Author: Nik Ranger

Counter-Strike 2 Day 1 patch notes: Competitive launch, bug fixes, more Valve CorporationCounter-Strike 2 has finally been released for all fans to enjoy, and Valve has already issued the first set of Patch Notes for Day 1 of the launch. After months of the game being in beta, Counter-Strike 2 has finally released to the public on September 27, 2023. Valve also deployed a Day 1 patch for the game, and quickly uploaded the patch notes to Steam. Counter-Strike 2 Day 1 patch notes Here are the patch notes for the Day 1 update to CS2: [ COUNTER-STRIKE 2 ] Counter-Strike 2 is now available and free to play – Season One of Premier has begun – [ GAMEPLAY ] Enabled Competitive matchmaking – Enabled Wingman matchmaking – Enabled Private Matchmaking – Added Training Day, a brief introductory experience for brand new players – Improved player-against-player movement collision – Improved consistency of bullet penetration – Player reflections in water are now occluded by smoke – Molotov fire now floats above the water – Fixed character ambient occlusion being visible through walls – C4 bomb lights don’t reflect through walls – Fixed some rare cases of viewmodel lighting corruption – Adjusted smoke behavior to cover cases where smoke would stop less than a player’s height above the ground – Fix various bugs with switching teams in the middle of offline Deathmatch – Fixed Famas reloading too early – Chickens can finally fall off Vertigo – [ SOUND ] Added the new CS2 default music kit – Added new audio customization settings – Various mix tweaks and adjustments – Various bug fixes related to music kits – Updated the game startup sound – Added background ambience to main menu scenes – Restored the clutch_mode_toggle function – Fixed a bug where sometimes c4 defuse and planting sounds could not be heard in certain locations – Fixed some surfaces being incorrectly tagged causing incorrect footstep sounds in certain locations – Fixed a bug where attackers could not hear headshot feedback through wallbangs or smokes – Body damage feedback for attackers will now play within the same distance as it does for onlookers through smokes and wallbangs – Fixed a bug where scoping in affected directional sound – First person damage sounds are now more impactful – Removed several legacy audio convars that existed in CS:GO but never had an effect in CS2 – [ ANIMATION ] Adjusted character additive lean animation – Adjusted jump animation, particularly when repeatedly jumping – Adjusted jiggle-peeking animation – Adjusted animated character head position relative to camera position – Added bullet belt to negev – Reduced foot sliding when carrying slower weapons – Fixed character momentarily standing during crouch-planting animation – Fixed incorrect viewmodel deploy speeds – Fixed pops in some weapon inspect animations – Inspecting weapons may now interrupt deploy animation – [ MATCHMAKING ] When one or more party members get convicted of cheating and permanently banned, all their associates will be penalized with loss of Profile Rank and CS Rating – In Premier, players with a very high established CS Rating are not allowed to party with accounts that do not have an established CS Rating – [ MAPS ] Various bug fixes and tweaks for all shipped maps – Adjusted vertical audio occlusion boundaries in Nuke and Vertigo – Added an extra bell in Inferno – Casual and Deathmatch maps are now separated into multiple map groups – [ MISC ] CS:GO Players who started playing more than a week ago will receive a commemorative CS:GO coin and CS:GO Music Kit – Added Store tab to main menu – Enabled all interactions with inventory items – Replaced weekly drops with a weekly Care Package. Choose from weapon cases, weapon finishes, and graffiti – Added demo playback support – Added the ability to favorite and shuffle loadout items – Added new item icons – Office and Vertigo are available as main menu scenery – Various updates for weapon finishes, including fixing overly strong wear on several Custom Paint Job finishes – Reworked Phoenix Street Soldier balaclava texture to resolve visibility issues – Enabled animated eyes on agent character models – [ WORKSHOP TOOLS ] Game clients running in workshop tools mode are not allowed to connect to VAC secure game servers – Added an all-new help system featuring contextually relevant guides and information. Guides include gray scale value ranges for alpha channel masking, paint-by-number mask color assignments based on current finish type, and much more! – Removed dynamic props from solid color inspect backgrounds – For more news and guides for Counter-Strike 2, head over to check out our coverage.

Counter-Strike 2 data mine reveals Valorant-style anti-cheat coming Valve CorporationA Counter-Strike 2 data miner has found what he says is a new anti-cheat for the game called VAC Live that could end live matches with cheaters, which is similar to Riot Games’ Valorant anti-cheat. With Valve’s announcement of Counter-Strike 2, many new updates to the game’s engine and gameplay were revealed, but nothing was said about a new anti-cheat system. CS:GO currently uses VAC (Valve anti-cheat) and bans accounts across the world for hacking and using cheats in-game. For Counter-Strike 2, that anti-cheat system is getting a facelift, according to data miner Aquarius. The data miner said that he found something in Counter-Strike 2 called VAC Live that could cancel a live match if cheats are detected. A similar type of thing happens in Riot Game’s tactical shooter Valorant with its anti-cheat system Vanguard. Anti-cheat coming to Counter-Strike 2 Valve implemented VAC in 2002 with the launch of Counter-Strike in 2002. The bans are permanent and non-negotiable, according to the Steam FAQ page. While the punishment has always been severe, it has never been particularly swift. Some bans from the Valve system can take days or weeks to go through the system after it was originally detected. Valve has made strides in its anti-cheat detection since its initial launch, and has even hinted at using machine learning to outwit those who profit off of making the hacks that win people games. The new system seems to be reminiscent of Riot’s Vanguard system in Valorant. The anti-cheat is installed directly onto players’ computers and can detect cheats during matches. If a cheater is detected, the Vanguard system cancels the match and shows the infamous “red screen” telling players that a cheater has been detected. Valve has not given any details on a new anti-cheat system or any other specific new features that could come in with Counter-Strike 2 outside of the few showcased on March 22. For more on Counter-Strike 2, check out the rest of Dexerto’s coverage.

Counter-Strike 2 could finally bring new weapons with introduction of loadout system ValveCounter-Strike 2 could finally be adding new weapons with the introduction of a loadout system, possibly to keep T-side weapon options balanced with CT-side. With Counter-Strike 2 gearing up for a Summer 2023 release, Valve has finally announced new updates to the CS2 beta a few weeks after its surprise launch. In particular, one such adjustment is how the buy menu and weapon loadout now works. Now, CS2 will mirror Valorant’s buy menu, with players being able to refund weapons during the buy time. And the weapon loadout has had a revamp as well, with players now being able to pick and choose what weapons they can bring into a game in their buy menu. With this change, players are speculating that Valve may be finally bringing in new weapons, as the new loadout changes means CTs will have a wider weapon pool to choose from. Thus, if Valve wants to keep things fair, they will need to add new guns. JustHarry, a CS commentator, speculated exactly that, saying, “Surely this means we’re getting new guns in CS2. Now you can have both M4s equipped, but T’s don’t have much to swap in/out.” Pointing out that CTs can now have the advantage of having both M4A4 and M4A1-S in their loadout. As the M4A1-S, having a silencer, does not show tracers, making it ideal for spraying through smokes. And the M4A4 has a larger magazine size and more ideal for tight spaces. Whereas the T-sides will only have the AK-47 as their primary rifle, with no other rifles like it to substitute out. And it’s quite clear Harry was skeptical of the change, saying, “don’t know how I feel about this yet, my immediate reaction isn’t great but wanna try it and see.” As for what guns Valve could be adding to CS2 to keep the options fair for both teams, we will have to wait and see. However, if the devs do want to make options fair for the T-side, they could be adding new rifles in particular. If you would like to read our explainer of the buy menu and loadout changes, you can check it out here.

Counter-Strike 2 competitive changes: CS rating, Premier mode & Leaderboards explained ValveCounter-Strike 2 has locked in an abundance of competitive changes, so here is an explainer on CS Ratings, Premier mode, and Regional and World Leaderboards. It seems that Counter-Strike 2’s full release is nearly upon us as Valve, on September 1, finally announced some long-awaited changes to Competitive, alongside inviting more players into its Limited test beta. The changes previously teased, adjust how Competitive will work, with a new rating system, a new global leaderboard to see where you stack up against other players, and changing match length to 12-round halves (MR12). All wrapped up in a Premier mode, a new Competitive mode specifically built for players to climb the leaderboards. So here is an explainer of all the new changes. Counter-Strike 2 Competitive changes: MR12 The new update changes the rounds played in CS2, shortening it from 15 rounds in a half to 12. Each half will now have 12 rounds, a maximum of 24 in regulation time, and a 6-round overtime in case of a tie which would repeat in the case of another tie until there is a winner. These changes will be applied for Premier mode, Competitive, and all CS Majors. As explained by Valve’s blog post, “Because of these changes, exciting competitive matches can be resolved with fewer rounds. And shorter matches mean players can play more, and more often.” Counter-Strike 2 Competitive changes: Premier mode Another massive change is the introduction of Premier mode. Premier mode will function differently from average Matchmaking, as there is a map ban phase before games, players can rank up their CS Rating, and ranking up their Rating will raise them higher on a leaderboard. Not too different from FACEIT, Premier mode will be different from Matchmaking as Valve is aiming for the mode to be more competitive with the integration of leaderboards and CS Ratings, only climbable through Premier. Counter-Strike 2 Competitive changes: CS Ratings & Leaderboards When playing Premier, players can rank up their CS Rating, a new rating system by Valve. As you play Premier, your Rating will adjust to your performance. Naturally, the higher your Rating, the higher your position is on the Regional and Global leaderboards. The Regional and Global leaderboards will allow players to see where they stack up against the best players in their region and around the world. Leaderboards will reset seasonally. Additionally, there will be another Friends leaderboard to see how you’d stack up against your friends Ratings-wise. As explained by the devs, “Your CS Rating is a visible measurement of your Counter-Strike performance, and it will determine where you stand on global and regional leaderboards.” Counter-Strike 2 Competitive changes: Map-specific ranks Another change is the addition of map-specific Ranks. The concept is players will have individual ranks for each map in the pool, with their ranks going on a per-map basis. This means you could be Global Elite in Mirage, however Gold Nova on Nuke. The goal is to allow players to develop their map pool, letting players have a good look into how good they are on a specific map, and allowing them to easily improve on the maps they have a low rank on.

Counter-Strike 2 bug lets players use any vanilla knife in-game Twitter: ValveA new bug has been found in the Counter-Strike 2 beta that lets players make any of their knife skins into vanilla versions while mid-match. Valve recently opened the Counter-Strike 2 beta up to anyone with CS:GO prime status, and with an official release window confirmed for the game, there’s been a surge in play rate for both the beta and the original CS:GO. However, as with any beta, there are still a few kinks that need to be ironed out, and one of the bugs that was revealed on stream allows players to turn any skinned knife into a vanilla version mid-game. Counter-Strike 2 streamer discovers knife skin-changing glitch Twitch streamer ohnePixel discovered the bug, which he demonstrated during a match to his friends who confirmed that it worked. The change is done by equipping a knife with a skin (for example, ohnePixel uses a Safari Mesh skin), and then moving it to inside a storage unit via the inventory. If you then respawn your player model (ohnePixel does this by switching teams), the original knife will become a vanilla version. The streamer explained the glitch: “Boys, if you don’t have the budget you can change literally any skin into vanilla by having it equipped and putting it into a storage unit. You can buy a vanilla, and it will show to you and to anybody else as a vanilla. For now. They may fix this almost immediately.” The bug still works at the time of writing (September 3, 2023), but Valve will likely aim to patch it out as soon as possible. Valve has confirmed that skins and items will carry over between CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2, although some may look a little different in the updated lighting. For more news and updates on the Counter-Strike 2 beta, check out how you can get access to it with our guide here.

Weird Counter-Strike 2 bug flashbangs player with seemingly harmless rocks ValveCounter-Strike 2 is infected with a strange, game-breaking bug involving a rock and a frustrating flashbang effect. Valve officially rolled out Counter-Strike 2 on September 27; it didn’t take long for the shooter to climb the Steam charts. Most notably, the new entry introduces a host of fresh features, including the CS Rating player metric, a sub-tick system, an overhauled loadout system, and more. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine, though. Since the game’s launch, players have encountered several issues such as server hiccups and game-breaking glitches. Now it seems another troublesome bug is wreaking havoc in the multiplayer FPS experience. Counter-Strike 2 player stumbles into bizarre flashing bug Reddit user Bl0odwork recently shared a CS2 gameplay clip that ends in an offending flashbang effect. The only problem is no one throws a flashbang grenade in the player’s direction. After walking along a cobblestone path, the user crouches and proceeds towards some rocks in the nearby grass. The Counter-Strike 2 player stops near one flat rock and is immediately hit with a flashing effect that disorients their character. Before the haziness ends, their movement toward another rock several inches away triggers another flashbang-like assault. The Redditor noted that this exact same thing happened “multiple times” in one day. Whether or not this particular bug is widespread remains unknown, but other Counter-Strike 2 users have encountered it. One person replied, “I’ve had similar things happen to me multiple times too.” They assumed it could relate to an AMD-specific glitch, yet the original poster says they game on an RTX 3070. Meanwhile, someone else claimed it’s actually ping-related. “It’s just a ping problem, I had this happen when my ping went over 800.” Whatever the case, other users are advising the original poster to report the “critical bug” to Valve. Here’s to hoping the matter’s resolved sooner rather than later.

Counter-Strike 2 breaks various CSGO skins, stickers and knives in limited test beta Twitter: CantrydeA number of cosmetic items from CS:GO, including weapon skins, knives and stickers, are faulty in Counter-Strike 2’s limited test beta, having different appearances or missing animations. Although it is only in beta currently, millions of CS:GO players are looking at Counter-Strike 2 as the future of their favorite game, and some of them will be primarily concerned with the appearance of skins and stickers. This is because all of these skins have a real monetary value, and some can be worth hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. While all skins and other items have been transferred to CS2, their implementation – right now – is not exactly flawless. In various ways, numerous items have been altered or broken in the transition. Weapon skin errors in Counter-Strike 2 Pattern-based skins Starting with weapon skins, the most alarming issue is that ‘patterns’ on some patter-based skins are not the same. In CS:GO, some specific patterns would be worth a lot more, due to the placement of certain artwork on the weapon. Although some patterns have been transferred correctly to CS2, some are totally wrong. This is because pattern-based skins use the new weapon models, resulting in the pattern being moved and adjusted slightly. This could temporarily devalue these items until they are (hopefully) fixed. While the developers may not have considered this to be a major issue, specific skin patterns can impact the price of a skin by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Wear values (float) Another issue that is affecting weapon skins, but also knives and gloves, is the implementation of wear values. In some cases, it appears that weapons are displaying in flawless 0.00 float all of the time, despite them not actually being ‘factory new’ skins. In other cases, the wear is applied differently, perhaps again due to the new weapon models. Sticker problems in Counter-Strike 2 Moving on to the stickers, there are two main issues right now in CS2’s limited test build. The first is that holo effects are not working in game. In CS:GO, holo stickers would move and reflect the light as the weapon model was moved around in game. In CS2, currently, they are totally static, and do not move with the light, unless inspecting or reloading the weapon. Other issues with stickers include their application to weapons, with the sizes looking wrong. In some cases, the stickers appear far too large, and stretch over the weapon. While it’s likely that these issues are simply bugs, they may be of real concern to plays who own items with expensive stickers applied. Knife animations For the most part, Counter-Strike 2 has greatly improved the appearance of many knives, particularly doppler knives. However, while their appearance is unchanged or improved, there is a bug with animations. Currently, inspecting knives is limited to only one singular animation, whereas in CS:GO, many knives had two animations, a common and rare inspect. Some players have also argued that ‘Case Hardened’ knives, and Case Hardened skins in general, look worse in CS2. This could impact their price, as ‘blue gem’ Case Hardened skins are typically the most expensive in all of CS:GO. It remains to be seen if Valve will address these issues with skins, stickers, and knives, but their priority currently is likely to be on the gameplay, and any bugs related to that, before focusing on cosmetics. For players with a lot of valuable items, though, it will be a worrying wait for updates.

Counter-Strike 2 beta test rollout leaves Neymar, xQc, m0NESY, more without access ValveCounter-Strike 2 has released its limited beta, giving access to various streamers, creators, and teams to try it out, but Valve has still left many notable figures in the scene and streaming world begging to get in. The hype for Counter-Strike 2 was unreal to kickstart 2023, bordering the point of obsessiveness. From leaks in new NVIDIA drivers, to reports from Richard Lewis, to fans obsessively following every single Steam database update for the game, it’s been a journey. And finally, Valve stealthily released it on March 22 to much fanfare. The issue, however, is that not everyone is able to jump in right away. Given the beta’s rollout, with only select players gaining access, many of the biggest personalities of the game have been left behind at launch. Leaving them to beg the devs for a beta invite. Who was left without Counter-Strike 2 beta access? WarOwl, a veritable CSGO guru for those new to the game and longtime creator, criticized Valve for the inconsistent beta access in a tweet. Saying, “I understand I’m not owed anything, but this is my career, I’ve spent over 10 years covering CS:GO, and without access, I cannot do my job, I am screwed.” Hours later, and he would eventually gain access, but laments the fact he had to beg for it. Neymar Jr, who you might know as just a football player, is a massive fan of CSGO. He regularly streams himself pugging on FaceIt, and even has an impressive skin collection. Despite being one of the biggest Brazilian CSGO streamers, and probably Brazil’s biggest icon, he wasn’t given access to the beta on day one. Meanwhile, xQc also lamented his lack of access to the game, while watching tarik stream CS2. xQc’s CSGO streams have been fan favorites as his lack of technical skill in the game is always an enjoyable sight for many. However, the Juicer’s lack of access was really down to his own incompetence as the official CS twitter account reached out to him multiple times and he simply didn’t respond to them. And content creators aren’t the only ones left in the dust. G2’s IGL Rasmus “Hooxi” Nielsen and star AWPer Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov were also left out of the beta whilst other players around them happily were trying it out. Even members of FaZe Clan, IGL Finn “karrigan” Andersen and AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants were left out from the drop while their teammates got to play it, going to show just how random the release truly was. Thus, many CS fans are not happy that established players of the game were not given priority on day one while others got in ahead of the queue. For now, it’s simply down to chance but perhaps Valve will gradually open the floodgates in the days and weeks to come.

Counter-Strike 2 best settings: CS2 settings for max FPS & competitive advantages Valve / DexertoElevate your performance with the best Counter-Strike 2 settings, designed to optimize FPS while maintaining visual appeal. These are the CS2 settings to use, with some personal preferences involved. Counter-Strike 2 is the successor to CS:GO, undergoing a substantial transformation from its predecessor, and with the change, the game now demands more from your CPU and graphics card. So, here are the best Counter-Strike 2 settings for maximum FPS and competitive advantages, based on our testing, and after the frequent updates Valve has rolled out. Video settings for Counter-Strike 2 The first tab of settings you need to adjust is Video. Here, you can change brightness, aspect ratio, and resolution. Resolution is mostly personal preference, but we’ve got a guide on the best resolution options for CS2 here. The three most common are 16:9 (1920×1080), 16:10 (1680×1050), and 4:3 (1280×960). If you are unsure, stick with native 16:9 for now. Main menu background scenery: Your preference – Color mode: Computer Monitor – Brightness: 100% – Aspect Ratio: 16:9 – Resolution: 1920×1080 – Display mode: Fullscreen – Refresh rate: Maximum possible (Typically 144hz or 240hz) – Laptop power savings: Disabled – The exact aspect ratio and resolution are up to you. However, setting it to something like 16:10, 1680×1050, will improve your FPS, as the game renders at a lower resolution than the default 1920×1080. Be careful if you are on a 1440p monitor too, as using this instead of 1080p will significantly impact FPS – instead, you should stick to 1080p at most. Using a 16:10 aspect ratio will also stretch the game slightly, but not as much as 4:3. To get stretched res, make sure your graphics card scaling settings are set to ‘fullscreen’, not ‘aspect ratio’. Using stretched res will make enemies appear slightly larger (wider), but they will also move faster across the screen space. Advanced Video Settings (Graphics) Boost player contrast: Enabled – Wait for vertical sync: Disabled – Can cause input delay and locks FPS to refresh rate – Current video values preset: Custom – Multisampling Anti-Aliasing Mode: 4X MSAA – Lower values provide minor FPS gain but look bad – Global Shadow Quality: High – Or Medium, but avoid low – Model / Texture Detail: Medium – Minimal FPS impact – Texture Filtering Mode: Bilinear – Minimal FPS impact – Shader Detail: High – Significant visual improvement for minimal FPS hit – Particle Detail: Low – Improves FPS – Ambient Occlusion: Medium – Can be advantageous with minimal FPS impact – High Dynamic Range: Quality – Minimal FPS impact, big visual upgrade over Performance – FidelityFX Super Resolution: Disabled (Highest Quality) – Avoid, causes smudged appearance – NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: Enabled – If you are CPU-bound, use Boost – You might think disabling FidelityFX Super Resolution would improve performance, but this setting improves your FPS by upscaling. Ultra Quality will look almost identical, with a small boost in performance. If you are struggling with FPS, you could try Quality instead, but for most players, we’d keep it Disabled. Some players still report increased input latency when using FidelityFX Super Resolution, so for now, it is safest to disable it and use other settings to improve your FPS. You might be wondering why High Dynamic Range is set to Quality. Initially, we recommended Performance, for extra FPS. However, changing to Quality barely impacts FPS, and Performance can create a grid-line effect on the screen in some darker areas, which can be distracting. What about MSAA in CS2? If you are struggling for FPS, you can try changing to 2X MSAA instead of 4X. Having MSAA disabled entirely will give a further boost, but becomes uncomfortable to look at. Additionally, 1% low frames are actually better with higher MSAA settings. 4X feels like the sweet spot. We also recommended setting Global Shadow Quality to High or Medium, as shadows in CS2 can give away positions. If you have shadow settings at Low, you will be at a disadvantage in some areas on maps like Nuke especially. Model / Texture detail has almost no effect on FPS in our testing, so you should be able to keep this at medium or even high, to enjoy skins looking a bit nicer. Particle detail can be set to Low, but many pro players are now setting Shader detail to High for the visual improvements, and almost no FPS loss. In an update, Valve added a new setting: Texture Filtering Mode. Based on tests, this setting barely impacts FPS, but using Bilinear will grant a small FPS boost, for limited visual downside. If you prefer the look of higher values though, you won’t lose many FPS. CS2 Audio settings Master Volume: Preference – Audio Device: Default Device – EQ Profile: Crisp – L/R Isolation: 50-80% – Perspective Correction: No – Enable Voice: Press to use mic – Streamlined Push to talk: Yes – Many of these settings will depend on your setup, but assuming you are using headphones when playing CS2, these settings should be a good starting point. Crisp EQ will make higher-frequency sounds louder, which can assist in hearing things like dropped weapons, footsteps, and gunfire. L/R Isolation is a setting that players have been tinkering with, and there is no consensus really on what is best, but start by setting it around 50%, and give yourself time to get used to it, before changing the value. At 100%, the ‘middle’ of the audio space will be gone, pushing everything to your left and right, but this means the audio in front and behind may be less clear. At 0%, all audio will be merged, which may sound more ‘natural’, but less informative. Perspective Correction is a new feature that tries to more accurately reflect where audio is coming from, from your perspective in the game. If you’d rather make the audio more like CS:GO, you should turn this off. When it comes to the audio sliders in CS2, there is really only one volume setting that is important for competitive play: the ten-second bomb warning. Make sure to have this turned up to around 10-30%. However, Valve has now changed the ‘beeping’ sound of the bomb at 10 seconds too, so this music is not as necessary if you don’t like it. Game settings for CS2 The next batch of settings to look at are game settings. Many of these are simply personal preferences, but some will definitely improve your experience in CS2. Game Max Acceptable Matchmaking Ping: 100 – Max Acceptable Game Traffic Bandwidth: Unrestricted – Community Notification location: Top right – Enable Developer Console (~): Yes – Install Counter-Strike Workshop tools: No – Hud Hud scale: 0.90 – Hud color: Preference – Team Show Team Positions in hud: Show location and equipment – Show teammate colors in competitive: Show colors – Use teammate colors on ID: No – Friends lobby default permissions: Friends need invites – Looking to play when Counter-Strike starts: Remember last state – Communication Player pings: Display and sound – Mute enemy team: No – Mute all but friends: No – Hide Avatar Images: Preference – Clean player names: Preference – Radar / Tablet Radar centers the player: Yes – Radar is rotating: Yes – Radar Hud size: 1 – Radar Map zoom: 0.60 – Toggle shape with scoreboard: Yes – Crosshair We recommend using one of the best crosshairs used by pro players, which we have in our crosshair codes guide. Your crosshair is just a personal preference, but the majority of players prefer a ‘static’ crosshair, as it is less distracting when shooting. To get started, we recommend checking out some of the crosshairs used by pro players above. Mouse settings When it comes to sensitivity and DPI, it will come down to your personal preference. However, there is a generally accepted recommendation to keep your DPI fairly low in Counter-Strike, and this is no different in CS2. Many pros will use an eDPI (effective DPI) of between 700 – 1200. Anything higher than this, and it can be more difficult to be precise and make small adjustments to your aim. To work out your eDPI, you simply need to multiply your sensitivity by your mouse DPI. For example, an in-game sensitivity of 1 and DPI of 800 would give you an eDPI of 800. 1.3 sensitivity and 800 DPI would be an eDPI of 1040. Item Quick Graffiti: Yes – Delay Sniper Rifle un-scope after shot: No – Auto re-zoom sniper rifle after shot: No – Detach Silencer on M4A1-s and USP-S: Disabled – Always show inventory: Yes – Open Buy Menu with Use Key: Yes – Buy Menu Number Keys: Number Keys Buy Items – Buy Menu Donation Key: Left Control – The majority of other settings in CS2 are simply personal preferences, so play around with different crosshairs, key binds, and sensitivities to see what suits you. However, we also recommend disabling the ‘Detach silencer from M4A1-S and USP-S‘ setting. This will stop you from accidentally removing the silencer by right-clicking. This is a new setting in CS2, as players in CS:GO would get frustrated by misclicking and removing the silencer. Remember: there is no benefit to removing the silencer! Check out our other Counter-Strike 2 guides, including how to play left-handed and how to use the console commands.

