********** Counter-Strike FAQ *********** v1.07 by Guoguodi (guoguodi@yahoo.com) Last Updated: Sunday 23rd November 2003 Best viewed in Wordpad with fixed-width font such as Courier New. (Otherwise diagrams _may_ not appear correctly). ========================================================================= Revision History: 23/11/2003 (1.07) - Update - - updated a few sections to apply to CS 1.6; haven't examined the new guns yet - removed Appendix C - examined CS 1.6 and its changes in detail (Section 2.i) - revised "Bunny Hopping" section (7.5) - revised "Recoil Compensation" section (4.3) - revised "Screen Resolution" section (7.4) 06/07/2003 (1.06) - Update - - revised "Glock" section (3.1) - minor revision to "MP5" section (3.3) - minor revision to "Recoil Compensation" (4.3) - added "HeatoN's Smoke Trick" (3.7a) - added "Sensitivity Quick-switch" (4.1a) - added comparison between 5v5 and LAN/Pubs (11) 03/02/2003 (1.05) - Update - - added "CS Glossary (Terms & Slang)" section (Appendix C) - added "Self-Improvement" section (5.1a) - added "Practice/Playing Time: Inactivity" (5.1b) - (minor) revision: Strafing Section (7.6a) - removed note about "bad formatting"; changed to "workload excuse" :) - hopefully fixed up dust2 map diagram and jumping diagram 19/01/2003 (1.04) - Update - - corrected 'cl_dynamiccrosshair' mistake - applied "Weapon Efficiency" formula to Weapons - (minor) expanded SMG section - added Strafing section (7.6a) - added 'Recoil Compensaton' section (4.3) - removed more typos (I have not done de_dust yet!) - made section dividers more clear 16/01/2003 (1.03) - Update - **** - changed text formatting! - "tweaked" Sun Tzu's quote - added Anti Team-Camping - made Intro more concise - added "hitbox problem" to Headshot section - (minor) revision: Unrealistic CS - removed ASCII-Art title 13/01/2003 (1.02) - Update - - added Team Camping section - added Unrealistic CS secion - added PODBot section (offline practice) - (minor) revision: Weapons - (minor) revision: CS Websites section - (minor) revision: Intro - (minor) revision: Resolutions 04/01/2003 (1.01) - Update - - added Map Analysis (de_dust2) - added 'cl_dynamiccrosshair' and other tweaks - added 'bunny hopping' section - added Jumping section - added Reloading section - (major) revision: Sniper Rifles - (minor) revision: Anti-AWP 20/12/2002 (1.00) - First Release - - General Weapon Info/Strategies - Aiming & Headshots - Gameplay Styles - Misc. Strategies/Facts - Console Tweaks ========================================================================= << Table of Contents >> 1. Copyright Information 2. Introduction 2.(i) Short CS 1.6 Guide 3. General Weapon Info/Strategies 3.a - Recoil 3.b - Burst/Auto Firing 3.1 - Pistols 3.2 - Shotguns 3.3 - Submachine Guns 3.4 - Assault Rifles 3.5 - Para Machine Gun 3.6 - Sniper Rifles 3.7 - Grenades 4. Aiming & Headshots 4.1 - Aiming & Sensitivity 4.2 - Headshot tips 4.3 - Recoil Compensation 5. Good/Bad Players 5.1 - Practicing/Playing Time 6. Gameplay Dynamics 6.1 - Gameplay Styles 6.2 - Team Camping 6.3 - Anti Team Camping 6.4 - Summary Tips 7. Miscellaneous Strategies/Facts 7.1 - Anti-AWPer 7.2 - Mental Mindset 7.3 - The Map 7.4 - Screen Resolution 7.5 - Bunny Hopping 7.6 - Jumping/Jumping around corners 7.6a - Strafing 7.7 - Reloading 7.8 - PODBot 7.9 - CS Websites 8. Map Analysis 8.1 - de_dust2 9. Contact Info 10. Unrealistic CS 11. Clan Matches vs. LAN/Public Appendix A: Kill/Death Ratios Appendix B: Console/Config Tweak ========================================================================= Section 1: Copyright Information You may link to the GameFAQs page containing this document but not directly to it unless you email me first for permission! Please con- tact me also if you would like to copy portions of this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If you know your enemy, and you know yourself, you will always be victorious. If you know yourself, but not your enemy, for every victory you gain, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know not your- self, nor your enemy, you will never win in one hundred battles." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 2: Introduction I recommend you read the various other CS FAQs at GameFAQs. All contain very useful information, so I encourage you to "read widely" to get the most information possible. In fact, you should use the FAQ in conjunct- ion with other FAQs .... Also, it's important that you realise that no matter how much FAQ read- ing you do, it's up to you to practice and gain experience, for you to truly improve. So put whatever you learn into practice! This FAQ discusses aspects about the popular Half-Life modification, Counter-Strike. The reader should have a basic knowledge of the game, and also have some experience playing against human opponents of var- ied skill. Like Mochan, the author of another CS FAQ, I would like to dispel any myths about myself before I continue. I am just a high school student in Australia - I play this game regularly at LANs, and soon online. But I don't presume to be "better" than anyone by writing this FAQ; heck, most of it's just theory stuff anyway. :P So the doc you're reading is just a collection of tips and observat- ions that I reckon you might find interesting/useful - particularly for public servers / LAN play, because that is the environment where I first played CS and what this FAQ is written for. And lastly, feel free to skip anything you find obvious or rudiment- ary! ========================================================================= Section 2.(i) - Short CS 1.6 Guide CS 1.6 is currently being played by about 50% of the CS community .. on the whole the game has remained the same. The following are the most obvious changes (and some less obvious aswell): - CT Riot shield; on defensive mode, user is frontally protected vulnerable to grenades only - Two new guns; Galil for Ts, Famas for CTs. - AK recoil has been reduced. Now, instead of two shot bursts, three shot bursts are more effective (with slight recoil control). - de_cbble, de_aztec, de_inferno have been modified (mainly reskinning). IMO they are all still fairly CT-dominated. - Head hitbox has been enlarged so that it is now the size of the model's head - Grenades do *about* 30% more damage - +3 kills in the scoreboard for bomb-defuser, and for the bomb-planter if it explodes. - Scoreboard font cannot be changed, all other STEAM/CS fonts CAN be changed. - Certain variables are locked,a few of these are: r_drawviewmodel 1, ex_interp 0.05 (locked by VAC), r_lightmap 0 >> Installing custom skins, models, sounds, maps, sprites etc Simply create a new folder in your STEAMAPPS\\counter-strike\cstrike directory. (i.e. "models", "sound", "sprites", "maps") Place the custom content into their respective folders. NOTE: All CS 1.5 weapon models work in 1.6; however player models do not work properly. >> Further Information For more info on CS 1.6 and STEAM tweaking, and other issues such as FPS check - www.teamzex.com/articles/1.6guide/index.php - www.steampowered.com/forums/ ======================================================================= Section 3: Weapon Info/Strategies One of the first steps to improvement is to have a good knowledge of the game. Familiarity with popular maps such as de_dust, de_aztec and de_dust2; aswell as familiarity with most of the weapons in the game. For each weapon there is also a "Weapon Efficiency" table. It lists the average number of shots to kill an unarmoured opponent, aiming at their chest. Average damage per bullet is then calculated; I also estimated the real time it takes for a kill, in seconds. I then devised a (completely arbitrary) formula to calculate weapon efficiency; it is: ((Total clip - Bullets-per-kill) + Damage per bullet)/time (TC - BpK) and DpB are expressed as percentages. eg. Gun X has a clip of 10 bullets, and takes 6 bullets to kill. It also takes 3 seconds for this to occur. BpK = 40% DpB = 16% Time = 3 ---{ Raw Efficiency = 56/3 = 18.67% }--- The *actual meaning* of this arbitrary figure "raw efficiency" is unknown :). It does not take into account recoil, accuracy and range suitability; aswell as some other factors. (Which I hope to add in the future). It's simply a rating scale that I've devised so you can compare the POWER of each weapon. ========================================================================= *** 3.a - Recoil *** Every gun in CS has recoil - put simply it's the way the crosshairs increase in size every time a round is fired. The larger the cross- hairs are apart, the less accurate the shot will be. Therefore, it's best if you can reduce recoil by limiting the number of shots you fire in succession; but bear in mind that recoil differs for each gun. For instance, the MP5 submachine gun could be emptied of its clip at close range without fear of uncontrollable recoil - on the other hand, the AK-47 should be used in 2-5 shot "bursts" at most ranges. ========================================================================= *** 3.b - Burst/Auto Firing *** Burst firing is when only a handful of bullets are released at a time, a "burst" as such. It results in less recoil, and therefore increased overall accuracy. Auto firing, on the other hand, emphasises quantity over quality, such as using an MP5. The key is the type of gun and its recoil. The example outlined in the Recoil section is probably the best - you should choose your preferred style of shooting. Few bullets with high accuracy, or many with much lower accuracy. Generally, I highly recommend you use burst firing because it will augment your pistol and rifle capabilities. The following few sections are tips on some of the more commonly used weapons. ========================================================================= *** 3.1 - Pistols *** The pistols are used quite rarely during the majority of the game-time. Excluding the first round (colloquially the "pistol round"), and perh- aps the second round, pistols aren't used. The pistol is a secondary weapon, and should be treated as such. Only in certain situations should it be used: - if you have emptied your primary weapon's clip and there are still enemies within short-medium range - if you are using a SMG and you feel that it is not doing enough damage per bullet; typically at long range an SMGer should switch to his pistol to increase his accuracy per bullet - you don't have enough money for a primary gun, or you're "saving" for an expensive sniper rifle - certain AWP snipers like to combo their AWP with a DEagle pistol, and quickly switch to their pistol after they fire a shot. The assumption is that the rifle rechambers "faster" by using this technique; it does have the benefit of having a weapon readied (if only temporarily) whilst rechambering There may indeed be more situations that you feel it is safer to switch to your pistol, or perhaps that it will kill your opponent faster. Occasionally, switching to a secondary can surprise your opponent! << H&K USP .45 Tactical >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 4 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 25 HP Time per Kill : ~ 1.8 seconds Efficiency : ~ 50% This pistol is well up there with the best - it does substantial damage with a reasonably