[0:00] Do you want your aim to look precise
[0:01] like this,
[0:05] but instead your aim usually looks more
[0:07] like this?
[0:10] >> You aren't the first or the last person
[0:12] who has dealt with this since I used to
[0:14] have issues with my own aim similar to
[0:16] you. Thankfully, I learned exactly how
[0:18] to fix my aim to be more calm now than
[0:21] when I played back in beta. What was
[0:23] that secret tech I learned to be a calm
[0:26] aimer? Well, today I'll tell you exactly
[0:28] how I learned calm aim through practice
[0:30] exercises, and tension management
[0:32] control, all for a calm aim style you
[0:35] can replicate in 2026. Now, when we
[0:37] think of calm aim, we often think of how
[0:40] someone's aim looks. But most players
[0:42] don't understand how it actually works.
[0:44] Calm aim is defined by smooth mouse
[0:47] movements that stop directly on the
[0:49] target. Specifically, we need first
[0:51] bullet accuracy, under flicking, and
[0:54] patience with our click timing. That
[0:55] means rushing your shot and pure
[0:57] reactions creates situations where you
[1:00] don't have calm a. So, the focus has to
[1:02] be in mastering the mechanics that lead
[1:04] to composure in your fights. Which leads
[1:06] us to arguably the most important part
[1:09] of maintaining your composure, tension
[1:11] management. You might have heard this
[1:12] before, but tension management is
[1:14] essentially just how tight you are
[1:16] gripping your mouse. Correct tension is
[1:18] important because a tense arm and a
[1:19] tighter grip means less room for micro
[1:21] adjustment with your wrists and fingers.
[1:23] and micro adjustments are obviously
[1:25] crucial to achieve that calm aiming
[1:27] style. Other downsides to a tight grip
[1:29] might be less obvious, such as arm
[1:31] fatigue, which will eventually stop you
[1:32] from playing at your peak. However,
[1:34] there's downsides to having a really
[1:36] loose grip, too. Mainly, your mouse just
[1:38] not being as steady or planted. This
[1:40] leads to a lack of control and micro
[1:42] adjustments and potentially slower
[1:44] reaction times. This is why we call it
[1:46] tension management. Think of your grip
[1:47] as a scale. On one end, we have a super
[1:50] tight, anxious death grip. On the other,
[1:51] we have a sloppy fingertip grip that
[1:53] really has no control. You want to
[1:55] increase and decrease the tension based
[1:57] on the intensity of the situation in
[1:59] game. For example, if I'm holding a
[2:01] really long angle with a Vandal, and I
[2:03] know I'm going to have to tap and track
[2:04] someone's tidy head, then more tension
[2:06] in my arm and wrist keeps my mouse
[2:08] planted, allowing my fingers to do most
[2:10] of the work micro adjusting. However, if
[2:12] I'm peeking Garage on Haven with an
[2:13] operator, I want flexibility in my wrist
[2:15] and my arm to flick left or right, and
[2:18] micro adjustments are less important
[2:19] overall. A crucial tip I can give you to
[2:22] instantly improve your tension
[2:23] management is that it's not just a
[2:25] physical marker to watch for when you're
[2:27] thinking of these different kinds of
[2:28] fights. It's also a mental one. Try and
[2:30] keep your tension at the front of your
[2:32] mind and try to physically sense when
[2:34] your hand and shoulders tense up the
[2:36] next time you play. The reason why is
[2:38] before we can start to manage tension on
[2:39] that scale, we have to be aware of it in
[2:42] all aspects. Another part of that mental
[2:44] side is to understand what else could
[2:46] create tension from situations in or out
[2:48] of game. An example of this mental
[2:50] strain is stress. Too much tension is
[2:52] often a side effect of stress. So often
[2:55] we have no idea we're even doing it.
[2:57] It's also worth noting that certain
[2:58] specific situations may cause tension
[3:01] and stress even though you might not be
[3:02] a tense player normally. Usually a high
[3:05] tension occurs when you know you were
[3:06] making an important play. Personally, I
[3:08] often tense up in awkward chaotic
[3:10] situations I lack control of or on the
[3:12] other extreme when I know I need to hit
[3:14] an instant headsh shot to win a duel.
