Counter Strike 2 Beginner Tips

Counter-Strike 2 is a challenging first-person shooter to get into, thanks to its fast TTK, nuanced mechanics, high skill ceiling, and for being wildly popular among avid competitive players. Players have also had years to get accustomed to the game’s mechanics, further increasing the difficulty for newer players. However, becoming a good Counter-Strike 2 player is possible with these beginner tips.

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Understanding Good Crosshair Placement

Priming Your Aim For Victory

Good crosshair placement is a valuable skill in almost any shooter, but it is important in Counter-Strike 2 in particular — thanks to the game’s fast TTK. Having the best crosshair placement can mean the difference between life and death, so be mindful of where you place your crosshair when moving through the environment.

Incorporating practices such as pre-aiming corners, holding angles, and centering your crosshair whilst moving through the environment are all great considerations that will improve your gameplay. However, the biggest key takeaway is to always keep your crosshair high. CS2, like many other games, rewards headshots with an instant kill. With that in mind, be sure to keep your crosshair at the level you expect the player’s head to be, and avoid having your crosshair fall below the torso. Be sure to head into a practice server to prime your crosshair placement for public matches.

Earn & Spend Your Cash Wisely

Improve Your Loadout For Later Rounds

Counter-Strike 2 incorporates a unique system that new players may not be used to, and that is the process of purchasing gear, weapons, and items to use with cash earned during the match. Cash is obtained through winning matches and gaining kills, with your weapon of choice dictating how much money you will receive after each elimination. Earning as much cash as possible is a surefire way to obtain the best loadout, but you must understand the economy of Counter-Strike 2 beforehand.

For the first round, each player will start with $800, so it is advised that you choose a Pistol of your choice right off the bat — if you are not a fan of the default Pistol, that is. For subsequent rounds in which you need to garner cash, purchase one of the various SMGs or Shotguns — as they offer some of the highest earning potential. Once you have enough cash, prioritize purchasing the absolute necessities first (that being your main weapon of choice beyond the earlier rounds) before considering Equipment. Managing your cash is an important thing players must consider early on in the game, as the economy in CS2 will create a lasting domino effect for the rest of the game.

Learn How To Counter Strafe

Improving Accuracy With Better Movement

Newcomers to Counter-Strike 2 might observe that their character’s movement doesn’t come to a full stop immediately after releasing any of the movement keys. Pair this with the fact that your accuracy is diminished whilst moving, and you may find yourself losing a lot of gunfights if you try to adopt the same movement from games like Call Of Duty and Apex Legends. Enter Counter Strafing, a well-known strategy that many players use within Counter-Strike 2.

Counter Strafing essentially aims to allow you to maintain maximum accuracy in between movements, making it a must-use tactic. To Counter Strafe, move in any one direction, let go of the movement key, and then quickly tap the opposite key. For example, if you are moving right, let go of the D Key and quickly press the A Key to come to a halt much sooner. This tactic is great for being able to quickly engage opponents when you are already moving or can be applied to maintain your accuracy when peaking from behind cover.

Get Familiar With The Maps

Map Knowledge Is Essential For Success

Map knowledge is one of the most important skills in Counter-Strike 2, as knowing each map will provide you with key intel on how to engage in certain situations. For beginners, learning about the spawns of bombsites/hostages and the surrounding areas can provide you with great knowledge on how to attack and defend them. For example, for Dust II, bombsite B is typically a more forgiving target for Terrorists to attack thanks to the cover it provides. The site has 2 main points of entry, along with scaffolding that can be used as a third point of entry on the east side of the site.

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Simply playing the game is the most straightforward way to understand the layout of each map. However, there are plenty of resources that provide an overview of each map, perfect for the more serious of players to study. The Counter-Strike Wiki is a good place to go, providing interactive maps where you can learn bombsite/hostage spawns, key callouts for each map, and much more.

Learn How To Make Callouts

Clean & Concise Communication Will Aid The Team

Counter-Strike 2 is a tactical shooter at heart, games-test-communication-skills/”>testing your communication skills and requiring players to work together to come out victorious. While individual player skill is an important factor for playing as a team, communication takes the cake as the most important method for gaining consistent victories. Making callouts on enemy positions or simply instructing other players on where to go will allow you and your team to better coordinate during your matches.

To make great verbal callouts, be sure to use the location description underneath your minimap. You can also ping certain locations with the player ping input Action (scroll wheel by default), making it a great visual indicator to go alongside your callouts. As a member of the team, keep callouts clear and concise even during the heat of battle. It is also important to try and keep a cool head when playing, as a weak link in the team can spell disaster.

Learn How To Control Recoil

Getting Familiar With The Weapons Of Your Choice

Counter-Strike 2 features a roster of different weapons that players can pick, each of which offers its strengths and weaknesses depending on the situation. While a lot of other shooters can allow you to swap seamlessly between different weapons with ease, this is not the case for CS2. All weapons within Counter-Strike 2 have a unique recoil pattern, making it rather difficult for new players to get into the game.

It is recommended to pick a few weapons and stick with them for a while when first getting into the game. Some great weapons for Counter-Strike 2 include the AK-47, the M4A1, the M4A1-S, the Desert Eagle, the TEC-9, and the P90. Once you have settled on a select few weapons, try going into a Practice Server and getting a feel for the recoil pattern of each gun. For guns that have more vertical recoil, you will want to hold down on the mouse to counter it, whereas most weapons with horizontal recoil require more attention to moving your mouse either to the left or the right.

Use Cover To Your Advantage

Cover Is A Great Tool To Avoiding An Early Death

Cover in Counter-Strike 2 plays an imperative role in increasing your longevity during your matches, as getting caught out in the open will lead to a quick death thanks to the game’s fast TTK. Being mindful of your surroundings and using cover effectively is one of the best ways to get the jump on unsuspecting enemies, thus setting your team up for success.

During your games in Counter-Strike 2, make sure to use cover to your advantage when navigating through the game’s various maps. When pushing objectives as a Terrorist, make sure to stay close to low-bearing walls, boxes, or any other kind of object in case you run into an enemy. When defending an objective, pick vantage points that provide ample cover in all directions. For situations in which you want to peak behind cover, line up your crosshair at the height of the enemy and peak in the direction in which your weapon is situated to minimize losing the fight.

Understanding & Using Grenades

Grenades Are Great For Outplaying Opponents

While gunplay is an important aspect of Counter-Strike 2, Grenades are an important utility that should not be overlooked. There are a variety of Grenades available to buy, and each can be used for offensive and defensive capabilities. The most notable of Grenades includes the HE Grenade, which will detonate after a short fuse, making it pretty great at flushing out enemies from cover.

Other great Grenades to consider include the Flash Grenade, which is great for blinding opponents to create an opportunity to push, and the Smoke Grenade, which can be treated as a portable cover. Nearly all Grenades can be bounced off of surfaces in Counter-Strike 2, paving the way for some interesting plays if you are unable to throw items like Molotovs directly onto a player. Another important tip is to know how to manipulate your throwing distance. Players can perform a long throw with Mouse 1 or a short throw with Mouse 2.

Counter-Strike 2

Released

September 27, 2023