How to get better at pc fps games

So i've been playing fps games for about 10 months now and in that time i've play for a total of 520 hours and yet my overall kd is only around the 0.550 region. Is there any tips that you can give me that can better me in anyway. I must add that even though my kd is bad, my pc that i play on isn't the best either on a cold start up i manage about 20-25 fps but as i use it more i average between 15-20 is this another factor that can affect how i play or is it just an excuse for me for being so bad?

Any tips are much appreciated :)

@sham_logan: Which games are you playing? A general recommendation for all FPS games is to improve your situational awareness. You want to anticipate the encounters with other players and try to get the upper hand before the other player even sees you. So, you want to be in a favorable position on the map, have the right weapon for that situation and be ready. You want to avoid situations where you are relying on your reflexes and reaction time.

I highly recommend updating your rig (start with the GPU) as it is definitely affecting your ability and enjoyment with that low a frame rate.

Youtube/twitch is a good source on watching people playing the game in question and see if there is anything you can pick up. There isn't a shortage of people who give commentary on their play style and whatnot.

I struggled a lot with defense on NBA2k15, watched a lot of videos about it on youtube. It helped some =P

@BassMan: Thanks for the advice, and yes i figured that my pc did affect my ability in one way or another i will try implementing what you have said in your comment above. But would you say that the amount of time that i have been playing fps games for also hinders me as this is the first ever fps pc game that i have played, do you think that things like situational awareness comes with time or any other factor?

You will continue to improve over time. It is all about changing your mindset. If you start approaching encounters differently, you will begin to see what works and what doesn't. If you learn from your mistakes and keep trying different things, you will get better. Some more tips:

- Don't be a hero. Pick your battles. Sometimes it is better to avoid encounters and attack at a better moment. For instance, if you see an enemy at a far distance and he doesn't see you, it is probably best not to engage him unless you have a good long range weapon. You don't want to give away your position and allow him to escape and flank you. He may also be able to react to your fire and counter you with a better long range weapon or superior aiming.

- Listen and pay attention. You can often hear enemies coming. Also, look out for fallen teammates or other clues that danger is nearby.

- Look at ways that you can flank enemies and catch them off guard.

- Don't get yourself trapped in an area. You always want to be able to escape a bad situation. Also, try not to stay in one area for too long. Especially if enemies have seen you there. You know people like their revenge kills and will be coming for you.

- Make use of cover and avoid open areas where enemies may have good sight lines. You don't want to be an easy target.

- Use grenades and other tactics to draw enemies out of cover.

- Look for bottlenecks or heavy traffic areas and take advantage.

- Try to fire your weapon in short bursts instead of fully automatic. This leads to better stability and accuracy.

- Avoid reloading if you don't need to. There may be enemies near that will kill you as you are reloading. Try switching to your secondary weapon at times as it is usually quicker than reloading.

- Team up with people and attack in numbers. Try to avoid engaging multiple targets by yourself as the odds are usually against you.

- Communication is key when playing with others. Tell people what you are thinking so that you can work together effectively.

- Use suppression fire to keep an enemy in an area while your teammates flank them.

As long as you are having fun, that is what really matters. Don't worry so much about stats and try to help your team win the match. A team win is more satisfying than any personal victories.

@BassMan: I appreciate the time you have taken to answer my queries. thank you so much for the tips :)

@sham_logan: No problem. If you make use of the tips and upgrade your hardware, you are sure to get better. I am not the best killing machine myself when it comes to pure skill and reflexes, but because of my situational awareness, I do well in FPS games.

Everyone has their own playstyle. I used to play a lot of FPS games and I always aimed to look for unused strategies as they're more likely to catch people off guard. And find multiple strategies so your opponents are forced to change and adapt to your playstyle, not the other way around. This might mean using weapons/classes that others often don't or even just creating your own spots on the map that you don't often see people go to. Sometimes the spots that seem stupid are actually the best.

Also I find it helps to create your own routes on maps if you are playing FPS' with small maps like COD or TF2. When I used to play Call of Duty I often had multiple set routes around the map that I would always follow, and because I did it every time I always knew when and where to expect people and what guns/perks/attachments I would need to take on each route. If one didn't work I would either do the route in reverse or use another route until it worked.

Also I have always been a fan of making my own strategies there is certainly no shame and no harm in using or atleast drawing inspiration from the strategies of your friends and as people already mentioned, guides online. I think people really undervalue the use of guides, even advanced players might learn a trick or two from watching others.

Do you have a laser mouse or optical? I never could find a surface that my laser mouse would track accurately on. Optical mice are actually far superior.

Also, disable V-Sync to reduce input lag, use a 120-144Hz monitor, and don't skimp on your GPU.

Omg you have no idea how much better it would be to play at a higher fps especially getting to 60fps minimum that would blow your mind I still remember how incredible going from 20fps in half life 2 on integrated graphics to getting way above 60fps it was like 200fps or something and despite what people may say higher frame rates do result in even more control responsiveness above 60fps even on a 60hz display its not something you can see though its all about how it feels a mouse is accurate enough to rely that but there is certainly diminishing returns past 60fps on a 60hz display.

@DJ_Headshot: yep for sure a higher fps does help i used my brothers pc whilst he was gone it had double the amount of ram and a better processor (basically everything about it was better) and during that time i downloaded the game i play on my pc and i averaged about 40 fps which is huge for me and i found myself going positive kd for most games with little blips of bad performance i felt like a whole new player playing on the better pc!

@ekasio: My most prefered game mode is search and destroy and ive always got a particular route that i follow, but im not the 'camping' type of guy if that is what you are suggesting i do but it wont hurt to change up my tactics a little who knows i might even get more kills that way

Thanks for leaving feed back on my post :)

@SuperClocks: Im not entirley sure if its laser or optical but its a Rat3 gaming mouse and yeah i really should get a better gpu!

Now just imagine 60 FPS!!!

@DJ_Headshot: i need to start saving up now for a better rig it would be immense

When Counter Strike released years back, my roommate and I would always team up. I don't know if VOIP was a thing back then, we sat about 10 ft from each other and we were in constant communication. We knew were the other person was at at all times and if one of us ran into a problem, we'd be able to call out and work on flanking the enemy. We dominated servers and took down high-end players from competitive clans that played tournaments. We got banned from so many servers because we they thought we were cheating (aim bot, wall hacks and so on). We never found a need to cheat, we did very well communicating.

If you have a way to speak with teammates, it can greatly improve your chances. Trying to type out info/commands in team chat isn't the same, it takes too long and leaves you standing there like a goofball as you try to type something. Now, it's not a guarantee that your teammates will listen to you, but if you do find some that will and you can work together, you'd be amazed at how well it works.

But as suggested, a better PC for gaming on will make things much more enjoyable. Not only can you find yourself doing better, but you'll get to see yourself die faster!

Practice. Try playing a game offline, or try playing a less competitive shooter to practice, if that's possible.