sized clip of 12 bullets. And it's also the default CT pistol. I do not recommend you use this pistol in the "auto-fire" style (see 3.b), unless you're at close/point blank range, as that would severely decrease your accuracy. Try to make each shot count, in some aspects, it's similar to the DEagle - if you're accurate enough, you can kill any opponent at close/medium range. So the drawbacks of this gun are its recoil and damage; if you're training your AWP skills then definitely go with the DEagle instead, because this pistol CAN tempt you to revert to Auto-firing and wast- ing ammo. You want to limit those sorts of situations; as a sniper, you want quality, not quantity, to be your strength. Otherwise, go with this pistol! << Desert Eagle .50 "NightHawk" >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 3 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 33 HP Time per Kill : ~ 1.5 seconds Efficiency : ~ 60% Probably the most popular pistol, for several reasons. It has the most damaging rounds (high calibre armour-piercing bullets), and its accur- acy is unsurpassed. The drawback is its clip of only 7 bullets. That is why I don't recommend this weapon during the first round: - you can only afford 21 + 7 = 28 bullets in the first round. if it takes on average, 3-4 bullets per opponent, then you MAY run out of bullets! Especially if there are heaps of enemies. - there's a chance you'll die in the first round! If so, then you've lost $650 on that DEagle. On the other hand, if you're Terrorist and you kill just one opponent with your Glock, you'll have at least $2600 in the next round, regardless whether the team wins or loses. So you could afford an AK-47 the next round - an advantage over the CTs who would then have to wait for the third round to get their precious M4A1's. Use each bullet wisely. It's an extreme case of making each one count. << Glock 9mm (Select Fire)>> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 8 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 12.5 HP Time per Kill : ~ 3.5 seconds Efficiency : ~ 20% The default Terrorist pistol. Few people likes this gun, and for basically the same reason all over - it's too weak. The 9mm rounds can't penetrate helmets on the first hit! This weapon is a poor choice, but if you're strapped for cash, then I suggest either being not too aggressive in the first place, or getting close to the enemy and knifing him. (Saw that in this nice CS vid...) Aiming carefully whilst using Burst-Fire mode can increase the likelihood of a headshot; though it depends heavily on the situation - during the pistol round/ save rounds the Glock can be devastating on *unarmoured* opponents. Try to get a better pistol such as the DEagle when you can afford it; the Glock just doesn't have the killing power of the USP/DE, and thus is unreliable. << Five Seven aka "Five seveN" >> Weapon Damage -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 5 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 20 HP Time per Kill : ~ 2.5 seconds Efficiency : ~ 38% The Five Seven has a clip of 20 and has about the accuracy of the USP - but like the Glock, the damage that this gun does just doesn't cut it. My impression is that most people who use this gun choose so because of some sort of aesthetic appeal; as if the gun has a "personality" or style. Similar to the DEagle in that aspect, it seems. But the nail in the coffin is the price. At $750, it's more expensive than either a DEagle or USP. If you really must use this gun, then utilize the strategy outlined in the Glock section. Strafing around your opponent, and aiming headwards to maximise damage. With pistols, remember: aim carefully and make every bullet count. If your pistol empties mid-combat, what then? You'd be a very vulnerable target. ========================================================================= *** 3.2 - Shotguns *** (Weapon efficiency was not applied due to the difference in damage this weapon does depending on range - just note that they would be classed as *the most* efficient weapons at close range.) Shotguns are underrated weapons - they do large amounts of damage at close quarters and are very satisfying to use. However, it really takes an expert/specialist to use them effectively, especially the pump action shotgun. The shotgunner should attempt to minimise the distance to his target at all times. Find good ambush points; and limit your movement in wide open areas. If you're attacked then, you're better off switching to your pistol. Generally, the auto shotgun is easier to use, but really, at $3000 unless you're really into this sort of weapon, you shouldn't buy it. You could easily get an AK-47 (or M4A1 with an extra $100). The pump action shotgun is one of the hardest weapons to use eff- ectively, because of the reload after every shot fired. You should never rush with this weapon; you'll be killed "no contest". The shell pellets don't penetrate bodies like rifle rounds, so at most you'd nab a kill before your enemy's backup got to you. Bear in mind that shotguns can be fired even whilst reloading. ========================================================================= *** 3.3 - Submachine Guns *** The SMG should only be bought if you're constantly low on cash and you need a substantial weapon. If you can't afford that M4A1 in the second round, I recommend you stick with your pistol. You'd be up against T's with AK-47's, who would likely kill you with a mere third of their clip, whilst on average it takes more than half an MP5 clip to kill an opponent. On the other hand, if the Auto-Fire style is what you prefer, then by all means. The MP5 is an excellent choice due to its cheap price tag ($1600). The FN P90 is probably not so good a choice; it has a large clip at the expense of accuracy. Remember what your SMG comfort zone is - close range. Medium range is "iffy", and long range definite SUICIDE. Always switch to your pistol if you want to engage enemies at long range. << H&K MP5 Navy (9mm) >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 7 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 14 HP Time per Kill : ~ 2.5 seconds Efficiency : ~ 36% The MP5 is the SMGer's staple gun. It's cheap ($1600), has a large clip and has excellent recoil control. If you want to practice Auto-Firing, then use this weapon. The general idea with the MP5 is to keep the recoil under control whilst aiming at the chest, or slightly higher. The 9mm rounds are the same calibre as in the Glock, so you can't expect large amounts of damage per bullet unless you get a headshot, which is surprisingly common with the MP5. The high rate of fire almost guarantees a headshot if you aim carefully. As stated before, engaging enemies at long range with any MP5 is both ineffective and dangerous. Since most pistols have much do much more damage and have better accuracy than an MP5, you should remember to switch weapons at long range. The MP5 is an excellent weapon against multiple enemies, because of its low recoil and high rate of fire. It is certainly a viable choice after losing the pistol round, knowing the enemy will spend all his money on rifles and no armour. With most Sub-machine guns, hold the trigger and keep the recoil under control. ========================================================================= *** 3.4 - Assault Rifles *** These form the meat of the weapons. Most players' favourite weapon will be the M4A1. The assault rifles are also the general all-round best choice. Medium prices, good firepower, and excellent training for burst-firing. << M4-A1 (Colt M-16) >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 4 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 25 HP Time per Kill : ~ 1 second Efficiency : ~ 111% The continually raging question on the GameFAQs boards, and indeed everywhere it seems, is whether to keep this gun silenced or not (some people like to call it a "suppressor", but honestly, that's not really the point.) There are conflicting reports as to the properties of this beautiful gun. Some say that the silenced M4 does less damage; others say this isn't so. I'm not sure about this particular point; I'll have to leave it to you to figure out! The recoil with the silenced version seems to be slightly more controllable, and strangely, the recoil patterns are different. Some say it's easier to get a headshot bursting at the neck with the gun silenced, but others say the unsilenced version has more PREDICTABLE recoil (not necessariliy GOOD recoil). Here's a test you can try yourself. Get an M4A1 and shoot eye-level at a nearby wall. Hold it for about a third of the clip, and you'll notice a line of bullets in the shape of a forwardslash if you're using the normal M4, or a "mushroom cloud" if it's silenced. Overall, this is an excellent weapon for both the Auto and Burst firing styles. Some claim that the M4 is merely a "souped up SMG"; but I believe it is second only to the AK-47 in terms of burst capabilities. << AK-47 >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 3 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 33 HP Time per Kill : ~ 1 second Efficiency : ~ 123% This gun is my personal favourite. The greatest strength of the AK is its incredible damage per round; just 2 bullets to the neck of an un- armoured opponent will be fatal! Also, this gun has great accuracy, (not to be confused with recoil), which makes burst firing a pleasure, not a pain .. :) OK, I might be overstating just a little here, but "If you want to be good at CS, you should master the AK-47." Someone who has MASTERED this weapon will have mastered the burst-fire school of thought and be well on his way to Net/LAN domination. If you have truly good control and command over this weapon, you can be better than the best AWPer; the other much aspired weapon-to-be-mastered. The AWP's weakness is close quarters, whilst the AK-47 really has no weak- ness in terms of range. Its one true weakness is its recoil. A mere 5 bullets in succession can cause the gun to become wildly inaccurate. So it's extremely difficult to use against MULTIPLE enemies. Try to avoid such situations at all costs unless you are very good! When using the AK, it's best to have the guerilla mentality. "When we are few, we must utilitise our STRENGTH to our advantage. Frustrate the enemy by our 'invisibility'. When we are many, we must draw the enemy into the open, and OVERPOWER him ..." So when you're up against multiple opponents firing on you, try to withdraw or reposition yourself so you can take them out one by one. Slowly, you're "chewing away at the base", until suddenly the last guy finds all his buddies dead. When using the AK-47, aim for the head, neck or chest and let out a short burst (2-5 bullets). << Steyr Aug & Sig552 Commando >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 5 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 20 HP Time per Kill : ~ 1 second Efficiency : ~ 103% It seems the CS Team had to make one CT weapon complement another T weapon; ie. M4A1 vs. AK-47, Steyr Aug vs. Sig552. The Aug has one great point, which is that it has no movement penalty. The crosshairs don't increase in size when moving, as do other guns. (Note that if 'cl_dynamiccrosshair is set to 1' then this is no