Hubris
02-12-2014, 03:32 PM
611
As you've probably noticed, there are quite a few guys playing CS:GO right now. Personally I'm really pleased to get back to CS and brush up on those FPS skills. I hope more guys will join and we can make a regular thing out of it someday. I don't think I really need to deliver a sales pitch for CS, it's an amazing game that's stood the test of time. However, I will mention a few new things that have really impressed me in CS:GO. First: the competitive community is really mature (not the players lol) and there is a great league on the go with really good streaming and in game spectator functions. Second: there are a whole range of skins for guns and trading can really help build up your Steam Wallet. Third: the netcode is just so delicious and nothing beats the strategy and tactics.
If you're coming back to CS after a long time or you're a complete noob, I thought it would be useful for everyone to get a quick overview of the main issues you need to be aware of to not get disheartened by the insane learning curve. Your first two weeks are guaranteed to be absolutely horrifying, as every single weakness in your FPS skills is tested and broken over and over and over and over. After a while though, you get the hang of the maps and the guns then things start really getting exciting. I suggest starting out by buying the "Operation Vanguard" pass for ~$6, which will give you access to a nice series of missions that will get you some casual experience and reward you with a few skins. Whatever you do, start playing deathmatch before anything else.
I hope these bullet points and short and sweet enough, there's a lot of stuff to cover. If you're looking for some video tutorials, check out "The War Owl" on YouTube - great channel. Alternatively watch some pro players through the in game match download/view system - fantastic to see big tournament plays available to everyone. If you're interested in more information about game settings, how to practice offline with bots etc. just ask in the channel I'm sure someone will help you.
Movement:
Generally you want to pie every corner completely and make sure you check every nook and cranny, people get very very sneaky in CS.
Running makes little pitter patter noises that can give you away. If you hold SHIFT, you'll walk and move silently to get the jump on people.
Your move speed is determined by the weapon you have out, so if you want to move quickly (especially at the start of a round) pull out your knife.
You are accurate when you come to a stop from moving, stutter stepping and firing only at that exact moment when stopped is a key to getting picks.
If you get shot, your movement will be slowed so if you're desperate to escape pull out your knife for that slim hope of escape.
You should avoid peeking a corner close to the corner, you will be visible sooner than if you peeked further away from the corner.
Avoid slow peeking hot spots, if you're going to go around a corner rather strafe out only as much as you need to check/prefire a position. Lingering will get you killed.
As opposed to BF, moving does not always keep you alive. Sometimes the best idea is to camp. Juking incoming fire is fine, but an ambush goes a long way.
You can "boost" players into special positions or get them somewhere faster by stack jumping on a crouched player.
Running and jumping works strangely in CS, you can strafe jump and wiggle your mouse while jumping to get more distance.
Shooting:
It is all about headshots, if you're not scoring them you're probably dead already. Seriously though, always track your crosshair at head height and go for headshots.
Crosshair placement is so important, don't aim at a wall or the ground... always aim where the enemy would be if they popped out right now, this very second.
Tap firing and micro bursting is what you're after in 80% of scenarios, you will need to learn to spray as accurately as possible, but this is really a last resort.
If you get caught with your pants down and need to spray, aim head first then drag the crosshair down. To knees for moderate recoil, feet and below for the wild stuff.
If you want to spray more accurately, full spray against a wall and then mirror the pattern as best you can to group closely. It's really hard, but possible to study.
Moving while shooting and/or jumping while shooting is really inaccurate with anything other than a pistol or a shotgun. Rather stand, shoot, move, stand, shoot.
You can also crouch to become more accurate and present a smaller target, I recommend you do this in literally all of your firefights over say 10m.
Building up that muscle memory for control is key: crouch, flick to the target, 1-3 round burst and move. Rinse and repeat.
While its good to get a kill, trading is seldom worthwhile. You need to stay alive as long as possible and maximise the team's chances.
