Changing mouse DPIs made me a better player

To be an eSports player you need many things: concentration, discipline, knowledge, learning ability… But, above all, you need pinpoint accuracy. That’s why everyone plays with the DPIs changed.

While competitive computer gamers have been around for over 20 years, the business has become more professional as money has poured in. Little by little at first, now baskets.

If we had told a StarCraft player from 2005 that by winning a tournament he could win up to 1 million euros, he would most likely call us crazy. It would be in the right of him, since at that time with which they paid you the trip to Korea was already quite an achievement.

Now not only do they pay you, but they pay you to go, to win and to lift the trophy. So much so that if you ride it well and you’re good you can retire at 30 years old. As if you were a footballer, but without the Mercadona knowing you.

The increase in budgets has led to the professionalization of the sector, which is becoming more and more specialized. Professional equipment, top-level hardware, trainers, psychologists, gym… We can say that they are full-fledged clubs.

And, although many things are needed to be a professional player, there is one question that is invariable and exclusive: it takes almost inhuman aim and precision.

What are DPIs?

To achieve this you can train, since as you will understand there are all kinds of programs and exercises that train reflexes and skill, but there is also an issue that involves a good mouse and exact DPI.

For those who don’t know him,The DPI of a mouse is the dots per inch. (from English dots per inch)which are a measure of a mouse’s sensitivity. The higher the DPI of the mouse, the further the cursor will move from the screen when you move the mouse, and vice versa.

A mouse with a higher DPI setting detects and reacts to smaller movements. And a low DPI mouse needs more hand movement to make the cursor move.

This question is usually forgotten when we are playing, since, normally, we usually use the default DPIs that come with the mouse, which can be 400, 800, 1,200 or 1,600depending on how professional our mouse is.

How high do I set the DPIs on my mouse?

This is the golden question. Depending on what we are doing, having more or less DPI is useful or not. For example, to work in multiscreen environments it is best to have high DPIs (from 1,600 upwards) so that with a single gesture of the wrist we can go from one side of the desktop to the other.

Instead, if we are working in Photoshop in a very small area in which we need a lot of precision, it is best to lower the DPIs (800 would be a good number) so as not to miss any stroke.

For this reason, it is best to configure the mouse (unless you are a semi-gamer or semi-professional, you can do it through its drivers) so that with a single gesture we can change them without wasting time.

The ideal, experts explain, is have a 800 DPI profile for the slowest and most delicate tasks, and another 1,600 for larger environments where we have to move from one place to another without stopping on the screen (very common if we work with many tabs, emails and Office package).

How changing DPIs made me a better player

I was one of those who always played at 2,300 DPIs since when I was young I got used to those speeds. It is true that I did not have the best precision in the world, but it allowed me to react very quickly to any situation.

And I, a shooter player, was frowned upon by my peers. “How do you play at so many DPIs, so no one hits a shot”, “professionals play at 400 DPIs and you dare to play at 2,300, that shows you have no idea”, etc.

I refused to listen to them, because when one is young it is something proud. But one day I decided to change and start testing with less sensitivity. It was hard, but I noticed the change. From 2,300 I went to 2,000 and then to 1,900. And I noticed it.

I began to gain in precision, I shot more times to the head, the bursts were less… It seemed that my friends were right. Though I didn’t quite buy their speech either. But it did make me realize that every player should test before playing with sensitivity.

The DPIs must be adjusted to our ability, since it is she who is going to allow us to play with more or less sensitivity. Being the ideal to have the maximum DPIs without the aim suffering.

This is because high DPIs allow us to react much faster than another player with low DPIsbut in return at the time of the firefight it is the enemy who has the advantage of having a low sensitivity.

Hence, the balance is between the highest DPIs that our ability allows us, giving us a good reaction time, but without reducing accuracy.

I have really good friends who always play at 800 DPI, like the pros usually do, while I have been very comfortable at 1,900 DPI, since for my style of play it is the best one for me (I am always a front-line soldier and reflexes are more important to me than precision).

But it is also true that over time, I have found that it is best to have two or three profiles that can be changed quickly and immediately (many mice have DPI changer in the form of a physical button on the top) in the middle of the game.

The ideal for me is: 800 DPI for when I need pinpoint accuracy, like when we use a sniper; 1,200 DPI for when I need balance, like when we use a semi-automatic rifle; and already 1,900 DPI for when I play in the front line of combat.

These measurements are very personal, which is why I advise you to try, always before playing seriously, with the different sensitivities. Since, after a few minutes of practicing, you will be able to verify that you are more comfortable with some DPIs than with others.

Ideally, in my experience, go from top to bottom (from more DPIs to less DPIs), so that you reach the optimal point of reaction speed and precisionsince if you do it the other way around, you will end up too short.

Finally, you have to take into account the type of games you usually play, since it is not the same to hit Battlefield 2042 as Age of Empires IV, or Cyberpunk 2077 as League of Legends. Each one requires a specific and very personal sensitivity.

If you can, The best thing is that half an hour before you play any game, you start trying it out. Although, being realistic, mastering some DPIs takes many hours of play, adaptation and training. Because changing DPIs is, at first, frustrating.

However, it ends up being worth it. At home I went from a 1.4 kill/death ratio in Battlefield 4 to a 2.7 ratio after going from 2,300 DPI to just 1,900 DPI. We cannot say that it was an exclusive thing of sensitivity, but it is clear that something had an influence.