Half-Life Counter Strike Weapons and Tactics Guide v.11 by Mochan last modified 5-5-2001 =============================================================================== Best viewed on a text processor with a fixed size font, width of 79 characters. =============================================================================== MISSION STATEMENT This file is meant specifically for the Counter Strike player who is getting trounced all the time from lack of experience and/or knowledge of tactics. I am sharing in this guide all the tricks to help you even out the playing field. You can try out all the other guides floating around, but I will be a big rat bastard and tell you that mine is the best to pick up. ^_^ But that's just me talking. Go see for yourself. This FAQ is also designed to make my name a household name and to promote the [gulay] way of life everywhere. By reading this FAQ you have condemned yourself to become a vegetable. Have a nice day. =============================================================================== E-MAIL POLICY ******* IMPORTANT! READ THIS BEFORE E-MAILING ME ANYTHING ******* Whenever possible, use the Mailing List instead of my e-mail address. My e-mail address is but PLEASE add a tag to the subject header [CS FAQ] Make sure to use that tag exactly as I type it, all caps! [CS FAQ] Don't forget. [CS FAQ] This will help me sort out all CS-related e-mail. >_< =============================================================================== ANNOUNCEMENTS =============================================================================== Since the last version (v.10) I have: New: - Benelli M3 Weapon Specific Tactics section (7D) - a strafe rant (5.b1) Revised: - Did a major overhaul in the weapons sections (IV) to compensate for v1.1 - Various edits - Added a new category for Rate of Fire (Very Fast) - Lowered the accuracy of UMP, Five-SeveN, and all the snipers. - Added some binding techniques (5.a4e) - Changed the UMP from Sporadic to Assault classification (7.i)) - Clarified some things with recoil (3.c) - Added an extra tip to MP5 sniping (7B) - Weeded out more typos =============================================================================== MAILING LIST =============================================================================== The Half Life: Counter Strike Weapons and Tactics Guide now has a mailing list. This is primarily for people who wanted me to send them updates as soon as I finished writing. Whenever I upload a new version to GameFAQs or to my website (www.crosswinds.net/~mosquiton) I will post a notice to the maliling list. To subscribe to the list, send mail to To post to the list, send mail to The homepage of the list is at -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CSFAQML Any other info about the list, such as unsubscribing, should be found there. =============================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS =============================================================================== MISSION STATEMENT E-MAIL POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS MAILING LIST TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1.a -- How to Use this Guide II. BASIC FIGHTING ATTITUDE III. BASIC COMBAT TRAINING 3.a -- Camping or Assaulting 3.b -- Aiming: Accuracy and Recoil 3.b1 - The Rule of Aiming 3.c -- Basic Shooting Styles 3.d -- Range 3.e -- Damage: Armor and Location 3.e1 - Location 3.e2 - Armor 3.f -- Stopping Power IV. THE WEAPONS 4.a -- Pistols 4.b -- Shotguns 4.c -- Submachine Guns 4.d -- Rifles 4.f -- Machine Guns 4.g -- Other Equipment 4.h -- Weapon Movement Speeds 4.i -- Weapon Damage Table V. COUNTER-STRIKE TECHNIQUES 5.a -- General Techniques 5.a1 - Listening 5.a2 - Weapon Switching 5.a2a - Super Weapon Switching 5.a3 - Radar 5.a3a -- Cheap Night Vision 5.a4 - Miscellaneous Console Commands 5.a4a -- Sensitivity 5.a4b -- Crosshair 5.a4c -- Quick Weapon Switching 5.a4d -- Mouse Filter 5.a4e -- Binding Technique 5.a4f -- On the Fly Config Switch 5.a5 - Speed Buying Technique 5.a6 - End Reloading Technique 5.a7 - Bunny Hopping 5.b -- Defensive Techniques 5.b1 - Side Stepping 5.b2 - Ducking 5.b3 - Jumping 5.b4 - Shadow Technique 5.b5 - Hit and Run Technique 5.b6 - Crowd Defense 5.b6a -- Hostage Defense 5.b7 - Smart Reloading 5.b8 - Continuous Movement Defense 5.b9 - Flee from Fire Technique 5.b10 - Backstabbing Technique (Uragiri) 5.b10a -- Letting the Shadow Pass (Kage Yurutou) 5.b10a -- Baiting the Enemy 5.b11 - Hiding the Ghost (Yurei o Kakushite) 5.b12 - Thrift Technique 5.c -- Offensive Techniques 5.c1 - Stationary Aiming 5.c2 - Hot and Cold Firing Technique 5.c2a -- Jump Aiming 5.c3 - Figure Eight Sidestep Technique 5.c3a -- Anti-Arctic Technique 5.c4 - Assault Weapon Sniping Technique 5.c5 - Perpetual Motion Agressiveness Technique 5.c6 - Find the Weakpoint 5.c6a -- Finding the Blind Spot 5.c7 - Money Flash Awareness Technique (Kane Kae Sen) 5.c8 - Stealth Technique 5.c9 - Team First, You Last 5.c10 - Catching the Motion (Mugento Shunkan) 5.d -- Dirty Tricks 5.d1 - Adjusting Light Gamma 5.d2 - X-Ray Vision 5.d3 - Super Figure Eight Sidestepping 5.d4 - Team Jumps 5.d4a -- Hostage Jumps 5.d5 - Sound Binds 5.d6 - Auto Aim 5.d7 - Smoke no More Technique (Kemuri Muyougiri) 5.d8 - Paralyzing Smoke Technique 5.d9 - Mimic Technique VI. COUNTER STRIKE ETIQUETTE VII. WEAPON SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES 7.i -- Weapon Archetype Guide 7A. AI Arctic Warfare Magnum 7B. H&K MP5-Navy 7C. Kalashnikov AK-47 7D. Benelli M3 Super90 APPENDIX A -- USEFUL LINKS APPENDIX B -- BOT TRAINING GUIDE (still under construction) APPENDIX C -- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) i. DISCLAIMER ii. CREDITS iii. ADDENDUM =============================================================================== I. INTRODUCTION =============================================================================== This guide was written for the Half Life mod Counter Strike. CS needs no introduction, I believe it is currently the most popular multiplayer FPS game in the world. So popular that this unofficial MOD is now an official Half Life product. Now that Counter Strike is no longer a beta and has been officially released, I feel the time is ripe to release a new guide to help the new CS player on the way to fight the veterans on equal terms. Because of its new-found fame, more and more new players are coming out of the wood work. Sadly, these new players are woefully underclassed. Veterans have the advantage of knowledge and experience over the newbie. They're just too serious and take the fun away from the newbie. So, in the words of Mega Man X, it's "Time to get serious!" I got serious enough to write this guide to impart to the newbie one of the two things they need to get even: knowledge. Take note that just knowledge of these tricks will not make you an expert killer overnight! I am sure these techniques, tried, tested and proven over the years, will increase your playing skill tremendously, but in the end only practice and experience will make you a truly formidable CS killing machine. But these teachings, which I have learned from personal experience and from speaking with those better than me, are a good foundation to provide you the basic skills that will evolve into lethal killing techniques. