Author: Nik Ranger

CS:GO movement players still think CS2’s movement needs massive work CS:GOCounter-Strike 2 players’ wishlists keep piling up, as movement players from CS:GO are hoping for a massive improvement to how the game handles. CS2‘s launch has been quite the spectacle, seemingly in all the wrong ways. The transition to Source 2 meant improved graphics and new mechanics, but those additions have been overshadowed by missing features, bugs, and cheaters galore. After acknowledging the rough start, Valve promised a bright future. In the months since launch, player feedback has only grown, with massive lists of improvements and features they’d like to see back. Among the massive list of high-priority issues, players hope to see movement changes in the mix. CS:GO movement players hope movement fixes are coming to CS2 Shared to their Twitter/X account, CS creator MaximsTweets showed a clip of them hopping into CS:GO. In the clip, Maxim shares their opinion on how the movement feels better in the predecessor, citing it “feels more responsive and precise.” Maxim acknowledges that cheating is a major issue, but he feels that matching or improving the movement from CS:GO will enhance the feel of CS2. Safe to say, a lot of CS players agreed with Maxim’s thoughts, with players sharing their thoughts on the situation. “Honestly annoying how clunky CS2 feels. It’s not even really niche movement tech that feels off, like I seem to randomly stick to the ground and walls with alarming frequency in CS2,” one player said. One of the key features marketed in CS2 was the new sub-tick system, to enhance player experience by making the game feel more responsive and seamless than ever. However, some players think this is the root of CS2’s sluggish movement. One player commented: “It’s insane to think about – if Valve removed sub tick from CS2 and reverted back, most of its issues would be fixed.” In hindsight, CS:GO received a decade of support that evolved it into the powerhouse FPS it is today. CS2 presents a major challenge for Valve, but the veteran studio is no stranger to overcoming hurdles.

CSGO legends weigh in on Counter-Strike 2 after its first major tournament Helena Kristiansson/ESLAt IEM Sydney, the world got its first taste of Counter-Strike 2 played at the top level. Players told us that it’s a good game that still needs a lot of work, but a new meta is breathing life into the game. In the world of esports, most scenes are at the whims of its publisher when it comes to developing new metas and strategies, and at times, even a shift into a completely new game. Scenes like the Call of Duty League are used to this with Activision’s yearly release cycle. But Valve’s premier FPS esports title, Counter-Strike, is not that. CSGO has a reputation for staying largely the same, which was why so many pros were able to transition from CS 1.6 and Source to CSGO so seamlessly in its early days. And it’s also why so many pros have stayed in the scene for so long because the early days of CSGO back in 2012 are largely still the same game until its eventual replacement in Counter-Strike 2. When Counter-Strike 2 was eventually fully released on September 27, 2023, in the middle of its esports season, it meant the upcoming Premier tournament, IEM Sydney, would be host to the game’s very first major tournament. So we talked to many of CSGO’s legendary and upcoming players at IEM Sydney to get a look at what pros really think of CS2 at its first major LAN event. Counter-Strike 2 is a good game that’s still a work in progress IEM Sydney was right in the middle of CS2’s first month of release and swirling right before and in the middle of the event was the amount of bugs which the game has been inundated with. However, the tournament wasn’t as bug-filled as many people thought it was, with practically no egregious problems showing. Many players told us that initially, they were skeptical of CS2, but once they experienced it on LAN, without much of the game’s online subtick issues, they were sold on the game. As MOUZ’s Ádám “torzsi” Torzsás said, “In the beginning, I was really anti about [Counter-Strike 2], I didn’t really like it. But to be honest, I have to say that on LAN it feels better.” But as he admits, CS2 is still not up to par with its predecessor. He emphasizes that it feels better on LAN rather than playing online with zero ping, however, he still takes issue with CS2’s various problems; from peekers advantage, the lack of 128 tick servers, the small difference in spray patterns, movements, and the switch to MR12. Complexity’s Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski was more critical of the game’s problems, despite actually enjoying the game on LAN. “I’m not happy with how the state of the game is right now, but I’m not a doomer,” he said of CS2’s state of bugs and problems. “It’s still the same game we love, but it’s not as optimal as how we’d have liked the release to go, but it’s not like it’s not going to get fixed.” EliGE continues to explain, “A lot of pros, myself included, we just see what we could have. We want the game to be as good as it can be, this is our lives. We want it to be good for everybody because if it’s bad, that’s obviously our lives and our jobs.” Counter-Strike 2 new meta breathes a fresh new life into the game Metas in Counter-Strike rarely shift. Back in CSGO, only rifles (exclusively the AK-47, M4s, AWP, Galil, and FAMAS), pistols, and the odd SMG were used at the highest level of play. And for half a year in 2019, we briefly saw the “Krieg” meta come for a while. But very rarely do you see any other weapon used. However, IEM Sydney showed off that in CS2, a new game meant a fresh new meta, and that meant pros using a wide variety of guns in the tournament. Pros were using rarely seen guns such as the Nova, XM1014, MAG-7, P-90, and MP5 at a surprising rate. Even when they weren’t using SMGs or Shotguns on ecos and half-buys, there were still variations in the rifles used, with some preferring the AUG and SG 553 in comparison to the M4s and AK-47s on full buys. And this, in our talks with the pros at IEM Sydney, was nothing if not a breath of fresh air to Counter-Strike’s normally stale gun choices. When asked about the uptick in off-meta guns being used, BetBoom’s Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov revealed, “We try to use it as much as we can, for example, zorte is our primary P-90 player right now, so we don’t an AWPer, but we have a P-90 player.” Nafany continues to explain his excitement at the increase in the diversity of guns being used, “It’s way better than it was in CSGO, because everyone’s using different SMGs, different Shotguns, different rifles. I hope Valve buffs the Scar-20, and everyone will start using it as well.” And even moving away from the guns, the new changes in the smokes, in which you can briefly dissipate one with a grenade, have also added a new twist to CS. As FaZe Clan’s Finn “karrigan” Andersen, fresh off winning IEM Sydney and the only player to win trophies in CS 1.6, CSGO, and CS2, said of IGL-ing in the new meta, “I think it’s a lot more different, there’s a lot of variance and different ways the game can change so fast.” He explains, “Everytime you smoked, you think you’re protected, but now the CTs can break you while you’re walking out. Especially as a IGL, a lot of things is going down, and keeping track of grenades is hard.” Karrigan also commented on how the new meta has affected the speed of rounds, saying, “I think the reason why the game is so fast, is first of all the sound in front of the arena, but at the same time people just don’t feel comfortable holding angles.” So right now it’s a trading game, it’s not like a one for one trades, but trades happening all around the map.” karrigan also pointed out that the economy has now shifted. “You have to really think about the economy. We try to balance it, we have some force buys, but that’s just the way [FaZe] plays the game.” However, he says as we move away from IEM Sydney, the meta will change as teams figure out the game for themselves. “But I think it’s going to change over time, let’s just see how Virtus Pro is playing the game.”

CSGO breaks all-time player record in leadup to Counter-Strike 2 ValveCSGO has smashed its all-time peak player base after the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 sent the community into a frenzy. CSGO reached a new high with almost 1.5 million concurrent players according to Steam’s playrate statistics, as players returned for to the shooter after Valve’s surprise announcement earlier this week. The all-time peak capped out at 1,492,456 players, which is up almost 200,000 from last month’s figures. The sequel, which is due to be released sometime in the summer this year, will be a free-to-play overhaul of CSGO, updating maps, gunplay and bringing new ways to play around smokes. A limited beta test for Counter-Strike 2 is currently in operation, with more players being added over time as Valve leads up to release day. Several pro players and streamers have already weighed in on the announced changes, with most of the comments being positive. Swedish veteran Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg playtested the game earlier this year, and said: “my poker face game was too strong. This will be beautiful.” Another pro player, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, tweeted out: “So excited for the future of CS with CS2.” These reactions clearly reflected many people’s thoughts on the announcement, shown by how many players have returned to the game. For more information on Counter-Strike 2, and how you can play the beta, check out our guide here. How to play Counter-Strike 2 limited beta test | Is Counter-Strike 2 going to be free to play? | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Valve officially reveals Counter-Strike 2 | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2

CS2’s glitchy hitboxes spark community uproar as IEM Sydney looms ValveCounter-Strike 2 players have discovered that the in-game character models aren’t always reflective of their actual hitboxes, leading to an uproar from the community demanding fixes before IEM Sydney kicks off. Counter-Strike 2 had a great deal of hype behind it leading up to its release, especially considering CS:GO has one of the most decorated and impactful life cycles out of any game in esports history. CS2 had big shoes to fill, and it looked like the game was up to the task before release. However, the game’s final version has been less than stellar in some areas, particularly regarding hit detection. Players complained about being hit around corners and their shots not landing, thinking it may have been an issue of laggy servers or side effects of the sub-tick’s implementation. While those issues may still be part of the problem, players have discovered that hitboxes are not as they appear, leading many to miss shots they should be hitting. CS2 players demand fixes to misleading hitboxes Counter-Strike 2 replacing CS:GO on Steam has caused a great deal of discourse within the community. Between CS2 keeping hundreds of thousands of positive reviews from CS:GO to the original game now being inaccessible, the launch has caused its fair share of controversy. And, while some love CS2, many players and pros have been outspoken in their concerns about how well the game lives up to CS:GO’s legacy. However, many of these concerns are more a matter of opinion than anything else. Opinions matter, sure, but the most recent hitbox discoveries paint a picture of a game inferior to CS:GO in a major way. Twitter user Jolesku pointed out how the hitboxes aren’t aligned with the character model in-game, particularly when crouching and looking down. Many players have complained of missing players who are planting or defusing bombs, which may be a large part of the reason why. These are particularly egregious examples, but this has been a widespread enough issue that players have started to notice how inaccurate CS2’s hitboxes can be. The cries for CS:GO to return are louder than ever as fans of competitive Counter Strike are desperate to maintain competitive integrity in their own games and the upcoming pro matches at IEM Sydney.

New Counter-Strike 2 update revamps matchmaking with longer queues for fairer matches ValveAnother Counter-Strike 2 update has landed, and this time, it’s bringing significant changes to the way that matchmaking and CS rating works. Fresh off the footsteps of the most recent patch that fixed the game’s severe hitbox misalignment issue as well as a collection of other glitches and animation inconsistencies, this October 10 update is wholly focused on enhancing the overall matchmaking experience for players. The recent changes come as a response to the community’s feedback, especially after the game’s hitbox issue threatened to derail both its professional debut and casual ranked play. Valve acted swiftly, releasing a patch on October 9 that addressed this critical hitbox problem, which had been identified just the previous weekend. However, now, with those most important gameplay issues sorted, Valve is turning its attention to improving the overall matchmaking experience. The matchmaking fix is the highlight of the October 10 update. Valve has decided to prioritize fairer matchups over shorter queue times. This means players might have to wait a bit longer, but the matches they get into will have smaller rating differences between teams. This is a significant shift from the previous system, which often prioritized speed over balance. In addition to the matchmaking adjustments, the update also brings changes to Premier mode. Relegation and Promotion matches will now only occur at color boundaries, i.e., every 5000 CS Rating points. Furthermore, the possible CS Rating win/loss amounts have been increased, allowing players to move faster post-calibration. Counter-Strike 2 October 10 update release notes Matchmaking Matches will now be made with smaller rating differences between the teams at the expense of longer queue times. – Premier Relegation and Promotion matches will only occur at color boundaries, i.e. every 5000 CS Rating points. – Increased possible CS Rating win/loss amounts to move players faster after calibration. –

CS2 team owner claims TSM tried to “steal” RMR slot by poaching players Riot GamesThe founder of Into The Breach esports has accused TSM of trying to “steal” his team’s RMR slot by poaching two of his CS2 players. TSM recently jumped back into Counter-Strike after six years away from the esport. The organization announced the signing of a European squad on August 26 and has since competed in a smattering of tournaments leading up to 2024. The organization’s return was a long time coming as TSM indicated that it was interested in coming back to Counter-Strike esports in 2022. TSM reportedly dealt with issues with the team before publicly announcing its return to CS2. The players and coach reportedly butted heads with the organization as head coach Rémy ‘XTQZZZ’ Quoniam allegedly threatened to leave the team at one point. Those issues seemed to be smoothed over as of now and has XTQZZZ left the project to return to Team Vitality in October. It seems there was even more behind-the-scenes drama as an org owner has accused TSM of trying to poach his players and “steal” their RMR spot. TSM accused of trying to poach CS2 players Sam Macedonio, the founder and CEO of ITB esports, claimed on social media that TSM tried to poach two of his CS2 players to take their RMR slot for Major tournaments. “FYI TSM tried (and failed) to poach both Karol ‘rallen’ Rodowicz and Joey ‘CRUC1AL’ Steusel to steal our RMR slot. After a string of mediocre results from their overpaid staff and players, what’s TSM’s solution? Take a few steps back, focus on sustainability, rebuilding their fan base and infrastructure, creating a tournament-winning team worthy of their heritage? Nope,” Macedonio said. The accusation has a quote post of ITB announcing that the two players re-signed with the organization. TSM signed Kévin ‘misutaaa’ Rabier from ITB and, if they also signed rallen and CRUC1AL, then they would inherit ITB’s RMR points. Regional Major Ranking is a way for Valve to keep track of teams’ ranking over the season for invitations to Major qualification tournaments. TSM has not responded to the allegation at the time of writing.

CS2 Shanghai Major makes controversial change to be more like Valorant PGL EsportsThe tournament organizer running the second Counter-Strike 2 Major of 2024 has announced it will not run an open qualifier for three major regions for the first time in the esport’s history, moving it closer to how Valorant runs. Perfect World, the company behind the game’s Shanghai Major, revealed the tournament’s qualifying and main event stages schedule. However, many fans and players first noticed an absence of open qualifiers for North America, Europe, and South America. The three major regions will instead send teams to the closed qualifying stage based on their Valve regional standings. This is all thanks to recent changes in the Valve rules that say teams will be chosen for Majors based on the rankings as a way to stop cheaters from entering the competition through the open bracket. The rules stipulate that open qualifiers will only be held if there are not enough highly ranked teams from a region to fill out a full closed qualifiers slate. Leading up to this tournament, there are enough teams from EU, NA, and SA to warrant not hosting an open bracket from those regions. This change and its implementation for the Shanghai Major move the Counter-Strike 2 esports circuit closer to how Riot Games operates the Valorant Champions Tour. There are still important distinctions between the two circuits, like how top Valorant teams compete in centralized leagues and qualify for major competitions through playoff brackets, not rankings. Valve also did not handpick the teams it wanted to compete in its circuit. Riot hand-picked which teams would be allowed into its VCT International Leagues, and they rarely let in rosters from the tier 2 ecosystem. However, with this change, CS2 esports has become a more closed circuit, shutting out smaller organizations and teams from even having a shot at Majors. Because of this, the Valve esport is closer to resembling the Riot FPS competitive circuit than it was before, concerning long-time CS fans. “Removing open qualifiers where everyone with a dream could make it to the major is insane, it’s what set CS apart from games like VALORANT,” Hac1, a popular CS account said on social media. Fans and players are not happy with how closed the circuit has become, with many prominent community members calling for a change and fans starting up a Change.org petition to not “allow Counter-Strike to become a closed circuit game.”

CS2 ratings explained: Premier ranks & CS rating in Counter-Strike 2 ValveCS2’s ranking system has been overhauled from CS:GO, now using a new rating in Premier mode to determine skill levels. Here’s everything you need to know about the rating system in CS2, and how it compares to CS:GO ranks. CS:GO featured ranks for matchmaking ranging from Silver to Global Elite. However, it was never clear how close you were to ranking up or down. While ranks are still included in CS2, they’re not used in Premier Mode, and in regular competitive mode, they’re now per map, which means you will have a different rank on each map. In Premier Mode, it’s all about rating. The ‘CS Rating’ number is now the main rank in the sequel: it’s a visible Elo number that changes based on a player’s wins and losses. So, here’s everything you need to know about ratings in Counter-Strike 2. CS Rating explained in CS2 First, you will need to win 10 games to receive your placement rating. Ratings begin at 1,000, and go all the way to over 40,000, based on the highest-ranked player currently. Each 5000 elo is represented by a different color, and we’ve added rough CS:GO rank estimates too. In this way, you can think of the color of your rating as your ‘rank’. This system is likely modeled on FACEIT, the third-party service used by many CS:GO players, which features a number rating system and levels similar to the new CS rating. You can see that once you reach 15,000 elo or higher, you are in the upper echelon of players. Based on data from Leetify, as of November 30, 2023, less than 5% of players are above this number. Only 0.2% of players are above 20,000. You can also think of these ranks compared to the existing matchmaking ranks. For example, the yellow category is like Global Elite, and the grey category is like Silver. However, the percentage of players in each rank is skewed a lot lower in CS2, so far. You may recognize this color system as it is also used on skin rarities, with Red ‘Covert’ skins better than Blue ‘Mil-Spec’ skins. How to improve CS Rating in Counter-Strike 2 To get a higher rating, and rank up in CS2’s Premier Mode, you need to win games. Once you have a rating, your performances, like kills, deaths, etc. are not important. You will see at the start of a match exactly how many rating points you will earn or lose, depending on the outcome. However, these are not always the same. It appears that going on a loss streak will compound the elo loss. So you may start off losing 100 or so points for a loss, but after your third or fourth loss in a row, you may drop over 500 points for a single loss. On the other hand, if you find yourself on a win streak, your winning bonus will become larger. All of this is designed to get you to the most appropriate rank for your skill level faster. It’s also likely that the overall rating of your opponents, and possibly your teammates, will impact how much elo you gain or lose. However, this hasn’t been confirmed by Valve, who have kept the math behind the elo system fairly concealed. In an October 10 update, Valve made some significant changes to the rating system: Relegation and Promotion matches will only occur at color boundaries, i.e. every 5,000 CS Rating points. – Increased possible CS Rating win/loss amounts to move players faster after calibration. – When you reach a round figure at every 5,000 points, you will have a promotion/relegation match. Say you reach 15,000: If you lose this game, you will fall back into the 14,000s, and if you win, you will move up/remain in the 15,000s. It’s unclear if the amount of elo you will gain or lose is impacted by the elo of the enemies or your teammates. CS2 Rating Reset Your rating is not permanent, and will sometimes be reset. Ratings will be reset for two reasons. The first reason is if you don’t play for a while. It’s not clear exactly how much time needs to pass, but if you don’t play any competitve matches for a couple weeks or so, you will notice that your rating will return to blank. To get your rating back, you’ll need to win one match of Premier. Ratings will also be reset at the start of a new season. We’re still in the first season currently, and it’s not known exactly when the next season will begin, but Valve may tie it into the CS2 Majors. The first CS2 Major, in Copenhagen, will conclude in March 2023. How Premier mode matches work Pick & Ban maps Premier mode in CS2 is different from regular competitive matches. First, you cannot choose the map or maps you want to play. Instead, a pick/ban phase is used. The first team must ban two maps, then the other team gets to ban three maps. From the two maps left, the first team chooses which to play. This means you must be prepared to play maps you are less familiar with (we’re looking at you, Mirage 24/7 players). In regular Competitive, you can still choose which maps you want to play, so you can practice getting better at the maps there, if you want to be prepared for Premier. MR12 and Overtime MR12 simply stands for Max Rounds 12. This is the max rounds that can be played in a half. So, the first half might finish with scores such as 8-4, 9-3, or 12-0. After switching sides, the first team to reach 13 rounds will win. If both teams reach 12 rounds, then Overtime will commence. In Overtime, the first team to reach 16 rounds will win, with three round halves. If the match goes 15-15, it ends as a draw. Matches can be surrendered if one player leaves your team, and it now requires a majority of players to vote for the surrender for it to pass. Counter-Strike 2 leaderboards To see how you stack up against your friends and players around the world, Counter-Strike 2 has leaderboards. Leaderboards show rating, wins, and win percentage, as well as what % of players you rank among. You can filter by friends, the world’s top 1000, or specific regions: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, North America, South America. Your leaderboard region is simply determined by where you play most of your matches. If you are among the very top ranks in your region, you will also be required to select a name for the leaderboard, and submit it for approval. Also, once created, your name cannot be changed for the ongoing season – so pick wisely! Season One is currently underway, and it is not yet known how long exactly it will last. Note that you must have Prime Status to be eligible for the leaderboards. Check out more CS2 guides, including the best settings and more: Best CS2 settings | CS2 Commands you need to know | How to jump throw in CS2 | Can you play left hand in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck?

CS2 pros furious as Valve bans jump throw binds: “Are you kidding?” ValveHaving binds for jump-throwing grenades has been a point of contention in Counter-Strike 2 and Valve has angered the professional community by putting its foot down and removing scripts for throwing utility. On August 19, Valve announced in a blog post for a small set of patch notes that it is removing “in-game binds that include more than one movement and/or attack actions,” which effectively kills consistent grenade jump throws in CS2. The developer reasons that jump-throwing utility is already reliable without creating binds and that “developing one’s coordination and reaction time has always been key to mastering Counter-Strike.” Players using the binds will now be kicked from their match, as Valve views them as effectively cheating. Pros, who have been using jump-throw binds since the game released to craft accurate and consistent smoke lineups, were furious at the decision from the developer. “You can’t remove that from the game,” Team Vitality’s Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire said on social media. “It creates so many opportunities.” Team Liquid’s Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken showcased how the change will impact pro matches by throwing some common pro lineups that require the consistency that a jump-throw bind brings to the table. Complexity’s Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski called out Valve for having the mechanic in the first place, saying it’s been a foundational aspect of the game even in the beta. “Removing a QOL that you even had in the game when CS2 was in beta is so lame. You guys said it yourself, you added the functionality in the game intentionally. Add a bind,” EliGE said. CS2 caster Alex ‘Mauisnake’ Ellenberg had a different opinion on the patch, saying removing binds needed to happen as it “leaves the door open to allow more disruptive ones for the future.” He also pointed out that Valve made jump-throwing without binds easier in this installment of Counter-Strike. “With jump-throws reliably built into the game, I’ve messed up For pros, however, that 5% margin of error could be the difference between winning a tournament and going home early. CS2 fans and pros alike will see how this change impacts the highest level of the game as the competitive calendar continues to roll along with a BLAST Premier Showdown and the Perfect World Shanghai Major open and closed qualifiers starting on August 21.

CS2 pro team loses match after SnapTap rule forces them to forfeit a map Michal Konkol/BLASTHEROIC’s CS2 team had a map victory overturned in an ESL Pro League Season 20 match against NIP after the SnapTap feature was detected on one of their player’s keyboards. SnapTap is an input automation mode in certain newer keyboards that allows players to counter-strafe much more easily. Valve banned SnapTap along with other automation macros in CS2 and its competitive circuit just last month. Counter-Strike tournament organizers quickly followed suit, with ESL banning the hardware assistant mode on August 29. However, due to how ubiquitous tools like this were among players, there are many who are still transitioning away from using it and changing their settings to disable it. ESL announced during the tournament’s live broadcast as the series was being played and on social media that the result would be changed from a map win for HEROIC to a win for NIP after SnapTap was detected. NIP went on to win the match 2-1. After the match, it was revealed that the player who was using SnapTap was René ‘TeSeS’ Madsen. The player said on social media that he turned off the feature on his keyboard back when Valve announced it was illegal. “F***ing embarrassing and amateur from me… I turned it off ages ago when it was banned from Valve. I didn’t notice it during the game or anything and obviously didn’t do it on purpose. I let the boys down and I’m devastated about it,” TeSeS said. TeSeS’s teammate, Guy ‘NertZ’ Iluz, explained on X that the feature switches on when players change PCs, which led to its use during the match and map forfeit. This is the first instance of a team being punished for using SnapTap. CS2 players using keyboards with hardware assistance will now have to be extra careful when getting their gear set up for LAN events or risk a potential series-losing punishment.