Counter-Strike 2 August 17 update gives players hope of launch as Valve adds all maps ValveCounter-Strike 2’s August 17 update is giving players hope of a full launch in the very near future as Valve finally adds all previously rolled out maps to its closed beta at once. When Counter-Strike 2 was officially revealed by Valve, players were promised a window of Summer 2023 for its full release as select players received invites to its closed beta. As the closed beta continues, however, and Summer goes on, CS players have been left speculating when CS2 may actually be released in full. Now, with the August 17 update to the beta, despite being a relatively small update, the patch has given the community a newfound hope as Valve has finally added all previously released maps to the beta at once. Throughout CS2’s closed beta, Valve has been slowly adding features and maps which have been showcased in their trailers. Initially, Dust 2 was the only map available, but with more updates, classic maps such as Mirage, Overpass, and Nuke have all been added. Finally, after Italy on August 15, Valve has now decided to add “all maps previously shipping in the Limited Test”, and it’s giving CS players hope for a full launch just around the corner. “Is it happening?” questioned NIP’s Twitter account. With CS caster stunna excitedly replying, “Holy smokes y’all get ready.” “Sounds like an appetizer before the main course,” commented Gabe Follower who leaked CS2’s existence before its announcement. CS commentator Jacky speculated, “This update reeks of an August 21 release.” Currently, we still have two weeks till the end of August, so CS players may need to hold their breath for a full release before the official end to the summer window. Though it’s certainly not out of the question. Below you can find the full patch notes for the CS2 August 15 update. Counter-Strike 2 August 15 update patch notes Maps All maps previously shipped in the Limited Test are available in casual and deathmatch matchmaking – All maps and game modes previously shipped in the Limited Test are available for offline play – Gameplay Dropped bombs no longer sink in water – Reworked the bullet penetration system – Enabled bot takeover where applicable –

Counter-Strike 2 August 15 patch notes: Competitive disabled, Italy arrives, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s August 15 patch notes are here and the latest update just disabled Competitive and Private matchmaking. Topping it off, Italy is also replacing Anubis and Ancients. Here’s the full rundown. As we grow closer to the full launch of Counter-Strike 2 sometime this Summer, Valve has been regularly releasing updates and tweaking its closed beta, and the August 15 update is no different. Despite being a smaller patch in the grand scheme, it nonetheless brings a fair few changes you’ll want to be wary of. Namely, Competitive and Private Matchmaking have been disabled in the limited test. Valve did not clarify why at this point in time. Additionally, both Anubis and Ancient have been removed with Italy replacing them across Deathmatch and Casual. And smoke clouds have had a slight tweak as well, now being wider in shape but not as tall as they used to be. Here are the full details of the August 15 patch notes for Counter-Strike 2. Counter-Strike 2 August 15 patch notes Gameplay Competitive and Private Matchmaking are currently disabled in the Limited Test – Minor adjustments to smoke cloud shape – Maps Added Italy to Deathmatch and Casual game modes – Removed Anubis and Ancient – Economy Unified StatTrak position on both CS2 M4 models to not occlude stickers – Adjusted sticker sizes on CS2 M4A4 so they no longer overlap – Miscellaneous Updated hostage models – Sound Audio mix tweaks and adjustments – Workshop Tools Added support for multiple team introduction variants –

Counter-Strike 2 April 26 patch notes: Left-handed view, Dust 2 returns, more ValveCounter-Strike 2’s April 26 patch notes have arrived, and the update brings with it the arrival of the left-handed view model, Dust 2’s re-addition to the Active Duty map pool, and new changes to the buy menu. After a solid seven months of begging from players, the long-awaited left-hand view model has arrived in Counter-Strike 2 following its absence from the game’s launch. But coming with this surprise return is also Dust 2’s re-addition to the Active Duty map pool, replacing Overpass, making it available for Premier and Competitive. So here is all you need to know about Counter-Strike 2’s April 25 patch notes. Counter-Strike 2 April 25 patch notes Viewmodel Adjusted viewmodel bob movement – Added “Preferred Viewmodel Left/Right Handedness” setting – Added “Switch Viewmodel Left/Right Hand” key binding (default: US keyboard letter H) to switch hands temporarily during gameplay – Viewmodel position setting and left/right hand state are now networked and visible to first-person spectators. – Deprecated “Couch” viewmodel position setting – HUD Added “Radar Map Alternate Zoom” setting and “Toggle Radar Zoom” key binding to toggle between zoom levels during gameplay – Added a radar icon for the local player when free cam spectating – Added a grenade line-up reticle that appears shortly after pulling the pin. The timing can be configured for each grenade type independently – Changed weapon Swap text (when pointing at a dropped weapon) to always show the gameplay name of the weapon instead of any customized name it might have. – Added a kill feed icon for “in-air” kills – Added the scoreboard to the ESC menu – Added an icon to indicate bots on the scoreboard – Buy Menu Added a “Dropped Weapons” panel, which shows (and allows the direct pickup of) weapons that have been dropped by teammates that are standing in the buy zone – Added the minimum amount of money that a player is guaranteed to have in the next round to the buy menu title bar. (thanks, Kadomos) – Gameplay Increased Zeus movement speed and adjusted the attack cone – Increased Zeus kill reward from $0 to $100 ($50 in Casual) – Increased CZ75-Auto kill reward from $100 to $300 ($150 in Casual) – Reduced XM1014 kill reward from $900 to $600 ($300 in Casual) – Inventory Lighting adjustments in Inspect background maps – Added Wear Category to the info tooltip in the Inspect screen – Added gameplay name in panels that used to only show customized name. E.g., Inspect screen, inventory tile – MAPS Replaced Overpass with Dust 2 in the Active Duty Group, current competition map pool, and Premier matchmaking Baggage Opened roll-up doors at spawns – Updated models for some conveyors – Solidified stairs – Various bug fixes – Inferno Removed overhanging building at top mid – Removed overhangs at bottom of banana – Various map tweaks to improve player collision and readability – Overpass, Nuke, Vertigo, Mirage and Office Bug and exploit fixes – Collision and line of sight adjustments – Minor performance improvements – Weapon Finishes AK-47 | Inheritance: Texture and mask adjustments – USP-S | Jawbreaker: Corrected ambient occlusion texture – Misc Decoupled demo playback camera movement from playback speed. This allows moving the camera even if playback is paused Added ability to launch practice matches and workshop maps with party members Added Overwatch system to enable match demo review by trusted partners Copenhagen 2024 Major sticker capsules are on sale now -75% off Added ability to adjust brightness in windowed modes

Counter-Strike 2 accused of cheating Steam reviews as players slam “dishonest” move ValveCounter-Strike 2 (CS2) is under fire as players accuse the game of manipulating Steam reviews in a move labeled as “dishonest.” After many months of anticipation, Counter-Strike 2 officially launched on September 27. In a controversial move, Valve opted to replace its predecessor, CS:GO, with CS2 on Steam, effectively removing CS:GO from the platform. Counter-Strike 2 boasts significant improvements, including enhanced graphics and map overhauls. However, the transition has not been smooth for all fans. CS2 was launched without several popular features that were integral to CS:GO, such as certain maps, game modes, and, notably, support for Mac users. Understandably, there are players who have been left disappointed by Valve’s decision to simply remove the much-loved CS:GO from Steam. And that’s not even to mention the game-breaking bugs that players are already uncovering in CS2. Adding to the controversy, Valve removed all 167 achievements associated with CS:GO from Steam, further frustrating dedicated fans. Many of these players have since taken to Steam to voice their frustrations, leaving negative reviews for CS2. However, they soon realized that their reviews were not just impacting CS2’s rating but being added to the collection of reviews that CS:GO had accumulated over time. This move by Valve has sparked outrage among the community, with many accusing the company of dishonestly inflating CS2’s review score. One player review on Steam with more than 5,400 helpful votes states, “However you feel about the update to CS2, CS:GO should not have been de-listed. Also, merging reviews of GO into 2’s is very dishonest. If EA and Ubisoft would get criticized for such a move, why shouldn’t Valve?” Another user on the Counter-Strike 2 community forum questioned Steam’s review policy, suggesting that Valve was manipulating its own system to favorably position CS2. However, not all players are in agreement. Some argue that CS2 is merely a significant update to CS:GO and not a separate game. They argue that since CS2 is essentially an evolution of CS:GO, it makes sense for the reviews to be merged. This perspective has led to heated debates within the community, with some players emphasizing that the title “Counter-Strike 2” indicates it’s a sequel and not just an expansion. In the meantime, Valve has added a disclaimer on the Counter-Strike 2 store page, clarifying that reviews written before September 27 were for the legacy version, CS:GO.

Counter-Strike 2 account with $1.5 million skin inventory has been banned ValveA controversial Counter-Strike 2 skin trader, St4ck, with a skin inventory worth $1,500,000, has been banned from trading. Skin trading in Counter-Strike is big business, as some of the game’s most expensive skins can be worth upwards of a million dollars, with private collectors frequently hunting down some of the game’s rarest cosmetics. However, many player’s collections can be at risk of being lost due to account bans by Steam, usually either through a VAC ban due to hacking, or a community ban for a wide range of reasons. Now, one of the biggest CS skin collectors, St4ck, has just been hit with a community ban, with his extremely valuable inventory under lockdown. On October 4, various CS trader account trackers reported St4ck’s account was hit with a community ban. Most bots recorded his inventory value at a whopping $1,443,971. However, many other traders in the community averaged his inventory worth to be between $1,500,000 – $1,600,000. It’s unknown what St4ck was banned for at the time of writing, as the reasons for a Steam community ban can range from online misconduct to engaging in unlawful activities. Many have speculated that St4ck was banned for comments made on his Steam profile, which has happened to traders in the past, however, not to accounts with inventories quite this valuable. In the skin trading community, St4ck is one of its most controversial figures. In the past, he has been accused of scamming players out of rare skins, and ghosting traders after they had sent their skins to him with no payment. St4ck also gained notoriety for attempting to get the highest possible Steam level, spending thousands of dollars in the process. However, he was accused of scamming people out of Steam cards to the tune of $70,000. Most traders predict that St4ck will be unbanned within the next few days, though we’ll be sure to keep you posted if that’s indeed the case.

Cloud9 sign former NAVI Major winner to CS2 roster following sh1ro exit João Ferreira/DexertoCloud9 have announced the signing of former NAVI player Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhaylov to replace the benched Dmitriy ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov. Cloud9 are bringing in former NAVI player Boombl4 to replace sh1ro. The 22-year-old Russian player requested to move on from the Cloud9 CS2 lineup on October 26, 2023 as the organization benched him and made him available for transfer. Before joining Cloud9 Boombl4 was playing with 1win after his exit from NAVI in early 2022. The IGL was benched by the team in mid-2022 after their second-place finish at the 2022 PGL Antwerp Major. It was later revealed that the player was let go more so because of a messy divorce with his now former-wife, than in-game issues. Boombl4 will join a Cloud9 team that has two of his former teammates from NAVI. Both Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov and Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy were a part of the Ukrainian organization during its Major winning run in 2021. Cloud9 add Booml4 to CS2 squad The former NAVI player has been standing in for the organization in the 2023 Thunderpick World Championship and has helped the team to a 2-0 record so far. The move comes as multiple teams around the world are moving players around due to the introduction of CS2 changing what they value. Currently, most teams don’t value AWPers as much in the new title as having five rifles seems to be the new meta. This has caused even the best players to consider changing how they play as even Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyljev has said he is open to moving to primarily using rifles. Coincidently, s1mple, who was also a big part of NAVI’s Major win, has said he is open to seeing offers from other teams. Whether Cloud9 will make more moves, or go after s1mple, for its European roster has yet to be seen.

Cloud9 acquires BLAST Premier spot as Evil Geniuses exits CS2 Evil GeniusesCloud9 has acquired Evil Geniuses’ Counter-Strike 2 BLAST Premier slot as the latter slowly exits esports as a whole. As the Counter-Strike world celebrates Team Vitality’s trophy lift at the BLAST Premier World Finals against FaZe Clan, starting a promising rivalry between the teams in CS2 to end off 2023, EG has quietly sold their BLAST Premier slot. It was announced right before the BLAST Premier World Finals’ conclusion that Cloud9 has bought out EG’s slot after a lengthy bidding process. Cloud9 has had a long history in CS, historically fielding North American rosters, and even winning the region’s first and only CSGO major in 2018. However, after taking a brief hiatus from the game in 2021, they came back with a European roster after acquiring Gambit Esports’ CSGO roster in 2022. With this new European roster, Cloud9 has had promising results, winning a trophy in 2022 at IEM Dallas, and ending top 4 at IEM Rio 2023, although, they missed the BLAST Paris Major. Evil Geniuses sells BLAST Premier slot to Cloud9 amid esports exit However, this acquisition also marks EG’s slow exit from esports, as the org removes itself from its various slots as it crumbles internally. “Since its inaugural season, Evil Geniuses has supported and participated in BLAST Premier as part of our commitment to the NA Counter-Strike scene,” writes Chris DeAppolonio, CEO of EG in a press release. “While we will no longer participate in Premier going forward, we are thankful for the three years we competed and look forward to supporting NA Counter-Strike talent within the league from afar.” EG’s exit from esports started when they exited LCS amid reports of their mistreatment of their star players. And further reports came as their Champions-winning Valorant roster found themselves in contract jail. This also follows as EG scrapped their CS project, “The Blueprint”, after acquiring multiple NA CS rosters, abandoning the failed roster.

Can you play left hand in CS2? How to switch to left-handed view model in Counter-Strike 2 ValveCounter-Strike 2, the sequel to the legendary CS:GO, aims to deliver a superior gaming experience, but at launch, left-handed players were unable to get their preferred view model. Thankfully, Valve has finally put the issue to rest – here’s how to play left-handed in CS2. Upon launching Counter-Strike 2 for the first time, the default configuration places players in a right-handed perspective. Your in-game player model will wield weapons and other gear such as grenades and smokes with their right hand. Many players chose to swap to a left-handed view in the original CS:GO, either due to preference or to simply move the weapon model out of the way. So, it’s no surprise players want to use the option in CS2 as well. Is left-hand view in CS2? Left-handed ViewModel is available in CS2 after the April 25 update. It’s unclear why the option was left out in the release of Counter-Strike 2, as the option to change viewmodels has been around since the early days of CSGO. However, after seven months of protesting and begging by the community, Valve has finally delivered in an update brought in late April. And as shown off in a teaser video released by Valve, the setting will largely be the same as in CSGO, with players being able to switch between viewmodels mid-game. How to switch hands in CS2 In the CS2 settings, you can now select your “Preferred ViewModel Left/Right Handedness” setting, to set a default. To change sides on the fly, there is a new key bind option for “Switch Viewmodel Left/Right Hand”. By default, this will be bound to H. If you already use H for another key, or want to switch it, just change it in the keybind settings or by using the console. Why use left hand in CS2? If you are left-handed, it’s obvious why you might prefer to use a left-hand view in the game. If you are right-handed, you might think that using a left-handed ViewModel is pointless. However, even many right-handed players use a command to quickly switch between left and right hands. This is because the weapon and your character’s arms can sometimes block the view, so switching it quickly frees up your vision on one side. In CS2, the first-person perspective is now network sided, meaning spectators will also see if you are using left or right-hand view model.

Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? ValveValve has finally released Counter-Strike 2, and fans want to know what platforms they can play on. Here is everything you need to know about CS2 for macOS and Linux users. CS:GO launched in 2012 on MacOS, Playstation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, and Linux two years later. After less than a year, Valve abandoned the console version and completely skipped the next generation of console gaming. The developers never revealed why they scrapped their console ambitions, and it remains to be seen if Valve ever wants to make a leap back over. Despite falling short on console, the franchise dominates PC gaming and is accessible to most users. However, Valve narrowed its scope with Counter-Strike 2, cutting down on who can access the game. Is Counter-Strike 2 on Linux? After some speculation, it has now been confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 will remain available on Linux going forward, easing the concerns of those on the Linux operating system. This comes after the decision was made to discontinue support for older hardware, including DirectX 9 and 32-bit operating systems. Is Counter-Strike 2 on macOS? No, Counter-Strike 2 is not on macOS, and it seems unlikely that this will ever change. On the Steam Support page for the Legacy CS:GO version, it has been revealed that they will no longer support macOS. Combined, macOS and “older hardware” users made up less than 1% of the Counter-Strike player base. How to claim Counter-Strike 2 Prime Status Upgrade refund As the Steam page explains, “macOS users are eligible for a refund if most of their CS:GO playtime was on macOS and they played CS:GO on a Mac between the announcement of the Counter-Strike 2 Limited Test (March 22, 2023) and the launch of Counter-Strike 2 (September 27, 2023), regardless of when they purchased their Prime Status Upgrade.” Refunds will be offered until December 1, 2023. 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? | 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

CadiaN to stand in for Heroic at BLAST Fall Final in “one last dance” João Ferreira/DexertoHeroic announced that Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller will join the starting lineup as a stand-in for the BLAST Fall Final in late November. In the latest update of their roster turmoil, Heroic announced the previously benched cadiaN will stand in for the team at the 2023 European BLAST Fall Final. The Danish organization announced almost a month ago that cadiaN would be moved to the bench ahead of the esport’s transition from CS:GO to Counter-Strike 2. Days later, Heroic made another announcement saying its two young prodigies, Martin ‘stavn’ Lund and Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard, would be moved to the bench as well for breaching the organization’s trust. Heroic explained in a statement that stavn and jabbi issued an ultimatum to the organization and forced it to choose between the two stars or the veteran leader. The Danish organization went with stavn and jabbi, expecting the two to renegotiate their contracts in good faith after cadiaN was out of the starting lineup. However, the two players revealed to the organization that they were already in talks to join Astralis, Heroic’s rivals, when negotiations began. CadiaN to rejoin Heroic’s starting lineup one last time Heroic has since moved the players to the bench and said they are willing to see other teams’ offers for them while they ride out the final 10 months of their contracts. Stavn and jabbi have insinuated on social media that Heroic is not telling the full truth of the matter. Heroic played in the Roobet Cup Group Stage after the roster drama with two stand-ins from MOUZ. The team went 1-2 and did not qualify for the next stage. Now, with the BLAST Fall Finals tournament set to start on November 22, Heroic has decided to bring cadiaN on for one last ride. “One last dance. See you soon Royal arena,” cadiaN posted on social media following the announcement. The Danish team still needs to fill one more spot on its roster before the tournament begins. The organization has not announced its full lineup at the time of writing. Heroic’s lineup for the BLAST Fall Final is as follows: cadiaN – Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen – Rasmus ‘sjuush’ Beck – René ‘TeSeS’ Madsen – Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström (coach) –

cadiaN talks CS future post-Heroic: “I still have a lot to achieve” Michal Konkol/BLASTCasper ‘cadiaN’ Møller spoke with Dexerto about his benching by Heroic and mapped out his future plans, even opening the door to a role change in Counter-Strike 2. “Who knows what the future entails for this roster?” caster Adam ‘Dinko’ Hawthorne said as Heroic crashed out of ESL Pro League Season 18 in the group stage, calling it “a new low” for the team. With the benefit of hindsight, cadiaN believes that losing to the eventual champions, MOUZ, and to a semi-finalist, Monte, was not as bad as it initially looked, though it still stings him. But the signs that the team was vulnerable had been there for a while. In the lead-up to the event in Malta, cadiaN had even spoken about the struggles that plagued the squad, expressing his concern that the team was not “playing to our philosophies and principles.” Somehow, somewhere, Heroic had lost their verve and become a static rendition of themselves, abandoning the fundamentals that had made them one of the best and most unique teams in the game despite lacking the star power of some of their rivals. cadiaN understood that a change was necessary. But in the end, his vision for the future of the team was met with resistance. “We had talks on how to move forward and progress,” cadiaN explained to Dexerto. “And I think, ultimately, we had different visions on how we would achieve our goals. “I wanted some changes and some people wanted a different way.” cadiaN doesn’t want to go into detail about what type of changes he wanted to make, but he is adamant in his belief that they would have taken Heroic to the next level, pointing to a four-year record of roster swaps that were received with skepticism but constantly took the team up the ladder. “I think they would have made us more competitive in the big tournaments and the big stages and they saw it done in a different way,” he said. “It would not have created the right fundamentals for the future if we met somewhere in the middle.” cadiaN steps down from Heroic’s roster four years after joining the organization — one of the longest active stints in the CS:GO scene. He led the team as it went from being a middle-of-the-pack side to a regular presence in the top 10 and, eventually, a title contender and Major finalist. But he was much more than just the in-game leader. He was the most vocal player on the team and, at times, a father figure to his younger teammates. Even during the team’s darkest periods, like in the HUNDEN scandal, and in the toughest losses, he always knew how to draw attention to himself as a way to shield the other players, who aren’t so adept at handling the spotlight. Perhaps nowhere is that better illustrated than in ‘Game and Glory’, the Counter-Strike documentary by ESL and BBC Studios about the IEM Rio Major. cadiaN is the lead figure in the 48-minute-long video and the only Heroic member who is interviewed, apart from Kasper Straube, then the organization’s Head of Performance. “I feel a lot of pride,” he said. “Many people see me as the face of not just the CS team of Heroic but more or less the organization, you know? I have been able to build a team and a brand more or less from nothing. We didn’t have the funds or the same opportunities as the other teams at the beginning, and we fought our way up, becoming better and better with each and every small change, and the theory-crafting of how to play CS. “We were ahead of the curve in terms of scouting the right talent and making roster moves at the right time, and that brought us to a position where Heroic was a big enough name to get a spot in both BLAST and ESL, to reach No.1 in the world rankings and to win big trophies. “The main thing that fills my heart is pride, and I’m happy that I have spent so much of my career with such great players and amazing friends. There’s no grudge, we separate as friends. We have been working super hard and pouring in sweat, blood and tears to make it work. It has been an incredible journey that a lot of people can look back on and think, ‘Okay, if they could do it, so can I.’” cadiaN’s future in Counter-Strike 2 cadiaN isn’t willing to dwell too long, however, on things that he can’t control and is instead focusing on the next chapter of his career. “I’m super motivated,” he said, adding that he is “already grinding” Counter-Strike 2. He has spent the last five years playing for Danish teams, but with Astralis and Heroic being the only top teams in his country at the moment, he is looking abroad for playing opportunities. “I believe that a lot of the things we have done correctly in Heroic I can transfer to the next place I’m going to,” cadiaN said. “I know I can bring the five percent that other teams need to win. “I have my ideas of which teams I could instantly make better and which teams could, or should, potentially consider involving me. But at the end of the day, it’s not up to me to decide which teams are interested in me.” The Counter-Strike scene is currently in a state of flux as tournament organizers across the globe transition to CS2 for the final leg of the season. With so many question marks around what the rest of the year will look like, cadiaN is willing to take his time to find the next destination. “I’m not going to make a move just to make a move,” he said, before noting: “I’m confident that there will be a lot of teams reaching out to me.” He added, “I’m only considering joining a team that I can win with.” cadiaN believes that he has proven himself “as a great leader and a great fragger with the AWP”. His demeanor is merely confidence in his abilities, not cockiness, and is part of the reason he is such a polarizing figure in the Counter-Strike scene. Despite that, he is willing to relinquish some of his duties and reinvent himself again if necessary. “I have found a rhythm for making both of those roles work together,” he said, “but for the perfect fit, I would be willing to separate [from] the roles.” And not be the AWPer? “Or not be the IGL.” Though he has not set a timetable for his return, cadiaN clearly has one tournament in mind: the PGL CS2 Major in Copenhagen. The event will take place at the Royal Arena, the same venue where he lifted the BLAST Premier Fall Final trophy in 2022, which he described as “one of the best moments of my career.” “Getting back to Royal Arena and greeting the Danish fans is definitely a big motivation for me,” he said. Only a few Counter-Strike players can boast that their journey to the big leagues was a straight line, but cadiaN’s voyage took more unexpected turns than most. There were times when his career looked like it was going nowhere, but he persevered and reached the very top at the age of 26, by which point most players are already past their primes. For someone that many never expected to get to this stage, being removed from a team isn’t more than just a speedbump. Like he noted in ‘Game and Glory’, he is the type of person who “always gets back up.” “That is exactly what is going to happen,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m not even close to giving up. I still have a lot to achieve in my career. I would call it a winner’s mindset. “I want to win the big trophies. I went to the final and the semi-finals of the last two Majors. I want to win a Major. I want to win Katowice and Cologne. Even though I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, I’m far from satisfied.”

Vitality win BLAST Premier World Finals 2023: Final placements & results BLAST PremierThe BLAST Premier World Finals returned for another year, with Vitality taking the world title in convincing fashion over FaZe in the grand finals. Here’s all the final placements and results. BLAST Premier World Finals 2023 was again held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for its huge end of season Counter-Strike event between December 13-17, 2023. Last year saw eight teams compete in CS:GO as G2 Esports went against the odds to become the champions. However, this year saw eight qualified teams instead compete in CS2 for the $1 million prize pool and title of world champions at BLAST Premier. The top two Valve ranked teams battled it out in the Grand Finals of the BLAST Premier World Finals 2023, however it was much more clear cut than expected. Vitality ended up taking the championship with a swift 2-0 victory over FaZe, after winning the first map Inferno, 13-5, and the second map of Nuke, 13-7. Here’s everything you need to know about the BLAST Premier World Finals, including the full results of each match and final placements. Contents BLAST Premier World Final 2023: Schedule & results The BLAST Premier World Final place between December 13-17, with the eight participating teams split into two double-elimination groups of Group A and Group B. The group winners will progress to the semi-finals, while the runners-up and the third-placed sides advances to the quarter-finals. The bottom-placed group finishers will be eliminated from the tournament. Group Stage (December 13-14) Day 1: December 13 Day 2: December 14 Group A Group B Playoffs (December 15-17) Day 3: December 15 Day 4: December 16 Day 5: December 17 BLAST Premier World Final 2023: All qualified teams This year, there will be 8 teams competing in the BLAST Premier World Final. Heroic and Vitality both qualified through BLAST events, where Heroic won the Spring Final and Vitality were winners of the BLAST.tv Paris Major. In similar fashion, FaZe and MOUZ both became champions of different ESL Pro League seasons in 2023 to seal their places. For the remaining teams, these all qualified by achieving high placements in the BLAST World Leadboard. We will constantly be updating this BLAST Premier World Final 2023 hub as matches go ahead, where we will provide updates on each match result and overall team standings during the tournament.

Best SMGs to use in Counter-Strike 2 ValveCounter-Strike 2 has a variety of weapons to choose from, some more useful than others. SMGs are a staple of the series and a must-have on some rounds, so here are the best SMGs to use in CS2. Like most FPS games, Counter-Strike 2 also offers a plethora of weapons to choose from, including assault rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, shotguns, and more. Each of those weapon types has its uses, but SMGs stand out in a few scenarios. If you are planning to take down enemies at very close range, simply want to run and gun, or you’re going up against an eco, then the SMGs would be your ideal choice in the game. But, not all submachine guns are equal – these are the best SMGs you can use in Counter-Strike 2. Best SMGs in CS2 Counter-Terrorist side When you are on the CT side, these are the best SMGs you can use: MP9 – MP7 – MP5-SD – After winning the pistol round, the MP9 ($1250) is often an ideal choice for the second and bonus rounds. This Mid-Tier weapon has a great rate of fire and if you’re into spraying, it can easily take down two enemies at once. The next tier up would be the MP7 ($1500), which is slightly more expensive than the MP9 but offers greater damage at range. Unless you have a particular play in mind though, the MP9 is the better all-rounder, especially for the price. The MP5-SD ($1500) is an excellent choice during anti-eco or force buy rounds. Lurking and landing a couple of headshots using burst spray with this weapon can reward you with an updated weapon like an AK-47 or even an AWP from the enemy. While you could opt for the P90 for its larger magazine size, it’s far too expensive to be among the best SMGs. If you want a spray and pray mag for much cheaper, then there is the PP-Bizon, but this is really only effective against unarmored opponents on enemies’ eco rounds. Terrorist side Things change a bit when you’re on the T-side. During this time, your team needs to take control of a site for a successful round. Here are the best SMGs you can use on the Terrorist side: MAC-10 – UMP-45 – The MAC-10 ($1050) is the go-to choice right after winning the pistol round for most players. It has a decent rate of fire but can take down enemies with a couple of headshots in the second round. However, it can get trickier as the bonus round starts. You can also jump and shoot very accurately with the Mac-10. For the second choice, you may go with the UMP-45 ($1200) as it has better armor penetration than others, pricing to be effective during force buy rounds. Its slow fire rate will let you down at times though. Again, the P90 is an option on the T side, but at $2350, it’s simply not worth the price. If you have that much money, you should be buying a Galil instead, if you can’t afford an AK. Combining proper game sense with these weapons will help you climb Premier ranks in a jiffy. So, those are some of the best SMGs you can use in CS2. For more guides and information on Counter-Strike 2, be sure to check out our other content below: 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?

