Hero

Re: How does aim assist work?

@jokool_aid If you want to see what aim assist does go into firing range and ads and moving your aim from way outside target through a dummy. You will see how it slows the aim down a bit. Aim assist does not, as many people cry about, lock you to a target or snap your aim to a target.

8 Replies

DoYaSeeMe
5 years ago
Let me also give you another perspective: aim assist is a variable sensitivity multiplier. Within a certain range from a visible target, your input sensitivity decreases, so that you can fine tune your aim better. It's somewhat similar to aiming down sights, where each scope zoom is also a sensitivity multiplier, but which doesn't change during aiming.
The feeling of snapping to a target is understandable, as the eye-hand coordination gets affected. An aimbot that places the crosshair over a target can look and feel pretty similar.
jokool_aid
5 years ago
@hayhor @DoYaSeeMe Wait, so if it slows my aim, would that explain why it feels like I can't follow someone fast enough? Good (or should I say very bad) example I had earlier in a 1v1 where I had the drop on someone, but couldn't keep up with their movements: https://media.giphy.com/media/OghBDPCWOFWB4OJQBd/giphy.gif
First few shots are just me being bad at this game, but when I start tracking them, it feels like my aim just can't keep up.
hayhor
Hero
5 years ago
@jokool_aid It is hard to tell in the gif. Aim assist should not hurt your tracking tho. Have you ever messed with your aim sensitivity?
Koochi-Q
5 years ago
@DoYaSeeMeYou’re just saying what I said but in colloquial terms!

@hayhor, yes it should! Aim assist slows down your pitch/yaw speed so that you can track better. The caveat is, if you’re used to the normal speed and finetuned to it and aim assist kicks in, you’re left with mismatched visual-cranial delivery.

@jokool_aid if your settings are low to begin with it can either help you or hinder you as lower settings seem to let aim assist do less work cause it’s already low. But with low settings and aim assist in ADS, that means if they have quick reflexes on a smaller character, it means game over for you...
DoYaSeeMe
5 years ago
@Koochi-Q Yes, and speaking from a perspective of an UI developer who has done very similar features in behavior.

Also, when I started playing Apex, my mouse default sensitivity was double than what it is now. If I go back to it nowadays, I get really dizzy (and I don't mean as good as the pro player, heh) and can't hit a still target if I move. While turning off aim assist wouldn't actually nauseate console players, it would make them feel like their target is "slippery", mostly overshooting and having hard times tracking the enemy for a couple of hours / days, until their brain adjusts. Decreasing sensitivity multipliers for ADS can make up for disabling aim assist, console players that do this and have great aim (are on point with their tracking and switch between hipfire and ads on every shot or burst) probably don't feel much of a difference.
LocustSniper
5 years ago
What I really would like to know is if the lowered sensitivity is a percentage of your yaw speed, or it's a set amount that is the same regardless of your settings
DoYaSeeMe
5 years ago
@LocustSniper Multipliers depend on your settings, but I think the formula uses some easing for smooth experience. If, let's say, the multiplier is 0.5x, yaw would not go instantly from 1x to 0.5x, but gradually (like 1x - 0.9x - 0.75x - 0.6x - 0.5x). It's important to give the brain some time to catch up, otherwise it would lose track.
hayhor
Hero
5 years ago
@Koochi-Q I mean if you have your settings right to what works for you. Yes it will take getting used to at first. But you still should be able to track people.