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.a -- How to Use this Guide Although in theory I believe that clarity and conciseness is more important than volume, I am very poor in practice. Thus my ramblings are often very long. Much of what I wish to impart is contained in these long paragraphs, and should all be read to understand all that I am trying to say. However, for those with less patience, I have enclosed in "boxes" important tips that you should pay close attention to. Even for those reading everything, these enclosed boxes contain the most important points of the entire passage. ---------------------------------------- | READ THE ENCLOSED TEXT SUCH AS THIS! | ---------------------------------------- After reading through the guide, don't be worried if you didn't understand some things. You can't be expected to learn everything in one sitting. Most importantly, you should get some practical experience, preferably right after a reading. Always remember, practice makes perfect. Also, repetition is the key to learning. Once you've read this guide, practice. Then read it again, and practice some more. You will gain more understanding with each reading and each practice session, in time leading to an eventual culmination of all the lessons. And with the many excellent CS Bots coming out (like Count Floyd's POD Bot), there's no excuse for not finding any punching bags to practice on. I also include cheesy quotes like this to spice the guide up. Ignore them as you wish, they're just there for decoration: "If the student does not wish to gain strength, he cannot become truly strong." -- Hiko Seijuro, Rurouni Kenshin If the guidelines I stated above seem too demanding, all I can say is that I'm doing this for your own good. I'm trying to mold you into the best player you can be. This isn't some overnight miracle guide. You have to work for it. The desire to be strong must be present, overpowering, enough for you to overcome all these hardships and strive to reach the goal. If you are going to be half-hearted about the process, not practicing or taking the time to understand all the tricks in this treatise, then you will not become strong. But in the end, keep in mind that Counter Strike is only a game, and anyone taking a game too seriously needs to be dragged out and roughed up. Anyway, to help get the info you need, be sure to check the Table of Contents and see what looks useful to you. Copy the section of interest and use your text viewer's find function to skip to the relevant part. I regret the need to resort to this technique, but my organizational and layout skills are horrible, as you can see. =============================================================================== II. BASIC FIGHTING ATTITUDE =============================================================================== "A sword is a deadly weapon. Fighting techniques are what perfect killers." -- Himura Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin (Hecto version) "A gun is a killing weapon. Fighting techniques are killing techniques. This will always be true." -- Me, paraphrasing the Hitokiri Battousai Remember that at all times a gun is a deadly weapon. Point it at someone only if you have the intention to shoot, and potentially kill. This is moral bullshit which I think people all people should remember. But also keep in mind that Counter Strike is just a game, and pointing a gun at someone in this game is done all in the spirit of fun. No hard feelings! But when you do point that gun at someone, be sure that you are whole-heartedly focused on aiming at him, and shooting to kill. Otherwise you will die and you'll be stuck as a ghost until the round ends. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Mental Focus and Determination are the most important traits of a killer | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keeping your mind focused allows you to react faster, and thus kill faster. That is why having the right attitude to killing is very important. You must be whole-heartedly devoted to the act of pointing your gun at your opponent, and squeezing the trigger. Hesitation will end up with you dead. "There is a world of difference in our resolve. Unlike you, I am staking my life on this!" -- Rouge, Soreyuke! Uchuusenkan Yamamoto Youko As a PC game player, I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of savegames. However, savegames do gamers a disservice by making them bad players. Why? Because with a save game, you don't value your life. You are not "staking your life" on the outcome, because if you die you can instantly reload. However, consider a game with no save game, or limited save point functions (like Hitman or Resident Evil). Because you can't save anywhere, you do your best not to die at any given point (especially if you're far from a save point). Most people don't notice this, but this is a crucial factor in forming your mental condition. In Counter Strike, you should adopt a more advanced version of this philosophy. You should play as if your life were depending on it, as if there were no tomorrow. This will put you in a far better mental state. You must be determined to win. Although I reiterate that this is just a game, sometimes you need to adopt a deadly serious attitude to go beyond your limits. I don't recommend this for friendly play, but if you really must win, you might have to take the game far more seriously than you normally would. In real life, I think this is what they mean by "living life to its fullest." "Live your life, Kenshin." -- Hiko Seijuro, Rurouni Kenshin. Regardless, you must always keep your mind running, even while just standing in one spot. If you slack off even for one second, your reflexes will drop, and you will be a dead man. I cannot emphasize this enough. A casual player will probably just take a passing interest while fighting, may even snooze a bit while camping. These players often end up dead. But if you seriously want to improve, keep your mind focused. That is the true key to victory; physical skills like aiming and shooting are secondary to this basic truth. "You can win a thousand battles, but you can only lose one!" -- Zaknafein, Homeland I firmly believe that the best fighter is the one who is ALWAYS on alert; never to let his mind slip at any point. I must confess that I myself have not achieved this level. Ever wonder why sometimes you have "hot streaks," or times when you seemingly manage to kill wave after wave of enemies without taking a hit, but sometimes you can't kill for the life of you? My theory is that it is a case of mental control. You achieve a hot streak when your mental focus is at its highest, and a losing streak when your mind is at a low. While I have not managed to achieve that highest level of perpetual mental focus, nor do I know anyone who has, I am sure it is possible. I like to look at historic warriors who are said never to have lost a single battle -- Miyamoto Musashi, Yagyu Jubei, and so on -- to prove my point. It might help if you learn to meditate or do some other training to concentrate and focus your mind. Just a suggestion. Try taking up Zen, Yoga or some really intense sport if you really want to master Counter Strike, heheh. ^_^; =============================================================================== III. BASIC COMBAT TRAINING Now that you're hyped to kill your enemy, you need to learn some basic concepts regarding player movement in counterstrike. =============================================================================== 3.a -- Camping or Assaulting Now, in CS, each side, the terrorist and counter terrorists, have goals to achieve. Depending on the map, one side will usually be defensive or offensive. Indeed, some maps were meant to be very defensible for certain sides. Because of this, there are two main kinds of playing mindsets in CS: camping or assaulting. A camper is someone who sits tight in a very defensible position. People often despise campers because they are cowards who know nothing of honor and would rather hide behind a crate in a dark corner rather than fight head-on. Well, campers shouldn't let such taunts bother them; they do what they do to win, and camping is the way they know best