Don't go into a firefight if you have low HP, rather opt to cover the rear or carry the bomb. Common sense really, but it makes a big difference.
You probably want to tone down your sensitivity as far as possible... anywhere around 400-600 DPI is ideal. Really, don't even try a high sensitivity.
Guns:
Most guns do not have sights, so you will need to learn to shoot from the hip as it were versus constantly switching to a sight like in Battlefield.
Guns are effectively lasers, there is no bullet travel time and no drop off or kentucky lagage to be done. Just centre the crosshair and blat.
You should master the P2000, Glock, P250 (pistols), UMP-45, MP-7, P-90 (SMGs), Galil, FAMAS, AK-47, M4A1 (Rifles), SSG and AWP (Snipers).
The AK47 reigns supreme. Although it has really crazy recoil, it's first shot is almost absolutely accurate so Counter Terrorists will sometimes drop their gun for it.
The AWP sniper rifle is a one shot from the knees up, all the time. So it's a key part of every team. Be aware of it's price, power and the slow reload time.
The P250 pistol is available to both sides and is the cheapest one shot headshot pistol available for taking out players with body armour and a helmet.
Most SMGs are really bad against armoured targets so don't expect them to be effective in late game. The P-90 has the best armour penetration of all SMGs.
The P90 is a great noob friendly gun, but you should play to it's strengths and try force close combat ambushes where you are most effective.
The Galil and FAMAS are decent cheap assault rifles. They're not really accurate though, so learning to burst and spray with them is a good idea.
Your first round is always a pistol battle. If you win, you can upgrade to SMGs. Then go for a cheap rifle. Then a proper rifle.
If you're the dedicated AWPer it may make sense for you to buy an AWP early in place of armour and grenades versus a round or two with the Scout.
Grenades:
Most good opening strats will involve grenades and grenades are almost always required to retake or hold a bombsite too. BUY GRENADES.
A good general Counter Terrorist loadout is: smoke, frag and flash. A good general Terrorist loadout is flash, flash, frag.
Generally speaking smoke is used to obscure a sniper, provide cover for an advance or just to slow a team down (going through smoke blind is often suicide).
I would argue smoke is really a Counter Terrorist thing (to slow down the Ts), but you may need it to get through certain areas as Terrorist.
Flash's are for breaching or getting the edge in a gunfight. If a player is going into a hot spot, you must always flash them in (or flash yourself in).
Spotting an incoming flash, you can turn your back to it and reduce the effects. So if you throw a flash, try to avoid throws that will be visible for a long time.
Incendiary and Molotov's put fire on the ground to make it costly to move through a certain area. Great for defensive plays. They don't last long though.
Counter Terrorists pay more for incendiary grenades than the Terrorist Molotov - they are almost identical, but the molotov is marginally more powerful.
Frag grenades don't have a very long fuse so don't expect to throw them across the map. Use them to get an enemy behind cover in a gunfight.
Good strategic grenade placement is literally critical to winning, you should absolutely practice throwing set grenades on your favourite maps.
Teamwork (and the Economy):
In defuse mode, the terrorists are the aggressors and the counter terrorists the defenders (until the roles reverse when the bomb is planted) - don't hunt as CT early.
Make sure you have a game plan: spread out and wait for an opportunity, rush a certain lane or play really defensively. Whatever the plan is, stick to it.
Sometimes it's just not worth it to go for the defuse on a bomb or to try and clear out multiple enemies - it may make more sense to just back off and save your gear.
You have to earn money and buy weapons in CS: so be sparing with your money if you intend to make the maximum impact throughout a match.
Your first round is always a pistol round, buy body armour unless you are the dedicated grenade man (in which case you are NOT the first through the door).
Typically you should prioritise grenades and armour over weapons. I know that sounds crazy, but buying the most expensive gun you can is seldom the right plan.
A team might go for an "eco" round to try and save money, buying only pistols/SMGs and if they're lucky some armour and a few grenades.
