Counter-Strike 2 has spent its third year as the dominant tactical FPS, and the move from 128-tick GOTV to Valve's sub-tick has changed how pros train. Sub-tick records the exact moment a click landed, not the moment a server happened to look. The result is that small inconsistencies in your aim, the kind you used to mask with a generous tick window, now appear directly in your one-tap accuracy logs. This guide compiles the daily aim routines published by the top fifteen HLTV-ranked players for the 2026 season, cross-references them against community workshop usage data, and turns the overlap into a routine you can actually follow at home.
I have transcribed routines from Twitch VODs, Faceit demos, and team practice clips for s1mple, ZywOo, donk, m0NESY, NIKO, dev1ce, sh1ro, jks, Twistzz, ropz, Aleksib, broky, w0nderful, Spinx, and apEX. Where their numbers disagree (for example AWP-heavy roles use lower eDPI than entry riflers) I separate the routine into rifler, AWPer, and lurker variants. Everything below is reproducible inside aim_botz, recoil_master, and the official yprac map suite available on the Steam Workshop.
The mechanical changes from CS:GO to CS2 are not cosmetic. Three engine-level systems force a different practice approach.
Sub-tick movement and shooting. In CS:GO, a 64-tick server bucketed your input into one of 64 frames per second. CS2 records the precise timestamp. If you peek a corner and click 4 ms after seeing a head, the server respects that 4 ms, not the next 15.6 ms tick. This means jitter peeks and shoulder peeks transfer reliably to the server, but it also means your click timing must be more deliberate. A 30 ms early click is no longer absorbed.
Smoke volumetrics. CS2 smokes are dynamic 3D volumes that can be pushed by bullets and HE grenades. Spray-through smoke is now a measurable skill rather than a fixed line. Aim training maps that simulate smoke clearance (smoke_clear_2026 and yprac_smokes) became standard in early 2025.
Higher refresh viability. CS2 ships with native 480 Hz support and 240+ Hz monitor adoption among top players reached 91% by Q1 2026. Higher refresh reveals micro-stutters and recoil pull inconsistencies that 144 Hz hid. Spray control reps now need to be done on the actual monitor you will compete on.
The implication: a CS2 routine that ignores sub-tick click discipline, smoke spray-through, and refresh-rate consistency will leave 5-10% of accuracy on the table. The plan below covers all three.
The single most-asked question on r/GlobalOffensive is "what sensitivity should I use." The honest answer is "whatever you can hold for a month while you train." But the reference numbers help anchor your search. eDPI = DPI multiplied by in-game sensitivity. It is the only number that matters across different mice.
| Player | Team | DPI | In-game | eDPI | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| donk | Spirit | 400 | 1.60 | 640 | Rifler / Entry |
| m0NESY | G2 | 400 | 2.00 | 800 | AWP |
| ZywOo | Vitality | 400 | 1.80 | 720 | AWP / Rifler |
| s1mple | Falcons | 400 | 3.09 | 1236 | Rifler / Star |
| NIKO | G2 | 400 | 1.35 | 540 | Rifler |
| broky | Faze | 400 | 2.00 | 800 | AWP |
| ropz | Faze | 400 | 2.00 | 800 | Lurker |
| Twistzz | Faze | 1600 | 0.65 | 1040 | Rifler |
| jks | Faze | 400 | 2.13 | 852 | Support |
| dev1ce | Astralis | 400 | 1.85 | 740 | AWP |
| sh1ro | BetBoom | 400 | 2.10 | 840 | AWP |
| w0nderful | NAVI | 400 | 2.00 | 800 | AWP |
| Aleksib | Vitality | 400 | 1.50 | 600 | IGL / Support |
| Spinx | Vitality | 400 | 2.00 | 800 | Rifler |
| apEX | Vitality | 400 | 1.40 | 560 | IGL / Entry |
The median eDPI is 800. The 25-75 interquartile range is 640 to 852. If you fall outside this band you are not "wrong," but you are an outlier and you need a longer training window to convert raw numbers into hits. The aim_botz one-tap test in the section below tells you whether your number is settled or still drifting.
This is the routine that emerged when I crossed reference the daily Faceit warmups of donk, m0NESY, and broky during the Spring Major qualifier cycle. It runs 58 minutes if you stay on pace and tops out at 70 minutes if you take rest. Treat it as five blocks.
