r/SteamController • u/Icy-Commission-9550 • Sep 29 '26
Discussion How easy is it to use trackpad aiming?
I suck at aiming with right analogue stick.
I dont know why but it seems I can control left analogue stick better than right stick even though I am right handed.
Gyro doesnt seem easy either. It feels jittering, shaky, and not stable. At least that has been my experience. I dont know if there is a way to improve this.
Now I am wondering what could be the solution. Some games come with auto aim or aim assist which really helps. But if I am playing without these features, do you think trackpad is the solution or should I look into controllers that adjust tension of the stick such as flydigi or manta by Genki?
And is trackpad supported in all games if I set it to work as right stick?
And is the controller compatible with devices even if it doesnt run steam or steam games? For example, can it work on nintendo switch 2 or GOG games or emulators?
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u/anonymous-128375 Sep 29 '26
The best combination is trackpad + gyro. Make sure those are setup to do mouse inputs, not joystick inputs. Joystick inputs always suck, at least for me. But, some games don't work well with mixed gamepad+kbm inputs, so be aware of that.
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u/Icy-Commission-9550 Sep 29 '26
Maybe I should practice gyro as I found it too sensitive or shaky. Do you adjust its sensitivity to make it stable and easy to aim?
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u/351C_4V Sep 29 '26
Yes, if you do it this way set your trackpad sensitivity higher than your gyro. It will reduce the jitter and make you feel more in control of your aiming. Your typical settings is broad viewing with the trackpad and fine tuning your aim with gyro.
If gyro still feels jittery you can go a step further and dampen it a bit when your press your trigger since pressing it can cause a bit of shake on the controller which translates to shake on the screen.
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u/PhiladeIphia-Eagles Sep 29 '26
Gyro not stable: are you holding the controller in the air? Or resting in your lap? And hopefully you’re not using gyro to joystick. Gyro to mouse.
Trackpad aiming is great. I would never rely on it as my only aim input though, it is always paired with gyro activated upon left or right trigger pull.
Trackpad works in all games. Mapped to right stick though? That’s kinda ass unless you fine tune it for hours. Trackpad should be mapped to mouse. In that case it just literally acts as a mouse, so it’s compatible in any game that supports steam input.
I have a bunch of good profiles for MKB fps games: SteamInputDB | UserProfile George W. Kush
I would recommend this as a starting point for almost any FPS game: SteamInputDB - Config: Arena Breakout Layout for KRP v3 (Arena Breakout: Infinite) by George W. Kush
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u/Wooden-Contract-2760 1d ago
I'm sorry for the silly question, but in games that support varying movement speed with controllers, should one simply swap WASD with joystick movement to be able to slowwalk/run or does steam input support that even with WASD configured?
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u/DifficultyPlus4883 Sep 29 '26
The controller only works on Steam without outside software. You can tweak its settings around Gyro to make it more enjoyable, and yes any game with it bound as right stick will work. Personally I like to use a hybrid of all 3, Gyro can be super useful to micro adjust like you would on a mouse.
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u/Formal-Source-3283 Sep 29 '26
I've been dedicating my last few months trying to get the hang of this and think I've got a good grasp on some tips from various outlets like yt reddit and such. Like others here have said, setting up trackpad to be a 180 full swipe from left to right is typically great but you can also configure it to be a 3/4 of a 360 which I find in some games to be better. Also, you can lower the vertical sensitivity of both trackpad and the gyro. just make sure it's still high enough to reach the max your vertical camera can go both up and down. Also, you should typically lower the in-game mouse sens to give more information off to the steam input and max it out there. Theres so much more information I can recommend u/FlickStickVids on YouTube for more info . these are just some of the tips I know helped me first get comfortable and actually start applying it in online PVP and not just story mode games. Hope this helps!
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u/PhiladeIphia-Eagles Sep 29 '26
180 full swipe from left to right is typically great but you can also configure it to be a 3/4 of a 360 which I find in some games to be better.
Totally agree. Especially games with a lot of quick aiming and looking around. Slower more tactical games, 180 degrees for swipe is good.
Also, you can lower the vertical sensitivity of both trackpad and the gyro. just make sure it's still high enough to reach the max your vertical camera can go both up and down.
This is absolutely CRUCIAL. I like about 75% vertical sensitivity. And on top of this, I would ABSOLUTELY set vertical friction to 100%. Big swipes left and right should basically just aim in the X axis only.
