TL;DR:
Rule of Thumb: Lower mouse sensitivities in this range are usually easier to control: 24 cm/360° to 80 cm/360°.
The cm/360° sensitivity is a combination of your mouse DPI setting and a specific game’s sensitivity setting.
To find what your settings are in cm/360° use a calculator like this.
If you have a setting you like in one FPS game, use the calculator to transfer it to another game or use KovaaK’s Sensitivity Matcher here.
Experiment to find what setting works best for you!
Act 1: Mouse Sensitivity and Why It Matters
A large part of having great aim in your favorite FPS is simply playing on the right settings with the right technique, and mouse sensitivity is one of the most important factors in great aim. Your sensitivity setting controls how much real-life mouse movement is required to move your crosshair in-game. A high sensitivity requires minor mouse movements while low sensitivity requires large mouse movements.
A common notion in aiming is that one should stick to a single mouse sensitivity in order to develop muscle memory. While this can be somewhat true, it doesn’t apply until you are at the absolute top of the game. Even then it is only for refinements that you can easily rebuild when you have true muscle memory. Instead, for most of us, establishing great aim is all about relentless improvement and never settling. The brain does an amazing job of adjusting to a new sensitivity; often it only takes seconds to adjust to a new setting and use it reasonably well.
Before we dig into what sensitivities could work for you, let’s discuss how to describe sensitivity, as different games have their own sensitivity scales. “Turn Circumference,” also known as “cm/360°,” is the real life distance your mouse moves when performing a 360 degree spin in-game.
To set your expectations, 80 cm/360° is a very low sensitivity, and 10 cm/360° is very high. As a rule of thumb, a somewhat lower sensitivity is more manageable—i.e., around 24 to 80. These lower sensitivities allow for greater aim precision; higher sensitivities can feel twitchy and hard to precisely control if you don’t have extremely disciplined fine motor control.
Of course, there will always be a few exceptions to the rule—there are definitely players who have amazing aim even on very high sensitivities—but, if we look at the average settings of pro players, it’s typically the case that lower sensitivities are preferred. Here’s a look at some FPS gods and their mouse sensitivities in cm/360 (the higher the number, the lower the sensitivity):
OWL pro player, JJoNak: 77.0 cm/360
FPS streamer, Shroud: 41.5 cm/360
CSGO pro player, S1mple: 33.6 cm/360
Fortnite streamer, Ninja: 29.4 cm/360
Quake pro player, Toxjq: 28.9 cm/360
When determining your mouse sensitivity there are 2 main variables we need to look at. First, there’s the in-game sensitivity setting. Second, there is mouse resolution, commonly known as mouse DPI or CPI. (CPI is the technically correct expression, but mouse manufacturers tend to use DPI).
Your mouse resolution describes how sensitive it is to real-world motion, and is essentially an analog-to-digital conversion scale. For example, a mouse resolution of 800 DPI is twice as sensitive as a resolution of 400 DPI. This means an Overwatch in-game sensitivity of 10 on a 400 DPI mouse is equal to a sensitivity of 5 on an 800 DPI mouse. To find and change your mouse DPI setting, the most common way is to open your mouse software if available, otherwise you can Google your mouse model and DPI to find out.
Here’s a specific example from Overwatch: If you are still playing on the default OW sensitivity of 15 and your mouse DPI is set to 1600, you are at 5.7 cm/360°, meaning you complete an entire revolution by moving your mouse just 5.7 centimeters (2.24 inches). This is an extraordinarily high sensitivity, considering the average pro player’s sensitivity is 31 cm/360°. So, take note: If you happen to still play on the default settings in your game of choice, you could be using a sensitivity over five times higher than the average pro player.
To find an in-game sensitivity that correlates to a given circumference (cm/360°), use an online calculator. Most popular games have fan-made calculators. Here is a handy one for Overwatch.
To convert between FPS titles, this calculator is fantastic.
Act 2: Let’s Experiment and Test Mouse Settings
Now that we know what mouse sensitivity means and what range of settings is typical, let’s start experimenting. If you aim with your wrist, you will probably find that anything above 30 cm/360° feels quite difficult. As your sensitivity gets lower, the more you’ll find yourself using your arm to aim—so you may want a bigger mousepad.
