What is a flick in FPS aim

You’ve seen the highlight clips. A flick is one fast move from where the crosshair is to a target that is not on it, then a stop on that target, then the click. The throw is the part people watch. The stop is the part that hits. A flick that flies past and comes back is two moves, and the second one is the one that hit.

I play Zarya at Master in Overwatch. This guide covers one motion from aim training: the throw to a target off the crosshair. A flick is also what you pay for when crosshair placement was somewhere else. The closer the crosshair already was, the shorter the throw.

What to check

A flick is one fast move from where the crosshair is to a target off it, a stop, then the click. Read where it stopped before you change anything.

Where it stoppedNot sure yetPast the targetShort of the targetOn the targetWhen it missesNot sure yetSlow and fast bothOnly when I throw fastWhen you clickAfter it stopsWhile it is still moving

What this means

Throw one flick

Put a still target off the crosshair in the range of the game you queue. Throw one move to it and look where the crosshair stopped, not whether the shot hit.

The three parts

A flick has a start, a throw, and a stop. The start is the crosshair where it already is. The target is somewhere else on the screen, still or nearly still. The throw is one motion from the start toward the target. The stop is the crosshair settling on the target. Then the click.

People judge a flick by whether the shot hit. That mixes three things. Look at where the crosshair stopped instead. A shot can miss with a perfect stop if the click came early. A shot can hit after a bad stop if the correction saved it. The stop is the only part you can practice on purpose.

A flick is not following a target across the screen. When the crosshair has to stay on someone who keeps moving, that is a different motion with a different practice block. A flick ends. The crosshair stops, the click happens, and the move is over.

Static, dynamic, and a switch

Aimlabs’ own basics article, which is the page the other aim explainers keep citing, splits flicking into static and dynamic. Static is a still target. Dynamic is a target that is already moving. The stop is the same job. The throw has to land where the target will be if it is moving.

I would learn the stop on still bots in the range of the game I queue, then add motion. A dynamic flick that you click while the crosshair is still sliding is the same early-click problem as a static one. You just have a better excuse.

Switching is the third motion those pages name: a throw from one target to the next, then another. Hero shooters ask for it when two people are both in the fight. It is still a flick at each stop. It is not tracking. On Zarya the “switch” is often the person who walked into the beam after the first one died. The stop still has to land.

A micro-adjustment is a short second move after the stop, a few pixels. One of those is normal. It is how a real flick finishes. Three of them is a guess you are walking onto the head. Practice the first stop until that walk gets shorter.

Past the target

The common miss is flying past. Before you change anything, throw the same distance once at a calm speed. That one move sorts the cause.

If the calm move also flies past, the setting is too fast for that distance. Lower only the in-game number and leave DPI where it is. I leave the PRO 2 at 1200 and change Overwatch, not G HUB, when a distance is wrong. Changing both hides which one did it. Throw the same distance again on the new number and keep it only when the stop lands.

If the calm move lands and only the fast throw flies past, the sensitivity is fine. The hand is throwing harder than it can stop. Check once that Enhance pointer precision is off in the Windows mouse settings, because acceleration makes a fast throw travel farther than a slow one of the same length. If it is already off, the overshoot is the throw. Keep the speed and practice the stop. Lowering the number only makes every other shot slower to fix this one.

Short of the target

The other miss is stopping short. Do the same calm test. If the calm move also stops short, or you have to lift the mouse to finish, the setting or the pad is short for that distance. Raise only the in-game number, or accept that the pad ends and lift on purpose.

If the calm move lands and only the fast throw stops short, the hand is braking before the target. Throw through to the target, not toward it. A short second correction after the stop is fine. It is part of a real flick. Two or three corrections in a row are not. That pattern means the first stop was a guess, and the distance needs more reps.

Click after the stop

A click while the crosshair is still moving lands wherever the throw happened to be. Sometimes that is the head. Usually it is not, and you cannot tell whether the throw was long, short, or fine. Let the crosshair stop, then click. At first it feels slow. It is the only way to read the flick.

In the range, slow the click down on purpose for a few reps. Throw, stop, look, click. When the stop is landing, the gap between the stop and the click closes by itself. Do not force the click earlier to feel faster.

Aimlabs calls that timing click timing. Static click timing is the still-bot version. Dynamic click timing is the moving-bot version. The words are theirs. The habit is the same: the click is a fourth step, not a hope in the middle of the throw.

How to practice one

Use the range of the game you queue, on the sensitivity you play. Put a still target off the crosshair at a distance you actually meet in a fight. Throw to it. Read the stop. Return to the same start, and do it again. One distance, many times, beats ten distances once.

When that distance is boring, change one thing: a different distance, or a target on the other side. Do not change the sensitivity in the middle of the block. If the block ends and the first fights feel worse, the distance was not one the match asks for. Pick the distance you missed in the match next time.

