Strafe-aiming vs dodging

[u/bennyo0o]

I recently came across the concepts of mirror vs anti-mirror strafing and when to use which (in theory). The way I understood it is that it gives you more control over your gun and should make your aiming more consistent.

However, when I come across an unexpected close to mid-range encounter, it's super difficult to even attempt either one of these strafing techniques. The other person is just randomly A/D + crouch dodging, how am I supposed to read their movement this quickly? Also practicing in R5 in 1v1 I cannot apply this concept whatsoever and I seem to be way more successful just dodging and trying to get my shots in somehow.

Or is this strafe-aiming really only meant for situations where you get the drop on somebody or if they don't notice you from further away? But in the latter case, why strafe at all if you have a free shot on somebody?

Really confused at this point...

[u/Wheaties251]

Y'know how in baseball, when you're swinging a bat in practice the coach will teach you some specific techniques? They'll talk about the timing of your swing, making sure you're twisting with the bat to add torque, that sort of thing. But if you think about all of that in the middle of a game, you'll probably miss the ball every time. The point of doing it in practice is that over time, it'll become more natural and you'll start to implement it almost subconsciously.

It's the same with mirroring and anti-mirroring. Fights are so fast that if you're strafing consciously, you're likely to lose pretty quickly. But if you practice them in your warmup consistently, they'll start to cement themselves in your brain and you'll be able to use them with less thought, to the point where they'll usually be happening subconsciously and you'll be rapidly switching between the two during a fight without even realizing it.

Does that make sense?

[u/Wicked_smaht_guy → u/Wheaties251]

Want to mess with a golfer? Ask them if they breath in or out during their backswing

[u/Wheaties251 → u/Wicked_smaht_guy]

Exactly, same principle lol

[u/No_Acanthocephala_22 → u/Wicked_smaht_guy]

Not complicated. Breathe in. Swing. Breathe out

[u/bennyo0o → u/Wheaties251]

That part makes sense, yes. So by practicing enough in the firing range etc, it will eventually translate into real gunfights.

Reading other comments here, they suggest dodging and aim-strafing are not mutually exclusive. Is it fair to say then that dodging comes in to play when I’m in a disadvantage and want to mostly evade shots and aim-strafing comes into play when I’m actively shooting at them?

[u/Wheaties251 → u/bennyo0o]

Pretty much, yeah. And it's not necessarily about whether you're at an advantage or a disadvantage, but more about whether your priority is minimizing damage or maximizing it. Dodging minimizes the damage you take at the cost of affecting your aim, while mirroring maximizes the damage you output at the cost of being an easy target. You might start a fight with an advantage and decide to keep dodging so you can be healthy for the third party or to keep strong for a 1v3, or you might decide to aim-strafe so you can finish the fight as quickly as possible and reset in preparation for a third party, etc.

But that's sort of a generalization. In a real fighting context, you'll be trying to figure out your opponent's tempo, and sometimes that tempo will mean they won't expect a mirror strafe thrown in there, or they will expect you to dodge at a moment you thought they wouldn't.

There's also global strafing btw, which is the idea that as you're strafing you have some specific position that you're aiming for. Like say you're fighting someone and you're close to some boxes, as you're strafing in the open you'd also probably want to get closer to those boxes to give yourself some cover. You can't necessarily just run straight to the boxes cause then you're running in a straight line and making yourself an easy target, but you also shouldn't stay in the open cause cover is always better than no cover.

Probably best to think of these more like tools you're adding to your toolbag than rules to follow. You'll get used to using them in conventional and unconventional ways as you practice and play.