Best CS2 skins in 2024: AK-47, AWP, M4A4, USP-S, more ValveThere are thousands of weapon skins to obtain in CS2 and getting the best ones at a good price can be difficult. Now that Counter-Strike 2 has replaced the original CS:GO, it could be the perfect time to refresh your loadout, so here are the best weapon skins you can currently get in the FPS. Even if you’re bad at the game, Counter-Strike 2 still lets you flex your style with countless weapon skins. While some weapons are used almost every round, like the AK-47, some are more situational like SMGs and Pistols. While skins won’t make you any better at the game, they do help you look better while losing. The only issue is that some of these skins are very expensive, which makes them both sought after and rare. While some of the skins here will be on the pricey side, we will focus mainly on skins you can get without needing to be super rich. You can buy all these skins on the Steam market or a third-party site like Skinport. We’ve picked three skins for each weapon: one cheap, one mid-range, and one expensive skin. Here are the best Counter-Strike 2 skins to buy in 2024. If you’re looking for a knife too, check out our list of the best knives to buy here. Weapons Best AK-47 skins – Best AWP skins – Best M4A1-S skins – Best M4A4 skins – Best USP-S skins – Best Glock skins – Best Desert Eagle skins – Best MP9 skins – Best MAC-10 skins – Best Scout skins – Best Galil skins – Best Famas Skins – Best AK-47 skins Starting off with Counter-Strike’s most iconic and popular weapon, the AK-47, you are spoiled for choice in terms of good-looking and affordable skins. We’ve picked out our top three. AK-47: Legion of Anubis ($5 – $20) One of the best-looking AK skins is also one of the most inexpensive. The Legion of Anubis sports a black and gold color scheme, and easily one of the most detailed and intricate designs of any skin in the game. You can pick up a Field-Tested one for around $15, which is a great price for such a good-looking covert skin. AK-47: Neon Rider ($25 – $150) If brighter colors are more your thing, then look no further than the Neon Rider AK, which sports a flashy blue and purple look, with pink accents. This is the ultimate synthwave skin in CS2, and you can pair it with the Neon Rider Mac-10 too. A Field-Tested Neon Rider will cost around $50. AK-47: Fuel Injector ($90 – $500) For our more expensive pick, the Fuel Injector is a fantastic option. Even if you go for the cheapest, battle-scarred option, the Fuel Injector AK won’t look bad, it is simply a darker shade than the much brighter Minimal Wear or Factory new versions. This skin has been going up in price a lot, so it could be a good one to hold on to for the long term before selling. Best AWP skins AWP: Atheris ($2 – $15) You can never go wrong with the AWP Atheris. Just a few dollars for a field-tested version, this AWP just looks amazing. The black background is complemented by a winding neon green snake wrapped around the hilt of the AWP. It’s so cheap and is ideal for anyone looking for a classy-looking skin that won’t break the bank. AWP: Neo-Noir ($20 – $35) There are a number of Neo-Noir skins in CS2, including the M4A4, Glock and USP-S, but the best is definitely the AWP. Along with the Asiimov and Desert Hydra, it is one of three AWPs to have a white scope, something that many players love, and you can pick up a field-tested one for about $36. For a covert AWP skin, that looks this good, this is a great price. AWP: Containment Breach ($50 – $500) For our more expensive AWP pick, there were lots to choose from. You could also go for the Oni Taiji, Asiimov, or Lightning Strike, but some of these can start approaching the $500 mark. Meanwhile, this bright forest green Containment Breach can be bought in field-tested for only around $80. And there’s a good chance it may continue to increase in price as it has more than doubled in the past year. Best M4A1-S skins M4A1-S: Nightmare ($7 – $50) For the CT rifle, you have the choice of the A1-S or the A4. While the M4A1-S was nerfed, it’s still cheaper than the M4A4. So, you may want to start by picking up a relatively cheap, but great-looking M4A1-S like the Nightmare. This Nightmare skin is only Classified (pink rarity), rather than Covert (red rarity), meaning the price is a bit lower. You can get one of these in field-tested for only $10 on the Steam market, or $20 for Minimal Wear. M4A1-S: Black Lotus ($50 – $150) One of the first new skins added to CS2, the Black Lotus will match the USP-S Black Lotus released back in CS:GO. Upgraded though for CS2, this M4A1-S version is truly beautiful. As it’s so new, it’s still quite expensive for a purple tier skin, but it’s price should drop over time as more are unboxed, so you might want to wait before buying this one. M4A1-S: Golden Coil ($30 – $250) For our more expensive M4A1-S pick, we have to go with the Golden Coil. Never has a skin looked so expensive as this black and gold wonder. In CS2, it looks particularly stunning. Field-Tested will cost you around $60, but once again, you might see this skin as an investment, as its price has more than tripled in the past year. Best M4A4 skins M4A4: Desolate Space ($4 – $25) In CS2, you can have both the M4A4 and the M4A1-S in your loadout, so you no longer need to pick between them. So, you might want to have a nice skin for both. For our cheap option, we’ve picked out the Desolate space, which is only $6 in field-tested. We previously had the Royal Paladin as our cheap pick, but its appearance is a bit darker in CS2 now. M4A4: The Emperor ($8 – $150) Much like the AK-47 Legion of Anubis, this is a mythical-looking skin with vibrant blue with the focal point featuring the Emperor himself. You can buy one of these today in field-tested for only $12. M4A4: Temukau ($10 – $150) One of the newer best skins added to CS2, the M4A4 Temukau is one of a few anime-style skins. Although this won’t be to everyone’s taste, for anime fans, it’s the obvious choice. Although it was very expensive when first released, the price has started to come down, and you can get yourself one of these for only around $20 in field-tested. Best USP-S skins USP-S: Cyrex ($1 – $4) The USP-S Cyrex is arguably one of the best value-for-money skins in all of CS2, when comparing appearance and price. For as little as $1 and some change, you can get an incredibly detailed and colorful CT pistol, that also looks great with lots of stickers. USP-S: Blueprint ($6 – $50) If blue is more your color then red, then one of the best options for the USP is the blueprint. Despite only being a Mil-Spec rarity, this USP will cost around $5 in field-tested, simply because it’s so good-looking. Once again, it goes great with blue sticker crafts, so get creative on your Blueprint USP-S. USP-S: Printstream ($30 – $180) The Printstream USP-S is one of the most expensive pistol skins, but for good reason. You can also pick up a Printstream Desert Eagle and M4A1-S to complete your CT loadout. While there are a lot of USP-S, this one undeniably stands out from the rest, and looks especially good in CS2. For that though, you will have to spend around $35 for one in field-tested condition. Best Glock skins Glock: Water Elemental ($4 – $15) For a glock with some more vivid colors, a great option is the Water Elemental. While the design looks great on its own, it will also fit a lot of blue or red stickers too. You can get a field-tested Water Elemental for around $4. Glock: Vogue ($2 – $10) As the name implies, this Glock skin is for fashionable players. It’s not often you see a skin this detailed and vibrant only be a pink rarity, which also helps the price. You can pick up the Glock Vogue for around $3 in field-tested condition. Glock-18: Gamma Doppler ($40 – $250) The Gamma Doppler skin is usually found on knives, but in the Train collection, it was added to the Glock. There are five ‘phases’ of this skin, with Emerald being the most expensive at over $200. The doppler design simply looks so good in CS2. If you go for one of the other phases though, you can pick up a Gamma Doppler Glock-18 for less than $50. Best Desert Eagle skins Desert Eagle: Mecha Industries ($4 – $10) For your pocket AWP, aka the Desert Eagle, you’ll definitely want to spruce up the boring default skin. As a starting point, the Mecha Industries is surprisingly cheap for a Covert skin. You can get a field-tested version for only around $4, and as it is a white skin, lots of stickers will look good on this. Desert Eagle: Midnight Storm ($18 – $30) You might be surprised that an Industrial Grade skin (the lowest rarity in the game) can cost as much as $20, and be one of the best skins in CS2 but this Desert Eagle is part of an old collection from 2015. Its red brother, Sunset Storm, will cost you as much as $200, but this blue version, which is arguably just as good-looking, is only $18 in field-tested. A bargain. Desert Eagle: Ocean Drive ($14 – $140) If you’re a Desert Eagle lover and want to spend a bit more, there are a couple of options. Our pick for the more expensive Deagle was between the Ocean Drive and Printstream, but for the price, the Ocean Drive wins out. For only $20 in field-tested, this is the most vibrant and eye-popping Deagle you can own. For comparison, a field-tested Deagle Printstream is almost $50. Best MP9 skins MP9: Goo ($0.60 – $1.60) As you’ll only use the MP9 on half-buys on CT side, you may not want to splash the cash too much. Few CS skins truly explore 3-D styles and designs like the MP9 Goo. It looks like what would happen if Venom had a gun and layered over the MP9 it just looks awesome. You can get a field-tested MP9 Goo for as little as $0.70 on Steam. MP9: Mount Fuji ($1.20 – $9) For something a little more bright, the Mount Fuji is arguably the best-looking MP9 skin overall. It features a pattern-based design, meaning the location of the Mountain and the Sun can be in different positions. For only $2 in field-tested, or $4 in Minimal Wear, it’s a very affordable, but beautiful, skin. MP9: Rose Iron ($6 – $8) For something a little darker, you could opt for the Rose Iron MP9, which sports a thorny rose upon a mostly all-black background. This skin will cost around $6-$8 no matter the condition, so you may want to spend the extra to get it in Factory New, as you’re not saving much with field-tested. Best MAC-10 skins MAC-10: Laptis Gator ($0.30 – $1) On the T side, you’ll be using the MAC-10 mostly as the SMG of choice. To get started, we’d recommend checking out the very cheap but good-looking MAC-10 Laptis Gator. In-game, it really has a shiny, reptile-like appearance, and is bright blue. This also makes it great for blue stickers, and is only around $0.35 in field-tested. MAC-10: Disco Tech ($2 – $18) Possibly the most vibrant skin in all of CS2, the MAC-10 Disco Tech features an incredible color-changing exterior, which cycles through yellow, purple, red and pink as you move around in-game. It’s a great choice for holo stickers, and the wear only affects how bright it is, never appearing scratched. You can pick it up in field-tested for around $2.50. MAC-10: Gold Brick ($40 – $80) If you have some money to burn on a MAC-10 skin, then you should at least make people know about it by purchasing the always flashy ‘Gold Brick’ MAC-10. The name tells you all you need to know about this skin. Because it’s a collection skin, it will cost you around $35 in field-tested. You can also get a ‘souvenir’ version, which is cheaper because it can’t be used in trade-ups, for only around $15. Best Scout (SSG 08) skins SSG 08: Abyss ($0.20 – $3) As you’ll only buy a Scout when you can’t afford the AWP in-game, you probably don’t want to spend too much cash on one. So, for a cheap but excellent-looking option, look no further than the Abyss. As a pattern-based skin, you can get some of these with a lot more blue on them than others, which can increase the price. But generally, you can get one of these in field-tested for only $0.30. SSG 08: Turbo Peek ($4 – $15) For the car lovers out there, this is the skin for you. The SSG Turbo Peek features a similarly colorful design as other skins like the Neon Rider, and has a similar racecar theme too. The Turbo Peek costs just over $5 in field-tested at the time of writing. SSG 08: Dragon Fire ($10 – $25) You might think that the truly exceptional sniper skins are always reserved for the AWP, but the Scout Dragon Fire proves this wrong. Designed perfectly for the SSG 08, the Dragon Fire is an incredibly detailed piece of art. You will have to spend around $15 for a field-tested one, which isn’t cheap for a Scout, but we’d say the art is worth it. Best Galil Skins Galil: Stone Cold ($1 – $7) When you can’t afford the AK-47 on T Side, you’ll need to get used to opting for the much cheaper Galil. Thankfully, this weapon is blessed by many great skins. One is the Stone Cold, which is remarkably cheap given its good looks. If you’re a blue skin fan, then this inexpensive option is a must for your inventory. You can pick one up for just over $1 in field-tested condition. Galil: Chromatic Aberration ($1 – $10) Still a relatively cheap skin, the Chromatic Aberration is also available on the AWP, but it looks best on the Galil. It might be an acquired taste for some, but it’s a unique skin that always pops in-game. It’s only a few dollars at most in Minimal Wear, so we’d opt for that version as it looks nearly identical to Factory New. Galil: Cerberus ($12 – $80) For the slightly more pricey option for the Galil, it has to be the Cerberus. Based on the three-headed monster from Greek mythology, this skin has incredible character. You can also get the Cerberus as a souvenir skin, but that will cost you more than double the price. A regular one in field-tested is only around $18. Best Famas Skins Famas: Valence ($1-$5) For a great-looking and inexpensive Famas skin, especially to suit a red and black loadout, look no further than the Valence. For only $2 in Field-Tested, this is a slick-looking Famas, that also looks excellent with some red stickers applied. Famas: Commemoration ($12-$30) If you want to spend a bit more on the weaker CT rifle, then the gold ‘Commemoration’ is a fancy option for the Famas. At $15 in Field-Tested, it’s certainly not cheap for a weapon you won’t be using that often, but it’s undeniably a stunning skin. Famas: Waters of Nepthys ($30-$140) Admittedly, this is a very expensive Famas, and it’s very new too, added in 2023 in the Anubis Collection. But, it has to be on the list as it’s unlike any other skin in CS2. This skin has an impressive holo-like effect, that makes this skin look like water as it moves around in-game. You have to see it in motion to really understand it. That’s our pick for the best weapon skins in CS2 for the most popular weapons. While we didn’t cover every weapon in the game here, this should help you start building out your inventory, whether you want to spend big or keep it conservative. Once you’ve got your skins, you may also want to personalize them with stickers. Check out our picks for the best stickers in CS2 here. There are lots of other great skins for weapons like the P250, Five Seven, AUG, and the Famas. But you’ll use these weapons a lot less in-game, so you may want to start with skins for the more popular weapons first. Those are the best CS2 weapon skins! For more content on the game, check out our guides below: 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? If you click on a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission.

Best CS2 maps: All maps ranked from worst to best in Counter-Strike 2 YouTube: ValveCounter-Strike 2 has brought across many of the classic maps from the Counter-Strike series, some of them now coming up on two decades old. But which maps are the best in CS2, and which have overstayed their welcome? These are the best and worst maps in CS2. Counter-Strike maps take a lot of time to get right, and often require thousands of rounds to iron out all the weird angles, timings, and rotations. Thankfully, most of these maps are many years old, and are as close to perfect as they will come. Admittedly, others are still a little rough around the edges and may require some updates to get right. In total, there are 9 competitive maps right now in CS2. For now, these are the best maps in CS2 to play in competitive modes. CS2 map tier list 9. Office Unfortunately for Office, it has to be relegated to the bottom of the list, mainly because it is a hostage map, which is an inherently less balanced mode. And, to be honest, the map isn’t all that balanced either. That doesn’t stop it being fun though – so don’t write Office off entirely. But, if you’re looking for the true, competitive gameplay on offer in CS2, you won’t find it here. 8. Vertigo One of the newer maps added to the active duty map pool, Vertigo has come a very long way from its frankly awful beginnings. While it doesn’t rank very highly on the list here, it is certainly a competitively viable map, not something that could always be said about this highrise experience. But, it still lacks the tactical depth and opportunities for creativity that other maps ranked higher on the list allow. It can be a fun map, but particularly challenging when playing with a less-than-coordinated team of random teammates. 7. Dust II It might be the most iconic CS map of all time, and maybe even of all first-person shooters, but Dust2’s age has started to show, with it mercifully rotated out of the active duty map pool in 2022. It’s still a fun map to play, but the gameplay has become stale after all these years, and even with the changes to smokes in CS2, it’s not enough for Dust2 to truly match up to the competitive excellence like some of the maps higher up our rankings. 6. Anubis Anubis is the newest map in the competitive pool, and given it’s still so new, it’s impressively good. We fully expect there are more updates to come for Anubis, to improve the balance a little bit, as it still remains a little tilted towards the T side. But it’s an excellent map when your team is on the same page. The problem for Anubis currently is that most of your random teammates won’t know a lot of smoke or flash lineups yet, meaning it gets very chaotic fast. Also, the team with the better AWPer will dominate mid most matches. 5. Inferno If this ranking was based on the best-looking CS2 maps, Inferno would likely be top. Unfortunately, we also have to judge it on the gameplay. While positive steps have been taken to make retaking more viable in the CS2 version, it’s still one of the most save-heavy maps in rotation. Retaking either A or B at a player disadvantage is still an absolute nightmare. The removal of sky boxes in CS2 has also added a layer of complexity when taking mid, as CTs can now smoke T ramp right from spawn. This leads to a lot of very aggressive CT pushes down mid, which isn’t much fun for the Ts. But it’s not all bad – Inferno is still a classic of CS and so finds itself in the middle of the pack. 4. Ancient Other than Anubis, Ancient is the next youngest map in rotation. Inspired by the classic vibes of Aztec, Ancient is a much more competitive and balanced version. With CT spawns pushed back, Ts can finally have a chance at more than a few rounds. Again, the removal of sky boxes in CS2 makes for even more intricate smoke lineups, and they work better here than on Inferno. Ancient feels like a nearly perfectly balanced map at this point. The only criticism players still have is the long rotations, as well as the insanely huge bomb radius – which makes saving a real challenge. 3. Overpass Overpass is often considered the hardest map to play if your team isn’t coordinated, but if you feel like putting your team on your back, it’s also a map that allows for a lot of individual creativity. With multiple lanes of attack for the Ts, you can keep the CTs guessing at all times with your movements and utility. The map still plays the same as it did in CS:GO, but you’ll need to learn a few new smoke and Molotov lineups, particularly for B site, where proportions have changed slightly. A close game of Overpass is always a fun, if challenging, experience. 2. Mirage By far the most popular map in CS:GO and still so in CS2, Mirage is the ultimate pugging experience. Like Overpass, there is enough room to get creative on this map that you won’t feel totally incapable of winning the round if your teammates aren’t quite pulling their weight. Where Mirage really shines though is when your team is on the same page. Fighting for mid is always a high-risk, high-reward combat loop, and relies as much on your utility usage as raw aim and crosshair placement. Mirage hasn’t had a single significant update in years, but, does it really need it? 1. Nuke Nuke finds itself in top spot of our best CS2 maps ranking, thanks to its deep tactical nuance, unique design, and excellent balance. Thanks to several small but impactful iterations over the years, the current version of Nuke feels like Counter-Strike map design as close to perfect as it can get. There’s no doubt that it requires strong teamwork to win this map, both on the T and CT side, but ultimately that’s what CS is all about. But, even if your team is not singing from the same hymn sheet, you can still have lots of fun and express yourself on this map as a solo player. And that goes for rifling as well as AWPing, with a good mix of long and medium-range fights. For now, Nuke is the gold-standard Counter-Strike map. That concludes our ranking of the best maps in Counter-Strike 2, that can be played competitively in Premier (except Office) or Competitive queue. We know that there are still more maps set to be added to CS2, such as Train, so when these are added we’ll be sure to update our rankings. In the meantime, check out our other CS2 guides: 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

Best CS2 binds & how to use the Console in Counter-Strike 2 Valve/Counter-Strike 2Keybinds can be used in Counter-Strike 2 to make for quick and easy in-game actions, everything from dropping the bomb to zooming the radar. These are the best CS2 binds to use. Counter-Strike 2, like CS:GO before it, allows you to customize your experience heavily. One of the simplest but most effective ways to do this is through the use of unique keybinds. Using binds can even be crucial to gameplay, such as having a jump throw bind. Others can just be quick and quirky such as an instant bomb drop bind. Here’s how you can add binds to CS2, and the best keybinds to use. Contents How to add keybinds and use console in CS2 The developer console isn’t enabled automatically in CS2, so you’ll first need to enable it in game settings. Go to ‘Settings’ – Select ‘Game Settings’ – Go to ‘Enable Developer Console’ and choose ‘Yes.’ (see image below) – You will now be able to open the console using – To add binds, you’ll need to type: bind [key] “[action]”. See below for examples of the best CS2 binds. Best CS2 keybinds In order to maximize your head-popping potential, we’ve listed all of the best CS2 keybinds for you to implement in-game. Below are our recommended keybinds, the code to activate them, and why they’re useful: Sadly, some keybinds that were popular in CS:GO are no longer possible in CS2, such as switching which hand your weapon is in, with CS2 locked to right hand view. If Valve updates this and allows more of the binds from CS:GO, we’ll update this article with how to add them. In The meantime, check out our other CS2 guides: What is sub-tick 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 console commands

Best CS2 crosshair codes used by pros Using the right crosshair for you in Counter-Strike 2 is crucial. But, if you don’t know where to start, why not copy a pro? These are the best crosshair codes for CS2 used by the world’s top players. With the perfect crosshair in Counter-Strike 2, you’ll feel more comfortable hitting headshots, lining up grenades, and controlling your spray. By default, CS2 will give you a dynamic green crosshair. However, this is not very popular among seasoned players, as the crosshair’s movement can be distracting. Instead, the more common choice is a static crosshair, that stays perfectly still when you fire or move. There are countless options for your crosshair, and you could spend hours tweaking it. To save time, these are the best CS2 crosshairs pro players use, which you can try by copying their crosshair codes. Best CS2 crosshair codes used by pro players We’ve picked out some of the world’s greatest players, including both AWPers and riflers, and listed the crosshair codes they use in CS2. Then, check the table below to see even more crosshairs you can try from pros. Pro players often change their crosshairs regularly, but we’ll keep this list as updated as possible with new crosshairs as they change. Also, remember that crosshairs will look bigger or smaller depending on what res you play on (16:9/16:10/4:3). We’ve updated and tested these codes based on the latest available settings from the pro players. These codes are based on whatever code they used in their last official match on record. s1mple crosshair code CSGO-MQfzY-jnHyz-Whzv3-USwcf-2pFKO NAVI’s s1mple is regarded as the best player in the history of Counter-Strike, and even though he’s taking a break from competition, he’s still been grinding CS2. He is using a dot crosshair now in CS2, on a 4:3 resolution in yellow. While s1mple is mainly an AWPer, he has been using the rifles even more in Counter-Strike 2, given the AWP’s place in the current meta being hit. You can see s1mple’s complete Counter-Strike settings here. ZywOo crosshair code CSGO-kr5tQ-Vk5rB-voGTj-t6Jyr-ruWPA ZywOo, now a major winner in CS:GO, is another player who is almost as good with an AK as the best riflers in the world, while being an AWP user primarily. He uses a cyan crosshair as shown, but is regularly playing around with his crosshair. So, like others, you might see him trying something else on stream. You can see ZywOo’s complete CS:GO settings here. NiKo crosshair code CSGO-OFKZZ-mZp9n-KXx4x-2SmEp-jcYHK Few would argue that Nikola ‘NiKo‘ Kovač is the best rifler in the world. If you aspire to be as good as the G2 star, you’re probably out of luck, but at least you can emulate his crosshair with the code provided. Check out NiKo’s full settings here. donk crosshair code CSGO-u7YVf-HNksQ-QsF6B-V3E7j-WphrM A new entry on the list of best players in the world, 17-year-old phenom donk lit up the CS world with his monster performance at IEM Katowice 2024. Unsurprisingly, his crosshair will now be copied by thousands of players, hoping it might let them entry frag like him. Obviously, it won’t, but it can’t hurt to try. You can see donk’s full CS2 settings here. m0NESY crosshair code CSGO-wAD3c-ykt5L-zvZ98-vBisR-6sWPA Like many players, the young prodigy m0NESY uses a cyan-colored crosshair. Although he’s only been in the pro scene for a couple of years, G2’s AWPer has more than proved himself at the highest level and is one of the most exciting players in the world. This small cyan crosshair is one of the most popular used among professional players. You can find m0NESY’s settings in full here. dev1ce crosshair code CSGO-MQYLm-nK5pN-DtXZW-KkmSV-OP3ED Despite some time away from professional play, Astralis legend Nicolai ‘dev1ce‘ Reedtz is back like he never left, and his individual performance is as strong as ever. He was last seen using this green crosshair with a dark outline. Twistzz crosshair code CSGO-ob6wt-HkimM-kfYDL-CWF5S-TXQ3A Arguably the greatest North American player of all time in CS:GO, Twistzz, Team Liquid’s Canadian rifler, is another headshot machine, and he does it all with this simple green crosshair. ropz crosshair code CSGO-nCfX7-54ue9-aC5eV-6Womf-Q6izO Twistzz’s teammate, Robin ‘ropz‘ Kool, is often lauded as one of the players with the greatest mechanical skill in CS, even leading to pros accusing him of cheating before he went pro. Of course, it’s actually just his crisp aim, which he achieves with this green crosshair. He’s already won a tournament in CS2 as well, and is one of the players who has been playing the most. sh1ro crosshair code CSGO-AZQd3-kDODr-psst2-hWv7L-TpNkO Dmitriy ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov, now with Team Spirit, is a superstar in his own right, even if he doesn’t get the shine of his contemporaries like s1mple and ZywOo. His crosshair is somewhat unique among pros, with a faded yellow color. Ax1Le crosshair code CSGO-VUruu-vsXq5-kNiQC-4cVwq-pLDhP Cloud9’s star rifler Sergey ‘Ax1Le’ Rykhtorov is quickly making a name for himself as a true threat to the crown of NiKo in this role. If his crosshair is more to your style, then give it a shot using the code above. YEKINDAR crosshair code CSGO-ySLmr-MRRob-xAdOd-Ekkkf-JkA6Q Team Liquid’s Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis is tipped as the best entry-fragger role player in the world, with his signature aggression on the T side. He’s more than happy to push any bombsite, confident his expert crosshair placement will help him clear the CT’s power positions. He does so with this neat and tidy green crosshair. blameF crosshair code CSGO-E2GWC-au35u-MiOFy-4EGr3-2vn6J Even in a struggling Astralis team, Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer is a consistent performer. Although sometimes criticized for his passive playstyle by fans, there is no denying that a one-on-one duel with blameF is a risk for even the best in the world. He uses a small, dot-like crosshair to land his shots. ELiGE crosshair code CSGO-T6GGz-uEv6J-E7Rcs-qT5bk-h447M Another of NA’s finest, Jonathan ‘EliGE‘ Jablonowski’s standout trait is often his spray control. While you might think your crosshair is not all that important in this regard, the difference between a dynamic and static crosshair will determine whether it expands or not when firing. ELiGE, like most pros, prefers a static one. stavn crosshair code CSGO-nZzFt-LdGu8-sDC4d-yn89L-a7LsE The former Heroic star has now joined Astralis for CS2, and although still a young player, stavn has shown moments of pure brilliance on the biggest stage and is a clutch expert, too. He uses a very small, light blue crosshair. KSCERATO crosshair code CSGO-mXs3W-vAAPP-prKJV-HQxde-rn2AC The best Brazilian player in the world, Kaike ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato, is among the very best riflers globally, and although his FURIA team has struggled to win international events, few would lay much of the blame at his feet. Always a top performer, you can emulate his crosshair with the code above. More CS2 pro crosshairs We’ve picked out some of the best crosshairs from the best players above, but there are countless more pro players to choose from. Here’s a selection of more codes for you to try: Crosshairs updated as of September 2024. How to import crosshair codes in CS2 You import crosshair codes in CS2 through the ‘game settings’ menu, by simply pasting the code you want to try. This will change your in-game crosshair instantly. Follow these steps: Open the settings menu in CS2 by clicking the cog symbol – Go to ‘Game’ and then ‘Crosshair’ – On the crosshair preview image, click ‘Share and Import’ – Paste the code into the pop-up and click ‘Import’ – This will then change your crosshair to the exact settings used by the professional player. You may also want to check their res though, as most pros play on a 4:3 stretched res, which will make the crosshair larger than on default, 16:9 res. If you want to keep a record of your own code, simply click ‘copy my code’ before importing a new one, and then save this somewhere. That way, you can always revert to your previous crosshair easily. If you want the best settings for CS2, including audio settings, check out our guide here.

Best Counter-Strike players of 2023 Blast / DexertoIn a year split by the release of Counter-Strike 2, the best players in the world found themselves facing a new challenge. Combining the first half of the year in CS:GO, and the second half with CS2, these were the best Counter-Strike players of 2023. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive finally came to an end this year. After more than a decade of majors, elite rosters, legendary moments and iconic plays, it is now all relegated to history. The impending release of CS2 made for a strange start to the 2023 season, with some teams clearly checked out from grinding CS:GO, leading to some surprising results at even the biggest tournaments. Vitality and FaZe dominated the year, with some G2 success sprinkled in, and it will be no surprise to see their stars feature here. This ranking will consider both tournament results as well as individual performances. Here are our top five CS:GO and CS2 players of 2023. Best CS:GO and CS2 players of 2023 5 – Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov Multiple names could argue for 5th this year, and many of them are AWPers. But, for such a young player to be so crucial to a roster like G2 Esports, with NiKo and HuNter, and in such a vital role, m0NESY rarely shows any signs of being a relative rookie. While fans will remember his flashy plays and clutches, his value is also in not trying to be the hero, knowing he can rely on his veteran teammates to secure rounds without risk-taking from the player with the most expensive gun. m0NESY maintained a 1.17 HLTV rating on LAN, which included monster performances at IEM Cologne (1.34), where G2 lifted the trophy, and IEM Sydney (1.40). However, he did disappoint at the BLAST Paris Major, and played his part in G2’s shocking early exit at the hands of Fnatic, crashing out 12-14th. In CS2, 18-year-old m0NESY’s ceiling is the sky. 4 – Robin ‘ropz’ Kool FaZe Clan had a tough start to the year, maybe due to CS:GO burnout, but with CS2 on the horizon, ropz wasn’t taking anything for granted. He put in the hours, and his relentless pursuit to master the new game helped propel FaZe to three straight tournament wins. Despite FaZe’s general inconsistency over the year, ropz was rarely a victim of it individually. FaZe may have crashed out of the Paris Major early too, but he still had a respectable showing. If it wasn’t for the release of CS2, 2023 would have been a year to forget for the roster, but ropz made sure that he did all he could to close the year out strong. He has now lost his duo Twistzz, but frozen’s addition to the FaZe team is a tantalizing prospect, as another ex-MOUZ player joins the lineup. 3 – Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi When Spinx impressed the world of CS during his time on ENCE, it seemed a sure thing that he would become one of the world’s very best players. His move to Vitality was the perfect platform, and after some early teething trouble, 2023 was the year Spinx fulfilled the potential that had been clear to see. With his teammate ZywOo often taking the MVP trophies, it can be hard for Spinx to get his flowers, but he has made sure no one is sleeping on him with elite fragging performances at the biggest tournaments of the year. His 1.24 rating at the BLAST Paris Major was one of his highest of the year, showing that the big events are where he can shine, and Vitality can thank his performances for their eventual trophy lift. And, outside a one-off at Gamers8, Spinx maintained these high-impact performances all year. Another stellar showing at the BLAST Premier World Finals helped Vitality end the year as the team to beat. If Vitality are to win the first Major of CS2, it will almost certainly be because Spinx turns up at the biggest moment once again. 2 – Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac CS:GO’s best rifler missed his chance at a major for the final time this year, but his impact overall indicates it would be unfair to lay blame at his feet. And, despite what would have been a crushing disappointment, NiKo didn’t let it affect his game. Among the top 5 rated players of the year, NiKo is the only one to not use an AWP primarily, showing once again why he is the game’s best-ever rifler. G2 missed out on numerous trophies this year, that much is true, but did do the double of IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne, with NiKo always leading the server in both events. All that’s left now is for him to finally win a Major, albeit now in CS2. 1 – Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut Little more can be said about ZywOo that hasn’t been already, but at least with CS2 here we can look forward to the potential of the Frenchmen truly dominating a game, perhaps without the s1mple rivalry as it was in CS:GO. ZywOo tops all the charts statistically, and it’s not even really close (his 1.28 HLTV rating is ahead of second-place dev1ce on 1.21). And, unlike some of his fellow high-rating players, his performances have actually resulted in trophies, including, of course, his first Major win, in front of a French crowd in Paris no less. There is currently no contender for the throne that ZywOo sits comfortably upon, and closing out 2023 with another couple of trophies and MVP medals, 2024 might even eclipse anything he has done up to this point. With s1mple out of the picture for the time being, there are a few AWPers who will be hoping to mount a challenge – m0NESY, shiro, dev1ce, SunPayus, broky, etc. – but until any of them can even come close to ZywOo’s impact, we’d expect this young phenom to be the best player of 2024 too. There’s no doubt about 2023 either. Check out our top players of 2023 for Call of Duty and Valorant here.

Astralis sign Heroic duo for CS2 after cadiaN drama sparks rivalry again AstralisAstralis have moved Christian ‘Buzz’ Andersen and Johannes ‘b0RUP’ Borup to the bench, with the former Heroic duo of Martin ‘stavn’ Lund and Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard joining the roster – a move foreshadowed by Heroic themselves. With CS2’s first competitive season now underway, Astralis’ roster was immediately on the rocks, after reports that the organization was targeting the Heroic duo of jabbi and stavn. Heroic had tried to have the duo resign with them with longer contracts, after meeting their demand to bench IGL cadiaN, but the duo supposedly reneged on the agreement, instead stating their intention to join Astralis. Although Heroic made clear they wanted to retain their services, the move has now been facilitated, with new firepower now injected into the Astralis lineup. Making way for the new arrivals are Buzz and b0RUP. Buzz joined Astralis after being discovered by teammate Nicolas ‘device’ Reedtz in FACEIT pug matches, and was fast-tracked to tier one Counter-Strike, just as CS:GO was coming to an end. While many expected that Buzz would potentially keep his spot on the roster, with possibly Victor ‘staehr’ Staehr making way instead, perhaps the roster felt he was not quite ready for the highest level of play. As for Heroic, their roster situation remains somewhat unclear too. cadiaN and dupreeh are both playing for them as stand-ins for the time being, with the team having already eliminated their Danish rivals at the BLAST Fall Finals. Astralis CS2 roster Nicolas ‘device’ Reedtz – Benjamin ‘blameF’ Bremer – Victor ‘staehr’ Staehr – Martin ‘stavn’ Lund – Jakob ‘jabbi’ Nygaard – Peter Toftbo ‘casle’ Ardenskjold (Coach) –

Astralis legend dupreeh joins new all-Danish roster for CS2 ahead of Copenhagen Major João Ferreira/Dexerto5-time CS:GO Major winner Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen has joined a new Danish organization and lineup following his stint as a stand-in for Heroic, with the CS2 Copenhagen Major the target for the squad. After dupreeh left Astralis for pastures new, alongside Magisk and coach Zonic, they eventually made their major-winning impact felt when they lifted the Paris Major with Vitality. That was the final major of CS:GO, ensuring no one would ever win more majors than dupreeh. That’s why it was a surprise to many when dupreeh was benched on Vitality, who brought in extra firepower with flameZ, leaving him without a team. He helped out Astralis rivals Heroic on a short-term basis, but has now landed his next official team. He will join up with Preasy Esport, a relatively new org to the scene, featuring an all-Danish lineup once again for dupreeh. The goal, of course, is to qualify for the CS2 Copenhagen Major. Dupreeh eyes Danish Major with Preasy Speaking on X/Twitter after the move was announced, dupreeh explained it’s all eyes on the Major in his home country. “Danish PreasyEsports and I share a dream; reaching the first ever Copenhagen Major,” he began. “I wouldn’t want to let the chance of at least trying to get there slip away. After all, I’ve played a couple of Majors, and I can’t sit on the sidelines watching knowing what could’ve been.” dupreeh also explains that there were some “last minute changes” to otherwise done deals with tier 1 teams, that “didn’t play out in my favor.” As a result, he joins a roster that certainly doesn’t go into the RMR anywhere near favorites to qualify, something he is also well aware of. Other names on the roster include ex-Heroic player refrezh, as well as ex-Fnatic roej. In the move, AWPer nicodooz is heading in the other direction, expected to join Heroic. This means Preasy is now without a recognized AWPer, but given the meta in CS2 seemingly not favoring the weapon, this may be less of a concern. Preasy Esports roster: Ismail ‘refrezh’ Ali – Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen – Thomas ‘TMB’ Bundsbæk – Fredrik ‘roej’ Jørgensen – Alexander ‘Altekz’ Givskov Daniel ‘Vorborg’ Vorborg (coach) – –

Astralis disaster as they fail to qualify for CS2 Copenhagen Major after shock defeat X: AstralisDenmark’s most popular Counter-Strike organization will not be in attendance at the Copenhagen Major, as Astralis fell apart at the RMR, falling at the first hurdle in the last-chance qualifier against 9 Pandas. Despite signing the elite Heroic duo of stavn and jabbi, in a deal reportedly worth millions, Astralis failed to become a cohesive team in time to qualify for the Major in their home country, and the first of CS2. The star-studded squad has four players from the HLTV top 20, but all the firepower was not enough to defeat their arch-rivals at the main RMR, and defeats to Team Spirit and ENCE sent them packing to the last-chance qualifier. There, they were the favorites to qualify and faced Russian squad 9 Pandas in their opening match. Losing their own map pick on Overpass set them up for the worst on the second map, their opponent’s pick on Nuke, where Astralis already had a shaky record. Indeed, they were unable to muster much of a fight to even think about a third map, eventually falling 13-8 on Nuke, finally killing any hopes of seeing the Major. This is another massive blow for the Astralis organization, who also failed to qualify for the past two CS:GO Majors, missing out on huge sticker money payouts as well as prize money at the event. It’s reported that the BLAST.tv Paris Major resulted in over $110 million worth of sticker money, which is split between Valve and the teams. Device reacted soon after the loss, posting on X/Twitter: “I’m crushed trying to find any words to put on what happened. The biggest sorry to our fans & the organization who believed in us.” After the defeat, Heroic posted a tongue-in-cheek response. Astralis had clearly hoped that the signing of two Danish superstars would be enough to secure an appearance at the Copenhagen Major, but now they must go back to the drawing board.