to do this. Campers rely on patience, and often work in teams because no single person can cover all the critical points effectively. They wait for the enemy to take the battle to them. The team taking the defensive position, such as terrorists in a CS map, often makes use of camping techniques. An assaulter is someone who charges right into the fray. Whether the enemies choose to meet him in the same way, or whether they hide behind a rock is of no consequence; he will charge right in and make mince meat of his opponent as soon as he comes across him. They take the battle to the enemy. The team taking the offensive, like terrorists in a DE map, often go the way of assault. Now, each mindset has its advantages and disadvantages, but most people often fall somewhere in between -- they camp when they must, but they attack when the need arises. However, I've found that the truly great players who rack up lots of kills are often true bred in one of either of the two disciplines: the shameless camper who waits at the end of long corridors with his AWP, or the relentless attacker blaring away with his MP5. Campers have the advantage of position, and can stage ambushes. Defense is always stronger, they say, and campers can pick the most defensible position and stay there, waiting for the hapless assaulter to walk by, conveniently exposing their back to the camper. The drawback is that campers need lots of patience, and have to hone their reaction time greatly. Camping condones laziness, which dulls your reflexes. On average, a camper will develop slower reflexes than an assaulter. The worst part of camping is that they have little control over the flow of the game: they lend their destinies to fate, or more appropriately, to the actions of the assaulters. Assaulters, on the other hand, have the advantage of proactivity. By taking matters into their own hands, they call the shots: they do what they do, when they want to. They can stick together and attack in masse, while campers tend to spread out for defense. In other words, assaulters do what suits them best at any particular time. Because of inertia, a car in motion will accelerate faster than a car at rest. The same principle applies to people's brains from a physiological standpoint. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | An assaulter will have a better reaction time than a camper: because | | they are always on the move, their minds are "in motion," not "at | | rest" like a camper. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In theory an assaulter will often shoot first if he and a camper detect each other at the same time. This has been proven to me time and time again over the years. It is up to you to choose what path you really want to take. You have the potential to rack up the kills no matter what you are, but keep in mind that the key to racking up those kills and staying alive depends greatly on how other people behave. The real secret to CS tactical behavior is anticipating everyone else's moves, whether they are going to camp or not, and bring the appropriate tactic to bear. For instance, if you're planning to camp but all your team mates are going to assault, you probably won't be getting too many kills. Likewise, if you go assault, but all your team mates are going to camp, you'll die in seconds from lack of cover fire. I cannot stress the importance of team behavior: in a friendly game this is not so important, but in serious fights like tournaments, or if you're playing to win, having team tactics is vitally important. But I'll discuss that some other time, that's an advanced tactic. For now, just remember that teamplay is crucial in CS. Knowing your team is not the only thing you need to do; you also need to know your opponents. If they plan to camp, do you go in and assault, guns blaring, and hope to succeed? Or do you have to use the appropriate tactic to breach their defense? Just keep these things in mind for now, for I will not discuss them at this point. The important thing now is to recognize the different kind of players in the game: campers or assaulters. Although I mentioned that pure, true breds of each are often the better players, the best player will likely be the wily, cunning player who knows when to be a camper, and when to be an assaulter. Just keep in mind the basic strengths and weaknesses of each style, especially with regard to map type. ---------------------------------------------------------- | CAMPERS: | | Strength: positional advantage (i.e. - sniping points) | | Weakness: no control over the flow of the battle, | | slower reaction time | | | | ASSAULTERS: | | Strength: control over the battle | | faster reaction time | | Weakness: prone to backstabbing and sniping | ---------------------------------------------------------- Learning to be either a good camper or a good assaulter is vital in CS. If you're defending positions, like hostage areas for terrorists or bomb sites for counter terrorists, good camping skill will help. But keep in mind that a swift assault by the defensive team is both unexpected and can neutralize the enemy's advance just as effectively as a long camp-out. As a newbie, you should master one style first. The choice in, the end, lies in what kind of weapon you prefer: assault weapons or sniper weapons. As we'll discuss later, what weapon you use greatly influences your playing style. If you like weapons like the MP5, M4 and Steyr Aug, then you should learn to be a good assaulter. But if you prefer weapons like the Arctic, then camping skills will suit you well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.b -- Aiming: Accuracy and Recoil Regardless of whether you camp or assault, the most important skill you must learn in CS is how to aim. This is the most crucial part of CS gameplay; if you aim well, your enemy is toast. If your aim is lousy, you're toast. Simple. Aiming is equally important no matter what weapon you use, it's just that different weapons have different aiming nuances. This will all be discussed in the individual weapon sections. There are two very important factors to keep in mind when aiming: accuracy and recoil. Weapons have different ratings for accuracy and recoil. ACCURACY -------- Accuracy determines whether the bullet will go to the spot you're pointing at. You can tell a gun's accuracy by the size of the crosshair. The tighter the crosshair, the more accurate the gun. Your bullet will tend to go in the middle radius of the crosshair's lines. In addition, the more you shoot, the wider the crosshair becomes, decreasing your accuracy. RECOIL ------ Recoil is how much your gun will buck away from where you're pointing each time you fire a shot. The stronger the recoil, the harder it is to control the gun. Recoil and accuracy are affected by certain things. Four things affect accuracy: 1.) Movement 2.) Jumping 3.) Swimming 4.) Ladders ----------------------------------------- | While moving, your accuracy goes down | ----------------------------------------- The amount by which it decreases depends on the weapon, but in general if you want your bullets to go where you aim, you should shoot while standing still. While you are jumping in the air, accuracy is virtually non-existent. ------------------------------------ | Accuracy goes down while jumping | ------------------------------------ Unless you are using a very accurate weapon and are close to your opponent, you will likely not hit your opponent. The same goes for swimming and being on ladders. CS v1.1 NOTE: I have been getting reports that jumping accuracy has increased considerably in v1.1. I have done some extensive testing, and I have concluded this: ------------------------------------------- | Jump accuracy has NOT improved in