Aiming effectively in The Last of Us Factions isn’t like many other shooters. It’s deliberate, often tense, and requires more than just quick reflexes. If you’re finding yourself losing gunfights or struggling to land shots consistently, don’t worry. Improving your aim is achievable with the right approach and practice. I’ve spent many hours in the streets and suburbs of Factions, learning these lessons firsthand, often the hard way. This guide will break down the steps you need to take.
Let’s get your aim sharp.
Step 1: Understand The Last of Us Aiming Mechanics
Before adjusting anything, understand how aiming works in this game.
- No Crosshair Hipfire (Mostly): You don’t have a persistent crosshair when not aiming down sights (ADS). Hip firing is highly inaccurate except at extremely close range. You must aim down sights for reliable shots.
- Aim Down Sights (ADS): This is your primary aiming method. When you hold the aim button, a crosshair appears.
- Sway and Bloom: Your aim isn’t perfectly steady. There’s natural weapon sway, and after firing, your crosshair might expand slightly (bloom), reducing accuracy for follow-up shots until it settles. Movement, especially running, increases sway and bloom significantly.
- Headshots are King: The Last of Us rewards headshots heavily. Landing headshots is often the fastest way to down an enemy, especially with lower-damage weapons. Practice aiming for the head.
Step 2: Find Your Perfect Sensitivity Setting
This is arguably the most critical step. Your sensitivity determines how fast your crosshair moves when you move the right stick. A sensitivity that’s too high makes fine adjustments difficult, while one that’s too low prevents you from turning quickly enough to react to threats.
- Start Low: Don’t assume higher is better. Begin with a lower sensitivity setting in the game’s options menu. Something around 3-5 is a good starting point for many.
- Practice and Adjust: Play a few matches focusing only on how your aim feels. Can you easily track a moving target? Can you make small corrections to hit a head? Do you struggle to turn around quickly if someone is behind you?
- Increase Gradually: If you feel too slow, increase the sensitivity by just one point. Play more games. Repeat this process slowly. Don’t jump multiple points at once.
- Find the Balance: You’re looking for the sweet spot where you can turn fast enough for combat but still make precise, small movements for accurate shots at range or targeting heads.
- Stick With It: Once you find a setting that feels mostly right, stick with it for a while (several play sessions). Your muscle memory needs time to adapt. Constantly changing sensitivity will hinder improvement.
My Experience: When I first played, I used the default sensitivity. I could barely track enemies! I lowered it significantly, then slowly increased it over weeks. It felt painstakingly slow at first, but gradually, my control improved immensely. Don’t be afraid to experiment patiently.
Step 3: Master Weapon Control and Choice
Each weapon in Factions feels different. Their rate of fire, recoil, sway, and effective range impact how you need to aim them.
- Stick to a Few Weapons: Don’t constantly switch weapons every match. Choose one or two primary weapons and get really good with them. Understand their rhythm.
- Learn the Recoil: While not as extreme as some games, TLOU weapons have recoil. After each shot (especially with semi-autos or the hunting rifle), your crosshair will kick up. You need to learn to compensate by pulling down slightly on the right stick for follow-up shots.
- Understand Effective Range: Trying to snipe with a shorty is pointless. Use weapons within their intended range. Practice engaging targets at different distances with your chosen weapon.
- Weapon Upgrades: Upgrading your weapon at the workbench often reduces sway and recoil, making aiming easier. Prioritize these upgrades when possible.
Step 4: Control Your Movement While Aiming
Your movement directly impacts your aim accuracy.
- Stop or Crouch to Shoot: Whenever possible, come to a complete stop or crouch when taking a shot, especially medium to long range. This minimizes sway and tightens your crosshair.
- Controlled Strafing: In a close to medium range gunfight, small side-to-side movements (strafing) while aiming can make you harder to hit without completely ruining your own aim. Avoid wide, frantic movements.
- Use Cover: Use cover to steady your aim and expose yourself only when ready to fire. Aiming from cover provides stability.
My Experience: I used to run around corners and immediately try to shoot. My aim was wild. Learning to pause for a split second, crouch, and then shoot from cover drastically improved my ability to land the crucial first shot.
Step 5: Practice Consistently
Improving aim is a skill, and like any skill, it requires practice.
- Focus During Matches: Don’t just play. Play with the intention of improving your aim. In each gunfight, consciously think about your sensitivity, your movement, and where you are aiming (go for the head!).
- Play Against Bots (If Available/Applicable): While Factions doesn’t have a traditional bot mode for practice, private matches against friends where you focus purely on gunplay can be helpful. Or simply playing the game modes that offer more engagements, like Supply Raid.
- Warm-up: Before getting into serious matches, play a round or two focusing on getting your aim locked in.
Step 6: Utilize Aim-Assisting Perks
Some perks can directly or indirectly help your aim.
- Sharpshooter: This is the most direct aim perk. It significantly reduces scope sway when aiming down sights and, at higher levels, gives you health back on headshots, encouraging accurate aiming.
- Other Perks: Perks that help you survive longer (like Body Armor or Damage Marker), move more effectively (like Agility), or position better (like Covert Training) give you more opportunities to take calm, deliberate shots.
Step 7: Stay Calm Under Pressure
Panic is the enemy of good aim.
- Take a Breath: In intense firefights, it’s easy to get flustered. Consciously try to stay calm. Focus on the target.
- Prioritize Targets: If facing multiple enemies, quickly assess who is the biggest threat and focus your fire. Don’t spray wildly between them.
- Don’t Rush Shots: If you have cover, take the extra fraction of a second to line up a better shot rather than rushing and missing completely.
My Experience: I still struggle with this sometimes. When a Molotov lands at my feet or I’m flanked, my aim goes wild. Learning to quickly reposition, find cover, and then re-engage calmly makes a huge difference compared to trying to shoot while panicking.
Step 8: Check Your Hardware
While less common, sometimes the issue isn’t you.
- Controller Drift: Is your analog stick causing your aim to drift when you aren’t touching it? If so, you might need to clean or replace your controller. Even minor drift makes precise aiming difficult.
Improving your aim in The Last of Us Factions is a journey, not a quick fix. It requires understanding the game’s mechanics, patient practice with settings and weapons, smart movement, and a calm mindset. Implement these steps one by one, practice consistently, and you will see significant improvement in your ability to land those crucial shots. Good luck!