CS2 pro permanently banned for stealing parts of Stewie2K & NiKo’s computers João Ferreira/DexertoAdam ‘nbgee12’ Zanzoul, a North American CS2 semi-pro, has been permanently banned from FACEIT for stealing SSDs with Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, and Guy ‘NertZ’ Iluz information at IEM Dallas. G2 Esports won IEM Dallas on June 2, thanks to the help of stand-in Stewie2K. In between NiKo and the team’s matches, nbgee12 snuck into the backstage of IEM Dallas in the dead of night and stole hard drives with their information. The tournament admins use SSDs to keep players’ in-game settings and other information on hand to plug into on-stage setups and protect the integrity of the competition. Dust.us has reported that the player has received a permanent ban for the incident as the 19-year-old has a track record of bans for behavior in and out of the server. He was initially banned for five years after the IEM Dallas incident, but it has since been made permanent. He also called into a stream with North American CS2 pro and streamer Collin ‘CoJoMo’ Moren to discuss the incident in detail. He admitted to sneaking into a restricted area of the Texas event to steal the aforementioned player’s drives. The now-banned player said he went to the tournament’s location at 4 AM and streamed the caper to an audience on Discord. nbgee12 further claimed he was found out by ESL thanks to security footage, banned from the event, and held by local police. “When [the police] realized I was just a re**** doing re****ed things they didn’t charge me or anything… It was f****** Discord trolling you know what I mean. It wasn’t actually intentionally going over there to f*** with people,” he said on the stream. The player told Dust2.us that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the incident. “Words cannot adequately express how humiliating and dejecting this has been. I am genuinely disgusted by my behavior and am committed to learning from this experience,” he told the publication. Nbgee12 has been around the local NA Counter-Strike scene since 2021 and was last seen as a stand-in for Elevate at the American RMR for the PGL Copenhagen Major. But after this incident, the player will probably not get another chance at Counter-Strike glory anytime soon.

CS2 pro dev1ce punches his screen at IEM Chengdu after game crash dev1ce, one of the most prolific Counter-Strike pros of all time, punched his monitor after an infuriating game crash in a crucial match to keep their run alive in CS2 tournament IEM Chengdu 2024. dev1ce is a pro who has defined Astralis’ Counter-Strike glory days as one of the greatest Awpers of all time, and he was close to bringing the team to the IEM Chengdu Grand Finals when disaster struck. After missing a crucial shot, he turned around to reposition when his game crashed, resulting in his death. HLTV’s Luis Mira confirmed with ESL officials that this was a game crash. While other esports titles like League of Legends have rules around pausing and correcting the game when it comes to tech issues or bugs, Counter-Strike 2 doesn’t allow players to pause mid-round unless something catastrophic happens to the whole lobby. Considering how often CS2 crashes on stage, this has become a real problem. And dev1ce wasn’t having it. It’s not like Counter-Strike 2 is crashing for pros in every single match they play, but it’s enough of a consistent issue to be noteworthy. Hell, this wasn’t even the first time CS2 crashed mid-game at IEM Chengdu, nor was it the only critical bug seen in that match. Another known bug that causes players to spin affected FaZe’s broky earlier in that match, with the bewilderment clear on his face in the replay. However, fortunately for FaZe, the bug only came into play once the round was over. Ultimately, Astralis wound up losing this final map after dev1ce’s game crash. The CS2 pro commented on this event after the fact, saying that he was happy with the team’s showing at IEM Changdu. “Couldn’t keep my cool after the game crash in that round but overall pretty good showing here in Chengdu. GGWP” It’s become abundantly clear that Counter-Strike 2’s technical state is having a tangible, negative impact on pro play.

CS2 pro cadiaN admits cheating as a kid helped him get good at the game cadiaN/ Team LiquidCS2 pro Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller admitted on a live stream that he installed cheats as a kid for Counter-Strike and it helped him understand and get good at the game. Team Liquid IGL cadiaN is considered a top IGL as the veteran has led multiple squads to top placements at some of the biggest events in Counter-Strike esports. The Danish AWP player often calls plays on the side and executes in-game plans, usually with the help of some of the top shooters in the game. Like many good IGLs, cadiaN can predict what the enemy team will do based on information like utility use and gunfight locations almost like he can see them through walls. On a live stream with CS2 streamer Mark ‘ohnePixel,’ cadiaN revealed that during his formative years as a child playing Counter-Strike he actually could see through walls. The CS2 pro admitted that he used cheats early on and it helped him understand the game. cadiaN reveals he once used cheats in Counter-Strike Top competitors using cheats before they try to become professional players is not that rare. Famously, Elias ‘Jamppi’ Olkkonen, an up-and-coming pro at the time, was banned from Valve events for using an account with cheats on it. The player would later say that multiple people played on that account and has since been unbanned from tournaments. CadiaN revealed that he installed them onto his computer as a kid, and also told those in the stream to not use cheats. “These cheats are kind of what made me good at the game. I’m not even capping, because I was kind of clueless… and when I installed these cheats I kind of understood all the timings of when could I meet with the opponent, how long could I run with the knife, if I get this kill what reaction is the opponent going to do because I was full on wall hacking,” cadiaN said. The Team Liquid player also specified that this was before he started attending LANs and long before his professional career took off. CadiaN has been playing Counter-Strike professionally for over a decade. While the player has had some incredible highlights from his long career, he’s never been accused of using cheats before.

CS2 players starting to worry as Valve remains silent and updates slow down ValveCounter-Strike 2 is now over 100 days old, and Valve has officially ended support for its predecessor, CS:GO. But, as 2024 settles in and the first CS2 Major approaches, there is growing concern about the state of the game. CS2 was one of the most anticipated releases of 2023, as CS:GO has long been Steam’s most popular game, a fresh version of the iconic FPS seemed like the exact thing everyone was waiting for. But, months after the release, that feeling has certainly soured. Constant complaints about cheaters, lack of new content, missing modes from CS:GO, and subjective feelings around lack of polish, have led to a mostly negative reception to CS2. And, as the weeks and months go on without anything concrete from Valve to address these concerns, the player base is now becoming increasingly concerned. Counter-Strike 2 players running out of patience Valve’s generally low-key approach to marketing and updates is nothing new, but with the splash many expected CS2 to make, there is no doubt it hasn’t lived up to the hype – yet. Hope continues to exist, but as each week passes with no or only minor updates to the game, the wait for the elusive ‘big update’ everyone expects becomes more strenuous. On January 15, the top post on the main Counter-Strike subreddit is entitled, “Valve give us an update.” “I can’t comprehend the fact that it’s 2024 mid-January and we still haven’t received a meaningful update that would make me still invested in this game,” the player said. “No new case, no new map, not a [single] piece of new content.” They continued, “Looks like the game is going downhill. And stop comparing it to CSGO release, it’s not the same – CSGO was fresh, CS2 at this point just looks like a reskin and should have been more polished and filled with content.” Many other players were quick to agree. “I think the most frustrating thing for me is that Valve went back to zero communication,” one said. “Why can’t they release a roadmap or anything else that at least shows where this game is going? I know about Valve time etc and game-breaking bugs that can’t be predicted but still a rough idea what updates are planned would be nice.” However, some did give Valve the benefit of the doubt, suggesting that they may be putting off any big updates due to the professional tournament schedule, with IEM Katowice beginning at the start of February. But, others pointed out that this should be even more impetus for faster updates, particularly to fix the outstanding bugs and glitches that still crop up. For now, CS2’s player count remains steady, and it’s still by far Steam’s top game, but it’s still far lower than it was before the switch from CS:GO. If and when future updates can spark a recovery remains to be seen.

CS2 players mock open letter calling for default female skins ValveThe Counter-Strike 2 community has targeted an open letter to Valve asking for female representation in the game. The Astralis women’s Counter-Strike 2 team has released an open letter to Valve calling for the introduction of female default agents in the game. CS2 currently only has one model for those who don’t have cosmetics, which is a man in a balaclava. Multiple multiplayer titles in the modern age have customizable characters where players can select between gender and race, or random default skins that swap between different genders and races. Counter-Strike 2, which is an updated version of the Counter-Strike franchise that has run for decades, does not have that level of customization. The letter said that the players do not feel represented in the game, and it would benefit Valve to add female default agents. “We believe women would start playing the game if there were default free female agents, and at least those of us playing now would feel more welcome,” the letter said. CS2 players mock open letter to Valve The community around the game and esport have not taken to the open letter kindly, mocking the players for asking Valve to do such a thing. “Optimizing the game and fixing the cheating problem is how you bring in more players, I have never heard anyone say “I don’t play CS because there’s no default female agents,” one CS2 content creator said. Others joked that the letter “assumed” the default skin’s gender, and also pointed them toward the cosmetic store tab. “So if you actually go to Steam and then click market you can purchase female agents from there,” one long-time player said. So if you actually go to steam and then click market you can purchase female agents from there — miteww | BUYING SKINS (@mitewwCS) February 28, 2024 Some in the community have come to defend the letter, with one of the community’s most prominent insiders, neL, weighing in. “Yes, I think Valve have more important things to do in CS. But women agents don’t change the game, I don’t understand why people are mad at girls wanting some representation. Half of Valorant agents are women and everything is fine. It won’t change our lives, grow up,” neL said. Whether Valve will take action has yet to be seen. The company competes with games like Valorant, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, which all have a wide range of diverse casts for players to choose from in-game. However, Valve has historically turned a blind eye to player suggestions and has a unique management structure for these kinds of decisions.

CS2 players feel ignored by Valve as Deadlock becomes the cool new kid ValveCS2 players believe that Valve is putting more of their focus on Deadlock and will start ignoring their game, just like they have with Team Fortress 2. Valve has, over the years, developed some of the internet’s favorite games. Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Dota, and Team Fortress, to name just a few, have serious fanbases that are still massively dedicated to playing them. Dota has long been seen as Valve’s favorite – especially because it’s the game of choice for Gabe Newell – leaving some of the others to suffer from a lack of attention. That is especially true with Counter-Strike, as many CS players have continually complained about a lack of love from Valve. The much-loved Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been replaced by CS2. And, while it is an upgrade on the older game, it still has issues. Now, with Valve switching plenty of focus to Deadlock – their brand-new third-person MOBA shooter – CS fans are worried. That was epitomized by a viral post depicting Counter-Strike as Woody from Toy Story when he’s no longer the toy of choice for Andy. In the clip, CS is tossed into the same place as Team Fortress 2 – which has very much been long ignored by Valve. “The TF2 Community welcomes you CS2 Community!” one TF2 fan joked. “As someone who played CS(GO), TF2, and Deadlock, the meme hits kinda hard,” another said. “Welcome to the state of 2015 TF2. No more updates/operations, aside from a minor few fixes and changes,” another fan chimed in. Despite the complaints, CS hasn’t been totally ignored since Deadlock first arrived in it’s beta stage. The fan-favorite shooter has been hit with a few updates, including the divisive change to jump binds for throws. And that’s a lot more than even TF2 has gotten in the last few years.

CS2 players discover NVIDIA exploit to see through smokes and flashes ValveCounter-Strike 2 players have uncovered a new exploit with the NVIDIA GeForce driver settings, allowing them to see through smokes and flashes. Counter-Strike 2 has seen more than a few bugs since its launch in September 2023, wall hacks, movement bugs, and infinite nades, just to name a few. Yet another exploit has emerged in Counter-Strike 2, this time with players uncovering a glitch with NVIDIA driver settings which enables them to see through active smokes in-game. The exploit can be achieved by using the Ge Force experience filters while playing in-game, applying certain experience filters allows the silhouettes of other players to be seen through smokes and flashes. Although character models hidden behind smokes aren’t fully rendered, even a shadow is enough of a visual cue to tell players where they should target to take down an opponent. It’s not the first time that drivers have posed a problem for CS2. Last month AMD’s Anti-Lag+ feature had to be removed after it unintentionally triggered Valve’s Anti-Cheat system, resulting in a wave of baseless VAC bans. The NVIDIA exploit was also discussed in a thread on Reddit, where community members highlighted the dangers in allowing third-party software to access the game’s renderer. “This is not on NVIDIA, but on Valve,” one user said, while another chimed in with “most secure & well-designed Valve game.” There’s no word on a fix for this latest NVIDIA exploit yet, but Valve is typically swift at addressing these issues. Until one arrives, players might not want to rely on cover from flashes or smokes in the game.

CS2 players convinced Valve is trolling with new barebones update ValveCounter-Strike 2 players are convinced Valve is trolling them with a new barebones update that only contains a single change in its full patch notes. Over the past few months, Valve has been in the spotlight thanks to Deadlock, however over the course of its early access many CS2 fans have felt as if they were getting left behind for the MOBA. Given Valve’s recent slowdown in updating the game, players’ fears may be right, as there are barely any major updates nor any big Operations in sight. Tensions have now come to a head following CS2’s September 10 update, which only contained a single minor change. “Practice matches and matches started with the “map” command will now run in engine loopback mode to match the CS:GO offline default Engine loopback bypasses most networking code for the host, resulting in one less tick of latency for the local player.” That’s the full contents of the latest CS2 update. It essentially serves as a slight server fix, the sort that would normally be part of a more significant update CS2 would receive. “No way they changed the tweet from ‘Release Notes” to just ‘Release note’. We’re getting trolled at this point,” commented Counter-Strike YouTuber Anomaly. “They turned CS2 into the new TF2,” another player said, comparing Valve’s treatment of the tactical FPS to their former hero shooter. As many others pointed out, the update was so minor that it was only 12.2 KB, and unless you were made aware of the patch, you most likely didn’t even know there was an update. “Really appreciate all the hard work and effort that went into this patch note,” a commenter said sarcastically about the update. Many others were begging for an Operation, something we haven’t seen since 2021’s Operation Riptide, and at the time of writing, there are none slated to be coming to CS2 anytime soon.

CS2 players convinced major patch is imminent after Valve’s latest update ValveUpdates from Valve for Counter-Strike 2 have been few and far between to start 2024, but their latest patch, despite being tiny, has actually given players hope that a major update is on the horizon. There is tangible concern among the CS community as Counter-Strike 2 continues to lack many of the modes and features once present in the now effectively defunct CS:GO. From small commands like cl_bob, to entire game modes like Danger Zone, CS2 released more polished, but significantly less complete, game than its predecessor. But, when Valve dropped a somewhat facetious update on January 18, which included only a single, tiny change, it actually sparked some hope among the community. Major CS2 update impending? Valve’s latest update to CS2 included only one change – a fix for geometry on Vertigo that was possible to see through. Initial reactions were somewhat dismayed – after weeks of very little in terms of updates, the first patch notes containing a single change seemed almost farcical. However, theories soon began to emerge that signalled potential light at the end of the tunnel. In particular, a handful of players expect that this update was almost too whimsical to not be intended as a teaser. CS community member Mercy explained, “By making this post, it seems like CS2 is getting something BIG coming soon. “Otherwise, considering the current state of the game, which is very bad, they wouldn’t dare make such a move.” This assumption relies on Valve being aware of the impatience which is palpable among players on social media. CS trader and Twitch streamer zipel put it to a poll, asking followers if he believes the small update is in fact a sign of something bigger to come. “Yes” was victorious in the poll, although not by a large margin. However, others argued that any significant content update is not likely to be released before the first CS2 Major, PGL Copenhagen. Rather, Valve will be focusing on ‘core issues’ affecting competitive gameplay. Valve, as always, is keeping things on the low. For all the community knows, the next update could be in 24 hours or 24 days. For the time being, the player count of CS2 has stabilized, after taking a bit of a nosedive after release. Whether the upcoming IEM Katowice, the Major, or a big update, is enough to see a resurgence, remains to be seen.

CS2 players banned over scheme to trick ESL with fake text ValveESL has disqualified Perseverance from the ESL Challenger League Season 48 and banned its entire CS2 roster for two months for lying to tournament administrators about trying to reschedule a match. ESL issued the ruling on July 30, stating that the team “submitted false evidence to mislead the tournament administration in an effort to have an ESL Challenger League match rescheduled.” According to an investigation by Dust2.us, the Perseverance players schemed to mislead ESL officials by providing false evidence of weather-related power issues in the area of one of Perseverance’s players to move the match to a later date. The player, Cory ‘shutout’ Frymark, sent screenshots of a storm in his area from the Apple Weather app and a text supposedly sent from his power company saying there was “a high risk of power outages” in his area during the time of the match to a tournament official. The screenshots, however, had some obvious flaws that led ESL to see through the scheme. According to the report, the phone number used to send the alleged alert was the personal number of another Perseverance player, Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Shah. The alert from the supposed power company also misspelled experience as “expierence.” Weather data from the Delaware area, where shutout is located, during July 18 also show much milder conditions than purported in the screenshot sent to the ESL official. According to the report, the scheme’s goal was to push the July 18 matchup against Mythic back so the team could replace Chance ‘xaler’ Palmer with Nelvin ‘nooz’ Gonzalez in time for the game. Perseverance dropped xaler and signed nooz on July 24. The Canadian esports organization announced on July 30 that it has dropped its CS2 roster and that it does “not condone the actions the team has done or taken.” The banned players have not commented on the situation on social media. This incident comes just months after a North American CS2 player was banned for stealing parts of computers belonging to Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip and Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač at IEM Dallas.

CS2 players are already using new sticker update to write slurs on weapons ValveIn a surprising move, Valve’s latest CS2 update now allows stickers to be placed almost anywhere on weapons, and in any rotation. This has instantly led to some creative crafts, as well as some downright offensive ones. Ever since stickers were added to CS:GO, they have been limited to four pre-set spots on weapons. This meant that while players could personalize their skins, they didn’t have total freedom. On February 6, the first major content update for CS2 went live, and threw a spanner in the works with the ability to place stickers anywhere on weapons, as well as all weapons now supporting five stickers. Of course, the inevitable happened, as players quickly found ways to make bizarre, funny, or simply offensive words or drawings with the sticker placement. Although it was already possible to spell out three or four-letter words with some sticker combinations, this new update has made it far easier. Because some stickers include lettering, such as ‘GG’ (good game), these stickers in particular have shot up in price on the Steam market. The obvious reason for this rise is players using the sticker to spell out words – in some cases, very offensive words. Others are using the new tools to make predictably juvenile shapes. This would have been a predictable outcome too, considering the same has been done in other games like Call of Duty, whenever this level of customization is permitted. Whether or not creating offensive sticker crafts would ever be a bannable action though, is unknown. In Call of Duty for example, players reported for creating offensive emblems would often lose the ability to make emblems. The sticker update generally in CS2 has caused confusion, as the skin market tries to react. Some of the most expensive stickers in the game are worth tens of thousands of dollars, and this update could either make them even pricier or crash the market entirely.

CS2 player loses $100K inventory due to false ban for using AMD’s Anti-lag+ feature ValveA Counter-Strike 2 player was banned after enabling AMD’s Anti-lag+ feature, causing him to lose over $100k worth of CS skins without having done anything wrong. To say Counter-Strike 2‘s launch has been rocky would be an understatement. From issues with hit registration to a bizarre “Michael Jackson” bug that allowed players to lean around corners, players aren’t too happy with the much-anticipated shooter’s state at launch. That said, Valve has been making continuous improvements to the game to try and add more features and iron out bugs as they arise. However, it’s been revealed that using an anti-lag feature on AMD cards will flag your account for a VAC ban. Getting banned renders your inventory untradable, meaning that someone like Neon who had an inventory worth over $100k has lost all of that money as a result of a false VAC ban. AMD Anti-lag+ feature leads to $100k loss via VAC ban Though Counter-Strike’s skin market hasn’t maintained the same ludicrously high value it had in CS:GO’s twilight years, it’s fairly common for big skins traders and collectors to have inventories valued in the range of tens of thousands of dollars. One such skin trader by the name of Neon got VAC banned as a result of players who use AMD’s Anti-lag+ feature lost over $100k worth of items, leaving him desperate for answers. Neon’s inventory is stacked with some impressive items near the top of his collection, and almost 1000 CS skins in his inventory overall. Highlights include a Factory New Butterfly Knife Fade which can go for over $3k on its own, along with a Field-Tested Dragon Lore, a Factory New Talon Knife Fade, and many more. Fortunately, Valve has addressed the issue formally and warned users of anti-lag potentially banning them from the game. Additionally, they’ll be looking into unbanning affected users who were flagged despite doing nothing wrong. It remains to be seen if Neon and many other affected players get their accounts back.

Counter-Strike 2 October 9 patch notes: Hitbox alignment fixes, map tweaks, more Counter-Strike 2The latest Counter-Strike 2 update has been deployed on October 9, bringing further refinements and fixes. Here’s everything you need to know about the CS2 October 9 patch notes. While Counter-Strike 2 officially launched on September 27, players have been running into all kinds of wacky issues, glitches, and general problems that have even led to pro players advising, “Don’t play this s**t game” right now. Yet Valve has been dedicated to ironing out the wrinkles as quickly as possible. The October 9 update is no exception. This patch addresses a variety of concerns, including the severe hitbox misalignment issue that raised concerns over how ready the game would be for IEM Sydney on October 20. Today’s patch also includes fixes for graphical glitches like the odd appearance of feet when viewed through a scope, to animation inconsistencies that affected the game’s realism and flow. Mirage, Vertigo, and Nuke will receive small fixes and tweaks. Additionally, an official matchmaking datacenter has been introduced in Chengdu, China. promising smoother gameplay for players in that region. Counter-Strike 2 October 9 Patch Notes Check out the full Counter-Strike 2 patch notes for the October 9 update below: Graphics Fixed a case where feet would appear black when looking down at them through a scope – Fixed a memory leak due to particles – Animation Fixed several hitbox alignment bugs – Fixed knife spinning not feeling as fast as in CS:GO – Fixed the bolt not moving during the M4A4 and M4A1-S deployment animations – Fixed a bug where weapon inspect could interrupt the silencer toggle animation – Maps Various bug fixes and tweaks to Mirage, Vertigo, and Nuke – Misc Fixed several bugs with “Looking to Play” – Various bug fixes and tweaks to weapon finishes and stickers – Fixed a bug where loadout changes weren’t saved if the game was closed shortly after making changes – Fixed a bug where Steam Friends’ match status was delayed or missing – CPU performance improvements for weapon tracers – Added an official matchmaking datacenter in Chengdu, China –

CS2 Major stage crashed by protestors over gambling sites PGLThe CS2 Copenhagen Major was thrown into chaos as two protestors attending the event rushed the stage, with them falling over near the trophy and smashing it into pieces. The PGL CS2 Copenhagen Major has been an incredibly successful event so far, with over a million viewers tuning in to watch the best teams in Counter-Strike 2 duking it out. However, the event was quickly thrown into chaos during a match. Two fans rushed the stage during a match, and, though security on-site quickly apprehended them, the trophy that was placed center-stage fell over as they were being detained. The trophy can be seen breaking into several pieces as it falls from the podium, with fans in attendance booing the two stage-rushers as they were detained. This booing could be clearly heard on the broadcast as well, with the casters trying their best not to let the incidents on stage distract from the match. Although, when the pause was confirmed, one of the casters could be heard saying “clowns” before they cut to a break. CSGO Empire have claimed ownership of the stunt, with them alleging that CSGORoll, one of G2’s sponsors, is a “scam casino” that steals people’s money. They’ve alleged that CSGORoll has been used to launder money in the past, and the two sites have been feuding for a while. Monarch, CSGO Empire’s owner, was banned from Kick following the incident, but not before claiming his workers would be fired if they didn’t rush the stage. “I’m gonna be disappointed if nothing happens. If s*** doesn’t hit the fan, a bunch of people will be fire, and tomorrow we’re gonna go full thrust.” He also claimed that he’d be able to “outpay everyone” and that there wouldn’t be enough security guards to keep them out. The PGL have since addressed the situation and had this to say on the matter: “Our event experienced an attempted disruption. We temporarily halted the match to ensure everyone’s safety. The individuals involved were removed by police. We will be pressing charges against the disruptors.”

CS2 jump throw bind: How to jump throw in Counter-Strike 2 Valve / DexertoThe jump-throw in CS2 is a bit different compared to CS:GO. Although it might be first confusing, there are a couple of ways to get past the lack of a standard jump-throw bind and here’s how you can do it. While CS2 may have made some changes to the original CS:GO formula, most elements of gameplay are still the same. Having a jump throw bind was essential in the original game‘s competitive matches and this remains true in CS2. The result of not having a jump throw bind can be missed Molotovs and smokes during a match, which nobody wants. Unfortunately, the classic bind options for CS:GO don’t work in the sequel. Here’s everything you need to know about the jump throw bind in Counter-Strike 2. How to make a jump throw bind in CS2 In Counter-Strike 2, you can create a jump throw bind by using an executable config. To do this, follow the steps below. Locate the CS:GO config folder in your game files. This is usually found here: \\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\cfg\ – Copy any other config file, paste it into the same folder, and rename it jumpthrow – In the config document, delete all the existing text, and replace it with this: – +jump -attack -attack2 -jump Then, save the file and open CS2. In CS2, open the developer console and bind this exec to a key you want to use, for example: bind q “exec jumpthrow” In CS:GO, you could create ‘alias’ binds, which run two commands with one key. Alias commands are possible in CS2, however, they will only work for the current game session, meaning you need to add them again every time you play. Instead, it’s much easier to set up the config as explained above. Additionally, CS2 doesn’t use 64 or 128-tick servers like CS:GO did. Instead, CS2 uses a subtick system. This means that no matter what server you are playing on, jump throw lineups will always be the same. How to jump throw in CS2 While you can use the config file above for now if you want to, you don’t actually need a bind to consistently jump throw in CS2. Instead, Valve designed CS2 to allow for consistent jump throws every time. When you jump, release Mouse 1 (fire) at the peak of your jump. You should hear your in-game character make a ‘grunt’ noise. This means that jump throwing now requires a little bit of concentration as opposed to using a simple keybind, but it is still very simple. Valve confirmed this back in March when the beta released: Whether this is changed in the future remains to be seen. But for now, you don’t actually need to make a jump throw bind or config – instead, just train hitting your jump throws in a practice server. If you need commands for a practice server, use our best commands for CS2 guides here. Another change existing players may not be a fan of is the inability to use left-hand view in CS2. And, for the best settings for CS2, check out our full list here. More Counter-Strike 2 guides: Best CS2 settings | CS2 Commands you need to know | How to jump throw in CS2 | Can you play left hand in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck?