longer special!) The Aug has great accuracy, powerful rounds, but poor recoil. It also has a slow reload time. The Sig552 and the Aug are in fact the same price. (s = scoped, us = unscoped) Gun Recoil (s/us) Rate of Fire (s/us) Accuracy (s/us) Damage --- ------------ ------------------ -------------- ------ AUG Bouncy/Poor High/Very High V. Good/Good High Sig Less bouncy/ High/High V. Good/Average High poor From this table it might seem that the Aug is a slightly better choice. However, it does not list reload times, on which the Sig takes virt- ually half the Aug's reload time. But it really comes down to prefer- ence. When at close range, these weapons are very powerful. When you're up point blank, I'd say you go full auto until your enemy is dead - but still aim carefully before you pull the trigger! ========================================================================= *** 3.5 - Para Machine Gun *** Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 7 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 12.5 HP Time per Kill : ~ 3 seconds Efficiency : ~ 35% It's the most expensive gun in the game at $5600; but if you can co- ordinate with your teammates well enough, you can really control some chokepoints on the map with its massive 100-bullet clip! It also possesses the rifle ability to pierce doors, walls and other obstac- les. If you're ever crazy enough to actually use this gun, it's best used for providing cover fire for rushers at the start game. It's next to useless in a one on one situation. Using this gun is like an extreme case of quantity over quality. With a massive clip, there IS a small chance you could take out a few enem- ies with this baby if you go Schwarzenegger - but I don't think it's worth the money. Therefore, the average player should buy this gun for the following reasons: - it's too expensive; you could afford an AWP, or two AKs, or an AK and a M4A1 with the money you spend to get the Para - its recoil and accuracy are poor, and it's the heaviest gun in the game - you may look very "n00bish" :) - it's very hard to use! ========================================================================= *** 3.6 - Sniper Rifles *** << Arctic Warfare Magnum>> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 1 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 100+ HP Time per Kill : ~ 1 second Efficiency : ~ 190% This is the most powerful gun in the game (of course you knew that). Any direct* hit to the waist or above will kill a fully armoured opponent. - Pros - - Cons - Virtual one-hit "KO" Very heavy (you look like you're walking when you're running with an AWP) Expensive ($4750) Expensive ammo ($12 per bullet) Low accuracy** Most AWPers have to wait until the third round before they get their hands on an AWP; so staying live whilst AWPing is strangely more vital for an AWPer, than say an SMGer. Losing that expensive rifle, and worse, letting an enemy grab it, is an AWPer's worst nightmare. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- * direct hit means that the shot did not glance off the side of the opponent. Glancing shots do substantially LESS damage. ** if you didn't realise already, the AWP has been tweaked to make movement accuracy virtually non-existent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (I'll give a plug to Mochan's FAQ right here. Read his AWPing tips. I may or may not be accused of ripping from his FAQ at this point, but I swear it's my own experiences I draw from - though I borrow from his naming conventions.) There are several things you want to consider when training with an AWP: - are you going to camp, or move around? If you're camping, you should find a place where your back is protected and you can easily cover a chokepoint (harder than it sounds) - DEagle seems to be the popular choice for sidearm; buy it if you can afford it. It's a good pistol to compliment the AWP. - utilise the "quick rechambering" technique; quickly switch to your DEagle and then back to the AWP after firing a round - use cover to your advantage. Spring out of cover and fire a round, and then run back for cover (what Mochan calls "the Style of the Ages") make yourself disappear all the time; frustrate the enemy There is also an advanced technique called "Catching the Movement"; basically, you predict the immediate trajectory of your moving opp- onent and compensate by slightly moving the cursor where he is going and then shoot. This all happens in perhaps half a second. If you've ever spectated a good AWPer in first person mode, you'll know. Poor AWPers, if I can call them that, don't Catch the Movement. Instead, their reflexes are too slow, and they always fire where the enemy was 300 milliseconds ago. In that way, they don't compensate for the enemy's movement! Truly Catching the Movement of your target will seem virtually instant- aneous. It seems as if your crosshairs suddenly moved into your enemy's path. (This technique can be seen all the time in Quake III Arena, with the railgun and other weapons.) A good example is when you know an enemy is going to round a corner soon. You are waiting to AWP him, with your crosshairs about a head's width from the edge of the corner (the vertex). Your enemy rounds the corner. By the time you have registered this, he has already "passed" your crosshairs. So you "catch the movement", and in a split-second your crosshairs are where he is. You fire - he dies. With this corner example, it's also possible to "reverse" the technique. Normal "Catch" -------------- | __ | <--- enemy |__| x | wall -|- | / \ | ---------------------------------------------- ground As you can see, the enemy moves past the wall and into the open. The x represents where you first placed your crosshairs, and the arrow represents the direction you move your crosshairs. As soon as the enemy showed up, you quickly moved them left, to where he is! In a split second. Reverse "Catch" --------------- enemy | __ | ---> x |__| | wall -|- | / \ | ---------------------------------------------- ground With a "reverse catch", you place the crosshairs further away from the wall, and move it towards the RIGHT when the enemy appears. Personally, I find the reverse much easier to do than the normal "catch the movement". Keep practicing your AWPing and you'll gradually master this tricky technique. There's also the situation where your opponent has somehow got very close to you and is madly strafing/jumping around. In most cases, there are only 3 options (really only 2) available to you: - keep your AWP scoped at 2x and try and kill him before he gets closer - if he's really close, try unscoping the AWP and go for a "sledgehammer" shot - pull out your secondary I'd say the easiest, quickest and safest method is the last one - plus it has the added benefit of the enemy being caught unawares. He thinks he's safe strafing around because he assumes it's hard to AWP at close range, but instead you're pumping DEagle rounds into his head! << Steyr Scout (Schmidt Scout) >> Weapon Efficiency -------------- Bullets per Kill : ~ 2 Avg. Damage/bullet : ~ 50+ HP Time per Kill : ~ 1.5 seconds Efficiency : ~ 87% Costs $2750; cheaper than an AWP or an M4A1. Many people like to use the Scout as a alternative to the cliche of the AWP. It provides several benefits: - no ridiculous loud boom each time a round is fired - VERY fast reloading time - aiming practice, since a shot to the waist isn't fatal - $2000 cheaper - inspires respect, not fear I have to emphasise the last point - some AWPers have a funny ability to attract cursing and bitching from their victims. Unfortunately the truth of the matter is the Scout is inferior to the AWP in terms of ease of use, damage per shot, etc. The pressure to kill in one shot and emulate the AWP can motivate you to aim better ... so if you're sick of the AWP, use the Scout! ========================================================================= *** 3.7 - Grenades *** Flashbangs are harder to use than grenades because placement is crucial for them to be effective. Try to aim a flashbang to land directly in front of your enemy, opposite the direction he is facing - if you haven't even seen him yet, you'll have to assume he's facing you, for instance. Some players like to throw flashbangs into a chokepoint and then camp the chokepoint; this is just a waste of flashbangs because they don't press the attack. They are also giving away their presence, making the enemy more cautious and alert. Always charge after throwing a flashbang, even if you're not sure it blinded the enemy. It's worse to give away your position and let them know of your presence. HE Grenades can be used in huge combos for massive damage. The choice is whether or not to use your grenade at the start of the round whilst rushing, or to save it for those situations where it could literally win the round. Personally, I wouldn't use my HE that I bought unless everyone else in the vicinity also threw theirs at the same spot, at the same time. It would be more efficient if you were SURE an enemy was there and it was near the end of the round. Smoke grenades aren't really worth the money unless you've got good "teamplay skillz". The fact is, most smoke grenades aren't thrown properly and end up blocking everyone's view. If you want a bit of a hax0r option to see through smoke, then use the 'fastsprites 2' console option (or set it in the Confi- guration menu). It will make smoke look very poor, and you'll be able to see through gaps where the smoke sprites overlap. Always buy HE Grenades and Flashbangs if you can afford them. *** 3.7a - HeatoN's Smoke Trick *** The "smoke trick" that is attributed to the famous Swedish player HeatoN, involves buying a flashbang(s) and a smoke grenade. The trick involves only two steps 1) Throw a flashbang to blind the opponent(s) 2) Throw the smoke grenade in the same fashion and jump out with guns blazing The opponents will think that the smoke grenade is the second flashbang, and will try to avoid the flash by turning around, giving you the opportunity to nail them in the backs in that short timeframe. ========================================================================= Section 4: Aiming & Headshots After learning the basics of any first person shooter, aiming is then the most important thing to master. Whomever has the better aiming will win in most face-off situations. ========================================================================= *** 4.1 - Aiming & Sensitivity *** Some players like to press and hold the trigger even when the enemy isn't inside their crosshairs. This is definitely and obviously bad, but it happens sometimes when you're not very calm - you're a bit edgy or you got surprised pretty badly ... :O .... so always make sure the enemy is nicely lined up in your crosshairs before you shoot. The mouse is also an important factor in aiming. You should make sure that your mouse isn't too dirty inside, otherwise it'll skip and cause severe fluidity problems (I'm referring to ball mice, of course) I recommend using a mousepad for FPS's, but some players prefer a smooth, hard platform, such as a table's surface. Adjust the sensitivity in the Configuration/Controls/Advanced menu (or use the console command 'sensitivity'). Also, make sure "Mouse