[3:16] It's that mental aspect of placing high
[3:18] importance on my aim in that moment that
[3:21] makes me want to grip my mouse harder. I
[3:23] personally deal with this by trying to
[3:25] let go of any thoughts using meditation
[3:27] techniques and taking deep breaths in
[3:29] the moment. As I said, tension is often
[3:32] a side effect of stress. So, I try to
[3:33] manage the stress at the root cause
[3:35] first, whether that's in real life or in
[3:37] game. These techniques allow me to relax
[3:39] and react faster, reducing tension and
[3:42] therefore making my aim appear calmer.
[3:44] The mental aspect of calm aim comes with
[3:46] time and experience as you become more
[3:48] comfortable in stressful situations. So,
[3:50] now that we've understood tension
[3:51] management aspects of calm aim, let's go
[3:53] over some in-game techniques you need to
[3:56] master and how to train them. But before
[3:57] we do that, figuring out your mistakes
[3:59] is a significant part of Valent, but
[4:01] identifying them on your own can be
[4:03] extremely challenging, which is why the
[4:05] coaches at the immortal roadmap program
[4:07] are built to identify your mistakes to
[4:09] help you improve. You can see it with
[4:11] our students like TMS who recently hit
[4:13] Radiant and Z who hit 900 RR in Radiant
[4:16] EU. Inside RP, 80% of our students rank
[4:19] up 500 RR in just 6 weeks. IRP is for
[4:22] serious players like you who want
[4:24] hands-on help from world-class coaches
[4:26] to perfect their gameplay. And if you
[4:27] don't get 500 RR in 10 weeks, you get
[4:30] your money back guaranteed. So, if
[4:31] you're tired of feeling lost with your
[4:33] own mistakes, use the link below to book
[4:35] a call with our team to see if you'd be
[4:37] a good fit. Now, back to the video.
[4:39] Utilizing the practice range is ideal
[4:41] for training and learning calm aim. The
[4:44] different difficulties of bots or the
[4:46] scenarios you endure allow you to
[4:48] control the stress you're putting
[4:49] yourself under. As an example of this,
[4:51] let's use that earlier first bullet
[4:52] accuracy point to build a scenario to
[4:54] practice. Start with using medium or
[4:57] hard bots and focus on one taps only,
[4:59] returning your crosshair to the center
[5:01] of the range each time. If you want to
[5:03] focus on wider armbbased flicks, then go
[5:05] closer to the bots. It's up to you
[5:07] whether you want to include movement or
[5:08] not, but I would recommend trying to
[5:10] stay static first and then incorporating
[5:12] movement later. The great thing about
[5:14] this method is that it forces first
[5:16] board accuracy. Well, Cell, you may be
[5:18] asking, how is this done? The speed of
[5:20] the bot spawning is simply too fast for
[5:22] you to be able to spray. If you try to
[5:24] spray, your recoil won't be reset for
[5:26] the next bot. So, it forces accuracy and
[5:28] speed, which simulates the stressful
[5:30] environments of your games. This may
[5:32] feel frustrating at first, but that is
[5:34] precisely why it is perfect training for
[5:36] calm aim. It normalizes flicking under
[5:38] time, pressure, and stress, forcing you
[5:40] to prioritize first board accuracy. Once
[5:42] you can do this on hard bots
[5:43] consistently, then you are less likely
[5:45] to feel overwhelmed in chaotic
[5:47] situations in game. The range is also
[5:49] great for first accuracy because it
[5:51] allows you to synchronize movement and
[5:53] your first bullet over many reps. This
[5:55] in turn helps reduce movement and
[5:56] accuracy in your games. For this, you
[5:58] can just use standard static practice
[6:00] bots and practice your normal A and D
[6:02] strafes. Focus primarily on the timing
[6:04] of your first bullet relevant to your
[6:06] movement. The goal here is to be
[6:08] shooting literally on the frame that the
[6:10] game allows you to shoot accurately. If
[6:12] you can make progress here, you are well
[6:14] on your way to improving your movement
[6:16] and your first accuracy. Let's take a
[6:17] step back to the mental stress factor
[6:19] and how that affects our tension. To
[6:21] reduce this mental stress, it really
[6:23] helps to have an exceptional spray
[6:25] control. The more comfortable you are
[6:27] controlling the entirety of your spray,
[6:29] the less pressure you put on yourself
[6:30] going into a gunfight, you are less
[6:32] anxious about missing your first shot.
