League of Legends can get pretty intense when you are in the middle of a fight and every click matters. Accuracy matters and so does APM, but having the best of both worlds can be tricky. This is why everyone should at least understand the basics of how DPI and sensitivity work, and how to optimize them.
It is recommended to keep League of Legends Mouse Speed at 50 and change the DPI of your mouse. Choose a sensitivity that makes you feel comfortable. Higher DPI tends to help with APM and faster movement/clicks while lower DPI generally improves accuracy.
Since there is no one answer to what the ideal sensitivity/DPI is, we should look at how these settings work and how they can affect your play. This will help us find the ideal settings for ourselves.
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What Is DPI?
DPI stands for Dots Per Inch. Think of your screen as something made up of dots or pixels. Each time you move your mouse, the cursor travels over a certain amount of pixels on the screen. Higher Dots Per Inches will allow you to cover more pixels for every inch of distance covered by your mouse.
DPI varies because it is the mouse hardware that detects the distance covered using the optical sensor, and then instructs the computer to move the cursor over the specific number of pixels accordingly. Depending on the mouse model, you may be able to change your DPI as you please or choose from predefined options.
What Is Sensitivity?
Sensitivity in its general sense is simply the degree of response elicited by the system (or game in this case) to the input the mouse provides. This means that sensitivity in the game refers to an independent value that decides how much your cursor responds to the input provided by the mouse. This can be used in combination with DPI to get the maximum amount of customization.
Sensitivity is offered by Windows as well, and it works alongside your DPI to decide how many pixels are covered by the cursor when you move your mouse. League of Legends uses a Mouse Speed setting that actually changes the Windows mouse speed. The multiplication of DPI and sensitivity yields eDPI, which is the true measure of your sensitivity.
Low DPI (400-800)
If you have an old mouse with no way of switching DPI, it probably comes with a low DPI setting by default. This ranges between 400-800 and sometimes even 1200. A low DPI will require you to move a considerable distance to cover a small distance on your screen.
A lower DPI is generally considered more accurate than a higher one simply because it is easier to control. In FPS games where accuracy matters more than anything, players tend to use lower DPI settings. This allows you to control your cursor movement precisely by allowing your arm/hand to move more freely.
Medium DPI (1200-1800)
This is considered the sweet spot by a lot of people across many genres of games. Having a medium DPI allows people to get decent accuracy while maintaining smooth and fast movements.
Medium DPI is useful in League of Legends because some actions (such as kiting) require fast to and fro movements, but at the same time, you need to aim your clicks properly to attack the correct target and dodge skill shots. This is hard to achieve unless you have great control over your mouse movements.
High DPI (1800+)
High DPI makes your cursor move swiftly across the screen with slight movements of your hand. As you might have guessed, this allows you to respond faster as your mouse will be in position much quicker than on a lower DPI.
A lot of League of Legends players prefer high DPI as it allows them to have better micro with a small reduction in accuracy. Dodging skill shots, having accurate movement, and kiting are some of the mechanics that require fast mouse movements which are much easier to achieve on higher DPI.
Types Of Movements
Arm
This type of movement relies mainly on the entire forearm moving. The wrist isn’t the primary source of movement and only acts to perform minor corrections or movements on a smaller scale. This prevents strain on the wrists and is generally a recommended way of controlling a mouse.
Arm movements are mainly done at lower DPI. This is because the mouse needs to move a larger distance to cover even a small distance on the screen. Vertical movements are mainly done by the upper arm.
Wrist
This is the most common way to control a mouse at a higher DPI. There is little to no arm movement and the wrist is the main source of accurate movement and adjustments. This can strain the wrist and cause problems if care is avoided. Always take preventive measures to avoid Carpal Tunnel.
Wrist movements are considered by most to provide the most accurate results. This is why players tend in FPS games tend to use medium DPI with wrist movements for better aim. In League of Legends, accuracy can be sacrificed for higher APM by combining High DPI with wrist movements. Low DPI with wrist movements will make swift movements really hard to perform.
Fingers
Controlling the mouse using just the fingers (and barely the wrist) is an extremely uncommon practice and is generally limited to office work. Finger movements require a very high DPI which is unreasonable in gaming.
Comfort Matters
This is the most important thing you will hear from any professional player or expert. If you are not comfortable with your sensitivity even after investing time to adjust, then you are not playing at the right sensitivity. Regarding DPI and sensitivity, there is no one size fits all. Copying a professional player’s DPI and sensitivity settings will NOT help you aim like them.
For this reason, you must find what works for you the best. The normal consensus among League of Legends players is that you should be able to travel across the entire screen with a single, but complete flick of the wrist. Find out what sensitivity gives you the most comfort and accuracy and then adjust it in small portions until it is perfect, and then stick with it.
Relation Of DPI With APM
League of Legends requires a lot of swift movements at the highest level of play. Clicking accurately and immediately is an important factor in deciding who comes out on top. APM is an integral part of your mechanics and allows you to attack the right target at the right time, and dodge skills at the proper time.
APM is directly related to DPI in the sense that high DPI allows you to move your mouse faster. If you get your cursor faster to your desired location, you will be able to click faster, therefore acting faster. This allows you to move on to the next action. This concept is called Actions Per Minute (APM). Low DPI makes it harder to move around your mouse and requires a significant amount of effort to maintain a similar APM.
Setting In-Game Sensitivity To Default
It is recommended that you keep your in-game sensitivity untouched to prevent pixel skipping. The default value is 50, so if you keep it at 50 and change your mouse DPI, you can achieve the same results that you would by changing the in-game settings. No problems have seemed to be caused by this, so feel free to change the in-game settings if that is your only option.
An older model mouse might not have the option to switch DPI. If you have a mouse from a lesser-known brand, then the mouse driver might not allow you to change the DPI. In such cases, it is better to just change the in-game settings and find the best sensitivity for yourself.
Changing Mouse DPI
Most new mice (or MOUSEs) provide the luxury of changing DPI on the fly. This can be done by two main methods. Some of them have a button dedicated to DPI and clicking the button cycles through a list of pre-defined DPI settings (Such as 800,1200,1600, etc). If your mouse does not have such a button, then the DPI may only be changed through the driver.
Most brands have custom drivers for their mice that allow you to set a custom DPI value or select from default options. Depending on the program, you might be able to set a different DPI for each game/program, allowing you to play League of Legends with a higher DPI setting and FPS games with a lower one.
Mouse Acceleration
One important setting to take care of before we close the topic is Mouse Acceleration. Sensitivity develops muscle memory, allowing you to judge the distance your cursor will travel with each flick of your mouse. Mouse Acceleration increases the distance your cursor will travel based on how fast you move your mouse.
So moving an inch at a slow speed will cover a shorter distance on the screen, but flicking the mouse over the same inch of distance will fly your cursor across the screen. You can disable Mouse Acceleration by following these steps:
- Open Mouse Settings by clicking Start>Settings>Devices>Mouse.
- Here you will see ‘Additional mouse options’, click it to open the settings.
- Switch to the ‘Pointer Options tab.
- Now uncheck the first box that says ‘Enhance pointer precision’.
Conclusion
Mouse Sensitivity is an important aspect of perfecting your mechanical play. Tough mechanical movements require high APM which in turn requires higher DPI. There is no ideal DPI that can suit everyone so you should play around with the settings to find what works best for you.
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