Eco rounds are all about getting picks on geared players, then using their guns to make the round work. Make it expensive for the enemy and pull back economically.
Your money is the team's money, if you have lots and a friend has none, buy him a gun and throw it to him (G) so everyone is properly geared.
If you see an expensive gun on the ground (e.g. the AWP) pick it up near the end of the round and give it to someone at the start of next to avoid buying.
Having 5 AWPs is not a solid game plan. Having 4 AWPs is not a solid gameplan. Having 3 AWPs is not a solid gameplan. Having 2 AWPs is.
Specialised Roles:
Entry Fragger (1 or 2 on team - saves frags for late game) - slightly higher sensitivity than usual probably with smg or rifle depending on map/player
Support (1 or 2 on team - early frags) - peek killer low sens - rifle
Bomb Carrier / Leader (survivalist/rotator) - generally plays safe middle and makes calls in game (counts kills left)
Lurker/Roamer - rear guard or flanker
Sniper - map control and intel collecting
Maps:
Generally you will only need to learn a handful of maps: Dust II, Inferno, Nuke and Mirage. Obviously the more you know the better, but those are popular ones.
Most maps generally split a left channel, a centre channel and a right channel. Each is unique, some will have sneaky routes, but that's the general idea.
A good general Counter Terrorist defensive strategy is to put three on the closest bombsite to the Terrorists and two on the further one. Then rotate as required.
Being able to rotate when your team is spread out across the map is critical: you need to be able to respond to a rush or provide back up relief to a rush.
As you walk around a map, the area names are provided in game (really good feature) so you can offline and get to know the right call names easily.
Get to know the typical sniper spots, the typical ambush spots and the general places people tend to occupy. You'll probably want to prefire these.
Meeting points on maps are really important, you need to know where typically teams will start engaging each other and how the flow plays out early game.
Placing a good bomb is crucial for a Terrorist win: you can place it in a safe spot or place in spots to maximize chance of shooting a defuser.
More here another time, I'm tired now jooooooo and I'm sure you are too... buy the game already!
As you've probably noticed, there are quite a few guys playing CS:GO right now. Personally I'm really pleased to get back to CS and brush up on those FPS skills. I hope more guys will join and we can make a regular thing out of it someday. I don't think I really need to deliver a sales pitch for CS, it's an amazing game that's stood the test of time. However, I will mention a few new things that have really impressed me in CS:GO. First: the competitive community is really mature (not the players lol) and there is a great league on the go with really good streaming and in game spectator functions. Second: there are a whole range of skins for guns and trading can really help build up your Steam Wallet. Third: the netcode is just so delicious and nothing beats the strategy and tactics.
If you're coming back to CS after a long time or you're a complete noob, I thought it would be useful for everyone to get a quick overview of the main issues you need to be aware of to not get disheartened by the insane learning curve. Your first two weeks are guaranteed to be absolutely horrifying, as every single weakness in your FPS skills is tested and broken over and over and over and over. After a while though, you get the hang of the maps and the guns then things start really getting exciting. I suggest starting out by buying the "Operation Vanguard" pass for ~$6, which will give you access to a nice series of missions that will get you some casual experience and reward you with a few skins. Whatever you do, start playing deathmatch before anything else.
I hope these bullet points and short and sweet enough, there's a lot of stuff to cover. If you're looking for some video tutorials, check out "The War Owl" on YouTube - great channel. Alternatively watch some pro players through the in game match download/view system - fantastic to see big tournament plays available to everyone. If you're interested in more information about game settings, how to practice offline with bots etc. just ask in the channel I'm sure someone will help you.
Movement:
Generally you want to pie every corner completely and make sure you check every nook and cranny, people get very very sneaky in CS.
Running makes little pitter patter noises that can give you away. If you hold SHIFT, you'll walk and move silently to get the jump on people.
Your move speed is determined by the weapon you have out, so if you want to move quickly (especially at the start of a round) pull out your knife.
