CS:S strategies and getting good?

[TBSN]

So I recently got back into counter strike source after a long time. It's still as awesome as ever IMO.

There are a ton of myths and bits of knowledge about the game that I can't confirm though. For instance, people have figured out the littlest details like whether switching weapons after firing the scout is faster than letting the reload animation go. Also supposedly the M4 is less powerful with the silencer, but more accurate. Then I heard it was less accurate, but had less recoil.

Is there place to read about all the gory details and strategies for CS:S? I'd like to use keybinds and know how things work (for example, the weight of the gun determines the speed you run, which is measured in "units" per second? Is that true?)

Any l33t CS players out there?

 

[SonicIce]

The M4 with silencer is definately weaker and I think less accurate too. I also heard less rate of fire. Only real benefit is that it's quiet so the enemy will need a few seconds to figure out where your shots are coming from.

Try to stick to 2-3 round bursts otherwise accuracy goes to hell. The best advice I think is to learn how to aim properly when holding down the trigger. http://counterstrikesourcetactics.blogspot.com/2008/02/css-weapon-spray-patterns-with-pictures.html

 

[matas]

def get a good gaming mouse with like 3200 dpi if you haven't already done so. Also if you snipe, and you would like to use lower sensitivity when zoomed in, use the zoom_sensitivity_ratio 0.8 (or whatever number, 1 means same sens., less than one sensitivity will be less when zoomed in.). Headset is another really important peripheral for gaming. You need to know where the steps are coming from to quickly pinpoint the enemies' locations.

 

[0roo0roo]

deathmatch to practice and evaluate guns. you can be reckless and just do what you need to on a dm server. whereas you are too cautious and get too little chance on a regular one to reallty test and learn the weapons basics. rapid repeatability on dm should show u exactly how the guns work in no time at all.
but yes different guns behave differently. ak on full auto turns into something that couldn't hit a barn door. burst and its a silly headshot machine.
and yes headset.
i'm pretty sure the m4 with silencer was supposedly slightlymore accurate
don't care about weight, the gun makes you move at x speed for whatever reason, just learn it. its just a balancing factor. like the cheap rifle will make you walk slower, leaving you open to being flanked or shanked.

 

[Ika]

you don't need to turn the sensitivity down when sniping, it only slows you down at higher levels of play.

regarding the M4 - I think the silencer reduces the accuracy of the first few shots, but makes it easier to spray (easier HOW, I don't really know...). an unsilenced m4 will have almost pinpoint accuracy for the first three shots if you're standing still; however, the silenced shots will give you a second or two or three before your enemy figures out where you are. if you don't kill me outright with an unsilenced m4 chances are I will whip around and headshot you before you can do the same.

all the weapons have a certain "run speed" - type "cl_showpos" in console to figure out what it is. "normal" run speed is 250 units - this is with the knife, all pistols, all SMGs, and the m3 (maybe the XM1014, I don't use it enough to know). the rifles will all slow you down to a certain degree. the scout actually makes you FASTER, at 260 units.

quickswitching (changing weapons, then changing back) generally works well with the AWP if you can switch fast enough. I don't think it's faster on the scout, but I do it anyway because it kicks me out of zoom automatically. I don't like how the snipers rezoom after you load the bolt, it's disorienting.

one thing I like to do when strafe-shooting is strafe in one direction, then hit the other direction to instantly stop, fire a few shots, then continue strafing. this reduces your "strafe penalty" for accuracy, because normally if you don't "counter-strafe" you'll slide for a little bit before you stop.

there's a lot of in-depth info regarding whatever you might want to know on the internet. just do a google search for whatever you want and chances are you'll find info about it.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

With the m4 silencer on your damage goes down like 10hp per bullet but the recoil pattern changes. I think it's more circular so it's easier to spray.

I think there have been a couple other tip threads for cs:s. Might want to check those out.

Search is kind of busted for a search of "cs:s" so here are some links I found:
http://forums.anandtech.com/archive/index.php/t-2046846.html
http://forums.anandtech.com/archive/index.php/t-1768491.html
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=328013

 

[ViviTheMage]

I remember the days back in CS beta-1.5 when we'd spend hours figuring out spam spots, and which guns shot better/through what. What routes were the fastest, depending on spawn points, etc.

There was never a huge list, but you could find a few when watching the top dogs playing in tournaments.

 

[2dt Drifter]

What Aflac said.