Filter" is turned on, as it helps aiming fluidity. Remember that the CS Mouse sensitivity number is actually based on the Windows Desktop sensiti- vity, so other players' sensitivity values might not work for you. Generally, if you can turn 180 degrees in one fluid movement, then that sensitivity should be right. Don't worry if you aspire to aim very quickly. Accuracy in aiming is far more mportant than the time you take. The human hand-eye co- ordination works in such a way that when you first see your target, you will aim in two steps. The first step is a fast, fluid motion towards the VICINITY of the target, and the second is a much slower but more precise movement to the exact x,y co-ordinates. Some skilled players tend not to crouch when firing upon enemies. I think it's because they're training their reaction time and reflexes; obviously it takes more time to crouch and then aim than it does to just stop and "stand-aim". So if you prefer this style of shooting, you should use 'cl_dynamiccrosshair 0' in the console (also config- urable in the Controls/Advanced Menu). With Dynamic Crosshair disabled, your crosshair will only increase in size when actually firing. *** 4.1a - Sensitivity Quick-switch *** Some players prefer low mouse sensitivities for sniping - this can lead to trouble if they are caught by surprise and need to spin about to face the enemy. alias +s "sensitivity x" alias -s "sensitivity y" bind mouse3 +s ( x = higher sensitivity, y = sniping sensitivity) With this setup, the player can use the third mouse button, (or if they don't have one, substitute a key for it), and whilst held down their sensitivity is increased. Once the button is released, they return to their previous sensitivity. ========================================================================= *** 4.2 - Headshots *** What is the best way to kill an opponent? Most players know that if you shoot at the head of your opponent you may or may not get a headshot - the uncertainty is due to factors such as the gun, presence of armour, the attacker's aiming accuracy, distance from target etc. But what is the best way to AIM to get a headshot? I have seen truly prodigious "headshotting" abilities; players who have consistently killed me in mere fractions of a second with AKs on an AWP map. Players whose crosshairs shoot virtually instantly to an opponent's neck. Unfortunately, the chances are you're not one of these people. So you must practice your aiming! Some players like to burst 2-4 shots slightly ABOVE their opponent's head; others aim at the neck or even the chest, and hold a bit longer in the hope of a "recoil headshot". And of course, there are those very skilled players discussed before. Recoil headshots are in fact the most common type of headshot - as it is considerably difficult to a land a 'one hit KO' type kill. The premise there is that the RECOIL, ACCURACY and where exactly you aim will decide the probability of a headshot. *** Note *** I have done extensive tests with CS 1.5 regarding recoil, and I must conclude that the accuracy and recoil have been GREATLY affected since CS 1.4, in that recoil is more realistic. The infamous "cloud" of bullets is no longer apparent, instead, a steady "line" forms when a burst of bullets is fired. The conclusion is that therefore recoil headshots are the way to go! Single/double bullet bursts are much harder to execute; also, accuracy during "cool-down" of a gun's recoil has been reduced. This means that you should wait for the cool-down period to completely end before firing again. *********** Every time you see an opponent, you should quickly, but as accurately as possible, aim for their head. Remember, accuracy is more important than speed, unless you are in extreme close quarters, in which case you do not necessarily HAVE to aim at their head. After a while, you'll find it comes instinctively, and you'll know you've accomplished the basics of headshotting. Practicing on bots helps, as they provide excellent strafing targets, which I find humans don't do too often. Improvement in speed and accuracy are logically the next step(s). If you catch an opponent unaware for some reason, it's probably better that you don't rush for the kill and spray; but aim carefully at or near his head and kill him swiftly, and with few bullets. After all, humans aren't like bots who have unsurpassed vision and reaction times - if you're good enough, you can kill every single opponent you catch unawares without them even shooting at you. Happy headshotting! *** Note: *** *Occasionally* a well-aimed shot(s) to an opponent's head doesn't kill him, for some reason - even though it was at close range and you SAW the impact of the bullets on his head! This, I think, is still evident in CS 1.5. It has to do with the way the zonal damage works, or "hitboxes". Major sections of a player model are assigned hitboxes, so that when that hitbox impacts with a bullet, the corresponding damage occurs. However, the HL engine seems to work in such a way that some hitboxes overlap each other, making certain areas extremely difficult to register as a proper hit. For example, there is a hitbox region known as the "pelvis" or "groin"; apparently a shot to the pelvis does as much damage as a shot to the neck. However, the thigh and torso hitboxes seem to overlap on the pelvis hitbox, especially whilst crouching, making such a hit extremely difficult. Another example would be the 1337 Krew model, where due to the slight "hunch" of the player, the shoulder hitbox actually overlaps the head! (See www.summerblue.net/games/cs_report/ for more info). ========================================================================= *** 4.3 - Recoil Compensation *** Recoil compensation essentially is where you attempt to go full-auto whilst keeping the recoil under control, so that the bullets always land at the same spot, instead of rising unpredictably. RC is almost solely applicable to assault rifles; the AK-47 being the best example. Some players like to aim their shots at the opponent's waist, and continually lower the crosshairs whilst holding the trigger, effectively negating the "upwards" recoil. If you want to practice controlling recoil, it's best done against a wall, so you can see exactly where the bullets land. But you have to know the gun's recoil very well before you attempt it on a human opponent! Even so, RC works best with aiming fairly accurately before firing. The most effective method is to pull downwards and towards the left, since both the AK and M4 tend to have "up-right" recoil patterns. I recommend you download some CS videos by experts such as zEx | sunman and the like who include good examples of recoil control/compensation. Another excellent demonstration can be found here: www.gamers.nu/?p=feature&f=158 ========================================================================= Section 5: Good/Bad Players What makes a good player? One interesting fact that I'm sure you've noticed about Counter-Strike is that there are basically two situations in which kills are made; the majority falling into the second category. 1. The victim and the attacker go into face-off mode - they are shooting at each other. Of course, one of them dies eventually. Good examples can be found all the time in cs_bloodstrike, where the four corridors result in very "linear" gameplay. 2. The victim was killed when they were caught off guard - they were ambushed by a camping opponent - they were killed by a roving opponent who nailed them from an approach they never expected, like the one they just took! The second point is the crucial part of the "Dynamic" style of gameplay. The best way to kill an opponent is when they are not expecting you, not prepared for your sudden attack! The best players nab as many of these easy kills as they can ... The "bad" player, on the other hand, will almost never catch his opponent unawares, in fact it is the other way around - he himself is caught with his pants down. Many times, he is killed whilst reloading after wildly spraying in the enemy's vicinity. (That is why you should never waste bullets - treat every one like it is the last one you have). "Bad" players will also just follow in the large gathering, where they will usually be killed in the most humiliating or frustrating of ways, such as being stuck behind another player or by a huge 5 grenade combo! (lol). So the main difference between good and bad players; more in large games than smaller ones, is their playing styles, not their respective aiming abilities. I have seen this time and time again; very skilled players who could keep lesser players at 1:8 or worse in one on ones, yet being mere "middle-men" in the frags table, or even lower! And one player I have seen in action, who is not very skilled in the aiming department, came second on the table, surpassing much better players because she knew how to catch her victims! (don't ask) ========================================================================= *** 5.1 - Self-Improvement *** To improve at anything you have to practice, practice, practice. But practice what? Identify a TECHNIQUE that you wish to master, or a WEAKNESS you wish to overcome, and PRACTICE it so you can improve! Over time, and repeated performing of an action, the brain and the body can become as one, and you can be virtually FLAWLESS at what you do. Most actions eventually meld into the subconscious INSTINCT; the more difficult the action, the longer it takes to become second nature. Just because you have been playing since CS BETA doesn't make you GOOD. Experience and "playing time" is worth nothing if you haven't learnt ENOUGH from it. A player's knowledge and skill will always improve as he gains more experience, IF he knows how to LEARN from his mistakes, WATCH better players in action, and put what he has learnt into practice. ========================================================================== *** 5.2 - Practice/Playing Time: Inactivity *** It seems as though the more you do something, the better you get at doing it - which is why the maxim "Practice, practice and more practice" is basically true. The best players seem to be playing CS all the time, all day every day. If you want to maintain your skills, and not LOSE them and let them stagnate, then you have to keep playing on at least a reasonable basis so you don't "Lose your touch". The same principle goes for playing musical instruments, for example. Without constant practice, technique is gradually lost. Some of the best CS clans in my country have lost from lack of practice and preparation! So remember to keep practicing, and stay active with CS, if you want to be truly good. ========================================================================= Section 6: Gameplay Dynamics If you're on a losing side on a map such as de_dust, you'll find that gradually your team's "territory" is being hemmed in and slowly chewed up by continually advancing enemies, who move in packs, never solo. This happened several times when I was playing Terrorist on Dust. We kept losing due to lack of cover fire for rushers; most of us (including me) were too scared to go past the protection of the pack. And when the CTs finally came in, we simply scattered to find cover from