In Marvel Rivals—or any PvP shooter for that matter—the difference between securing that team wipe and becoming someone else’s highlight reel often comes down to one thing: aim. While flashy ultimates and team-up abilities might steal the spotlight, it’s your consistent shot placement that’ll carry you through those sweaty ranked matches.
That said, the game’s unique third-person perspective creates aiming challenges you won’t find in first-person shooters. Whether you’re flinging repulsor blasts as Iron Man or unleashing Hela’s “Nightsword thorns,” understanding the technical quirks behind aiming can transform your gameplay from frustratingly inconsistent to terrifyingly precise.
Tips to Get Better Aim in Marvel Rivals
Before diving into specific heroes and their mechanics, let’s establish the foundation for better aim in Marvel Rivals. These adjustments might seem small, but they’ll pay dividends in your performance:
1. Optimize Your Settings
First things first—let’s tackle those aim-killing settings that, for whatever reason, come enabled by default:
- Open the Settings menu.
- Navigate to the Controls tab.
- Find the Mouse section.
- Disable “Mouse Smoothing.”
- Disable “Mouse Acceleration.”
- Enable “Raw Input.”
This trio of changes ensures your mouse movements translate directly to in-game actions without any artificial “help” that actually hinders precision.
While you’re in the settings, make sure to disable Frame Generation and V-Sync. They might make the game feel smoother for some, but they introduce input lag that’ll have you wondering why your shots aren’t landing. Your reflexes are already fighting network latency; don’t handicap them further with unnecessary visual “enhancements.”
2. Find Your Perfect Sensitivity
There’s no magical sensitivity setting that works for everyone—it depends on whether you’re a wrist or arm aimer, your mousepad size, and even which hero you’re playing. Here’s how to find your sweet spot:
- Start with a base sensitivity of 2.00.
- Head to the practice range.
- Test against moving targets while you’re also moving.
- Adjust sensitivity up or down until it feels right.
- Repeat this process for different heroes.
For agile heroes like Black Panther or Spider-Man, you’ll want higher sensitivity to match their mobility—aim for being able to perform a quick 180-degree turn with a single flick of your wrist. Meanwhile, precision-focused characters like Hela or Black Widow benefit from lower sensitivity for those crucial headshots.
Remember: Marvel Rivals lets you set different sensitivities for different heroes, so take advantage of this feature.
3. Customize Your Crosshairs
The default crosshairs in Marvel Rivals aren’t doing you any favors. To that end, creating custom reticles for each hero can dramatically improve your aim consistency. Here’s how:
- Open the Settings menu.
- Navigate to the Controls tab.
- Select “Crosshair Settings.”
- Choose the hero you want to customize.
- Experiment with different shapes, sizes, and colors.
- Alternatively, you can import a custom reticle by clicking on “Import Save” and pasting the reticle code in the box.
For hitscan heroes like Hela, a simple dot or small crosshair works wonders. For projectile characters like Moon Knight, consider a crosshair with horizontal lines to help with leading shots.
If you want to try crosshairs used by pro players or find hero-specific designs, you can use platforms like CrosshairHub for a vast collection of community-created reticles you can import directly into the game.
4. Master Projectile vs. Hitscan Mechanics
Understanding your hero’s attack type is crucial. Hitscan weapons (like Adam Warlock’s primary attacks) hit instantly, while projectile attacks (like Moon Knight’s crescent darts) have considerable travel time.
For projectile heroes, you’ll need to lead your shots more, especially at longer ranges. Practice predicting enemy movement and timing your shots accordingly. For hitscan heroes, slight target leading is still necessary, but it’s minimal compared to projectile characters.
5. Understand Third-Person Aiming Quirks
Here’s the game-changer most players miss: in Marvel Rivals, aiming isn’t symmetrical. Due to the third-person camera perspective, aiming to the right of your target often still registers hits, while aiming slightly left results in frustrating misses.
This asymmetry creates a “forgiveness zone” on the right side of targets that doesn’t exist on the left. For close-range fights, this effect becomes even more pronounced, explaining those baffling moments when your crosshair seemed perfect but your shots whiffed.
To visualize this quirk, imagine drawing a line from your character’s weapon to your crosshair. That line often passes through the target even when your crosshair is slightly to their right, but misses entirely when it’s to their left.
If you’re confused, KarQ’s video will help:
What’s your biggest aiming challenge in Marvel Rivals? Share your experiences in the comments below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
