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Training goal

Valorant counter strafe aim training: strafe-click and strafe-track

The benchmark measures aim in motion with 4 strafe scenarios, from Intermediate on. Counter-strafe, three mistakes and an Elite week of 160 session minutes.

What strafe measures

Two mechanics share the name, and you have to keep them apart. Counter-strafing is a movement habit: tap the opposite key to stop dead, then fire in the split second you are still.[1] The benchmark's strafe measures something else: your aim when you or the target are in motion.

The benchmark has two strafe subcategories: strafe-click, with VT AngleStrafe and VT ArcStrafe, and strafe-track, with VT PatStrafe and VT AirStrafe.[2] They do not exist at the Novice level. You meet them at Intermediate, then at Advanced.[2]

Intermediate scenario Subcategory Platinum to Master
VT AngleStrafe Intermediate strafe-click 740 to 1000[3]
VT ArcStrafe Intermediate strafe-click 660 to 940[3]
VT PatStrafe Intermediate strafe-track 2260 to 3050[3]
VT AirStrafe Intermediate strafe-track 2800 to 3400[3]

At Advanced, the Celestial threshold is 1230 for AngleStrafe and ArcStrafe, 3500 for PatStrafe and 3825 for AirStrafe.[3] Each subcategory's energy is the average of its two scenarios, at 90 points per rank.[4]

What it takes and what you get

You first have to reach the Intermediate level: promotion happens when your energy reaches that of your level's last rank, which is 360 at Novice.[5] A beginner cannot measure strafe here, and this page says so plainly.

Once at Intermediate, you get two more energies, strafe-click and strafe-track, which feed your overall average.[4] Counter-strafing itself stays outside the product: no scenario grades the quality of your stop. The routine's only note on the topic is to shoot while moving.[6]

You play in KovaaK's on PC, paid on Steam.[7]

Three common mistakes

Firing before the full stop. A common mistake: shooting during deceleration instead of waiting until you are still.[8] While moving, the first bullet can land anywhere inside a cone the size of a body; standing still, that cone shrinks to a dot.[9] On the Range, fire one bullet at a time and watch where it lands.[10]

Mashing A and D. Hitting A-D-A-D to feel stopped keeps you moving.[8] A simple Range rule: a hundred shots, one constraint, your velocity at zero on the click.[11]

Running a playlist from another context without reading what it measures. There is an Aim Lab workshop playlist against opponents who strafe.[12] It does not replace PatStrafe or AirStrafe, which are your numbered reference points. Do not mix the two in the same week, or you will not know what moved your energy.

A week focused on strafe

Calculated example, not a real result. An Intermediate player has these energies: dynamic 600, static 590, strafe-click 430, precise 610, reactive 590, strafe-track 440, speed 600, evasive 580.[13] The best is precise at 610. Strafe-click sits nearly 30% below it and strafe-track 28%: both get medium priority.[13]

Overall energy comes to 545: the proposed routine is Elite.[14][4] It holds a single movement-clicking exercise, Pistol Strafe Gallery Small, and none for movement-tracking.[15]

The player picks Elite for four days: 2 sessions and 15 deathmatches per day.[16] The priority pool holds only Pistol Strafe: it comes back every day, and the rest of the day is filled with low-priority exercises.[17][15]

Item Calculation Total
KovaaK's sessions 4 days, 2 sessions of 20 minutes 160 minutes[16]
Strafe-click, in the routine 4 days, 1 exercise of 10 minutes 40 minutes[16]
Strafe-track, added by hand 4 days, PatStrafe or AirStrafe, 10 minutes 40 minutes[16]
Deathmatches 4 days, 15 per day 60[16]

The strafe-track line is your own addition: the routine does not provide it.[15] If you take it out of the day's exercises, you remove time from the subcategories where you are already strong, which fits the diagnosis.

Settings that matter

  • One shot at a time. To see the quality of your stop, fire one bullet, look where it lands, then repeat.[10]
  • Intensity. Elite is enough for this profile: two high-priority slots, only one of them useful here.[16]
  • Deathmatch. Carry the stopping habit into deathmatch, under pressure.[10] A 25-minute tracking routine also includes strafe tracking.[18]

How to start

  1. Sign in with your Google account, it is free.
  2. Take the Novice benchmark first: until your energy reaches 360, strafe is not measured.[5]
  3. Once at Intermediate, play the 4 strafe scenarios and enter your scores.[2]
  4. If strafe-click or strafe-track is more than 15% below your best subcategory, that is your priority.[13]

See also clicking, tracking and target switching. For the test, the benchmark; for the plan, the routine.