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus gets VAC ban for cheating in CS2 but claims it was “unfair” Wikimedia / ValveArsenal‘s number nine and Brazil international Gabriel Jesus has appealed to Valve after his Steam account received a VAC ban for Counter-Strike 2, claiming that the ban is “unfair.” Brazilian football stars such as Neymar Jr., Casemiro and Jesus are known to be big fans of Counter-Strike. The game is exceptionally popular in Brazil, with Neymar often supporting professional side FURIA at major tournaments. Jesus, however, will be sidelined from playing on VAC-secured servers, after his account was struck with a VAC (Valve anti-cheat) ban on January 22. The forward posted about his ban on X/Twitter, in hopes of having it overturned – but VAC bans are typically permanent unless there has been a mistake on Valve’s end. Jesus calls CS2 VAC ban “unfair” “My account received a VAC ban unfairly,” Jesus posted. “Can you help me?” he asked, tagging the official Counter-Strike 2 account. VAC bans can be caused by a number of reasons, but is most commonly due to some software interfering with the game program. Of course, this is usually for cheats of some kind, like aim-assistance or wallhacks. However, some VAC bans have been meted out in error too, such as when a new driver update for AMD GPU users caused a wave of false bans. As for Jesus’ account, it’s not known exactly what the reason for the ban is yet. What we do know, however, is that he boasted several expensive skins in his inventory, such as an $800 M4A1-S Hot Rod that he had customized with stickers. In total, his inventory is worth around $40,000, and includes rare skins like an AWP Dragon Lore and AK-47 Wild Lotus. Although this isn’t exactly big money for a Premier League footballer, if his ban is not lifted, he won’t ever be able to sell any of his skins, as a VAC ban also impacts the user’s ability to trade items.

Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko subs in for pro CS2 match and wins a map Wikicommons/ValveArsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenkko subbed in for a pro Counter-Strike 2 match and took a map off the opposition. When it comes to big-name fans of Counter-Strike, football has quite a fair few of them. With the likes of Brazilian stars Neymar Jr. and Gabriel Jesus as big fans, with Neymar very often seen supporting FURIA, many are committed to the scene. Adding to the long list of CS2 fans is Arsenal’s left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, who even has his own Counter-Strike team, Passion UA. However, after a tech issue plagued the team during a recent pro match, Zincheko himself had to stand in for a player, and not only did he nearly help win the series, but somehow managed to take a map off them. During a match against Bleed Esports in the YaLLa Compas Contenders, one of Passion UA’s players, zeRRoFIX, had some technical difficulties during their first map of Inferno which led the team to lose the map. This saw their founder Zinchenko to step in himself for the next two maps. In the second map, Passion UA won despite being 3-10 down in the first half and losing both pistol rounds, taking it over the finish line in overtime for a 16-12 scoreline. The third map of Anubis was also close, with Zinchenko and Passion UA bringing it all the way through regulation, but ultimately lost the map 13-11, and the match 1-2 to Bleed. Right after narrowly avoiding the loss, Bleed’s head coach Aleksandar “kassad” Trifunović tweeted out, “Changes are coming, I can tell you that much.” Later speaking to HLTV, he said that changes will be made in the following weeks after this match. “We are most likely going to shake up our lineup in the following weeks. The whole lineup was rushed due to scheduling, and it obviously has more than a few shortcomings, and the competition is brutal.”

All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2: How smokes work in CS2 ValveCounter-Strike 2 has arrived and Valve has made a number of changes to the sequel including how smokes work in the game. So here’s everything you need to know about smoke grenades in CS2. After months of anticipation, Counter-Strike 2 has finally launched and there’s a lot of new content for players to get stuck into, including overhauled maps, improved visuals, and some impactful gameplay changes. One of Valve’s biggest updates for Counter-Strike 2 is how smoke grenades work in the game. Thanks to the improvements of the game’s engine, smokes are now much more responsive and can be directly affected by bullets, light, and other objects in the surrounding environment. This has made them a more dynamic part of the game compared to the original CS:GO as they now operate as three-dimensional objects, so here’s everything you need to know about how smokes work in Counter-Strike 2. How do smokes work in Counter-Strike 2? Smokes in the Counter-Strike 2 now grow to fill spaces in the map and all players will also see the same smoke on their screens. Previously, players could create one-way smokes in which one player would be able to see through parts of it and others would have their vision completely obstructed. In other iterations of Counter-Strike, smokes could also be a bit finicky with how much they expanded and wasn’t consistent in the vision it obstructed from the same position. The last, and arguably biggest, change to smokes in Counter-Strike 2 is their intractability with guns and grenades. In CS:GO, if a player shot through smoke or threw a grenade on a smoke cloud, nothing would really happen. In Counter-Strike 2, however, the plumes of smoke can be carved through and players can make windows of vision through them by shooting at them or by using grenades to dissipate the smoke quickly before it naturally goes away. These changes will certainly have large implications for tactics in the game casually and competitively. That’s everything you need to know about smokes in Counter-Strike 2! For more content on the game, check out our guides below: What is sub-tick 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 console commands | How to play Counter-Strike 2 | Counter-Strike 2 best settings | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on console?

All CS2 Knives: Best Counter-Strike knives and how to buy them ValveKnives are the most desirable items in Counter-Strike 2. If you want to swap out the default blades for something more exciting, here are all the knives in CS2, ranked from most expensive to cheapest. There’s a total of 19 knife types you can use, and all of them have unique skins, patterns and designs too. Although some knives, like the Butterfly Knife or Karambit, are always expensive, some of the “cheaper” knives can be very pricey too if they have a certain pattern on them. For example, rare patterns called ‘Blue Gems’ will make any knife cost thousands of dollars. Some knives can sell for over $10,000, with the most expensive knife valued at around $1.5 million. But, since most of us don’t have that kind of money, we’ll just be looking at prices of CS2 knives on the Steam Market or reputable third-party websites like Skinport. The prices will depend on the skin, wear, and pattern. Knife prices fluctuate regularly, so this page will be updated each month with the latest prices. Contents All C2 Knives and prices – Most expensive CS2 knife – Cheapest CS2 knife – Best knives to buy in CS2 – Where to buy CS2 knives – These are the price ranges for the standard versions of these knives. These price charts don’t include extremely rare versions such as Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Black Pearl, or Blue Gem (Case Hardened) knives. These are the most expensive knives in CS2 ordered by price as of July 2024: All CS2 Knives and prices (July 2024) Most Expensive CS2 knife: Butterfly Knife The Butterfly Knife was added in 2014, and to this day, it is the most expensive knife in CS2. The least expensive version is typically around $800, while the most expensive can reach over $10,000, typically for Emerald or Sapphire Butterfly knives. At their peak Emerald Butterfly Knives sold for over $25,000, but they are currently around $15,000. Although the blade isn’t the biggest, especially compared to the Bayonet, Bowie, or Huntsman, the Butterfly is expensive because of the animations. Both drawing the knife and inspecting it will see your in-game character perform incredible knife trickery. Check out the animations in the video: However, the most expensive single knife in CS is actually a Karambit, specifically the 387 pattern ‘Blue Gem‘ Karambit in Factory New condition. Only one of these knives exists, and its current owner turned down an offer of around $1.5 million for it. Cheapest CS2 knife The cheapest knife in CS2 is the Navaja knife. Added in 2018, it’s one of the newer knives, and suffers from a very small blade and limited animations. Many players claim it looks more like a letter opener or butter knife, than something that could do much damage. The cheapest Navaja knives are around $100. Another cheap knife is the Shadow Daggers, costing around $100 for the cheapest set. This is, in fact, two knives, wielded in each hand, which you might think would make them more desirable. Unfortunately, like the Navaja, they’re not the most intimidating knives, and so suffer from a rather negative reputation among players. Best CS2 knife to buy So, if you want to get your very own knife in CS2, where to start? There are a number of things to consider, beyond just what one you think looks the best. Price & Investment Obviously, you can only buy what you can afford, but if you can’t afford the knife you want right now, you should consider waiting and saving up some money. Counter-Strike knives can be an investment if you keep them for a while before selling. Some knives have also lost value in the past, but with the release CS2, every knife in the game almost has increased in price. Fade, Doppler and Vanilla knives have benefited the most from new CS2 lighting, so their prices have shot up. Animations Before buying your knife, you should check out the animations in-game. You will see these animations in every match, so it’s best to choose a knife that has animations you like. There are lots of YouTube videos that will show you all the animations, or you can also check it out yourself in-game, by using a custom server and websites like BroSkins. Wear, Pattern, Skin Every knife has a variety of skins, from plain dark skins like Night Stripe to vibrant rainbow colors like the Marble Fade. Typically, more colorful skins will cost more, because they are more desirable. You can also get the plain version of each knife, called ‘Vanilla’ – but don’t be fooled, that doesn’t mean they will be cheaper. Blue Gems, like this Talon above, are Case Hardened skins with max-blue patterns. The website CSGOBlueGem tracks all the known Blue Gem knives in existence, if you want to learn more. It’s also important to pay attention to the wear level. A ‘Factory New’ knife will look almost flawless, while a ‘Battle Scarred’ Knife will look very damaged and worn – which obviously impacts the price. Finally, if you want to get serious about your knife, pay attention to patterns. Every knife skin has 1000 patterns, and they can all look very different. For example, on ‘Fade’ knives, some patterns will have more of the knife painted, while some will have big gaps missing – no two knives are identical. Where to buy CS2 knives If you’ve made your mind up, there are a few places to buy your knife. The easiest way is through the Steam Marketplace. Here, items under $2000 in value can be listed, and you can simply deposit money into your Steam balance to make the purchase. However, there are downsides to Steam, the main one being the prices. Because Valve takes a percentage of every sale, sellers will often list their items at a higher price. This is where third-party websites have an advantage. There are many reputable CS2 skin websites such as Skinport, BitSkins, or CSMONEY. These sites will often have knives for sale cheaper than what you will find on the Steam market. And there is no price limit, so if you’re looking for a very expensive knife pattern like a Ruby or Emerald, you will have to use a third-party website, as the Steam Marketplace has a price cap. That’s everything you need to know about knives in CS2. If you’re also looking to kit out your weapons with some skins, check out our list of the best CS:GO weapon skins here. If you click on a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission.

CS2 skin worth around $1 million finally discovered after 10 years: AK-47 Blue Gem ValveAn ultra-rare, never-before-seen AK-47 Case Hardened skin in Counter-Strike has finally been discovered, after over 10 years of never being in existence. The exact skin is a one-of-one, and is estimated to be worth around $1 million, if put up for sale. Skins in CS2 come in countless variations, based on the weapon type, pattern, float (wear) and more. In particular, Case Hardened skins come in a rare type called Blue Gem – where the majority of the weapon is covered in a shiny blue patina. These are often the rarest and most expensive items in the game. For example, the owner of a rare Blue Gem knife was offered over $1.5 million to sell it – and turned it down. Now, an equally rare Blue Gem has been found, this time for the AK-47, CS2’s best and most popular weapon, and as it’s also a one-of-one, has an insane valuation. Despite the Case Hardened AK-47 skin being added to CS:GO back in 2013, no one had ever unboxed or crafted a StatTrak, Factory New, 661 pattern version. Although multiple StatTrack 661 Pattern AK’s exist in ‘Minimal Wear’ condition, the ‘Factory New’ Version had never been found. Then, suddenly, on June 15, a new skin appeared on the database of Chinese trading site Buff, finally confirming the existence of the almost mythical AK-47 Case Hardened StatTrak Factory New 661 pattern. Popular Twitch streamer ohnePixel posted about the discovery on X/Twitter, estimating the value of the skin, if the owner were to sell, at between $800,000 and $1 million. However, given the hype surrounding the item, there’s no reason to say it couldn’t even eclipse that figure. Despite this sky-high price, it still would not be the most valuable skin in Counter-Strike, a crown still firmly worn by the 387 Pattern Karambit Case Hardened, with its estimated value of over $1.5 million. It’s also currently unclear who owns the skin, and it may be held in a private inventory. The weapon has no stickers applied either, which can greatly influence the value. For example, a Minimal Wear version of the StatTrak 661 set a new record for a public sale at over $400,000 in 2022.

Airport security seize CS2 & Valorant-inspired knives including a Karambit Fade Instagram: ausborderforce/ ValveThe Australian Border Force released a video showcasing the various weapons they have seized and among the array of knives were Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 blades like the Karambit Fade. The Instagram video was posted on July 17 and includes butterfly knives and tactical blades, many of which are featured skins for melee weapons in Valorant and CS2. CS2 players noted that one of the knives in the video was a replica of an expensive knife skin, the Karambit Fade. The skin is noticeable thanks to its distinctive colorful blade. The Karambit Fade CS2 skin can go for almost $2,500 on the open market. Eagle-eyed Valorant fans will notice that one of the knives showcased in a wide shot of the arsenal of seized blades is a replica of the Reaver Karambit. The stylized knife stands out due to its colorful hilt and serrated back edge. The Airport security video did not go into detail about the multiple weapons that seem to be from popular video game franchises. The video is mostly for promotional purposes, but the users in the comments clocked the pieces of memorabilia. “Why are there so many replica video game knives,” one Instagram user asked. “Why Reaver Karambit here,” another user queried. The video also shows off weapons that seem to be from other media franchises like anime and horror movies. There are multiple kunai inspired by Naruto, as well as a knife hand that appears to be a replica of the weapon Freddy Krueger uses in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Other novelty weapons that stand out in the video are what appear to be throwing cards with sharpened metal edges and Batman brass knuckles. The short video should serve as a warning to any CS2, Valorant, or other franchise fans about traveling with replica weapons, especially internationally.

Counter-Strike 2Counter-Strike 2 best settings: CS2 settings for max FPS & competitive advantagesCalum Patterson

Counter-Strike pro cynic dies aged 23 HLTVCounter-Strike pro player David “cynic” Polster has died at the age of 23. The American esports player’s death was announced by family and teammates on the 27th of January. The cause of death has not been made public. Cynic played for several organizations during his career. He first played for the Nouns organization in 2022 before joining BOSS last year. He had recently qualified for the PGL Major Copenhagen Americas RMR earlier in January. Tributes to cynic from colleagues and family A Twitter post from his coach at BOSS, Tommy Ryan (also known as “Axed”), read: “There is no easy way to say this, but earlier this week David “Cynic” Polster passed away. This news came as a complete shock to all of us. David was an incredibly hard-working individual, vocal leader, kind person, and amazing player. “I spent a large majority of my life competing against David from the time that I was 15 years old. I think he is the player that I’ve competed against the most. He always pushed my teams and I to improve. I’m thankful for the 30 days I spent with David as a teammate.” David’s father Daryl also made a tribute, saying: “David was a unique person. For him, gaming was about the journey, not the destination. He was always fascinated with proof of concept.”

Counter-Strike 2CS2 caster Maniac denies sexual assault allegation, steps down from EPL broadcastDeclan Mclaughlin

Zelina Vega unveils Overwatch Sombra cosplay at WWE SummerSlam Blizzard / Instagram: Zelina VegaZelina Vega has done it again… just days after going viral with a fan-favorite Apex Legends cosplay, the WWE stunner has shocked the internet again with a perfect Overwatch Sombra cosplay at the annual SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Florida. Vega, real name Thea Trinidad, has never made her love for pop-culture and gaming a secret as she charted a course to the top of WWE. Recently, she revealed her take on Apex Legends bad girl Loba, which soon went viral in the battle royale’s fandom. Now it’s the Overwatch community’s turn. After teasing “something special” coming at the annual SummerSlam event, Vega unveiled a stunning Sombra cosplay on-stage during the huge WWE pay-per-view in Florida on August 23. Vega’s Sombra cosplay may be one of the best we’ve seen, and it was made even cooler by the fact she rocked it on-stage at the 2020 SummerSlam event too. The centerpiece of the outfit was the flared purple coat and tunic, which the Overwatch hacker is never seen without. The wrestling star also went all-in with the hairstyle. When she appeared on-stage in Florida, she had her hair pulled back and cut with Sombra’s iconic metal pins. The 29-year-old also strode out on-stage with the iconic knee-high Sombra boots, and a pair of tall stilettos. She completed the main part of the costume with a combo of silver shoulder pads, and the hacker’s tight black combat suit. Perhaps the finest attention to detail, however, was Vega’s choice to wear the Sombra logo on a chain around her neck. Sombra’s usual style has a suit up to her chin, but Vega decided to go open-flare and reveal the necklace instead. Like we said, what a stunning cosplay! The only real shame was that while Vega was wearing it on-stage during a set of interviews, no one thought to ask her about the design! Here a clip of Vega’s Sombra cosplay in all its glory: .@Zelina_VegaWWE, @AndradeCienWWE and @AngelGarzaWwe want to focus less on “”rumors”” and more on tonight’s #WWERaw Tag Team Title Match against The #StreetProfits. #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/R67IYl9ESn — WWE (@WWE) August 23, 2020 The WWE interviewers may not have asked Vega about her Sombra cosplay, but Dexerto certainly did. We reached out to the wrestling star to ask her what her favorite thing about the Overwatch hacker was, and the outfit. “She’s so f*cking bad ass! She’s not easy to play, but once you get the hang of her, you feel unstoppable. I love that “one step ahead” thing, it’s very big in my Zelina Vega character,” ” Trinidad admitted. “We’re very similar in a lot of ways too, both being Latina and having that fiery attitude, and badass swag. It’s very important to me to rep for Latina girl gamers/nerds out there, and characters like Loba, Sombra, Vega, Christie Montiero… I really appreciate them.” Vega also gushed over Sombra’s look, which she added might just be the “coolest” in Overwatch. “Her look, gosh! She’s so cool looking, the black and purples, her hair.. just her overall look is really beautiful.” Don’t believe us that Vega’s cosplay is one of the best? You might from Sombra’s voice actor herself then; Carolina Ravassa — who herself has donned the Sombra outfit once or twice — said she was a huge fan of Trinidad’s take. Loving @Zelina_VegaWWE ‘s cosplay!!!! “Mess with the best and die like the rest!” @WWE #sombra #WWE Boop! 💜🔥 https://t.co/DXXli0Payq — Carolina Ravassa (@carolinaravassa) August 24, 2020 Vega was eye-catching in her Sombra cosplay, and that’s because the wrestler had plenty of practice. Outside of the Loba outfit she revealed last week, she also debuted a perfect take on Overwatch tank D.Va back in early August.

Thea Trinidad stuns Sailor Moon fans with classic Sailor Jupiter Instagram: theatrinidad / Toei AnimationWrestling star Thea Trinidad has yet again pulled another fantastic cosplay out of the bag, this time recreating Sailor Jupiter from the hugely popular anime Sailor Moon. While Thea is known primarily for her amazing work as a professional wrestler, she has shown time and time again that she is hugely passionate about the gaming and cosplay communities. She even combines the two worlds together on occasion, and streams live from her Twitch channel in cosplay, allowing her fans to get a full immersive experience, and see her talents from all angles. In the past, we’ve seen the wrestling star recreate a huge range of characters from different media forms with fantastic accuracy, including Mortal Kombat’s Kitana, Overwatch’s D.Va, and Apex Legends’ Loba. This time, thanks to one of her fans choosing this cosplay via her Twitch sub board, Thea cosplayed the character Makoto Kino a.k.a. Sailor Jupiter from the anime Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon began airing as an anime in 1992, and has accumulated a huge following that still exists as strong as ever decades later. The series follows a series of superheroines, who defend the Earth against evil villains. Thea looks every bit the part of Sailor Jupiter in her cosplay. Her silk green pleated skirt perfectly mimics that classic Japanese style school uniform, and gives of the same vibrant aesthetic that both the original anime and manga did. The white bodice cinched in at the waist, and is overlaid with a huge baby pink bow, fastened in the middle with a brooch that perfectly matches the jade green of her skirt. View this post on Instagram Around her neck is a green choker with the all-important gold star stamped in the middle, and across her forehead she wears Sailor Jupiter’s classic tiara, a shimmering green stone right at the center. Fans loved her take on the classic anime character, calling it “beautiful” and “awesome looking.” One commenter said “my literal idol. You make the perfect Jupiter,” and another gave their stamp of approval with “as a Sailor Moon fan I love this.” As expected, Thea has done a fantastic job with this cosplay, and fans can’t wait to see what universe she will dip into next. It’s also why she was nominated as one of our Cosplayers of the Year for the 2020 Dexerto Awards.

Zelda Williams wore a Link cosplay for Halloween, and it’s confusing Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, has posted a photo of her in a Link cosplay from the Legend of Zelda franchise to complete the misnomer, and it’s gotten everyone into a twist. Zelda Williams was infamously named after the princess from the popular Nintendo game franchise, which is usually known for being one of the industry’s biggest misnomers. You play as Link, to rescue Princess Zelda; and the game is called Legend of Zelda, but it’s all about the journey of Link. After 30 years of relative stability though, Zelda Williams has decided to throw a curveball during Halloween 2019, dressing up as the gaming crossover most people were dreading. Williams posted pictures and videos of her Link cosplay to Twitter, with quite the ironic hashtag of “#CallMeZeldaOneMoreTime”. She did a pretty good job of it, with the turquoise tunic, long blonde hair, and the elven ears poking out of the sides. She even had the sword and shield props to walk around with, and the big leather boots Link trotted around Hyrule in. Swiggity swooty, Im coming for that rupee pic.twitter.com/eR6feUsDLt — Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) November 1, 2019 It’s just that, what do you end up calling her on the candy run – Zelda or Link? Calling her Zelda is obviously cool if you are on a first name basis, but if other people aren’t in on it, people would think you had never played the franchise. If you call her Link, it’s calling her in character, but it’s the reverse of the misnomer players have gotten so used to in gaming. 30 years. It finally happened. #CallMeZeldaOneMoreTime pic.twitter.com/r7zV9Ehomo — Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) November 1, 2019 Twitter was equally confused, with many users complementing the play-on-characters Williams put together for the special occasion while at the same time dropping the joke everyone was waiting 30 years for. “Zelda dresses (up) as Link,” said Twitter user ‘RoonKolos’. “Welp. Everyone pack it up. She won Halloween.” “This is the best Zelda cosplay I’ve ever seen,” said ‘MugiwaraNolan,’ which just seems like the biggest bait setup. Either way, she lived up to Link’s name across Twitter the whole night, carrying chickens and threatening to smash clay pots to obtain the ever valuable rupees. Thankfully, the confusion is only for a day, but it’s a wonderful play on the whole Zelda-Link debacle in the games. At least when she’s dressed up as Link, you can’t get it wrong either way.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX cosplayer has perfect Polymerization with Jaden Yuki Instagram: Makochancosplayer/TV AsahiGerman cosplayer Makochan has revealed their brand new Jaden Yuki cosplay from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series and it perfectly brings the reincarnation of The Supreme King to life. While many may know the uber-popular main Yu-Gi-Oh series, the manga-turned-trading card game has had five separate spin-off series – with one of the first coming in the form of GX. GX follows Jaden Yuki – Judai Yuki in the Japanese version – as he attempts to deal with school life at Duel Academy in a bid to become the best duelist in the world. Even though the Jaden is hit with challenges from the off – including an entrance exam duel against the academy’s headteacher Dr. Crowler, being placed in the Slifer Red Dorm, and having a ‘weaker’ deck – he manages to overcome all of it to save the world. As a part of the Slifer Red dorm, the dueling school’s lowest dorm, he’s decked out in a trademark red jacket – which has become an inspiration for cosplayers across the world. One of the newest, and most impressive, cosplay of the popular character comes from Makochan, a German cosplayer. As expected, the red jacket sits front and center, but the cosplay also managed to nail the spiked-down brown hair of Jaden, as well as his undershirt, pants, and matching red shoes. There are even the pretty impressive different colored eyes from the later seasons too. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7QGH9PIFBl/ However, no Yu-Gi-Oh cosplay would be complete with the cards and the accompanying dueling arm, both of which come perfectly equipped in Makochan’s look. Though, with them all being tossed across the floor, it looks like the cosplayer may have run into some issues with drawing Polymerization to combine their elemental heroes. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7OpfgOoX-p/ Either way, it’s a pretty impressive cosplay, even though we could have done with seeing a Winged Kuriboh or Elemental Hero Burstinatrix card knocking around. Who knows, maybe the next Yu-Gi-Oh! GX-inspired cosplay will see someone take on the form of Syrus or Alexis – perhaps even work Chumley into the mix. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Yu-Gi-Oh Dark Magician Girl cosplay leaves you in a spellbinding circle When people think of Yu-Gi-Oh! the first thing that likely comes to mind is Yugi and his signature card Dark Magician, but we can’t sleep on his counterpart – the Dark Magician Girl. Yu-Gi-Oh! features a wide collection of cards that is constantly growing and almost all of them have an elaborate design to help them stand apart from each other. While many of the cosplays we see surrounding the anime and card game are of the characters themselves, many of the monsters themselves are actually cosplayed. Dark Magician Girl is always a popular choice, buoyed by the fact she’s not technically a monster, and with her card itself having so many different designs, there are a lot of paths that can be taken with it. Instagram cosplayer gibgabcosplay showed her take on the original version of Dark Magician Girl, and she delivers in a big way. Any fan of the anime will instantly recognize DMG’s iconic blue and pink design and be blown away by it. We don’t know how long gibgab took on her design, but we can safely say whatever time she put in has absolutely paid off in a big way. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7AFR3bDTR_/ If you take a quick look through her Instagram, you’ll quickly see the Dark Magician Girl is one of her favorite designs as there are numerous images of her as the character. With that said, it’s not the only thing that appears on the page as there are also cosplays of Samus from the Metroid series and even a couple from the film A Nightmare Before Christmas. https://www.instagram.com/p/B16kfzmj4mF/ The Dark Magician Girl outfit looks like it’s the most elaborate of her designs, so it’s no surprise to see her showing off that one the most. There are plenty of different female magicians in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, so it’d be cool to see her try out a take on some of the others. We’re sure they would be just as amazing, if not better, as the current one!

Yu-Gi-Oh! cosplayer shows off enchanting Dark Magician Girl Instagram: marissaemma / Toei AnimationYu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most recognizable animes in the world, and a talented cosplayer has shown off her take on one of the game’s most powerful cards, the mysterious Dark Magician Girl. From its origins as a manga, to the eventual anime and worldwide smash-hit card game, Yu-Gi-Oh! has become a major player across the globe, as fans follow the story of Yugi Mutou who solves the ancient Millennium Puzzle, unleashing the spirit of an unnamed Pharoah who inhabits his body. The shy and timid Duel Monster player is often consumed by the Pharoah during contests, he being brash, brave, and never afraid of battle. Traveling around in an attempt to help the Pharoah regain his memories and find his true identity, Yugi gets involved in countless Duel Monster matches and tournaments, and for fans of Yu-Gi-Oh!, few cards are as instantly recognizable as the legendary sorcerer, Dark Magician, and the card’s female counterpart Dark Magician Girl. While Dark Magician is often seen as dark and mysterious, the female version of the card is viewed as a more friendly version, and even appears as a major character throughout the Virtual World and Waking the Dragons anime arcs, leading Yugi and Yami Yugi to the World of Duel Monsters as they prepared to fight Doma. Cosplayer ‘marissaemma’ is clearly a fan of Dark Magician Girl, showing off her perfect take on the sorcerer which looks like it was lifted straight out of the anime and brought into real life. In a close-up shot, Yu-Gi-Oh! fans can see how much effort went into designing the cosplay, complete with the red jewel around her next that replaces the hexagram, and a spotless recreation of her pink and blue hat that sits on top of her blonde hair. The character’s pink and blue outfit is also perfectly recreated, hanging off her shoulders just like Dark Magician Girl‘s, and of course, no cosplay would be complete without her golden wand, which is used to cast spells in the heat of battle. View this post on Instagram “One Dark Magician sleeps in the grave… Disciple inherits master’s soul & becomes stronger.”✨ I’m in the trenches with three different cosplay builds right now (*lol why do I do this to myself?*), but today I find I’m daydreaming about my Dark Magician Girl! I can’t wait to take her out for another spin!? #yugioh #darkmagiciangirl #yugiohcosplay #cosplayer #cosplay #darkmagiciangirlcosplay #animecosplay Unsurprisingly, fans of the series were immediately impressed by Marissa’s recreation, with many calling it “beautiful” and “extremely perfect.” The anime remains immensely popular around the world, with the newest series of Yu-Gi-Oh!, named ‘Sevens,’ releasing in Japan on April 4.

