Turning assists into kills? Advice on how to get better

Hi all

I've been playing since season 1 but this is my first ever FPS game.

I wouldn't say I'm an overall bad player. I often score highly on the scoreboard. According to the stats I'm in the top 4% for objectives captured and top 11% for assists.

However, my KD usually hovers around 1:1 and drops below whenever I take breaks.

I have worked a lot on dying less (slowing down, reading map, choosing when to fight vs hide) but struggling to get my kills up.

As my assists are pretty high, i reckon I am bad at converting assists to kills. Anyone else ever have this issue? Any tips?

For some context i usually play assault and run an AR like the NVO or KORD.

I probably spend too long on objectives and i seem to die there a lot.

My first instinct is to consider shot placement and consistency with aim/recoil control. Both of those things could easily contribute to damaging enemies but not quite finishing the job.
Another thing to consider -and I might be assuming here because i really don't know- is that a 1:1 kd isn't always bad on its own. I usually get 3:1 but some matches I am 1:1 and I feel like I did an awful job. Then I look at the board and I have more kills AND deaths than anyone else or most of the other players. To me that is a sign that I was playing aggressively in pretty hair situations.
Kill 5 guys in one life then die 5 times in a row with no kills. It all averages out lol

I am betting it's got to do with your crosshair placement. It's something that is discussed ad nauseum in Valorant and even Fortnite. But since Limb multipliers have been added it is even more crucial to watch where you have your crosshair while moving around the map. Having your crosshair at head/upper chest lever while turning corners, or holding angles gets headshots. Some guns will go down to 2 shot kills if you hit two headshots.

If this is the case then its because you're struggling to output enough DPS to kill someone before they get to cover of some kind, which makes me think its an accuracy issue

"accuracy" here meaning it could a problem with your shot placement, or with your weapon build. As long as you're deliberately trying to aim for the upper torso or head of everybody you shoot at, and your weapon build isn't something totally weird, then its just a matter of gaining experience and doing the whole gunfighting OODA loop faster and faster

make sure you're burst firing when appropriate, you arent strafing side to side when its unnecessary, and consider watching some videos or reading some posts talking about weapon attachments and how they interact with spread and recoil

What game modes do you play?

Battlefield has always been a bit of an oddball as an FPS because it expects you to perform in high-pressure CQB scenarios, but gives you a lot of time in between them, especially in modes like Conquest or Escalation (which IMO are the heart of the game).

One thing I've found that helped a lot is doing a warm-up match in a higher intensity mode. Something like TDM or Domination where the map is smaller and the fights come more often and reliably.

Even a Casual Breakthrough match is just fine for a warmup, the idea is to turn on the parts of your brain that handle those close-quarters duels before going into the modes where they're a "sometimes" food.

A K/D of 1 ain’t bad at all.

You said you’re out there fighting on objectives. You’re a team player. It ain’t about K/D, so keep doing you🍻

If you’re not satisfied by my answer, then I’d suggest switching to Support instead of Assault to have free heals and ammo for yourself on demand. Every time to start taking fire, you should be ducking into cover and throwing a pouch or bag for yourself. It’s a selfish way to play Support, but you’ll definitely up your K/D 😅

Run HP ammo. I generally don't aim specifically for headshots unless I'm sniping, but often a few will hit the head and give that slight damage boost you need. Works especially well with high ROF weapons.

Assists but no kills is usually an aiming thing. You’re hitting some shots but not enough to kill. If you consistently go for headshots, try aiming center mass and vice versa. Also, don’t full auto unless it’s close range and stop moving when you shoot. The bloom can lose you kills even when your aim is on point.

Use better ARs until you're better at killing. Kord is strong but weak in the hands of the inexperienced

You are supposed to fight and die in obj.

About the NVO, it's a good choice but it has a bit lower fire rate so you might wanna control your shots.

Being on objectives is good. You score just for being there.

Work with team mates and especially squad mates. You are less likely to die, or stay dead, if you have live players with you.

Practice on the shooting range. The recent limb damage changes make it more important to get chest and head shots. Try to consistently get the kill on each target in the least amount of shots.

Try to keep your gun aimed at chest/head level when moving. Don't sprint into close combat situations.

Know where enemies are. Not always easy to do, but Recon Spec Ops is good for close combat.

Players need to decide whether they want a high KD or to get points from playing the objective. The way I view it is kills don't matter as much in this game versus others, I'm top 4% in assists but I play the objective, get kills when I can, defend objectives and help the team win the match

I’ve got to start doing this one. I have a bad habit of running with the radical at belt level for visibility

This is great advice and even before multipliers it helped with headshots in general.

Some folks I see trying to hide their laser light by like looking at a wall or facing down and I usually win those battles even if they get the jump because of those split seconds they try to turn and aim and I'm coming around the corner with crosshairs up.

Go to Coolguy's You Tube site and rebuild those two weapons. Sounds like your shots aren't landing.

The white dot you may see on the screen as you move should always be in the center of the screen.

Casual Breakthrough is a good place to practice aiming AND getting warmed up from any type of break. You can also try out different builds for the same weapon if you are undecided in the firing range on how well they feel.

Another key is finding weapons work for you, whether meta or not. You'll do better with weapons that suit you. Have you tried the M433, TR-7 or VCR-2 at objectives?
B36A4 or SOR-556 or EF88 (with synthetic tips)?

Do you have set of headphones designed to hear footsteps?

Do you shoot and move, even at objectives? Do you temporarily leave an objective so you can position to kill incoming enemies you see on mini map or hear footsteps?