I use free-aim, but I really wish i could switch on the fly, specifically for when you're going up against the AI. The aiming just feels really off, and while there's naturally no alternative when playing against players, I'd love the added assistance for trying to deal with an onslaught of AI goons in certain missions. Especially stuff like Survival, which comes across as being incredibly unfair and just needlessly punishing for free-aim players. I don't even think there's any bonus when playing missions in free-aim; there should at the very least be some sort of RP bonus considering how much harder missions can be.

After a short flirt with Aim Assist, due to easier matchmaking - I just can't deal with how cheap gunplay feels, and how lazy I become as a player. So I'm back in Free Aim. No exceptions anymore.

I can't fathom the notion of playing competitive with anything other than free aim. I don't understand how it is the least bit fun to have the game shoot for you in a player vs. player setting. Maybe if they bothered to implement more traditional gamepad aim assist to make it feel more like a console shooter that would be okay, but both lock on and aim assist feel way too much like the game is playing for you.

@yummylee: Not to start a holy war against the people who find aim assist "beneath them" but if free aim doesn't work 100% of the time - and with the AI in this game it most certainly doesn't cut it - then it's not a very good alternative. It worked perfect in Max Payne 3 because of the environments, the bullet time and the number of enemies you were facing. In GTA V single player you can still play with free aim just fine because the missions are designed better, your character seems to have a lot more health and the AI isn't using some sort of Counter Strike aim-bot circa 1999. Online though kinda feels like it was made with aim-assist in mind.

Free-aim, more freedom to how you move when controlling the gun to me and I HATE how auto-aim attempts so hard to constantly centre your cursor out so much.

Again, i dont want to start an argument or anything, but i did a bit of testing in the last few hours and the AI seems ALOT less accurate in Free aim, they dont have the super lasers they do in aim assisted.

I did a bunch of co-op missions solo to shoot against dudes to try it out, and its certainly different feeling. I actually felt more durable in freeaim since i wasn't instantly getting hit by every bullet in a 20 mile radius.

As much auto aim as i can get. On foot shooting is always the least interesting aspect of any GTA to me and the fewer obstacles i can get in my way to entertainment the better. That's also why i almost never bother with any sort of deathmatch modes in multiplayer.

I haven't actually compared since I'm only playing free aim but the ennemies can shoot you from pretty far and kill you in seconds. The secret is to team up with 2 or 3 other dudes (2 is often not enough in the harder missions) so there isn't 5 to 15 guys shooting at you at the same time.

For exemple, doing that plane recovery mission for lester alone or with another dude is super hard since there's like 15 ennemies on the beach and the cover is real bad. Bring in 2 more guys to distract the guards by doing drive bys on the beach and you can stay on a nearby hill with a sniper rifle and pick off most of them without getting shot at yourself.

There is a ton of great tactics like that one and I had a lot of fun because I couldn't rely on the instant kill button offered by the aim assist.