[6:34] Therefore, you are less likely to tense
[6:36] up. Think about it. How many situations
[6:38] are you in where you need to spray? And
[6:40] it just makes you panic because you
[6:42] aren't confident with that skill. This
[6:44] is why we need to fix our spray and also
[6:47] consider tension management during our
[6:49] spray. For this, we want to use moving
[6:51] targets to understand how tracking an
[6:53] opponent with our spray affects our
[6:55] tension. Tracking is often synonymous
[6:58] with a tighter grip. They go hand in
[7:00] hand. This is because when you are
[7:01] tracking, you have to make very quick
[7:03] changes in direction to compensate for
[7:05] your opponent's movement and the spray
[7:07] pattern simultaneously. These fast
[7:09] adjustments require constant pressure on
[7:11] your mouse throughout the fight, so
[7:13] you'll notice your hand tensing more
[7:14] when you spray. The key is to find the
[7:17] middle ground. The best options here are
[7:19] death matches, spray transfers on
[7:20] strafing bots in the range, and aim labs
[7:23] tracking scenarios. You also can't go
[7:25] wrong with just spraying a wall opener
[7:27] over, so try out some variations for
[7:28] yourself. Speaking of deathmatch, this
[7:31] is easily the most useful tool in reps
[7:33] for real in-game gunfights you could ask
[7:36] for. However, there is a misconception
[7:38] people have about DMing. DMs shouldn't
[7:40] just be a mindless space to frag. Simple
[7:43] goals can help create really valuable
[7:46] practice, and that's all the same when
[7:48] calm aim is our goal. So, let's see some
[7:51] methods to help reach this calm aim goal
[7:53] in DMs. To start, we need to master
[7:55] using all the available time in a
[7:56] gunfight. This basically means get
[7:58] comfortable with how long it takes to
[8:00] adjust your crosshair, even if you die.
[8:01] Use your movement as a tool to buy
[8:03] yourself time to aim, and use
[8:04] fundamentals such as crosshair placement
[8:06] and resetting your crosshair to ensure
[8:08] you are more ready for each fight. Good
[8:10] movement equals surviving longer. Good
[8:11] fundamentals equal killing faster. Both
[8:13] of these combined equals a calm aim
[8:16] style. If you want to buy yourself more
[8:18] time in a fight, you simply don't stop
[8:20] moving until you are ready to shoot. We
[8:22] know we want to maximize time spent
[8:23] moving during a fight. But to do this
[8:25] well, you have to be aware of exactly
[8:27] how long a fight lasts before you die.
[8:29] And this can vary wildly depending on
[8:31] your opponent's readiness, the angle you
[8:33] choose, and many other factors in
[8:35] context of your DM. It's worth noting
[8:38] that we are talking about ten of a
[8:39] second here. This is definitely a
[8:41] feeling and not something that you can
[8:42] simply look at once and learn. But to
[8:44] move towards this goal, we must have a
[8:46] practice goal in deathmatch that rewards
[8:48] patience. Focusing heavily on your first
[8:50] bullet accuracy is a good way to
[8:51] practice patience. It's easy to tell
[8:53] when you are hitting your first bullet.