v1.1! | ------------------------------------------- Yes, that's right. I am not kidding. If anything, accuracy has actually gone DOWN while jumping. This is especially noticeable with the MP5. The only thing I can think of is that some people keep spraying while jumping, and they get lucky headshots. Accuracy has definitely not improved, at least not by my tests, or by the experience of many of the trusted veterans at the LAN where I play. In fact, many of our die-hard MP5 fighters (one of whom never touched any other gun in his CS life) have even given up on the MP5, since their "bunny combat" technique is no longer working as it should. ------------------------------- | Do NOT shoot while swimming | ------------------------------- Swimming is not being in knee-deep water, swimming is when your feet are no longer on the floor, and your 3D model is doing a breast stroke. Do NOT shoot while swimming and expect to hit anything, unless you are right next to the target. Recoil is also substantially increased. ------------------------------- | Do NOT shoot while climbing | ------------------------------- Finally, do not shoot while on a ladder unless there is an emergency. Your accuracy goes down a bit, and worse, recoil goes up a lot. If you must shoot, try to get off the ladder as soon as possible before shooting, or make sure your target is at point-blank range. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.b1 - The Rule of Aiming The general rule of thumb when aiming is simple. ----------------------------------------- | Aim for the neck area of an opponent. | ----------------------------------------- This gives you the greatest trade off of ease to hit and damage. The mid-section of the body is the easiest target, but you do more damage shooting the neck area. The most important reason to aim for this part, though, is to increase your chances of doing a head shot. A single shot to the head is lethal for almost all guns, except those using 9mm ammo. You could try aiming for the head, but this is harder and is something you should focus on only after you have gained a lot of experience. Head shot techniques will be elaborated on later. For now, keep in mind the effect of recoil. Because of it your first bullet may hit its target, but the next ones won't. This is very important in CS, as one shot is often not enough to kill a fully-armored opponent. Another bonus to shooting the neck area is that recoil tends to push assault rifles and submachine guns upward. Thus, your first shot may hit the neck area, but the next shots might be head shots. Just keep in mind the effects of accuracy and recoil, and you will be on the road to mastering aiming. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.c -- Basic Shooting Styles The next consideration to learning the basic skill of aiming is that there are two basic methods of shooting: auto-fire and single-fire. People usually adopt one of these two methods due to their weapons; someone using an MP5 will more likely use auto-fire, while someone using an Arctic is forced to go single-fire. Auto-fire pertains to shooting at a target repeatedly as long as the ammo holds out. Single-fire is shooting single shots to hit the opponent, often done while sniping. Someone going assault usually utilizes auto-fire. I've noticed that most people prefer either auto-fire or single-fire. Those that prefer auto usually go assault and master the MP5, Carbine, Steyr Aug, or Commando. Those that go single-fire become masters of the lethal Arctic Sniper Rifle. Each style has its strengths, and you would do well to specialize in one style. Once you've gained familiarity with one style, you can experiment with the other. -------------------------------------------------------------- | At first, pick your style, auto or single, and stick to it | -------------------------------------------------------------- AUTO-FIRE Auto-fire gives you a higher chance of hitting the opponent, but this is due to quantity and not quality. The more shots you fire, the more chances you have of hitting. But each individual bullet has less chance of hitting because of recoil. Most of the bigger guns let you engage in auto-fire just by holding the fire button down. Pistols, which have no automatic trigger, must be fired with rapid-succession presses to achieve an auto-fire effect. Auto-fire is useful in the the thick of the battle, speed is often of the essence, he who pulls the trigger first will hit the enemy first. However, do not be trigger happy! Because of recoil, many of your succeeding shots will be less likely to hit the target. ALWAYS aim carefully before pulling the trigger. Most beginners will aim in the general direction of the target, and even before the crosshair is at the target, will pull the trigger and never let go. This is, frankly, a waste of ammo and a good way to get killed. ------------------------------------------------------------------ | Always put the target in the sights BEFORE pulling the trigger | ------------------------------------------------------------------ This way, you won't waste the most crucial shot -- the first one, which has the highest likelihood of hitting. Succeeding shots have less chance of hitting due to recoil, and it is not uncommon for newbies to miss their target completely by just spraying their entire clip in a haphazard manner. SINGLE-FIRE Single-fire is used by the more skilled as a means of precision sniping. It is the intelligent way to get head shots. It is very useful to keep recoil under control, making sure your shots keep themselves on target. Because of recoil, some veterans prefer shooting in single-fire mode, especially when using high-recoil guns like the AK-47 and the Para machine gun. By shooting just single bullets instead of sprays, one can minimize the effects of recoil. ------------------------------------------------------ | Shooting single-fire reduces the effects of recoil | ------------------------------------------------------ This is because recoil effects are sharp after firing a shot, and gradually dissipate. By firing at intervals, you give the recoil time to dissipate. Note that this means guns with high rate of fire tend to accumulate a lot of recoil when shot at full-auto at high speed. All guns can be fired in single-fire, some harder than most. Pistols, the combat shotgun and sniper rifles are easy to fire in single shots. The assault rifles and SMGs, though need practice and a light tap on the fire button to shoot in single-fire. Also, single fire generally fires as fast as you can click. Of course, the gun will still limit how fast you can fire, but in some cases you can fire faster than the normal auto-fire trigger would allow. A good example would be the Sig 550 Commando. The trade-off, of course, is that you will spend some concentration on clicking the button furiously, rather than on whatever else you're doing (like aiming at the enemy or moving). BURST-FIRE Aside from the two basic styles of firing, there is a third, which is a sort of hybrid of the two: burst-fire. Shooting in bursts of around 3 bullets is a favored method for sniping by some, because it allows them a better chance of hitting a target, without sacrificing much accuracy from recoil. To achieve burst fire, use a touch similar to single-fire, only hold the fire button slightly longer. Of course, pistols and sniper rifles can't achieve this, except for the Glock which has a special burst-fire option. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.d -- Range After learning to aim, you need to apply your aiming skills to four basic divisions of range: point blank, close, medium, and long. Unit of measurement for distance is hard to define, so I will talk in terms of landmarks on a map. Since DE_DUST is perhaps the most well-known map, I will use it to approximate the distances. These aren't the exact distances I prescribe for range, but are close enough. From the primary bomb-site (the one that isn't the CT terrorist base), imagine yourself at the edge of the map across the double doors. The bombsite is between you and the double doors. From this point to the bombsite is basically CLOSE range. From the bombsite to the double doors is MEDIUM range. Anything beyond the doubledoors is LONG range. POINT BLANK is right next to you, close enough to use a knife. --------------------------------------------------- | Remember that range affects your accuracy a lot | --------------------------------------------------- At point blank, you will always hit your target as long as he is in front of you, so accuracy and recoil is not a problem. Shotguns are lethal at this range. At close range, only the sniper rifles will have any real trouble hitting the mark under conditions of low accuracy (moving or being on a ladder). This is the maximum effective range of shotguns. Medium range is basically the maximum range for pistols and sub machine guns to fire accurately and still have a good chance of being on target. Shotguns will still do minimal damage due to the spreading of ammo. Long range is the domain of rifles and machine guns only. While it is still possible to hit using pistols and SMGs, it is far less likely. It is important to note that auto-fire works well from point-blank to close range, but from medium to long range single-fire will more likely net you a kill. Also, using single-fire in close range is best left only to the highly-skilled, because otherwise the faster trigger finger of auto-fire will likely cut you to ribbons first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.e -- Damage: Armor and Location The final important basic consideration is with the amount of damage you deal out. The damage you do to an opponent depends largely on which gun you are using, but regardless you can do more or less damage depending on two factors: armor and location. Shooting an opponent wearing armor will reduce damage done, while hitting him in specific areas can cause more damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.e1 - Location Now, where you hit your opponent is also important. There are four basic damage regions in the Counter Strike body, in order of damage: Head (greatest damage) Body Arms Legs (least damage) HEAD AREA - this is the smallest, hardest to hit area, but also takes the most damage. Most guns kill an unarmored, healthy head in one blow. BODY AREA - this refers to the entire torso, from the neck to the groin. It is the easiest to hit, and damage is moderate. ARMS AREA - this refers to both arms, from the shoulder to the hand. Damage is slight. LEGS AREA - any part below the groin, up to the tip of the toe. Damage is almost non-existent here, and you do not slow the enemy in anyway (unlike in Action Quake). Avoid aiming for this part. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.e2 - Armor Armor helps absorb damage. Depending on the integrity of your armor, the damage absorption will decrease. From experience, some ammo types penetrate armor better than others. I am not entirely sure how each ammo type does against armor, but in general the rifle ammos (5.56 and 7.62) penetrate armor far better than the pistol and SMG ammo (9mm, .45, etc.). Apparently, the 9mm and the 12 ga. buckshot have the worst penetration among all ammo types. The .50 Action Express (used in the Desert Eagle) is very good against armor. Typically, the rifle rounds will do almost the same damage whether the enemy is wearing armor or not. However, for the pistol rounds, damage is greatly reduced. Armor comes in two varieties: a vest which protects the body area only, and a helmet which protects both body and head. However, when you shoot at the neck area of an opponent, you are more likely to hit his head. Headshots are most feared; always buy full armor if you can afford it! It's the only real defense aside from cowering behind a rock. -------------------------------------------------- | Never skimp on armor. Buy the vest and helmet. | -------------------------------------------------- Many novice and even some intermediate players don't buy armor, thinking it's a waste of money. They often complain that they die almost instantly anyway with or without it. Believe me, armor makes a HUGE difference, especially since odds are several enemy agents will be using MP5s. When your dodging skills have increased and you are fighting on more or less equal terms, you will notice how much armor keeps your health up. And when fighting very accurate shooters who aim for you head, that helmet is pure gold in determining who will win the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.f -- Stopping Power Another important consideration which I forgot to mention earlier (thanks Paul for reminding me) is stopping power. Have you ever noticed how, during a gunfight you thought you had your enemy dead in your sights, but suddenly you get hit and your gun shoots up, ruining your aim? Or how, while trying to run for cover, you are suddenly hit and you stop dead in your tracks, unable to dodge, and thus a sitting duck? These effects are attributed to something called Stopping Power. It is a very important tactical tool which makes killing an opponent without taking casualties easier. In this case, who gets the first draw, has a better chance of winning. All guns have some level of stopping power. Some, though, have better stopping power than others. The stronger the stopping power, the longer the opponent takes to recover, and the more off his aim will be. It's hard to pinpoint the exact levels of stopping power are for each gun. The stopping power seems to depend on the ammo type. Unfortunatley, it is very difficult to measure the stopping power of each gun, so I will refrain from giving estimates. Just remember this: --------------------------------------------------------------- | Stopping power can disrupt the aim and movement of an enemy | --------------------------------------------------------------- Because of this, it cannot be understated that hitting the opponent first can win you the duel entirely, for his shots will likely be thrown off target. He will also be momentarily stunned, making him an easier target. =============================================================================== IV. THE WEAPONS =============================================================================== Now that you have a basic concept of recoil and accuracy, you are ready to learn about the weapons. There are six basic kinds of weapons in CS: pistols, shotguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and machine guns. Each have different ratings for recoil, accuracy, encumbrance, as well as different ammo types. As a player, you can have two guns with you at most: one primary weapon, and one secondary weapon. Only pistols are allowed for secondary weapons, everything else is a primary. Each gun is detailed as follows: NAME: The name of the gun (alternative v1.0 name) [Quick Buy Number] COST: How much the gun plus a full clip costs AMMO: The kind of ammo the gun uses CLIP/MAX: The size of the clip/maximum ammo you can carry CLIP COST: How much one clip costs (number of bullets per clip) ACCURACY: High, medium or low, high means very accurate MOVE ACC: High, medium or low, how accurate the gun is while moving. RECOIL: High, medium, or low, high means strong recoil RATE OF FIRE: Fast, medium, or slow. The speed between shots. AUTOFIRE: Yes or no, whether the gun can engage autofire or not SPECIAL OPTION: What happens when you press the special weapon function. NOTES: Other things you about the weapon, and my tips and advice. SPECIAL OPTIONS: 1.) Sniper Scope Sniper scopes let you zoom in on a far away target. There are two zoom sizes: 2x or 4x. I just call them that; I don't know if they really make your vision twice or four times as close. It's something I carried over from my Action Quake days. Activating the scope increases accuracy, and greatly decreases any inaccuracy from moving and sidestepping. However, it also tends to decrease rate of fire. Further, using the scope warps your perception, making movement and aiming slightly tricky. And of course, it limits your vision (taking away your peripheral vision, so to speak). Also, as of CS v1.1, all the sniper rifles (Scout to Sig 550) have become completely inaccurate without the scope. However, with the scope on they become quite accurate. 