When mouse acceleration is enabled, your cursor speed will be affected by how quickly you move your actual mouse in real life. Without mouse acceleration enabled, moving your mouse 10cm to the right will always move your cursor the same distance no matter how fast you did it. With acceleration turned on, the distance will not only depend on how far you moved your mouse but also how quickly you moved it.
Is mouse acceleration bad for gaming?
Most people will tell you yes, it is bad for gaming. Mastering your in-game aim or movement can take hundreds or even thousands of hours of practice. It’s this practice that builds the muscle memory required to aim like the pros. Having mouse acceleration enabled adds an extra variable to your in-game aim and movement, you are then not only getting used to your sensitivity and equipment, but you will also have to consider the speed you move your mouse. The extra element to master that mouse acceleration adds is what makes people say it’s bad for competitive gaming.
I recommend finding mouse settings you like and sticking to them. Every time you change your mouse settings you lose some of your progress on building that essential muscle memory.
Do any pros use mouse acceleration?
Although a lot of people say it’s bad to use mouse acceleration, that doesn’t mean you can’t master the style. The CSGO player “Swag/Brax” is known for using mouse accel and this hasn’t stopped him from playing CSGO at the highest level. Some people who use extremely low sensitivity say mouse acceleration helps them get some extra distance when they need it.
How to turn mouse acceleration on or off
There are 3 places where you can set your mouse acceleration:
- Windows (or Mac) mouse settings
- gaming mouse software
- in-game settings
If you don’t want to use mouse acceleration then you should have it turned off in all 3 of these places. For windows, mouse acceleration is called “Enhance pointer precision” under pointer options in the mouse settings. If you want mouse acceleration on and have a gaming mouse, I recommend turning it on in your mouse software rather than in the windows settings, the software that comes with a high-end gaming mouse is often more accurate than the default windows settings.
How to tell if you have mouse acceleration on
Go to your windows settings, mouse software, and in-game settings and check if it’s on. If you’re still not sure you should go into your game of choice and do this test:
determine a distance you’re going to move your mouse eg. from one side of your mousepad to the other
Slowly move your mouse the distance you chose while watching your in-game crosshair or cursor to see how far it goes
Now do the same thing again but move your mouse quickly across the same distance
If your crosshair or cursor moved the same distance each time then you don’t have mouse acceleration on. If you use a very high mouse sensitivity it may be harder to notice whether acceleration is on or not.
Summary:
- Most people agree mouse acceleration is not ideal for competitive gaming
- Check your computer mouse settings, mouse software settings, and in-game settings to see if you have it enabled
- Do a distance test in your game of choice if you’re unsure
- Some pros do prefer to use mouse acceleration
- Sticking to your preferred settings and mastering them is key