-wear headphones
-I learned from playing this goddamn game since 2000'ish that it's not a casual gamers game. Commit to the game if you're going to play, if you don't you'll get run over.
-The CSS radar is awesome if you use it correctly as it gives you the enemies position during game. Either from dead team mates or team mates spotting enemy.
-learn to shoot accurately while strafing. then learn to shoot accurately while shooting a strafing enemy.
-sometimes this helps and sometimes it doesn't: Jump when you round corners. if there is enemy watching that corner, they will have their crosshairs lined up at head level to catch anyone rounding the corner to get that instant headshot. sometimes by jumping you'll take the bullets in the body and reduce the chances of getting HS, thus letting you focus on the camping enemy. More advanced players are used to this method and actually wait for you to land before taking your head off (taking advantage of the fatigue time). or they'll just get the HS while you're in the air.
-Flashbangs are more deadly than HE grenades. If i still have both FB's and an HE at round end i'm not using them correctly.
-people use smoke for the wrong reason, it's to cover you, not the enemy.

Like everyone else has said, each weapon is different, there is only one constant between all of them: The very first bullet is always the most accurate.

Play more and learn from first person perspectives, etc.

 

[bonkers325]

i havent played CS ever since 1.5 way back before source came out - i was in CAL-I for a while and won a few cash tourneys before i stopped playing.

the most important thing is to anticipate where people are going to be - you won't be living long if you're only reacting to other people's strategies. this is really more important when you're holding key spots at a bomb site, when two or three people are coming at you at once. cant count the number of times that i've dragged a short rifle burst over a place where i thought someone was going to rush out, only to see sparks and blood fly out from behind a crate or wall.

rifle bursts - all the rifles are comparable but with different burst patterns. AK47 has a very predictable pattern of bursting in a vertical motion, M4 is more circular. the scope rifles are not much better than the regular rifles, they cost more and do the same (the scope is useless once you get to a certain accuracy level, as the scope doesnt really magnify much).

sniper rifles - the scout is quite accurate even if you're strafing, and it increases run speed. you can treat it as a rifle if you're up close, it is accurate even unzoomed. AWP always use zoomed, its not accurate unless you're point blank unzoomed. i always quick-switch to pistol, the auto-zooming after reload was generally annoying. after you fire your sniper rifle, do not release the 'fire' button and just scroll your mouse wheel up/down to switch instantly to the next weapon (this is without custom keybinds)

crouching - i never did it unless i needed the vantage point. it doesn't alter your hitboxes (anymore) and limits your move speed. if you're standing behind a box, tapping crouch will let you tip-toe over a box to see what's going on.

strafing - learn to strafe and shoot and understand the relation between target distance and strafing. the further the target, the more effective strafing will be. if your target is a grenade's throw away, strafe in/out of sight from behind a shield. dont just run out and strafe left-to-right, because at that range you're just a dancing target. try to be a bit unpredictable with your strafing - if you're always using the same point to reverse directions, you might as well stand still and let someone take your head off.

 

[TBSN]

This is a wealth of information, thanks ppl. Headphones have definitely help me. I have to get a wired mouse I think that would help too.

I have an advantage over new players in that I've played CS since it was just a beta HL mod. I played on and off since then and I have lost a lot of the twitch reactions, but I still know the maps and the guns. They have changed things along the way, though, that really annoy me.

One thing is that the guns come with ammo. Before that, buying ammo was a tactical choice. Buying the MP5 as T used to be a tactical decision because it shared the 9mm ammo of the glock. It saved money. Now it doesn't really matter, money isn't really an important part of the game anymore.

Still a great game though.

 

[2dt Drifter]

....It saved money. Now it doesn't really matter, money isn't really an important part of the game anymore.

Still a great game though.

You missed the whole DWP fiasco when the Deagle, AK and AWP were 3x as expensive as they normally were.

I will still mash .,.,.,.,.,.,. sometimes after my gun purchase to buy primary and secondary ammo. Old habits die hard.

 

[Ika]

You missed the whole DWP fiasco when the Deagle, AK and AWP were 3x as expensive as they normally were.

I will still mash .,.,.,.,.,.,. sometimes after my gun purchase to buy primary and secondary ammo. Old habits die hard.

Haha, weren't the M4 and Ak up around 14k and the deagle around 5-8k? that was quite a disaster. the mac10 dropped to like $100, too... the only good thing IMO was dropping the price of NVGs and TMPs.

It's too bad you can't buy ammo anymore, as I used to only buy one extra clip for my snipers in case I die and someone else picks up the gun. then again, it's nice not having to ration your deagle ammo on the first round in a big pub. occasionally I used to forget to restock on ammo too, so I'd fire three bullets then wonder why my gun was clinking.

if you're playing competitively, it's IMPERATIVE to know when to use flashbangs well, especially on maps everyone knows like dust2. I played warcraft:source exclusively for the better part of around two years. I went back into a competitive pub (sourceinvite) to see if I could still compete at higher levels. first map I joined was Dust2, and I went 0-8 because every time I'd hit a choke point I'd get flashed, then die a few seconds later. the next time I played d2 I made sure to use more flash-proof positions as well as counter-flashes for when I expect a rush push (such as at short A) and did much better.

the scout is super accurate at medium to short ranges; however, it doesn't do well over long distances (like across the map in de_port). that's really my only gripe with the scout - even if you crouch and aim at someone, it's a coin flip whether you'll hit them or not. scouting on cs_office is really fun, though, because everyone is so predictable with regards to camping positions. line up the crosshairs at head level (the wall texture makes it easy to anticipate), pop out, fire a bullet, score the headshot, then go hide again. wash, rinse, repeat on the next three guys until they overwhelm you, then fall back and repeat again.