You are accurate when you come to a stop from moving, stutter stepping and firing only at that exact moment when stopped is a key to getting picks.
If you get shot, your movement will be slowed so if you're desperate to escape pull out your knife for that slim hope of escape.
You should avoid peeking a corner close to the corner, you will be visible sooner than if you peeked further away from the corner.
Avoid slow peeking hot spots, if you're going to go around a corner rather strafe out only as much as you need to check/prefire a position. Lingering will get you killed.
As opposed to BF, moving does not always keep you alive. Sometimes the best idea is to camp. Juking incoming fire is fine, but an ambush goes a long way.
You can "boost" players into special positions or get them somewhere faster by stack jumping on a crouched player.
Running and jumping works strangely in CS, you can strafe jump and wiggle your mouse while jumping to get more distance.
Shooting:
It is all about headshots, if you're not scoring them you're probably dead already. Seriously though, always track your crosshair at head height and go for headshots.
Crosshair placement is so important, don't aim at a wall or the ground... always aim where the enemy would be if they popped out right now, this very second.
Tap firing and micro bursting is what you're after in 80% of scenarios, you will need to learn to spray as accurately as possible, but this is really a last resort.
If you get caught with your pants down and need to spray, aim head first then drag the crosshair down. To knees for moderate recoil, feet and below for the wild stuff.
If you want to spray more accurately, full spray against a wall and then mirror the pattern as best you can to group closely. It's really hard, but possible to study.
Moving while shooting and/or jumping while shooting is really inaccurate with anything other than a pistol or a shotgun. Rather stand, shoot, move, stand, shoot.
You can also crouch to become more accurate and present a smaller target, I recommend you do this in literally all of your firefights over say 10m.
Building up that muscle memory for control is key: crouch, flick to the target, 1-3 round burst and move. Rinse and repeat.
While its good to get a kill, trading is seldom worthwhile. You need to stay alive as long as possible and maximise the team's chances.
Don't go into a firefight if you have low HP, rather opt to cover the rear or carry the bomb. Common sense really, but it makes a big difference.
You probably want to tone down your sensitivity as far as possible... anywhere around 400-600 DPI is ideal. Really, don't even try a high sensitivity.
Guns:
Most guns do not have sights, so you will need to learn to shoot from the hip as it were versus constantly switching to a sight like in Battlefield.
Guns are effectively lasers, there is no bullet travel time and no drop off or kentucky lagage to be done. Just centre the crosshair and blat.
You should master the P2000, Glock, P250 (pistols), UMP-45, MP-7, P-90 (SMGs), Galil, FAMAS, AK-47, M4A1 (Rifles), SSG and AWP (Snipers).
The AK47 reigns supreme. Although it has really crazy recoil, it's first shot is almost absolutely accurate so Counter Terrorists will sometimes drop their gun for it.
The AWP sniper rifle is a one shot from the knees up, all the time. So it's a key part of every team. Be aware of it's price, power and the slow reload time.
The P250 pistol is available to both sides and is the cheapest one shot headshot pistol available for taking out players with body armour and a helmet.
Most SMGs are really bad against armoured targets so don't expect them to be effective in late game. The P-90 has the best armour penetration of all SMGs.
The P90 is a great noob friendly gun, but you should play to it's strengths and try force close combat ambushes where you are most effective.
The Galil and FAMAS are decent cheap assault rifles. They're not really accurate though, so learning to burst and spray with them is a good idea.
Your first round is always a pistol battle. If you win, you can upgrade to SMGs. Then go for a cheap rifle. Then a proper rifle.
If you're the dedicated AWPer it may make sense for you to buy an AWP early in place of armour and grenades versus a round or two with the Scout.
Grenades:
Most good opening strats will involve grenades and grenades are almost always required to retake or hold a bombsite too. BUY GRENADES.
A good general Counter Terrorist loadout is: smoke, frag and flash. A good general Terrorist loadout is flash, flash, frag.
