Getting used to a mouse?

[Jay123]

I got Black Ops 2 for Christmas and I'm finding it hard to get used to using a mouse as I only started PC gaming around 6 months ago. On Xbox/PS3 I had a 2.0 K/D and I'm down to a 1.0 K/D any tips on using a mouse?

If you're going to post about you're opinions on COD, don't bother because I don't care.

[Dave :)]

Don't grip the mouse in a way that is uncomfortable, just because someone has told you a way to hold doesn't mean it is best for you. Find a placement of your hands that feels natural and you are happy with. That is your new grip. Once you are comfortable, then you can start to work on your accuracy etc. Also, lower your sensitivity, depending on your DPI ( dots per inch ) try a much lower sensitivity to the one you are using now. It will feel strange at first; it always does, but after a while it will become second nature. Good Luck :)

[Frank Brown]

Don't grip the mouse in a way that is uncomfortable' date=' just because someone has told you a way to hold doesn't mean it is best for you. Find a placement of your hands that feels natural and you are happy with. That is your new grip. Once you are comfortable, then you can start to work on your accuracy etc. Also, lower your sensitivity, depending on your DPI ( dots per inch ) try a much lower sensitivity to the one you are using now. It will feel strange at first; it always does, but after a while it will become second nature. Good Luck :)[/quote']

Those are great tips for the beginning. I still have one thing to mention:

It could be your mouse too. I noticed a HUGE difference when I had to use a crappy cordless mouce, because my G500 died.

What kind of mouse do you have, Jay? If its an old, cordless mouse you probably should upgrade. Maybe you want to go to a store and try some mice.

The one thats perfect for your hand is the right one, trust me ;)

[Money]

Keyboard and mouse take a long time to get used to vs. console. I play both, and Im used to both, and I can see why KB+M would take a while to get used to.

[Jay123]

My mouse is a gaming mouse however it a cheapish one; the Roccat Kova+. My keyboard is just a generic OEM keyboard, should I consider a mechanical keyboard? I don't see a problem with the keyboard.

[Wheres_The_Money]

I had the same thing i come from xbox and have been playing call of duty for a long time and the first cod i played for PC was black ops 2 it does feel kinda hard and something i was not use to but now i feel i am getting better all i can say is keep playing getting use the mouse if you play other games and you dont like it also maybe it is the mouse and how it feels

[Money]

If you don't see a problem with the keyboard you've never tried a mechanical one. Hahah

[zephiK]

Haven't seen the mention of a mousepad. I wouldn't go into keyboards that much, just focus on the mouse first. And if you don't have a mousepad to go with the mouse, it might be a good idea to use one. I'd recommend the Steelseries QcK.

Find a sensitivity that you enjoy playing at as well. Disable mouse acceleration.

[Ethan]

My mouse is a gaming mouse however it a cheapish one; the Roccat Kova+. My keyboard is just a generic OEM keyboard' date=' should I consider a mechanical keyboard? I don't see a problem with the keyboard.[/quote']

Keyboards are a personal one. While I personally love using a mechanical keyboard for gaming, there's absolutely no need to use one unless you physically feel as though you are being held back. The mousework is 80% of a FPS game.

Now, back to mice. You are probably already as good with the mouse as you were the controller, it's just that almost everybody else playing on PC is that much better than anyone you encountered on Xbox. You're going to get there with practice, but there are a bunch of things you can do to improve that.

First thing's first: Go into Windows Mouse Options and turn OFF "enhance mouse precision". This turns off mouse acceleration; if you're not sure what that is or don't like how it feels, post back and I'll explain it and convince you. :D While you're there, set the mouse cursor to the middle setting and leave it there. Any other setting allows Windows to screw with the mouse input, thus you don't get the pure data from the mouse to the game. That's why you want the middle setting. Now, you want to make the mouse comfortable to use in Windows, so go into the mouse software/drivers and adjust the DPI until you're happy with how it moves around the screen in a 2D environment. Now you need to consider setting the in-game sensitivity. You'll probably end up changing it around a bit until you're happy with it. This might take a few hours/days, but once this is worked out, you generally want to stick with it, as it's going to become muscle memory at some point and changing after that gets confusing.

Now comes the practice. Gaming ability in most games comes down to two fields of skill: strategy ability and reflexes. Chances are in CoD, your strategy ability is already more than adequate through your previous experience and the simple nature of the game. Some games, such as Team Fortress 2 are more complex and require more strategy and understanding than CoD, whereas other games like Starcraft require far more understanding than either, but with less dexterity. So the understanding and strategy instinct is practice, we've established that. It sounds like your stumbling block is the dexterity side of things.

A great way to improve this quickly is by playing faster and twitchier shooters. Without spending any money, Warsow/Quakelive/Nexiuz (the old free version) can provide games with bots that make great target practice. When you can hit things reliably in those games, then CoD becomes a point-and-click. I'm not talking it down - that's just the way it is: it's an accessible arcade-y shooter. Think about it like training for anything else. If you practice at the exact level that you're expected to perform, you can do reasonably. If you practice well above that level, it's going to be easy and instinctive. The less mental capacity focused on hitting the targets, the more you can use for planning and spacial awareness.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy fragging!