Counter-Strike 2’s HUD changes leave players nostalgic for CSGO’s old display Counter-Strike 2Counter-Strike 2 brought many innovations, but its HUD changes have left players longing for the simplicity of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s iconic interface. The revamped Counter-Strike 2 showcases a series of upgrades: crisper graphics, retooled maps, and a host of other improvements. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Players have been navigating a minefield of game-breaking bugs, glitches, and other in-game issues. To their credit, Valve has been on their toes, swiftly addressing some of the glaring issues. The hitbox misalignment debacle and the broken surrender feature? Fixed. But amid these patches, a glaring omission has left players scratching their heads: the return of the old HUD that clearly displayed the alive player count. A recent Reddit thread threw this issue into the spotlight. “Why is this still missing from CS2?” questioned a community member, who shared an image of CS:GO’s old display. Counter-Strike 2’s revamped HUD, while sleek, seems to prioritize aesthetics over functionality. Player avatars, health bars, and post-round stats take center stage, relegating the simple counter that tracked how many players were still standing to a small text-only solution near the top of the screen. The community was quick to join in and agree with the sentiment shared by the original player, with comments like, “It’s so needed. Anyone that has a B&W or faded pfp just looks dead at a glance when they’re alive.” Another chimed in, “I feel like I’ve to focus and spend so much more time ‘counting’ who’s alive. And I know that there’s a ‘5v5’ like text on the middle of the screen but I just can’t get used to it.” While players brainstorm workarounds, like using the “hide enemy profile pictures” option, players are left wondering: Why fix something that wasn’t broken?

CS2 Feb 6 update brings huge Sticker placement tweak that changes everything ValveCounter-Strike 2’s February 6 patch notes introduced a massive Sticker placement update that could change everything. Over the past few months, CS2 players had been patiently waiting for an update as Valve went silent, to the point many were worried the game would grow stale. However, Valve casually dropped a massive update on February 6, breaking their silence by adding a slew of skins with a new weapon case, the new Kukri knife, Zeus skin, among many other cosmetics and bug fixes to boot. Though undoubtedly the biggest addition to in the patch was the implementation of custom Sticker placements, a revamp that could change everything we know about sticker crafts. With the new update, all weapons (except the knife) will no longer be restricted to just four stickers, now being able to fit up to five of them. Even more jaw-dropping is that players will not be restricted to just a few preset positions, instead, now being allowed to place the sticker anywhere they like on the play side of the gun. In addition, you can rotate it however you feel like. However, this massive update to stickers could very well change up a great deal around the game, particularly in the CS skin economy, as valuable sticker crafts are some of the title’s most expensive items. Take for example the infamous AK-47 Case Hardened pattern 661 with four Titan holos on it, which sold for nearly $450,000. Time will tell how this sticker update will affect CS’ skin economy, as the massive shake-up leaves many existing sticker crafts outdated as crafts from now on can be much more innovative. The skin economy boomed when CS2 was announced in March, and further increased after the official release in August, however, took quite a drastic downturn over the past few months.

CS2 fan unboxes insanely rare knife in IEM Cologne crowd live on stream ESLIEM Cologne is in its playoff stage and is taking place in the LANXESS arena with a massive crowd in attendance. One fan managed to unbox a rare knife skin while on stream in the middle of the stadium. During FaZe Clan and SAW’s quarterfinal matchup at the Germany-based tournament, ESL panned around to the crowd between rounds and found a fan in a NAVI jersey lifting his gaming PC for the camera. The fan was showing his CS2 account opening loot boxes for skins and they managed to roll a knife skin, a Phase 4 Ursus Doppler, while the crowd cheered in excitement. At the Paris Major in 2023, a fan pulled a similar stunt that turned out to be fake after viewers discovered the unboxing was a video and not live. This time, the unboxing is genuine. IEM Cologne host and interviewer James Banks went to find the fan and confirmed the knife was in his account. Not only is it an Ursus Doppler, but it’s Factory New. This skin should go for around $500 USD on the skin market, but could be worth more depending on float rate and other factors. It’s certainly not the most expensive CS knife ever pulled, but nothing to scoff at. Counter-Strike esports crowds have a history of creating chaos and memorable moments at major events. In 2023 a fan brought in a trumpet with him and led the crowd in chants using the instrument, and in 2022 one fan allegedly spat on a NAVI player. IEM Cologne has been billed as a legendary event thanks to 2024 being its 10th year running and the history behind the German tournament. The playoff stage began on August 16, and it was the first portion of the event to feature a major crowd in attendance. The group and play-in stages were played without fans. The final stage of the tournament is set to include some of the CS2 teams with the biggest fan bases, as G2 Esports, FaZe, NAVI, and Team Vitality are all still fighting for a trophy.

CS2 dataminer claims an Operation is on the horizon after a three-year absence ValveA Counter-Strike 2 dataminer is claiming an Operation is on the horizon after a nearly three-year absence from the game, bringing with it some major cosmetic updates to the game. Counter-Strike 2 has been nothing but a roaring success for Valve, bringing in major updates to stickers, bringing in new skins for the Zeus, gameplay changes, and more. However, players have for a very long time lamented the absence of a new Operation. The last was Riptide, which was released in September 2021. Operations have been few and far between for many years, as the big updates that brought new maps, cases, and even co-op game modes haven’t been seen for a while. Now almost three years later, dataminers are claiming a new Operation could be on the horizon, adding several new maps and a lot of new cosmetics. In a video by Valve leaker Gabe Follower, he details several new pieces of information that have been found in CS2’s file which points to a new Operation. For one, June 19, was the 25 anniversary of Counter-Strike, which makes it the perfect time frame for a major Operation. He first claims there are lines in CS2’s code that point to a new comic being added, which has only been released with a new Operation. Additionally, he says several map makers have been making many updates to their maps, which points to Valve asking them to make changes before its addition to the game in a potential Operation. Gabe Follower says that the maps; Thera, Memento, Assembly, Pool Day, and Mills are likely to be coming in the supposed Operation as they’ve been recently frequently updated. Additionally, Gabe Follower highlights fellow CS2 leaker Aquarius’ claim that Valve is selecting skins for a new weapon case which is shipping with all the other leaked content. Gabe Follower additionally claims in CS2’s code, lines pointing to weapon “keychains”, similar to Valorant’s gun buddies, are coming. So are potential “pets”, which would allow players to pick up chickens and “inspect” them the way you would a weapon. Other leaked supposed cosmetics coming with the Operation is customized clothing elements. Meaning players may be able to choose their own masks, headgear, clothing, and more. However, we should take this all with a grain of salt, as Valve has yet to give any teasers, considering they are notorious for being silent.

CS2 console commands: Best commands for Counter-Strike 2 you need to use ValveYou can use console commands in Counter-Strike 2 to customize your game, set up practice, or adjust settings on the fly. These are the best and must-know CS2 commands to use, including new net graph and bob commands. CS2 has fully replaced CS:GO, bringing improved visuals, gameplay changes like the way smokes function, and an updated rating system. However, it’s still far from perfect, with more updates certainly expected. If you want to adjust your experience on the fly, using console commands is a quick and easy way to do so. Here are the best commands available in CS2. How to enable console in CS2 Before you can use commands, you need to enable the console in CS2. To do this, go to the in-game settings, and navigate to the ‘Game’ tab. You will then see a setting called ‘Enable Developer Console (~)‘. Select ‘Yes.’ This will then allow you to open the console at any time by pressing the ~ or ` key (usually top left on your keyboard). You will need the console to enter the commands below. 10 best CS2 console commands You can enter these commands in the developer console. These are the most useful CS2 console commands currently available for general gameplay: CS2 practice commands If you want to jump into a practice game without any interruption from other players or bots, you can use these practice commands to set up an easy training environment, to check out the maps and weapons in peace. You can also apply some of these settings in the menu for practice matches, by turning on ‘Grenade Camera’, Infinite Ammo and Infinite Warmup. CS2 bot commands You can use bots in practice servers, and set them up with the following commands. More useful CS2 commands These commands are not essential, but you might find value in them from time to time. sensitivity Enter this command followed by a value (e.g. 1.5) to alter your in-game mouse sensitivity. This can also be done in the settings with a sliding scale. cl_usenewbob 0 This command will revert the new bob animations in CS2 to the old CS:GO style. But, you can’t reduce or turn off bob entirely. cl_drawhud 0 This command will remove all HUD elements, which can be useful if you want to take a clean screenshot. r_drawOtherModels 2 Gives wallhacks in practice server (requires sv_cheats 1 command) CS2 launch commands In addition to in-game commands through the console, there are also a few launch commands that we’d recommend. To add these, you need to navigate to the ‘properties’ of CS:GO from your Steam library, by right-clicking on the game. -novid Novid will prevent the video from playing before launch, getting you to the main menu faster. -high The high command will ensure CS2 is given high priority in terms of CPU usage, preventing other apps or background processes from hogging power. -threads [CPU threads] This command requires a little bit of research for you to use, as it tells CS2 how many CPU threads to use.To get maximum CPU performance, it is recommended to take the number of threads you have, then put that number in this command. For example, if you have an 8-thread CPU, you would use the command: “-threads 8”. -nojoy This command was popular in CS:GO as it disables joystick input which supposedly reduced RAM utilization. We don’t know if this is still true in CS2, but it can’t hurt to add. In addition to these commands, we recommend using our best CS2 settings guide to optimize performance and visuals.

CS2 caster Maniac denies sexual assault allegation, steps down from EPL broadcast Esports World CupMathieu ‘Maniac’ Quiquerez, a Counter-Strike 2 caster and former player and coach, has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. He has issued a statement denying the allegations, and stepped back from the ESL Pro League broadcast. On September 4, Hannah Marie ZT, a freelance esports journalist and events manager, alleged that Maniac “groped, inappropriately touched, grinded on, and grabbed” her from behind even though she showed “clear discomfort and no reciprocation.” Marie said the incident occurred at an afterparty after a Counter-Strike event and that she reported the assault to a “relevant company.” She said she did not disclose the company’s name in her post for “confidentiality reasons.” According to Marie, the company in question upheld her accusations after an internal investigation, but did not provide a written confirmation of its decision. “After I asked for written confirmation of their investigation, one of their staff members accidentally looped me into an email where they admitted that they were planning on ignoring my continued pleas for written recognition of their investigation’s result,” she said in her statement. Marie also claimed that the company that ran the investigation could not pass its findings on to broadcast teams “due to their own confidentiality agreements and policies.” She also claimed she “pulled” Maniac off of other women herself. She said she posted the public accusal to warn others in the esports space about the caster and his alleged actions. Maniac responds to initial allegation Maniac responded to the allegation on social media by saying he has “a drastically different recollection of the events,” in question. “I do not believe any sexual assault took place. I believe inappropriate behavior is the only place this should start and end,” he said. Maniac said that in response to the allegation, he will step down from the EPL broadcast. Following his statement, esports host Daisy ‘DAMP’ Powers, issued a response, to “corroborate” the accusation against him, as well as accuse him of also sexually assaulting her at the same afterparty. She claimed that the caster “groped” her multiple times “in front of multiple esports colleagues.” “I was also groped multiple times by Maniac,” Damp said, adding that it was “clearly non-consensual”, in full view of others, and that she said no clearly multiple times and “tried to escape.” “This statement he released entirely warps the truth and Hannah was not at all engaging with him in that manner. She was simply existing and was harrassed by him as were multiple other of us that night.” Damp’s fiance, CS caster Jacky, also made a video statement, corroborating her version of events. According to a Dust2.us investigation released on September 5, Maniac has shown a pattern of inappropriate behavior that extends beyond the initial allegations. Maniac has worked as a full-time broadcast talent in Counter-Strike esports since 2019 for BLAST, PGL, and ESL. PGL said in a statement to Dust2.dk that the caster is no longer a part of their future plans for talent. BLAST released a statement on September 5 saying that they no longer work with a “talent member” due to a complaint of misconduct and subsequent investigation. Maniac releases second statement The caster released another statement online and to the press on September 6. “I have had a problematic relationship with alcohol for most of my adult life. I have attempted in many ways to get it under control but I have failed miserably at various points. I am ashamed of my weakness and have been for years. Now I cannot turn a blind eye to it anymore,” he said. He also apologized for “unacceptable behaviors over the years,” and said he would make a video in the future once he has found “a shred of peace.” “I’ll take accountability for my mistakes, attempt to apologize properly, and show who I am unfiltered,” he said. Maniac has appeared on CS Major events broadcasts and most recently worked as an analyst on the Esports World Cup. Before broadcasting, Maniac played and coached for teams like Titan, Team EnVyUs, and Rogue.

CS Icon pashaBiceps bikes 10 hours across Baltic Sea to watch CS2 Copenhagen Major Pashabiceps/ PGLCounter-Strike icon Jarosław ‘pashaBiceps’ Jarząbkowski is biking to another major, the CS2 Copenhagen Major, and instead of taking the ferry is biking across the Baltic Sea on a makeshift raft. Former Counter-Strike pro pashaBiceps has taken to biking across Europe to attend the biggest CS tournaments. The Polish pro tracked across the country from Poland to France to watch the Paris Major in 2023 and is taking on the challenge again, traveling from Poland to Denmark for the CS2 Copenhagen Major. The former dominant CS player has taken to more athletic competition since his retirement, fighting in MMA events and taking on cross-country biking. With his new adventure to Copenhagen, pashaBiceps needed to cross the Baltic Sea to make it to the island where the capital of Denmark resides. Instead of taking the ferry, the former pro said he would cross the body of water on a makeshift raft powered by his feet rather than “cheat.” The trek across the sea took about 10 hours for the experienced biker on his raft, dubbed POLA-ONE. His journey is not finished, however, as pashaBiceps still needs to travel into the city tomorrow to complete the adventure. He will miss the first two matches of the playoff stage of the tournament, but the former major champion should be able to catch the rest of the tournament and its Grand Final match. CS2 fans have found the former pro’s journey fascinating and have started making jokes about his journey across the Baltic Sea. Once the journey is complete pashaBiceps will have traveled about 1,000 Km in eight days to watch one of the biggest CS2 events of the year.

Counter-Strike pro banned for two years after match fixing and betting on games Adela Sznajder/ESL Gaming via ESPAT & ValveCounter-Strike 2 pro Erkhan ‘gokushima’ Bagynanov, a Russian player who recently broke into the top end of competitive play, has been banned from competition in ESIC-backed events. The Esports Integrity Commission released a statement on April 11, 2024, issuing the ban for match fixing and betting on his own games. gokushima is eligible to play in ESIC-sanctioned events on March 26, 2026. The ban comes just days after his team, FORZE, announced it was benching its entire roster on April 2. The player joined the storied Russian organization in October 2023. The player has performed well in mostly online tournaments for the team, averaging a 1.12 HLTV rating with FORZE. Before signing with FORZE, gokushima played on local Russian squads in low-tier online and offline events in Europe. ESIC said gokushima violated its Code of Conduct specifically around corruption and betting, specifically in ESL and IEM events. “This investigation was initiated following the receipt of a detailed interview transcript and corroborating evidence including admissions indicating match-fixing activities,” the report said. FORZE has not commented on the ban at the time of writing. The Russian team is still competing in CS2 events, ELS Challenger League and Skyesports Masters, right before and during the ECIS announcement with a substitute in for gokushima along with the benched squad. gokushima is the first player to receive a ban from ECIS in 2024. The integrity body for some of the biggest events in the esport gave out bans for match fixing and betting offenses to five players in 2023.

Counter-Strike fans amazed as CS2’s Inferno remake is leaked ValveFollowing the latest update to the CS2 limited playtest, images of the overhauled Inferno map from CS:GO have been found in the game files. The changes to one of Counter-Strike’s most iconic maps have blown players away. Despite its enduring popularity for the better part of two decades, one criticism that could be levied at Counter-Strike is its rather unchanged status in all that time. Maps, modes, and mechanics have all been pretty steady, although this is also how players like it. But, with CS2, Valve is taking some big leaps, as the Source 2 engine allows for a complete overhaul of the Counter-Strike foundations. So far, we’ve seen this most clearly through the visuals, as maps look much more up to modern standards. Inferno, one of the most-played maps in CS history, had remained mostly under wraps other than a glimpse in the early trailers. These new images of the map have caught players by surprise, with a mostly positive reception. Inferno in Counter-Strike 2 Shared by Counter-Strike enthusiast PDylan on Twitter, four new stills of Inferno reveal both bombsites, T Spawn, and Church//Ruins/Construction. Although, the call-outs of ‘Ruins’ and ‘Construction’, which date back to the earlier versions of the map, will need to be thrown out, as the Church is now fully refurbished, complete with incredible new lighting. The entire map has been given a facelift, with new structures for the buildings, an entirely redesigned fountain on B, and of course, the gorgeous Italian church. One of the most significant gameplay changes seen in the screenshots is graveyard on A site. One of the most powerful positions in CS:GO, the wall which covers the stairway is now gone, making this no longer a great hiding spot for CTs – or Ts in the post plant. One of the primary complaints about Inferno in CS2 is how difficult site retakes are, often forcing teams into saves, even in man-advantage situations like 3v2. This is particularly the case when the bomb is planted A, so these changes may be an attempt to address this. CS:GO players react to Inferno changes Commenters on the r/GlobalOffensive subreddit were largely positive about the changes, with comments like “this looks insane” and “I love it.” Twitch streamer fl0m reacted, “Ok this is unreal.” However, it wasn’t unanimous. Some were critical of the new ‘theme’ of the map, perhaps a departure from the quaint Italian village to what one player called “sand-themed maps.” This was a sticking point for numerous people, with one commenting, “Really not a fan of how A site looks but everything else looks nice! I just think it would look much better with tile instead of sand.” “This is probably a lot better for player visibility but the blandness of the color palette is disappointing,” another player argued. “It looks like they Dust2’d it.” Inferno is not playable yet in the CS2 playtest, with Nuke and Office currently in rotation. Overpass and Ancient are the next maps predicted to be added. Counter-Strike 2 doesn’t have an exact release date yet either, but the plan for Summer 2023 is still in place. What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike cheaters are already taking over CS2’s leaderboards in Premier mode Counter-Strike 2 / ThourCSCounter-Strike 2’s newly released competitive Premier mode is already being hit by cheaters, despite it only being out for a few days. Counter-Strike has overhauled its competitive ranked mode for CS2, as Valve has rebranded it with the title ‘Premier’. Premier has brought along all new features for CS2, including a new rating system, decreasing match length played to 12-round halves (MR12), and a worldwide leaderboard. After an update came to the beta on September 1, it is now accessible to the wider CS fanbase. However, in doing so this has meant a surge of cheaters have gained access, already wreaking havoc in matchmaking. Cheaters storm to top of CS2 Premier leaderboards CS creator ThourCS highlighted nefarious players dominating the top of the Premier leaderboards by using cheats. The clip claims to show that not only are players using hacks themselves, but also illegitimately gaining high ranks, achieving an astounding 100% win rate, by teaming with cheaters. The suspected cheater appears to use a type of Wallhack, allowing them to see enemies and their movements through walls and objects typically via an outline. Anti-cheat has continued to develop over time as hackers continue to be a problem in online games. Although, being able to detect and prove players are purposely joining cheaters to boost them up the leaderboard to the highest ranks presents a whole new issue. Overwatch developers Blizzard announced in September that they banned over 250,000 cheaters, a huge breakthrough in creating a proven system to identify those players who are joining groups to be boosted.

Valve made $1 billion from Counter-Strike cases in 2023: CS2 case opening stats ValveValve netted at least $1 billion in sales in 2023 just off Counter-Strike cases throughout the last year. Skins are a massive part of Counter-Strike. CS:GO was a pioneer of in-game loot boxes and cosmetics, and with a marketplace where players can buy and sell skins, it essentially turned it into an economy of its own. And over the years, players have spent millions on skins, possibly billions at this point, with some skins even being worth upwards of $1 million each, like a recent AK-47 Blue Gem unboxed just days ago. With its ever-increasing popularity, the thirst for rare skins isn’t slowing down. In fact, players opened more than $1 billion in Counter-Strike cases alone in 2023. According to CS2 Case Tracker, a website that tracks real-time data of CS cases being opened, they estimated that players spent a mind-boggling $980,000,000 USD on keys for cases in 2023. This doesn’t include the cost of cases themselves, which Valve also takes a 15% cut from in the community market, meaning they earned at least $1 billion total. It means more than 400 million cases were unboxed in 2023. Not only that, according to their statistics, it also saw case prices increase by 178% over the year prior, with the Danger Zone Case increasing by 492% in price. Naturally, we can thank the ungodly amounts of hype Counter-Strike 2’s launch had over the year for the insane numbers, as CS:GO transitioned towards the new release. As charted by CS2 Case Tracker, they pointed out that in March 22, 2023, when CS2 was revealed, there was a significant increase in case unboxings which peaked later in April with 50.3 million unboxings in the month alone. And we can also thank CSGO’s very last skin collection, the Anubis Collection Package, which was released on April 25, as one of the main reason why case unboxings enjoyed such an all-time high. And later into the year, on September 27, 2023, when CS2 was finally fully released, case unboxings surged once again and reached a high in October.

Counter-Strike 2’s Vertigo brings back infamous boost spot after removal in CSGO ValveCounter-Strike 2’s version of Vertigo has brought back an infamous boost spot. One that was actually removed in CSGO. Knowing your boost spots in CS might not be the most important skill to have when mastering the game we’d argue nade lineups are much more vital, however, they can certainly be helpful when you need an advantage over an enemy team. Be it a cheeky angle to shoot targets from or a rat spot to hide from enemies, every single map has its unique boosts to give you a leg up. Back in 2022, one particular boost spot in Vertigo sparked debate over its legality in CSGO tournaments as it gave players an incredible angle to kill opponents on A Ramp. It turns out, it was legal, however was eventually patched out from the game. However, with CS2 redesigning all the original maps, Vertigo included, it seems this particular boost spot is now making a return once again. First spotted by CS player JoJo on Twitter, the boost works just like it did in CSGO where a player can be helped up on a spot, right behind A Sandbags, and has a pixel walk that allows them to tuck behind a wall while being able to peak at an off angle that oversees all of A Ramp. The reason why this boost is so good is that enemies coming from A Ramp can’t spot the boosted player. To clear them, they need to be near Sandbags or near the site, which by then, may be too late. The boost and its legality in pro matches were initially brought up by CS Youtuber NarT after showcasing it in one of his videos. Several pros, such as NAVI’s flashie, said they were told by ESEA admins it was legal. However, ESL referee Michal Slowinski said it was not allowed, which confused some players at the time. Eventually, Valve patched out the pixel walk from Vertigo, making attempts at the boost spot impossible. However, it’s back in CS2, at least for the time being, though it’s uncertain if Valve will remove it again.

Counter-Strike 2’s Overpass remake is filled with cheeky jump spots ValveCounter-Strike 2’s Overpass remake is filled with cheeky jump spots harkening back to the days of Olofboost. As Valve gears up for Counter-Strike 2’s allotted summer release, devs have been showcasing many of their new additions coming into the game in the closed beta. And one of the previously teased additions was the newly remade Overpass. As players got to try out the newly revamped Overpass in the July 17 patch, players got to work. Tearing apart the map for all the new changes, and potentially new jump spots that can gain them an advantage. Of which, as many players soon found out, the revamped Overpass is filled with cheeky jump spots which almost harkens back to the infamous Olofboost. In a compilation video uploaded by a player on the CSGO subreddit, they showcased a variety of jump spots that let players get sightlines from areas they normally shouldn’t. One of the more advantageous jump spots is one on A short where a player jumps off from a radiator onto a ledge. And from there, a player can jump to take a look into the B site, giving them an enormous advantage. Another jump spot is one near water, where a player can get boosted and stand on a lamp, giving them an incredibly good off-angle for any enemy players looking to come through a squeaky or short tunnel. And it even gives good sightlines of heaven and walkway. Many of the jump spots seem to mostly be localized around the B site, with a spot in A long and another in A short. Any old-school fan of Counter-Strike would know that Overpass and cheeky jump spots do not have a good history with each other. Olofboost would come to mind, when Fnatic’s Olofmeiter used a cheeky jump boost to gain an advantage in their semifinals match against LDLC. They would use it to win the map and series in controversial fashion, only to bow out of the tournament, allowing LDLC to take the Major trophy.