Frequently asked questions

What is counter-strafing in Valorant?

It is tapping the key opposite to your direction to stop dead, then firing in the split second you are still.[1] Standing still, the first bullet is far more accurate than on the move.[9]

Does EsportManager train counter-strafing?

No. The benchmark measures your aim when you or the target move, with 4 strafe scenarios.[2] Stop timing is practiced on the Range and in deathmatch, not here.

Why is strafe missing at Novice?

The Novice level has no strafe subcategory: they arrive at Intermediate.[2] You get there by reaching 360 energy.[5]

Which scenario trains strafe-track?

VT PatStrafe and VT AirStrafe, in the Intermediate and Advanced benchmarks.[2] The routines have no exercise tagged movement-tracking, so you play them yourself.[15]

How long a day for strafe?

A session lasts 20 minutes.[16] In the routine, strafe takes one 10-minute exercise a day if your weakness is strafe-click.[15]

Read next

Ready to measure your aim?

Measure your strafe

Sources

  1. Metabot defines counter-strafing: tap the movement key opposite to your direction to kill momentum, then fire in the split second you are fully stopped; the sequence takes 4 steps. · metabot.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎
  2. Strafe has 4 scenarios, from Intermediate on: VT AngleStrafe and VT ArcStrafe (strafe-click), VT PatStrafe and VT AirStrafe (strafe-track). The Novice level has no strafe subcategory. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  3. Intermediate thresholds, Platinum to Master: AngleStrafe 740 to 1000, ArcStrafe 660 to 940, PatStrafe 2260 to 3050, AirStrafe 2800 to 3400. At Advanced, the Celestial threshold is 1230 for AngleStrafe and ArcStrafe, 3500 for PatStrafe, 3825 for AirStrafe. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  4. A subcategory's energy is the average of its scenarios, at 90 points per rank; overall energy is the harmonic mean of the subcategories. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  5. You move up a level by reaching the energy of the level's last rank: 360 at Novice (Gold), 720 at Intermediate (Master), 1080 at Advanced (Celestial). · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  6. Notes: on the strafe-click exercise, turn on the movement bar and shoot while strafing; on Pistol Strafe Gallery, shooting while moving, useful for pistol rounds. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  7. You play the scenarios in KovaaK's on PC, paid on Steam, then type your scores in by hand. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  8. Metabot lists 2 mistakes: firing during deceleration instead of waiting for the stop, and mashing A-D-A-D to feel stopped, which keeps you in motion. · metabot.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎
  9. Metabot explains that while moving the first bullet can land anywhere inside a cone the size of a body, and that the cone shrinks to a dot when stationary. · metabot.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎
  10. Metabot recommends a drill: walk side to side, stop dead before every shot, fire one bullet at a time to see where it lands, then carry the habit into deathmatch under pressure. · metabot.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  11. GGClan suggests, on the Range with moving bots, 100 shots where the only rule is that your velocity reads zero on release. · ggclan.com (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  12. A vlr.gg thread mentions the "new voltaic anti strafe playlist", an Aim Lab workshop playlist for facing an opponent who strafes. · vlr.gg (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  13. A subcategory more than 30% below the best one gets high priority, more than 15% below gets medium priority; strafe-click maps to the movement-clicking skill and strafe-track to movement-tracking. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎
  14. The proposed routine depends on overall energy: below 400 Challenger, from 400 to 700 Elite, from 700 Hardcore. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  15. The routines hold only one movement-clicking exercise, optional: voxTargetClick Easy Strafe / Pasu Dodge EES 180 (Challenger and Hardcore) or Pistol Strafe Gallery Small (Elite). No exercise is tagged movement-tracking. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  16. Elite: 2 sessions and 15 deathmatches per day, with 2 high-priority slots, 1 medium and 1 normal. Challenger: 1 session, 10 deathmatches. Hardcore: 3 sessions, 20 deathmatches. A session lasts 20 minutes (2 exercises of 10 minutes). · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎↩︎
  17. Each day, a priority pool serves its exercises in rotation, with no duplicate within a day; if a pool is too small, the day is filled from low-priority exercises. · EsportManager data · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎
  18. FPSTrain's 25-minute tracking routine includes strafe tracking after smooth and reactive tracking. · fpstrain.us (opens in a new tab) · checked on October 3, 2026↩︎