2.) Silencer Silencers remove muzzle flash and suppress the noise from firing. This makes them good for sneaking ambushing in dark conditions. There are some effects on the shot, though. I am not 100% sure, but it has to do with reducing bullet velocity. Realistically speaking, a silencer is supposed to reduce the velocity of your bullet to subsonic levels. Through extensive testing and experience, apparently the reduced bullet velocity makes your shot less accurate at range. It also decreases bullet damage. However, recoil is somewhat reduced. What this means is that, in general, a suppressed weapon is better in close combat, while the unsuppressed version is better for sniping at range. Quick tip: to quicly attach/remove the silencer, press your secondary fire button and do a quick weapons switch. When you switch back to the gun, the silencer will be on or off. This is much faster than going through the entire attach/detach animation. Take note that in v1.0 of CS Sierra, apparently due to copyright reasons, decided to rename the guns with some weird, unknown, bogus names. I include them here for those of you who only joined from v1.0 up, to clear any confusion as to nomenclature. You can manually edit the TITLES.TXT file in your CS directory which corresponds to the weapon names, allowing you to change them back to what they're supposed to be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.a -- Pistols These are your choices available for your secondary weapon. It is crucial for your survival when you run out of ammo and do not have time to reload. Pistols have often have poor accuracy at range but are very accurate while moving. When using a pistol, in close range, be sure to side step a lot. Pistols also reload very quickly and are very light, allowing you to move very fast. The main disadvantage of the pistol is that, except for the Glock, they all have single-fire triggers. This means that you have to press furiously to achieve an auto-fire effect. When choosing your secondary, be sure to select a weapon that complements your primary. Determine this by weapon fighting-style. Primaries that mostly use auto-fire shooting should have a pistol with a large clip size and fast rate of fire (like the Glock or Five-SeveN). Those that rely on single-fire shooting should get strong ammo pistols that follow suit (like the USP or Desert Eagle). NAME: H&K USP .45 Tactical (K&M .45) [1-1] COST: $500 AMMO: .45 ACP CLIP/MAX: 12/48 CLIP COST: $25 (12) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: Silencer NOTES: This is the standard issue CT gun. Counter Terrorists have the weapon advantage at the start because of this gun. With the .45 round, it is very strong, and is pretty good at medium range for sniping. A few shots is enough to kill anyone, even in full-armor. Using the silencer suppresses shot and muzzle fire, making you almost undetectable in low-visibility areas and decreasing recoil, but the trade-off is that you lose power and accuracy. It's a trade-off you have to weigh for yourself. I personally prefer going without the silencer. Anyway, the USP is a good solid handgun to which all the other pistols are compared. NAME: Glock 18 Select Fire (9x19mm) [1-2] COST: $400 AMMO: 9mm Parabellum CLIP/MAX: 20/100 CLIP COST: $20 (20) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: Burst-Fire Mode NOTES: The default weapon of terrorists. Unfortunately, most people will tell you the Counter Terrorists got the better end of the deal. The Glock is weaker and shares ammo with the MP5. The gun has two saving graces: it has a useful burst-fire mode and a clip-size of 20. The burst-mode gives you a shotgun-like attack at close ranging, firing three shots instead of one. However, it forces you to aim carefully as your firing rate suddenly drops. At close range, burst fire is very difficult to use unless you have the accurate aiming usually reserved for shotgun experts. The Glock is also less accurate than the USP at range, probably as accurate as the Sig Sauer 228. The biggest advantage of the Glock, though is its large clip size, which should appeal to people who prefer auto-fire attacks. NAME: Desert Eagle .50 AE (Nighthawk) [1-3] COST: $650 AMMO: .50 Action Express CLIP/MAX: 7/35 CLIP COST: $40 (7) ACCURACY: Low MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Medium AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This is my personal handgun of choice. With the .50 ammo, it is the most powerful handgun in the game, heck is more powerful than most of the primary weapons. Its biggest downside is that it has a clip size of seven, so make those shots count. Fortunately, it reloads fast so as long as you are going one on one, you can usually reload after killing one opponent. The Desert Eagle is also surprisingly accurate at medium to long range, probably due to the strong power of the ammo. It is capable of making headshots with surprising ease even at such a distance. To top it off, this is the only pistol capable of punching through thin walls, like the rifles. Most people who have mastered the single-fire firing technique often prefer this handgun. The only other problem aside from the small clip is the slow rate of fire; the slowest among all the pistols. NAME: SIG P228 (228) [1-4] COST: $600 AMMO: .357 Sig CLIP/MAX: 13/52 CLIP COST: $50 (13) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This gun is similar to the USP pistol, but better in almost every aspect. It is the second strongest handgun, second only to the Desert Eagle, but with a bigger clip size. Although damage is fairly at a par with the USP, its armor penetration seems to be stronger. The only thing the USP has over this gun is long range sniping. At long range, the P228 Sauer tends not to be as accurate as the USP. And of course, it doesn't have a silencer -- not really much of a disadvantage since recoil is barely an issue for pistols. Anyway, I don't find it worth the cost for a CT agent to purchase, as the improvements are marginal at best. It would be a good gun for a terrorist to buy in the first round, though. NAME: Dual Beretta 96G (.40 Dual Elites) [1-5] COST: $1000 AMMO: 9mm Parabellum CLIP/MAX: 30/120 CLIP COST: $20 (30) ACCURACY: High* (see below) MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This is actually two Berettas, one in each hand. This option really reminds me of a cheap alternative to the MP5. They are practically the same, except that they fire slightly slower, have no autofire option, and are VERY SLOW to reload. However, considering that they are only $1000 and are a secondary weapon, they are a top-choice for many as secondary weapons, as they can serve as primaries, like an MP5. If you belong to the auto-fire rather than the single-fire school, this will likely be your secondary weapon of choice. One weird thing about this weapon, though. It's supposed to be very accurate, I think as accurate as the Carbine. But the shots don't