Counter-Strike 2’s new physics allow you to make your own cover ValveOne of the latest updates to the CS2 limited playtest allowed players to explore the new and improved versions of Nuke and Office maps. The changes to Office specifically led Counter-Strike players to find ways to block pathways and make improvised cover using vending machines. Counter-Strike has seen many features, weapons, and maps come and go over the different versions of the game available over the years. One such feature was the ability to interact with objects around the map like barrels or crates, moving them around to create make-shift boosts or cover. But this feature did not make the jump from Counter-Strike 1.6 to Global Offensive. But with the all-new Counter-Strike 2 certain objects got some of their physics back, although it’s way harder to move them around the map. One such object is the vending machine seen in the Office which has been added to the CS2 limited playtest on June 29. And players were quick to discover that it makes for some good barricade material. CS 2 players happy to see object physics back in the game As shared by Counter-Strike enthusiast Gabe Follower on Twitter, you can move the thick vending machines around with some serious firepower. “Speedrun on barricading the office @CounterStrike. You can literally block some paths with vending machines,” wrote Gabe Follower in his Tweet. Commenters under the Tweet were largely positive about the change, with comments like “this is one of the better new mechanics in CS2” and “this is actually really cool, hope they won’t patch this (but I doubt it)” amassing a lot of likes. There weren’t many voices against keeping the object physics, mainly because the strategy takes so much time it’s unviable in realistic competitive scenarios. That being said it will be entering to see just how many objects on other maps can you interact with when the game releases. Counter-Strike 2 doesn’t have an exact release date yet either, but the plan for Summer 2023 is still in place.

Counter-Strike 2’s most expensive skin sells for jaw-dropping $1 million BuffCounter-Strike 2’s most expensive skin has been sold for a mouth-watering $1 million to an anonymous buyer. In January 2024, the first ever pattern 661 AK-47 Case Hardened in StatTrak Factory New was confirmed to exist. At the time, it was valued at around $1.5 million, but some claimed it could sell for up to $2 million, which would have made it the most expensive item in Counter-Strike. The reason why it’s so expensive is that the 661 Case Hardened pattern is the most sought-after, and it being in Factory New and StatTrak makes it even more of a rarity. Just to get the 661 pattern, you’ll need to get extremely lucky as there are 1000 different patterns for the Case Hardened. Then, you’ll need to find the right skins for a trade-up to make the skin a Factory New StatTrak, which is also becoming increasingly rare and expensive. Now almost half a year since the skin was revealed to the world, it has sold for an enormous sum. A sale was brokered by two of CS2’s biggest skin collectors, Sam “roflm0nster” Alexander and Oliver “zipel” Behrensdorff, with both announcing online that the skin had been sold. However, who exactly the buyer is and just how much they paid for the skin was not disclosed by either of them, roflm0nster admitting that “$1 million offers were rejected multiple times”. Therefore, it’s safe to say the skin must have at least cost the buyer $1 million, which makes it the most expensive gun skin to ever be sold. If the price is ever to be revealed to be above $1.5 million, it will make it the most expensive item in all of Counter-Strike. Currently, the most expensive item in Counter-Strike is the Case Hardened Karambit in Factory New with the 387 pattern. It is a blue gem and is commonly thought to be the most expensive knife in CS2. Back in 2016, its current owner bought it for just over $100,000, and in 2021 they were offered €1.2 million (around $1.5 million USD at the time), but rejected it, claiming the offer was “low”.

Counter-Strike 2 October 17 patch notes: Bomb sound update, alias changes, more ValveValve deployed another Counter-Strike 2 update on October 17, this time addressing gameplay issues and bringing significant adjustments to in-game sounds. Here’s the full rundown of the latest CS2 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 updates continue to flood in with yet another set of minor tweaks and adjustments coming to the game with this latest patch. The game was officially released less than a month ago but has already undergone significant changes, ensuring the new-look game is at its best possible state for IEM Sydney 2023. This latest update brings a ton of gameplay enhancements, including a surprising change to the sound for the final 10 seconds of bomb beeping. Rather than simply continuing with the standard, slower beeping sound from before the final 10 seconds, the bomb beeping sound will now gradually become faster in the final moments. Dive in below for a detailed look at all the changes and enhancements introduced in the Counter-Strike 2 October 17 update. Counter-Strike 2 October 17 Patch Notes See the full patch notes for the Counter-Strike 2 October 17 update below: Gameplay Command aliases now leverage subtick accuracy – Sound New sound for final 10 seconds of bomb beeping – Added missing KSK agent voice – Reduced falloff distance of knife impact and swish sounds – Various tweaks and bug fixes around occlusion filters and footstep clarity – Misc Fixed missing gamestate integration data regarding flashbangs and damage stats – Fixed a bug where a defused bomb would block the player from swapping to a gun dropped close by – Fixed some cases where players could peek through ceilings – Convar cl_draw_only_deathnotices now blocks match status alerts such as LAST ROUND OF FIRST HALF. – Added a game server command sv_load_forced_client_names_file. Running tournament servers with +sv_load_forced_client_names_file namesfile.txt allows loading a key-values file where client names are enforced to be the tournament registered player names. – Added an additional fallback path for game clients to download network configuration. – Added a game setting cq_netgraph_problem_show_auto that allows players to enable automatic display of network connection issues in top right corner of game HUD. –

Counter-Strike 2 players use vending machine for ridiculous defense strategy ValveWith help from a vending machine, Counter-Strike 2 players found a strategy on the Office map that gives them a defensive advantage. Valve began hosting a limited test for Counter-Strike 2 earlier this year, preparing the community and the game for its full release. Such a day came on September 27 and millions of players joined in on the fun. Naturally, much changed between the start of the test period and the final product’s rollout. Several quality-of-life adjustments went live before the wider release, for example, including audio tweaks, Premier matchmaking improvements, and HUD-related fixes. Some things remained the same, however. Ahead of launch, users realized that vending machines spread across the Office map made for great cover. They’re still being put to good use, too. Vending machines in Counter-Strike 2 create perfect barricades A Redditor who goes by Mysterious_Fault_884 shared CS2 gameplay footage showing off the perfect execution of the vending machine barricade tactic. In the Office level, players on the Redditor’s squad repeatedly shot at a vending machine, enough so that it barreled towards one of two doors in a lounge. With the machine positioned just right inside the door, the players kept enemies from coming in one way while also picking them off from the other side. It’s an ingenious defensive strategy that seems to work if done well. Of course, the physics system allows this to happen, meaning Counter-Strike 2’s vending machines aren’t realistically weighted. Comments from the Reddit thread suggest many hope Valve won’t change a thing. Said one user, “I really hope they keep this honestly. It’s fun and also completely defeated when the hostage is in the paper room.” Meanwhile, some are more concerned with being unable to push around water coolers and other smaller objects. “You can move the vending machine with MG’s and grenades, but not the watercooler or little plastic chairs. I blame sub tick and haxx0rs.” But, as one Redditor pointed out, what’s especially interesting is that Valve supposedly fixed CS2’s vending machines weeks ago. Release notes dated September 15 claim a patch “Adjusted the weight of the vending machine.” Evidently, the weight wasn’t modified enough, as the original poster insists they recorded their gameplay video on October 3.

Counter-Strike 2 update adds Valorant feature in buy menu & new loadout system ValveValve has announced some massive quality-of-life changes coming to Counter-Strike 2 that take a page out of Valorant’s book, mirroring the rival tactical FPS’ design in many ways. Even in a jam-packed year of massive game releases, Counter-Strike 2 is one of the most anticipated games of 2023. Though a few rumors and leaks pointed at the game being in development, its announcement came as a surprise to many. With Counter-Strike 2 set to release for the public in the near future, Valve have been iterating upon their closed beta to improve and polish the game ahead of launch. A new set of changes to their buy menu are a bit more than vaguely reminiscent of Valorant’s buy screen. This change comes alongside a loadout system that forces players to narrow the amount of weapons they can purchase in any given match. Counter-Strike 2 update brings Valorant-like feature With how long Counter Strike has been around as a game series, it’s hard not to see its inspiration in other titles within, and even outside of, the tactical FPS genre. Valorant is a leading example and arguably Counter-Strike 2’s greatest rival, with the two games having distinctly different sets of core design philosophies that are put on top of a fairly similar set of shooting mechanics. However, Counter-Strike 2’s new buy screen bears a striking resemblance to Valorant’s in both form and function. The layout is much closer to Valorant’s than the previous wheel-like UI structure present in CSGO, and the ability to refund purchases is something Valorant players have been able to do for years. However, the wheel gave players the ability to access sub-menus containing Counter Strike’s wide array of weapons. This new layout puts everything in front of the player, but doesn’t allow for as many weapons to be displayed at once. As part of fitting this new design, players now must create a loadout and choose a much narrower set of weapons to take into the match with them. This sounds like it gives players less options, but it may actually provide more flexibility in the long run. While players have access to less weapons overall in comparison to CSGO, restrictions have been lifted on weapons that took up the same slot. For instance, players can run both the M4A1-S and M4A4 without having to choose one or the other, and the same is true of the R8 Revolver and Desert Eagle. Players seem to be happy with being able to run more of their favorites now, with very few people missing the old buy wheel. It remains to be seen what else changes in Counter-Strike 2 ahead of launch, but what’s been shown off so far for the upcoming title has been well-received by series veterans and those looking to hop into the series for the first time.

Counter-Strike 2 tops Steam and streaming charts with CS2 launch Counter-Strike 2CS2 has stormed to the top of the Stream and streaming charts following its launch, peaking at over 1.3 million players and nearly 600K viewers at one time. Counter-Strike 2 was fully released on September 27 as Valve’s new release of their signature FPS franchise. After teasing CS2 on their socials over the past few months, they finally dropped a major hint letting fans know that the launch was imminent. CSGO’s sequel dropped with an overhaul of new features, which built off its feedback from the previous CS2 beta testing. Although some longtime CS:GO players have slammed Counter-Strike 2 for its changes, it has not stopped it from rising to the top of the stream and streaming charts upon release. Counter-Stike 2 is the most-played game on Steam Within its first 24 hours after launching, Valve’s shooter achieved its peak of over 1.3 million players at one time and has continued to peak at over 1.3 million players per day, according to Steam. Even after a few days had passed, on September 30, Counter-Strike 2 still kept hold of the top spot for being the most-played game on Steam by a staggering over 500K players, with Dota 2 coming in second. It has beaten off other notable games, such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Starfield, Apex Legends, and Grand Theft Auto, which are all peaking at around 300K players or less per day. As well as this, it has surged straight to the top of the viewing charts for streaming platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, and Kick. According to StreamCharts, it peaked at over 600K viewers at one time on its first day since launch, where it has continued to maintain high viewership. Despite its success, some Counter-Strike 2 players have been left frustrated after it dropped with a key “broken” feature.

Counter-Strike 2 leak reveals leaderboards and ranked seasons finally coming in CS2 ValveFollowing the latest update to the Counter-Strike 2 limited-test beta, data miners have uncovered files that indicate seasons of ranked competitive play and in-game leaderboards will be in the CS:GO sequel. Counter-Strike 2 is slated for a Summer release sometime this year, and with its hotly anticipated launch coming soon, Valve has been updating the closed beta regularly. From debuting revamped maps in Source 2 to letting players discover the game’s new physics, there’s been plenty to keep fans hooked. CS:GO already has a basic rank system, where players can progress through ranks from Silver to Global Elite based on their wins, losses and performances. However, it has long been criticized for lacking features many other ranked modes in other games have. These include leaderboards, in-game tournaments, and seasons where ranks are reset. CS:GO also does not indicate to the player how close they are to ranking up or down, leaving it to the imagination. Rival games like Valorant and Apex Legends show what players will need to do in order to rank up. Leaderboards and seasons in CS2 This information comes via reliable Counter-Strike data miner Aquarius, who has been busy checking through the CS2 files with each new update. “Latest major @CounterStrike 2 update indicates that the Premier Competitive mode will get an overhaul featuring ‘seasons’,” Aquarius posted, with a screenshot showing “Premier 1: official_leaderboard_premier_season1_name” and “Beta Season”. Aquarius found that the Premier Competitive mode will have seasons that would reset the leaderboard every few months, alongside a global leaderboard that could be sorted by region as well. These will display a player’s name, rank, wins, winrate, global percentile, and ‘CS Rating’. CS Rating is expected to be similar to a HLTV or Leetify rating, which combines various stats like, kills, deaths, assists, impact, ADR, and more to provide a single rating of how well a player is performing. It will also include a leaderboard with worldwide ratings. pic.twitter.com/02YVJ0jeEu — Aquarius (@aquaismissing) August 2, 2023 Ranging from 0.00 to 35.00, every 5.00 increment is a different color and most likely the higher the number the better the rank. And in the Premier mode viewable in Counter-Strike 2’s main menu, you can see extra statistics like the map winrate of your squad, detailed stats of individual players, and CS Rating too. also guessed that it may be two seasons per year which would line up with the planned CS2 Majors in Spring and Fall. The first season is called ‘Beta Season’ (although this could simply be a placeholder for now). Aquarius also shared that it appears, based on the game files, that there will be two season each year, Spring and Fall. Aquarius guessed that it may be two seasons per year which would line up with the planned CS2 Majors in Spring and Fall. Many of these features seem to be very close to the matchmaking services FACEIT provides, which is the preferred matchmaking system high-elo CS players have traditionally used. As CSGO’s matchmaking system has been riddled with many problems over the years. However, all of this is obviously subject to change. CS2 is still in its closed beta as Valve figures out its kinks before the full launch later this year.

Counter-Strike 2 takes inspiration from Valorant with new mini-map feature ValveCounter-Strike 2 comes with a lot of changes, and one of them is to its mini-map with a brand new feature taking inspiration from Valorant. Counter-Strike 2 has finally hit the servers up and running after weeks of speculation, to the point of obsessiveness. From initial leaks in NVIDIA drivers, to significant reports from Richard Lewis, and fans obsessing over every file put into Steam’s database, it’s been a long wait but the community has now been rewarded. Finally, we have a look into what gameplay changes have been made to CS2. From an entirely new mechanic for the smokes, to increased server tick rates, there’s plenty for veterans to wrap their heads around. But a minute detail several streamers noticed upon loading up a map is in its minimap. Smooya, the former player of Fnatic, BIG, and Movistar Riders turned CS streaming giant immediately clocked the tiny yet massive change to CS2 upon loading into Dust 2. The change is that now the minimap will show the radius in which your footsteps can be heard by the enemy on the minimap. The circle will grow larger and smaller depending on if you start walking, jumping, or stop completely. The feature, which was never in any previous iterations of Counter-Strike, makes it easier for players to gauge how far away enemies can hear them. Making it much simpler to completely conceal footsteps than ever before. But surprisingly, the feature is actually borrowed from Valorant, which was the first tactical FPS game to implement anything of this nature. The feature was in Valorant since its beta. And other quality-of-life features that Valorant has have also been adopted by CS2. From 128 tick servers, to the game adding a new UI that shows kills and aces on your screen in a graphic, just like Valorant. It only makes sense Valorant and CS2 would take cues from one another as when Valorant came out, it improved and took heavy inspiration from CS. And now CS2 is just doing it in kind.

What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? 64 vs 128 tick rate in CS2 ValveValve claims to have done away with traditional ‘tick rates’ in Counter-Strike 2 by introducing a sub-tick system. But, what is sub tick, and how does it work in CS2? After months of beta, Counter-Strike 2 is finally playable for all, as a free upgrade to CS:GO. Of course, this change has brought with it countless changes from the previous game. One such change revolves around Counter-Strike’s tick rate system. Older versions of Counter-Strike evaluated a player’s movement and shooting in “discrete time intervals” otherwise known as ticks, either at 64 ticks per second or 128. The time between each tick was nonexistent. But while the game still played responsively, the milliseconds that separated a mouse click and tick could often be the difference between a shot landing or missing the target entirely. Valve moved to improve upon this system for Counter-Strike 2, by using sub tick. What is sub-tick in CS2? When announcing the new Counter-Strike, Valve uploaded a video detailing how the team is “Moving Beyond Tick Rate” with sub-tick updates. With this change, tick rates between moving and shooting no longer matter since the server can calculate each player’s “precise actions between ticks.” Simply put, the server now knows the “exact moment you fired your shot, jumped your jump, or peeked your peek.” This is intended to ensure the action in Counter-Strike feels more seamless and responsive than ever before. Is CS2 64 tick? However, despite these lofty aims, players have so far not been totally impressed with the sub tick system and all it promised. Instead, players have complained of being shot around corners frequently, indicating that what they see is, in fact, not what they get. This could be caused by a number of factors, and is likely a combination of many, such as the ticks, ping, packet loss and interpolation. Basically, online game is online. But, players have also complained that other elements of CS2, such as movement, animations and ‘spraying’ is all being processed by the server at 64 ticks still, not 128 tick (as is preferred) or sub tick. Faceit, the popular 3rd party matchmaking service, actually launched 128 tick servers for CS2, but Valve later put a stop to this, locking the game at 64 tick no matter what, angering some in the community. For casual or even experienced players, the difference between 64 and 128 tick will be almost imperceptible. But, as proven by FaZe player Robin ‘ropz’ Kool, pro players can very much tell the difference. In a blind test, ropz correctly identified the tick rate of a CS:GO server through moving and shooting bots only. Counter-Strike 2 is still only in its early phase of release, with lots of updates expected to improve the experience, so perhaps sub tick is still to be optimized too.

Counter-Strike 2 streamer reveals potential game-breaking one-way smoke trick ValvePopular Counter-Strike streamer fl0m just showed off a powerful one-way smoke that also extinguishes molotovs, something that should not be possible with the latest changes. When Counter-Strike 2 was announced, huge changes were made to smokes and the way they interact with the map and other utilities in the game. Dubbed ‘Responsive Smokes’ by Valve, the changes were meant to force players to completely rethink how smokes are used. Smokes in CS2 would now dynamically fill out an area as it is coded as a three-dimensional object. Additionally, smokes are now more responsive to light, gunshots, and nades, of which, the latter two can even dissipate sections or the entire smoke cloud. In theory, the change would remove sneaky one-way smokes, as CSGO’s one-way smokes can be extremely hard to spot. However, it seems CS2 still has some ways to go with their smokes, as NA pro player and streamer, fl0m, showed his stream how the new smokes mechanics can be exploited. To use this new one-way is pretty simple. You just need to pop a grenade in a smoke right before it fully blooms and just like that, you get a “slight one-way effect” from the smoke. as the player explained. In his demonstration, he shows the trick in action on Dust 2 A long doors to amazing effect. Additionally, when showing fellow pro player and streamer MOTM the one-way, he revealed that not only is it a great one-way smoke, but it can even protect a player from molotovs that were thrown at the smoke. The new responsive smokes would not normally extinguish molotovs as part of eliminating one-ways. However, it seems this new one-way smoke does so. Obviously, CS2 is currently still in beta, which means Valve is still fixing and optimizing all of the game’s blemishes. And we will have to wait and see how the new smoke interactions will play out in other maps as well.

Counter-Strike 2 servers still run at 64 ticks while FACEIT reveals 128 tick Counter-Strike 2Counter-Strike fans have been crying out for Valve to ditch their 64 tick CS2 servers following a disappointing Sub-Tick update and FACEIT announcing 128 ticks. Counter-Strike fans have continued to play and experiment in the CS2 beta, as a further update has given even more players access to the highly anticipated CS:GO sequel. The iconic FPS series has been widely praised for its improvements following the previous Global Offensive game, with players soon realizing that aiming in CSGO was seemingly broken in comparison. Although, something that has been long criticized of the franchise amongst the CS community is the servers, and more precisely their tick rates. Former pro player and popular streamer n0thing slammed CSGO in 2019 for its lack of 128 tick rate servers, which many believe to provide the smoothest gameplay. With CS2 being released 11 years after its predecessor, it was widely expected by the community that these 128 tick rate servers would be introduced. However, this has not been the case and despite the developers’ efforts to introduce a new Sub-Tick server update system for CS2, one player has pointed out that the servers still remain at the previous 64 ticks. CS2 servers remain at 64 ticks while FACEIT reveals 128 tick A Reddit user posted a screenshot from the server logs inside the game to the GlobalOffensive subreddit. It shows Counter-Strike 2’s matchmaking servers to still be running at 64 ticks, compared to the popular third-party competitive platform of FACEIT, which has revealed their servers to be 128 ticks. https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/16e2aq1/faceit_128_subtick_confirmed/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=whitespace&embed_host_url=https://www.talkesport.com/news/cs2-servers-are-still-64-tick/ Many highlighted their frustrations, “I really like CS2’s new Matchmaking but this is going to drive me back to FACEIT,” One said. “Wait so you are telling me basically the entire reason people have waited to play this new version for years is just not a thing?” Another said. “For real. This was one of the big reasons I was hyped by CS2,” a user said. Tick rates determine the rate at which the server updates the game, therefore the higher the tick rate the faster the game is updated. Many believe this provides a much smoother gameplay, which can prove vital when trying to accurately hit that round-winning flick shot. Valve’s Sub-Tick update for CS2 was therefore aimed to give players a tick boost when players needed it during particular in-game movements in order to bridge the gap. With Counter-Strike 2 still being in the beta testing phase and the full release expected to be imminent, it is not certain if Valve will backtrack on its Sub-Tick system in the future to adopt the widely favored 128 tick rate servers. Pro player s1mple has also been figuring out the game, where he has revealed all of the best settings he is using in the CS2 beta.

Can banned CSGO players play Counter-Strike 2? Rules revealed by Valve ValveValve’s release of Counter-Strike 2 is now confirmed and if you have been banned on CS:GO but are wondering whether your account can carry over to the sequel, here is everything you need to know. Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) prevents players from using third-party software in CS:GO to provide an unfair advantage. Despite the anti-cheat’s best efforts, cheating still plagues casual and competitive matches. On February 14, a pro player was caught cheating live on stream in the BLAST.tv Paris Major qualifiers. If players under the bright lights aren’t afraid of cheating, you best believe casual players don’t hesitate to use any means necessary to win. In September, CS:GO Stats reported Valve banned over 300,000 players in just 90 days. For those caught cheating, and hoping for a clean slate in Counter-Strike 2, Valve has now delivered a clear statement to users wanting a second chance. Can players use the same banned CS:GO account to play Counter-Strike 2 On the Counter-Strike 2 limited test Steam FAQ page, Valve confirmed accounts with VAC or game bans in CS:GO cannot play Counter-Strike 2 on VAC Secured servers. They said: “No. Accounts with VAC or game bans in CS:GO cannot play Counter-Strike 2 on VAC-secured servers.” For more information about Counter-Strike 2, make sure to check out the links below: How to play Counter-Strike 2 limited beta test | Is Counter-Strike 2 going to be free to play? | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Valve officially reveals Counter-Strike 2 | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 reportedly earned Valve nearly $1 billion from case openings ValveValve has been claimed to have earned around $1 billion from Counter-Strike 2 skin case openings in 2023, according to reports that tracked case unboxings and price trends in the game. CS2 finally launched towards the end of the year on September 27, 2023, as Valve’s leading FPS title has been well underway with its new era of Counter-Strike. Since launch, it has remained unbeaten at the top of the Steam charts, and has reigned supreme as the most-played game on the platform. This surge in popularity has also led to a fresh wave of players, creators and streamers flooding into the game to test their luck with buying and opening skin cases. With many skins and cases being sold for thousands and even millions of dollars, they have become some of the most desired items in gaming. One of which was a Blue Gem AK-47, which was discovered after 10 years and has a worth of around $1 million. Now, it has been reported that Valve has allegedly earned close to $1 billion from case openings in CS2. Valve claimed to have made around $1 billion from CS2 cases According to CS2 Case Tracker’s year-in-review for 2023, Valve’s estimated revenue generated from CS2 cases last year was $980 million. The staggering figures reported that also over 400 million cases were unboxed and nearly 360 million keys were consumed. Aside from this, case prices were also claimed by the site to have increased in price by 178% in 2023, which contributed to the rise in earnings. CS2 Case Tracker stated: “Counter-Strike 2’s announcement on March 22nd led to a significant increase in unboxing numbers in March and April, peaking at 50.3 million unboxings in April.” They added: “On April 25, the highest number of unboxings this year was recorded, with an impressive 6.6 million cases.” The reports from CS2 Case Tracker are estimated figures, based off tracking the number of opened cases from player inventories. These numbers therefore should be taken with a pinch of salt, and they also do not take into account other factors, such as using trade-up contracts and private inventories. If these were recorded, it would push the reported figures for Valve’s earnings from cases to over the $1 billion mark. However, if these figures are somewhat accurate, CS2 players will be hoping some of this influx of revenue is invested back into the game, after players have became impatient with the lack of updates.

