteps louder than friendly ones, so you know who’s nearby. Piecing all this info together allows you to build a dynamic mental map of the combat arena.
Mastering the field of vision
The chances are you won’t beat a young player if you meet them out in the open. You need to find safe vantage points on the map that allow you to increase your field of vision and field of fire, while decreasing those of your opponent. Think of the arrowslits in a castle wall, which afforded archers protection without inhibiting their own range. Windows, wall edges, the areas between pieces of furniture or vehicles, areas in deep shadow … these all make you less visible, without infringing your own sight lines. If you can access a higher floor that overlooks lower courtyards or passages, that’s perfect, as inexperienced players tend not to look up. If you’re going to stop moving, crouch – you’ll make a smaller target. And once you’ve fired your gun, move to another location.
You also need to use cover effectively while running around the map. Stay close to walls to reduce your visibility from higher positions and try to run in such a way that there are always objects directly behind you, so you can’t be shot in the back from distance. If you’re moving along a hill, don’t run on the ridge, you’re visible there: stay on the incline. Finally, always jump or slide when going round a corner or through a doorway where an enemy might be lurking – it makes you much harder to hit. If you can shoot straight while doing either of those things, even better.
Also: learn the maps! Learn safe cubby holes, learn the choke points where most fights take place, learn handy short cuts through buildings or down tunnels, learn the best places to plant claymores or proximity mines, and use this knowledge to predict where your enemy will be.
Tweak the settings
Don’t just go with the default game settings – make sure they’re right for you. Head into the menu and tweak things like motion sensitivity, aim assist and audio levels. Seek out tutorial videos for your game on YouTube, where pro players often give advice on settings – these can have a huge effect on your game. (Pro player BennyCentral has loads for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, for example.)
Customise all load-outs
There are three things you need to think about with weapons: your own preferences, the map you’re on, and which stage of a match you’re in. In battle royale games, it’s often better to concentrate on longer range guns, such as sniper and assault rifles, as you’ll be engaging at longer distances. However, as the circle reduces in size, more encounters are likely to happen at close range, so you need submachine guns and shotguns. If the game you’re playing has customisable weapons, your key aim should be to improve accuracy rather than fire-rate. Go for components that reduce recoil and increase range. If you’re playing a game with set roles, such as Apex Legends or Overwatch, play into the abilities of your character. A support character in Overwatch shouldn’t be taking the lead in assaults, and a tank shouldn’t be hiding in a corner trying to hit enemies from a distance. Always be in character.
Do some homework
Most shooters have firing ranges that let you test weapons and see how recoil affects the spread of bullets. Some games allow you to jump on an empty server to explore – this will allow you to learn the maps, finding those little cubby holes with excellent cover, or those sneaky escape routes through tunnels, alleys or underwater. While playing live matches, learn the choke points in each map where players continually meet and fight; then find safer positions with sight lines into those spaces, rather than charging in guns blazing.
Also, gaming sites such as IGN, Gamespot and Eurogamer all have tactics guides filled with info, and watching decent players on YouTube or Twitch is invaluable for picking up lived experience and pro tactics. You can’t out-shoot a teenager, but you can definitely out-prepare them.
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