Actions per minute

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Actions Per Minute, commonly abbreviated as APM, is a term used mostly in real time strategy games.

1 Actions per Minute
2 Speed and efficiency in APM
3 Accuracy in APM
4 References

[edit] Actions per Minute

Actions per minute is the number of actions (such as selecting units or issuing an order) completed within a minute of gameplay in a real time strategy game. High APM is often associated with skill, as it can indicate that a player both knows what to do in the game and has the manual dexterity to carry it out. A high APM may also indicate that the player has good "micro" skills. Software has been developed to analyze players' APM in these games.^[1]

[edit] Speed and efficiency in APM

A player's APM value is determined by the number of actions performed in a given time. Some actions (such as repeated selection) are easier to carry out than others, and players may repeatedly perform (or "spam") these actions. This "spamming" may be used as a way to warm up and maintain speed for later phases of the game, or it may be used simply to increase a player's recorded APM in order to improve the perception of their gameplay skills. Because of this, more sophisticated measures of APM may attempt to filter out redundant actions by means such as ignoring re-selection of a group of units which was already selected and ignoring the very beginning of the game (when the typical relative lack of action facilitates spamming), in order to only measure a player's "efficient/effective" APM value.

[edit] Accuracy in APM

Accuracy is another factor determining a player's APM. Accuracy is the coordination of precise mouse clicks and keystrokes. Greater accuracy will result in fewer mis-clicks and mis-strokes; thus the player's efficiency increases resulting in a more accurate valid APM. Players who have greater accuracy can perform other vital tasks during gameplay and can multitask between two or more other actions without losing efficiency.