Counter-Strike 2 players want Valve to bring back popular festive feature: “Pallet of Presents” ValveWith Christmas right around the corner, Counter-Strike 2 players have expressed a desire for the return of the popular random gifting feature, the “Pallet of Presents”, from previous holiday events. CS2 Players discussed the holiday feature, which was last available in the game’s 2013 Giftsplosion event, in a Reddit thread, with some expressing a desire to see it return. The “Pallet of Presents”, as the name suggests, is an old holiday item, which grants up to nine players a random gift when opened. The drop also had a cosmetic effect, turning the player who uses the pallet into an animation of Santa delivering presents. “I think they’d be fun,” said one user, before adding the caveat that they’d need to drop good items, with the majority of thread participants involved in the discussion saying they wanted to see it returned “in a changed form”. One suggestion was for all players to receive a key to open their own case, while another idea self-described as “controversial” was for players to choose a skin from their own library to gift to a friend. Another user lamented the item’s use by bad faith actors in the past: “I remember when they increased in price because people start promoting gambling sites through them.” “I don’t think it’s possible since Valve is an indie game company,” said another user; referencing a popular meme used in gaming circles when larger companies blame lack of resources or staff for a failure to include requested features. There hasn’t been any word on an official holiday event for CS2 yet this year, it’s possible that with the game’s recent public release Valve has a quiet Christmas planned for the title.

Counter-Strike 2 players VAC banned for abusing console commands Counter-Strike 2CS2 players have already been permanently banned for misusing console commands during matches. Counter-Strike 2’s beta update gave access to the wider fanbase on September 6 and it has featured a whole overhaul of new features. CS has always been playable via Steam, where Valve has long carried out its anti-cheat initiative, involving receiving reports from players and then reviewing gameplay footage to issue bans if necessary. However, some players were surprised when they received the infamous and dreaded permanent VAC ban after they used particular console commands during their CS2 matches. CS2 players receive VAC ban for abusing console commands Popular CS creator Don Haci posted to Twitter/X stating that many players had been VAC banned for using the console commands to instantly spin 180 degrees while playing. It was then further confirmed by another user who replied and provided footage of themselves constantly spamming the commands at the press of a button due to the action using key binding. This allowed them to spin in the opposite direction in the blink of an eye, which gives an unfair advantage if an enemy attacks you from behind. He showed his ban confirmation message and screenshots of his in-game chat messages, where he said “It was fine until I wrote in the chat that the players reported me, the second a report came in I got untrusted (banned).” “For those who don’t know, you don’t get banned by executing a command you have to bind it and extensively use it,” a commenter responded. “Spinning faster than what trusted angles are capped too, gee gee,” another user said. At the time of writing, Valve has yet to provide a response in regards to this console command in Counter-Strike 2. CS2 players have also been dominating the top of the ranked Premier leaderboards by using cheaters to boost them.

Counter-Strike 2 players spot return of rare CSGO bug as weapons deal absurd damage ValveCounter-Strike 2 players are experiencing the return of a rare CSGO bug that allows weapons to deal far more damage than intended, one even shooting fully armored players through walls. Now nearly a month into Counter-Strike 2’s full release, players are discovering a plethora of bugs that have riddled the game early on. From glitched hitboxes to AMD’s Anti-lag+ feature giving false bans, and of course, some wild peak exploits as well. And another bug, that once previously existed as a rare occurrence in CSGO, appears to have now made its way into Counter-Strike 2. According to player reports across the Counter-Strike forums, you can now get one shot with a Scout through a wall, despite having full armor and health, even if the round only hits your body. In a post made on the CSGO subreddit, a player showed off this bug in effect, getting one shot by a Scout despite it being impossible in that situation. The player tried to check the console to see how much damage it dealt, however, that feature was removed. In fact, another commenter also shared a clip of them experiencing the same bug, which according to the kill, led to their death via a wallbanged bodyshot despite having full health and armor. Others in the replies also pointed out that the USP, a free gun for CTs, could also pull off this glitch. This bug is a recurring problem with CS, with a similar bug happening two years ago in CSGO. Although, the bug was quite rare. The explanation for that bug was that the bullet must’ve penetrated the wall and hit the neck’s hitbox, however, it then clipped into the head. But the game’s kill feed didn’t show a headshot. It’s unknown if the reasoning is the same for CS2’s version of the infamous bug. Valve has been pushing more updates over the past few weeks to eliminate as many bugs for a smooth IEM Sydney 2023, the first CS2 LAN event, so it’s likely this bug will be fixed in no time.

Counter-Strike 2 players report being wrongly kicked for “input automation” after SOCD update Valve / RazerValve announced that it would be cracking down on users relying on input automation techniques like null scripts and Snap Tap features, but players report being kicked from matches without the use of any SOCD techniques. Valve’s decision to kick players using input automation on official servers comes after Razer introduced Snap Tap to its Huntsman V3 Pro lineup of keyboards. However, following the rule change, players are reporting that they are being kicked from matches using normal strafing maneuvers and jiggle peeking. Dexerto has tested Counter-Strike 2’s new Vac 3.0 rules using a variety of popular keyboards, some of which use cutting-edge features like Snap Tap and Rapid Trigger. The keyboards tested were the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro TKL, Arbiter Studio Polar 75 Pro, the Wooting 60HE, and the Higround Summit 65. *Results for one kick were not for input automation, but for network instability. The results reveal that Valve’s input automation methodology appears to be working as intended, but users on social media claim otherwise. Older keyboards with no special features are also allegedly getting kicked from matches, one user stated: “This is so broken. I just joined a casual game and got kicked for input automation 3 rounds in. I don’t know if you guys need to fine-tune your settings, but I’m using a Keychron K3 with NO input automation tools.” Loopholes are already being found Jump-throw binds have also been affected in Counter-Strike 2, meaning that this staple technique is now not allowed on official Valve servers. However, users have already found loopholes to get around the new update. While there are fewer reports of this method being safe or unsafe, for now, it appears that the input automation update is still in its early stages. While Dexerto’s testing revealed that Valve’s methodology appears to be solid, reports of inconsistencies are circulating on social media.

Counter-Strike 2 players realize aiming in CS:GO was broken the whole time Valve/Counter-Strike 2As the Counter-Strike 2 beta received a further update, giving access to more CS fans and new features, CS2 players have realized CS:GO shooting was “off”. Counter-Strike 2 was revealed to be Valve’s direct sequel to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which has been in CS2 beta testing since March 22. After a large update on August 31, even more players have been able to access the upcoming game and the various new features. With both of these combined, this has led to many fans in the community digging into the game and actively comparing what is different from CSGO to Counter-Strike 2, better or for worse. Counter-Strike 2 players realise aiming and shooting was broken in CSGO One particular Reddit user posted to the Global Offensive subreddit, who had noticed the way players aim and shoot their guns was completely different in CS2. After jokingly using MS Paint as a means to highlight what the mouse input should be doing, the video went on to compare CSGO’s “frame-based input,” with CS2’s “raw input,” using gameplay footage from each game. CSGO’s aiming mechanics highlight the delay coming from the frame-based system as the creator misses, while CS2’s shooting is shown to give a more real-time response allowing the author to hit his flick shot cleanly. The post gained a lot of traction, with the majority of users being shocked by the differences shown and praising Valve’s sequel. “So basically CSGO aiming was off all these years and we just got used to it,” one said. “This is a very nice win for CS2. Only other games I know that have this are Reflex Arena, Diabolical and Overwatch,” Another said. While some fans remained less convinced: “All games are off, cs2 is gonna feel different to all other games,” a user said. CS legend s1mple has also been experimenting with the game, where he has revealed all of the best settings he is using in the CS2 beta.

Counter-Strike 2 players mesmerized by new Overpass water physics in July 17 update ValveCounter-Strike 2 players are mesmerized by the new Overpass water physics which arrived in the July 17 update as Valve takes another step forward into a new era. As much of Counter-Strike’s player base awaits the full release of CS2, slated for this summer, those with access to the closed beta already have been enjoying the earl build as Valve pumps out regular updates introducing new maps and game modes. With every new major update and especially with every new map ported over, players are treated to improved visuals alongside some unique interactions due to new Source 2 physics. From volumetric smokes and liquid shaders, the addition of Office showing off the glass-shattering physics, and even a cheeky chicken roasting function, there’s plenty new to discover. Now, with the addition of Overpass and Vertigo with the new July 17 update, players can see for themselves the much-touted water physics the transition to Source 2 brings. In Overpass, namely around the sewers area of the B site, you can see for yourself the remarkably improved water physics. With the water now realistically emulating how it would flow and ripple in real life. And it further emulates the ripples left behind as you walk through it, even foaming up when you shoot, walk, and chuck a grenade in it. This step forward has left the community mesmerized. 100 Thieves’ founder, Nadeshot, said of the update, “I’m not one that tends to be excited about visuals in a video game unless it involves weapon skin but this s*** is actually sick. Might be recency bias because I’ve been playing CS lately, but I’m hyped.” “Amazing. Insane. So sick,” were just some of the responses below the now-viral clip. Though not everyone was immediately onboard the hype train, with some sharing concern over the possible performance impact. When the CS Twitter account shared a short video showcasing CS2’s water physics on July 17, it instantly became a massive hit. Gabe Follower, a Counter-Strike leaker, pointed out that the devs have shown off new Source 2 features with every new update and asked what new feature could be next. To which the CS Twitter account responded with a GIF from their seemingly favorite TV show, The Office. However, despite the plethora of updates given to the closed beta already, only a very limited amount of players actually have access to it. We’ll be sure to update you here when further access opens up in the coming months.

Counter-Strike 2 players impersonating Michael Jackson with insane peek exploit ValveCounter-Strike 2 players are impersonating Michael Jackson in-game with an exploit that allows them to lean while peeking. When it comes down to Counter-Strike there are a lot of ways to peek an enemy. Be it jiggle peeking, crouch peeking, and especially wide peeking. Many of the different methods have various nicknames from the community. Be it the Xantares peek, named after the CS pro for his love of quick peeking, or the Ferarri peek, named for the speed in which pro players would wide peek and kill an enemy, fans get creative. However, with Counter-Strike 2 now out, it seems we have a new way of peeking, the Michael Jackson peek. Although, this one appears to be a devious bug. The Michael Jackson peek was first uncovered by a player on the CSGO subreddit in which an enemy could be seen leaning while peeking, a mechanic very much not intended in CS2. Naturally, seeing an enemy pull off this peek could throw off the aim of any other player. Once the clip started spreading around, a player on the CSGO forum decided to create a config to allow others to pull off the Michael Jackson peek consistently, allowing anyone to easily lean while peeking. Naturally, the community used the fact that you can lean in CS2 to create hilarious clips. From absolutely wrecking enemies with the unorthodox peek to making their characters hip dance. Even Valve got in on the joke, changing their Twitter banner to include a tiny Michael Jackson as a nod to the joke. Unfortunately for the jokesters, Valve has patched out the bug in an October 13 update, but the short-lived movement mechanic most likely be missed by players.

Counter-Strike 2 players hit with VAC bans for setting their DPI too high ValveCounter-Strike 2 players are being hit with VAC bans for setting their DPI too high, with the AI overwatch detecting the quick jittery movements as hacks. Counter-Strike 2 has finally gone through the first month of its full release, with a whole tournament being played between, however, bugs have inundated the game since release. From the more innocent bugs such as the “Michael Jackson peek”, to the more serious problems of peekers’ advantage which has had a lot of players and pros alike complain. However, a new bug has been discovered where players have been receiving VAC bans on Steam for having DPI settings that were too high for the game’s liking. According to players who were unexpectedly hit with the bug, and those who tested it out, if you were to change your mouse’s DPI to its max mid-game, which is around 16,000 to 25,600 depending on the mouse, and start spinning around frantically, you can get a VAC ban. The ban can happen regardless without anyone reporting you. Rather, as players speculate, CS2’s new AI overwatch, which is Valve’s proprietary software to determine if a player is cheating, is seemingly falsely banning what it perceives as aim hacks. And players have been documenting this bug. Various users across Twitter, Reddit, and even Chinese players on Bilibili have been demonstrating how replicable the bug is by recording themselves getting banned on new accounts. It may seem ridiculous for a player to do this in the first place, however, increasing your DPI and spinning around madly is a plain old fun thing to do while in a casual game for players, which was exactly how one user on Reddit discovered the bug when they were hit with a VAC ban while doing it. Valve has yet to respond to the bugs, however, Valve has been updating CS2 regularly since release, so a quick patch to the bug is most likely coming in the next week.

Counter-Strike 2 players frustrated as game launches with key feature “broken” ValveCounter-Strike 2 has launched with a key feature, the surrender option, being “broken” as it traps players in the server. Counter-Strike 2 has finally officially launched, with the wider world finally having a chance to check out Valve’s vision of CS in Source 2. However, with a new game release, there are always a few hiccups. From being unable to change the View model to left-handed, to the plethora of missing game modes from CSGO, there’s plenty not quite right with the new sequel. Now, another hiccup has been discovered by players upon loading into CS2’s official launch, you can’t surrender a match unless you have all five members on your team. With multiple posts on the relevant Counter-Strike subreddits, players are reporting that even though they had the majority of the vote, they still couldn’t surrender their games, due to the fact they were missing members. Many of the gamers reported that their teammates didn’t merely disconnect, rather, they abandoned the game, yet the bug still didn’t allow the rest of the team to surrender their game. It seems CS2 is treating the abandoned members as players who abstained from voting, which automatically refuses to let your team surrender as all players need to vote. This isn’t the first surrender-related bug CS2 has encountered. Around early September, just as Valve was gearing up for CS2’s release, players reported that if only one player voted yes to surrender, the game would immediately end and count as a loss. That bug would happen regardless of if more people voted to not surrender. This bug is no longer in the game, however, it has seemingly been replaced with the bug that doesn’t allow players to surrender games despite a majority vote. Valve hasn’t yet addressed this particular issue but we’ll be sure to keep you posted with any new updates.

Counter-Strike 2 players divided over intrusive anti-cheat to stop cheaters running wild Counter-Strike 2Cheating is an unfortunate reality in online multiplayer games, and Counter-Strike 2 is already facing an uphill battle against cheaters. Yet, for some players, intrusive anti-cheat is simply not an acceptable solution. As the old saying goes, cheaters never prosper. However, in Counter-Strike 2, they get away with it all too often. That is, according to many of the players on the popular r/GlobalOffensive subreddit. While united in their disdain for cheating, they are not quite in agreement on how Valve should confront the problem. One Redditor’s “petition addressed to Valve” has sparked debate, as it cries out for the introduction of intrusive anti-cheat to Counter-Strike 2. For reference, an example of an intrusive anti-cheat is Valorant’s ‘Vanguard’ system, which maintains kernel-level access to your PC both when in and out of game. Given the thread has 1.6k upvotes at time of writing, it’s clear there is some degree of support for the idea. That said, the backlash to this suggestion has been just as impassioned. Beyond mocking OP’s assertion that they “speak for everyone” in the Counter-Strike community, users raised a host of privacy and logistical issues. Counter-Strike 2 players clash over intrusive anti-cheat Foremost, many responses posited that intrusive anti-cheat is an unnecessary security breach. Not only do they doubt the effectiveness of the system to start with, they also disagree with its applicability outside of high-level competitive spaces. With such limited perceived value, this group of players are not keen to opt into what they consider tantamount to “spyware”. Other replies were quick to point out that having intrusive anti-cheat on Counter-Strike 2’s first-party servers would render the game incompatible with Linux systems. While usually a more niche concern, Valve have very intentionally displayed staunch support for the operating system throughout their history. The company’s handheld even operates on Linux natively. As one commenter called attention to, the adoption of intrusive anti-cheat would mean “Valve wouldn’t support one of its flagship games on their Steam Deck”. Secondarily, the original poster called for an increase in the game’s tick rate from 64 to 128. They’re far from alone in this request. Upon Counter-Strike 2’s release, Valve made claims of being able to bypass the consideration of tick rate by introducing ‘sub-ticks’, which they proposed could calculate “precise actions between ticks”. However, while this might be true, it has resulted in bizarre moments of gameplay where players are consistently killed around corners, at least from their point of view. While fan response to the sub-tick system has been underwhelming, up until recently, dissatisfied players had the option of accessing 128 tick third-party servers via FACEIT. However, Valve later locked all servers to 64 tick, so this is no longer possible. It remains to be seen if Valve has any plans to implement an official increase to server tick rate or to beef up Counter-Strike 2’s anti-cheat systems. In the meantime, the debate rages on.

Counter-Strike 2 players discover why CS2’s AWP is worse than CSGO’s ValveCounter-Strike 2 players have discovered a somewhat hidden yet massive nerf to CS2’s AWP in comparison to CSGO’s, leading many to understand why high-profile AWPers like s1mple are stepping away from pro play. Counter-Strike 2‘s launch has certainly been a controversial one. Though some of the initial hype has been lived up to between the game’s drastically improved graphics and new features, there are also a lot of changes that didn’t quite stick the landing. Even CS2’s devs have admitted that the launch has been “bumpy”, and that there are some things that they’d like to fix. However, there’s one thing that appeared not to have been touched: the AWP. While it got a somewhat controversial magazine size nerf late in CSGO’s life, the AWP is sacred when it comes to Counter-Strike. It’s meant to exist as a very expensive one-shot kill option that’ll put a hole through whatever it’s aimed at. However, Counter-Strike 2 players have discovered that the AWP got a huge change in the transition to CS2, one so controversial that many aren’t sure whether it was intended or if it’s just a bug. Counter-Strike 2 players discover massive AWP nerf With the AWP being a strong enough weapon to warrant its own role on a team, it’s no surprise that it’s Counter-Strike’s most iconic weapon. The moment someone gets their hands on an AWP, the game changes. However, with CS2 getting a spray decrease on pretty much every weapon, hitting that initial AWP shot became that much more important in Counter-Strike 2 compared to CSGO. Some thought this was a core part of why the AWP felt a bit harder to use in CS2, and that’s partially correct. Players have discovered that getting hit while scoping with the AWP throws off your accuracy, something that wasn’t the case in CSGO. While that window of reduced accuracy isn’t too long, it’s long enough to throw off your shot. Especially in the case of high level players who will be landing shots much more consistently than the average player. Some have speculated that every weapon has some amount of shake when you get hit now, and that it’s just much more noticeable with the AWP than it is with other guns. Even dev1ce, one of Counter-Strike’s most esteemed AWPers, was surprised to learn about this nerf. Whatever the case, Counter-Strike 2 players are not happy about the AWP being so drastically nerfed. Whether or not Valve addresses the gun’s reduced accuracy remains to be seen.

Counter-Strike 2 players discover “game-breaking” wallbangs on Nuke ValveCounter-Strike 2 players have discovered several “game-breaking” wallbang locations on the newly reintroduced Nuke map. Counter-Strike 2 recently received a new patch on June 30, 2023, which added some new content to the game like a Casual game mode, and reintroduced two maps with Nuke and Office. However, it’s important to note that both Nuke and Office are classified as Upgrade maps, meaning they’ve essentially just received some lighting and texture changes as opposed to being reworked from the ground up. Unfortunately, it seems Valve may have to give at least Nuke a bit more attention as some CS2 players have discovered some “game-breaking” wallbang locations on the newly added map. Counter-Strike 2 player highlights wallbang locations on Nuke Counter-Strike content creator and streamer austincs made a YouTube video called “CS2 Nuke is Paper Thin,” where he highlighted several different locations he and fellow player Loagurt found where players could take advantage of some devastating wallbangs. For those who may not know, a “wallbang” occurs when a player shoots through a wall in a game and is able to kill an enemy player on the other side without ever having to see them. Austincs opened up his video by claiming that “Right now CS2 has some pretty game-breaking wallbangs, and if I showed you this right here you’d probably be a little concerned…” During this clip, the streamer fired a Scar-20 into a door frame on Nuke, which passed through a wall all the way into Trophy Room. The streamer event went as far as to call Counter-Strike 2’s Nuke “basically 1.6 at this point.” Counter-Strike fans will know that 1.6 was the latest version of the original Counter-Strike which was notorious for how easy it was to wallbang in nearly every map. Austincs highlighted several different spots where Sniper shots would penetrate up to 5 walls with an AWP. Even weapons like the Negev can be spammed through walls, peppering unsuspecting players traveling through doors. The CS2 content creator’s video highlights a variety of different spots, so players interested in learning more should check out the full video. However, considering the current state of Nuke’s wallbangs, this could very well be something Valve may need to look into in the near future.

Counter-Strike 2 players claim they’re suffering from “unplayable” stuttering Valve CorporationWhile the reception for Counter-Strike 2’s beta has been mostly positive, many players are claiming that severe stuttering makes the game “unplayable” for them despite, on paper, having high FPS. Counter-Strike 2 is right around the corner, and players have begun jumping into matches on the game’s beta as it gets polished ahead of launch. Despite it having much higher graphical fidelity than its predecessor, players on most PC configurations haven’t had any issues opening the game and getting it to run. However, some have noticed that they have some serious stuttering once they get into a CS2 match. The Counter-Strike 2 reddit has been flooded with players asking for a solution to the problem, and, though some were able to fix it by enabling v-sync (which is more of a compromise than a fix), the issue seems to be plaguing much of the playerbase. Counter-Strike 2 players demand fixes to stuttering issues When it comes to having a smooth, high-FPS gaming experience, raw framerate isn’t everything. While having enough power to hit those highs is important, it’s just as crucial to have a consistent framerate and even frame pacing. The 99th percentile measurement when it comes to framerate is essential when it comes to seeing how consistent your framerate is. If you’re playing a game and it reads 250 FPS but your 99% FPS average is closer to, say, 100, the game feels like you’re playing at 100. But, when it comes to situations where the average is that far off from the peak, it’s likely a result of stuttering and, in the above example, an experience that feels much worse than a steady 100 FPS. This brings us to CS2, where a user posted a video of their 99% average going from 60 to 110 to 70, all while their overall FPS displayed as 170. This is the kind of thing that causes severe jittering. They weren’t the only one to complain, either. The Counter-Strike 2 reddit and Steam community page for the game have players claiming that they’re suffering from similar issues. One user claimed that, despite having over 700 in-game FPS on a 240Hz monitor, they couldn’t get rid of the stuttering unless they turned on v-sync. For those who know how v-sync works, this doesn’t exactly solve the problem. While locking the framerate to your monitor’s refresh rate can help create a smoother experience overall, it also creates input lag. In a competitive shooter like CS2 where every 1/16th of a second counts, input delay is never ideal. It’s worth mentioning that stuttering could be a result of CS2 servers being a bit more loaded than they were before due to all the new beta participants, but, with the amount of players affected, there’s a good chance this isn’t the case. It remains to be seen if Valve addresses the stuttering problem in a patch ahead of Counter-Strike 2’s launch.

Counter-Strike 2 players are sick of “laggy” servers ruining the game Counter-Strike 2CS2 players have had enough of Counter-Strike 2’s “broken” servers as fans have become increasingly frustrated and asked for them to be fixed immediately. Counter-Strike 2 was fully released on September 27 after it went through numerous months of testing in the CS2 beta. CSGO’s sequel came along with an overhaul of new features, including a whole new Sub-Tick system designed to improve the servers for smoother gameplay. However, fans were left disappointed in the beta and instead cried out for Valve to ditch their 64-tick CS2 servers for the widely preferred 128 ticks. Now, with Counter-Strike 2 having been fully released, players are still being left furious by the servers that are “ruining” their matches. Counter-Strike 2 fans have had enough of “broken” servers Many CS2 players have expressed their frustration with the game’s server across social media showing them being eliminated without seeing their opponents or dying moments after a gunfight. One player in particular has highlighted how the servers gave a strong “peekers advantage” to an enemy player who wiped him out before he even saw him, due to server delay on their side. After they killed one, another user killed them instantly from behind the wall, who you only see for a split second after they had died. With the player being on “10 ping” which has been widely considered as exceptionally low and therefore the player’s connection to the server should be fast, the community has been left in uproar. They have cried out for Valve to “fix” the Counter-Strike 2 servers, which numerous people have said are worse than CSGO. “Honestly how are you supposed to hold anything as CT with this sh*t happening,” one player responded. “This is getting tiring, I feel like there’s always some guy running around a bend with AK or M4 and getting a running headshot on me.” “Honestly this is the worst example I’ve seen of peeker’s advantage in any game.” At the time of writing, Valve has not made any further announcements or updates regarding their servers.