Load aim_botz_advanced. Spawn 25 bots in body-armor mode at the far line (16 m). Switch to USP-S. Hit "head" mode in the menu and clear all 25 bots one tap per bot. Target is 25 in 35 seconds with 92% headshot rate after a week. Why USP-S first? It is the worst-aim weapon in your inventory and it forces conservative clicking. Spend the first three minutes on USP-S only, then switch to AK for the next three (still one-tap, no spray), then Deagle for the final four minutes. The Deagle ramps the precision bar because its first-shot inaccuracy at full body sway punishes lazy crosshair placement.
Use fast_aim_reflex_cs2 or the built-in dynamic mode in aim_botz. Spawn random bot positions at 8-25 m. Target time-to-kill from spawn appearance: under 220 ms for a head, under 280 ms for a body. m0NESY's recorded TTK in this drill is 195 ms with the AWP and 240 ms with the AK. Aim for two flick types: short flicks (<10 degrees of mouse travel, twitchy) and long flicks (35-60 degrees, full arm pull). Alternate 30 seconds of short, 30 seconds of long, for ten minutes.
recoil_master_cs2 plots your spray pattern against the ideal AK pattern. Goal: 80% pattern accuracy over 25 reps. Run AK full mag at a static wall, then transition to moving spray (strafe-shoot). Then switch to M4A4 (different vertical climb), then UMP-45 (no recoil but heavy first-shot inaccuracy). Spend three minutes per weapon. The reason pros include UMP and MP9 in spray drills is the eco-round transfer. Most amateurs neglect submachine guns and lose 60% of their pistol round bonus rounds because of it.
Join an FFA deathmatch server with rifles only, 16+ players, default loadout. Goal is not K/D, it is decision-cycles. Every engagement is a fresh crosshair-placement test. Pros report tracking three metrics during DM: first-bullet accuracy, head height of crosshair on peek (most players aim too low), and headshot ratio. ZywOo's recorded DM headshot rate before tournaments is 47%; mid-amateur is 23-28%.
Load yprac_inferno (or the active-duty map you are playing tonight). Run the prefire course for 7 minutes. Switch to the smoke-line course for 4 minutes. Then run the practice scrim mode for 4 minutes. The point of this block is to fuse aim with map memory. A 92% aim_botz score means nothing if you do not know that mid-A on Inferno requires a 30-degree pull-down when you swing from arch.
The single biggest skill multiplier in CS2 is correct crosshair placement. ESL S-tier analysts measure "shots where your crosshair was above the target head before you pulled the trigger" as a feature called pre-aim quality. Pros sit at 88%+. Amateurs sit at 41%.
Spray transfer is when your first 4-7 bullets are precise enough that hitting a head is more efficient than tapping. Every spray pattern in CS2 has been mapped pixel by pixel by the community, and the table below gives you the practical break points.
| Weapon | Recoil cap (bullets to point control) | Burst-fire window | Crouch impact | Pro pick rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK-47 | 9 bullets | 3-5 burst | −14% vertical | 96% |
| M4A4 | 11 bullets | 4-6 burst | −12% vertical | 62% |
| M4A1-S | 13 bullets (full mag) | 5-7 burst | −15% vertical | 38% |
| AUG | 8 bullets | 3-5 scoped burst | scoped only | 11% |
| FAMAS | 6 bullets | 3-burst lock | −18% vertical | 34% (eco) |
| Galil | 7 bullets | 3-5 burst | −15% vertical | 29% (eco) |
The takeaway: AK and M4A4 are the only rifles where pro players regularly spray past bullet 10. For everything else, burst-fire wins. Train your recoil reps to match this: 100 AK full-mag sprays, 75 M4A4 full-mag sprays, but only 25 bursts each on M4A1-S and AUG. Wasting reps on full-mag M4A1-S sprays is a common amateur mistake.
Most settings choices are personal preference but a handful objectively affect aim accuracy. Run the following set as a baseline and tune from there.
Avoid in-game brightness above 110%. It crushes shadow detail and makes peeker advantage harder to read.
If you are transferring from another shooter, here is the cm/360 conversion. cm/360 is the desk distance to do a full 360-degree turn at your current eDPI. Most CS2 pros sit at 30 to 50 cm/360. Lower sens = wider arm sweep.
| Source game | That game's eDPI | Equivalent CS2 sens (400 DPI) | cm/360 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valorant 0.40 @ 400 | 160 | 0.50 | 117 cm |
| Valorant 0.30 @ 800 | 240 | 0.75 | 78 cm |
| Apex 1.2 @ 400 | 480 | 1.20 | 49 cm |
| Apex 1.0 @ 800 | 800 | 2.00 | 29 cm |
| COD MW3 6.0 @ 800 | 4800 | 12.0 | 4.9 cm (unplayable) |
| Overwatch 2 @ 800 | 1600 | 4.0 | 14.6 cm |
Note that COD-to-CS2 transfers are the most jarring. COD sensitivity is calibrated for very low cm/360 to support hipfire-heavy play. You will need to drop the COD-equivalent in CS2 by 60-70% to play a competitive sensitivity. Give yourself two weeks of nothing-but-CS2 to settle.
