Steady Aim

Steady Aim is a tier three perk in Call of Duty 4, Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and a tier two perk in Call of Duty: Black Ops. This perk increases the accuracy of a weapon when fired from the hip by reducing the size of the cross-hairs by 35%. In Modern Warfare 2, its Pro version replaces Iron Lungs. Other than that, this perk has no effect on a weapon's accuracy when the player is aiming down the sights, except for in third person gametypes in Modern Warfare 2. Steady Aim increases the accuracy of shotguns by reducing their spread, making the shotgun less effective for spraying an area but increases the damage done to a single target, which can increase the one shot kill range of a shotgun.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Steady Aim is a useful perk for players who find that they fire from the hip often. One of its biggest advantages is that it allows for more accurate fire without sacrificing mobility, although pistols and submachine guns already have full mobility while aiming down the sights. While it is not as common, some players also use this perk with sniper rifles, which allows more accurate hipfire at close range when a switch to a secondary weapon is not an option. An example of this tactic, known as "no-scoping," would be use with the M40A3, an ACOG Scope, and Stopping Power. This is effective because the M40A3 with an ACOG and Stopping Power is always a one hit kill unless the target is hit through cover or is using Juggernaut.

Call of Duty: World at War
This Perk remains completely unchanged from Call of Duty 4 and is fairly popular, especially on the MP-40.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Steady Aim is completely unchanged from the other games except for the addition of the Pro Perk. The Pro version allows the player to hold their breath longer while using a Sniper Scope or Thermal Scope, replacing Iron Lungs. Steady Aim is especially recommended for the Masterkey and weapons using the Akimbo attachment, which prevents aiming down the sight, making it both useful and easier to get the Pro version.

When playing in third person gametypes, this perk will also make the cross-hair smaller while ADS. Steady Aim is one of the few perks for which the standard and Pro abilities seem diametrically opposed; holding one's breath only applies to sniper scopes and thermal scopes and is used for long range accuracy, while firing from the hip is a close quarters tactic and is very inaccurate with sniper rifles, even when using Steady Aim. It seems to have been designed with sniper secondaries in mind, as akimbo handguns with steady aim are extremely effective at close range, especially with Stopping Power and/or Sleight of Hand.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Steady Aim returns as a Tier 2 perk in Black Ops .

Overview
Steady Aim reduces the size of the hipfire cross-hairs to 65% of their original size. Its pro version reduces the fire delay after sprinting and the knife lunge recovery time to 60% of their original values. Note that the actual knife lunge animation is not shortened; Steady Aim Pro simply decreases the time it takes for the user to put the knife away after a lunge.

Pro Challenges

 * Quick Melee – Melee two enemies consecutively within 5 seconds.
 * Sprint Kills – Get 100 kills after sprinting.
 * Hip Fire Kills – Get 150 hip fire kills using Steady Aim

Trivia

 * Steady Aim is one of only 2 perks that have been in every Call of Duty game that features perks, the other perk being Sleight of Hand.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, it is possible to upgrade Steady Aim with a mounted mini-gun without zooming in.
 * In Black Ops, it may be easier to get the two knife kills within five seconds of each other using the Ballistic Knife
 * The Black Ops pro version of Steady Aim is near equivalent to the Modern Warfare 2 pro perk Lightweight, but this time it returns with knife lunge recovery as well as the sprint recovery.
 * In Black Ops, an easy way to get hipfire kills is to use shotguns, especially the Stakeout or SPAS-12, and fire at short ranges.
 * In Black Ops, another easy way to unlock the pro version is to use Dual Wield submachine guns with Scavenger on. The Skorpion, for example, is a good choice since it is unlocked at a low level and has high damage at close range.
 * In Black Ops, getting knife kills with the ballistic knife counts towards the challenge 'get 150 hipfire kills while using steady aim'

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