go where they're supposed to. The two-hand option affects the aim a bit; the left gun shoots slightly to the left, the right to the right. This limits their usefulness outside of close quarters. Further, it has a horrendous reload time, worst among the pistols and almost as bad as the M249. Also, only terrorists can purchase it. All in all, the Berettas are basically just a Glock with a size 30 clip. NAME: Five Seven [1-6] COST: $750 AMMO: 5.7x28mm CLIP/MAX: 20/100 CLIP COST: $50 (50) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This is the weakest pistol in the game, but pierces armor the best. It is also singly the most expensive, and can only be bought by CTs. The clip size and attack power will remind you of the Glock, but with stronger armor piercing ability and no burst fire. Overall, this gun doesn't get a good grade because of its weak attack power, high price, and the fact that in v1.1 they made it about as accurate as the USP. It is no longer the best sniping pistol in the game! Still, it is one of only two pistols that punch through armor well (the other is the Eagle). TRIVIA: This gun is so new that, as of this writing, it has not had any real combat experience! Gun experts have no definitive data on its actual combat capabilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.b -- Shotguns Shotguns are a very distinct weapon-type which only specialists should use. These are not the same shotguns in Action Quake; these are very specific in use: close combat. They are very light, and encumber you only about a bit more than a pistol. They are lethal in close combat, but next to useless at medium or greater range. One of the nifty features of the shotguns is the ability to fire immediately after reloading just one shell. This split- second difference could mean the difference between life and death in certain situations where you run out of ammo but suddenly need to fire again. NAME: Benneli M3 Super90 (Leone 12 Gauge Super) [2-1] COST: $1700 AMMO: 12 gauge CLIP/MAX: 8/32 CLIP COST: $65 (8) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Slow AUTOFIRE: No SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This is a true specialist weapon, intended for those who have mastered the art of single-fire headshots. At close range or closer, one shot is enough to kill, provided you aimed for the general neck area. Unfortunately, the slow rate of fire means that, in most instances, you get only one chance to kill your opponent, if you miss the first shot, your enemy with an MP5 or other auto-fire gun will likely mow you down before you get a second chance. Aside from the one-shot kill potential at close range, this weapon has no other use. The buck shot scatters too much even at medium range, making it useless as a sniping tool, and it only really works against one opponent because of the slow rate of fire. NAME: Benneli XM1014 (Leone YG1265 Auto Shotgun) [2-2] COST: $3000 AMMO: 12 gauge CLIP/MAX: 7/32 CLIP COST: $65 (8) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This works almost like M3, except that it has a slightly smaller clip and has auto-fire ability! Because of the auto-fire capability, it is possible to take on multiple opponents at close range with this gun. It also means you have more leeway for missing the first shot, as it is fast enough to fire again before you get plastered. However, the XM1014 is weaker than the M3, to compensate for its auto-fire ability. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.c -- Submachine Gun Submachine guns (SMGs) are great close range weapons. They are fairly light, heavier than a shotgun but lighter than most rifles, and are usually very accurate at close to medium range, even while moving. They are also relatively cheap. Their only real drawback is that they often do not have as much penetrating power as the real rifles, meaning armor does a good job of stopping them. Also, they tend to lose accuracy at long range because of shorter barrels and weaker ammo rounds designed for fast emptying up-close. NAME: H&K MP5-Navy (SMG) [3-1] COST: $1500 AMMO: 9mm Parabellum CLIP/MAX: 30/120 CLIP COST: $20 (30) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: H&K's MP5 is the weapon of choice of most counter-terrorist agents both in CS and in the real world. Why? It's cheap, is remarkably accurate, handles perfectly, has a killer rate of fire, and reloads like a dream. Its only real drawback is the poor penetration power of its 9mm round. Other than that, it's perfect for assaults, and is also pretty good for sniping at medium range. In fact, recoil and accuracy are good enough that you can snipe in large bursts with this gun. Most people train getting headshots with the MP5 by simply aiming in the general head area and letting go. And they get results, too. This is the weapon of choice of most players proficient in the auto-fire technique. This gun is the biggest reason why you should always buy a full suit of kevlar every round: most of your opponents are likely to be using it. This is widely held by many in the CS community as the best gun for close combat. It is the standard from which I compare all other guns. NAME: Steyr Tactical Machine Pistol (Schmidt MP) [3-2] COST: $1250 AMMO: 9mm Parabellum CLIP/MAX: 30/120 CLIP COST: $20 (30) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Very Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This is a CT only gun which is basically a cheaper alternative to the MP5. It works almost exactly the same as the MP5, and is cheaper to boot. People who love the MP5 will feel right at home using this gun. There are a few minor differences. First, the MP5 is more accurate at range, while the TMP sprays better up close. Second, the Steyr TMP has a slightly faster rate of fire (I think it's second fastest rate of fire in the game). Lastly, and most importantly, the Steyr does less damage than an MP5. Still overall, it's a great bargain at only $1250, and if you're a CT and love using the MP5, you might consider changing to this to save money. NAME: FN P90 (ES C90) [3-3] COST: $2350 AMMO: .338 Lapua Magnum CLIP/MAX: 50/100 CLIP COST: 50$ (50) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Very Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: The FN P90 is one of the most advanced SMGs in the world. This gun can shred opponents in a flash, at close range anyway. Although it does the least damage among all the SMGs, it makes up for it with its armor-piercing ability and its very fast rate of fire (fastest in the game). The P90, with its 5.7 ammo, is supposed to be good against armor in real life, so I think that this is the one SMG in CS that does reasonably well against armor, compared to the other SMGs. Its main drawback is its poor damage. Also, it is quite inaccurate while moving compared to the other SMGs, and does not have the range of the true assault rifles. And of course, it's quite expensive for an SMG. Sniping with this gun at long range is difficult, but possible, provided you use single-fire shots. However, this gun was not made for sniping, and shooting auto-fire at medium range will already give you a very poor hit ratio. All in all, not as good as the MP5 for close range assaults. The biggest selling point of this gun is the 50 round clip, making reloads less of a concern. TRIVIA: CS v1.0 calls its ammo ".338 Lapua Magnum," but you buy it at the same price, with the same increment, as the 5.7 round. That's because this gun does use the 5.7 round. Sloppy, Sierra, sloppy. NAME: Ingram MAC-10 [3-4] COST: $1400 AMMO: .45 ACP CLIP/MAX: 30/96 CLIP COST: $25 (12) ACCURACY: Low MOVE ACC: Medium RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Very Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: The Mac-10 is a very