Yu-Gi-Oh! cosplayer is ready to duel with incredible Mai Valentine outfit Instagram: shaynabaybaymarie / Toei AnimationYu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most recognizable anime of all time, and one fan of the show has shown their appreciation for Mai Valentine with an incredible cosplay that shows the character ready for action, complete with her powerful deck. The popular anime and manga follow the story of Yugi Mutou, who one day solves the ancient Millennium Puzzle, causing the spirit of an unnamed Pharaoh to inhabit his body. While Yugi himself is timid and shy, the Pharoah is brash and brave, often challenging enemies or opponents to matches using the Duel Monsters game that has become synonymous with the show. With Yugi and the Pharaoh travel around attempting to find a way to help the spirit regain his memories, the unlikely duo meet a ton of interesting characters along the way, and perhaps none are as intriguing as Mai Valentine, a self-absorbed duelist obsessed with prize money who finds meaning when she encounters Yugi, and joins him on his quest. Valentine is a fearsome duelist, and with her story arc capturing the hearts of fans who enjoy the show, it’s no surprise that many Yu-Gi-Oh! fans decide to cosplay as the character, and Shayna Beining has become the latest to show off her take on the character, posting images of her perfect cosplay to the 2020 Anime Milwaukee convention. While Mai wears a number of different outfits and costumes throughout the show, Shayna decided to replicate her look from the Battle City tournament, where she made it to the quarter-finals, wearing a purple skirt and leather jacket combo, along with a white top and purple thigh-high boots, something which Mai is rarely seen without in the show. Of course, no Yu-Gi-Oh! cosplay is complete without a Dual Disk on their arm, and Shayna made sure to bring it along, even placing some cards on it as she seemingly prepares for battle against an opponent. To add even more detail, the cards on her disk are from a Haripe deck, a nod to the character who uses this archetype in both the manga and anime. Unsurprisingly, Yu-Gi-Oh! fans were very impressed by the look, calling it “clever,” “stunning,” and praising her for the little details she had included. The anime remains one of the most popular in the world, with the next series of Yu-Gi-Oh! set to launch in April 2020, titled “Sevens.”

Yu-Gi-Oh! cosplayer conjures incredible Seto Kaiba with female twist Instagram: ellsnyx / Toei AnimationFor many, Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the most recognizable animes in the world and one fan showed their appreciation for the magical show by showing off their incredible female twist on one of the series’ main characters Seto Kaiba. The popular anime and manga follow the story of Yugi Mutou, who one day solves the ancient Millennium Puzzle which causes the spirit of an unnamed Pharaoh to inhabit his body. While shy and timid in his regular form, the Pharaoh is brash and brave, and often comes out to battle in the popular Duel Monsters game which has swept the world for years. Traveling around in an attempt to help the Pharaoh regain his memories, Yugi meets a number of interesting characters along the way, including Seto Kaiba, the head of the multi-national gaming company KaibaCorp, and Yugi’s arch-rival as they both fight to become the greatest Duel Monsters players in the world. While Kaiba is well-known for his snobbery to other players, and being infuriated by people who use his signature Blue-Eyes White Dragon card against him, the anti-hero remains popular with fans of the anime, largely in part to his disciplined and conscientious nature, and even showed his selfless side throughout the series, on occasion helping Yugi when they shared a common enemy, or even helping save Tea from Marik’s Rare Hunter even though it didn’t benefit him in any way. It’s no surprise then that Kaiba is a popular character to cosplay as, and ‘ellsnyx’ created her own unique take on the character, showing off her female twist on the incredibly talented dueler which she wore to Katsucon. View this post on Instagram @molkerphoto makes me look so good all the time ? I miss Katsu and my friends aaaaaa ? duel disk borrowed from @d.j.specs photo: @molkerphoto wig: @ardawigs • • • • #cosplay #yugiohcosplay #cosplaygirl #kaiba #setokaiba #kaibacosplay #anime #animecosplay #setokaibacosplay #cosplaymodel #cosplayer Despite the female twist, ellsnyx did a perfect job of creating a look that is instantly recognizable as Kaiba, wearing the same silver jacket complete with red accents on the inside, and covering her forehead with a set of bangs, which look almost identical to the set that the head of KaibaCorp has covering his forehead. She even included the same blue stripes on the sleeves of her black dress, adding to the details that make this a perfect interpretation of Seto. View this post on Instagram This picture was too good to crop out my shoes!!! I think Friday of Katsucon I looked the best I’ve looked in cosplay for a WHILE. My friends looked so good in their Yugioh stuff as well- I cry . Missing conventions right about now haha. Hopefully we can see our friends soon! ? coat: @nicoletters wig: @ardawigs • • • • • • #yugioh #yugiohcosplay #setokaiba #setokaibacosplay #femseto #femsetokaiba #yugiohmemes #cosplay #cosplaygirl #cosplaymodel Unsurprisingly, Yu-Gi-Oh! fans were very impressed by the look, calling it “awesome,” “superb,” and praising her for the little details she had included that made it instantly clear who she was cosplaying. The anime remains immensely popular around the world, with the newest series of Yu-Gi-Oh! releasing in Japan on April 4 named ‘Sevens.’

Young My Hero Academia cosplayers steal hearts with Deku and Eri designs Jayelitecosplay Instagram / BonesTwo little cosplayers stole the hearts of both the internet and the Anime Los Angeles 2020 convention with their incredible renditions for popular My Hero Academia characters Deku and Eri. The second season of MHA’s anime has been delivering on all fronts for fans, and cosplayers have been there all along the way, bringing the cast of characters to life with their skills. From jaw-dropping designs of heroes like Camie Utsushimi or villains such as Himiko Toga, the MHA fanbase are out in full force, recreating almost everyone in the show’s long list of prominent faces. However, the shortlist of stars for the anime’s latest on-screen arc include none other than One-for-All inheritor Deku and the young Eri, who were adorably reimaged by a cosplayer known as ‘JayElitecosplay’ and his younger sister. Fully donning Deku’s hero suit, JayElite brought the hero down to a perfect pint size, while his sister is seen bandaged (but delightfully happy) as Eri. It looks like things started to get a bit testy at Anime Los Angeles, though, when the two young cosplayers came across another fan named ‘mystictaku’ who dressed up as Kai Chisaki, the leader of Shie Hassaikai yazuka group who goes by the moniker ‘Overhaul.’ https://www.instagram.com/p/B7NDHaKnfzQ/ That’s when the two cosplayers really stepped into their characters, with Deku standing up against the villain to save the captured Eri. Images from the encounter are epic, to say the least, with little JayElite looking incredibly heroic up against the masked villain in an adorable attempt to save his sister. The entire display instantly took the hearts for fans of the show all across the net, and it even got a major shoutout from the official My Hero Academia Twitter account. JayElite is no stranger to cosplaying his favorite characters, either, having dressed up as Bakugo, Todoroki and even a horrifying costume of a Pennywise/Georgie crossover from Stephen King’s ‘It.’ Even at such an early age, JayElite and his sister have a knack for cosplaying, and with an Instagram account that boasts over a thousand followers already, they’re sure to make incredible designs for a long time to come. As My Hero Academia goes on, fans can’t wait to see what else the young cosplayers will come up with next.

Young Minecraft fan’s handmade Dream cosplay goes viral for being too adorable Twitter, @iBeatUpGnf / YouTube, DreamA Twitter user’s younger brother made his own (fairly scuffed) Dream cosplay, based on the popular Minecraft YouTuber — and social media is obsessed. Thousands of fans have chimed in supporting the kid’s DIY ensemble. Dream and his friends have taken over YouTube and, to some extent, Twitch over the past year or so. A month ago, Dream hit 20 million subscribers on YouTube and, in the weeks since, people have estimated that the content creator’s net worth is somewhere in the $3 to $5 million range. Dream and his Dream SMP (survival multiplayer) server are obviously popular, so it should be no surprise that fans like to express their support in creative ways. While Dream fan art has been criticized in the past, a young fan’s cosplay has received no negativity — instead enjoying an abundance of support across social media. Twitter’s adriene shared two simple pictures of her younger brother’s handmade cosplay on the platform and the post has since been retweeted and supported endlessly. With a cute caption and a cute cosplay, caps-locked replies of joy have overflowed. do u guys like my little brother’s dream cosplay? he made all the props by himself and hes really proud of it :] @dreamwastaken pic.twitter.com/qoFADkjKzh — adriene 🚍 (@rushoadrenaIine) April 25, 2021 Adriene shared her brother’s cosplay with a very casual question, adding to the wholesomeness of the entire situation: “Do you guys like my little brother’s dream cosplay? He made all the props by himself and he’s really proud of it.” While the internet is typically fully of toxic trolls, the reactions have been outright lovely. With dozens of caps-locked “Aww” and “cute” responses, people seem very happy with the little brother’s efforts. Some users have also popped into the replies with their own cosplays, beginning to create a cosplay army of sorts in support of the Minecraft icon. AWWW TELL HIM HIS COSPLAY IS REALLY GOOD FOR ME, AND THAT WE’RE MATCHING!!! pic.twitter.com/eNbJBvxk5v — pancakes ☻︎ snfc 🎰 (@pancakes_507) April 25, 2021 For what it’s worth, cosplaying Dream is an interesting endeavor and one that allows people to express some creativity. Dream has never shown his face and is solely known by his smiley-face character in Minecraft (and, typically, a green body). While Dream hasn’t responded to the cosplay (yet), one has to imagine that the little brother will be pleased to find out just how much the internet appreciates it.

Yoruichi Shihōin is ready to guard your soul in epic Bleach cosplay Instagram: uniquesora / Studio PierrotA cosplayer has shown off their incredible version of Yoruichi Shihōin, one of the Soul Reapers who protect those going through the circle of transmigration in popular anime Bleach. Bleach follows the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a young man who obtains the power of a Soul Reaper, or Shinigami, from another member of this mystical group. This forces him to take on the duties that come with his ability to see ghosts and evil spirits, protecting civilians from these magical beings who intend to do them harm, and guiding those who have passed on to the afterlife. Yoruichi Shihōin is a military expert, captaining the 2nd Division of the Gotei 13, the Soul Society division that most Shinigami first join, and was also the commander of the Onmitsukido before abandoning her positions of power to lead a more simple life. Working out of the Urahara Shop, she sells special Soul Reaper items alongside Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tskuabishi. Shihōin is well-respected among Bleach fans, known for intelligence and wit, the princess-turned-commander has a knowledge of the Soul Society and the Soul Repeapers that few others possess. Clearly steely and determined, what makes Yoruichi so likable is her laidback nature and the ease of which she can laugh and joke with others, making her the perfect mix of determination and friendliness. It’s no surprise then that many Bleach fans choose to cosplay as Shihōin, and Instagram user uniquesora became to the latest to show her appreciation for the character. She showed off her incredibly accurate rendition of the character, which she debuted at SaCAnime, an anime and cosplay expo that takes place in Sacramento, California. View this post on Instagram ?Yoruichi – Bleach ? * Brought back one of my favorite characters from Bleach,, I actually did this costume at Sacanime too but completely forgot to take any photos at all lol but luckily I had already did a little costest of her earlier. How have you guys been? I’m literally just getting over being sick but I think it’s been going around for a lot of people so hope those you feeling unwell feel better soon! I’m really happy I still get to spend some more time with my gf and friends before I have to head back home;; hope you guys are enjoying your day and getting to relax a bit too❤️ * * #bleach #bleachcosplay #oldschoolanime #yoruichicosplay #yoruichi #yoruichishihoin #cosplay #cosplayer #instacosplay #instacostume #cosplayerofinstagram #cosplayersofinstagram #cosplayer #cosplaygirls #cosplaymakeup #cosplaygirl #animecosplay #costest #animecosplay #anime #sidebyside #cosplaysidebyside #cosplayvscharacter Uniquesora has captured the Soul Reaper perfectly, with her purple hair split into bangs that cover both sides of her face, with a large ponytail at the back just like the character. Even her outfit is super impressive, including the same logo on her chest that Shihōin sports, the white scarf around her neck, and purple-and-white wrist straps that tie everything together along with the unmissable orange belt. View this post on Instagram ?More Yoruichi – Bleach? * Honestly wasn’t expecting so many people to still love Bleach so much so here’s some more Yoruichi~!! I actually have more pictures of her too for those of you that are interested I will be making them available as signed prints on my ko-fi soon? hope you guys are enjoying your day!! This week has already been so busy for me I’m looking forward to caught up on all my work~!! * Love you guys and stay amazing❤️ * #bleach #bleachcosplay #oldschoolanime #yoruichicosplay #yoruichi #yoruichishihoin #cosplay #cosplayer #instacosplay #instacostume #cosplayerofinstagram #cosplayersofinstagram #cosplayer #29daysofblackcosplay #cosplaygirls #cosplaymakeup #cosplaygirl #animecosplay #costest #animecosplay #anime Every detail has been accounted for, with uniquesora even putting in special contact lenses to make her eyes look more like a cat, a direct reference to the character who can shape-shift into a feline when she pleases. Unsurprisingly, the people in her comments were big fans, telling her she had “nailed it” and thanking her for cosplaying as their favorite character.

Yaya Han’s My Hero Academia cosplay will leave Midnight fans in awe Funimation / Instagram: @yayahanCosplay legend Yaya Han had My Hero Academia fans going wild when she shared her jaw dropping take on Midnight. The insanely detailed costume is the perfect way to celebrate the upcoming film Heroes: Rising. My Hero Academia has taken the anime world by storm ever since its 2016 debut. Its story about a high school that trains teenagers with superpowers called ‘quirks’ has connected with millions. Industry icon Yaya Han shared her mind blowing take on Nemuri Kayama, bringing the seductive teacher to life with incredible accuracy. Her perfect portrayal of the anime heroine has left fans in awe. The series centers on U.A High, which is the premiere school for the next generation of young superheroes. The institution is led by pro hero stars such as Midnight who has the ability to put people to sleep with her alluring aroma. Popular cosplayer Yaya Han uploaded her detailed costume of the teacher on social media to celebrate her upcoming book “Yaya Han’s World of Cosplay.” Collaborating with photographer ‘KameraNinja,’ she struck a pose as the character. The flirty seductive hero puts her enemies under her spell before unleashing fury on them. Holding her signature whip and dawning her red mask, the talented artist perfectly captured the heroine’s spirit. https://www.instagram.com/p/B89sYP0HnjQ/ Han has dressed up as the popular anime character before – in September 2019, she uploaded a photo to her Instagram that quickly went viral. The up close shot showed the faithful detail of her outfit. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2elI6UAs2E/ Re-creating Midnight’s hero costume, the artist nailed her leather choker that’s embedded with red rubies which run down her suit. She also accurately captured her messy short black hair and sky blue eyes – which peer beneath her scarlet mask. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1g1spBAinG/ The post was a big hit with fans, and has over 8k likes at the time of writing. Fans gushed over her faithful depiction such as user ‘glam.mode.lashes’ who exclaimed “Nailed it! She’s one of my faves!” Another user ‘kallimacosplay’ praised her and said “You look like you walked straight outta the show.” My Hero Academia is currently partway through its fourth season arc. The 2014 manga has exploded in popularity since its anime adaptation by studio Bones, and has become a household name in the genre. Those that want to catch up can watch the entire show on Crunchyroll and Funimation. The series is also gearing up for its first feature length film ‘Heroes: Rising’ which hits theaters on February 26.

Yaya Han’s beautiful Demon Slayer cosplay enchants Shinobu Kocho fans Ufotable / Instagram: @yayahanProlific cosplayer Yaya Han left Demon Slayer fans in awe when she transformed into Shinobu Kocho. The anime heroine was brought to life by her insanely detailed costume. Demon Slayer was the breakout anime of 2019, as its riveting story connected with viewers. The series follows protagonist Tanjiro Kamado’s quest to avenge his family after they are slain by evil. Cosplay legend Yaya Han shared her take on the show’s popular character Shinobu Kocho. The industry icon’s costume of the heroine is so good, it’s almost like the Bug Pillar has jumped from out of the screen and into real life. Yaya Han brings Demon Slayer Shinobu to life In the story, the top swordsmen in the world are called Pillars, and belong to the Demon Corps. Shinobu is named after the ‘Insect’ and uses her pharmaceutical skills to heal and inject poison into her enemies. Yaya Han dressed up as the deadly fighter, and posted her incredible cosplay on social media. She teamed up with ‘DokiDoki Cosplay‘ who supplied her with an astonishingly accurate black uniform, and a flowing white patterned kimono. Read More: Naruto Shippuden cosplayer stuns fans Sakura – Posing under a bed of scattered flowers, it truly looks like a scene straight out of the series. The artist perfectly nailed the DS character’s look with her purple streaked bangs, and her signature butterfly ornament that sits at the back of her head. https://www.instagram.com/p/B9p2kfRnaw1/ Yaya teamed up with photographer Brian Boling who captured her in motion with Shinobu’s katana. In the story, Pillars are able to control their breath which gives them incredible powers. The cosplayer’s re-creation of the fighter’s “Butterfly Dance” quickly went viral with over 9.7k likes at the time of writing. https://www.instagram.com/p/B91un0qnwhD/ The cosplay artist posted a close-up shot on Instagram which shows off the amount of detail that went into becoming the swordsman. From her striking purple eyes, to her multi-colored sleeves on her kimono, she absolutely transformed into the heroine. https://www.instagram.com/p/B99tC1bHqWk/ Demon Slayer fans were blown away by her gorgeous take on the Insect Pillar. User ‘k8_ichigo’ exclaimed “Such amazing Shinobu. I’m shocked, very beautiful!” Another user agreed, stating “You are a beautiful Shinobu.” Demon Slayer originally made its debut as a manga in 2016, although its anime adaptation in by Ufotable exploded in popularity. The series is so popular, it’s getting a movie that continues the story before the release of season two. For all the details on the upcoming film ‘Mugen Train’ you can check out our ‘Everything we know’ guide here. Those wanting to catch up in time for the release can watch the first season on Crunchyroll or Funimation.

WWE’s Zelina Vega wows Overwatch fans as poolside D.Va Instagram: zelina_vegawwe / Blizzard EnternatinmentWWE wrestler and occasional cosplayer Zelina Vega has released a stunning cosplay of Overwatch’s D.Va after going viral back in August with a different take on the fan-favorite character. Zelina Vega, also known by her real name Thea Trinidad, is an American pro-wrestler signed to WWE, and is a hugely recognizable star on the wrestling scene. While an extremely talented wrestler, she has also shown her love for cosplay in various forms. A clear lover of video games, in the past she has recreated looks from Apex Legend’s Loba, Green Lantern’s Jessica Cruise, and has cosplayed several characters from popular shooter game Overwatch, including Sombra. She also went viral in August for a cosplay that was an almost exact match for D.Va’s original costume, a quirky video that saw her don the iconic bright bodysuit. That clip has now garnered over 90,000 views on Instagram. With the success of her previous cosplay, Vega wanted to give her fans something a little different, whilst also remaining inspired by the mech pilot and former pro-gamer D.Va’s iconic look that is loved by fans. This time she opted for a more revealing look, with the original neon bodysuit swapped out for a bikini that looks strikingly similar; the main material matches the royal blue exactly, with the detail of the pink strings making her immediately recognisable of the fan-favorite Overwatch character. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGC49EYjAMi/ Her bikini top even has D.Va’s pink bunny logo stamped onto one side, which just goes to show the level of detail put into an overall more minimalistic take on the character. She points her gun directly at the camera. Her makeup is on point, complete with the classic pink triangle face paint and a gorgeous blush colored eye look, which along with the headphones and the gun pointed straight for the camera, make for a practically hypnotic real-life version of D.Va. With Vega’s love for the gaming and cosplay communities abundantly clear, fans are no doubt excited to see which stunning take she’ll pull out of the bag next. The Instagram post has a whopping 80,000 likes at the time of writing.

WWE’s Zelina Vega ups her cosplay game again as League wildcard Jinx WWE / Riot GamesZelina Vega has been rocking the world with her cosplays lately. Today, she cosplayed Jinx from League of Legends live on stream, and it was one of the best we’ve seen.[jwplayer V7KFXiLn] Zelina Vega is best known as a professional wrestler in the WWE. But in her free time, Thea Trinidad, which is her real name, loves to game, stream, and cosplay her favorite characters. She has cosplayed everything from D.VA and Sombra from Overwatch to Loba from Apex Legends in this year alone. Now, Zelina Vega has added yet another popular character to her impressive list: Jinx, from League of Legends. https://twitter.com/Zelina_VegaWWE/status/1316178370590367744?s=20 Zelina Vega nailed the outfit Zelina Vega matched Jinx’s blue hair and long, braided pigtails, as well as the make-up and outfit. But the best part is, she donned it live on her Twitch channel while playing Among Us with her subscribers. Jinx, nicknamed “the loose cannon,” is described as “a manic and impulsive criminal from Zaun, Jinx lives to wreak havoc without care for the consequences.” It sounds eerily close to Zelina Vega as a character, who is known for being a callous and calculated “heel” in the WWE Universe. Recently, her character was found guilty of poisoning Montez Ford, another pro wrestler who is a member of the Street Profits, and she didn’t seem to mind. Of course, cosplaying is huge in the League of Legends community. Impressive ones are popping up every week. Still, it’s nice to see one from Zelina Vega herself, who is quickly cementing her place as the cosplay queen. If you’re interested in seeing more of Zelina Vega’s superb cosplays, be sure to check out her Twitter and Instagram, which showcases them all.

WWE’s Zelina Vega flawlessly cosplays Kitana from Mortal Kombat Instagram: Zelina Vega / Midway GamesWWE wrestler Zelina Vega has done it again and pulled another stunning cosplay out of the bag, looking every bit the part of Kitana from Mortal Kombat in the latest of her fantastic cosplays. Zelina Vega, real name Thea Trinidad, has more than dabbled in the cosplay scene before. In the past we’ve seen her recreate a fabulous poolside D.Va from Overwatch and a stunning Jinx from League of Legends. She’s a hugely popular pro-wrestler working under WWE, but clearly has a dedication for gaming and the gaming community which she expresses via her detailed cosplays, and even streams a huge variety of games on Twitch. This time around she decided to give Mortal Kombat a go, one of the most popular fighting games globally. The games have featured a series of playable characters, each with their own unique look and personality that has proven to be a ripe opportunity for cosplayers looking to recreate their favorites from the game. Zelina Vega’s Kitana Despite being over 10,000 years old, Kitana looks very young. In battle, she primarily utilizes her steel fans as a weapon, her lightning-fast technique and powerful abilities rendering her a formidable foe. Zelina has fantastically recreated Kitana’s aesthetic in her cosplay. The whole image has a midnight blue cast, the soft moon in the background perfectly illuminating the finer details of her costume. The creative image was taken by Daniel Forero and edited by Ryan Sims. The dark blue of her mask and headdress tie in exactly with her gloves, intricate light blue markings crawling down the side of her forearm. In a matching blue, fabric drapes down from the shorts at her waist down to the floor in the center of her body, mimicking Kitana’s exactly. Long boots stretch up to her thighs and give Zelina the character’s powerful look. Of course, it wouldn’t be Kitana without the metal fans that are equally as gorgeous as they are dangerous, Zelina holding them in a captivating pose and tying the look together completely. There’s no doubt that Zelina did a fantastic job of recreating this popular Mortal Kombat character, and fans of her cosplay are keenly awaiting the next character she decides to embark on next.

WWE’s Zelina Vega breaks internet with perfect Apex Legends Loba cosplay WWE Press Pool / Respawn EntertainmentWWE superstar Zelina Vega has got the internet, and Apex Legends fans, hot under the collar after unveiling her perfect Loba cosplay. The wrestling queen’s stunning outfit could well be the best Loba take we’ve seen yet! Vega, real name Thea Trinidad, first made her wrestling debut all the way back in February 2010. Since then, she’s carved out a name for herself as WWE’s resident “bad b*tch,” taking no prisoners on her way to the top. It seems very fitting then, that the Puerto Rican superstar chose Apex Legends leading lady Loba to cosplay on August 19. Loba has won the hearts of Apex fans since her Season 5 debut, thanks to her sassy, “get the job done” attitude. Loba Andrade made her debut last season as the 13th character in Respawn’s ever-growing battle royale. Her hunt for murderous simulacrum Revenant has dominated the game’s story ever since, even spilling on into Season 6 too. Zelina Vega unveils Loba cosplay Vega unveiled her Apex Legends cosplay on August 19, revealing the perfect outfit in a post on Instagram. She accompanied the cosplay reveal with a fitting audio track blaring out the battle royale’s iconic main theme. This new Loba cosplay may well be the best we’ve seen here at Dexerto. Vega made sure to include each and every detail, starting with the Apex Legends heroine’s tight-fitting white and gold battle jacket, adorned with orange trim. Vega also pulled on Loba’s knee-high black boots, and had the tan garters the Translocating Thief uses to carry her guns on too. The WWE Raw superstar even made sure to include the Portuguese legend’s fingerless gloves as well. “Gold goes well with a diamond like me” The most stunning part of the already perfect Loba cosplay, however, was Vega’s attention to detail with her hair and makeup. Loba wears dark red eyeshadow in every Apex Games battle and the WWE star certainly looked the part once she added that stunning detail. Finally, Loba wears her hair in two long pigtails, hanging down nearly to her hips. Vega was able to bundle her own long hair into the same design, completing the Apex Legends look. “Gold goes so well with a diamond like me,” Vega wrote alongside her Apex Legends cosplay reveal. The developers seemed to agree too, replying on Instagram to praise the outfit. “Okay Loba, we see you!” they wrote, adding a fire emoji. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEDBOBAjLbG/ Trinidad’s amazing Loba cosplay is far from the first time she’s dived into gaming culture for costume ideas too. In early August, she celebrated Overwatch with a stunning D.Va outfit. In June, she also appeared as Pokemon’s Nessa. The 29-year-old World Wrestling Entertainment star also streams regularly on Twitch, airing near-daily broadcasts since isolation began. She can be found at twitch.tv/atozonyoutube and, of course, in the squared circle.

WWE’s The New Day tear up Survivor Series with custom Gears of War armor Microsoft / WWEContinuing their trend of exceptional video game-inspired ring attire, WWE’s The New Day came to this year’s Survivor Series ready for battle, bringing their custom Gears of War skins to life. [jwplayer V7KFXiLn] While Batista may have been the first WWE superstar to join Gears 5, the longest reigning tag champs in history just dropped in as well. Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E are all available in Microsoft’s third-person shooter with their own custom skins, emotes, and voice lines. To celebrate their vibrant in-game items, the trio entered this year’s Survivor Series with a unique look. Rather than walking to the ring with their usual attire, things were turned up a notch. The New Day entered the building with a real version of their Gears skins. Everything from the blue, pink, and yellow body armor to the limited Booty-O cereal box, it was all custom made for this one-off appearance. It’s YA BOYS #TheNewDay… in custom @GearsofWar armor! 👏 🥞 🦄 🎺#SurvivorSeries #Gears5 @AustinCreedWins @TrueKofi @WWEBigE pic.twitter.com/jEX08Gpfgm — WWE (@WWE) November 23, 2020 It’s no secret that members of The New Day are massive gamers. Xavier Woods runs one of the biggest gaming-focused YouTube channels in UpUpDownDown, and the crew even appeared at Wrestlemania 33 in Final Fantasy ring gear. The Gears 5 collaboration is just the latest in their video game crossovers. This one couldn’t have had a bigger spotlight. Survivor Series is one of the biggest Pay-Per-View events of the year. With a champion vs champion tag match set between them and The Street Profits, there was no better time to show off the Gears 5 attire. Big E walked down the ramp with both belts by his side, while Kofi held the custom cereal box. Xavier Woods had something a little more over the top in his hands, however. He came with a buffed version of Francesca the Trombone, custom-designed to match the look of a Gears Lancer. With a chainsaw at one end and the base of the gun on the other, the trombone still worked as he made his way to the ring. The suits of armor were enormous, mirroring their in-game counterparts in terms of both style and size. Obviously, the chest plates came off when it was time to do business. Regardless of the result, there’s no denying The New Day had the standout look at Survivor Series. Who knows what kind of gaming creations they’ll come up with next. Though you can always expect the tag champs to be pushing the industry further into the eyes of the wrestling community.

WWE’s Sasha Banks unveils incredible Sailor Moon cosplay at Royal Rumble Instagram: @sashabankswwe / Viz MediaSasha Banks marched down to the WWE Royal Rumble 2022 ring in style by cosplaying Usagi Tsukino’s alter-ego, Sailor Moon, after revealing that she’s a massive fan of the show. Sasha Banks has been a fan of Sailor Moon since she was a child. In an interview with Comicbook, she revealed that both the character and the show have played a major role in her life. “My first thing wasn’t Star Wars; it was Sailor Moon,” she said. “When I was maybe like five years old, I started watching Sailor Moon. It always came on at 6:00 AM. I had to watch it because I thought I was just like Serena.” “I was clumsy. I was always late for school. She taught me how to believe in myself, my powers, and the powers of the universe and the moon. Still, to this day, she is my favorite. I can’t believe how much she’s played a role in my life.” It was only a matter of time before Banks paid tribute to the character that helped shape her, and she did exactly that on January 29 at the WWE Royal Rumble 2022. Banks marched down into the ring wearing the iconic outfit in all its glory, from the giant red bow on a white crop top to her neon-blue blue skirt and red boots. She matched the hairstyle, too, although she kept it blue instead of blonde. Sadly, she didn’t win the event. However, she won the hearts of Sailor Moon fans from all corners of the globe. 30-Woman #RoyalRumble Match entrants thread ⤵️ 1️⃣ Can #TheBoss go the distance?? @SashaBanksWWE pic.twitter.com/BvI4FoZG40 — WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2022 Banks isn’t the only WWE superstar who happens to be a diehard anime fan, gamer, and cosplayer. Zelina Vega is right up there with her, having cosplayed everything from League of Legends champions to Pokemon characters. It’s nice to see immensely popular celebrities like Sasha and Zelina flaunt their favorite cosplays in the spotlight. It gives their millions of fans and followers worldwide a taste of the magic and joy cosplayers can bring.

