Many e-athletes use an arm sleeve to perform better, but does it also make sense for you casual players?

earthpressnews

MeinMMO editor Dariusz played shooters with an arm sleeve for six months. Should you do that too or is it pointless?

Anyone who has ever watched an e-sports match, especially from shooters like Valorant, Counter-Strike or Rainbow Six: Siege, has probably noticed these strange sleeves that some players wear on their arms.

These thin, sock-like nylon socks are called arm sleeves and many players expect them to improve their playing performance. The arm movements should be more fluid and smoother thanks to the sleeves than with a normal sweater or bare skin.

But do arm sleeves really have an advantage and does it also make sense for casual players to use such a sleeve? MeinMMO editor Dariusz tested an arm sleeve and summarizes his assessment here.

Who is writing here? Dariusz is the shooter nerd from MeinMMO and tests almost every representative of the genre – whether PvE or PvP. He spends most of his gaming time in competitive shooters like Rainbow Six: Siege and Valorant. But games like The Finals, CoD and Battlefield are also on his list. The only things he doesn’t enjoy at all are Battle Royale and Extraction Shooters – although of course she still tests with hope every time.

When playing shooters, Dariusz always pursues the goal of winning and is not afraid to invest hundreds of hours in training or spend money on seemingly unnecessary bells and whistles such as extra-light mice and special mouse pads.

Rainbow Six: Siege kicks off Year 9 with an epic cinematic trailer

More videos

Autoplay

What purpose do arm sleeves serve?

In short: arm sleeves are intended to improve performance in games. Of course, a piece of nylon doesn’t suddenly improve your aim or understanding of the game. Instead, the sleeves have small advantages over bare skin or a regular sweater that can help you get the most out of your aim.

I have been testing my arm sleeve for six months now and have noticed the following advantages:

  • Arm sleeves cause less friction when moving your arm than a normal sweater or bare skin. The skin on your arm or the fabric of a sweater have noticeably greater resistance. With a sleeve, movements feel smoother and unrestrained.
  • The friction created by arm sleeves is often more even than that of a sweater or skin because they have a consistently smooth surface. In contrast, sweaters may have different patterns incorporated into the fabric or have folds. The skin can also form wrinkles when lying on it. Since the movements of a sleeve during aiming have constant friction due to the smooth surface, the precision when aiming is subject to fewer deviations.
  • There are arm sleeves that also cover the heel of the hand. If you touch the mouse pad with the heel of your hand while aiming, you will stop yourself due to the skin’s reduced gliding ability.
  • For mouse pads made of glass, i.e. so-called glass pads, an arm sleeve is almost essential, as the skin can stick to the glass of the pad – especially on sweaty summer days. Playing with an arm sleeve when it’s hot definitely takes some getting used to, but it’s better than sticking to the pad or wearing a sweater when it’s 35 degrees.
  • The sleeves act like a layer of fabric between the mouse pad and the arm, which keeps sweat away from the mouse pad. This means the mouse pad needs to be cleaned less often. Of course, you should wash the sleeve itself regularly, but this requires less effort than a mouse pad (except for glass pads).

    • Did I notice an increase in performance?

    Yes, I have noticed an increase in performance with the arm sleeve – but mostly in Aim trainers. When I made quick, continuous movements with my arm, I felt that I glided much better over the mouse pad, especially compared to a normal sweater.

    I immediately saw from the Aim Trainer’s statistics that I was able to increase my precision when shooting at small targets as well as my speed when aiming precisely.

    In Valorant or Rainbow Six: Siege, I didn’t notice any real improvement. However, the effects of the arm sleeve were even less noticeable in shooters such as CoD, Battlefield and The Finals. My arm was warmer in the winter, but that was about it.

    Also useful for casual players – but only to a limited extent

    All the advantages that an arm sleeve brings also apply to casual players. It doesn’t matter whether you are an e-athlete and take part in tournaments or whether you just want to play 1-2 rounds of your favorite shooter in the evening and relax. The advantages remain and the arm sleeve makes sense – you just don’t need it.

    An arm sleeve doesn’t suddenly make you a god gamer, so why should you wear one for casual gaming if you don’t have a glass pad? Nobody notices what feels like a 3% increase in performance and nobody cares about your personal performance if you don’t play for prize money.

    However, the arm sleeve becomes even more irrelevant if you don’t just play PvP. In the six months I’ve been using the sleeve, I’ve also played Palworld, Helldivers 2 and Neon White. I don’t wear the sleeve in these games – why should I?

    I really only wear the sleeve when I play competitive PvP shooters on the glass pad. For PvE I put the glass pad away and the sleeve with it. I would probably never wear the sleeve on a normal fabric or Cordura pad – unless I’m chasing records again in aim trainers and actively trying to improve my aim. Then I want to feel all the advantages of the “gamer sock”.

    I played an aim trainer for 100 hours to get better at shooters – but did it really make any difference?

    mmod-game