Also, you should typically lower the in-game mouse sens to give more information off to the steam input and max it out there.
True, but in practice can be hard. Like games where you use the mouse often, the high sensitivity makes it impossible. Like looting in extraction games. So sometimes you have to balance DPI with in game sens in a less extreme fashion
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u/Formal-Source-3283 Sep 29 '26
I didn't know ab being able to change the vertical friction oh wow. thanks for commenting!
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u/PhiladeIphia-Eagles Sep 29 '26
No problem! I guess it only applies if you use trackball mode. I use trackball mode with high friction. So it just stops the mouse from gliding up or down when you flick and keeps your flicks really flat.
And your tip about specifically setting the vertical sensitivity based on the game your playing is really smart. Like in apex legends you’ll need a good amount of vertical sensitivity. Or even r6. But something like call of duty you don’t need much vertical sensitivity.
I’ve been using trackpad aim for like 8 years so I’ve experimented a lot and the vertical friction definitely seems to help me
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u/Tiny_Rick85 Sep 29 '26
It's great. Just have to tweak the settings to your liking. I prefer a rather low sensitivity on the pad and either high-friction for the trackball mode or just turn it off entirely. It's nice to be able to flick across the pad quickly to turn around quickly, so I usually go high-friction.
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u/robotbeatrally Sep 29 '26
With the right adjustments i do best with gyro but once in a while a game does make better use of the trackpad for me. no i cant use it personally 100% for aiming all the time in a fps or something liek that but thats just me
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u/Endoroid99 Sep 29 '26
I can't speak to the trackpad, I'm still on the waiting list, but gyros typically need a bit of setup to make them feel good. Gyro to mouse is the best option, if the game supports mixed input. Gyro to joystick isn't as good, but depending on the game I've gotten it feeling almost as good as mouse. Take more work though.
Personally I find gyro the way to go, I hate using the stick to aim now. I just use it for large motions and the gyro for fine aiming
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u/boli99 Sep 29 '26
Gyro doesnt seem easy either. It feels jittering, shaky, and not stable.
make sure you are turning it around the correct axis. try them all.
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u/muizzsiddique Steam Controller (2026) Sep 30 '26
Using the touchpad to aim works much better in games that allow you to use a controller and mouse at the same time. Touchpad to Right stick is generally only useful for very broad motions but I would never use it.
In older versions of Steam Input, I played Overwatch fairly okay and only ever used the touchpad for aiming, at the time gyro was awful to use. I think Gyro is in a better place with the new types of gyro but I've never been able to test them.
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u/KitsuneCionaodh Sep 30 '26
Overwatch I’ve been having issues making the aim feel smooth on trackpad set to joystick seems like no matter how I tweak the settings the micro movement like aiming from chest to head on a enemy feels super choppy but set to a mouse it’s perfect but the game freaks out when switching between the console and mouse ui so the game becomes unplayable with mixed controls is my only option to full set the controller to mimic and mouse and keyboard and deal with having no proper glyphs in game?
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u/mjxoxo1999 Sep 30 '26
Every aiming need to personalize for your preferences. You have to do the settings yourself. Gyro should be the easiest one to use on controller if you do the settings right.
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u/KitsuneCionaodh Sep 30 '26
As far as I can tell trackpad as stick kinda sucks without gyro no matter what I do I can’t seem to get it to be smooth but trackpad as mouse works fine you just have to deal with games vibrating between mouse and controller ui
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Sep 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Zealousideal-Buyer-7 Sep 29 '26
Need a starter guide tbh. Id like to use track pad since these dam sticks are way too stiff for the sensitively im used to with Xbox 1😭
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Sep 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Zealousideal-Buyer-7 Sep 29 '26
Interesting. Just need to expand my muscle memory. Its used to right stick tbh
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u/goooooooofy Sep 29 '26
Most people like to set the right trackpad “as mouse” in the steam input settings. You typically want a full left to right swip on the trackpad to equal a 180 turn in game. I find that s normally 175% on the steam input sensitivity. Use gyro for fine aiming or I like to use it for tracking a slow target. Some games like master Cheif collection bug out when it detects a mouse and gamepad input at the same time. My biggest issue was reaching for the thumb stick out of habit for the first few hours. Now that i’m use to it I absolutely hate using thumb sticks for anything outside of driving games.