Generally speaking smoke is used to obscure a sniper, provide cover for an advance or just to slow a team down (going through smoke blind is often suicide).
I would argue smoke is really a Counter Terrorist thing (to slow down the Ts), but you may need it to get through certain areas as Terrorist.
Flash's are for breaching or getting the edge in a gunfight. If a player is going into a hot spot, you must always flash them in (or flash yourself in).
Spotting an incoming flash, you can turn your back to it and reduce the effects. So if you throw a flash, try to avoid throws that will be visible for a long time.
Incendiary and Molotov's put fire on the ground to make it costly to move through a certain area. Great for defensive plays. They don't last long though.
Counter Terrorists pay more for incendiary grenades than the Terrorist Molotov - they are almost identical, but the molotov is marginally more powerful.
Frag grenades don't have a very long fuse so don't expect to throw them across the map. Use them to get an enemy behind cover in a gunfight.
Good strategic grenade placement is literally critical to winning, you should absolutely practice throwing set grenades on your favourite maps.
Teamwork (and the Economy):
In defuse mode, the terrorists are the aggressors and the counter terrorists the defenders (until the roles reverse when the bomb is planted) - don't hunt as CT early.
Make sure you have a game plan: spread out and wait for an opportunity, rush a certain lane or play really defensively. Whatever the plan is, stick to it.
Sometimes it's just not worth it to go for the defuse on a bomb or to try and clear out multiple enemies - it may make more sense to just back off and save your gear.
You have to earn money and buy weapons in CS: so be sparing with your money if you intend to make the maximum impact throughout a match.
Your first round is always a pistol round, buy body armour unless you are the dedicated grenade man (in which case you are NOT the first through the door).
Typically you should prioritise grenades and armour over weapons. I know that sounds crazy, but buying the most expensive gun you can is seldom the right plan.
A team might go for an "eco" round to try and save money, buying only pistols/SMGs and if they're lucky some armour and a few grenades.
Eco rounds are all about getting picks on geared players, then using their guns to make the round work. Make it expensive for the enemy and pull back economically.
Your money is the team's money, if you have lots and a friend has none, buy him a gun and throw it to him (G) so everyone is properly geared.
If you see an expensive gun on the ground (e.g. the AWP) pick it up near the end of the round and give it to someone at the start of next to avoid buying.
Having 5 AWPs is not a solid game plan. Having 4 AWPs is not a solid gameplan. Having 3 AWPs is not a solid gameplan. Having 2 AWPs is.
Specialised Roles:
Entry Fragger (1 or 2 on team - saves frags for late game) - slightly higher sensitivity than usual probably with smg or rifle depending on map/player
Support (1 or 2 on team - early frags) - peek killer low sens - rifle
Bomb Carrier / Leader (survivalist/rotator) - generally plays safe middle and makes calls in game (counts kills left)
Lurker/Roamer - rear guard or flanker
Sniper - map control and intel collecting
Maps:
Generally you will only need to learn a handful of maps: Dust II, Inferno, Nuke and Mirage. Obviously the more you know the better, but those are popular ones.
Most maps generally split a left channel, a centre channel and a right channel. Each is unique, some will have sneaky routes, but that's the general idea.
A good general Counter Terrorist defensive strategy is to put three on the closest bombsite to the Terrorists and two on the further one. Then rotate as required.
Being able to rotate when your team is spread out across the map is critical: you need to be able to respond to a rush or provide back up relief to a rush.
As you walk around a map, the area names are provided in game (really good feature) so you can offline and get to know the right call names easily.
Get to know the typical sniper spots, the typical ambush spots and the general places people tend to occupy. You'll probably want to prefire these.
Meeting points on maps are really important, you need to know where typically teams will start engaging each other and how the flow plays out early game.
Placing a good bomb is crucial for a Terrorist win: you can place it in a safe spot or place in spots to maximize chance of shooting a defuser.
More here another time, I'm tired now jooooooo and I'm sure you are too... buy the game already!