Counter-Strike 2 player left stunned as knife somehow catches fire Twitter: ValveA Counter-Strike 2 player was left stunned as their knife unexpectedly caught fire during a round on Overpass. Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) released on September 27 and has been the center of attention in the gaming community, not just for its graphical improvements and map overhauls but also for the many bugs and issues that have surfaced post-launch. One such bizarre and unexpected bug has left a player and the CS2 community in awe as a player recently shared footage on Reddit showcasing how their knife managed to catch fire in the middle of a round. The clip shows the player switching to a Molotov and lobbing it toward Overpass’ water-logged area close to the B site. However, upon switching back to their knife, it somehow emerged ablaze, with the blade completely on fire while the player still held the grip. The player, unsurprisingly, appears to be shocked and retreats to a safer location while seemingly trying to comprehend what’s happening. Realizing the fire isn’t extinguishing, the player begins swiping the blade, but the fire doesn’t go out. The player then dashes back to where the enemy team is located, possibly to flaunt their fiery knife skin, but the round concludes before they can do so. The Counter-Strike 2 community was quick to share their amazement in the Reddit thread, with many wondering if the fiery knife would have dealt extra damage had it made contact with an enemy. One observant player even noted, “The AWP had it too but OP switched too quick, I want my .308 flamethrower Valve.” This fascinating incident isn’t the only issue that CS2 players have encountered since the game’s release. Players have reported game-breaking bugs, such as random elements from Mirage appearing inside other maps, obscuring vision, and impacting gameplay. Others have slammed the “underwhelming” launch and criticized the “laggy” servers. Regardless, CS2 has already witnessed remarkable success, with a peak player count of more than 1.3 million players. Yet, the presence of game-breaking bugs and the absence of key features have left the community wanting a more polished Counter-Strike experience.

Counter-Strike 2 player finds best settings to avoid input lag ValveA Counter-Strike 2 player found the best settings to avoid input lag after meticulous testing, and it turns out graphic quality isn’t the biggest problem. When it comes to competitive games, players will do anything to gain an advantage, even if it means reducing their graphic quality and changing aspect ratios just to milk as much FPS and reduce as much input lag as possible. This is why you often see so many of Counter-Strike’s best players meticulously tune their settings to the lowest possible quality in order to minimize as much lag as possible. However, have you ever wondered how much impact each setting has when turned up to its max? A player too was curious and tested it in the Counter-Strike 2 Beta. A player on the CSGO subreddit, Piwielle, decided to test CS2’s video settings to see which options cause the most lag, and there’s really only one setting you should always have turned off. According to Piwielle’s testing, Vertical Sync (VSync) does the most damage as it adds an additional 15 milliseconds of input lag, which is usual as it’s always good advice to disable it if you want more frames. So if you haven’t turned it off, you should. The other setting that could impact your input lag is turning the Multisampling Anti-Aliasing mode up to 8x MSAA, this can add 0.89 milliseconds of lag, which is far better than enabling VSync. Surprisingly, graphic settings like model, shader, and particle details when turned up too high or very high only add a minuscule amount of input lag, just at 0.15 milliseconds. However, turning up the Global Shadow Quality and Ambient Occlusion seems to be the worst of the bunch as they both add 0.30 ms and 0.33 ms respectively. Of course, the input lag that those settings add is minuscule in comparison to VSync, so if you do want to enjoy CS2’s beautiful usage of Source 2’s engine, it wouldn’t harm to leave it on high.

Counter-Strike 2 player falls for the ultimate bait while trying to ‘remove’ their legs ValveAn extremely hyped PC game launch means a new opportunity for some age-old tricks to shine and Counter-Strike 2 players are already falling for the bait in hilarious ways while trying to ‘remove’ their legs. After months of rumors and speculation, Valve formally lifted the veil on Counter-Strike 2 earlier this week. With flashy new visual upgrades, performance enhancements under the hood, and even core gameplay system changes, there’s plenty for veterans and newcomers alike to wrap their heads around. However, beyond the highlight-worthy tweaks on the surface, devs have also adjusted a few smaller aspects of the iconic tactical shooter as well. Perhaps the most notable of this bunch is the addition of legs. Yes, you read that correctly. All characters in this new version of CS can actually see their lower half. While looking straight down, those with access to the early beta will notice a set of legs obstructing the view of the ground. Rather than being invisible in your perspective like the original, legs are now there for everyone to see at all times. Naturally, such a hilarious, yet fundamental change to the title has a select bunch of players wishing they could disable the feature. In short, some were hoping to see an option in the settings menu to revert the change and get back to their legless ways. That’s not quite the case, however, as Valve has seemingly made its mind up in that regard. Legs are here for everyone and there’s no way to remove them, at least not just yet in the early access build. Using this situation to their advantage, popular CS streamer ‘ohnePixel’ baited a teammate with an age-old trick on March 23. With an ally looking to disable their legs in Counter-Strike 2, he advised them to press F10. “I think you can toggle the legs on and off,” he said in a convincing manner. “Try F10, and then they should fade away.” The player did as they were instructed and in the blink of an eye, their character model had vanished from the match. They pressed F10 without a second thought and found themselves booted back to the main menu. Whether it’s F10 or the other classic, Alt + F4, PC gamers have been deviously tricking friends with these inputs in various games for decades now, and Counter-Strike 2 is no different.

Counter-Strike 2 player discovers exploit for perfect bunny hopping, but there’s a catch ValveA CS2 player has found an in-game exploit to perfectly bunny-hop around the map, which comes with a catch if you don’t bind your keys. Counter-Strike 2 launched on September 27, with tonnes of content for new and returning players to enjoy, which includes a handful of gameplay changes, overhauled maps, visual upgrades, and system improvements. Despite all the additions, Valve has built off the classic CSGO experience. Various common strategies, playstyles, and weapons, have still proved to be as effective as they are in previous titles. One of these is the movement method of bunny hopping, which has long been a fan-favorite since it was first found in early titles. Now, a CS2 player has discovered how to perfectly bunny hop around the map, but it does come with a catch. Counter-Strike 2 player reveals how to perfectly bunny hop Ironically, the player who posted the clip to Twitter/X had the user name BunnyHop, who titled it: “fps_max 32 in console makes you hit every bunnyhop perfectly in CS2.” They are seen typing in the command fps_max 32 into the game’s console, which sets the max frames per second to 32 while playing. “This isn’t a joke btw, go try it. You just scroll normally with fps_max 32 and they’re almost all perfect bunny hops,” the user further commented. This allowed them to easily bunny hop and quickly move around the map Nuke which otherwise can prove challenging to time correctly. However, there is a catch. Capping your fps to 32 will directly impact the rest of your gameplay creating a clunky and laggy experience that will make it nearly impossible to win your gunfights. Despite this, many pointed out in the comment section that you can simply solve the issue by key-binding: “Bind scroll down to jump and max fps 32.” This allows players to quickly toggle on and off the FPS cap to allow them to hit perfect bunny hops without negatively impacting gameplay. One responded: “This is unironically true I’ve been hitting crazy hops since CS2 dropped on my sh*t laptop.” Even though various players had reportedly been using it without any issues, others were worried after Valve had already banned players on CS2 for abusing commands and key binds. If you are unfamiliar with key-binding or console commands then simply follow our complete guide.

Counter Strike 2 player discovers a teleporting C4 bug that makes item invisible ValveA Counter Strike 2 player has discovered a confusing bug that teleports the C4 while also somehow making the item invisible to the player. Counter Strike 2’s beta release has been met with a lot of hype and devotion from fans. The hunt for CS2 was a journey, with leaks from a NVIDIA driver, a report from Richard Lewis, and obsessing over every single update to Steam’s database. However, now that it’s out, players have an opportunity to help the devs playtest the game. Obviously, since it is still in beta, it suffers from a lot of bugs. From being able to give yourself wall hacks, to being able to keep your weapons after death, there are a lot of smaller glitches that fans have been noticing pop up during games. And now, we have yet another confusing bug. A player has discovered a C4 bug which not only teleports it off the map, but also makes it invisible at the same time. Counter Strike C4 glitch causes item teleport and disappear After a player dropped the bomb on Dust 2’s A long door, the C4 miraculously teleporting out of the map. The player makes an attempt to retrieve the bomb, but of course it’s completely out of reach. He then goes on to tell the team that the bomb is out of the map when they tell him it’s still at the doors. And they were right. He picked up the bomb and was left completely confused as to what had happened. Somehow, the bug not only teleported the C4 out of the map for the player, it was invisible. Meaning it was at different places for different players. Obviously, this bug is quite the game breaker as in the heat of the moment the terrorist team could be wasting precious seconds trying to figure out where the bomb really is. So, if you are miraculously in the CS2 closed beta, do report any bugs you come across so its full release can be as polished as possible.

Counter-Strike 2 October 25 patch notes: Map tweaks & fixes for Inferno, Nuke, more ValveInferno looks great in CS2, but is still plagued by saving. Counter-Strike 2’s October 25 patch notes are here, and it has brought a plethora of changes and fixes to various maps. Here is all you need to know. Counter-Strike 2 is about to hit its first month into release, however, much of its first outing has been embroiled in the news of many bugs that have plagued the game. However, Valve has been releasing regular patches to fix the various bugs affecting players, and for this new update, the devs have seen fit to even tweak some of the maps, albeit small changes. So here is all you need to know about the October 25 patch note. Counter-Strike 2 October 25 patch notes Maps Various bug fixes and tweaks: Inferno Improved bomb visibility when planted in fountain on bombsite B – Improved grenade bounce behavior on roof and stone models to make it more predictable – Removed part of railing on balcony – Adjusted garage door on bombsite A to improve player readability and clipping – Fixed lighting bug on Inferno workshop map – Fixed various micro-gaps – Overall clipping/movement polish – Overpass Removed or tweaked models and textures to improve player readability – Adjusted lighting in certain areas to improve player readability – Adjusted grenade clipping in various areas – Nuke Fixed clipping on ramp room doorway tread plates to prevent erroneous grenade bounces – Fixed collision on doorways from ramp to bombsite B to be more accurate – Improved player readability against container on bombsite B – Fixed some cases where players clipped through garage door at lobby – Removed dynamic light at squeaky to prevent shadows giving away player position through doorway – Fixed various holes in world – Overall clipping/movement polish – Dust2 Fixed micro-cracks in crate models – Anubis Adjusted grenade clipping in and around bombsite B to prevent grenades getting stuck in tight spots – Fixed multiple cases where dropped weapons clipped through world geometry – Fixed multiple holes and cracks in world. – Fixed missing collision on geometry where c4 could be thrown out of the map – Clipped multiple areas where players could stack, providing an unfair vantage point – Fixed lightmap issues around CT spawn water – Improved player readability in mid – Improved CT team intro position – Overall clipping/movement polish – Office Improved player readability at CT spawn around swat van – Fixed gaps in some cubemaps which were causing lighting issues – Fixed some lighting artifacts on crates at low settings – Disabled motion on vending machine – Overall clipping/movement polish – Vertigo Fixed ladder collision blocking bullets and grenades – Fixed steel beams having incorrect surface property – Overall clipping/movement polish – Mirage Fixed various bullet penetration issues – Overall clipping/movement polish – Ancient Made fog adjustments to improve player readability – Fixed micro-cracks in crate models – Fixed multiple holes and cracks in the world – Made visibility adjustments to donut area – Fixed bullet penetration issues through wood panels near bombsite B – Fixed material properties on some tarp models – Overall clipping/movement polish – Misc Fixed some cases where weapons could fall out of the world – Fixed a bug where Molotov self-damage could be incorrectly penalized as team damage – Improved performance for muzzle flashes and HE grenade effects – Various bug fixes and tweaks to weapon finishes and stickers – Added code to correct packets that arrive out of order in quick succession. These packets were showing up as loss in the net graph. – Fixed a bug where SDR routing could sometimes choose the second-best route when immediately connecting, and then stick to that route for too long. –

Counter-Strike 2 October 2 patch notes: Movement changes, graphics fixes, more ValveThe latest patch for Counter-Strike 2 is now live, addressing several gameplay, graphics, and animation issues. Here’s everything you need to know. Counter-Strike 2 players have been running into all kinds of strange glitches and issues with the game since its full release on September 27. From performance issues, crashes, and even players’ knives catching on fire after throwing a Molotov, it’s clear that CS2 isn’t quite the most polished and optimized experience for some players. Yet, Valve is actively working on fixing many of these issues, and they’ve managed to tackle some of them already in the October 2 update. From movement enhancements on mud surfaces to crucial fixes in graphics and animations, this update addresses several key areas in the game. See below for the detailed patch notes for the October 2 update to CS2. Counter-Strike 2 October 2 Patch Notes Gameplay Removed movement penalty on mud surfaces – Graphics Fixed a bug with shader compilation when connecting to a server that was causing hitches after connecting. Note that these hitches may still exist on AMD GPUs; we are working with AMD to address this – Animation Fixed a bug where knife slashing couldn’t be interrupted with an inspect – Misc Various bug fixes and tweaks to weapon finishes and gloves – Fixed a case where molotov/incendiary grenades would create a fire ring in the air – Improved performance of molotov/incendiary fire extinguishing – Various improvements to weapon dropping and throwing – Various crash fixes –

Counter-Strike 2 Nvidia Reflex tested: Is it good for CS2? Valve, NvidiaLooking to get the fastest responses possible in Counter-Strike 2? There’s an Nvidia Reflex CS2 setting, but what does it do, and should you turn it on? We investigate. Counter-Strike 2 is finally here, and with it comes Valve’s brand-new Source 2 engine, packed with all-new features that hope to make your experience even smoother than before. One of them is Nvidia Reflex, but you might be scratching your head at what it actually does. We dive deep into Nvidia Reflex, to tell you precisely what the new tool does, and whether you should enable it or not. What is Nvidia Reflex in CS2? Nvidia Reflex is an option found in Counter Strike-2’s settings, enabling it will cut down on your PC’s latency. This means that when you make any input, such as a mouse click, the PC will ignore going through parts of the render queue, to send your input information straight to the GPU itself. You can see the tech in action for yourself in a video Nvidia released below. Nvidia Reflex can boost your PC’s responsiveness by up to 35%, making it a crucial tool for those looking for a competitive advantage. We’ve tested it for ourselves in other titles such as Overwatch 2, and it’s a genuine game-changer. Using Nvidia Reflex, we entered a controlled environment that showed how a higher refresh rate monitor, alongside Nvidia Reflex, managed to give us a competitive advantage, where we scored more headshots than ever. Should you use Nvidia Reflex in Counter-Strike 2? If you have an Nvidia GPU, there is very little reason why you should not enable it in CS2. In our testing using a PC equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and RTX 4080, we shaved our render latency from 2.1ms to just 1.4ms with the feature enabled. This means that our PC will react slightly faster than before, but the real magic of Reflex is only truly shown when using a compatible mouse and monitor for it, too. Those using compatible mice and monitors will also see a larger latency cutdown, and you can find all-equipped hardware here. We did not have a Reflex-compatible monitor on hand to test, but by using one, you will be able to access Nvidia’s Reflex Latency Analyzer, and really show off the prowess of this game-changing tool. Another thing to note is that to get better render latency, you will have to also have to own an Nvidia GPU. The more powerful the GPU, the lower the latency you’re going to get. Looking for more CS2 content? We’ve got you covered. Counter-Strike 2 competitive changes | Counter-Strike 2 best settings | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 now lets players rent expensive skins for a temporary flex ValveValve is now letting Counter-Strike 2 players rent expensive weapons to temporarily flex on players, without ever actually owning the skin outright. The May 23 Counter-Strike 2 update brought several new tweaks, from Vertigo’a A Site receiving major changes to the M4A4 decreasing in price, and now having a visual distinction between Molotovs and incendiary grenades. Alongside all the gameplay changes also comes a shakeup to cosmetics, with players now able to rent all the skins from the Kilowatt case. As announced by Valve on their blog, following the May 23 update, now when opening a Kilowatt case, you’ll be given the option of renting the entire collection for a week. This only applies to the Kilowatt case. This excludes rare special items such as knife skins, so you’ll only get to use the weapon skins. Additionally, these skins cannot be modified with stickers or nametags, nor can they be sold on the marketplace. Shown in the example picture, when opening a Kilowatt case you’ll be presented with two options. “Open to keep” will let you permanently keep one of the weapon skins you get as per usual. “Open to rent” will allow you to rent all 17 weapon skins for seven days. Once the seven days are up, the skin will be replaced with the stock version of the weapon when it expires. All in all, it should cost around $3.50 USD to rent all the skins if you were to include the cost of the case as well. As a result, you’ll get to temporarily use high-value skins like the AK-47 Inheritance and AWP Chrome Cannon.

Counter-Strike 2 November 16 patch notes: Sniper changes, audio improvements, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s newest November 16 patch notes are here, and they bring a ton of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements to the game. Here is all you need to know about the latest update. We are nearly two months into the release of Counter-Strike 2, however, the long-awaited game was not released without its faults as the game’s many bugs have been well publicized. However, with some time into its opening months and a plethora of patches, the issues have slowly been whittled down as Valve works on refining the sequel. And in the latest patch notes, Valve has set live a new update that seeks to fix a huge list of bugs which have been affecting various maps alongside some quality-of-life improvements. So here is all you need to know about the Counter-Strike 2 November 16 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 November 16 patch notes Gameplay More sub-tick visual and audio feedback improvements – Reduced sniper scope bob animation magnitude and frequency – Fixed a bug causing duck to be slower when the Duck Mode was set to Toggle – Fixed a case where grenade throws weren’t registering on the server – Thrown grenades no longer prematurely detonate if thrown while intersecting a teammate – Players can no longer mitigate fall damage by defusing the bomb – Adjusted weapon drop trajectories to make throwing weapons more consistent, especially when throwing weapons downward – When a network interruption is detected by official game servers, the affected match will be canceled – Added unique sounds for running and jumping on metal railings and poles – Animation Fixed a bug that occurred when interrupting the CZ75a deploy with inspect – Fixed the inspect and other animations for the Push Knives – Fixed a ‘broken wrist’ animation with the Survival Knife – Adjusted the Mac10 first person animation to include strap and bolt movement – Fixed AWP and SSG firing animation/inspect behavior while zoomed in – Fixed a case where the Deagle slide would fail to reset on round restart – The Revolver barrel now incrementally rotates for each shot – Fixed some animation issues with weapons placed in community maps – Fixed cases where the C4 light would not blink when held or holstered by players – Fixed some cases where the player’s shadow would show an incorrect pose – Misc Fixed a bug where bot_knives_only didn’t work for T’s – Fixed some visual issues with demo playback – Improved performance of screen particle effects – Fixed the Mute Enemy Team and Mute All But Friends settings failing to mute voice – Text from blocked players will no longer be visible in the premier pregame chat – Players frozen by half-time gamerules are now immune to certain damage types – Decals now evict the lowermost decal if enough decals overlap in a single location – Player visibility fog adjustment no longer applies to dead ragdolls – Smoke particles no longer stick to dead ragdolls – Fixed self/team burn damage getting recorded as enemy damage – UI Revised some common chat strings – Added convar cl_deathnotices_show_numbers for observers to have quick access to player’s spectate index – Added a warning message for AMD and Nvidia graphics users with out-of-date drivers – “Kevlar & Helmet” entry in the Buy Menu will now present itself as simply “Helmet” when contextually correct – Added time to weekly rollover to the reduced XP message in the player profile tooltip – Fixed kill feed and death panel not displaying correct information if the killer died earlier or disconnected – Fixed round-delayed stats not updating at match end – Changed deathmatch scoreboard stats from K/D/A/Score to K/HS%/DMG/Score – Fixed case where text during defuse would get cut off – Added direction indicators to players in the square radar – Fixed case where kill icon would not display in the post-round damage info panel – Fixed bad string in the commend dialog panel – Fixed case where round stats in the Watch Menu would be assigned to the wrong side – Workshop Fixed custom sound events files in workshop maps – Added some material settings for water refraction/caustics – Workshop maps can now be tagged as supporting Wingman mode – Linux clients can now run workshop maps without requiring -insecure – Added trigger_hostage_reset trigger and logic_eventlistener entities – Added convars sv_walkable_normal and sv_standable_normal to allow community servers to tweak player movement on angled surfaces – Fixed health getting clipped when it exceeds 3 digits – Maps Overpass Fixed various cases where level mesh was disappearing occasionally – Various visual updates and fixes to models and materials – Straightened out some collision that was pushing players off of walls or corners – Turned off the collision of some light fixtures that were pushing players off of walls – Added a metal plate to swat van to hide player feet, adjusted clipping around van – Fixed some small holes in the world – Fixed some texture mapping seams – Added player clipping on some floor grates to smooth player movement – Fixed some issues with the collision and surface property of fire extinguishers – Added and adjusted some grenade clipping – Adjusted some clipping on boxes and cable stacks in connector – Ancient More player and grenade clips adjustments – Closed various holes and cracks in the world – Mirage Fixed clipping around scaffolding at bombsite b to prevent one-way peaking through geo – Office Fixed player getting stuck on large crate in garage – General grenade clip polish – Vending machine break sequence now only happens once to avoid strobing lights – Removed collision from pipes and cctv cameras at ct spawn garage – Added grenade clips to doors at stairwell – Fixed hole in door frame at t-spawn – Fixed texture errors on ceiling at conference room – Fixed some lighting errors on low settings – Fixed weapons getting stuck behind crates at back way – Fixed lighting artifacts in front courtyard – Fixed bad boost onto electrical boxes in garage – Anubis Fixed z-fighting on stairs in connector – Improved ground at bombsite A so that it has more accurate footstep sounds – Fixed gap in world around b-site planting area – Fixed z-fighting a backdrop temple near t-spawn – Fixed missing collision at connector that would allow grenades to fall through world – Fixed hole in world at street that allowed players to see through to canal – Fixed vis issue on street looking back to t-spawn – Fixed UV stretching in connector – Sealed up holes in building rooftops for entire level to prevent grenades getting stuck in void – Fixed holes in lower tunnel – Fixed hole in canal – Inferno Moved bucket on scaffolding on bombsite B that could be mistaken for player during combat – Closed hole to prevent grenades from falling through the map on bombsite A – More player clip adjustments – Fixed various micro gaps – Nuke Minor clipping fixes on rooftops and hut – Better caustics in pool at B site – Fixed vis issue in garage looking towards hell – Vertigo Fixed some light fixtures showing backfaces – Fixed some light fixtures being misaligned – Fixed missing vent pieces in Tunnels – Attempt to fix players clipping through wood boards by stairwell at bombsite b – Fixed bad clip above door at elevator – Fixed flashbang inconsistency with metal gratings at scaffolding – Fixed missing collision on horizontal tower beams at b-site – Added grenade clips around bombsite b to prevent smokes getting caught in bad spaces – Cleaned up geo and did a grenade clip pass around scaffold to make grenades work better – Added grenade clip to b platform – Fixed disconnected girders at mid – Moved stack of drywall at back door>b for better movement/cover – Improved clipping at side – Jobsite injury signs are more responsive –

Counter-Strike 2 March 30 patch notes: Wallhack command disabled, smoke grenade fixes, more ValveValve has released the patch notes for Counter-Strike 2’s March 30 update, which disabled the wallhack command, fixed some smoke grenade issues, and more. Counter-Strike 2 has taken the gaming community by storm as lucky players have flocked to the beta period to experience the improvements made to the traditional Counter-Strike experience. As the game is still in a test beta period, there are plenty of glitches and bugs still present, like the development console command that essentially left wallhacks available to all players. Now, Valve has released an update on March 30, 2023, alongside patch notes for various game fixes. Here’s everything Counter-Strike 2 players need to know about this most recent update. Counter-Strike 2 March 30 patch notes The patch notes came from the official Counter-Strike website, which listed out the updates for each category. Among the biggest changes to the gameplay is the fact that the “‘cl_physics_highlight_active 5’)” command has been disabled, which essentially added a green box around all player models. Additionally, there were a handful of fixes to various grenade types, including High Explosive grenades and the newly revamped smoke grenades. Notably, HE grenades can no longer impact smoke clouds through walls and the throwing arc for Decoy grenades will now display correctly. Counter-Strike 2 fans can find the full patch notes listed below: Release Notes for 3/30/2023 NETWORKING – Multiple network traffic optimizations. – Shooting random seeds are now correctly desynchronized between server and client code. VISUALS – Fixed positions of overhead labels and ping elements at different resolutions. – Fixed halo around enemies to not give away their locations. – Bomb code will now correctly clear when aborting the bomb plant. – Fixed rare inspect animations to be rare and not every anim. – Inspect then reload (“f”, “r”, “f”, “r”) more closely matches CS:GO behavior. – Disabled all development console commands (including “cl_physics_highlight_active 5”). GAMEPLAY – HE grenades no longer affect smokes through walls. – Disabled collisions between ragdolls. – Players will no longer drop weapons when getting a bonus weapon in Deathmatch. – Trajectory preview for decoy grenades is now correct. – Improved behavior of picking up weapons with the use key. INPUT SYSTEM – Buy menu and scoreboard now allow movement while they have focus. – Team intro allows voice chat. – Keys will no longer get stuck when opening the steam overlay. – Fixed many cases where user input would get confused. – Multiple actions cannot be bound to one key. SOUND – Adjustments to smoke grenade sound timing at a distance. – Fixed a bug where flashbang or grenade sound effect would remain if player died while having that sound effect active. – Added dedicated player-only sound when a grenade is correctly jump-thrown. – Fixed chat wheel lines to be restricted to legitimate chat wheel lines that can be configured in game options. DUST II – Fixed a hole in the wall.