[Nirmal]

Quick tip, play around with your mouse sensitivity until you find one that is good for you.

[Jay123]

My mouse is a gaming mouse however it a cheapish one; the Roccat Kova+. My keyboard is just a generic OEM keyboard' date=' should I consider a mechanical keyboard? I don't see a problem with the keyboard.[/quote']

Keyboards are a personal one. While I personally love using a mechanical keyboard for gaming, there's absolutely no need to use one unless you physically feel as though you are being held back. The mousework is 80% of a FPS game.

Now, back to mice. You are probably already as good with the mouse as you were the controller, it's just that almost everybody else playing on PC is that much better than anyone you encountered on Xbox. You're going to get there with practice, but there are a bunch of things you can do to improve that.

First thing's first: Go into Windows Mouse Options and turn OFF "enhance mouse precision". This turns off mouse acceleration; if you're not sure what that is or don't like how it feels, post back and I'll explain it and convince you. :D While you're there, set the mouse cursor to the middle setting and leave it there. Any other setting allows Windows to screw with the mouse input, thus you don't get the pure data from the mouse to the game. That's why you want the middle setting. Now, you want to make the mouse comfortable to use in Windows, so go into the mouse software/drivers and adjust the DPI until you're happy with how it moves around the screen in a 2D environment. Now you need to consider setting the in-game sensitivity. You'll probably end up changing it around a bit until you're happy with it. This might take a few hours/days, but once this is worked out, you generally want to stick with it, as it's going to become muscle memory at some point and changing after that gets confusing.

Now comes the practice. Gaming ability in most games comes down to two fields of skill: strategy ability and reflexes. Chances are in CoD, your strategy ability is already more than adequate through your previous experience and the simple nature of the game. Some games, such as Team Fortress 2 are more complex and require more strategy and understanding than CoD, whereas other games like Starcraft require far more understanding than either, but with less dexterity. So the understanding and strategy instinct is practice, we've established that. It sounds like your stumbling block is the dexterity side of things.

A great way to improve this quickly is by playing faster and twitchier shooters. Without spending any money, Warsow/Quakelive/Nexiuz (the old free version) can provide games with bots that make great target practice. When you can hit things reliably in those games, then CoD becomes a point-and-click. I'm not talking it down - that's just the way it is: it's an accessible arcade-y shooter. Think about it like training for anything else. If you practice at the exact level that you're expected to perform, you can do reasonably. If you practice well above that level, it's going to be easy and instinctive. The less mental capacity focused on hitting the targets, the more you can use for planning and spacial awareness.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy fragging!

Many thanks for this in depth reply, I have set my mouse settings as you suggested and I've found a DPI I like. Next step download Quakelive!

[Ethan]

My mouse is a gaming mouse however it a cheapish one; the Roccat Kova+. My keyboard is just a generic OEM keyboard' date=' should I consider a mechanical keyboard? I don't see a problem with the keyboard.[/quote']

Keyboards are a personal one. While I personally love using a mechanical keyboard for gaming, there's absolutely no need to use one unless you physically feel as though you are being held back. The mousework is 80% of a FPS game.

Now, back to mice. You are probably already as good with the mouse as you were the controller, it's just that almost everybody else playing on PC is that much better than anyone you encountered on Xbox. You're going to get there with practice, but there are a bunch of things you can do to improve that.

First thing's first: Go into Windows Mouse Options and turn OFF "enhance mouse precision". This turns off mouse acceleration; if you're not sure what that is or don't like how it feels, post back and I'll explain it and convince you. :D While you're there, set the mouse cursor to the middle setting and leave it there. Any other setting allows Windows to screw with the mouse input, thus you don't get the pure data from the mouse to the game. That's why you want the middle setting. Now, you want to make the mouse comfortable to use in Windows, so go into the mouse software/drivers and adjust the DPI until you're happy with how it moves around the screen in a 2D environment. Now you need to consider setting the in-game sensitivity. You'll probably end up changing it around a bit until you're happy with it. This might take a few hours/days, but once this is worked out, you generally want to stick with it, as it's going to become muscle memory at some point and changing after that gets confusing.

Now comes the practice. Gaming ability in most games comes down to two fields of skill: strategy ability and reflexes. Chances are in CoD, your strategy ability is already more than adequate through your previous experience and the simple nature of the game. Some games, such as Team Fortress 2 are more complex and require more strategy and understanding than CoD, whereas other games like Starcraft require far more understanding than either, but with less dexterity. So the understanding and strategy instinct is practice, we've established that. It sounds like your stumbling block is the dexterity side of things.

A great way to improve this quickly is by playing faster and twitchier shooters. Without spending any money, Warsow/Quakelive/Nexiuz (the old free version) can provide games with bots that make great target practice. When you can hit things reliably in those games, then CoD becomes a point-and-click. I'm not talking it down - that's just the way it is: it's an accessible arcade-y shooter. Think about it like training for anything else. If you practice at the exact level that you're expected to perform, you can do reasonably. If you practice well above that level, it's going to be easy and instinctive. The less mental capacity focused on hitting the targets, the more you can use for planning and spacial awareness.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy fragging!