A trainer is optional. If you open one, pick a still-target flick first, then a moving one, on the same DPI and the same in-game number you queue with. Fifteen quiet minutes on one distance is enough of a block. The aim training page is the rest of that shelf.

Zarya is not a flick hero first. The beam wants a track. The click, when it comes, is still a stop. A long flick from the floor after a bad bubble is a rescue I would rather not need. Placement is cheaper. Accuracy in the 50–60 percent band is the number I will name.

Something other than the hand can break a flick. A cable that tugs the mouse mid-throw, a slick desk instead of a pad, or a sensor that throws the cursor on a clean cloth pad are gear problems. If the same throw jumps in a different place each time, check those before you blame the stop. The PRO 2 is LIGHTSPEED. I am not fighting a cable on that mouse. The Naga is the WoW mouse. I do not flick on it.

What a flick does not fix

A flick does not replace placement. A long flick from the floor is a rescue. It can be practiced, but the shorter throw from a placed crosshair is easier every time.

A flick does not need its own sensitivity. The number that flicks well and tracks badly is still one number, used for every shot in the match. Keep the one you play and practice the stop on it. 1200 DPI plus the in-game number is one pair, not a flick profile and a track profile.

A flick does not get better by throwing harder. Speed only helps once the stop lands. A fast throw that flies past is slower than a calm one that stops, because the miss needs a second move.

A flick does not aim the beam for you, and it does not call the target. Those are the Zarya guide. Here we’re only looking at the throw, the stop, and the click.

Wide, short, and the part of the arm that throws

The competitor aim pages split flicks by how far the throw is, not only by whether the bot moves. A short flick is a few centimeters on the pad: a head that appeared next to a placed crosshair. A wide flick is a long swipe: someone who walked in from the edge of the screen. Those are the same three parts. They are not the same practice block.

Do the short ones first. They are the ones a match actually asks for if placement is working. A wide flick is a rescue. Practicing only wide flicks teaches a throw you should need less often, and it hides a stop you never learned at the distance that matters.

Wrist versus arm is the other split those pages love. A short stop is often a wrist. A wide throw is often the forearm. I sit at 1200 DPI on the PRO 2. If a distance makes me lift every time, the pad or the number is short. If a distance makes my shoulder hike, the throw is too big for how I am sitting. The desk is that seat. Fix the lane before you reach for a new sensitivity.

Tension is the quiet miss. A death-grip on the shell makes the stop a bounce. Loosen the hand until the mouse can settle. The PRO 2 is symmetrical and the side buttons sit under a left thumb. If those buttons fire in the middle of a throw, blank the ones you do not want, the same way the left-handed mouse page describes.

What a match actually asks for

A flick in a trainer is a bot that waits. A flick in Overwatch is a head that appeared because placement was elsewhere, or because someone walked into a beam I was already holding. Zarya’s primary fire wants a track. The click, when I take it, is still a stop. I would rather the crosshair already be there.

That is why flicks come after placement, not highlight reels. My 50–60 percent accuracy is the whole of the gun, not a flick score. A night of only wide flicks that then feels worse in queue is the wrong distance again.

Other shooters reward the click more. I play Overwatch and WoW. The three parts do not change. The game you queue is the range you should use.

Recoil is not a flick. If the gun climbs after the click, that is a second move. Practice the stop on a tap or a single shot first. Then add the spray if the game you play uses one. Zarya’s beam does not climb like a rifle. Do not borrow a spray drill for a beam.

A block you can repeat

1. Same DPI. Mine is 1200. Same in-game number.
2. Enhance pointer precision off.
3. One still target, one distance you missed last game.
4. Throw, stop, look, click. Ten times. Read the stops, not the hits.
5. Same distance, other side. Ten times.
6. If that is boring, one moving bot at that distance. Still stop, then click.
7. Queue. If the first fights feel worse, the distance was wrong, not the night.

That is enough. A second block on a second day beats a one-hour mash of ten distances.

If the same throw jumps to a different place each time, the pad, the cable, or the sensor is the next check, not the hand. I play on a wireless PRO 2, so I charge it before I play. Charge it before the block. More on wired vs wireless.

Related: Guides, How to find your sensitivity, Tracking vs clicking aim, How to warm up before ranked, aim tools, mouse guides.

Common questions

What is a flick in FPS aiming?

One fast movement from where your crosshair is to a target, a stop, then the shot.

Why do my flicks overshoot?

Either your sensitivity is too high or you're tensing up. Try the same distance slowly: if a calm move still overshoots, lower your sensitivity a little.

Should I click during a flick?

No. Let the crosshair stop on the target, then click. Shooting mid-motion makes your hits random.

How do I practice flicks?

Start on still targets in a practice range or aim trainer, focusing on stopping cleanly, then move to moving targets.