Tips on aiming?

[PooPoo 13]

Hey everyone,

I really don't know how it works, but I've had some trouble aiming in DayZ. I play tons of FPS games and have pretty good aim in most games, but can't seem to figure it out in DayZ, granted I've only had it for a week now. It always seems there is a delay between when I fire, and when the person actually gets hit. Also do you have to aim infront of your target a bit? I ask because I was crouched on a road, and was trying to shoot someone on a motorcycle. I had a Ak-47 Kobra with a reflex sight. I put the sight directly on him and emptied an entire clip, and he only died in the last few shots.

Is there some sort of guide on how to aim in DayZ?

[Ozelot (DayZ) 394]

Guide to aiming in DayZ:

Don't aim like it's COD.

[PooPoo 13]

Guide to aiming in DayZ:

Don't aim like it's COD.

Haha, yea I've noticed. And what would that be?

[rick808 9]

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=14616

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

You have to account for bullet-drop over certain distances, that basically means that gravity affects your bullets so they "drop" over distance. Also, if your target is moving you have to "lead" the target. That's because bullets take time to reach the target, it's a tiny amount of time but it's the difference between hitting and missing. Both of these effects are more noticable as the distance increases.

Some guns allow you to "zero" the sights to help you account for bullet drop. If you zero the sights to 400 for example, you can aim directly at the target at 400ft and score a direct hit, usually..

Edit - also, I'll explain the link above because he couldn't be arsed. That's a separate mission for Arma 2 you can load up. It basically gives you a shooting range and access to tons of guns so you can practice.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Fraggle

[applejaxc 2500]

ArmA takes some getting used to. I've been playing since A2 released their "Demo" version, and I'm still getting used to it.

What I suggest (and not many people will agree with this, but) go into options, and set your aiming deadzone to 1-5%, JUST enough that you can turn your gun without turning your camera slightly to one side or the other. Because ArmA movement can be awkward (at best), I feel like slow or still targets are easier to get a bead on when I move the gun a tiny amount, as opposed to my whole person.

Also, learn to use PGUP PGDWN to change your zeroing.

Finally, some weapons (AKM, AK47) don't have fantastic iron sights. Holding right click without your weapon raised will allow you to zoom and aim with the green bars and dot. In CQC, where doorway movement is impossible, it's pretty useful to have your gun down but accurate. At range, iron sights designed for CQC won't perform very well.

[Feral (DayZ) 622]

Get on the shooting range linked above and practise, practise, practise.

Pick a gun that is common in game and master it, then move to another etc

Before you do though it might be worth taking a look at your mouse settings, it really helps to have uniform sensitivity etc across all games and windows for muscle memory and general consistency, it can be a bit of a ball ache but it really helped me. There are good tutorials out there, here's a couple -

Edited June 19, 2013 by (MUC) Feral

[nL.Jason 8]

Relax , Calm down , Dont be afraid

[=DiG= Zgraphz 84]

just picture it real life, ok so could a 9mm shoot somone with amazing amount of damage over 100meters away. NO, but COD says yes, dayz says NO!!! do not follow your target, lead your target, take small burst shots, full auto is never a good idea, waste of ammo and a dinner bell like no other to bandits and zombies alike. To trail your target you must gauge your distance to your target, at long distance without the use of Range finders, you could fire a spoiler shot and adjust according to the bullet impact point with some degree of accuracy. at short range Firing from the Hip! learn it, use it well shouldering your weapon takes to much time, aside for aiming to your target, take a few survior runs with different guns and do practice shots on running zombies, shoot signs while running to prone, crouch shoot small signs, once your done practice on other players, stalk them, and become the soul less merchant of death dayz intended you to be. have fun!

[Devon206 (DayZ) 77]

Make sure to catch your breath before you shoot. EX: you see a guy running down the street, you have been running 200M and you want to engage, you aim down your sights and your shaking. To fix this just simply go prone and wait 10 seconds.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Devon206

[Goggalor 191]

Patience is majorly important. Don't take a shot until you're positive you'll hit your target, always use your sights, try to take a knee or go prone when possible, and always make sure to catch your breath. If you've come up on an enemy that hasn't spotted you wait the extra minute to catch your breath. It can save your life.

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Patience is majorly important. Don't take a shot until you're positive you'll hit your target, always use your sights, try to take a knee or go prone when possible, and always make sure to catch your breath. If you've come up on an enemy that hasn't spotted you wait the extra minute to catch your breath. It can save your life.

That's a really good tip actually. In other games like BF, COD etc you get really used to twitch shooting where the fastest finger wins. That can really help you in DayZ too especially in close-quarter-combat but I've lost count of the amount of kills I've got by spending an extra second or so making sure my shot's going to hit.

Quite often you'll find that you come under fire by a trigger happy bandit spraying bullets all over the place on full-auto. It can be really intimidating if you're not used to it but once you learn to chill a bit, take a second to either change your position/take cover or just take a nice slow breath and return fire you'll be surprised how many people you start killing when the odds seem stacked against you. Sometimes you may even get hit by the spray of bullets but if you make your 2 or 3 shots count it's game over for them and you can patch yourself up.

Also, don't forget to put one in their head for luck just to make sure once they're down. There's nothing more frustrating than being shot by someone you thought you'd killed but he was just knocked out. I've been knocked out so many times in a hectic battle but lived to tell the tale and occasionally got my revenge because they didn't finish me off.