WWE’s Naomi pulls off accidental Overwatch Lucio cosplay with new ring gear Naomi, Instagram / BlizzardWWE superstar Naomi is known for stealing the spotlight with her ring gear and she’s pulled it out the bag once again, this time with an Overwatch cosplay of Lucio that might not even be intentional. As one of the main members of the women’s division in World Wrestling Entertainment, Naomi – real name Trinity Fatu – is know for her ‘Feel the Glow’ entrance. Using bright lights in a dark setting, her walk to the ring is usually one of the most eye-catching of the night. At one time, she famously got in trouble for decorating her Women’s Championship with custom bright lights, showing that sometimes she’s willing to take a risk to make a moment memorable for fans. Well, for Overwatch fans watching her in action, they would have been delighted to spot a possible reference to one of the game’s most popular heroes on October 15. WWE superstar Naomi pulls off… Overwatch Lucio cosplay? During a Smackdown bout with Sonya Deville, a fellow star of WWE’s Total Divas TV series, Naomi came to the ring with a fresh look. Sporting a new set of green and glowing oversized goggles, matched with her hair tied up, she’s pulled off a lot of the different elements Lucio has built into his attire. So, fans have concluded that – unless she confirms otherwise – it’s an accidental cosplay! FINALLY @NaomiWWE gets her match with @SonyaDevilleWWE TONIGHT on Super-Sized #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/NwhMm3kg2E — WWE (@WWE) October 15, 2021 The WWE Universe lapped up the new ring gear, too. In the comments, one posted: “The gear is amazing!” Another replied: “Omg her gear looks GOOD.” Fans chime in Others made the connection between her costume and Lucio! One said: “Why is she dressed as Lucio from Overwatch?” Another simply responded with a screenshot of Lucio. This wouldn’t be the first time members of the locker room have tried to cosplay as video game characters, of course. Zelina Vega pulled off an impressive Ahri look from League of Legends, and even Sombra from OW. So, there is a chance that Naomi is jumping on the trend as well with Overwatch’s Lucio. Whether this is a one-off or something the wrestler plans to continue for her entrances remains to be seen, but it was certainly a nice treat for all fans involved. In this case, followers of WWE and Overwatch combined!

WWE superstar Zelina Vega charms League of Legends fans with Pool Party Ahri cosplay Instagram: Thea Trinidad / Riot GamesThea Trinidad, also known as Zelina Vega in the WWE Universe, stunned fans with yet another incredible cosplay, and this time, she transformed into Pool Party Ahri from League of Legends. Most people know Zelina Vega as a devious wrestler in the WWE. However, behind the scenes, she loves to game, stream, and cosplay her favorite characters. She’s done everything from Sailor Jupiter to Kitana from Mortal Kombat. Thea Trinidad, which is her real name, also happens to be a massive League of Legends fan too. Only someone who knows the game in and out can pull off a cosplay as epic as her take on Jinx. And now she’s done it again as Pool Party Ahri. Pool Party Ahri is simple enough to pull off. It’s as simple as a red and white bikini, although the hair and make-up need to be on point, too. However, not everyone dares to give it a go. And that’s what makes Thea’s so special. Not only did she nail the visible aspects of the outfit, but she also captured the attitude and overall vibe needed to make it work. And it charmed the socks off more than 100,000 of her 1.3 million followers, who liked it en masse. View this post on Instagram Thea is a blessing in the professional wrestling scene. Her creativity, skills, and talent as a performer both inside and outside the ring are second to none. However, she’s also made quite an impact in the cosplay scene too. There’s something special about seeing someone as iconic and well-known as her be so passionate about cosplays, especially gaming ones. It undoubtedly gives other cosplayers the inspiration they need to go all-in on their projects, too.

WoW cosplayer’s spectacular Jaina Proudmoore washes away the competition Blizzard Entertainment, CosplayByKatieJaina Proudmoore has become one of the World of Warcraft universe’s most beloved characters, but one cosplayer’s recreation of WoW’s ice mage has won her Dragon Con’s seal of approval. Forever the queen of the Azeroth’s vast oceans, the stunning Jaina Proudmoore has become one of World of Warcraft’s most famous faces. The character is so popular that, as former WoW players continue to flock to Square Enix’s MMO Final Fantasy XIV: Online, one player has recreated her in all of her icy glory. With Asmongold remarking that this FFXIV Jaina was even better than WoW’s, the character has etched herself into both Azeroth and Eorzea’s respective histories. It turns out that she features in the cosplay history books too, though, as CosplayByKatie has snatched the Dragon Con Novice cosplay crown with her stunning Jaina look. WoW Jaina Proudmoore cosplay will make you shiver In a spectacular recreation of the icy sorceress supreme, Katie has swept both fans and professional cosplayers away, winning Dragon Con’s Novice cosplay contest in the process. Electing to summon the frost queen because “I feel that Jaina is a character that has a very interesting backstory that often gets overlooked,” she told Dexerto that she “wanted to bring attention to this character through cosplay so more people would think about her significance in the game. “Jaina is a strong female protagonist in the game that has been through many hardships but prevails in the end, and I feel that she shares a good message of perseverance.” Additionally, as an avid WoW player, she “believes that World of Warcraft characters are not cosplayed enough,” and was “very excited to demonstrate my skills to make a character come alive from a game I have spent so much time playing.” And bring her to life she did. From the tip of that iconic frozen staff all the way down to the intricate golden details of her iconic navy and pearly white armor, this cosplay is complete perfection. Even her hair and makeup are en point, with that brassy fringe framed by that cascading blond braid. I won Novice for my Jaina Proudmoore cosplay at @dragoncon! Thanks for all the support and love, I am so grateful 🤍 @Warcraft @Blizzard_Ent @WarcraftDevs @LifeatBlizzard #worldofwarcraftcosplay pic.twitter.com/YHm082ZxAy — CosplayKatie @ PAX East (@cosplaykatiee) September 6, 2021 “This cosplay was the most intricate and detailed cosplay I have done to date,” she confessed to Dexerto. “Several hundred hours were dedicated to patterning, design, stitching, 3D printing, painting, and rapid prototyping pieces for test fitting.” Clearly, though, it was all worth it. Snatching Dragon Con’s Novice cosplay crown, she describes the experience as “surreal.” “It was my first time entering in a cosplay competition and it was very satisfying to see my work being recognized by professional judges in the industry. I’m looking forward to my next cosplay at DragonCon to bring home the Master’s title, and hopefully other competitions as well!” View this post on Instagram Will it be a Blizzard cosplay, though? It might just be! “I absolutely have several Blizzard cosplay projects in the design and development stage,” she reveals. “My next project on track for completion will be a Demon Hunter cosplay inspired by Illidan Stormrage! “As a sneak peak to some additional Blizzard cosplays in the works, I’m planning on creating the Covenant armor sets beginning with the Venthyr cloth set. I’m very excited to bring these debut these cosplays at BlizzCon as well as other conventions!” If you’ve been enchanted by Katie’s stunning Jaina, be sure to follow her cosplay journey on Instagram, as well as join her on TikTok!

WoW cosplayer’s insane Bolvar Fordragon creation steals the show at BlizzConline 2021 Hartigan Cosplay/Blizzard EntertainmentAt BlizzConline 2021, one Belgian cosplayer blew the judges away with an awesome take on World of Warcraft’s Bolvar Fordragon to take the top spot in the highly-anticipated Community Cosplay Contest. One of the best parts about BlizzCon is all of the awesome stuff we get to see from the minds of fans, and even though things were a bit different for BlizzConline in February 2021, fantastic community creations were not in short supply. Among all of the songs, artwork, and adorable WarCraft dog skits, there was plenty of cosplay to go through. After things were whittled down to the final four, Belgian cosplayer Hartigan Cosplay‘s crazy Bolvar Fordragon look took the top spot overall and bragging rights until the next convention. Huge congratulations to @HartiganCosplay as Bolvar Fordragon for winning the Cosplay category AND Best In Show in our #BlizzConline Community Showcase! The competition was fierce. 🔥 ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/YIFq2g44qP — Blizzard Entertainment (@Blizzard_Ent) February 20, 2021 Hartigan’s Bolvar is about as close to the in-game character as you can get on our earthly realm. An evil red glow is coming from behind the skin and armor that resembles burning coals, perfect for ol’ Fordragon. If that wasn’t enough to impress you, otherworldly smoke is also pouring out of every nook and cranny, which along with the pure amount of attention to detail really makes it seem like he just stepped out of a WarCraft Cinematic. Funnily enough, Hartigan did actually partner with Blizzard to recreate Shadowlands cinematic a few months ago, and it’s honestly tough to tell the shots of him apart from the actual video. It looks like it would take all day to get into and out of Bolvar’s skin, but according to the cosplayer it only takes around 12 minutes to get into. There are still a ridiculous amount of parts that go into it though, as you can see in this video Hartigan posted of how it all goes together. There was definitely some tough competition, but the general opinion among fans is that this WoW-inspired creation is one of the best Blizzard cosplays they’ve ever seen, if not one of the best ones ever. The contest might not have been held live like in past years, but the quality of cosplays and creations just continues to improve, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.

WoW cosplayer leads the Horde with stunning Sylvanas cosplay Blizzard Entertainment, Instagram: @neko.manceSylvanas Windrunner has become one of World of Warcraft’s most recognizable faces after WoW: Shadowlands dropped, but one cosplayer has brought her into reality with a stunning cosplay. While World of Warcraft’s extensive universe has introduced some of gaming’s most iconic characters to the world, Sylvanas Windrunner has become one of WoW’s most famous faces. Between her antics in both The Battle for Azeroth and Shadowlands, the Banshee Queen has a knack for causing chaos. Despite this, though, redemption may be on the way in the newest Shadowlands expansion, Chains of Domination. Just in time to celebrate the new content patch, cosplayer Clare ‘Nekomance‘ has decided to strut her stuff as the Forsaken archer. Cosplayer WoWs with beautiful Sylvanas Seen taking to the snow, Nekomance’s rendition of the iconic character isn’t something to smirk at – not that you’d smirk at Sylvanas anyway. Everything is perfect from head to toe. Those iconic High Elf eyebrows protrude just as Sylvanas’ do, and match her flowing blond hair perfectly. Coupled with those signature banshee tears, she really is channeling the anguish of the undead menace. Additionally, her armor and bow have been beautifully recreated to include every little detail. From the swirling inlays carved into the bow and adorning her body armor, to the huge skulls on her shoulders, everything is flawless. The arrows embedded deep in the snow are also a unique touch, as the deadly weapons have become so synonymous with the character herself. View this post on Instagram As we draw ever closer to the release of Chains of Domination, we can’t wait to see if Nekomance creates any more WoW cosplays. It would be great to see an Alexstrasza, or even a Redeemed Sylvanas if our favorite Dark Lady somehow manages to persuade Azeroth to acquit her of her crimes. Until then, though, she’s leading the horde into battle with this amazing cosplay!

WoW cosplayer stuns as all four covenants from Shadowlands Blizzard Entertainment, Instagram: aesthelChoosing a covenant on WoW Shadowlands can be a pretty stressful task, but this cosplayer has decided to throw out the rule book and dress as one character from each covenant. As you work your way through World of Warcraft’s extensive Shadowlands universe, you travel to four realms which each have their own respective covenant. During your journey you’ll be forced to choose a covenant, and while it might seem daunting at first we’ve got a breakdown of which covenants we think would be best suited to your class. However, just like Sylvanas Windrunner, this cosplayer has taken her destiny into her own hands and cast aside the rules by cosplaying one of every covenant’s most popular characters. Grinding through the Shadowlands story will introduce you to the four sects that inhabit the Shadowlands; the angelic Kyrian, monstrous Necrolords, magical Night Fae and terrifying Venthyr. Cosplayer Aesthel has selected one character from each of the realms to cosplay in a Shadowlands dedicated series. Necrolord Starting off her journey with Draka, former Frostwolf member turned Necrolord warrior, she’s perfectly replicated the orc’s deep emerald skin and eyes. It’s the armor, though, that’s absolutely stunning. Crafted to include every detail of the character’s skull themed outfit, the first instalment in the series starts it off with a bang. View this post on Instagram Night Fae Cosplay number two is of Ardenweald’s resident trickster and Lady of the Court, Lady Moonberry. Yet again Aesthel has completely transformed herself, this time sporting midnight blue skin with glowing aqua eyes. With Moonberry’s Night Fae features replicated flawlessly, at first glance you would think this was either a drawing or still from the game. View this post on Instagram Venthyr Her cosplay journey through the Shadowlands continues with an amazing genderbend of Theotar, the mad Venythr. With her skill pained a sallow white and shaded to make her look more undead, she’s seen holding the vampiric creature’s iconic Victorian umbrella and tea cup. Read More: How to get Valor Points in WoW Shadowlands – With her hair pulled back in the style of the female Venthyr we see throughout the game, this genderbend really is a period masterpiece in the making. View this post on Instagram Kyrian Rounding off her Shadowlands saga is her angelic take on Kyrian Kleia. Painted a lighter aqua color than her previous Moonberry style, she’s shrouded in a white Grecian robe trimmed with gold. Her blue hair is pulled back into a messy bun, showing off her stunning feathery wings. Kyrian aren’t allowed to be prideful, but Aesthel has a right to be proud of his beautiful cosplay. View this post on Instagram Aesthel’s trip through the Shadowlands is, not only inspiring, but nostalgic. It really takes you for a spin down memory lane, and certainly makes you want to grab your keyboard and jump back into WoW. So dust of your gear and get ready to take a trip to Oribos. You’ll want to take to the Shadowlands all over again.

WoW cosplayer shimmers in the night as enchanting Elune Blizzard Entertainment, DarkladycosplayWorld of Warcraft’s resident moon Goddess, Elune, is a fleeting figure bathed in mystery, but one cosplayer has used her imagination and artistic talents to bring WoW’s lunar queen to life. Of World of Warcraft’s extensive character roster, moon Goddess and divine leader of the Night Elves, Elune, remains the most elusive. We’ve seen her channelled by the fearsome Tyrande Whisperwind on many an occasion, but we’ve never actually seen exactly what she looks like. Often portrayed in armor similar to that of her followers, all we have are statues and artworks of this gorgeous divine being. Enter WoW cosplay queen Dark Lady Cosplay (Kira), who has let her imagination run wild with her own interpretation of what the spectacular lunar deity would look like if she walked the earth. WoW Elune cosplay is absolutely blinding As someone that has “been cosplaying WoW characters mainly for the past four years,” Elune was next on her hitlist. “I’ve started delving into the Night Elves and their story lately after majority focusing on Horde characters. I always thought she was a super cool entity that had a mysterious presence in WoW lore, and she started to have a much bigger presence the past couple WoW expansions! Especially Shadowlands where we hear her ‘speak’ for the first time! Gave me a ton of hype to cosplay her.” Telling Dexerto that “a ton of love” went into this cosplay, she notes “It was pretty on par with what I usually do! Honestly the paint job was a lot easier than other things I’ve worked on because of the cleaner look.” And boy, is this cosplay clean. Shimmering from head to toe as though she were bathed in moonlight, Kira perfectly channels Elune’s elegance yet latent ferocity. Platinum hair dip dyed lavender cascades across snow white armor with silvery inlays, and her stag-like headpiece pierces the night. With every little detail perfectly crafted, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this cosplay as a 3D render. 🌙 When others receive life and energy from you, you too shall receive life and energy from me 🌙 pic.twitter.com/LYCaVKNnYQ — Dark Lady @DreamHack Dallas 💙🏳️🌈 (@Darkladycosplay) March 15, 2022 It turns out the devil is in the detail, though, with some of them being invisible to the naked eye. “The back of the skirt and train actually has gemstones I installed throughout the entire train to mimic the galaxy/moon aesthetic often associated with Elune, followed by a ton of hand beading and feathers I made that you can’t even see unless you’re behind me. “The same beading is mimicked on my horns. The wig was also hand dyed by me to get that color gradient effect. The Tear of Elune I made using Worbla to cover a styrofoam egg then added the details on with foam clay. I had a lot of fun adding tons of little details to really give it that ethereal look!” https://twitter.com/Darkladycosplay/status/1504614209774096384 Of course, there’s one question on our minds: given her extensive WoW cosplay collection, are there any other characters that she’s aiming to create? “Always!” she confesses. “I’ve got 35 WoW cosplays in my armory with many more I’d love to cosplay in the future!” As all eyes are on where Blizzard will take our heroes of Azeroth in the next expansion, maybe Kira will find some new characters to transform into. Until then, though, let her mezmerise you as the night herself.

WoW cosplayer rules over Stormwind as fearsome Turalyon Blizzard Entertainment, YouTube: Danny McFlyWorld of Warcraft’s fearsome Alliance warrior turned Stormwind monarch, Turalyon, has been brought to life with this stunning WoW cosplay. While we’ve seen cosplayers strut their stuff in stunning renditions of World of Warcraft’s Dark Lady, Sylvanas, or the beautiful nature queen, Alexstrasza, Stormwind’s regent and Lord Commander of the Alliance, Turalyon, hasn’t gotten a lot of love in the WoW cosplay community. Forced to rule over the Alliance’s citizens in the wake of Anduin’s corruption by the Jailer, we haven’t seen a lot of him in WoW’s latest chapter, Shadowlands, but no doubt he’ll emerge for the final battle that is at the heart of the Eternity’s End 9.2 update. Hoping to show the priest turned legendary warrior some much-needed love is Austrian cosplayer, Danny McFly, whose recreation of Turalyon will take your breath away. WoW cosplayer battles the Horde as Turalyon While characters such as The Jailer or Anduin Wrynn may have seemed like a logical choice given their involvement in the Shadowlands saga, Danny was determined to breathe new life into the High Exarch. “I actually decided on this costume after my last big costume (Batman) because I wanted to do something challenging, and since I’ve been playing WoW on and off for years, this came to my attention,” he told Dexerto. ” It has so many nice details and the character has a cool backstory, so it seemed like a good idea.” It turns out, though, that constructing Turalyon’s armor was also gave Danny a little bit of redemption. “When they released the design I wanted to build it. I have built a Warcraft cosplay before with Varian, but I didn’t like some of the execution, especially in the paint job, so this was also a great chance to work on my painting.” Looking at this cosplay, though, you’d never have thought Danny’s painting needed work! From the stunning brass inlays to the golden trims that adorn the gunmetal grey body of the iconic armor, every little detail has been meticulously crafted. Sweeping silver hair cascades across his scarred, bearded face, exuding a power that only Stormwind’s regent can command. View this post on Instagram While he notes that “I wouldn’t say it was ‘more difficult’ than my other projects,” he recalls that it “was by far the most time consuming, since the paint job is such a huge surface, and all needs to be hand-painted, which took way over 200 hours (which I only know since I streamed all of it, to keep my sanity in check!)” It’s clearly been well worth it, though, as even the queen of cosplay herself, Kamui Cosplay (the woman behind that insane Diablo Brigitte cosplay), commented “wow, this costume is just a beauty! I cannot believe how perfectly all the proportions are and you look like straight out of the game!” View this post on Instagram While Danny admits that he does “plan to do some more Blizzard Characters in the future,” he notes that there may be a little bit of a wait. “Both Thrall and Illidan are still on my list, but I need to switch it up a bit to get a bit of variety.” We can’t wait to see how Danny brings these two WoW icons to life, especially considering just how amazing this Turalyon look was.

WoW cosplayer embraces the cold as icy Jaina Proudmoore Instagram: lanha_cosplay, Blizzard EntertainmentWorld of Warcraft’s Jaina Proudmoore has etched herself into video game history as one of a WoW fan favorite, but this cosplayer has brought her to life with a stunning cosplay. World of Warcraft is bursting with fascinating characters, but none has become more of an icon than the ice queen herself, Jaina Proudmoore. With cosplayers flocking to the ice queen of the seas and some of Eorzea’s finest Glamourers recreating her in Final Fantasy XIV: Online, she’s truly become one of WoW’s most famous faces. Hoping to put her own spin on Azeroth’s finest mage is Korean cosplayer Lanha, whose stunning rendition will freeze you in your tracks. WoW cosplayer stuns as Jaina Proudmoore Choosing to cosplay as the frosty spell slinger because WoW is her “favorite game” and Jaina is her “favorite character,” Lanha has done her idol proud. Framed by a stunning gothic cathedral, every detail of this cosplay is perfectly executed. Her jagged shoulder armor blends beautifully into her violet cape, which is fixed over her worn blue breastplate. Golden trims highlight the purple fabric from head to toe, with her ankle-length white underskirt gently brushing the ground. Using subtle makeup to recreate the ice mage’s porcelain features and spectacular beauty, Lanha’s golden hair cascades down her shoulders like a wispy blond waterfall. All eyes are drawn to the staff, though, whose crystalline tip looks as though there’s pure magic housed within it. View this post on Instagram “The outfit was made using velvet fabric and chiffon fabric,” she told Dexerto. “The main part of the outfit was decorated with lace. The armor was made of EVA foam and painted with acrylic paint. The staff was made of PVC pipe and the crystal part was made of acrylic.” View this post on Instagram Her WoW journey doesn’t stop there, though. “I’m planning on cosplay as Illidan,” she states, and we can’t wait to see how she transforms herself into the demonic night elf – after all, he’s a little bit different from Jaina! If you’re also aboard the Lanha hype train, too, be sure to check out her Instagram!

WoW cosplayer channels Elune as breathtaking Tyrande Whisperwind Blizzard Entertainment, Instagram: kappy_wWorld of Warcraft’s High Priestess of Elune and Night Elf warrior, Tyrande Whisperwind, has won over WoW players, and this stunning cosplay looks to do the same. World of Warcraft’s ever-expanding universe is home to some of Blizzard’s most beloved characters. From the fearsome Sylvanas Windrunner to the nature queen Alexstrasza, Azeroth’s inhabitants have etched themselves into the hearts of WoW’s playerbase. Tyrande Whisperwind has become one of the Alliance’s most famous faces. With the ability to channel Elune, the Night Elf Moon Goddess, her spectacular beauty is matched only by her ferocity. Transforming herself into the cosmic queen is French cosplayer, Kappy Cosplay (Kappwal,) whose Tyrande cosplay will have you in awe. WoW Tyrande cosplay glows like the moon It turns out that Blizzard commissioned Kappwal to bring two of their most iconic characters to life in the run-up to the Hearthstone Mercenaries event. “Actually Blizzard asked me to cosplay two characters for the launch of Hearthstone Mercenaries: Bru’Kan and Tyrande!” So, while she didn’t exactly choose Elune’s warrior, the opportunity provided “the chance for me to cosplay from WoW! I love their designs so much!” Despite being a body paint veteran, noting that “the techniques I used weren’t new to me,” the High Priestess’ armor proved quite the challenge. “Her costume has so many little details so it took me a lot of time! I spent three days and nights on it without any sleep, it was rough!” The sleep deprivation was clearly worth it, though, as everything about Kappwal’s Tyrande is perfect. From the moonlight silver inlays on her midnight armor, to her crescent necklace; every detail is masterfully recreated. Ocean blue hair cascades down her shoulders, with those lengthy Night Elf brows framing ominous snowy eyes. She’s also purple, so there’s that, too. View this post on Instagram For those who have been bitten by the cosplay bug, she’s even uploaded a full tutorial for the look. View this post on Instagram Will we see Kappwal transform into the likes of Sylvanas or Jaina Proudmoore, though? “To be honest I don’t know,” she told Dexerto. “Despite loving their games, and especially their character designs, I haven’t played many Blizzard games. I prefer to cosplay as characters I know very well when cosplaying for myself!” So while another Blizzard cosplay may not be top of her tier list, her spectacular anime and pop culture recreations are more than enough to leave you speechless. So, be sure to keep up to date with her cosplay adventures!

WoW cosplayer channels Dragonflight as stunning Alexstrasza Blizzard Entertainment, Gio AugustIn the wake of Blizzard announcing World of Warcraft’s ninth expansion, WoW Dragonflight, one cosplayer has chosen to celebrate by transforming into the Life-Binder herself, Alexstrasza. The shadows have retreated around World of Warcraft’s ninth expansion, and WoW Dragonflight has officially been announced to the world. Set amid the emerald shores of the secluded Dragon Isles, players are finally returning to Azeroth to explore a domain dominated by dragons. In order to celebrate the return of the Dragonflight and the appearance of Life-Bringer and queen of the skies, Alexstrasza, Brazilian cosplayer Gio August (Gio) has perfectly recreated the iconic dragoness in a cosplay that will leave you looking like the little emoji with heart eyes. WoW Alexstrasza cosplay brings new life to Azeroth With fourteen years of experience under her belt and a passion for all things Warcraft, Alexstrasza was the perfect fit for our cosplay aficionado. “I’m a long time WoW fan,” she told Dexerto. “I started with the launch of Cataclysm and played for a long time. I’ve already done an Anduin Wrynn cosplay back in the day, so it’s only logical to always consider a WoW costume when I want to dress to impress. “Alexstrasza is a collaboration between me and an old friend who’s also a crafter. She’s such a bada** with a great design only made better by the eyes of Zach Fischer, the amazing artist who inspired this costume build.” Despite her extensive history of transforming into her favorite characters, she recalls “this was a very challenging costume. It’s the only one I had to collab with someone to build. Also, it’s my biggest costume; it takes up the same space as about five other costumes when storing it!” While there may not be a lot of space left in her closet, this stunning rendition of WoW’s dragon queen is well worth the sacrifice. Gilded horns protrude from beneath swirling ruby hair, which cascades down across her iconic scaled armor. Lined with gold from the tips of her fingers to the chains that dangle from her horns, you’d be forgiven for assuming that this was a 3D rendering of Azeroth’s high flying savior. View this post on Instagram “The costume is all made of EVA foam with details made of resin,” she states. “My friend took charge of the build and I worked on the fabrics since it’s my speciality. I’m updating this costume as we speak with even better fabrics and materials for an upcoming convention I’m attending.” View this post on Instagram As the WoW community dissects Blizzard’s Dragonflight announcement, Gio is pleasantly surprised by what she’s seen so far; in fact, she was even in tears! “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much; after all, WoW fans are cursed with false hope when the expansion doesn’t live up to the cinematic trailer. But I have to say: Alexstrasza’s appearance was so great in the Cinematic Trailer that it got me tearing up. Her dragon form is majestic. I missed the dragons so bad, and it’s great to see them make a comeback.” She also hints that more WoW cosplays will be coming soon. “I can’t seem to tear myself away from WoW. It holds such dear memories to me. I’m looking forward to make a warlock tier set next.” With hope returning to the emerald plains of Azeroth and the Shadowlands banished to the annals of history, we can’t wait to see where this all-new adventure takes our heroes. It had better not disappoint, though, or you’ll have to face Gio’s wrath!

WoW cosplayer breathes new life into Alexstrasza with stunning look Blizzard Entertainment, Claire ObscureWorld of Warcraft’s stunning dragon titan, Alexstrasza, watches over all life on Azeroth, but this WoW cosplayer has summoned her to protect our world too. While the likes of the devilish Sylvanas and paragon of righteousness, Jaina Proudmoore, often take center stage during your World of Warcraft journey, there wouldn’t be life in Azeroth if not for Alexstrasza, the Life-Binder. Making her debut in Wrath of the Lich King, the Dragon Queen has even managed to wyrm (get it?) her way into Blizzard’s MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, where her healing abilities and shapeshifting prowess make her a force to be reckoned with. Channeling mother nature is French cosplayer Claire Obscure, whose Alexstrasza cosplay is so spectacular it looks as though she’s walked straight out of WoW and into the real world. WoW Alexstrasza cosplay sets Azeroth ablaze For Claire, choosing the Life-Binder was relatively easy. “Until now I mainly did cosplays from the Blizzard universe!” she told Dexerto. “I started with three Overwatch characters (D.Va, Widowmaker, and Ashe) and then switched to WoW. Apart from the fact that I like the game, I find that the characters from WoW and Blizzard in general really have an incredible design. Whether it’s armour or fabric costumes, there’s really a lot of details and that’s what I like about cosplay.” Additionally, she confesses that “in real, I’m a big fan of dragons, and of course I’ve always loved Alexstrasza! She’s the Life-Binder, aspect of the red dragonflight, and she is the guardian of all life in the world of Azeroth. I like this whole story! Mama dragon! (And I loved having horns on my head!)” Noting that “It was my biggest cosplay, and my first armour cosplay,” Claire’s love for Alexstrasza truly shines through. Every delicate motion embodies the character’s beauty, but there’s a ferocity that represents that inner dragon. View this post on Instagram As you can imagine, however, this wasn’t the easiest cosplay to build – especially as world restrictions were put in place. “I think I started it at the end of 2019 to tell you… I was very demotivated to see that it was not progressing or very little, and I was taking a hell of a long break! And global restrictions didn’t help. As the conventions closed, I had no deadline and less motivation at the time. “Several times I said to myself: never again a big and long costume, but as soon as I see impressive costumes on the other cosplayers I forget everything and can’t wait to start again!” View this post on Instagram Speaking of starting over again, her WoW cosplay journey has only just begun. “In the future, I would like to make the original version of Alexstrasza (I made the costume design of illustrator Zach Fischer), and why not Sylvanas… But team Alexstrasza forever!” Just as Alexstrasza breathes new life into Azeroth, she has inspired Claire’s cosplay journey. As she continues to grow, we can’t wait to watch her journey.