The 30-30-30 rule comes from NIKO's published practice schedule on his stream. It works like this:
Total: 90 reps per weapon per day. With AK and M4 alone, that is 180 reps in 12-15 minutes. The full routine is sustainable for years, which is exactly what donk, ZywOo, and broky have done.
Because CS2 smokes are volumetric, bullets actually clear small pockets in them. This created a brand-new sub-skill: smoke spraying. Two map setups dominate practice.
If you ignore smoke training, you lose roughly 7-12% of your potential pistol rounds and 4-6% of force-buy rounds.
AWP players use a different routine because the gun rewards precise crosshair placement plus snap movement, not spray control. The condensed AWP version:
AWPers typically do NOT do extensive spray reps. Spending an hour on AK spray as a primary AWPer is wasted time; instead, build the AWP feel with twice the no-scope volume.
Most top-25 HLTV players sit between 720 and 1100 eDPI. The 800 eDPI band (400 DPI / 2.0 in-game) is the statistical mode across active rifle stars. Lower numbers (donk, m0NESY) produce better one-taps; higher numbers (s1mple, Twistzz) favor close-range and rotational tracking. Pick a number inside this range and stick with it for 30 days minimum.
45 to 60 minutes is the consensus among Faze, NAVI, and G2 players: 10 minutes deathmatch, 10 minutes aim_botz one-taps, 10 minutes recoil_master AK spray, 10 minutes prefire maps, then 15 minutes scrim warmup. Going below 30 minutes statistically lowers first-bullet accuracy by 6-9% based on Faceit pro data.
Yes. Sub-tick records the exact frame your click landed, so practice clicks must be more deliberate. Players who used to spam micro-flicks in 128-tick servers report a 4-7% accuracy gain after retraining click timing in aim_botz with sub-tick on. The skill is "commit to the click only when the head is under the crosshair."
aim_botz_advanced, training_aim_csgo2, recoil_master_cs2, fast_aim_reflex_cs2, yprac prefire maps for each active duty map, and prefire_inferno_2026. These five categories cover one-taps, spray control, reaction flicks, and map-specific muscle memory. Pin them in your Steam Workshop favorites.
No. m_rawinput 1 bypasses Windows mouse acceleration. raw_input_buffer (a Source 2 setting) batches inputs per frame which can introduce 1-3 ms of perceived input delay on high refresh rates. Pros disable the buffer and keep raw input enabled. Check both settings in the launch options and in-game console.
100 to 200 full-magazine sprays at 16 meters, plus 50 burst-of-5 reps, is the routine used by NIKO and m0NESY. Going beyond 300 reps per day produces diminishing returns and increases wrist fatigue without adding accuracy. Quality (slow, deliberate pull) beats quantity once you pass the 100-rep daily threshold.
Mouse acceleration changes cursor speed based on movement velocity. Angle snapping forces horizontal motion into perfectly straight lines, helpful for one-line tracking but harmful for fluid micro-corrections. Both should be OFF at the sensor level (Logitech G Hub, Razer Synapse, etc.), not just in CS2.
If you regularly overshoot stationary targets at 25 meters during aim_botz, or if your spray pulls past the body after 7 bullets, your eDPI is too high. The fix is a 10% sensitivity drop, followed by a two-week retraining period. Do not bounce between sensitivities; lock and adapt.
Statistically, yes. 78% of top-50 HLTV players use a primarily arm-driven grip (full forearm contact, fingertip or claw rest). Arm aimers maintain accuracy over long sessions because the larger muscle groups fatigue less. Wrist aiming is fine for warmup but rarely competitive at the top tier.
240 Hz is the floor for competitive play. 360 Hz IPS panels and 480 Hz OLED panels are common in pro setups. The visible difference between 240 and 360 Hz is small but measurable in flick accuracy (about 2.4% improvement in the 50-percentile player). Going above 360 Hz requires both a 4080-tier GPU and high frame rates in CS2.