How to get better aim in Apex Legends: aim training tips & tricks

Alan Bernal
apex legends aim

There are a few things that Apex Legends players can practice to greatly improve their aim in the battle royale. From working on mechanics to killing the bad habits you’ve gotten used to, we’ve got a couple of ideas of how to aim better in Apex Legends.

Firefights in Apex Legends can explode into chaos at the drop of a hat. In these moments, your aim is generally the first thing that suffers from improper technique.

From pros to casual players, everyone should be practicing in-game habits if you’re looking to improve your aim in a fast-paced game like Apex Legends.

There’s plenty of things that you can do before jumping into a match, or even as you’re playing, so take a look down below for more.

Make use of the Firing range

apex legends firing range
Apex Legends has a Firing Range where you can warm up.

In a less stressful environment, Respawn’s Firing Range has a ton of elements that you can use to get 10-20 minutes of practice before playing games.

From long-range tracking to short-range crosshair placement, there are plenty of opportunities to warm up in range that you’ll want to use before going into a match.

For even better results, we recommend going into the Firing Range with some friends and enabling the friendly fire option. This will allows you and your friends to engage in 1v1 gunfights that can better fine-tune your aim and reaction time.

Practice with the 3D Aim Trainer

One external source you can use to improve your aim in Apex is the 3D Aim Trainer. Using this website, you can select your favorite Legend, weapon, and scope to simulate the real thing with a choice of 1v1 or co-op Zombie Survival modes.

Better yet, it’s completely free to use, and if you sign up, you can take part in assessments that will track your aiming abilities and teach you how to get better at the game. There’s also a mobile app for both Android and IOS for on-the-go training.

While practicing in the real game is obviously important, the 3D Aim Trainer will give you a less stressful place to hone your skills – and you won’t have to worry about your all-important Kill to Death ratio being affected.

Aim for the head

apex legends octane mirage wraith
Landing shots in Apex Legends is hard. But you don’t have to land as many if you hit the head.

This isn’t so much a tip of how to improve, but a reminder to break the habit of aiming for the opponent’s general direction. In tense situations, people will often get complacent and aim for just landing shots on the enemy.

That’ll result in just hitting the body, or worse the legs, when you could be getting more bang for your buck(shot).

Aim for the head. While that sounds simplistic, some players tend to forget that when extended fights start to get sloppy.

Movement and positioning

apex legends pathfinder
Active movement in Apex Legends tends to give you a better fighting chance.

Before even considering your aim reticle, ask yourself if you’re in a good position to take a fight. The vertical and spacious landscape of Apex Legends demands players to consider all engagement points, lest they become unaware to a third-party or lose a 1v1 because you were in an awful spot.

There are plenty of movement tricks to master in Apex Legends, and we’ve seen that the game rewards people who use every part of the terrain to get around.

You should always practice good aim, but you’ll be surprised at how many more fights you’re winning just off of being in the right place at the right time, regardless of your weapon.

Take note of where your target is and move accordingly. Don’t walk into sightlines, look for flank opportunities, use Legend abilities to move up the line, and make the opponents react to you.

Center your screen

bangalore
Even if you can’t see your enemy, trust your instincts.

Things move around the Apex Games at breakneck speeds, luckily you just have to move your mouse to keep up. Centering your screen to the focus of your attention is something that everyone catches themselves failing at from time-to-time.

If you’re doing something menial, like looting in a safe place, we tend to let our eyes drift all over the place while keeping the screen fixed (usually toward the ground). You shouldn’t do that during a fight, but bad habits can quickly form.

Since your crosshair rests at the center of your screen, make it a habit to constantly keep what you’re focusing on in the middle of your panel.

In a fight, this will train you to track the action a lot better. As the battle evolves so will the points of interest on your screen.

Keeping your screen squared in the center of your attention is a tip that spans every FPS, but something that we tend to forget at the most important times.

Aiming and strafing

apex legends 30 30 repeater wraith
Strafing is going to alter your shot, but you can practice to create an advantage.

Strafing, and counter-strafing, is a skill in itself that you need to master for any shooter, but doing so while aiming down the sights (ADS) is another story.

There are instances where hip-firing is more potent than ADSing, but neither are going to do much to you if your movement and aim aren’t in-sync.

Strafing creates another factor to consider when aiming at a target. Being mechanically sound with your aim means making the right adjustments as you move to the left and right.

Know recoil patterns

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A gun’s recoil will massively test your aim.

It’s important to have a concept of the many recoil patterns in Apex Legends.

Every gun has its own recoil pattern in Apex Legends. There’s plenty of room to mess up a shot if you don’t have a basic idea of how the bullets are coming out in the first place.

Once you get a look into Apex Legends’ different weapon recoils for different guns, you can start to practice the mouse movements that will keep your opponent in your crosshair longer.

Practice what you learn

Whether you’ve done the reading or seen YouTube videos of how to get better at aiming in Apex, you need to drop into the game to put them to use.

While you should go into every game looking to be the Apex Champion, it’s also OK to go into a match for the sake of practice. Don’t go to the outskirts of the Arena, instead go into a hot zone where you know a few squads are going to drop in.

This is going to give you a crash course in fighting and force you to pay attention to all of the mechanics/movements that need to be worked on.

Improving your aim in Apex Legends won’t always be fun or easy, but constantly putting in the practice will make noticeable differences if done correcting.


For more Apex tips and tricks, check out our guides:

How to link your Origin account to Steam | What is tap strafing? | How many people play Apex in 2021? | How to get higher FPS | Does Apex have cross-progression? | Best Legends tier list | Heirloom guide | Crossplay guide | Apex Pack tracker guide | Legend pick rates

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About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?