 

[QuantumPion]

Silenced M4 is definitely better, regardless of damage or recoil patterns. The fact that you can pop off one guy without his buddy standing right next to him noticing or seeing where the shots came from is much more important.

Best way to rack up kills is to not be where enemies expect you to be. This means either going kami-kaze and power rushing into the enemy's normal path, and hopefully take out 2-3 by surprise before you you die yourself. The second method is to hang back for the first half of the round while most of the team picks each other off at the normal choke points. Then go lone wolf and hunt down the enemy by double-backing behind their lines.

I rarely use flashbangs or grenades because my strategy is to use speed, stealth, and surprise. FB's or grenades slow you down and alert the enemy to your presence.

 

[QuantumPion]

the scope rifles are not much better than the regular rifles, they cost more and do the same (the scope is useless once you get to a certain accuracy level, as the scope doesnt really magnify much).

It's true that the 2nd-tier rifles' scopes aren't very useful. However I much prefer The SIG over the AK due to its higher rate of fire.

 

[QueBert]

I had a Razer Keyboard with macros and I set up a CS:S profile with different quick buy macros. Depending on the map and who I was playing again I had 5 totally different quick buy macros set up. Those few extra seconds seemed to help me, if nothing else at least mentally

 

[CurseTheSky]

* Learn the maps. I play almost exclusively cs_office. It does get boring from time to time, but after several days (or weeks, depending on how much you play and how fast you learn), you'll know all of the usual hiding spots, how far the opponents will get at the beginning of the match (so you know how far you can rush in and still be safe), where the nearest exit is, where that sound of breaking glass came from, etc.

* Choose your weapon wisely:
- Rifles are the most universal, as they're excellent at long range and decent close up. Various rifles have different advantages though, like the FAMAS, which has excellent accuracy but causes you to move more slowly than an M4 or AK-47.
- SMGs are exceptional at close range (due to their compact size, making it easier to turn and spray), but are less accurate at long range. The MP5 and (to some extent) the P90 are better at long range hits than the Mac 10 or TMP.
- Sniper rifles are self-explanatory. The Scout is the only one that I use and respect, but due to it having less power than the AWP, it takes more practice.
- The Para (machine gun) is generally an over-priced piece of crap, unless you're rushing in or going for bullet penetration.
- Don't neglect your pistol. It's much easier to whip out your side arm than it is to wait for your rifle to reload if you have an enemy close by. The Desert Eagle is by far the most powerful, but has a small clip size and will not suit you if you don't have good twitch accuracy. The P228 and USP are a solid choices, and I tend to stay away from the Glock and Five-Seven.


* Wear headphones and watch your radar. That way you can attribute footsteps to a friend or a foe without actually popping out to look.

 

[Dumac]

* learn the maps. I play almost exclusively cs_office. It does get boring from time to time, but after several days (or weeks, depending on how much you play and how fast you learn), you'll know all of the usual hiding spots, how far the opponents will get at the beginning of the match (so you know how far you can rush in and still be safe), where the nearest exit is, where that sound of breaking glass came from, etc.

* choose your weapon wisely:
- rifles are the most universal, as they're excellent at long range and decent close up. Various rifles have different advantages though, like the famas, which has excellent accuracy but causes you to move more slowly than an m4 or ak-47.
- smgs are exceptional at close range (due to their compact size, making it easier to turn and spray), but are less accurate at long range. The mp5 and (to some extent) the p90 are better at long range hits than the mac 10 or tmp.
- sniper rifles are self-explanatory. The scout is the only one that i use and respect, but due to it having less power than the awp, it takes more practice.
- the para (machine gun) is generally an over-priced piece of crap, unless you're rushing in or going for bullet penetration.
- don't neglect your pistol. It's much easier to whip out your side arm than it is to wait for your rifle to reload if you have an enemy close by. The desert eagle is by far the most powerful, but has a small clip size and will not suit you if you don't have good twitch accuracy. The p228 and usp are a solid choices, and i tend to stay away from the glock and five-seven.


* wear headphones and watch your radar. That way you can attribute footsteps to a friend or a foe without actually popping out to look.

brofist

 

[MarcVenice]

How rampant are cheaters in CS nowadays?