[8:54] And with some exceptions, the more you
[8:55] hit your first bullet, the more time you
[8:57] are taking with your shots. As for
[8:58] resetting your crosshair, it's basically
[9:00] just pre- aim, but more active. It's
[9:01] taking a moment before you peak to look
[9:03] through the wall as you peak at
[9:05] different angles rather than just
[9:06] tracking the corner. For example, if I
[9:08] am clearing art on Pearl, I must stop
[9:10] and readjust or reset my crosshair
[9:12] placement as I go through the sequence
[9:13] of clearing angles, aiming into the wall
[9:15] before I clear. This technique allows
[9:17] for more readiness and faster reaction
[9:19] times. Essentially, we are just taking
[9:21] our time to clear angles to ensure we
[9:23] get the fundamentals right. Good pre-ame
[9:25] does require experience and map
[9:26] knowledge. However, techniques like
[9:28] visualization can help compensate for a
[9:30] lack of experience and prepare you
[9:31] better for your gunfights. Being
[9:33] prepared or ready for any fight is
[9:35] crucial for having calmer aim and
[9:36] managing tension. If you want proof,
[9:38] visualization has actually been shown in
[9:40] multiple studies to improve reaction
[9:42] times. I would encourage you to try to
[9:43] visualize what's behind a wall before
[9:45] you peak it. To begin with, try to
[9:47] imagine the left and right boundaries of
[9:48] an angle. For example, if I'm peeking a
[9:51] main on Pearl, the boundaries of the
[9:52] angle would be here and here. When you
[9:54] peak a player in between, those
[9:56] boundaries instantly stand out. This is
[9:58] certainly not a total fix, but it is a
[10:00] useful skill that can give you a head
[10:01] start as most players only learn this
[10:03] after thousands of hours of experience.
[10:05] Now that we've discussed a few new
[10:07] skills we want to learn, how are we
[10:08] actually going to make them a part of
[10:10] our game? Well, it's all about changing
[10:11] habits and behaviors. We first need to
[10:13] acknowledge that you, as a Valerant
[10:15] player, have already made significant
[10:16] progress. So, you've become comfortable
[10:18] with certain aspects of your gameplay.
[10:20] This progress may have resulted from
[10:21] mechanical habits and behaviors that you
[10:23] rely on dayto-day. And if you are now at
[10:25] a point where you want to apply new
[10:27] skills and change your mechanical habits
[10:29] in order to climb further, that's
[10:30] probably going to be difficult. Your
[10:32] current mechanical style has probably
[10:34] become subconscious and ingrained. So,
[10:36] I'm going to give you some tips that can
[10:37] help you apply some new mechanical
[10:39] habits or decision-based behaviors. Set
[10:41] a goal and stop changing your mind on
[10:43] what kind of player you want to be. If
[10:44] your goal is to have calmer aim, then
[10:46] take these lessons and focus heavily on
[10:48] them consistently for at least a week.
[10:50] Make it a large focus for your rank
[10:52] games, even if that takes a little
[10:54] attention away from your decision-making
[10:55] or performance in the short term. Have a
[10:57] way to remind yourself of what you are
[10:59] focusing on if needed. Reminders are
[11:01] useful because they keep us on track.
[11:02] Without reminders, we can often switch
[11:04] our goals and focus quickly as doubt
[11:06] creeps in from day to day on rough
[11:08] losses or some bad performances. You can
[11:10] build some reminders by using something
[11:12] like a sticky note on your monitor. The
[11:14] goal here is to build your identity as a
[11:16] player rather than constantly changing
[11:18] your goals or style. After a little bit
[11:19] of time, you build up a level of
[11:21] awareness on this particular skill and
[11:23] you can hold yourself accountable when
[11:25] you are screwing something up. For
[11:26] example, resetting your crosshair may
[11:28] have been awkward and counterintuitive
[11:30] at first, but if you focus on it heavily
[11:32] for a week, even if it's only 20% of
[11:34] your rank games, you will start to
[11:35] notice situations where you could have
[11:37] taken more time to visualize, to look
[11:38] through your wallet and opponent, and
[11:40] ready yourself for a better fight. And
[11:41] bam, just like that, you have a new
[11:43] perspective. Once you reach that point,
[11:45] your behavior has probably changed and
[11:47] you're on the way developing a new habit
[11:49] and potentially many more in the future.
[11:51] And remember, in the long term, being in
[11:52] control of your own improvement and
[11:54] those goals you have in mind will help
[11:56] you climb in that ranked ladder unlike
[11:58] any time before. That's it for this
[12:00] video. If you guys enjoyed, please feel
[12:02] free to check out the rest of the
[12:03] channel. We have plenty of coaching
[12:04] content like this. And until next time,
[12:06] peace out.