There are many debates in the gaming sphere, but few are as heated and longstanding as the debate between Call of Duty and Halo. Each game has its dedicated fanbases, whose preferences in first-person shooters are at odds with one another. One thing the fanbases do seem to have in common though is a general disagreement around the need for aim assist. Much like the Call of Duty vs Halo debate, the aim assist debate has been running for a long time, with no general consensus on a verdict.

It seems that aim assist debates are here to stay though, as they have once again been making the news. As always, the discourse involves a crowd that believes aim assist removes the need for skill butting heads, with a crowd of equal size that believes it is necessary for controller users. With the recent prevalence of cross-platform gaming, the debate is about as strong as ever, with console players and PC players meeting in multiplayer lobbies. The likes of Call of Duty and Halo offer cross-platform multiplayer, and each of these titles has caused some aim assist-related controversy as of late.

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Halo Infinite and Call of Duty: Warzone’s Aim Assist

Halo Infinite Player Killing An Enemy With The Sidekick

Recently, a clip of Twitch streamer Jeff Sheney playing Halo Infinite multiplayer did the rounds on Twitter. Sheney was AFK at the time and reportedly using keyboard and mouse, but the clip shows his crosshairs tracking an enemy player in the distance darting across the screen.

As can be expected, this sparked debate in the Halo community, with many concerned about the upcoming title's balance issues. Many assumed Sheney was playing on a controller, however, the reveal that he was playing with keyboard and mouse on PC only caused further confusion. The crosshair movement was fairly significant and stood as one of the more blatant examples of aim assist.

Halo Infinite isn’t the only title that has recently been subject to aim assist controversy, however, as Warzone was also at the center of the debate. This debate was sparked as a result of Dr Disrespect and TSM Myth taking to Twitter to take shots at controller users, with the latter stating that he’d never put a controller player in his top 10 FPS players of all time.

As expected, this sparked rage in the Call of Duty community, with Twitch streamer TimTheTatman chiming in with the most poignant remark. The keyboard and mouse Warzone streamer responded with “if controller is so broken then play controller.” Much of the controversy in this debate stemmed from TSM Myth’s comments, which many deemed disrespectful and prompted the involvement of many Call of Duty legends.

Is Aim Assist Necessary?

reloading in Call Of Duty Warzone

On balance, both mouse and keyboard and controller have their downsides. Of course, the absence of aim assist on keyboard and mouse could be seen as a disadvantage, but a mouse offers a greater range of movement and the potential for faster reaction times than with a controller. There’s a reason keyboard and mouse is often the preferred setup for multiplayer first-person shooter games like Halo Infinite, and it comes down to the greater precision possible with a mouse. While gamers may initially struggle when using keyboard and mouse, those who stick with it tend to swear by it, hence its popularity in spite of the benefits of aim assist.

Meanwhile, controller players do benefit from the implementation of aim assist. However, rather than making the control method overpowered, it simply strives to make the controller a viable option for gamers. In addition to this, the degree to which aim assist actually helps in gunfights is marginal.

In the case of Jeff Sheney’s Halo Infinite aim assist clip, while the aim assist looks to be kicking in big-time this may not be the case in actual gameplay. Quinn DelHoyo, the lead sandbox designer on Halo Infinite, has provided some clarity on the situation by stating that the aim-assist only kicks into gear to such an extent when AFK. Halo players can rest assured that any kills they make in Halo Infinite will be down to their own skill, and not aim-assist playing for them.

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