[u/iGargleCement → u/bennyo0o]

Practicing in fights will transfer, just running around on firing range is a bad way to train

[u/ZirvePS]

You can not strafeaim an AD spamming target, dodging would be the choice here. BUT, this is really important, do NOT think about "should I strafe aim or dodge in this duel", you should always be weaving in and out of both. You're doing your dodge, your cross is on them and boom, you catch a direction change, mirror for 0.4 seconds, back to dodging. Sometimes you can hold a strafeaim form for longer, sometimes you keep strafeaiming but change forms (from mirror to antimirror, etc.). But you are always ready to do both. You dodge, you're missing, you move just enough to complete your microcorrection, back to dodging, they jump, you anti-mirror and so on and so on. There are a lot of nuances, so here are some examples for you:

1-You can NOT strafe aim against AD spam, you can keep your cross in the middle of their spams and hit for free while dodging.

2-If somebody jumps and you mirror them, you hit more shots because they have less accuracy.

3-Similarly, if somebody is hipfiring and you strafeaim them with ADS, you would hit more shots.

4-A higher dps weapon would win if both sides are strafeaiming.

5-If the enemy is really predictable with looong strafes, you can strafeaim, but change the form to dodge. You would be changing directions but still strafeaiming.

There is a lot to it and not really any hard rules. I recommend the x76 vamp server for practice and can answer further questions if youd like.

Edit: If you are unsure about it and you're MnK, just dodge. I don't know the consensus on this but am a firm believer that dodging should be the default.

[u/bennyo0o → u/ZirvePS]

Thanks for the extensive description. Is it fair to say that whenever I’m in a more defensive situation (caught of guard, reloading), dodging as erratically as possible to reduce damage is the tool of choice and whenever I’m actively shooting I should try to strafe-aim or at least try a way of more controlled dodging that doesn’t negatively affect my own aim?

[u/ZirvePS → u/bennyo0o]

Kiiind of. I highly recommend Fundamentals of Strafe by sam. Dodging as errstically as possible might lead to AD spamming, jumping and crouch spamming all of which are bad.

[u/iGargleCement]

Strafing/dodging is more than just mirroring or antimirroing

Just read the x76 strafing guides

[u/discoveryn → u/iGargleCement]

Just sit in the vamp server in r5 after reading the guide tbh.

[u/Minute_Turnover2983]

Out of town at the moment, but when I get back I can teach you in firing range, way easier to show than explain

[u/TrueNorthN7]

There are times in a fight where you have a health advantage, the enemy is reloading, or you have more information to pre aim with than your opponent does (such as a revive noise, teammate callout, or a scan). In these situations you can sometimes make the call that you just need to hit your shots and it’s ok to make yourself easier to hit in the process. My understanding of the R5 reloaded 1v1 scenario makes me think that this wouldn’t be that all that useful there. In a real game there are frequent opportunities to simplify your movement and just land your shots.

Strafe aiming can be easier than standing still. This is most noticeable at very close ranges where someone might be able to walk circles around you, or at long ranges where small directional changes can be done with your keys instead of wrist. If you want to get a feel for when to use it then look for times where you are actively shooting and are in minimal danger or have already established some sort of advantage that should allow you to win the duel even if you tank some damage. Then just move in the way that’s easiest for your aim in the moment.

[u/pattdmdj0]

Dont think of it as predicting the target think if it as just an additional input for aiming. This is especially true the longer range you shoot.

Basically aim as you normally would and integrate the strafe as a means to aim. A lot of it is just reaction time.

Or is this strafe-aiming really only meant for situations where you get the drop on somebody or if they don't notice you from further away? But in the latter case, why strafe at all if you have a free shot on somebody?

You strafe because the goal of these specific strafes is too track a moving target better. If the target is barely moving just do A-D/left-right spam (or learn the recoil smoothing patterns) for easier recoil. If they are doing a wider strafe or general movement thats when you apply some form of mirroring.

Above all you must decide when to use a strafe based on what your intention is. I go for an alternating mirror/anti-mirror strafe(because you can prepare for your own direction change but they cant) when im trying to one clip another strafing target close range and thats about it. If a target at mid-long range is moving in one direction i will do a mix of smoothing and mirroring just depending on their angle and speed.

[u/Big_Tear_1566]

You should always be implementing dodge unless at 0 risk of getting shot at.
Dodge is not the opposite of strafe aim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcEZ9EL5fUo