What specific advanced mouse technique helps a player quickly hit targets that appear suddenly and briefly?

The specific advanced mouse technique that helps a player quickly hit targets appearing suddenly and briefly is Flick Aiming, often referred to as a flick shot. This technique involves a rapid, high-speed movement of the mouse to quickly move the on-screen crosshair from its current position to a newly appeared target, immediately followed by a mouse click to fire. The effectiveness of flick aiming stems from its reliance on highly developed muscle memory, which is the ability of the brain to perform complex movements without conscious thought, built through repetitive practice. Players train their muscle memory to associate a specific physical mouse movement distance and speed with a corresponding angular rotation of their in-game view. When a target unexpectedly appears, the player executes this learned, explosive mouse movement to "flick" their crosshair directly onto the target, minimizing the time spent on target acquisition. This quick acquisition is crucial for brief targets, as it capitalizes on the target's limited visibility window. The precision of a flick shot is heavily influenced by the player's mouse sensitivity (DPI setting), which determines how far the on-screen cursor moves in relation to a physical mouse movement; a balanced sensitivity allows for both rapid flicks and fine micro-adjustments. While initial crosshair placement (pre-aiming where a target might appear) can reduce the required flick distance, flick aiming specifically addresses targets that appear outside the pre-aimed area or in unexpected locations, demanding a rapid, reactive adjustment rather than a predictive one.