Valve warns against idling on CSGO in hopes of joining Counter-Strike 2 test ValveAccording to Valve, players hoping to access the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test by idling on CS:GO’s servers are wasting their time. Upon announcing the Counter-Strike sequel last week, Valve unleashed a surprise limited test beta for select players to join. The studio soon thereafter revealed that Counter-Strike 2’s beta selections were based on a range of factors, some of which included a user’s Steam account standing and recent playtime on official Valve servers. Given the ongoing hype surrounding the testing phase, it should come as no surprise that players who weren’t invited are trying to cheat the system. Valve shares PSA on CS:GO idling for Counter-Strike 2 beta test One way people have tried getting into the beta is by idling on Valve’s CS:GO matchmaking servers. The general idea is to rack up enough playtime to trick Valve into letting them join the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test. However, the studio itself has said that such a tactic will prove little more than a waste of time. The playtime that matters for the currently running beta test was calculated ahead of its launch on Wednesday, March 22. This news will likely disappoint those who’ve made an attempt at gaming the system over the last several days, especially since it’s unclear if and when Valve will host another testing session after this one ends. At least the wait for the full game will not last for too much longer. The free-to-play Counter-Strike experience is expected to launch on an unspecified date this summer. With the summer months fast approaching, Valve developers are bound to share more specifics in the not-too-distant future.

Counter-Strike 2 leak reveals rule change from first to 16 to Valorant-style MR12 ValveDataminers have uncovered a pretty big change in CS2’s new update as it looks to go back to Counter-Strike’s roots with MR12 matches in competitive – similar to how Valorant also does things now. For over a decade, Counter-Strike players have been used to CS:GO and the MR15 match length. The first team to hit 15 puts their opponents on the brink of a loss and, at the very least, secure overtime if things end up at 15-15. Though, getting to 16 means they win. The length of matches has always been a point of contention for players. Some would like to see MR15 used in conjunction wiith shorter round times, while others have been crying out for MR12 – meaning you have to get 13 rounds to win – and going back to the early days of 1.6. Riot Games has taken Valorant down the MR12 path and it’s proven to be pretty popular – especially on the competitive and esports side of things. And, it looks like CS2 could follow suit. CS2 switching to MR12 for shorter matches That’s right, while the C2 limited beta test remains a pretty exclusive club, dataminers have been able to get into the August 15 update to take a look under the hood. Reliable insider Aquarius (aquaismissing) noted that Valve are changing things so Competitive and Premier matches in CS2 are first to 13. This also spells the end for short competitive matches which had lasted a maximum of 16 rounds – so the first to nine wins. “Premier matches will have 20s freezetimes, 1 overtime (the game ends as tie, if you tie the OT), and four 30s timeouts,” the dataminer added. As noted, MR12 would be a bit of a departure from what players and fans have gotten used to over the last decade of CS:GO, but the success of Valorant going that route has set the path for the alternative. Obviously, with this being a beta test, things are going to get ironed out as we go. MR12 will prompt a new way to balance in-game economy too, which will need figuring out. So, we’ll have to see how it goes.

Counter-Strike 2 just banned hundreds of cheaters with expensive skins ValveValve are cracking down on cheaters in Counter-Strike 2 after a massive VAC ban wave hit hundreds of accounts amid complaints from players at all levels. With the release of Counter-Strike 2 finally here, those in the CS community who didn’t manage to get into the limited-test phase are now able to check out what Valve has been working on. While there is plenty of excitement around the new game, there are also a fair few complaints. Many of these stem from cheaters ruining things, as there have been countless numbers of spinbots, wall hacks, and aimbots popping up in matches. Players from all levels – including FaZe Clan’s Robin ‘Ropz’ Kool – have urged Valve to start dishing out some bans and nip the issue in the bud. Well, it appears those calls have been heard as a massive ban wave has gone out. Massive CS2 ban wave sees hundreds of cheaters banned That’s right, on October 2 – just prior to the CS2 update that addressed some movement issues – Valve dropped the banhammer on a few hundred accounts that had bought hacks from a popular cheat seller. The exact number of accounts that have been banned is, as of now, unknown, but players have continued to find profiles that are now unable to play. Some players also noted that many of the accounts owned plenty of expensive inventories too – but had been using cheats anyway. In some of the photos that have surfaced, accounts with multiple Dragon Lore AWPs, M4 Howl skins, and old-school stickers are now locked. Some of these are even using cheats to give themselves skins you couldn’t otherwise get – including a StatTrack Glock | Fade. On top of that, players who had been wrongfully banned after playing the game through Windows 7 have now been given a reprieve and are, once again, unbanned. It remains to be seen if Vac with continue with the pretty public and widespread VAC waves or if they’ll stick to the classic method of just dealing with cheaters on a smaller scale.

Counter-Strike 2 June 30 patch notes: Nuke & Office added, Casual game mode, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s June 30 patch notes have arrived, as Nuke and Office have been added as playable maps, alongside the addition of a Casual game mode, plenty of bug fixes, and more. As Counter-Strike 2 gears up for a Summer release this year, the game’s closed beta has been met with a plethora of new updates polishing the game as its release date seemingly draws near. And as more players slowly get invited into the closed beta, Valve has been adding new features, bug fixes, and with this patch, even new maps and a Casual mode for non-competitive players. So here is all you need to know about the June 30 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 June 30 patch notes Gameplay Added Casual game mode. – Shooting Fixed rare cases where bullets would not follow spray pattern. – Maps Added Nuke to Deathmatch, Casual, and Competitive game modes. – Added Office to Deathmatch and Casual game modes. – Removed Mirage. – Audio Added distance effects to all positional sound sources. – Improvements to 3D sound processing. – General mix tweaks and improvements. – Fixed bug where sometimes sounds would not respect the occlusion values of surrounding geometry resulting in sources appearing closer than what they were. – Fixed missing low frequencies at certain distances away from sound sources such as grenades and weapon fire. – Fixed a bug where some sounds would be slightly louder or quieter depending on the listeners orientation. – Added music cues to Match Accept and Loading screens. – Added unique audio occlusion layer to help with vertical sound positioning in Nuke. – Animation Grenades can now be inspected. – Improved healthshot animations. – Improved inspect behavior for various weapons. – Movement Fixed cases of unintended slow crouch/uncrouch. – Bunny hopping feel should now closely match CSGO running at 128 tick. – Added convar sv_jump_spam_penalty_time to allow fine tuning of bunny hop feel. – The readout for cl_showpos has been enhanced to show the maximum speed of the last 3 seconds; this number is in parenthesis on the ‘vel’ line. – Players can no longer jump at the end of the warmup time. – Networking Sending game delta frames is now asynchronous, reducing dedicated server main thread CPU usage, thus reducing probability of dropped ticks. – Misc Fixed a case where a holstered weapon would be rendered on a dead player. – Added a team-agnostic equip icon for inventory/loadout item tiles. – When possible, switching to spectator mode will default to in-eye spectating – Adjusted the transition between spectator chase cam and roaming cam. – Centered game mode text in loading screen – Removed “Best out of X rounds” from the loading screen. –

Counter-Strike 2 June 25 patch notes: Community maps arrive, bug fixes, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s June 25 patch notes are here, and with the new update, several community maps have been added to the game alongside various bug fixes. Ahead of Counter-Strike 2’s 25th anniversary, many fans speculated that a new Operation, which we haven’t seen in years, would finally be coming as the game’s first since its transition to Source 2. However, the anniversary came and went with no Operation in sight. Now, a week removed from the anniversary, we have gotten an update, but not an Operation. The new June 25 patch added community maps alongside several bug fixes for key maps. Here is all you need to know about Counter-Strike 2’s June 25 patch. Counter-Strike 2 June 25 patch notes Maps Community Maps Added community maps Thera and Mills to Competitive, Casual, and Deathmatch map groups – Added community maps Memento and Assembly to the Wingman map pool – Added community map Pool Day to the Arms Race map pool – Nuke Fixed c4 stuck spots – Ancient Fixed c4 stuck spots, holes in the world, and non-solids causing problems – Vertigo Fixed c4 stuck spots and clipping – Anubis Fixes for grenade collision and clipping – UI Updated the MVP panel in all game modes – Added all-new animated MVP panels to Premier matches – Added several new MVP conditions and adjusted prior MVP rules – Gameplay In Competitive Matchmaking, per-map skill groups are now revealed after you earn two wins on a map. – Video Settings Settings Recommendations Added a Settings Recommendation popup if your display’s refresh rate is set below its maximum at startup. Using your display’s highest refresh rate is generally recommended. – Added a Settings Recommendation popup if NVIDIA G-Sync support is detected but not enabled at startup. Using G-Sync is generally recommended if your system supports it. – Added a Settings Recommendation popup if NVIDIA G-Sync is enabled but not V-Sync and/or NVIDIA Reflex. It is generally recommended to enable all three settings together when they are available. Note that applying these settings will limit your frame rate to your display’s refresh rate or slightly lower, which is usually the smoothest-looking and lowest input latency settings combination. – Removed “Main Menu Background Scenery” and “Item Inspect Background Scenery” settings from the Video Settings page. These settings are still available on the Main Menu and in the Item Inspect screens respectively. – The “Refresh Rate” setting now shows your display’s current refresh rate in Windowed and Fullscreen Windowed modes. – Removed the “Laptop Power Savings” setting which has never actually been configurable in CS2. – Added a “Frame Pacing” section to the Advanced Video settings page. – Added an “NVIDIA G-Sync” row to the Frame Pacing section which tells you whether or not G-Sync is active with your current display settings. This row may be hidden if you’re using the Vulkan renderer or if you’re not using an NVIDIA graphics card. – Added “Maximum FPS In Game” and “Maximum FPS In Menus” sliders to the Frame Pacing section. These control the fps_max and fps_max_ui convars respectively. – Increased the default “Maximum FPS In Menus” setting from 120 FPS to 200 FPS. – The Advanced Video visual preview now uses the “In Game” maximum FPS instead of the “In Menus” maximum. –

Counter-Strike 2 June 16 patch notes: Zeus skins, visual improvements, bug fixes, more ValveCounter-Strike 2 has just released a new patch notes, here is all you need to know of the June 16 patch which has added a Zeus workshop submission list for Zeus skins, some visual improvements, and bug fixes. We are in the twilight days of CSGO as Valve gears up for Counter-Strike 2’s summer release in the coming months. As a result, we have been getting quite a few patch notes from Valve in a effort to polish the beta as much as possible. In the latest batch of patch notes, we have gotten a update the future Zeus skins coming into the game, some visual improvements to weapons, and bug fixes. So here is all you need to know of the Counter-Strike 2 June 16 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 June 16 patch notes Miscellaneous Fixed auto rebuy not working if you survived through the Deathmatch warmup – Pressing the jump key to respawn in Deathmatch no longer results in an actual jump – The buy menu now closes on right mouse button down instead of up – Refunds are now correctly accounted for when tracking total money spent by user – Fixed bad kerning in accolade descriptions – Fixed aspect ratio for workshop submission screenshot – Carious improvements to the look of the M249, MP5-SD, Desert Eagles, Dual Elites, and Tazer/Zeus x27 – Addes Zeus x27 to workshop submission weapon list – Maps Mirage Various map fixes –

Counter-Strike 2 June 15 patch notes: Bug fixes, quality of life updates, more ValveHere is all you need to know of the June 15 patch notes for Counter-Strike 2, as Valve sought to fix up a few bugs and bring in some new quality-of-life changes. We are in the twilight days of CSGO as Valve gears up for a summer release of Counter-Strike 2 in the coming months, and it seems the devs are looking to polish the new game up as much as possible before its release. In the latest patch for Counter-Strike 2, they’ve fixed up a few bugs, added a number of quality-of-life updates, and patched out a potentially game-breaking bug on Mirage that makes the whole server lag. Here is all you need to know about the most recent update: Counter-Strike 2 June 15 patch notes Maps Mirage: Fixed a spot near bench that caused the server to lag – Fixed various strange wallbangs – Adjusted end-of-match screen – Buy Menu Fixed some edge case issues with sell back – Buy menu color now matches with cl_hud_color – Loadout Fixed edge cases with inspecting items – Fixed a bad interaction between the acknowledge panel and inventory – Fixed a glitch while refreshing the loadout tab – Fixed some localization bugs – Fixed various crash – Miscellaneous Fixed movement bug that would cause a slide along curbs in Dust 2 – Flashbangs can be redeployed after thrown so that players can quickly throw multiple in sequence – Reduced the single-frame flash effect when zooming out with sniper rifles – And that is all there is to know of the June 15 patch for Counter-Strike 2. If you would like to follow our game coverage, you can find it here.

Counter-Strike 2 July 17 patch notes: Overpass & Vertigo arrive, new Wingman mode, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s July 17 patch notes are here, and the jam-packed update brought with it Overpass and Vertigo as two new playable maps, along with the Wingman game mode, among other quality-of-life changes. As Valve prepares for the upcoming release of Counter-Strike 2, devs have been pumping out updates to the Closed Beta, adding new maps and game modes aplenty, making sure the game is as polished as possible before its full launch later this year. And once again, Valve has now added various new maps to its pool, implemented the returning Wingman mode in CS2, and squashed various bugs as well. Here are all the patch notes for the July 17 Counter-Strike 2 update. Counter-Strike 2 July 17 update patch notes Gameplay Added Wingman game mode – Maps Added Overpass to Deathmatch, casual, Wingman, and Competitive game modes – Added Vertigo to Deathmatch and Casual game modes – Removed Nuke and Office – Workshop Tools Enabled undo/redo buttons – Various bug fixes – Miscellaneous Added the “Secondary Fire Hold” option to the input settings menu – The Halftime countdown timer is now visible – Fixed a case where the camera would not interpolate correctly when switching between chase and roaming spectator modes. – Fixed a case where the viewmodel weapon would disappear for one frame when switching in-eye spectator targets. – Added leading zeros on StatTrak module – Glove patterns and wear not more closely align with CSGO versions – Various improvements to foil stickers – Various adjustments to the size of stickers applied to weapons –

Counter-Strike 2 invincibility exploit makes players unkillable on Nuke ValveCounter-Strike 2 is still in its limited-test beta, and for good reason, as numerous bugs and glitches are being ironed out – one of the most egregious yet being an invincibility exploit, causing players to take no damage. Although the beta’s most outrageous exploit so far was the ability to turn on wallhacks through a simple console command (which was quickly fixed), the addition of Nuke to the CS2 beta has led to an exploit almost as powerful. Nuke is the newest map to make get its shot in the beta, as Valve tests out each competitive level on its own, to get as much feedback as possible before the official release. Well, there is at least one major bug that will need fixed – the ability to take no damage. CS2 door exploit makes players invulnerable Showcased by Counter-Strike streamer Austincs, the glitch involves a partially open doorway. Previous maps in the test, Mirage and Dust2, do not have dynamic doors, so it was only when Nuke was added this was discovered. Standing in the ‘squeaky’ door on the entrance to A site, if the door is ajar, but blocked by the player model from closing, it appears to make the player’s hitbox disappear. As Austin demonstrates, two enemies shoot right at him, but land 0 hits. Laughing at the poor enemy team’s confusion, Austin was able to rack up two of the easiest kills possible, securing the round. It’s certainly clear that Counter-Strike 2 is not ready for full release yet, but Valve has been making frequent, almost weekly updates to resolve obvious glitches, so this invincibility exploit should be fixed sooner rather than later. After this, we can expect more maps to be added to the test, such as Overpass and possibly Inferno. However, the test itself is still very limited, with a tiny percentage of players given access.

Counter-Strike 2 in-game command literally gives players wallhacks ValvePopular Counter-Strike streamer Erik ‘fl0m’ Flom was left stunned after being shown a console command that gave him wallhacks in CS2. Though, Valve are aware of it. After weeks of hype and expectation that had been built up by the community, Valve finally revealed Counter-Strike 2 on March 24, as they launched their limited beta phase. CS2, which will eventually replace the popular CS:GO, has seen the first-person shooter switch over to the Source 2 engine. This allows for better-looking maps, brand-new grenade mechanics, and even new audio cues for guns and everything else. As the game is in its beta phase, there are naturally some issues. Players have reported that some skins and other cosmetics are a bit busted, and there have been teething issues with the new grenades. Though, fl0m has managed to go one step further than all that. CS2 beta has console command console for wallhacks The longtime Counter-Strike player, who competed under the Luminosity and Mythic banners, managed to find a console command that gave him wallhacks. Yes, that’s right, a console command for wallhacks. It happened during his March 28 stream, as some viewers urged him to type in a console command to highlight objects. Though, by changing the number at the end, it threw a green box around players – much like a wallhack or aimbot would. Even though he was dead and it didn’t help him, fl0m was still pretty stunned by the find. “No dude. No way this command is just in the game,” he said. Thankfully, he noted that a Counter-Strike dev was watching along, and was ultimately aware of the command anyway. “The devs have it and are already aware. No reason to hide. More people that see it the better so people are aware,” he replied to one fan who asked why he’d shown off it. Given that Valve is alert to it, don’t expect to see this impacting games for long. Plus, it is a beta after all, there are plenty of kinks to iron out.

Game-breaking Counter-Strike 2 bug lets you keep weapons after dying ValveCounter-Strike 2 players discovered a game-breaking bug that allows them to keep equipped weapons after dying. Valve surprised its CS:GO community earlier this week by unveiling Counter-Strike 2 and rolling out a limited beta test. With plenty of people going hands-on with an unfinished build, gameplay and technical issues are bound to crop up. One “game-breaking glitch,” in particular, is already making the rounds. While it hasn’t caused too many problems as of yet, it’s an issue that Valve will want to take a closer look at for balancing purposes. Player finds weapons bug in Counter-Strike 2 beta During a recent live stream of Counter-Strike 2, content creator Eric “fl0m” Flom tested an exploit that allowed him to keep his equipped weapons upon dying. After dying in a match, fl0m pressed the pickup button and quickly received a message saying, “You picked up a AK-47 | Redline.” He even got to keep the AK after his team lost one round and headed into another. “That’s really game-breaking,” one of the streamer’s teammates can be heard saying in chat. It’s not currently known if the weapons bug is a widespread issue for Counter-Strike 2’s beta participants. But at least it’s something users were able to uncover during the testing phase, which kicked off on March 22. The limited beta for Counter-Strike 2 is presently available to select users, dependent on factors such as a user’s Steam account standing and playtime on official Valve servers. In terms of content, the beta plays host to Deathmatch and Unranked Competitive modes. Valve plans on launching the full game sometime this summer, though a firm release date has not yet been set in stone.

Counter-Strike 2 finally plans to add Zeus skins over a decade after its arrival ValveCounter-Strike 2 is finally planning to add skins for the Zeus after a decade since its arrival in 2012 with CSGO, following a small teaser in the newest patch notes. With Counter-Strike 2’s summer release on the horizon, there have been many new additions to the newly ported game into Source 2. From the enhanced smoke physics, to an updated buy menu, there’s plenty to be excited about. But for all the skin enthusiasts in the community, Valve has been rather silent on new additions other than some key lighting changes. But now, Valve has teased the community with a new gun skin on the way. In the June 16 patch notes for CS2, it was revealed that Valve is now adding the Zeus as part of the workshop submission weapon list. In the update, Valve added at the bottom of the miscellaneous patches that the Zeus x27, which is the full name of CS’s taser, is being added into the workshop submission weapon list. What this means is that Valve is now accepting weapon skins for the Zeus from community workshop artists to be put into the game. This is the first time the Zeus is getting a skin since its arrival with the release of CSGO in 2012. Despite a plethora of concept art from the community, Valve had never officially announced any skins for the Zeus. It may have to do with the fact the gun is a very niche buy. Under the equipment tab in the buy menu, the taser is a one-shot gun, but only in close range. And even then, most players would prefer to just use a rifle or pistol under those circumstances. However, with CS2 potentially bringing in new skins for the Zeus, we may see its usage go up.

Counter-Strike 2 finally launches after months in beta ValveAt long last, Counter-Strike 2 has officially launched and is no longer just limited to a select group of players in its beta phase. Here’s everything you need to know. The question about a successor to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – or, at least, a massive overhaul to CSGO – has been floating around the Counter-Strike community for a number of years. Valve finally put that speculation to rest when they announced CS2. It would be an upgrade to follow-on from CS:GO, but players will be able to retain their inventory. Guns, knives, other skins, and maps have been given a facelift as well – for better or worse in some instances. CS2 was slated to release in “Summer 2023,” which prompted rumors that it would come out at some point in August. However, with September just about to come to a close, it is finally out of the beta phase and available to everyone. CS2 has, finally, launched for all on Steam That’s right, if you didn’t manage to get into the CS2 limited test, you don’t have to worry anymore, the game is available for everyone to play. If you previously owned Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, you’ll just need to update your game through Steam. On the flip side, if for some reason you didn’t own CS:GO – one, what have you been doing for the last decade? – and two, you’ll have to go into the Steam marketplace and simply download CS2 as a fresh new game. As noted, things have changed a fair bit to what you might have come to know in CS:GO. You’ll have to adjust monitor resolutions, as well as get to grips with different console commands, and a few other things. Ranks are also being overhauled with Premier ratings being dished out to players, allowing you to vault up the leaderboards. It’s a somewhat new world, but there is plenty to be familiar with too.

Counter-Strike 2 finally adds left-hand view so everyone can stop asking now ValveValve just stunned the Counter-Strike 2 community by finally reimplementing a left-hand view after months of demands from the player base. When CS2 arrived in September of 2023, it did so without one key setting from the ever-popular CS:GO. An option for a left-handed perspective didn’t quite make the cut, for no clear reason. Valve simply decided not to carry over the legacy feature with its new sequel. Naturally, avid fans had been pestering the developers in the months that followed. And now, seven months of backlash later, the outpouring has finally paid off. The Counter-Strike 2 devs confirmed the setting’s return in an April 25 update, simply acknowledging the requests by saying “Fine.” A brief 16-second snippet showed the left-handed view in action in Dust 2 as they clear corners with the long awaited left-handed vieew model. Minutes after the tease, CS2’s full April 25 patch notes were revealed, with the ‘Left/Right Handedness’ settings now available in-game. Given the immense anticipation for the return of the left-handed view, the simple announcement exploded on social media. In mere minutes the clip reached tens of thousands of players, with hundreds rushing to share their excitement in the replies. Countless all-caps responses couldn’t quite believe it was finally happening. “Is this real chat?” “We are so back.” “Only took 7 months,” all being among the top replies. While the news has certainly been met with an outpouring of gratitude, the timing leaves many still wanting more. CS2 has been battling with a wave of cheating issues of late, so some players are of the belief that’s a far more urgent matter than left-hand support.