their fire. Gradually, we advanced less and less each round, and resorted to camping! The entire team just camping outside the tunnel entrance and the bridge overpass. This is what I mean by being "hemmed in" ... I believe a large part of the flow of gameplay is influenced by each player's mental state. If you've just killed three enemies in quick succession, you feel quite "high", and your mental state becomes such that you feel confident and unafraid of death. You want to get as much a piece of the enemy as ever! This confidence should not be underestimated. Truly good players will go on massive killing sprees where they are unstoppable due directly to their mental state. Unfortunately, the opposite situation is also possible. It's a vicious cycle which feeds on itself, and you have to break it if you find yourself on a "death spree" - analyse what is wrong with your strategy and adjust accordingly. Are you being too aggressive? Stumbling into the most stupid of situations and getting killed when you really can't believe that n00b made that shot etc etc ... those camping idiots .... don't get mad, get even! Try to find "all the right places" - where are the chokepoints where LESS of the enemy are? One of your fundamental objectives is to nab as many kills as possible, both for your individual benefit and for the team. But if you're in a pack-duel where there are lots of opponents, it's hard to get "into your groove". On the other hand, roving around and picking off enemies can really crank up your score and help the team morale. Someone once said that Counter-Strike was all about fear ... I guess most of life is also about fear/bravery/courage etc. Most players are too scared to advance into enemy territory; they wait for someone else to advance before they follow. This is what 90% of players are like - their fear of death makes them immobile and causes them to never advance into enemy territory by themselves. A lot of these problems cannot be overcome by skill or technique alone. They CAN be overcome with a change in the way you play .. Sometimes you might find a nice chokepoint or passage you like to have to yourself, or maybe share it with one or two teammates at most - but sooner or later the pack sniffs that some "fresh meat" is available, away from the well-travelled routes. This is where your run of easy kills and camping ends. You have to go on the attack and flank the enemy. Try to keep away from the pack as much as possible! As a rule of thumb, don't go on the offensive with more than half your team - a small group of two or three buddies can be sufficient to provide extra fire. << "Dynamic" Philosophy >> The most important thing to know when you are playing serious matches is whether you should be Attacking or Defending. On defuse maps, the CT's are on the defense, and the T's on the offense. Thus, you should adjust the way you roam the map and the way you order your teammates around. Though this may seem obvious, the lack of teamplay and team strategy in most public LAN games reduces from the excitement and satisfaction of the game. I suppose clan matches are what this game should really be about :(.... but if all you care about is your Kill to Death Ratio and your status at your local LAN, then you should read on! ========================================================================= *** 6.1 - Gameplay Styles *** The various stages of a round in CS are roughly those of any story: Beginning, Middle and End. The length of these stages is irrelevant, what is important is how you play during each one. Keep in mind that some rounds aren't as straightforward as this; sometimes very few of the enemy die and your team gets it between the eyes! But this is simply an overview of how the round would progress when two evenly matched teams face off. So here's a breakdown of each stage and the various gameplay styles. In most cases where numbers are concerned, I'm dealing with matches with more than 8 players per team. In smaller games, such as clan matches, the breakdown categories might not necessarily apply, but that's offset by a clan's ability to co-ordinate game plans much better than Net/LAN players, right? << Start >> Head-on Assaulting: Player will rush quickly to a point he has decided to go to where he can engage the enemy assaulters. Usually one side or the other is outnumbered and will be eliminated. That's the disadvantage of this style; few players are prepared to risk their lives in an assault. On certain maps, such as de_dust, most players usually lay back, waiting for the occasionally brave player to "volunteer" to foray into enemy territory. (See Gameplay Dynamics). Pack-Follower: Player follows the main pack of teammates in hope of safety in numbers. The pack routes are actually quite predictable - it is whereever the lead man feels like going to! For instance, as a T on Dust2, I've noticed many players go down the spawn ramp and decide between rushing right past the double doors or turn left. Most players like safety in numbers, so they go wherever the leading point-man is going. Players further back decide they'd go wherever there are more buddies, and in this cycle, a large pack forms. This is (generally) a foolish option; chances are the player will get killed in a massive melee, and score yet another death on their not-so- pretty KD ratio. The difference between the the pack-follower and true rushing is that the pack is too scared to advance past certain points - like the CT's past Bombsite A double doors in dust2. Pack mentality and fear of the "enemy pack" on the other side fuel this reaction. Head-on Camping or "Rush Camping": Player rushes to a chokepoint to camp; waits for enemies to pass through, nabbing a few easy kills. Out of these three, this is probably the best choice. Players should relocate when certain criteria are met: - too few enemies pass through the chokepoint (indicates that enemies have finally evolved! They are either camping, or have chosen another route) - too many teammates also rush to this chokepoint (say, more than 4 or 5) indicates that a new pack is forming; you will not get many kills if there are too many teammates around) - player has been flanked/backstabbed by a smart enemy who finally learnt his lesson and turned the tables around!! << Middle >> This stage usually begins once roughly half the enemy team is dead. Camping: Player is camping (usually with his AWP). The most common on Dust2 seems to be the "bunker" at Bombsite A, where a sniper can easily kill anyone at the bombsite and anyone who passes through the double doors. Camping during this stage is actually quite difficult, because the enemy will probably not pass by the camping position - they will all be grouped together at some other position, and shooting them if they did pass by would probably only garner a few kills at most. Unless you have several "buddy" campers, this leads either to boredom, or death! Pack-Follower: If the team is fortunate and not many died in the pack-fights, then the pack will continue intact and roam around as a unit. Occasionally it breaks up into smaller units. Joining the pack at this time is a good idea if you're low on health and want safety/protection etc. Rover: Player runs around the map searching for enemies to pick off. In this stage, it is by far the most satisfying style. If the player is reasonably good (in terms of aiming), he can take out most of the enemies in easy one on ones. Note: Sometimes the Rover runs into a small enemy sub-pack that is tending its wounds. Usually he attacks on sight, but sometimes he discovers that he is outgunned and should retreat immediately - remember, you should know when to press the attack and when not to. Self-preservation is more important than most people would like to think ... the best analogy is real life - you do want to live, right? The mid-game can also be a *dangerous* time for the rover-style of gameplay; he can easily run into the second pack of enemies. Especially in Dust2, the CT's can't really cover each chokepoint effectively, and the T's can sometimes break through to either bombsite. If this happens during the mid-game, then it is difficult for the rover to assault the enemy position. The best approach is to gather together into two small groups and assault the T's from different angles. Example: 5 or 6 Terrorists have planted the bomb, and are camping at Bombsite A (Dust2), and there are about 8 Counter-Terrorists. In this case, the CT's should break up into 2 groups of 4, and one will rush from the "Short A" route (up the steps), and the other take the long run from the Bombsite A doors - though both are very dangerous due to possible Terrorist AWPers. That is why the group rush is vital - don't hesitate to attack, and your teammates won't either. << End >> If the teams are relatively evenly matched, then only a few members of each team are alive by this stage. Camping: It's a good choice to camp (or roam very cautiously) during this stage, because it is easy to pick off single enemies with an AWP covering a large, open area - such as the CT spawn in Dust2. It's better still to plant the bomb if you're T. Rover: The enemies are few and far between; the enemy will usually be inclined to camp at this stage, especially if they are on low health. So the rover must be exceptionally careful and cautious. It is safer to move in a pack. (Small) Pack: Try to meet up with your teammates and roam around covering each other's backs. This way, the isolated and scattered enemies will have difficulty killing you. Generally, it is better to go roving/camping during the start and middle game, and join up as a pack if you survive until the end game. "Never attack a prepared opponent ... unless you can overpower him." ========================================================================= *** 6.2 - Team Camping *** This is related to Gameplay Dynamics. Like the de_dust example I outlined, an entire team of quite skilled players can be overcome by fear and simply camp. Not just a select few individuals, this is the whole *&^%$$@ team camping! How then, you might ask, do I "adapt" or "not be scared"? If I myself venture out into the wild, past my fellow campers, it's likely I'll get killed. Well firstly, you didn't realise soon enough in the preceding rounds that your team strategy was wrong! If you don't counter the opposing side's strategy with your own, you're just playing into their strategy, playing how they would like you to play. In most games there is a fundamental flaw, which is a lack of communication and co-ordination between players. This is VITAL - you're not Rambo, you're on a team, just like a basketball team or any other team sport. By scoring kills, you're upping your own stats, yet at the same time helping the team by eliminating enemies. But if you can't co- ordinate properly, and organise a team plan and communicate, then even if you outnumber the enemy 2 to 1, you're still going to suffer heaps of casualties. A truly victorious CS team would be one that could: - work out a plan for the round; where certain players should go with what weapons, camp/assaulting - have good morale and know each other well; you would feel more confident with a team member whom you've played alongside alot - be able