Low sensitivities can be uncomfortable and tough to get used to, but they’re definitely worth trying. 24 cm/360° is a good place to start if you have no experience with lower sensitivities. To estimate your turn circumference in cm/360°, an option is to quickly measure it yourself:
Grab a ruler to measure with (preferably in centimeters, but inches can easily be converted)
Jump into KovaaK 2.0 or your game of choice.
Choose a specific spot on a wall, then perform a 360-degree horizontal turn, returning back to the exact same spot as smoothly as possible. (Don’t touch the keyboard while turning.)
Measure how far your mouse moved on across your mousepad
This is your sensitivity in cm/360°!
Here’s an example of what this looks like
An alternative to physically measuring is using an online calculator. The main purpose of most calculators is to convert mouse sensitivity from one game to another, rather than to simply calculate circumference so finding the right calculator can be a little tricky. Here are two options:
To find out what circumference you are currently using you simply enter your Mouse DPI and In-game sensitivity on the left (leave the Sensitivity in cm/360 field blank). Your output on the right is now your turn circumference in cm.
You can also use the calculator to find the settings required to reach a particular circumference. For example, you may want to try out pro Overwatch player Carpe’s sensitivity of 49.34 cm/360°. Enter your mouse DPI and 49.34 cm into the Sensitivity in cm/360 field, leaving the In-game sensitivity field empty. Your output on the right is now the In-game sensitivity value resulting from that combination of DPI and cm/360°.
Here’s another similar option but with a few more games:
CS:GO/Quake/Source Games/Rainbow 6 Siege/Overwatch/Fortnite
Act 3: Calculating Your Perfect Mouse Sensitivity
Your ideal sensitivity will likely change depending on the needs of the game you are playing. For example, Counter Strike: Global Offensive rarely requires large aiming movements which means it’s safer to use lower sensitivities. Whereas a game like Overwatch with high mobility, enemies in all directions, and lots of verticality, often requires large aiming movements and thus makes comparatively higher sensitivities more common. If you are looking for some insight into how best to play at higher or lower sensitivities you can check out this blog on wrist and arm aiming. Ultimately it will come down to personal preference, but with that being said there’s a surefire method of finding what works best for you.
A perfect sensitivity is a setting that most consistently enables you to place your crosshair where you want it to be. Being able to match the speed of a strafing bot is an excellent indicator of sensitivity suitability.
Finding a great sensitivity for you can be done in two easy steps.
Experiment in your game of choice and find one or more sensitivities that feel comfortable and note them down. You may already have these in mind. Take these settings into step two.
Jump into KovaaK 2.0: search for the map ‘Mid-Range Sensitivity Tester’ in KovaaK’s Sandbox. Depending on your skill level you may want to play ‘Midrange Long Strafes Invincible’ which has a larger bot, or even ‘Midrange Long Strafes Thin Invincible’ for a much smaller bot. Experiment with your sensitivity here, even very minor changes like 1.5 > 1.48. Read on for more details about this process.
It’s unlikely that the sensitivity you have chosen in your game of choice is perfect, but it’s probably pretty close. The purpose of the second step is to now refine this sensitivity. Warm up for a few minutes so you can test fairly.
Once you feel warmed up, start slightly changing the setting you have chosen. For example if you chose 1.6 in Apex Legends, you could now try 1.7 or 1.5. This will give you an idea of how each direction away from your sensitivity feels. You may have come in with 1.6, but notice that 1.55 is more consistent while 1.65 feels too slippery. The idea is to build a mind-map of where your perfect sensitivity is situated. As you deviate further you should start noticing things feeling too fast, too slow, or simply feeling off and uncomfortable.
The Backup Plan
If the results don’t feel great, or the sensitivity you brought to the trainer was under-performing, you can try things the other way around and take a KovaaK 2.0 setting into your game of choice. Keep in mind the CS:GO/OW example above as exclusively testing in KovaaK 2.0 might land you a great sensitivity, but one that isn’t appropriate for the game you play.
Start from an uncomfortably low or high setting and move up or down in gradual increments, giving each sensitivity a full round or more to get a feel for it. Pay attention to which settings give you the best performance and feel the most comfortable. If you find one, note it down and keep experimenting, but go back to this setting every few rounds to ensure it wasn’t a fluke. Build that mind map of what sensitivities feel good, perfect a couple of them (1.6 > 1.63 or 1.9 > 1.88 for example). Once you’re armed with some sensitivities that give you consistent and strong performances you can head back to your game of choice and test these out to see which works best.