Many thanks for this in depth reply' date=' I have set my mouse settings as you suggested and I've found a DPI I like. Next step download Quakelive![/quote']

No problem. For good training games, Nexuiz Classic is an excellent choice. The bots are decent and there are a bunch of simple mission-ish games to keep things interesting. You also don't have to worry about all of the "hardcore" mechanics like strafe jumping and bunny hopping like in Quake/Warsow. Don't mistake it with the new Nexuiz, which is a non-free remake by EA on CryEngine, IIRC. Just make sure your sensitivities are as similar as possible between the two games. To elaborate more, these make a good warm-up. I'm not suggesting playing Nexuiz exclusively for 2 months and then coming back to CoD. More like: if you're wanting to have a big CoD session, play 15 mins of something faster beforehand, then everything else looks like slow-mo. I do the same thing for TF2 occasionally if I'm playing Scout.

Another thing worth considering is a decent mousepad, if you don't have one already. I think someone already mentioned that above.

The only other piece of advice I can offer for transferring from a console to PC environment is that there is a different playstyle due to the control system. It's easier to hit smaller or moving targets which means running blindly out from corners or other risky behaviour will get you killed. Keep moving! Which reminds me, for closer-range combat (SMGs/Shotties) try to use strafing to help you aim. Most stuff is pretty much level, so consider using your sideways movement to move the reticule in these situations. And for mid-to-long range, with a mouse, you can compensate for feedback much more effectively with a slight downward movement during sustained fire.

I apologise for the mass of unorganised words, but there should be enough info to help somewhere. :D

[Jay123]

My mouse is a gaming mouse however it a cheapish one; the Roccat Kova+. My keyboard is just a generic OEM keyboard' date=' should I consider a mechanical keyboard? I don't see a problem with the keyboard.[/quote']

Keyboards are a personal one. While I personally love using a mechanical keyboard for gaming, there's absolutely no need to use one unless you physically feel as though you are being held back. The mousework is 80% of a FPS game.

Now, back to mice. You are probably already as good with the mouse as you were the controller, it's just that almost everybody else playing on PC is that much better than anyone you encountered on Xbox. You're going to get there with practice, but there are a bunch of things you can do to improve that.

First thing's first: Go into Windows Mouse Options and turn OFF "enhance mouse precision". This turns off mouse acceleration; if you're not sure what that is or don't like how it feels, post back and I'll explain it and convince you. :D While you're there, set the mouse cursor to the middle setting and leave it there. Any other setting allows Windows to screw with the mouse input, thus you don't get the pure data from the mouse to the game. That's why you want the middle setting. Now, you want to make the mouse comfortable to use in Windows, so go into the mouse software/drivers and adjust the DPI until you're happy with how it moves around the screen in a 2D environment. Now you need to consider setting the in-game sensitivity. You'll probably end up changing it around a bit until you're happy with it. This might take a few hours/days, but once this is worked out, you generally want to stick with it, as it's going to become muscle memory at some point and changing after that gets confusing.

Now comes the practice. Gaming ability in most games comes down to two fields of skill: strategy ability and reflexes. Chances are in CoD, your strategy ability is already more than adequate through your previous experience and the simple nature of the game. Some games, such as Team Fortress 2 are more complex and require more strategy and understanding than CoD, whereas other games like Starcraft require far more understanding than either, but with less dexterity. So the understanding and strategy instinct is practice, we've established that. It sounds like your stumbling block is the dexterity side of things.

A great way to improve this quickly is by playing faster and twitchier shooters. Without spending any money, Warsow/Quakelive/Nexiuz (the old free version) can provide games with bots that make great target practice. When you can hit things reliably in those games, then CoD becomes a point-and-click. I'm not talking it down - that's just the way it is: it's an accessible arcade-y shooter. Think about it like training for anything else. If you practice at the exact level that you're expected to perform, you can do reasonably. If you practice well above that level, it's going to be easy and instinctive. The less mental capacity focused on hitting the targets, the more you can use for planning and spacial awareness.

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy fragging!

Thanks once again! I don't know if my pad has a name but it's a big thick "ozone" one and it seems ok so I'll probably stick with it.

[Huskie]

I got used to gaming on PC (again) in a few weeks, and comfortable in a month or so.

Playing with sensitivities is something you should recon. At first I started out pretty low, then I went higher and higher, and a few months later I started tuning down. Then I feel fully comfortable, and think I found the perfect sensitivity for me.

[Rhizo]

I got Black Ops 2 for Christmas and I'm finding it hard to get used to using a mouse as I only started PC gaming around 6 months ago. On Xbox/PS3 I had a 2.0 K/D and I'm down to a 1.0 K/D any tips on using a mouse? If you're going to post about you're opinions on COD' date=' don't bother because I don't care.[/quote']

Just get used to it, auto aim on console will be what makes pc seem harder, although over time you will be super accurate on pc. It's a generally harder platform due to the die-hard nature of pc gaming, just stick at it, or, get a new mouse. Palm grip - g400 if claw grip - cm storm spawn.