It enables the player character to concentrate on moving around the enemy to dodge their attacks while staying automatically focused on the enemy. Circle strafing in melee combat can be made easier with a lock-on system that snaps the camera's (and the player character's) focus on one particular target, guaranteeing that most of the player character's attacks will land a direct hit on the target. Strafing in melee combat Ĭircle strafing has also spread to some 3D action and adventure video games that involve melee combat.
This can make a player more vulnerable to circle strafing, as targets will pass through their field of vision more quickly, they are less capable of keeping up with a target, and their slow movement makes dodging more difficult. Many shooters will allow players to aim down the sights of a gun or use a scope, usually exchanging movement speed and field of vision for greater accuracy. When latency is high and the game doesn't have client-side hit detection, this can lead to two players circling each other, both missing all their attacks. Ĭircle strafing is especially effective when lag negatively affects the players' ability to hit their target. The effectiveness of circle strafing is mitigated when the opponent's weapon fires projectiles that travel instantaneously (also referred to as a hitscan weapon), or fires at a high rate, e.g. Circle strafing is most useful in close-quarters combat where the apparent motion of the circle strafing player is much greater than that of their stationary enemy, and thus the chance of making the enemy lose track of their target is higher and/or the enemy is required to lead the target when firing. Circle strafing allows a player to fire continuously at an opponent while evading their attacks. Red, unable to keep track of the moving blue player (and failing to lead the target), misses their shots.Ĭircle strafing is the technique of moving around an opponent in a circle while facing them. The blue player circle strafes counterclockwise around their red adversary, while firing continually.