[leviski 2152]

try shooting the gun in dayz like in real life

breath control

lol just kidding

but what if someone actually did that?

Lol -hold breath for shot, tries not to anticipate the shot-

I would recommend getting really good at snap shooting and target judging

I can pull off some mean heatshots with winchesters and pistols in DayZ

[Surt 9]

Always use the sights/scope on the gun. The crosshairs can be misleading, especially at really close range and in third person. Make sure to lead moving targets and compensate for bullet drop. Try to see where your bullets are hitting and adjust your shots accordingly. When shooting at vehicles try to get a clear shot at the driver from the front or back of the vehicle so you don't have to worry about leading them as much. If you're shooting from the side aim for tires. When shooting at people I like to aim for the legs. Not only does this give you the chance of breaking their legs and slowing them down significantly, the recoil will generally bring your gun up to their chest or head and allow for nice follow-up shots. Playing Wasteland on normal Arma 2 is a good way to get familiar with different weapons. Just launch Operation Arrowhead and type Wasteland into the filter.

[Hetstaine 10852]

Grenades, lots of 'em.

[EndEffeKt 87]

I just downloaded the shooting range mission, but it seams my ARMAIIOA cant start it. I put it into the MissionMP folder, but cant find a way to open it ingame :D

Do I do something wrong?

EDIT: Ah ok I have to host a multiplayer game.

Edited June 21, 2013 by EndEffeKt

[mzltv 2281]

Let your character gather his breath after running before going into ADS.

...and keep your weapon on its single shot function - this isn't Harlem.

[novogeek 253]

Use a Hatchet like the real people do ... :)

Just kidding, it is an acquired art but you will eventually get the hang of it.

[RJTurneR 112]

. Bullet drop, look for where the bullet lands, adjust, fire again.

. Learn to use which fire modes to use in certain situations.

. Go intro controls and on the left hand side turn smoothing off, allows you to aim much quicker and sharper horizontally and vertically.

. If you are able to adjust your DPI on your mouse, do so. The quicker the response, the better. (Combine this with smoothing off)

. If your on the run and need to return fire, find cover, and lay down. Your breath recovers much quicker this way.

. Know the strengths and weakness' of your weapon e.g. M4A1's are only effective up to ranges of about 400m.

. Patience, dont rush the shot, one bullet at a time.

. If you can learn how to, moving side to side while aiming is a big plus. Some people think it's a cheap tatic, but whats the point in making yourself static? The more mobile you are, the less chance of being hit there is.

[HMS 115]

I use silenced gun as soon as I can find one.

Sighted in - that is to say, not in 3rd person and using iron sights - Any bobbing Z head beyond 30m, aim a teensy bit higher than its nose and fire just before the head comes to where you want the bullet to hit. Those rounds are way slower and the travel time is palpable. I'm not even sure what the FPS is but it is not much faster than some air guns.

If one one of them is aggroed and running after you, it's tougher because landing the critical headshot is harder as they are bolting around.

Once they are on top of you and smacking away, (assuming again, sighted in, not in 3rd person for the shot), aim like 8 inches higher than their head. I have no explanation for this. Too close for bullet drop, but face shots just hit them harmlessly in the chest.

[JSparks (DayZ) 109]

Something you can do is drag the mouse smoothing option way down. It impacts your aim very noticeably.

[Rekli 995]

wow smoothing is a BAD thing? *slides from top to bottom*

[Chris529 380]

wow smoothing is a BAD thing? *slides from top to bottom*

Something you can do is drag the mouse smoothing option way down. It impacts your aim very noticeably.

. Go intro controls and on the left hand side turn smoothing off, allows you to aim much quicker and sharper horizontally and vertically.

This, I did it a month ago and now my aim doesn't feel sluggish it's way more responsive and makes it so much easier to play. If you haven't done this do it now.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Chris529

[Lady Kyrah 1110]

Hey everyone,

I really don't know how it works, but I've had some trouble aiming in DayZ. I play tons of FPS games and have pretty good aim in most games, but can't seem to figure it out in DayZ, granted I've only had it for a week now. It always seems there is a delay between when I fire, and when the person actually gets hit. Also do you have to aim infront of your target a bit? I ask because I was crouched on a road, and was trying to shoot someone on a motorcycle. I had a Ak-47 Kobra with a reflex sight. I put the sight directly on him and emptied an entire clip, and he only died in the last few shots.

Is there some sort of guide on how to aim in DayZ?

>Bullets are fast in the real world but they are nowhere near instant, lead your target, learn how to guesstimate the distance and learn how much lead you need for a running/walking player.

>Your body need time to move, that's what a lot of people dub as "negative mouse acceleration". You cannot turn as fast as your mouse move, so take this in account.

>Bullets drop as they travel, depending at which distance your weapon is sighted, anywhere BEFORE the signting distance and the bullet will be traveling over your sight, meet the sight at the sighting distance and then keep dropping from this point.

> Do not spray and pray, the point of an automatic weapon is to put more bullets into the target, not to hope for at least one to hit.

>If bullets start flying around you, do not go prone, RUN toward cover in an erratic path, it will make you a much harder target.

[Shark Eel 9]

Point your gun at the person you want to kill, and shoot until he is dead. There you go.