And from what I remember, recoil can be controlled, can it not? I saw movies of people spraying with ak's, but getting all bullets close to each other with very little spread.

I did love CS for sure, I recently played it at Computex, but some girl was kicking my ass completely After a few rounds I did get the hang of it though, which was cool.

 

[0roo0roo]

I had a Razer Keyboard with macros and I set up a CS:S profile with different quick buy macros. Depending on the map and who I was playing again I had 5 totally different quick buy macros set up. Those few extra seconds seemed to help me, if nothing else at least mentally

just use auto buy scripts, you can download em. theres one that adds all the buys to the keyboard bind in game options menu so you can just set whatever keys to buy x gun/equip. i set the number pad for most common buys.

 

[KIAman]

Learn the maps, choke points, hiding spots, then shoot through the walls with a rifle to hit them. Ammo is cheap considering you can pick up weapons off the ground. Learn to know when to reload.

Don't jump unless you are jumping over an obstacle. Don't even jump into a hallway or doorway. Just shoot them faster than they shoot you. If you are still not confident, then throw a flashbang, then right before it goes off, move in, shoot the dude in the head, then move back.

Don't worry about weapons. Always use the rifle if you can afford it. Only use SMGs if you are poor. Use DE if saving money. Only use AWP if you are banking lots of money and want to fool around.

M4A1 silencer or not, don't matter, shoot head and the muffled sound can still be heard, just more silent so won't make you a ninja.

Learn to headshot then learn the hitbox for a toon's head from below angle, sides, above angle and crouch. They are boxes and do not follow the shape of the drawn character.

That is all.

 

[0roo0roo]

and aim for the head with pistols.
by the time you get enough body shots you'll be dead first so no point trying for anything else.

 

[Ben90]

If you want to get good, the only way is to start ringing for teams (real teams, not û⌡⌂▬♫ | supal33tcappacop).
Taking advice from a forum is great and all, but its much better to have people bitching at you on why you did X.

It takes years to get good at this game for a competitive level and most of the stuff your going to have to learn yourself in irc games. No one masters this game playing only public servers. Once you feel confident in your own ability, then I would start watching some cevo-p/cpl demos.

If you have any questions PM me and id be happy to share some of my knowledge.

Add these commands into console:
cl_autowepswitch 0
rate 100000
cl_cmdrate 100
cl_updaterate 100

oh, and also learn how to bunnyhop lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYEyIGLRqW0&hd=1

 

[Ika]

How rampant are cheaters in CS nowadays?

And from what I remember, recoil can be controlled, can it not? I saw movies of people spraying with ak's, but getting all bullets close to each other with very little spread.

I did love CS for sure, I recently played it at Computex, but some girl was kicking my ass completely After a few rounds I did get the hang of it though, which was cool.

cheating is a lot less common than people think; a lot of it is just good radar and sound usage coupled with very fast twitch skills. on a good server, cheaters are generally reported and banned within a few hours.

a lot of people think I hack, though, when I stop, turn around, and heatshot someone because they made footsteps or ran over a milk carton or something, or follow someone's general position in the hallway next to me because i can hear their footsteps. if there's anything to emphasize, it's this - sound usage is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to being good at CS:S. Knowing where the most common camping spots and ambush spots are will give you that split second difference between killing someone and dying.

recoil patterns can be controlled to a general extent. It's harder with the AK because it has some of the randomest spray out of all the guns, but it's quite possible. the only way to learn this is to watch someone who's good at spraying or to test it yourself, over and over. a good way to play with all the guns is through either deathmatch or gungame.

as for buying weapons, I had my F keys set up to buy one item each - f1 was m4/ak, f2 was scout, f3 was awp, f4 was aug/sg552, f5 was m3, f6 was famas/galil, f7 was p90, f8 was mp5, f9 was deagle, f10 was flashbang, f11 was hegrenade, f12 was defuser, vesthelm and vest (in that order). it's still important to memorize which numbers were what weapon though (b31 was a TMP), especially since some T numbers arent the same as CT numbers (in rifles and in equipment).

always always always buy a helmet if you can afford it, unless you're on CT and are getting rolled without money (ak headshots are always 100+ damage even with helmets). Helmets are most critical for stopping an m4 bullet, which will make you take 75-90 damage instead of 110-130, as well as pistol and smg headshots. if you're hit in the head you're generally dead anyway, since it screws up your aim, but it lets you survive (sometimes) against a bad opponent who sprays wildly.

fuuuuuuu, and I was doing such a good job staying away from CS, too damn you AT!

 

[Tristicus]

Don't play.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Most players that are actually good will tell you to use a lower mouse sensitivity and a bigger mousepad. My mousepad is 11"x20" and I have my mouse set to 650dpi. Mouse dpi is a gimmick.