to communicate so that you can tell each other what's going on! ie. where the enemy is, requests for help etc ========================================================================= *** 6.3 - Anti Team Camping *** Yesterday I participated in one of the most one-sided matches I've ever seen. Playing as a Terrorist on de_aztec, our team managed to scare the CT's into "spawn-camping" (what I call Team camping); a truly magnificent display of bravery and sheer force by us. In Counter-Strike, many real life war strategies hold true. There is always a countermeasure possible for anything the enemy does. If he camps, you rush. But not piecemeal! You have to get the whole team to deluge their defended position. Like a siege, almost. By sheer force and bravery, of not fearing death, but of welcoming the challenge and relishing the chance to kill, you can overpower your camping opponents. Heck, I can't stop thinking about that particular game. We were a massive ** 36 to 1 ** on the scoreboard! In a massive rush, all 16 of us took separate routes to the CT spawn site, where they were cowardly camping, too scared to leave. I could perhaps draw a conclusion from this experience, one that holds true for all types of Counter-Strike matches, be it Net, LAN or even clan matches: "CHARGE and FORCE back the enemy, and you will truly SURPRISE, FRIGHTEN, and DISILLUSION them. Attack is the best form of Defense!" That match virtually changed my outlook on CS gameplay. If you want to be successful, you must make the team work as ONE. You can't let some of the team go attacking, whilst some lay back to "defend" an area. Either the whole team attacks, or the whole team camps. There is no in-between. ========================================================================= *** 6.4 - Summary *** Don't always go the same routes, or do the same things. You have to be dynamic, be ever-changing and unpredictable. Try to flank or sneak up on the enemy. If you feel you're outgunned and you're marching into enemy territory, then rove around in small packs. Vary your strategy during each stage of the round; sometimes try to rush, other times camp. Once you have found something works, don't rely on it too much - the enemy isn't stupid. That's the key to the "dynamic" style. You can't stay in the same position too long; you can't do the same thing for too long; you can't always roam around or always camp in the same spot; you should continually adapt to changing conditions. Didn't get all that? The crux of it is this: "Whomever has adapted will surprise his enemy, and win. Survival of the fittest." ========================================================================= Section 7: Miscellaneous *** 7.1 - Anti-AWPer *** Definitely not good if you're up against a good AWPer; you gotta give it to the guy if he's going 25:1. There are some strategies to beat that ##*^#%$%% - but generally the best option is to run. Don't try rushing him front-on - that's suicide. - Even the odds out by making yourself "invisible". Try flashbanging him and running around to his back (if you're close) and killing him quickly that way. - If he's got his back to a certain passageway/approach (good camping snipers never have their backs unprotected), use it to your advantage. He's probably just sitting there, so you can backstab him! If you know the AWPer is really good, then I suggest you RUN for cover. Here's some things NOT to do: 1. NEVER EVER jump! Jumping forms a very predictable trajectory for a sniper. 2. NEVER EVER crouch! Unless you think the AWPer is so %$#@# that he can't hit you while you're sitting right there like a duck ... If he's seen you, then you should seek cover and try another approach. The worst thing to do is to pop out of cover again and try and burst fire him ; this technique won't work against an AWPer - because he's anticipating you to come back out. You have to flank him. If you are also an AWPer, then you've made a big mistake by walking straight into his hands! Seek cover immediately, since he has the advantage of surprise and can react faster than you can. Sadly, this is what happens to some "assault snipers".. Some people recommend strafing in such a way that you pause just long enough for him to aim at you, and then strafe again - ruining his shot. I don't recommend this tactic for two reasons. Firstly, it requires you to know your opponent's timing quite well before you can get YOUR timing right. Secondly, most AWPers are actually quite good - underestimating their skill by using this technique leads to a "bad case of lead poisoning" - it just doesn't work! The safest way is to seek the closest cover - usually left or right of you. Don't try backtracking unless you're sure the AWPer wouldn't be able to see you. Simply moving forwards or backwards makes your onscreen movement even more predictable. ========================================================================= *** 7.2 - Mental Mindset *** Don't be scared. The key is control. If you can control the enemy's mind(s) - you've won half the battle. Make him fear the open spaces by AWPing; then make him fear the shadows by camping chokepoints. Always keep your mind on the move, don't make it stagnate. Don't let fear overcome you - seek inspiration! Remember, no-one and nothing is invincible; there is always a tactic or a strategy to overcome - or at least deal with - a particular situation. A lot of players will keep going the same route, and die the same way they did the last time. They become frustrated and disillusioned, yet still don't realise that their entire approach is wrong - they have to ADAPT to the enemy's behaviour, to COUNTER it. You have to be able to surprise your enemy, who is expecting you to be stupid like a lemming and make the same mistake twice! ========================================================================= *** 7.3 - The Map *** I can't stress how important knowledge of the map is. I constantly see new players getting killed because they don't know "all the right places" in a map; one of the more difficult maps to memorise, such as de_inferno, is a good example. The maze like layout might confuse you the first few times you play; but gradually you should be able to memorise where to go, where the best chokepoints are, and so on. Also keep in mind that even though one day a certain chokepoint or strategy/tactic proved really effective, another day it might be totally different. I've played many times on de_dust where the T's were so effective in the way they controlled the map that they pushed the CT's back to their spawn point. Other times, the T's themselves were camping at their spawn site. That's why you should adapt your style whenever the enemy's behaviour changes. (See Gameplay Dynamics). ========================================================================= *** 7.4 - Screen Resolution *** According to a poll on sogamed.com, 37% of CS players use 800x600 screen res. 31% use 1024x768, 15% use 640x480 and 17% use "other". (www.sogamed.com/polls.php) Of course what res you use is up to you, however, it seems to me that there are some differences in gameplay. (some of these could simply be psychological/auto-suggestive; in the end stick to what you prefer) 640x480 - The HUD is large, the graphics are pixelated. Recoil, especially with the AK, seems much more easily controlled. It is certainly difficult to see the opponent's head at long-range; on the other hand, the USP is a god-like weapon in this resolution! STRENGTH: recoil control, pistols WEAKNESS: long-range aiming, crosshair size, pixelated 800x600 - A very well-rounded res, the HUD and text appear just about the perfect size. Still a little pixelated.. STRENGTH: Very nice HUD/text size - a compromise between 640 and 1024 AWP-crosshair size is perfect WEAKNESS: can't think of any right now :D 1024x768 - A very strong res, crisp and clear definition of image. At this res I find that burst-fire is very easy, and auto-fire becomes very difficult. STRENGTH: Precision of aiming (crosshair is small), good image WEAKNESS: Much harder to control recoil compared to 640 ========================================================================= *** 7.5 - Bunny Hopping *** Well after some extensive "experimenting" and research, I can confirm that bunny-hopping IS still possible in CS 1.5/1.6. The technique involves increasing the player movement speed by a small amount, by continuously jumping. The technique involves running a few steps, and then pressing jump+(left or right) direction key. Forwards-key does not have to be held down. At the same time, move the cursor slightly in the direction you pressed. I suggest binding mwheeldown to "+jump" for easier timing. 1. Run forwards for a few seconds 2. Jump, whilst pressing left or right 3. Look at an angle of 30 degrees in that direction 4. Repeat step 2 when you land. Of course, doing it on a slope increases speed. Have fun! ========================================================================= *** 7.6 - Jumping *** Jumping in CS is different from other FPS's, such as Quake 3 Arena. The movement and physics are much more realistic; so jumping to ruin your opponent's aim if he's firing on you is not a very good method. If you really must "dodge his bullets", then try strafing left and right, or strafing around him in a circle. Note that you should never strafe in this manner with rifles of any kind unless at extreme close range. My impression when playing CS 1.1 & CS 1.3 was that jumping was used much more frequently than it is now (though different players around the world have different styles). Jumping around corners was/is used as a means of both surprise and protection. By jumping around instead of just running, your overall movement and distance covered has increased. ie. y ^ | | /----|----\ / | \ wall edge \ | \ |----| ----- | -------> | | person | |----| --------- ground -----------> x As you can see from this slightly exaggerated diagram, by jumping, you cover more distance over virtually the same amount of time it takes to run horizontally. Therefore, you can utilise the "jump aiming" technique used by some hardcore AWPers. Whilst in the air, you aim at your target, and at the moment you land, he's already riddled with holes. The main advantage of this technique is the slightly extra time you have to aim. Jump aiming should be used with cl_dynamiccrosshair set to 1. ========================================================================= *** 7.6a - Strafing *** Strafing is an underrated technique in CS, and has many varied applications. - strafe to ruin an opponent's aim, especially when he's using a high recoil weapon such as the AK-47 - at close range, strafing can be very effective in both avoiding enemy fire and returning fire - very useful to avoid AWPing at close range Typically in a stand-off situation, an AK-47 really has massive killing power because the victim tends to crouch, and remain stationary! This is understand- able, since most players have developed the habitual instinct to crouch when firing upon enemies. However, in doing so, they are missing the advantage; they should capitalise on the AK-47's poor recoil and strafe; the opponent will suffer severely if done correctly. - he wastes bullets trying to hit a strafing target - he may simply panic after several missed bursts, and go full-auto, which only makes the situation worse, as the AK-47 is extremely ineffective used like that! You can really disrupt your opponent psychologically aswell if you manage to make him miss a lot. He may suffer pangs of "self-doubt" and other negative feelings about his skills! Strafing with an SMG is almost a given, in that you are utilising the weapon's strength of low movement penalty, medium accuracy and high rate of fire. "Circle strafing", ie. strafing around your opponent in a circle(s) at close range is one of the most famous techniques that stemmed from Quake. While he's having trouble aiming at you, you're steadily circling him with your crosshairs on his head! At long distances, a variation called "Hot and Cold Strafing/Firing" can be used, whereby you pause whilst strafing just long enough to pull off a burst, before resuming strafing. This way it's difficult for you opponent to hit you, again most effectively against an AKer. There is also a famous technique called "Stationary Left-Right" strafing, which is a contradiction in terms if you think about it. However, it is extremely effective, and I have seen it in use by some of the best players at my local LAN. This strafing technique involves you to stay in roughly the same position, yet continually zig-zag left and right, but only for one or two steps in either direction. WHILST strafing, you can burst fire with virtually any automatic weapon. It is an extremely sound technique, as you are making it as difficult as possible for your opponent to hit your body, especially the head. Combined with "cover strafing", this technique is perhaps one of the most advanced in the assault-rifle school of aiming/shooting. ========================================================================= *** 7.7 - Reloading *** No doubt you have had your fair share of "sweet" reloading kills, and also being killed whilst reloading. Basically, you have to minimise the frequency of your reloading. There are many ways to do this with assault guns: - don't waste bullets (even if you have an SMG, ie. MP5) - don't reload your primary if you KNOW there is an enemy coming closer; exception is if you're out of ammo :) - only reload when you're sure you're safe and you're not vulnerable to surprise attacks - never reload whilst moving forward into enemy territory - it's dangerous You have to resist that urge to reload after having sprayed 4 bullets from your full clip! The tendency to keep clips at their "top capacity" at all times is only a defeatist one. As an AWP/Scout sniper, you should be even more attuned to "smart reloading". Good AWPers shouldn't buy the full 30-round clip each round; it's a waste of money, time and could potentially benefit your enemy if you somehow get killed. If you're good enough, just one clip of 10 bullets could nab you 10 kills. That's the sort of philosophy you should have with sniper rifles - minimise reloading, and maximise accuracy so you don't reload as often in the first place. ========================================================================= *** 7.8 - PODBots *** This section discusses the Count Floyd's popular bot "PODBot" aka "Ping of Death Bot", its main features and advantages & disadvantages. I will only go through stuff that's relevant to a player's improvement, not all the available 'bells & whistles'. Features: - goal-oriented gameplay (ie. planting bombs, rescuing hostages etc) - tweakable vars such as bot-chatting, skill level, customisable names - react to most radio commands Advantages: - tend to strafe a lot, practicing against strafing targets is difficult but can help aiming - react reasonably well to most radio commands Disadvantages: - have some sort of minor wallhacking abilities - poor recoil; Floyd should tweak the code so that the bots don't always hold the trigger for the same amount of time, regardless of what gun they are using! - poor sniping; PODBots are hopeless at sniping - poor accuracy; from a medium to long range they tend to be very inaccurate - poor weapon selections; seems to favour shotguns over SMG's! - funny reaction to being flashbanged - don't reload until emptied a clip - lack unpredictability in general Even though this list is based on my opinion, I'm sure those of you who do use PODBots have noticed most of these things I've mentioned. So to overcome the bot's weakness(es) and make practicing offline a bit more challenging you could play in a small map (eg. cs_bloodstrike), and select "Pistol Mode" from the menu. Because pistols aren't as fast firing as other guns, they tend to be more accurate with them. And of course you could always manually max out the bot abilities in the "podbot.cfg" file. Practicing with bots can be fun and challenging at times, but sooner or later you'll realise that they're really there for hardcore aiming practice, and little else! And of course there's little adrenalin factor in facing computer opponents. And a word of warning (from personal experience): don't play with bots for too long or you'll find playing against humans something of a shock - try to focus on aiming practice and don't get too used to the routes bots take! ========================================================================= *** 7.9 - CS Websites *** The following is a list of Counter-Strike related sites on the Internet: Counter-Strike Specific ----------------------- www.counter-strike.net The official CS site csnation.counter-strike.net Great CS site - skins, models, tweaks, discussions/forums, strategy guides, CS News www.cs-maps.jolt.co.uk CS Maps for download www.counter-hack.net Anti-Hack site dedicated to online games www.summerblue.net/games/cs_report/ The most comprehensive CS Guide www.cscentral.com Various Map tricks Strategy/Discussion -------------------- www.gamefaqs.com You already know this www.gamespot.com They do quite in-depth guides for major fps's Other ----- www.icantlose.com Some funny screenshots/statistics www.botepidemic.com PODBot Website www.nuclearbox.com/podbot www.shackes.com Latest news on major games (clans etc) www.sogamed.com Demos, news www.gotfrag.com Esports (CS, WC3 etc), and demos www.gamers.nu Esports, demos, articles etc www.schroet.com Team Schroet Kommando www.team3d.net Team 3D ========================================================================= Section 8: Map Analysis (Note: So far I have only done de_dust2. In the future I'll follow up with more maps.) As I stated before, knowledge of the map is vital. You can't just wander around aimlessly. At least you have to keep your mind working, and thinking about what the enemy is doing and how he is playing. Here are some pointers in the most common maps. (You can refer to the overview bmp's in your cstrike/overviews directory because my ASCII art skills aren't very good). ========================================================================= *** 8.1 - de_dust2 *** Map Diagram: ______ ______ | | | | |-------- -----------/ \-----| | 8 ____ 1 | |_ |_| |----------| 2 | \ A / | / / / / /| |--------| | | CT |/ / / / / | |______________ | ------------| / / |__________II | --------------| |/ / / / / / / /| _7____ | | | |_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_| |/ / /| |______ | II 9 |/_/_/| | | | _______________ _________ 3 | | | |/ / / / / / / \6 / / / / / | \ | | | / / / / / / |--|/ / / / /| | | | |/ / / / / / / / / / / / / |_______| | | | / / / / / / / / / /|-----/ | / | |/_/_/ / / / / / / / | T | |_________ __| \ / / / / / / /| | | |_| II \_____ \ /_/_/_/_/_/_/ | | |_ / / |5 |/| | | | / B __|/ / | |/| |--|--| 4a | /_______ / / / / | ___ 4 |__|__| | | |_/_/_/_/| | | | | | _________10 | |__________________ | |_______|_____| |__| |_____| Legend: A - Bombsite A B - Bombsite B II - Double doors CT - Counter-Terrorist spawn site T - Terrorist spawn site / - shading (inaccessible areas) |--| |__| or |_| This represents a crate or a bunch of crates 1 to 10 - Significant locations 1: This is the "Bombsite A bunker". Because of its location down the path from Bombsite A, it's an excellent camping/AWPing position. During the start-game, some CT's like to hide here waiting to ambush rushing T's. Though it's not a very good place for that purpose because you're trapped if you're discovered. 2: This is the CT pack's favourite rushing location (well, at least from my experience). It's very defensible, meaning that it's hard for the T's to get past the doors without getting killed very quickly. 3: This is where some T's like to camp, especially AWPers. They try to snipe the double doors near point 9. It's risky, because usually they have CT counterparts sniping THEM from behind the same doors. 4: The T's usually camp or advance very cautiously once they reach this point, because they know they're at a chokepoint. This is one of worst places a T can go through; on the other side they could face close range attack from TWO sides - this happens a lot. CT's at point 5 and also at point 10 massacre them! 4a: The T's might (during the next round, see point 4) decide to camp a bit farther back, usually with AWPs. They are extremely vulnerable to being flanked this way. 5: An excellent chokepoint camping opportunity for a CT. One of my personal favourites during the first few rounds. Beware, certain T's can backstab you if you wait at point 5 too long. (See Gameplay Dynamics). 6: Some T's rush to this hiding position where they can backstab advancing CT's. It's dangerous and difficult, because of the large number of CT's that usually travel up towards point 6. 7: This is where the larger T pack would usually wait for the CT's to come past the double doors, though occasionally the T pack changes to Bombsite B route. This location is a poor one; there are virtually 4 ways of being flanked. From point 2, point 9, point 3, etc. 8: The CT's occasionally like to camp all along the path from point 1 to point 8. This is generally good, because it prevents the T's from getting to bombsite A. However, this location itself isn't very good, because T's can rush from point 9 up the steps, and also use the "CT Spawn Route" - running from Bombsite B to A. 9: This location is where a lot of T's rush in the start game, if they haven't been hindered by advancing CT's along the p.9-p.3 pathway. At the start of the round, some T's go to point 7, and a small group splits off and goes to point 9, effectively trying to reach Bombsite A using two routes simultaneously. 