WoW cosplayer assassinates her foes as alluring Valeera Sanguinar alizacosplay, Blizzard EntertainmentValeera Sanguinar is one of World of Warcraft‘s most mysterious characters, and this cosplayer has brought WoW’s Blood Elf assassin into the real world to stalk the shadows in style. Of Azeroth’s cast of colorful characters, Blood Elf assassin Valeera Sanguinar has to be one of World of Warcraft’s most enticing warriors. While she remains neutral in the seemingly never-ending feud between Alliance and Horde, this mysterious rogue is one of the royal guards at Stormwind and an advisor to Anduin Wrynn – an odd position given the fact that her race is normally Horde aligned. Channelling this inner mystery is Russian cosplayer alizacosplay (Aliza), whose stunning recreation of the emerald-eyed beauty will leave you utterly speechless. WoW Valeera Sanguinar cosplay embraces the shadows Telling Dexerto “I play WoW a lot, so I fell in love with many characters from it,” Aliza notes that “the costumes are very bright and detailed, and it’s very interesting and exciting to try to make them in real life.” Drawn to Valeera because “I’ve read the World of Warcraft comic book series where Valeera is one of the main characters,” she said “it was love at first sight!” Making the cosplay “from scratch,” she continues, “it was pretty difficult because it isn’t easy to sew a well-fitting bodysuit, and wigs with ponytails are also a pain.” Despite the difficulties involved, though, the result is absolutely worth it. Glaring into the camera with those haunting green eyes, her weathered ruby bodysuit fits tight around her torso, with her tattered cape whistling in the wind. Blond hair cascades down her shoulders, and her elven ears protrude out of her velvet hood. Channeling mystery and menace in equal measure, Aliza truly embodies the shadow herself. View this post on Instagram Thankfully, her WoW cosplay journey won’t be ending just yet. In fact, she’s already got some new characters in the works. “Right now I’m work on a Shadowlands Sylvanas costume, and also want to make her Ranger version in future.” Having seen her previous iterations of the Banshee Queen, we can’t wait to see what these new cosplays look like. Until then, though, if you need Aliza she’ll be hidden in a veil of darkness just waiting to pounce.

World’s tallest supermodel breaks internet with Lady Dimitrescu Resident Evil cosplay Instagram: @ekaterina_lisina15 / CapcomResident Evil cosplayers have been going nuts over Lady Dimitrescu, the tall vampire lady who took the internet by storm, but none have done it better than the world’s tallest supermodel, Ekaterina Lisina. The internet first learned about Lady Dimitrescu when she appeared in the Resident Evil Village trailer, and it’s been obsessed with her ever since. Despite being introduced as a villain, the tall vampire lady went viral and quickly became an iconic figure in the cosplay community. People can’t get enough of her terrifying yet elegant look and the fact she stands at a whopping 9 feet and 6 inches tall — a whopping 3’4″ taller than the average! Many amazing Lady Dimitrescu cosplays have been popping up left and right. They’ve even used creative photography to try and mimic her height. There’s only one person who can come close to pulling it off naturally; the world’s tallest supermodel, Ekaterina Lisina. Ekaterina is an impressive 6 feet and 9 inches tall, the exact inverse of Lady Dimitrescu. However, they have a lot more in common than being incredibly tall. They’re both immensely popular, and widely touted for their beauty, making her the perfect person to hold a candle to the captivating vampire lady. She first showcased the remarkable piece in an artistic video, which she posted on Instagram. “After keeping this a secret for so long, I am incredibly excited to reveal this special cosplay of Lady Dimitrescu,” she wrote. “Countless amounts of hours, stress, and labor went into this ambitious project, and I hope you all will enjoy this just as much as I have. And, of course, thanks to my team for making this possible.” View this post on Instagram Then, to keep the momentum going, she followed it up with a picture of her striking a curious pose while holding a glass of wine. It gives her fans a better look at the cosplay itself, which includes the iconic black hat, gloves, and white dresses, as well as the make-up and unique hairstyle. View this post on Instagram But it seems like her fans couldn’t get enough of it and wanted to see more, and she granted their wish with a glorious full-body shot that shows the outfit from head to toe while she’s standing in a gothic-looking hallway. The best part, though, is it shows fans how tall she really is. Her head is almost scraping the bottom of the chandelier dangling above her. View this post on Instagram All in all, Ekaterina’s cosplay is, without a doubt, the closest thing we’ve seen to the real deal. It perfectly captures Lady Dimitrescu’s mysteriousness, grace, and elegance. And the best part is, her actual height isn’t too far off, which makes it all-the-more extraordinary — certainly one for the cosplay history books!

World of Warcraft Jaina Proudmoore cosplay will freeze you in your tracks World of Warcraft cosplayers have long given their rendition for lore staple Jaina Proudmoore, but this might be the most striking design revealed to date. It’s an exciting time to be a WoW fan. The launch of WoW Classic in late August reignited the passion a lot of longtime players have for the franchise. Meanwhile, the announcement of the upcoming Shadowlands expansion has now given fans something completely new to look forward to as the next chapter of WoW is on the horizon. With that in mind, the outpouring of support for WoW has the creative portion of the community making tons of new designs and cosplays to celebrate the game. Adding to a long legacy of incredible artists, cosplayer Mai Linh recreated the Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras in all of her glory with a piercing take on the character. Even though Jaina’s been in a main fixture in WoW for a long time, players will instantly recognize that the design takes after the character in the Battle for Azeroth era. The cosplay seems to rip Jaina straight from the MMO with her blue cloak with a white outfit that has gold trim rife throughout the body and hood. There’s a lot to love in the cosplay, but one of the most notable is the powerful gaze with the icy blue lenses fitting for the legendary Archmage. Of course, the first thing players will notice is the missing anchor necklace, but the cosplayer definitely has plans to amend that in the near future. “Yea, I missed some pieces because this cosplay was expensive,” Linh said. “And I have to cut out something. But I will save some money and repair it.” Although fans will appreciate that Lin took the time to recreate the character’s massive Staff of Antonidas to complete the cosplay. Proportionally the staff’s length is spot on, as it easily towers over Linh, and the actual crystal sitting atop the wooden handle is massive. Even though the WoW community has a lot of Jaina cosplays to sift through from over the years, Linh’s design could easily become an instant favorite.

World of Warcraft cosplayer’s insane Alexstrasza outfit looks like official artwork Blizzard / Instagram: @katssbyA World of Warcraft cosplayer named Sophie Letyago has stunned fans with an insane Alexstrasza costume that looks like it could be official artwork from the game. Alexstrasza is one of the most badass characters in World of Warcraft. Nicknamed ‘Alexstrasza the Life-Binder’, she is the queen of all dragons and the guardian of all life on Azeroth. For that reason, she’s a popular choice among cosplayers too. But while it’s almost impossible for them to re-create her true dragon form, we’ve seen some extraordinary versions of her humanoid form, which looks like a high elf. Alexstrasza wears a horned helmet, shoulder pads, breastplates, bracers, leggings, boots, and a cape that all resemble her red dragon form. But despite her fierce looks and immense power, she is surprisingly compassionate and can regrow forests, heal the land, and resurrect the dead. Sophie Letyago, also known as Sophie Katssby, posted some pictures of her insane Alexstreasza cosplay on Twitter. It looks so good, it could easily be mistaken for official World of Warcraft artwork. “HERE IT IS!” she wrote. “My Alexstrasza is finally ready! And I’m happy to share with you.” Luckily she did because it’s an absolute masterpiece from head to toe, and it’s something that fans will talk about for years to come. https://twitter.com/KatssbyM/status/1347615400104783874?s=20 Sophie’s pictures reveal the incredible amount of detail in her cosplay. At first glance, they look like 3D rendered artwork from the game. However, don’t let that fool you. Beyond some after-effects and filters, the piece itself is as real as it gets. It’s been described as everything from “amazing” and “impressive” to the “best Alexstrasza ever.” And to be honest, it might very well be. We can’t wait to see which World of Warcraft character Sophie cosplays next!

World of Warcraft cosplayer transforms into spellbinding Jaina Proudmoore Blizzard / Instagram: likeassassinChristina ‘likeassassin’ Volkova is universally acclaimed for her amazing cosplays, and she’s done it again with a spellbinding take on World of Warcraft’s most powerful sorceress, Jaina Proudmoore. Jaina Proudmoore is one of the most well-known characters in World of Warcraft lore, and for a good reason. She’s the most powerful human sorceress alive and was the main protagonist in the tragic downfall of Prince Arthas, who ended up becoming the Lich King. So, given her prominence in the story, as well as the fact she has a striking princess-like appearance with flowing blonde hair, incandescent eyes, and battlemage armor, she’s become a popular choice among cosplayers too. Just like how Jaina is a noble figure in Azeroth, Likeassin is basically royalty in the cosplay world. She has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram alone, and those numbers are set for a meteoric rise once her latest cosplay catches wind. She looks like a picture-perfection copy of Jaina herself, complete with the purple, white, black, and gold get-up, the blonde hair, and a powerful stance. “I was so lucky because I bought half of the costume from my best friend, so I just needed to finish breastplate and pauldrons,” she said. “It took me three to four days [without sleep] to get the costume done.” View this post on Instagram As always, Likeassassin’s piece was met with endless praise. With more than 450 posts on her Instagram, including everything from other World of Warcraft characters to Ciri from The Witcher 3, she’s cemented her place as a master of the craft. If you want to keep up with her latest and greatest cosplays, you can find them all on her profile by clicking here.

World of Warcraft cosplayer rules over Bastion as amazing Kyrestia Instagram: PlexiCosplay, Blizzard EntertainmentWorld of Warcraft has inspired a whole collection of amazing cosplays, but one cosplayer truly brings WoW into reality with her amazing Kyrestia cosplay. When it comes to Blizzard’s World of Warcraft universe, there are limitless possibilities to create amazing cosplays. The huge array of iconic characters, coupled with the impressive customization for your own hero or villain, makes the title perfect for passionate fans. We recently saw cosplayer Cinderys create an amazing Sylvanas cosplay just in time for the release of Shadowlands, which in turn managed to score her Blizzard’s seal of approval. This time around the subject of this amazing cosplay is Sylvanas’ polar opposite, Kyrestia the Firstborne, the ruler of Bastion. Cosplayer ascends as Kyrestia 2021 has brought with it a lot of insane cosplays, but this one is certainly one of the most memorable so far. Read More: WoW Shadowlands review – Artist PlexiCosplay (Plexi) has outdone herself with this beautiful transformation. Having painted herself aqua from head to toe, she can be seen adorned in Kyrestia’s iconic white and gold outfit whilst channeling the Ascended queen’s angelic nature. What your eyes are immediately drawn to are the wings though. Mirroring the sky blue of her skin, their construction is perfect. Tipped with gold trims that tie in with her vestments and stunning recreation of the warrior’s crown, Plexi literally is Kyrestia. WoW fans are stunned Considering the wings are, according the Plexi, “15 feet long,” it’s safe to say that fans can’t miss this cosplay. It’s the wings that have really gotten attention. One fan’s hilarious comment simply wrote: “the wind: I’m about to end this woman’s whole career,” to which Plexi responded “YOU NAILED IT.” Another respondent was equally as humorous, writing “Kyrestia flight 77 you are cleared for takeoff, proceed to runway 4.” All of these comments though praised this amazing cosplay, with one comment summing it up: “This blew my mind!!! I thought someone cropped the Archon out and pasted her onto some road!” It’s safe to say that Plexi has truly embodied the fan favorite Ascended. She’s not only radiant, but emits a ‘don’t mess with me’ aura. We can’t wait to see her next WoW cosplay, as if she keeps going like she’ll be the queen of not just Bastion, but the WoW cosplay scene in no time!

World of Warcraft cosplayer mesmerizes as Queen Azshara at the beach Blizzard Entertainment | Sawaka Instagram[jwplayer MDxzN19r] One of the reasons why World of Warcraft has endured for over 15 years is because its 95 million-strong player base identifies with the extensive lore of its fictional characters. Queen Azshara is one of the oldest characters in the game, and despite being evil, she is one of the most popular, too. Queen Azshara has been alive for thousands of years. She’s courageous, charismatic, and persuasive enough even to turn an old god into her ally. She’s the epitome of power and beauty in World of Warcraft, and fans love that. There have been many Queen Azshara cosplays over the years, but Sawaka’s is up there with the best. Not only has she nailed her look, but by shooting it at the ocean, she has fully embraced the queen of the Naga. Her hair is pearly white and flowy, framing her face. Like other night elves, her ears stick out from her hair, too. She’s also got her accessories down, including the gold crown with a ruby-colored gemstone in the center. Her outfit is complemented by her lustrous yet sadistic-looking eye-makeup and blood-red lipstick. And when combined with Sawaka’s almost-glowing yellow-gold eyes, Azshara looks ethereal and unreal. Her necklace and rings complete her royal aura. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFUp6yiItiX/ As for her clothes, her flowing dress is elegant and sophisticated, making this cosplay look identical to the fictional character. Her corset, lined with white feathers, takes the cosplay to another level as it almost makes the clothing look extra light. Not just that, but the bracers, bands and belt she wears on her arms, legs and waist show off strength and composure as if she’s ready for a fight at any time, just like Queen Azshara. Lastly, the feature that ties it all together is her blue and purple skin, making Sawaka look like a real Night Elf. Although this is photoshopped rather than body paint, it’s done so well that it looks real. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFCqUFuoKgL/ It has already gotten 1,000 likes on Instagram and over 1,200 upvotes on Reddit, with fans calling her cosplay “amazing” and that “so accurate.” If you like this, check out her other cosplays, like D.Va from Overwatch to K/DA Ahri from League of Legends, to even Final Fantasy’s Tifa Lockhart. She brings some of the most popular video game characters to life every time.

World of Warcraft cosplayer resurrects the Lich King with insane WoW cosplay Blizzard EntertainmentWorld of Warcraft has created one of the biggest spheres in the cosplay universe. One fan has created an insane Lich King cosplay that turns her husband into the infamous villain himself. If you’ve played World of Warcraft, you’ve no doubt heard of the Lich King. Whether in the form of Arthas Menethil or, more recently, Bolvar Fordragon, the infamous tyrant has become one of the game’s most striking figures. Another of the WoW universe’s most popular characters is Alexstraza, who has also taken the cosplay world by storm. A recent series of photographs shows one cosplayer transform herself into the Dragon queen herself. Set on destroying Azeroth as we know it, this insane outfit brings Alextraza’s antithesis to life and strikes fear into the hearts of any WoW fan. WoW Lich King cosplay An insane cosplay by u/sarahdeanmakes things that was designed for her husband embodies the power of the Ebon Blade Master. The most iconic part of her recreation is the helmet. Although destroyed in the Shadowlands trailer by Sylvanas Windrunner, Sarah has managed to reforge it to perfection to make sure that her significant other can rule their living room in style. To top it off, every little detail in the Lich King’s gun metal armor is perfectly crafted, with the skull at the forefront of the belt glaring at anyone who plans to get in his way. Of course, this cosplay would be incomplete without the behemoth’s sword, which has become a weapon synonymous with his evil. From the devilish ram that frames the hilt to the runes that decorate the blade itself, everything is fit for a king (specifically the Lich King). Couples that cosplay It’s great to see that our current situation hasn’t deterred people from creating imaginative cosplays. While cosplay conventions are off-limits for the foreseeable future, that isn’t going to stop Sarah’s husband from ruling supreme at home. It’ll be great to see all of these outfits finally get the recognition that they deserve in the flesh, but until then watch out! The Lich King is in town!

World of Warcraft cosplayer is ready for Shadowlands as Valeera Sanguinar Maywedacosplay / Activision-BlizzardWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlands is finally here, and cosplayers have been celebrating in the build-up, but one has truly outdone herself with an incredible recreation of Valeera Sanguinar. World of Warcraft has one of the richest lores and stories in video game history. It’s filled with unique characters in all shapes and sizes and has told their stories for many years. Now, their stories will continue once again in the latest expansion, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, which is now live. It revolves around the actions of Sylvanas Windrunner, who has ripped open a portal to the Shadowlands. It’s certainly a dark timeline, but players are thrilled to have been called back into action. However, it’s hard to find anyone more excited than maywedacosplay, a popular Russian cosplayer named Eva. Eva celebrated the release of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands by doing what she does best, cosplaying her favorite characters. She’s cosplayed many World of Warcraft characters in the past, and the standard of quality has always been top-notch. Now, she’s cosplayed Valeera Sanguinar, a beloved blood elf rogue who has never formally joined either Horde or Alliance. “Glory to Sin’dorei!” she said, quoting one of the blood elves’ most famous lines. “What characters do you want to see in Shadowlands the most? View this post on Instagram Eva’s cosplay is stunning from head to toe. The hair, make-up, and green eyes are on point. However, the real highlight has to be the sheer level of quality in the hood, chest-piece, shoulders, bracers, and leggings. All the pieces have a perfect blend of crimson-red mixed with gold elven seams. They have infamous green Fel crystals slotted into them, which have a long history with blood elves. View this post on Instagram It’s a phenomenal cosplay that deserves all the praise, and the high-quality photography makes it even better. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has already set the world on fire. But Eva’s cosplay will undoubtedly add to the excitement.

World of Warcraft cosplayer goes viral as stunning Shandris Feathermoon Blizzard / Instagram: Tsuki IsekiA World of Warcraft cosplayer has gone viral for her perfect Shandris cosplay, which has left the WoW fandom stunned. The talented model “wouldn’t look out of place in the next Warcraft movie,” she looks that much like the night elf! With deep lore, a massive fantasy world brimming with colorful characters, and plenty of heroes and villains on both sides, World of Warcraft is one of the most popular franchises to cosplay in the costume-making community. WoW cosplayers will often turn to the game’s most iconic characters, from sorceress Jaina Proudmoore to the treacherous Sylvanas Windrunner — who will be the main antagonist for Shadowlands — others choose their own favorites. That’s exactly what Polish cosplayer Tsuki Iseki did with her Shandris cosplay. Tsuki debuted her take on the Alliance night elf on Oct. 9, before posting it on Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram at the end of the month. The outfit, which we have to admit is one of the best we’ve seen, was an instant hit with the WoW fandom. Tsuki’s cosplay captured Shandris Feathermoon perfectly; she wore the night elf warrior’s blue and gold armor, and thigh-high brown boots. There were green gems encrusted across the cosplay, and a quiver on Tsuki’s back in the photoshoot. The Polish model added much of the detail in her face too. She donned a long blue wig, and put on two long elvish ears to part her locks. Finally, she added long eyebrows — iconic on a number of WoW elves — and put in yellow contacts to complete the look. Tsuki also rubbed in shiny body spray, to “set her dyed skin aglow.” There was one last thing she needed for her Shandris cosplay though. Feathermoon is never without her trusty bow, and Tsuki made sure she had an intricately carved one to wield while in the forest for her October photoshoot. View this post on Instagram The Shandris cosplay was certainly popular in the World of Warcraft fandom too; Tsuki’s post on /r/cosplay netted more than 3,000 upvotes and comments in just two days, while a separate post on /r/wow raked in just over 1,000 more. “This one wasn’t as complicated as some of the others I’ve made, but I made sure to include lots of details!” Tsuki told Dexerto after posting the cosplay. “My favorite part, as always, was painting and weathering all her fabrics.” “I decided to create something of mine with a combination of Shandris’ old design from her World of Warcraft figurine and a model made by an artist called Daerone at DeviantArt,” she explained. “I have to say that I really like the outcome.” View this post on Instagram Tsuki admitted she chose Shandris for two reasons. One, she plays night elves in WoW. And two, she loves characters that aren’t as popular; especially Shandris: “I like her a lot. Her design, her lore… she’s just so cool for sure!” This certainly isn’t Tsuki’s last time in Azeroth either. She’s already working on a Tyrande Whisperwind cosplay next, and wants to make an Onyxia outfit. “I’m already putting together my design for Onyxia, which I want to debut at BlizzCon! At least, I’ll see how it goes. Hopefully I get to the final!”

Witcher cosplayer sets internet alight as fiery Triss Merigold Instagram: likeassassinA Witcher cosplayer has set the internet alight with her fiery Triss Merigold cosplay, going viral across Reddit and Instagram. The Russian model’s stunning transformation into the Temerian sorceress will leave fans breathless. [jwplayer MDxzN19r] Geralt of Rivia may be the central character in The Witcher saga, but some of the most popular characters across the book series and video game are actually his allies, like feisty Temerian sorceress Triss Merigold. The magical character’s popularity continued to explode after the release of the first season of the Witcher’s new Netflix adaptation, where she is played by Anna Shaffer in all eight of the show’s early episodes. So, of course, Triss cosplays have sprung up across the internet. One in particular has set social media alight — a stunning version of Triss Merigold from Russian model Christina ‘likeassassin’ Volkova, whose “perfect” take on the popular Witcher heroine has gone viral across Reddit and Instagram. Witcher 3 cosplayer goes viral as Triss Merigold Volkova brought the Witcher sorceress to life in stunning fashion across a series of Instagram posts that she later also shared on Reddit’s /r/cosplay forum. The cosplayer’s Reddit post was upvoted more than 58,000 times. It’s easy to see why too; Likeassassin has captured Triss Merigold perfectly, from her flaming red hair, to her flowing green-and-gold magician’s robes. The Russian model, once dressed up as the Witcher heroine, looked right of the game. She also made sure to add the sorceress’ jewel-encrusted belt, her dark brown traveling bracers, and Triss’ iconic and very rare sapphire amulet around her neck. Perhaps the best part was the cosplayer’s gold tiara. Volkova rounded out her jaw-dropping Witcher cosplay with a series of gold pendants and pulled on two jewel-encrusted boots to finish off the look. View this post on Instagram Triss cosplay takes “five months of work” For Volkova, her Triss cosplay is her most prized costume: “It took me five months of work almost every day! This is my most expensive, favorite, and best cosplay ever. I promise that I will never sell it, and will keep it forever.” “For me, homemade cosplays like these feel really unique. “Thank you so much for your attention! I understand these might be not so serious, but still, I’m happy to have your support by my side.” She added she probably wouldn’t do another project this big again. “I’ve done all the characters I wanted, and I always want inspiration. Triss is my favorite.” View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram She may not be working on anything big again, but fans will be excited to hear this isn’t the first time Volkova has cosplayed a Witcher character; back in March, she unveiled a stunning Ciri cosplay that also rocked the internet. Read more: Witcher cosplayer bends space & time as Ciri – With a second season just around the corner, we’re sure we’ll see plenty more awesome Witcher cosplays light up the internet in the months to come too!

Witcher cosplayer’s magical Ciri outfit impresses developer CD Projekt Red / Instagram: wanderlustluca[jwplayer MDxzN19r] The Witcher 3 was an incredibly popular game that became even more popular when Netflix made a TV adaptation of the story. Now, it remains a favorite of cosplayers who are fans of the show, game and books, with iconic characters and looks throughout the series. After the success of the first season of Witcher on Netflix, it has been announced that they will be creating a spin-off series called Blood Origins, with famous Game of Thrones and Aquaman actor Jason Momoa rumored to be taking on a lead role on the show. Spin-off aside, the Witcher’s main characters such as Geralt and Yennefer remain fan-favorites, and that’s no different in the cosplay world either. Ciri remains one of the most popular characters, though, especially for cosplayers. Ciri comes from a long line of high-class, magical witchers. She’s the Heiress to the throne of Cintra as well as Inis Ard Skellig and Inis An Skellig, a Princess of Brugge and Duchess of Sodden among other things. The cosplay below was accurately curated by Wanderlustluca, who can often be found cosplaying as various gaming or TV characters. The show is set in the 13th century, and Luca catches the medieval aesthetic perfectly, with a belt, boots and gloves that look borrowed from the Heiress herself. Luca even adorns the scar that stretches across the left side of Ciri’s face, which she got from an Orion star that struck her when fleeing the town of Unicorn during The Tower of the Swallow. The reception to the cosplay was brilliant, as well, with one person even saying that it’s “a better Ciri than Ciri herself.” Not only that, but a developer from The Witcher 3, Pawel Sasko, even caught wind of it, and absolutely loved it, “blessing” his followers with it on their timeline. New cosplay of Ciri to bless your timeline ☺️😍 https://t.co/JbnAbD8hIL — Paweł Sasko (@PaweSasko) September 16, 2020 Of course, Ciri is going to continue being a popular character among cosplayers, but it’s fair to say that there aren’t many as accurate and true-to-character as Luca’s here. Interestingly, Luca also says that she has never played the games or read the books, and is solely a fan of the TV show, but still took the time out to discover and cosplay Ciri’s look from The Witcher 3 game, proving exactly how much of a fan she is.

The Witcher cosplayer turns up the heat as incredible Triss Merigold Instagram: yarpenna / CD Projekt RedWith The Witcher Season 2 now upon us, popular cosplayer ‘Yarpenna’ decided to bring the heat with a stunning recreation of Triss Merigold’s design from the video game series. Although we haven’t seen a traditional Witcher game since 2015, the beloved franchise has only grown more popular in recent years. With the success of The Witcher Netflix show, millions of new fans have been captivated. From the immense world design to the show’s striking take on many fan-favorite characters, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Now with Season 2 out the door, Polish cosplayer Yarpenna looked to capitalize on the hype with a remarkable look back at her own take on Triss Merigold. View this post on Instagram From head to toe the character’s outfit has been recreated with amazing attention to detail. The vibrant red wig down to the belt design and even her sleeves have all been meticulously put together to complete the look. As just one of her “many Triss cosplays,” Yarpenna has always been a big fan. In fact, Merigold happens to be her “favorite female character from both the books and video games.” Outside of the richly detailed costume itself, Yarpenna’s photos have also been touched up to add another layer of immersion. Given Merigold’s powers, it’s only fitting the cosplayer turned up the heat. With some exceptional editing, her version of the Witcher character lights up the screen with a ring of fire. Extending from one hand to the other, the effect is a spitting image to what you’d see from Merigold in-game. Perhaps best known for her work on characters in the Witcher franchise, Merigold is far from the only iconic figure Yarpenna has taken after. In a polar opposite approach from the fiery cosplay seen here, Yarpenna’s chilling Ciri design is well worth checking out too. We’re sure it’s only a matter of time until we see another fresh Witcher outfit debuted on her official Instagram account.

Witcher cosplayer shows off stunning Triss Merigold recreation Instagram: Supertaunt / CD Projekt REDTalented cosplayer ‘supertaunt’ has stunned Witcher fans via Instagram with her recreation of red-headed sorceress Triss, in a softer meadow shot. The Witcher fanbase swelled in size in 2019 when the already immensely popular books series and games were adapted into a live action TV series starring Henry Cavill. On December 31, 2019, Parrot Analytics even announced that it was the most in-demand TV show in the world at the time, dethroning Disney’s ‘the Mandalorian.’ It’s then no surprise that many new fans, like supertaunt, have put their cosplay skills to the test and recreated some of the gorgeously complex outfits used in both the series, as well as the game. Supertaunt’s recreation of Triss is amazing, her signature red hair brightening the shot and tying into the warmer environment. Commenters loved it, sending their praise the cosplayer’s way and calling it “absolutely incredible, outstanding work.” Despite the complexity of the Witcher’s costumes, the cosplayer has done a great job at matching the intricacy of the costume design – right down to the etchings on the leather waistcoat, and the lattice on the turquoise sleeves. The location seems the perfect place to bring Triss’ vibrant aesthetic to life, the yellow meadow flowers perfectly complementing the outfit’s color palette. It captures the fantasy feel of the Witcher series while giving it a lighter look. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDxRNv4Bc4K/ Supertaunt recreates characters from a variety of different areas including films like Thor and Suicide Squad, as well as various different anime. But she has also delved into the world of the Witcher previously, having created an incredible likeness of Ciri in front of a mountain backdrop. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4P-RTTBjvC/ You can find more of Supertaunt’s stunning cosplay on her Patreon and also on her Instagram for a glimpse into her exclusive shoots and content.

Witcher cosplayer enchants fans as Yennefer of Vengerberg saint_hysteria/CD Projekt RedYennefer is without a doubt one of the most popular characters in the Witcher series, and one fan has summoned her into our realm with an astounding cosplay. In the world of the Witcher, Yennefer is a powerful sorceress who’s also Geralt’s “true love” (sorry, Triss fans), and a mother figure for Ciri. Cosplayer Alyonka “saint_hysteria” Slyunkova’s take on Yen is definitely inspired from her look in the Witcher 3, and certainly reminds us of the game’s opening cinematic before you start in White Orchard. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4m7Huj7U0/ Slyunkova didn’t have to do much to their hair for the cosplay, which ,when you add the costume in, is a spot on representation of Yen in her Nilfgaardian-appropriate attire we see early on in the game. Those fur-lined gloves look great for keeping your digits warm during the chilly Temerian evenings, but the magical purple flames that’s being summoned in her palms probably does a good job of that, as well. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4ke50jkVg/ The outfit, scenery and added effects all come together to make one of the best Yennifer cosplays we’ve ever seen – but it only gets better, if you can believe it. If you aren’t already itching to boot up the Witcher 3 for yet another playthrough after seeing this, just wait until you see Slyunkova’s co-star. During the Witcher 3’s opening cinematic, Yennefer is riding a horse trying to escape the battlefield, so the cosplayer decided to bring along her own trusty steed for her photoshoot. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGPgMYjYlA/ While we may have a while to wait on any possible news about another Witcher game, that definitely won’t stop fans from coming up with fantastic cosplays like this one. Slyunkova doesn’t limit herself to cosplaying enchanting sorceresses such as Yen, but each one of her creations is just as well-produced, which definitely makes the rest of her work on Instagram worth a look.

Witcher cosplayer creates enchanting Yennefer look Instagram, @korielcreations / CD Projekt[jwplayer MDxzN19r]Of all characters not named Geralt in the Witcher, Yennefer of Vengerberg is perhaps the most enchanting. It’s only fitting that cosplayer ‘korielcreations’ recreated her look and sorcery. “I’m not heartless, I’ve just learned how to use my heart less.” As Koriel quotes, Yennefer is a cold, pensive character, who just happens to have crafted a charming look that belies her unmitigated magic prowess. https://www.instagram.com/p/CC1KqDcDN-F/ Raven-haired, purple-eyed, donning everything from thigh-high stockings to battle-ready leather bracers and accessorized plumage — Yennefer is no one-sided character, but instead embodies a dangerous, self-aware versatility. Just as those who encounter Yennefer need to be wary of her capacity to switch from casual to catastrophic in an instant, Koriel’s cosplay reflects that dynamic, as one shot shows her drenched in electrifying magic while another reflects the calmer, serene side of the deadly sorceress. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCjSsXGjM9c/ In both photos, Koriel is adept in maintaining Yennefer’s signature look: Unfazed, perceptive, and perhaps a little nonchalant. The magically adept character is over 100 years old and boasts both some of the strongest powers and best looks in the Witcher universe – and she’s understandably emotionless in most situations. (Lest she encounters a debonair, unique protagonist like a user-controlled Geralt of Rivia, of course.) As Koriel quotes in her other post, “It’s good to see you, Geralt. I… I’d even embrace you… were you not covered in blood.” Only a being who has seen nearly everything can be so unbothered by the sight of a blood-drenched friend that her only concern is not getting clothes bloodied. Yennefer is a master of her aesthetic, and Koriel’s mimicry of her look in the Witcher 3 is nearly a perfect match. Not just a cosplayer, Koriel’s bio also includes game development and artistry, as evidenced by the fact that she is the one who edited her cosplays, using Photoshop and the Werble app to recreate the magic her source inspiration is so known for. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeHRofjXR-/ Overall, the responses to Koriel’s Yennefer cosplay have been understandably positive. Commenters are quick to appreciate the effects edited into the electric animation, as well as the lighting in her more serene, natural shot. Swords, magic, and a commitment to unbothered facial expressions; Koriel’s prop and environment versatility make this cosplay both a reflection of Yennefer’s look as well as her multifaceted nature.