Counter-Strike 2 February 6 patch notes: Sticker updates, Kukri knife & Zeus skins arrive, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s February 6 patch notes are here, and the major update brings a huge sticker changes, the Kukri knife and Zeus skins arrive with a new case, among many more cosmetic additions and bug fixes. In the past month, many CS2 players were starting to worry as Valve slowed down their regular updates to the game, with many fearing the game going stale as the devs went silent. However, it seems Valve has heard players’ concerns loud and clear and has just dropped a massive update for CS2. From the once leaked Zeus skins and Kukri knife finally arriving, to a new weapon case to mark CS2’s very first, and a massive update to stickers, now allowing players to customize the placement for the very first time, it’s a doozy. Other than the huge cosmetics additions, we also see the return of Arms Race, and some new animations for Agents for the post-game screen. So here is all you need to know about the Counter-Strike 2 February 8 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 February 6 patch notes Arms Race Added Arms Race to available game modes – Added maps “Baggage” and “Shoots” – Weapon Finishes Introducing the Kilowatt Case, featuring 17 community-designed weapon finishes, and the Kukri Knife with original finishes as a rare special item – Various bug fixes and tweaks – Stickers The Ambush Sticker Capsule is now available for purchase – Added support for flexible sticker placement. Stickers can now be placed at user-specified positions and rotation when applied to weapons – All weapons now support up to five stickers – Added a zoom feature during sticker placement to allow for higher precision sticker application – Various bug fixes and tweaks – Music Kits The NIGHTMODE Music Kit Box is now available for purchase in standard and StatTrak versions – Zeus Made Zeus reusable in all game modes, after a 30 second recharge delay – Added support for applying stickers and name tags to the Zeus – Adjusted the Zeus first person model position – Added Zeus kill icon to kill cards and post round damage report – Smoke Smokes now cast shadows – Smoke rendering and animation have been improved – Gameplay Added a “Refund All” button to the buy menu – Added a setting to disable first person bullet tracers – Silencers can now always be reattached regardless of whether detaching them is enabled or not – Player pings are no longer blocked by invisible geometry – Various adjustments to sub-tick shooting – Fixed several cases where players could silently drop down vertical surfaces – Improved smoothness of sliding along surfaces – Fixed an issue where collisions between players were jittery – To ensure loadouts are correct at the beginning of matches, loadout changes are no longer allowed while searching for Premier, Competitive, or Wingman – Sound Added the option to select an audio input device for VOIP from the audio settings menu – Added the option to change your microphone threshold (the minimum loudness before we start transmitting audio) from the audio options menu, as well as metering for your current mic loudness – Added the option to listen to your own microphone from the audio settings menu to hear how you sound – Replaced the M249 fire sound effect – Replaced the Zeus charging, charge not available, and charge ready states sound effects – Further reduced occlusion effects – Minor mix adjustments – Fixed an issue where some player-centric sounds were being perceived as originating from slightly behind the player – Networking Reduced peeker’s advantage in many cases – The amount of peeker’s advantage in the steady state is reduced by 16ms – Also reduced the frequency of situations that lead to very large peeker’s advantage due to excessive command queue depth – Added cl_ticktiming console command that prints a report breaking down the various sources of latency – Added an option to buffer server updates and user commands by one or more packets. This can be used to smooth over stuttering due to packet loss, at the expense of increased latency – UI Added support for separate main menu and item inspect background map settings – Added “Baggage” and “Warehouse” as options for the main menu and item inspect background maps – In-game team-only chat will now be prefixed with the team (e.g., “[T]” or “[CT]”) – Added ‘XP Overload’ status which is awarded to players who have earned all of their normal XP during the week (11,166 XP) and reached reduced XP gain. XP Overload status is attached to players’ names in scoreboard, main menu, death notices, etc. XP Overload status is awarded for a minimum of one week. Additional tiers of XP Overload status can be unlocked by earning all of the normal XP over multiple consecutive weeks – Agents with unique end-of-match cheer animations now have unique defeat animations as well. You can disable playing defeat animations for the local player in settings – Added more accolades to end-of-match – Misc Adjusted the range of CS Ratings allowed to party together in Premier matchmaking – Fixed a case where high-DPI mice would result in jittery mouse movement – Added Minor improvements to animations during demo playback – Disabled rich presence update when running Steam Client in tournament mode – MAPS Inferno Fixed various gaps and adjusted grenade collision to make grenade bounces more predictable – Adjusted texture blending to improve player visibility – Ancient Adjusted grenade collision on bombsite B ground to make grenade bounces more predictable – Anubis Fixed holes in world at Lower Tunnel – Fixed collision on all pillars so players can no longer pixel boost – Fixed collision so utility does not fall out of world on top of structure at T Start – Fixed missing collision on steps at Street which would allow dropped weapons to fall out of world – Improved vis at CT spawn – Fixed invisible boost ledge at Bombsite B – Fixed various gaps in the world – Fixed missing collision on stair geo at CT spawn that allowed weapons/bomb to fall out of world – Fixed missing collision at Fountain that allowed weapons/bomb to fall out of world – Fixed some doors not generating bullet decals – Fixed vis issue at Street – Overpass Fixed some collision that was causing unpredictable player movement – Mirage Added collision to prevent bomb becoming unreachable – Adjusted some collision to prevent a ledge/pixel walk – Fixed player getting stuck when strafing on Middle Ramp by simplifying geo of floor and wall – Removed a clip brush from Apartments to improve flash lineups – Nuke Built some collision to prevent bomb from getting stuck behind barrels – Fixed some disappearing mesh – Fixed dynamic shadow clipping on characters at Vending – Improved clipping in vents – Fixed bombsite water to have better reflections on low settings – Fixed vis issue at t-spawn – Fixed collision on ramp in Bombsite B – Fixed holes in world – Vertigo Fixed holes in world and other minor geometry bugs – Italy Adjusted some collision to prevent players getting stuck in apartment – Office Fixed a case where players could jump on a wall – Fixed a case where players could get stuck if they crouched –

Counter-Strike 2 February 8 patch notes: Smoke radar visibility bug fixed and more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s February 8 patch notes are here, and it brings fixes the the smoke visibility bug, among other map fixes. On February 6, the Arms Race patch arrived, bringing a plethora of new cosmetics, from CS2’s first weapon case, to a massive change to stickers. Additionally, it also brought in several gameplay changes. Namely now smokes can cast shadows and block light, adding an extra layer to CS2’s smoke mechanics. However, a bug was found that showed enemies’ player positions on the radar through smokes. Luckily, Valve has rolled out a patch to fix the bug. So here is all you need to know about Counter-Strike 2’s February 8 patch. Counter-Strike 2 February 8 patch notes Arms Race Fixed a bug where an extra kill with a shotgun before the knife level counted as the winning knife kill – Smoke Adjusted visibility of player silhouettes in smoke – Fixed a bug where enemies were visible on the radar when viewed through a combination of smoke and translucent surfaces such as glass – Animation Various bug fixes and tweaks to inspect animations – MAPS Fixed a bug where doors spun the wrong way on several maps – Nuke Fixed vis regressions – Ancient Fixed pixel gap looking into bombsite B from T Side – Anubis Fixed potential spot where bomb could be thrown into an unreachable area at T Spawn – Enabled collision on ledge meshes at Sniper’s Nest to prevent dropped weapons clipping through them – Mirage Fixed collision in Palace where bomb could be thrown into an unreachable area – Misc Fixed a bug where certain keys not found on US keyboards (such as the backslash key on UK keyboards) couldn’t be bound – Fixed an issue preventing some older demos from playing back – Various crash fixes –

Counter-Strike 2 February 7 patch notes: Bug fixes and XP Overload icon removed ValveCounter-Strike 2’s February 7 patch notes are here, and the update brings various bug fixes and removes the recently added XP Overload icon. After an immense amount of hype, Valve finally dropped a massive update for Counter-Strike 2 on February 6, adding a plethora of new skins in CS2’s first weapon case, a new Zeus skin, and a major change to customizable sticker placements. Despite the sticker update bringing about some very explicit sticker crafts, the update has been a roaring success for the devs as hype once again builds up for the game. And Valve has seen fit to come out with another patch to fix up some bugs, and also the removal of the XP Overload icon just a day after its addition. So here is all you need to know of Counter-Strike 2’s February 7 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 February 7 patch notes Stickers Fixed a bug where AMD graphics users couldn’t move stickers – Stickers with custom offsets will now render properly when inspecting other items in-game from Steam Community Market and Steam Inventory – Smoke Various bug fixes and tweaks – Sound Fixed a performance bug with certain microphone setups – Networking cl_interp can no longer be changed directly. Some players had scripts that were setting this to a large value, leading to very bad rubber-banding. The interpolation amount can be adjusted through the “Buffering to smooth over packet loss” setting instead – Animation Fixed a bug with the Kukri knife inspect animation – Fixed a bug where a player holding an incendiary grenade would sometimes show fire effects at their feet – UI Removed XP Overload icon from the kill feed – The swap weapon prompt will now show the weapon/finish name rather than the custom name – Fixed a bug with switching background maps while inspecting gloves – MAPS Vertigo Fixed a gap in world geometry at Crane – Misc Fixed a bug with keyboard input from non-English keyboard layouts – Various crash fixes –

Counter-Strike 2 February 15 patch notes: Map changes, HUD & spectator fixes, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s February 15 patch notes are here, and the new update brings several bug fixes to maps, the HUD, and several other fixes. As Counter-Strike 2 goes past its first major update, adding a plethora of new content from a fresh weapons case and sparkly new knife, to the addition of Zeus skins, there’s still much to be fixed in the game still itself. And Valve is set on polishing the title as much as possible through the Arms Race update, bringing about many bug fixes to maps, HUDs, buy menus, and more. So here are Counter-Strike 2’s February 15 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 February 15 patch notes Animation Fix for animations when climbing ladders – Fix for menu agents wielding tasers – Fix for Kukri knife hold animation during team intro sequence – Spectating spec_lock_to_accountid and spec_lock_to_current_player commands are now available for casters/observers – spec_player and spec_goto now works in CSTV and demo playback – tv_secure_bypass server setting now allows connecting HLAE observers to VAC secure CSTV servers – Gameplay In Deathmatch, the Zeus can be bought each life and will rebuy if not in random weapon mode – In Deathmatch, getting a second Zeus kill in the same life will earn double points – mp_modify_timeouts server-side command allows adding/subtracting a tactical timeout from CT/T team if backup file is restored or a team incorrectly took a tactical timeout instead of a technical timeout – Logging Start of warmup and end of warmup will now produce a log message in the game server log – Reported damage no longer has a rounding error when reported in the game server log – Misc Improved viewmodel animation smoothness when client framerates get low or unstable – Fixed issues with implementation of scancode-based key bindings. Bindings are now independent of input locales. – Added performance diagnostic HUD element that can be configured in Game Settings menu (“Telemetry”) – Deleted cq_netgraph and cq_netgraph_problem_show_auto. Instead, use cl_hud_telemetry_serverrecvmargin_graph_show. – Fix for sometimes failing to connect to a local practice server without Steam connectivity – Fixed a bug with Skill Group animation at the end of competitive matches – Fixed sniper scope performance hitch and adjusted visual treatment. – Various performance improvements – MAPS Vertigo Fixed grenade clipping around AC unit at B-site – Fixed clipping of pillar at T-Start that would potentially allow bomb to be thrown into unreachable area – Nuke Adjusted clipping around Vents entrance to prevent players’ feet clipping through the vent geo – Improved collision of sliding door meshes at Ramp – Anubis Added and removed a ladder near boost spot by T spawn – Fixed a couple of spots where bomb could be thrown out of the map – Overpass Clipping improvements – Fixed some disappearing mesh –

Counter-Strike 2 fans explain why it’s now Valve’s lowest-rated game ValveThe struggles keep piling up for Counter-Strike 2, as Valve’s sequel has become the studio’s lowest-rated title ever. After a storied career, Valve shelved CS:GO for the highly anticipated Counter-Strike 2. The sequel brought many changes: beautifully updated maps, new smoke grenade mechanics, and more. Despite all the changes, the launch of the sequel has not gone as Valve could’ve hoped it would. Fans have raised their voices with their disdain, highlighted by pro player s1mple, who told players not to play it yet. The slip up have piled on, and the latest news on CS2 is unfortunate. It has become Valve’s worst-rated game ever. Fans discuss why Counter-Strike 2 is Valve’s lowest-rated game Valve has had a storied portfolio of titles released on PC, with the likes of Left 4 Dead and Portal dominating Steam since their release. Both titles, and their respective sequels, have ranked “Overwhelmingly Positive” on the digital storefront for years. CS2 has reached one million negative reviews, and the storied shooter has become “Very Positive”, giving it the label of Valve’s “worst-rated title.” With a massive launch, many have taken note of the game’s performance and took to Reddit to discuss what’s wrong. Reddit user Wunderhaus perfectly summed up the chain of events “For a company known for dragging out and delaying things until they feel it’s as good as possible, CS2 feels uncharacteristically rushed.” Much of the discourse around CS2 has been about absent features, such as maps and modes. Other issues have been game-breaking, such as hitbox registration, an integral core of a FPS title. However, some aren’t sold on the negative Counter-Strike 2 reviews, as many comments echoed “review bombing.” The list of fixes and changes needed is massive, but Valve has shown its commitment to the franchise. CS:GO’s launch was just as rough, but years of support have kept it in the higher echelons of FPS gaming. Valve needs to make it work, given its history of avoiding the number 3.

Counter-Strike 2 maps: Every confirmed map in CS2 from CSGO ValveCounter-Strike 2 is now fully released, replacing CS:GO, and it comes with totally updated maps from the old game. We have listed all the maps from CS:GO now in CS2, as well as maps in the game files expected to be released soon. Counter-Strike 2’s release was as exciting as it was troubled. Many of the community’s wishes have been granted in the new version of CS:GO, but equally, there are many missing features, including game modes and maps. This new game includes overhauls to Counter-Strike’s legacy maps, with varying levels of updates for each. In Valve’s announcement video for Counter-Strike 2, they grouped the new maps into three categories: Touchstone, Upgrades, and Overhauls. Touchstones are legacy maps that have not only been in Counter-Strike for the longest but also maps that are relatively unchanged in Counter-Strike 2. The changes these received in the new version are minimal with mostly just visual upgrades and lighting improvements. Upgrades are maps from CS:GO that received major updates to lighting and textures, utilizing Source 2’s improved graphics as much as possible. Overhauls are essentially complete rebuilds of CS’s oldest maps, be it from CS:GO or even older. These maps feature new textures, lighting, structures, and possibly updates for how the map plays. Here is the full list of maps that are confirmed for Counter-Strike 2 so far. Contents CS2 maps currently available The following maps are all currently playable in Counter-Strike 2, some in Premier Mode, some in competitive, and all of them in Deathmatch. The only maps that were once in the Active Duty Pool in CS:GO which are not yet in CS2 are Cache and Train. It is unknown at this stage if Valve will be remaking Cache for Counter-Strike 2, but Train was shown off in the trailers, so we expect it at some point. Dust II Counter-Strike and Dust II go hand in hand. When fans of FPS games think Counter-Strike, Dust 2 is most likely what they first think of, and of course, it is in the newest iteration of the game. Dust 2 is classified as a Touchstone map, where its biggest updates come in its lighting. Everything else stays the same. Mirage A Counter-Strike Fan favorite, the map that was initially made for esports play in the Cyberathlete Professional League in CS 1.6, has become a mainstay in Counter-Strike. Being the only map to be played in every single CS major since its release. And of course, it makes a return in CS2. Mirage is classified as a Touchstone map, where its biggest updates come in its lighting. Everything else stays the same. Nuke Nuke has been a mainstay in competitive play since CS 1.6, and the move to Counter-Strike 2 has not changed that, as this classic remains as you know and love it. But, it has been brought in the new decade with a significant overhaul. Nuke is classified as an Upgrade map, where its biggest update comes in the form of new lighting physics, as well as new textures made for the map. Overpass One of the most unique maps in the pool, being one of the few maps in the Active Duty Pool which was specifically made in CS:GO, it won’t be missing in the shift to Counter-Strike 2. Overpass is classified as an Overhaul map, where it received a complete rebuild from the ground up, from textures, lighting, structures, and even gameplay changes. Inferno One of the oldest maps in the game, making its first appearance in CS 1.1, it is an absolute classic when it comes to Counter-Strike, and yes, it’s back in Counter-Strike 2. Inferno is classified as an Overhaul map, receiving a complete rebuild from the ground up, from textures, lighting, structures, and some changes that will impact gameplay. Ancient One of the newest maps in the Active Duty Pool, the spiritual successor to Aztec, Ancient was inserted into the pool to much controversy and dismay from players at the time. But it will make another return with minimal changes. Ancient is classified as an Upgrade map, where its biggest update comes in the form of new lighting physics and textures made for the map. Vertigo Vertigo is also available in Counter-Strike 2, and was added into the limited-test beta alongside Overpass. However, Vertigo is simply a Touchstone map, meaning it doesn’t have any changes except for lighting, just like Dust II. Anubis The most recent addition to the competitive map pool in CS:GO, Anubis now has a complete CS2 rebuild as well. Although not specified by Valve, it appears to be an upgrade, thanks to new water effects, and there is now water in areas there wasn’t previously, such as near the pillar on A bombsite. Italy The fun, awkward, and classic hostage map which has been around since the game’s beta in 1999 has been shown with an entirely new look to it. Most likely never going to be put in the Active Duty Pool, it’s nice to see it updated for a new iteration once again. Italy is classified as an Overhaul map, so it too receives a complete rebuild, including new textures, lighting, structures, and gameplay changes. Office Office is the only Hostage map currently available in CS2, and benefits from new lighting and textures, and of course, those great new glass-smashing physics on all the windows. Unreleased maps in CS2 This section comprises a whole host of fan favorites, to some less so, maps. There are a lot of maps showcased, but there were a notable few that were a mainstay in CS that have not yet been added to CS2. Train Yes, the classic CS 1.6 map, created by one of Counter Strike’s creators, Train, is expected to return to CS2 at some point, as it was shown off in the trailer. Train is classified as a Touchstone map, where its biggest updates are just lighting. Everything else stays the same. Baggage Baggage is also not currently available, but is expected to make a comeback. Arms Race (aka Gun Game) fans will be happy to see the classic return once again. It made its first appearance in CSGO specifically made for the Arms Race game mode. The teasing of this map possibly means Arms Race is coming with the port, at some point. Baggage is classified as an Upgrade map, so the changes are focused on new lighting physics and textures. Other maps that didn’t appear in the teaser videos but have been found in the game files include: Shoots Canals Lake Shortdust If you are just jumping into CS2, be sure to brush up with our other guides here: Is Counter-Strike 2 going to be free to play? | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2 | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Valve officially reveals Counter-Strike 2 | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 devs warn players to “beware of scams” amid CS2 limited beta test hype ValveWith the Counter-Strike 2 limited beta test now upon us, and only select fans getting access, devs at Valve have issued a warning for players to “beware of scams” as the floodgates open. After weeks of detailed reports and numerous leaks, Counter-Strike 2 is finally real. Stealth launching in a limited beta on March 22, the new version of Valve’s iconic shooter is already playable to some degree. Not everyone is able to jump in right away, however, as only select players have been granted access to this special early version. While certain factors are taken into account, such as overall playtime and Steam account standing, thousands are simply left crossing their fingers in hopes of an invite. Given the hype already swirling around this not-so-secret surprise launch, some devious characters have looked to capitalize by scamming the community. Fake invites and dangerous ‘beta’ links are flying all over the place, to the extent developers have now issued a warning to try and keep players safe. “Beware of scams,” the official Counter-Strike Twitter account warned hours after the beta went live. “The only way to check for Limited Test access is to launch CSGO through Steam and check the main menu.” If you’re receiving emails, messages on social media, or even shady links on Steam itself, be wary these will not grant access to the game. Similarly, if anyone is trying to offer you a key or redemption code for the beta, these are also illegitimate. “There are no Limited Test keys,” the message continued, meaning no one should be paying for access. “Do not log into third-party sites claiming to check your Steam account for access or offering Limited Test access of keys.” Once again, the only way to successfully enter the Counter-Strike 2 test is by being invited directly. The only way you’ll receive this invite is through the main menu of CSGO on Steam. Nothing more, nothing less. So be cautious on the internet for the next few days as others look to take advantage of the situation while hype around CS2 is at its boiling point.

Counter-Strike 2 devs respond to insane “kickflip mechanics” upgrade from CS:GO Valve/Steam WorkshopCounter-Strike 2 devs have responded to one of the most pressing issues in the beta: even more insane kickflip mechanics. Counter-Strike 2’s beta was preceded by a lot of hype, as you would expect. From leaks in NVIDIA drivers, reports from Richard Lewis, to obsessing over every single update to Steam’s database, it was a whirlwind to start 2023. And now with its release, we are seeing a lot of changes to the iconic title. From game-changing updates to the smokes physics, map design changes, upgrading their server sub-ticks to 128, and even giving players feet. No, really. But, a feature near and dear to some players’ hearts is the ‘kickflip’. Unfortunately, while it’s still possible in CS2, and in some cases even crazier than CS:GO, it has some bugs too. Discovered by CSGO streamer and s***poster PSP1G, the “kickflip” off of a rifle by standing on it and shooting it is now even more impressive in CS2. When shooting an object in Source, you can cause it to move and bounce around with a surprising amount of power. The mechanic is responsible for many clips of retrieving AWPs from difficult-to-reach places, or even Portal 2 boat speedruns. PSP did also spot a bug though, as after kickflipping, his Scout skin was stuck in the ground, pointing to the sky. “Thanks for this report; we’ll investigate immediately,” the official CS account joked. Surprisingly, Source’s mechanics has spawned an entire community of players making maps for it. Such as Surf and KZ servers always being populated. In fact, a map creator, Syuks, even remade Tony Hawk in CSGO. Either way, many want the kickflip physics to stay the same.

Counter-Strike 2 devs respond after update triggers unexpected VAC bans ValveCounter-Strike 2 developers have responded after a botched update caused many innocent players to be permanently banned from the game for unknown reasons. The latest Counter-Strike 2 update landed on December 4 and merely intended to improve gameplay and fix a handful of existing bugs. However, fans of the popular first-person shooter were quick to notice an unusual increase in VAC bans almost immediately after the game’s recent update. And as it turns out, many innocent players were caught up in a whirlwind of false bans. As the VAC bans rolled in, so did the comments from CS2 players who were clearly frustrated. Many of these players had maintained clean records for years and were nothing but stunned at the sight that they had been permanently banned from Counter-Strike 2. Among the many unexpected bans were the G2 Team Manager and several professional players, alongside accounts that possessed valuable inventories chocked full of expensive skins. Comments such as, “False bans, Valve messed up big time this time. I got banned too, lmao,” and “I got banned, clean account for 10 years. No idea wtf is going on,” highlighted the widespread annoyance among the player base. But many others are just disappointed that apparent cheaters continue to be getting away scot-free all while innocent players are being impacted. “Valve will ban anyone but the cheaters. Somehow the dozens of spinbotters and blatant aimbotters from my premier games from two months ago remain unbanned,” one player said. Counter-Strike 2 developers have now taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to address the situation. In their statement, they acknowledged, “Yesterday’s update mistakenly triggered game bans. We’ve fixed the issue and ban rollbacks are in progress.” Many of the impacted players have already commented that their unexpected ban has been overturned, suggesting that the problem has been solved for at least a large portion of the community. And that should come as a relief for the many who had been informed that it had previously taken up to a month for accidental bans to be resolved in the past.

Counter-Strike 2 devs excited to “experiment” with adding new guns Counter-Strike 2Counter-Strike 2 dropped on September 27 and features over 35 weapons for fans to choose from across all equipment and guns and more are on the way, according to a recent interview with a developer. Counter-Strike 2 will have new weapons added to the game, according to an interview with a developer in PC Gamer. The name Valve title launched on September 27 and has had a bumpy rollout so far, with multiple glitches and bugs that the developer has had to address. The developer addressed those issues in the interview and also gave insight into how Valve will introduce new weapons and guns into the title. They said new guns will come into the game when needed, like when gameplay becomes stale, or players need new tools to approach situations. “We’re always looking for ways to give players more interesting decisions to make in the game,” The developer told PC Gamer. Counter-Strike 2 will have new weapons introduced CS:GO had new guns added to it throughout its decade-long run. The additions of guns like the M4A1-S, CZ75-Auto and R8 Revolver heavily impacted the professional and casual play meta at the time. The developers working on Counter-Strike 2 say they have recognized how adding new weapons can change player behavior, and are planning on introducing new guns with that understanding. “We learned some occasionally painful lessons about how to gracefully introduce a new weapon to the game. We think we have a handle on how to approach this in the future, and with the customizable loadouts in CS2, shipping weapons should be even more straightforward,” the developer said. However, that doesn’t mean those behind CS2 won’t take risks when adding things into the game, and experimenting with the title for the foreseeable future. “We don’t have a specific vision that we’re trying to realize, but rather a process we want to continue to execute for many years. We’ll continue to explore all of the opportunities that come with the game and its amazing community, to experiment with new ideas, and to do the hard work necessary to make CS2 the place every FPS fan wants to be,” the CS2 developer said. While fans may want to get their hands on some new weapons in CS2 now, the game is nowhere close to feeling stale and the developers probably currently have their hands tied fixing the game post-roll out to add anything in at the moment