10: Another excellent CT rush position. As stated before, the T's will run into difficulty trying to get to Bombsite B if you hold this position. << Best Overall Route (CT)>> Points 5 and 10 are the best routes for a CT at the start-game, by a very, very, very long shot. If you look at the diagram, you can see that you can control Bombsite B, and have numerous offensive options. You can go back down point 5 (reverse) and rove around; you can advance past point 4, and if the T's try to reach Bombiste B by traversing the wide open area in front of the double doors, they'll find you waiting there! Bombsite B is an excellent area to camp because there are only two avenues of approach, and each acts like a chokepoint. Bombsite A is not so good a choice; there are three approaches, each of which is difficult to control, including point 9. << Best Overall Route (T) >> I'd say the best route to take is the path from 3 to whichever. Whichever means that so long as you walk down that path, you can turn left and backstab point 5, then advancing into Bombsite B; you could also pass the double doors near point 9 and choose to turn left or right - I'd say again to go to Bombsite B, but only because on average less CT's go to that bombsite. << Map Unfairness >> Dust2 is one of the most balanced maps, despite what I've said. It's far more fair to the Terrorists than say, de_aztec, or even de_dust. Because of the number of different pathways inter-connecting, no two games are the same, and so even though I've pointed out which paths I think are the best for each side - it might not always be the case. Overall, I think the CT's have a (slight) positional advantage in this map. Because their spawn site is so close to both bombsites, they can reach virtually all the chokepoints before the T's can. This does not mean they will win more often, of course - it's up to individual players and their skills to turn the tide of the match. ========================================================================= Section 9: Contact Info email: guoguodi@yahoo.com Please put "CS" in the subject line if you want to discuss aspects of the game, or "CS FAQ" if it's just about the FAQ. Comments and criticisms are welcome - please email me if anything is wrong in this FAQ too. Greetings: - big hellos to VA and CA players in Box Hill, Melbourne! - thanks to cyper aka "Postman Pat" for help with the formatting and other pointers for this faq - thanks to HaRRy aka "PeluchoN" for the Sensitivity Quick-switch bind - thanks go to GameFAQs board members for their collective "knowledge exchangin'" >8^D - thanks go to the other CS faq writers; read their faqs too! - thanks to GameFAQs & CJayC for posting this FAQ - anyone else I forgot? - you, the reader "This is your life - and it's ending one minute at a time." - Fight Club. ========================================================================= Section 10: Unrealistic CS www.summerblue.net/games/cs_report/ Please see this report if you haven't already. It details almost every important aspect of the Counter-Strike game engine, aswell as some flaws that concern realism. The report refers to CS 1.3, and although a lot of the errors documented by the report have been corrected in CS 1.4/1.5, a lot of relevant info can still be gleaned from it. The most interesting thing is accuracy and recoil in CS. There are many unrealistic implementations of recoil in CS. For instance, firing (and holding for full-auto) an M4A1 at a wall will result in a random dispertion of bullet decals on the wall - ie. you have a random chance of hitting something within the boundaries of your expanding crosshairs. In that sense, as long as a target is inside your crosshairs, you have a random chance of hitting any of the hitboxes on his body; this would explain the apparent frequency of, if I may use the term, "bullshit headshots". This random bullet-to-target implementation is completely unrealistic. With a real automatic rifle, each bullet lands right next to the previous shot, and so firing auto would actually leave a long line of bullet marks, not a wild "cloud". (Note that this problem has been greatly reduced since CS 1.4, and only applies to a few guns in CS 1.5). A player could jump around a corner, and having not enough time to aim at his target, simply spray wildly and hit his opponent's head - which is absurd considering that he didn't have time to aim - and therefore how on earth did he hit his target, and even kill him with a headshot? The author of the report also discusses interesting aspects of the CS netcode implementation (cl_cmdrate, cl_updaterate, that sort of thing), aswell as going through most of the weapons. An excellent read, and very informing! *** Section 11: Clan 5v5 and LAN/Public Servers *** This FAQ was written mainly for the LAN/Pub player to get some info on CS in that environment, however, I believe that every once in a while they need to be reminded how CS is meant to be played ;) The following is a *comparison* of the two playing environments. LAN/Public Servers ------------------ 1) The most obvious difference is the number of players. Most public servers have between 12 to 32 player slots. This can lead to a very crowded map and the top one or two players are completely dominating the scoreboard. There is less ability for flanking and the smart (but cowardly) player waits for most of his and the enemy team to die before rushing out. 2) Despite the chaotic atmosphere, the Gameplay Dynamics still apply and thus there is still strategy, but almost inevitably the top player is almost equal to his entire team in terms of killing power. He always leads the rush and kills the most enemies per round - if he were to suddenly switch sides, his previous team would suddenly find itself without leadership. 3) It is very difficult to co-ordinate complex maneuvres, because most of the lesser players tend to follow the others, and take kills only by chance. On the other hand, the best players have exceptional positional awareness and seek out the enemy, and don't just wander aimlessly. Interestingly, I have never seen a close, large public match. Nearly every time one team resolves itself as the dominant, and the other almost "submissive". (See Gameplay Dynamics). High calibre Clans (5v5) ------------------ This category includes those teams competing in the CAL\CPL, CB Eurocup etc. 1) Teamplay is essential - although personal skill is still vital, and a strong team can't be without strong players, strategy is even more important. Especially since the changes between CS 1.3 and CS 1.4 (See Section 10), teamplay has become the most important factor over plain killing skills. "Teamplay" comprises: -> communication: for instance, when someone spots the enemy, they can give detailed information through voice-comm, instead of just typing it or radioing "enemy spotted" -> awareness: when a player dies, his teammates know exactly where he died and thus heighten their positional awareness -> "strats" (strategies): due to long hours of practice, clans can come up with diverse strategies for attacking and defending, such as grenade spams, team boosting, decoy rushes etc which all become familiar to the player. 2) Familiarity and practice with fellow clan members leads to a very robust and flexible team. Map strategies become second-nature and positional awareness is heightened. As opposed to large pubs, where due to the large number of enemies, a single player can possibly only have a vague image of what locations the enemy is clustered at, and can only do so much to break those strongholds. 3) Because there are only 10 players, the gameplay becomes more balanced, and less favoured towards the defending team (CTs on DE maps). The attacking team probably has the advantage (except in de_aztec), because of the way the CTs have to spread out. ======================================================================= Appendix A: Kill/Death Ratios Suppose that every round a player kills AT MOST 9 opponents, and suppose also that every round he is killed. So his average would be .. 4.5 kills per round; and his kd would be 4.5:1 ... This is a (random) representation: Round Kills Deaths Overall Immediate ----- ----- ------ ------- --------- 1 9 1 9:1 9:1 2 16 2 8:1 7:1 3 22 3 7.33:1 6:1 Suddenly, in the 4th round, he scores a death after only one kill. 4 23 4 5.75:1 1:1 Most human players will have kd's that progress in this fashion; ie. from their average or higher that decreases gradually to being quite low. Usually a ratio will become harder and harder to maintain as the rounds progress ... a single death can drastically change the ratio. Psychology plays a large factor in this "KD decrease" phenomenon. I've experienced it many times when playing against both bots and humans; but I suppose it's probably because I don't practice what I preach (as much); ie. don't get too repetitive, or you'll find your nice streak ends rather swiftly. I suppose that's what most players have; a STREAK, which bumps up their K-D from what their average would be. But it doesn't last, unless of course they continually adapt. If you really pay attention, you'll find that your KD Ratio reflects the way you are playing - and the way others are too. If the ratio itself is quite high, yet you are only in the middle of the table, you know you're probably not being aggressive enough. Once you know your average KD, you can, at any time during the game, check to see how you're going and notice how it reflects your current style. A lesser used ratio is the Kills per Round Ratio; it's actually a better indication of your killing power/frequency. Finding your average in K/R, and then comparing to your current situation can help too. ======================================================================= Appendix B: Console Tweaks Enter the following commands in the console by pressing the "~" key in- game (1 means true, 0 means false): adjust_crosshair change crosshair colour cl_corpsestay x specify time in seconds that dead bodies are visible cl_dyamiccrosshair 0 the crosshair only changes size when weapon is fired cl_himodels 1 use detailed models cl_minmodels 1 T's use 1337 model, CT's use GIGN cl_righthand 1 weapon is in the right hand fastsprites 0, 1 or 2 change the smoke quality ( higher degrades image quality) fps_max 100 set the frames per second limit (maximum for CS is 100) hud_centerid 1 certain text appears in the center hud_draw 1 show/hide the HUD hud_fastswitch 1 fast weapon switching net_graph 3 see your frames per second + rates info r_drawviewmodel 0 gun becomes invisible sensitivity x specify a mouse sensitivity The following commands require a restart of the server/client's game to be in effect: gl_picmip 0, 1 or 2 sets the picmip value for the video card; lower means better image quality at the expense of perform- ance gl_texturesize 128, 256 or 512 change the maximum texture size (in bits, most newer video cards can handle 512 bits) gl_texturemode texturemode should be one of the following GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_NEAREST GL_NEAREST_MIPMAP_LINEAR GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR Other Tweaks (search on Google, I can't remember the exact sites): ps2rate this program improves your mouse refresh rate up to 200Hz (USB Mice don't need this) cacheman Good program for improving your comp's memory management; use verion 3.5 Also to improve fps: try turning 'vsync' off in your video card options. It will not limit the game's fps to your monitor's refreshrate. Eg. if your monitor refreshes at 85hz, then the game would be limited to 85fps. Right click Desktop, then click Properties. Click Settings, then Advanced, then click on your video card's tab. There should be an option to turn 'vsync off'. Note that turning vsync off can lead to occasional visual anomalies on fast computers or "screen ripping". ========================================================================== Copyright (c) 2002-2003 Guoguodi (guoguodi@yahoo.com) <----------------------------{ End of File }----------------------------->