Witcher 3 dev praises cosplayer for incredible Ciri outfit CD Projekt / Narga_lifestreamCD Projekt Red developer Marcin Momot praised cosplayer Natalia ‘Narga’ Kochetkova for her incredible take on Ciri from the popular ‘The Witcher’ series. After CD Projekt Red confirmed that they were scheduled to work on a sequel to the award-winning game, The Witcher 3, many fans have started to build hype around the franchise yet again. The release of The Witcher series on Netflix has also been quite successful in recent months and has inspired many creative fans to bring their favorite characters to life through cosplay and art. Among those creative fans was popular cosplayer ‘Narga,’ who wowed her followers with a stunning take on Cirilla from The Witcher 3. Many of her followers highlighted the cosplayer’s incredible attention to detail, where she had even replicated the Princess’ iconic scar and was rocking an outfit that looks like it had been taken straight out of the game. Narga was also wielding a replica of Ciri’s sword, ‘Zireael,’ which looked identical to the one that Geralt gave to Lion Cub of Cintra in the Witcher 3. The signature look of Ciri caught the attention of more than just Witcher fans, however, as CD Projekt Red dev, Marcin Momot, also revealed that he was blown away with the cosplay. He reposted her custom made outfit for more fans of The Witcher to see and congratulated her for her “awesome work” on the cosplay. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-6lP69Bnqi/ The popular cosplayer has also attempted to capture shots of Ciri’s ‘blink ability’ in action, with some more stunning photos that have been edited to mirror her in-game character. Despite the next Witcher game being quite far out from release, her cosplay of Ciri will surely add even more hype to fans anticipating The Witcher 3’s sequel.

Witcher 3 cosplayer’s Triss Merigold look is absolutely fire Instagram: bliss.cosplay / CD Projeckt Red[jwplayer MDxzN19r]A Witcher 3 cosplayer brought some serious heat with an incredible cosplay of the game’s fiery enchantress Triss Merigold, bringing the character to life in stunning detail. The Witcher franchise has always been popular, but exploded in public consciousness once again in 2019 with the release of the live-action adaptation on Netflix, prompting fans around the world to grab their novels or jump back into the game’s to relive the epic story. Of course, that means many have been showing their appreciation for their favorite characters with some incredible cosplays, and Instagram user bliss.cosplay has been showing off her unbelievable take on the character, wearing a perfect costume created my ‘miccostumes’, and a wig by ‘imstylewigs’. Capturing Witcher characters can be tough, as their outfits can prove to be difficult to recreate due to the complexity of them, but miccostumes did an incredible job of recreating Triss’ look, with unbelievable detailing on the arms of her teal vest. Detail is the name of the game in this cosplay though, with silver buckles running up the velvet sleeves that cover bliss.cosplay’s arms, intricate patterns etched on her leather vest, and the character’s signature silver amulet hanging around her neck. Triss’ fiery red hair is the icing on the cake, bringing together a cosplay that leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind who it’s supposed to represent. View this post on Instagram Yesterday i went to this special place full of sunflowers ? that’s a magic and suggestive place, just like in a fantasy story ?❤️ it was perfect for my Triss cosplay! I shoot some photos with my friends! Hope to come back there soon! . Wig by @imstylewigs Costume by @miccostumes ? @clynomania . . . . . . . . . . #trissmerigold #trisscosplay #triss #trissmerigoldcosplay #thewitchercosplay #thewitcher #wildhunt #gamer #videogame #gamer #gamergirl #nerd #nerdgirl #sunflower #italy #thewitcher3 #ciri #redhead #playstation #ps4 #xbox #playstation4 #makeup #cosplay #cosplayer #cosplaygirl #cosplaying #ezcosplay @cdpred Merigold plays a part in the story of the third installment in the legendary Witcher franchise, with fans drawn not only to her fiery magic but her personality which matches those spells. Unfortunately, there’s no official word on when the fourth Witcher game will release, so fans will just have to wait a little longer to play the next chapter of the engrossing story.

Witcher 3 cosplayer warps Ciri through dimensions CD Projekt RED / Instagram: @shirogane_sama / @ovsyan.phA Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cosplayer went viral after transforming herself into Ciri with an incredibly accurate costume. The artist’s mind-blowing portrayal left fans in awe as she brought the powerful heroine to life. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt made its debut on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox one in 2015, and has become one of the most influential RPGs of all time. Millions connected with its fantasy story based on the Polish novel series. Popular cosplayer ‘Shirogane_Sama’ blew fans’ minds when she shared her true-to-life costume of one of the game’s lead heroine’s Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon. Her perfect re-creation of Ciri will take your breath away. Cosplayer brings the Witcher 3’s Ciri to life In the third title in the game series, players again take control of the beloved Witcher Geralt of Rivia. The story kicks off with the protagonist looking for his protege Ciri who is being chased by the Wild Hunt. Cosplayer Shirogane_Sama wowed fans when she posted an insanely accurate depiction of Cirilla. Photographers ‘ovsyan.ph’ and ‘jkyle_ph’ captured the artist posing as the character in her detailed outfit. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-2ByISopTh/ Witcher fans couldn’t stop gushing over her how much she looked like the heroine. User ‘izzannugrahaa’ exclaimed “You should be the grown up Ciri in the Netflix Witcher.” Another follower agreed, stating, “Perfect cast for Ciri.” Shirogane shared more pictures of the outfit on her Instagram account, and went viral when she gave followers a full view of her work. At the time of writing the post has an astonishing 43.5k likes. The amount of meticulous detail that went into-recreating Ciri’s armor is amazing to say the least. From her chainmail shoulder pads, to her loose hanging patterned belt, she absolutely nailed the attire. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7apDS0o00d/ In a more intimate close-up shot, the artist showed off her truly jaw-dropping makeup work. Shirogane re-created the character’s iconic facial scar on the left side of her face, while mimicking Ciri’s striking emerald eyes. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6bnTcZo9Dw/ The Witcher series continues to be one of the most popular properties in the world, spawning a video game franchise by CD Projekt Red in 2015, and it even got its very own television show. The RPG’s live-action adaptation has been wildly successful, and even re-ignited sales of Wild Hunt on PC and PS4. Those looking to catch up in time for season two can watch every episode on Netflix.

Witcher 3 cosplayer teleports into real life as epic Ciri CD PROJEKT RED / Instagram: @likeassassinA Witcher 3: Wild Hunt cosplayer went viral on Instagram after sharing her mind-blowing transformation into CD Projekt Red heroine, Ciri. While the Witcher mainly revolves around Geralt of Rivia, the third game in the series – Wild Hunt – introduced players to a second protagonist named Cirilla Riannon who quickly exploded in popularity. Cosplay star Christina ‘likeassassin’ Volkova made waves on social media when she revealed her jaw dropping true-to-life take on the heroine. The artist’s perfect portrayal of Ciri will leave fans of the RPG in awe. Witcher 3 cosplayer wows as perfect Ciri In the 2015 RPG, players split time between controlling Ciri and Geralt, who spends the entire game searching for her whereabouts. Fans of the Polish novels got to experience the heroine’s immense powers as a magic user for the first time. Popular cosplayer ‘likeassassin’ went viral online after she shared her insanely accurate recreation of the Cirilla on Instagram. Renowned photographer ‘milliganvick’ captured the artist wielding a life-size prop of Riannon’s signature sword features in the games. As if Volkova’s faithful depiction wasn’t epic enough, the outdoor photoshoot with the lake behind her truly brings locations from the groundbreaking game to life. The gorgeous picture could easily be mistaken for Skellige Isles. View this post on Instagram In a second picture by ‘zukomi.ph’, likeassasin also recreated a snowy scene from the 2015 RPG. Using an adorable dog, the skilled artist stood next to the canine who depicted a white wolf. The cosplayer’s meticulously built costume was designed and created by Sophia ‘soli.pon’. View this post on Instagram Despite releasing over six years ago, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is still considered one of the best games of all time. The CD Projekt Red title is one of the most-awarded titles in the history of gaming. The RPG was so popular that Netflix even created a live-action drama based on the Polish franchise. Fans of Ciri are in luck as the ashen-haired protagonist will have a bigger role in Season 2.

Witcher 3 cosplayer magically recreates Yennefer of Vengerberg freya_veles Instagram / CD Projekt Red[jwplayer BhEA0h1N]An emerging cosplayer put together some of the most enchanting images for Yennefer of Vengerberg, the Witcher 3 sorceress who has been a favorite among fans to recreate. Putting together a good photoshoot for a character like Yennefer takes creative crafting skills to make the outfit along with a setting to complement the medieval-like world of the Witcher franchise. When used in tandem, the cosplay is elevated to new heights simply because the scene and the character in it can look like a mirror reflection of the source it takes inspiration from. Showing that that’s a part of her repertoire, cosplayer ‘freya_veles’ made a dazzling rendition of Yennefer, surrounding herself with all of the luxurious fixings that an informal advisor to King Demavend would be acquainted with. This time around, Freya chose to recreate Yennefer with her black tunic that can be seen in The Wild Hunt’s Alternative Looks DLC pack that gives the sorceress a new outfit throughout the game. The open-shoulder outfit from Yen’s alternative design is complimented with thigh-high leather boots with ornaments and an intricate stitching all around. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCEF1E5oBu1/ The frills near the shoulders as well as the design throughout the arms and torso are also masterfully done to compliment the character’s in-game look. While the all black and leather look goes well to faithfully remake Yennefer, the environment only makes the cosplay more convincing since we’ve seen her in many similar scenarios in the CD Projekt Red RPG. Fans who were hoping for a take on Yennefer’s official design in the game, Freya managed to make that outfit as well in a completely separate cosplay. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt_a7oRj0R1/ The Witcher 3 is regarded as one of the most enthralling RPGs of the era and fans have found countless enjoyment since its May 2015 release. Characters like Yennefer and their intricate involvement in the game are what leave fans coming back to the hours-long campaign. The die-hard Witcher fans take that fandom a step further by stepping into their shoes with incredibly designed looks. Witcher 3 fans like Freya have shown a knack for cosplaying, especially when it comes to one of the title’s most popular characters, Yennefer.

Witcher 3 cosplayer flawlessly recreates sorceress Philippa Eilhart Instagram: freya_velesPhilippa Eilhart is one of the most powerful sorceresses in the Witcher universe, but has often been overshadowed by Yennefer and Triss. One cosplayer has put her front and center though, blowing fans away in the process. Eilhart has a complicated storyline, particularly in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – where she literally turns into an owl for a portion of the game – and is somewhat of a mysterious character. But, like all of the sorceresses in the lodge, she is always well made-up, with elegant outfits, making her ideal for talented cosplayers to recreate in real life. Russian cosplayer Freya Veles, who previously pulled off a stunning outfit for Yennefer, has now tried her hand at Philippa Eilhart, and it’s by far the best we’ve seen yet for this character. Although the outfit does lack the memorable eye covering that she wears in the third game (after her eyes were literally gouged out by Radovid), everything else about this cosplay is absolutely spot on. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-j8Y83IUkn/ Most impressive is the collar on her dress, which has been put together with stunning accuracy and attention to detail. In addition to some close-up shots, Veles collaborated with other cosplayers to create a scene like something straight out of the Witcher Netflix series, with a host of other sorceresses, including Triss and Keira Metz. https://www.instagram.com/p/CALFSn5okfk/ Because the outfit doesn’t feature the eye-covering, presumably this one is intended to represent Eilhart in the time of the second Witcher game. She sports the exact same dress in both games though, only with graphical improvements bringing out the finer details in the 2015 game. https://www.instagram.com/p/CANqVx6IsbU/ We’ve seen an abundance of Witcher cosplays already in 2020, possibly thanks to the resurgence in popularity it’s enjoyed because of the Netflix show. Talented costume-makers and makeup artists have created inspired cosplays for all the usual suspects, such as Yennefer, Triss and of course, Ciri.

Witcher 3 cosplayer expertly recreates Ciri’s Sauna outfit Instagram: taur.quessir / CD Projekt REDAs Witcher cosplays go, Ciri is probably the most popular character, even more so than Geralt or Yennefer, but that just means cosplayers have to get more creative with their designs. Although typically seen as a fierce fighter and mage, cosplayer Ria Stark decided to do a more intimate outfit for Ciri, foregoing the usual armor and weapons. Witcher 3 players may recall the one time in the game when Ciri changes outfits, after she is rescued in a small hamlet in Skellige, and the villagers treat her to their natural sauna. It’s the only time when Ciri is truly vulnerable, and of course, the Wild Hunt are there to attack. Stark, known professionally as Stoma Cosplay, chose this as the outfit to don for her recreation. Although you could argue that this is a simple version of Ciri to put together, the attention to detail still has to be spot on. It also helps that Ria already bears an uncanny resemblance to Ciri naturally. But, the hair is near identical, and the distinctive scar on her cheek completes the look. Dark eye shadow is also a signature of Ciri, who seemingly always has the time to apply it in-game. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-NhCJmDgK7/ The hair isn’t actually the cosplayer’s own though, but rather wig created by professional Wig designers WigIsFashion, who focus on wigs for cosplays especially. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lDG50jGe4/ This more understated cosplay of Ciri isn’t as extravagant as some of the more complex ones we’ve covered, but it captures her face perhaps better than any. A close up also reveals the detail achieved with her cat-green eyes, although it’s unclear if these are contacts or effects added to the images after. Ria Stark has also tried her hand at understated looks for Triss and Yennefer, though we think her Ciri is definitely the best so far. You can check out more of her work on Instagram and Facebook.

Witcher 3 cosplayer creates flawless Triss Merigold outfit @_little_chameleon, Instagram / CD Projekt RedCosplayer Dorottya Gajdos left The Witcher 3 fans in awe after sharing her incredible recreation of one of Triss Merigold’s signature outfits. Triss Merigold is a sorceress in The Witcher series who specializes in healing abilities and is known for her longtime relationship with Geralt of Rivia. While the popular franchise has no shortage of strong female leads such as Yennefer and Ciri, cosplayer Dorottya Gajdos reminded everyone just why Triss is also one of the fan-favorite characters with a magical take on the Temerian Mage. The sorceress plays a significant role in the quest to find Ciri during The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s main storyline and one quest, in particular, requires Geralt to attend a Masquerade alongside Triss, who dresses up in a stunning gown for the occasion. The Witcher 3 cosplayer chose to replicate Triss’ more elegant look from the ball, bringing her to life with an incredible outfit inspired by the game. Dorottya shared her efforts with her fans on Instagram, where she had mirrored Triss’ hairstyle with her signature red locks and donned a matching ball gown. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_8DjjQj8sS/ The cosplayer made sure to include some of the smaller details to complete the look such as the sorceress’ fingerless gloves and sapphire amulet that can be seen in the third game of the series. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ssA17D8-P/ Triss is one of the main interests of Geralt, but he’s also famously close to Yennefer, another favorite of cosplayers. This is not the first time that Dorottya has cosplayed one of the leading ladies from the popular series, as she has previously shared her take on Yennefer of Vengerberg which was also a hit with fans of the Witcher. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Zn-sijrRZ/ With the recent success of the Witcher’s live-action series on Netflix and a new game expected following the release of Cyberpunk 2077, amazing cosplays such as Dorottya’s take on Triss will surely add even more hype to fans anticipating the future of the popular franchise.

Witcher 3 cosplayer conjures jaw-dropping Yennefer outfit Instagram: EnjiNight / CD Projekt REDYennefer is one of the most commonly cosplayed characters from the Witcher series, but popular artist Enji Night has made possibly the most accurate recreation yet. With the exception of Geralt himself, there is perhaps no more iconic character than his better half, Yennefer of Vengerberg. Fans of the Witcher 3 will know of the choice they must make – to side with Yennefer or Triss Merigold, and although the debate rages on between Team Triss and Team Yennefer, the latter remains the more popular choice. As one of the most powerful mages in the entire Witcher universe, Yennefer got her beauty through a magical process, having been naturally born disfigured. Her outfit is always black, without exception, matching her dark hair. Enji Night has, of course, got these details spot on, but it’s the smaller details that really make this cosplay exceptional. Most notably, the choker worn by Yennefer looks like an exact replica here, and the detail on the eye shadowing and even eyebrow shaping is a perfect match. My first attempt on Yennefer from the Witcher 3 🤔What other characters do you think should I do? Let me know in the comments. If I have the right wig, I will definitely give them a try 😋 pic.twitter.com/hat4hHjryM — Enji Night (@EnjiNight) April 26, 2020 Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Enji Night has a similar facial structure to the game version of Yennefer, but the makeup makes the two almost indistinguishable. All that’s missing here is Yennefer’s leather jacket with the fur collar, but this would be an easy addition to complete the look. “I tried to play with makeup as much as I can to make myself look like Yen,” Night said, “even though it took me a while, I really enjoyed playing around with contouring and stuff, so I definitely will try more characters in the future.” The Hungarian cosplayer explains that it’s her very first attempt at the character, and plans on doing more from the Wither series – provided she has the right wig to hand. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_c1QeQFZES/ On Instagram, she said Triss would likely be up next, with Ciri to follow. “Most likely my next victim [is] gonna be Triss and after I will complete the collection with Ciri.” For fans of the Witcher game, there’s also good news from the developers, CD Projekt RED, who have confirmed they’re working on something new for the series, after they release Cyberpunk 2077.

Witcher 3 cosplayer casts a spell on fans as stunning Triss Merigold CD Projekt RED / Instagram: @irine_meierA Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt cosplayer went viral when she shared her stunning re-creation of Triss Merigold. The popular mage was brought to life by the artist to celebrate the game’s fifth anniversary. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is already considered a “classic” game in its genre by many. The popular RPG was developed by CD Projekt RED and was critically acclaimed upon its release in 2015 on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Popular cosplayer ‘irine_meier’ brought one of the title’s most popular heroines to life with her mind-blowing costume of Triss Merigold. The magical take on the sorceress is truly mind blowing, as she re-creates her incredible powers in real life. Triss Merigold brought to life by enchanting cosplay Fans of the Witcher games are very familiar with the red-haired mage, as she is a main character in the series. Triss is also one of the most powerful wielders of magic, and aids protagonist Geralt of Rivia throughout the story. Prolific artist ‘irine_meier’ shared her jaw-dropping outfit of the heroine on May 20 to celebrate the game’s five year anniversary. The cosplayer transformed into Merigold, wearing her iconic green and gold leaf dress which was added as DLC. Photographer ‘oltaura‘ captured Irine posing in front of a backdrop that could easily be mistaken for a scene from out of the game. The picture shows the insane detail that went into her costume, including the leaf trimming, and her iconic crest belt buckle. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAYM8BpoMA7/ The cosplayer uploaded more shots of her work on Instagram, this time bringing Triss’s potion making to life. Artist ‘alicenevermind‘ re-touched the photo, bringing the RPG’s magical world to life. https://www.instagram.com/p/BhUOJLZDSDQ/ Irine went viral in 2018 when she recorded a video with Oltaura to show her transformation into the Witcher 3 heroine. “I received so many comments like ‘it’s Photoshop! cgi, not a real person!’” she explained in the caption. At the time of writing, the post has over 110k views and 20k likes. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgt03XhDW7_/ Despite releasing only five years ago, the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has continued to explode in popularity. The popular RPG made its way onto the Nintendo Switch in 2019, giving players a chance to play the epic title on the go for the very first time. Read More: Avatar cosplayer flips into battle as Ty Lee – The same year, streaming service Netflix also brought the franchise to life with their live-action remake. The project was led by Superman actor Henry Cavill who transformed into Geralt of Rivia. The star is reprising his role for another season.

Witcher 3 cosplayer brings Triss Merigold to life with elegant outfit CD Projekt Red / Enji NightCosplayer Enji Night has revealed yet another Witcher 3 cosplay – this time the game’s infamous Temerian sorceress: Triss Merigold. Known as Merigold the Fearless, Triss is a sorceress, specialized in healing abilities, that is best known for her longtime relationship with witcher Geralt of Rivia and her care for his Child of Surprise: Ciri. Known as Enji Night, Enji is a Hungarian cosplayer, specialized in costume art, that is probably best known for her Bulma bunny cosplay and, more recently, her adaptations of the Witcher’s most popular female mainstays: Ciri, Yennefer and Triss. https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGugkZFXD2/ While Enji proclaims to have only done a “makeup test” for each character, the results feel fully fleshed out. Purple contacts, choker, sultry blouse and long, raven hair for Yennefer. Green contacts, scar and the messy hair, makeup and shirt of a bold, young Ciri. Those looks were on point, explaining why Enji “mainly planned to cosplay Yen and Ciri from the game.” But the Triss cosplay changed that, as she realized shortly after cosplaying Ciri: “It’s funny how I always thought I want to cosplay Ciri and Yen, because I somehow look similar to them, but now that I did a costest for all the three girls, I feel like I should cosplay Triss instead, cuz she suits me the most.” Naturally a brunette with blue eyes, Triss’ red hair and green eyes feels like a departure from the norm for Enji. But that fits the cosplayer’s comfort zone and even her simple test of Triss’ look comes out better than the full efforts of most others. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kd9z9lZXB/ Aesthetically, the matching green dress, necklace amulet and hair fit Triss’ fashion development in the sophisticated city of Novigrad. But what sets the cosplay apart is the uncanny valley experience created by her makeup and hair. Triss is a pale character with light freckles, an appearance that contrasts starkly against her bright red hair and green apparel for much of the game. Enji simply shuts it down with her makeup test, subtly laying in the freckles and notching every detail – up to the tiny birthmark below Triss’ bottom lip. Now she wants to do “a full Triss cosplay” and we just have to wonder what that might entail. If this wasn’t a full cosplay, then she very well might be performing real alchemy on IG Live when she next dons the red wig.

Witcher 3 cosplayer becomes royalty with Anna Henrietta outfit Instagram: maxscosplayOne of the less commonly cosplayed characters from the Witcher universe, Anna Henrietta, is a bold choice for any costume-designer or makeup artist – but one cosplayer pulled off the look to near perfection. The Duchess of Toussaint, Henrietta only features in The Witcher 3 as part of the acclaimed Blood and Wine DLC, which really could have been a fully-fledged game on its own and no one would have felt shortchanged. One of the main reasons it stands out, at least from a story perspective, is thanks to the ruthless but well-intentioned Duchess, who is also the cousin of the Emperor Emhyr. Just like her palace, she dresses extravagantly, and her hairstyle looks particularly tasking to recreate, but cosplay designer maxscosplay, pulled out all the stops for this incredible outfit. It is a perfect match to her look in The Witcher 3, all the way to the hair. The designer, Max’s Cosplay, told Dexerto that it took a whopping 231 hours to complete the fine embroidery on the dress. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7mUBu_IRwB/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B7mUnMPoPN3/ Cosplayer maedrya shared a selfie in the outfit on May 31, as she had previously used the dress from Max’s Cosplay for a complete shoot with other characters, including Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer. The attention to detail on the jewelry is particularly impressive in this shot. https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1JODeDv5m/ The designer also shared with us some more detailed shots of the expert handiwork that went into the finer areas of the dress. “It was a great challenge and I am very proud of this costume,” she said. The design was so intricate and expertly crafted, it was even crowned best dress at a German convention. Another image from maedrya incorporates what Toussaint is famous for — its wine. Henrietta’s crown is actually a very close match to the in-game version, even if doesn’t include actual precious stones. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-ShGljjmGa/ Of course, the main storyline of Blood and Wine sees Henrietta’s estranged sister attempting to exact revenge on her sibling after she was exiled from the Duchy. So, what would a Henrietta cosplay be without both sisters together? https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj8M17rgPln/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B6TEIpLDBY8/ And, to round off the shoot, Anna also had to take her place on the throne. Although she is never seen on the throne in the game, Geralt is sitting on it on the artwork for the DLC. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8YhtfKD5zx/ We’ve now seen almost every main character in The Witcher receive the cosplay treatment, but Anna Henrietta is a more rare find. To see more of the incredible work from the designer, check out her Facebook and Instagram pages. Of course, there are no end of cosplayers creating their best versions of Yennefer, Ciri and Triss too.

Who gets your coin? Witcher’s Ciri cosplay is Cintra’s ultimate face-off armoredheartcosplay (Instagram)/CD Projekt RedPlenty of cosplayers are bringing characters from The Witcher to life after the hit Netflix series’ release, so toss a coin to your Ciri, o’ cosplay battle of plenty. Following the Witcher’s resurgence off the back of the hit Netflix series, cosplayers are flocking to bring the game’s depiction of characters from Cintra into our realm. Geralt’s adopted daughter, Ciri, has a narrative which runs parallel to Geralt’s in that she is destined for greatness — a reason why plenty can relate to her character arc, both in the game and the Netflix portrayal. Given her popularity with fans of the series and CD Projekt Red’s hit game, cosplayers everywhere have come up with some fantastic creations of Geralt’s “child of surprise.” We’ve rounded up the best Ciri efforts, which could have been plucked straight from Cintra, itself. The question is, who gets your coin? Bliss Cosplay (bliss.cosplay) Bliss is our first entry in Cintra’s cosplay battle. Complete with the trademark scar and silver hair, this effort certainly pays attention to detail to the game’s interpretation of her appearance. The look is complemented by a holstered sword and green eyes, which would leave many fans wondering whether she was plucked straight from Projekt Red’s design. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7jAeRLoRrv/ Captain Kaycee Cosplay (captainkayceecosplay) In a similar vein to Bliss, Captain Kaycee is sporting Ciri’s iconic silver hair and wounded face, to really pay homage to authenticity. Sword in-hand, Kaycee gives fans a full shot with this cosplay, which reveals attention to detail in every aspect of her outfit — heck, she looks like she’s ready to take on a Striga. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7eIVQDJDUw/ Armored Heart Cosplay (armoredheartcosplay) Glancing into the distance, Armored Heart has hit the nail on the head with her take on Ciri. The cosplayer’s effort ticks all of the right boxes, though, as her entire outfit is complete with a battle-worn sword as though she’d just taken out a Kikimora. https://www.instagram.com/p/B61HQA5jYgp/ In fact, Armored Heart did just that (minus the sword)… Perhaps this could be enough to lock-in Witcher fans’ votes. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6TqRauD2up/ With each entry earning a place in the list by their own merit, choosing between the lineup is a near-impossible task. Perhaps Bliss’ attention to detail with the green eyes sways it, or maybe Armored Heart’s reenactment of her slaying a Kikimora makes her effort a fan-favorite. So, dear readers: who earned your coin?

What is cosplay: A beginner’s guide DexertoIt’s safe to say that cosplayers are starting to take over the internet, but what is cosplay? And why on Earth is it all over your timeline? If there’s ever been a comic convention in your city, you’ve likely seen a whole host of attendees dressed in the outfits of their favorite characters. This can be everything from anime stars to video game heroes. The trend, however, has become ever more dominant over the past few years. With Instagram culture offering the perfect platform for cosplayers to share their art form, we’ve seen more and more of these creative individuals on our timelines and Twitch stream. What exactly is cosplay though? Is it just a hobby? Or is it an industry? We’ve got all the answers for you right here. What does cosplay mean? In #Shadowlands, the veil between life and death is no more. Sylvanas cosplay by @CinderysCosplay and Bolvar cosplay by @HartiganCosplay pic.twitter.com/kqnuE6LF5f — World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) November 12, 2020 Formed from an amalgamation of ‘costume’ and ‘play,’ cosplay is defined as the art of wearing costumes to portray characters from fiction. The most popular sectors are usually anime, video games or science fiction, though cosplay can come in almost any form. Read More: Best anime cosplays of January 2021 – Costumes can range from more basic replicas of the character’s outfit all the way to full blown recreations with LEDs, smoke emitters and more. That begs the question though, is being a professional cosplayer actually feasible? Or is that just taking it a step too far? Are there famous cosplayers? I’m back! Tracer here!! 💥 #Tracer #Overwatch #cosplay pic.twitter.com/xSefa5pHp8 — 💛 Shirogane-sama 💛 (@shirogane__sama) November 7, 2020 The cosplay realm is open to a whole host of experiences, from casual artists to professional impersonators. Above is Shirogane-Sama as the iconic Overwatch hero Tracer. Her Instagram account boasts an insane 627k followers, with her Twitter following not far behind with 231k. Using her art, she makes money vida a whole host of platforms, including Patreon. When it comes to professional cosplays there is where most of the money is to be made. Exclusive Patreons and other membership platforms are where the cosplay industry thrives economically, something that’s been amplified by the current global situation. Another way for cosplayers to flaunt their masterfully crafted outfits are at competitions, where cash prizes alongside whole swathes of goodies are up for grabs. What is a cosplay convention? View this post on Instagram Comic and cosplay conventions offer artists not only the opportunity to attend an event in their favorite cosplay, but also a chance to compete. Cosplay competitions are commonplace, with prizes ranging from applause at smaller events to insane cash prizes. For example, BlizzCon 2020 had cash prizes of up to $3,000. In an ideal world this is where lesser known cosplayers can find their moment in the sun, a moment that may lead to cosplay stardom. So that’s everything you really need to know about cosplay! If you fancy giving it a go yourself, we’ll be creating an easy cosplay guide in the future. Until then though, keep an eye on the cosplay section of Dexerto, where we upload a whole host of cosplays that will blow your mind!