Recoil Patterns

Record the recoil drift of a specific gun, save it as a named pattern, and play it back to perfectly counter the spray. Patterns are the strongest mode of the Anti-Recoil system.

What it does

A pattern is a list of timestamped 2D deltas — a recording of how the crosshair drifted while you held fire. At playback, PowerAim re-applies those deltas (scaled by PatternStrength) while you hold the anti-recoil key.

Patterns are stored under AppConfig.AntiRecoilSettings.Patterns and persist with the config.

How to record a pattern

1. Aim Tools → AntiRecoil → Recoil Patterns
2. Click + New Pattern, name it (e.g. “AK-47”)
3. In-game, point at a flat wall
4. Click Record in the dialog
5. Spray your weapon onto the wall for ~3 seconds
6. Click Stop (or the button again — recording is cooperative; clicking it twice aborts)
7. Inspect the drift-curve preview — it should look like the gun’s spray pattern (typically up + slight zig-zag)

PowerAim suspends GlobalActive while recording so the aim pipeline doesn’t fight you. It’s restored when the recording window closes.

How to arm a pattern

1. In the same dialog, select the pattern you want to use
2. The Anti-Recoil card outside the dialog shows the active pattern’s name + strength
3. Toggle Use Pattern Playback on
4. Hold the Anti-Recoil Keybind in-game while firing — the pattern plays back

The active pattern’s strength slider scales every sample. 1.0 = exact, lower = dampened, higher = amplified.

How to share a pattern

Patterns are part of your config (.cfg file). If you save your config after creating a pattern, the next person who loads it gets the pattern too. There’s currently no per-pattern export — share configs instead.

Configuration options

Setting	What it does	Default
Use Pattern Recoil	Master toggle on the AntiRecoil card	Off
Active Pattern Name	Which named pattern to replay	empty
Pattern Strength	Per-pattern multiplier (0.5 - 2.0 typical)	1.0

Tips

• Record at the same in-game sensitivity you’ll play at. Patterns are pixel-deltas in screen space; changing sensitivity changes how much pixel-movement a given mouse-delta produces.
• Patterns work best on full-auto weapons with a consistent spray. Burst weapons with controlled bursts are also fine. Pure-RNG buckshot guns don’t have a pattern.
• Use the strength slider to share patterns across players. If a friend uses your “AK-47” pattern but their sensitivity is 1.5× yours, PatternStrength = 1.5 will scale it correctly.
• Reduce sample noise: shoot at a uniform wall, not a textured one. PowerAim’s recorder uses the same image-tracking as the BETA anti-recoil — busy textures hurt accuracy.

Troubleshooting

• Pattern “drifts” off-target — strength too high, or the pattern was recorded at a different sensitivity. Try PatternStrength = 0.85 and ramp up.
• Pattern feels jerky — record a fresh one in a quieter area. The recorder is sensitive to camera shake from movement keys.
• Playback runs out before the magazine — the pattern is shorter than your spray. Record a longer pattern (hold fire longer during recording).
• Pattern playback fights image-based anti-recoil — precedence is pattern > image-based > legacy. If you see fighting, both are accidentally on; disable the image-based BETA toggle.