Shroud goes off on aim assist being wrong in competitive games
Controller versus keyboard and mouse is an ongoing debate in esports that often gets competitive players heated.
Fortnite is the most outspoken community when it comes to this issue, though crossplay is also available for Call of Duty and a few other competitive titles. Games like Fortnite attempted to give controller players a better chance against keyboard and mouse players by allowing for “aim assist,” a function through which the player’s aim is aided in once their crosshairs are close enough to an opposing player. But this has created even more tension, with many PC players stating that aim assist gives controller players an unfair advantage. Some even call it “hacking.”
The latest personality to speak out against aim assist is popular streamer former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Mike “shroud” Grzesiek.
In a recent Mixer stream, shroud declared that “anyone competing for money” has a right to be mad about aim assist.
“Why don’t people understand? It’s real simple,” shroud said.
Shroud explains why pros should be mad about aim assist
In a surprising take, shroud didn’t appear to be on either side of the debate. Usually, pros take a very hard stance for or against controller players, including Fortnite superstars Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Turner “Tfue” Tenney. But shroud admitted that it’s not only controller players with aim assist who have an advantage.
“There’s advantages to both controller and keyboard and mouse on PC. The fact that those two things exist and both can have advantages over each other makes no fucking sense that it’s even in place to have competition for money at all,” shroud said.
He explained that the whole point of competition is “fair play” and “competitive integrity,” which isn’t possible when both controller players and keyboard and mouse players are competing in the same tournaments. While controller players have aim assist as an advantage, keyboard and mouse also has clear advantages over controller players, with faster movements and quicker building mechanics. Since both have pros and cons “they shouldn’t exist in the same world,” shroud argued.
“Arguing against any of that, it’s crazy to me,” he said. “Some people say one has more advantage than the other… It doesn’t matter! The fact that there’s advatnages at all is a problem and it shouldn’t exist.”
Shroud then took a similar stance to Ninja and top controller player Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff, who both clashed at the start of the year over aim assist but then both agreed that controller players and keyboard players hould have seperate tournaments.
It seems that shroud feels very similarly.
One fan asked him if he believed PC and console players should have separate competitions and he was quick to agree with that sentiment.
“Exactly. It’s really that simple. When you’re not playing for money, it doesn’t matter. If there’s nothing on the line, who the fuck cares?” shroud asked. “But when there’s money on the line, your goal is to create a fair playing field, as fair as posible, so you can’t have those two worlds co-exist.”
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
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