  We present a scheme improving the minimum-mode following method for finding
first order saddle points by confining the displacements of atoms to the subset
of those subject to the largest force. By doing so it is ensured that the
displacement remains of a local character within regions where all eigenvalues
of the Hessian matrix are positive. However, as soon as a region is entered
where an eigenvalue turns negative all atoms are released to maintain the
ability of determining concerted moves. Applying the proposed scheme reduces
the required number of force calls for the determination of connected saddle
points by a factor two or more compared to a free search. Furthermore, a wider
distribution of the relevant low barrier saddle points is obtained. Finally,
the dependency on the initial distortion and the applied maximal step size is
reduced making minimum-mode guided searches both more robust and applicable.