volatile, uncontrollable weapon that can only be bought by terrorists. It is stronger than the MP5, but the recoil is also much stronger. Now, since I finished up with the MP5 recently, I've been playing with the Ingram more. I'm learning a lot of new stuff about this weapon! First off, I realized that this gun has a much faster firing rate than I previously realized. This ups its rating in my book tremendously. Still, the lack of accuracy and control still reduce its usefulness. It's still a weapon which you should buy when you're on a budget but need stopping power. Perhaps the worst aspect of this weapon is that you need to buy a whole lot of ammo, as each purchase of ammo gives you only 12 shots for $25 bucks. Not a good deal. When you consider how much ammo you have to buy, the MP5 is still cheaper. I like to think of this gun as a mini-AK, except that it doesn't have the accuracy and power that make the AK-47 a great gun. All in all, this is the stronger alternative to the MP5, minus the controllability. NAME: H&K UMP45 (K&M UMP45) [3-5] COST: $1700 AMMO: .45 ACP CLIP/MAX: 25/100 CLIP COST: $25 (12) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: Medium RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Medium AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: The UMP is an SMG very similar to the MP5, with two major differences: it has a much slower rate of fire, and it uses the .45 ACP round. The boon is that it has better ammo, and thus does more damage. The problem is that its rate of fire is so slow that it puts you at risk in a close-quarters battle. This is easily the slowest among all the SMGs for rate of fire. Another consideration is that it has a slightly smaller clip size. This gun also apparently has the least recoil among all the automatic guns in the game. Perhaps my biggest beef with this gun is that, like the Mac10, it only buys ammo in increments of 12, making initial setup harder. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.d -- Rifles Rifles are the real weapons in this game. They are expensive, but worth the price. They are very powerful, capable of tearing through opponents in just a few shots, can punch through walls and armor, and are very accurate for long-range fire. They usually pay for this in recoil, but all in all these guns are the lifeblood of many terrorists and counter terrorists. All rifles can pierce through walls and other obstacles to some extent. NAME: AK-47 (CV-47) [4-1] COST: $2500 AMMO: 7.62 NATO CLIP/MAX: 30/90 CLIP COST: $80 (30) ACCURACY: High MOVE ACC: Medium RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Medium AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: There are two big reasons why people like playing terrorist: the AK-47 and the Sig Commando. This is my personal terrorist-only gun of choice. The cheap price tag of the AK, combined with its incredible power and accuracy, made it the bad-ass assault gun back in the early days. Unfortunately, since beta 7 this gun was toned down by making extremely heavy, slowing your movement considerably. Still, the AK is a great gun. It is very accurate, making long range sniping a breeze. Its 7.62 round is so powerful, you will be killing many enemies with just a few shots. This is also one of the best guns to get headshots. The only real drawback of this gun, aside from its weight, is its powerful recoil. You cannot afford to use auto-fire with this gun; most of your shots will miss. That is why this gun is not really suited for assault, it is more of a mid-range sniping assault gun. Used in conjunction with single-fire sniping techniques, this is a very lethal specialist's gun, suitable for almost all combat conditions. TRIVIA: The AK may very well be the best-selling assault rifle in the world. NAME: Sig SG-552 Commando (Krieg 552 Commando) [4-2] COST: $3500 AMMO: 5.56mm NATO CLIP/MAX: 30/90 CLIP COST: $60 (30) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: 2x Sniper Scope NOTES: The Commando is a terrorist-only gun, and is arguably one of the best in the game. It combines accuracy and power with a 2x sniper scope, allowing you to pick off targets who haven't even seen you yet. It is the counterpart of the CT's Steyr Aug, over which it has the advantage of faster reload time, higher damage, less recoil and better handling. On the downside, rate of fire is slightly slower than that of the Aug. Its only real drawback is that it is quite expensive. Still, overall, this gun is worth its price easily. NAME: Colt M4A1 Carbine (Maverick M4A1 Carbine) [4-3] COST: $3100 AMMO: 5.56mm NATO CLIP/MAX: 30/90 CLIP COST: $60 (30) ACCURACY: High MOVE ACC: High RECOIL: Low RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: Silencer NOTES: This is a counter-terrorist only gun, the direct counterpart of the AK-47. It is easily the best all-around gun in the game. It has all the handling of the MP5, but is more accurate and powerful, making it easier to kill opponents close up and afar. Its only drawback is that it is far more expensive than most SMGs. Still, it is cheaper than most rifles. It is also slightly slower at firing than an MP5, and has slightly stronger kickback, but not by much, still getting a low recoil rating. This gun basically combines the sniping capability of the AK-47 with the assault handling ability of the P5, in a very light, maneuverable package. My only qualm with this gun is that it lost its 2x scope when the Steyr Aug came out around Beta 6. However, it did get something good in exchange: a silencer. It is my all-around weapon of choice. Now, if only terrorists could buy it.... NAME: Steyr AUG (Bullpup) [4-4] COST: $3500 AMMO: 5.56mm NATO CLIP/MAX: 30/90 CLIP COST: $60 (30) ACCURACY: High MOVE ACC: Medium RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Fast AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: 2x Sniper Scope NOTES: This counter-terrorist only gun is the direct equivalent of the terrorist's Commando. Many people play CTs because of this gun. It is a great gun, although I personally find the Commando better. However, this gun has its merits. It has the smallest crosshair for any gun, and coupled with its strong ammo round and the sniper scope, suggests that it is the most accurate gun in the game. Its main drawback is its powerful recoil and very slow reloading time. It also does the least damage among the 5.56mm guns. It does not handle as well as the MP5, or even the Commando in close range while moving. However, it seems to have a slightly faster rate of fire. Overall, it is a good gun which can kill many opponents at most ranges pretty fast, and its sniper scope really helps out in those long range situations. If only recoil wasn't such a problem, this might have been my favorite assault rifle. NAME: Steyr Scout (Schmidt Scout) [4-5] COST: $2750 AMMO: 7.62 NATO CLIP/MAX: 10/60 CLIP COST: $80 (30) ACCURACY: Low MOVE ACC: Low RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Slow AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: 4x Sniper Scope NOTES: This gun is for the sniper on a budget. It is the cheapest of the sniper guns, and is very limited in use. It is only really effective at long range, because at close range you do not have enough time to fire two shots to kill someone, unless you can hit their heads all the time. The 7.62 round is strong enough that you can kill anyone, regardless of armor, in two hits, no matter where you hit them. It is the poor man's arctic, and is only really useful in the early game when people haven't saved enough to buy Arctics yet. Take note that, as of CS v1.1, sniper rifles no longer have a crosshair when the scope is not activated! Ah well, there goes the Scout's awesome accuracy. Like all the sniper rifles in CS, the Scout has two scope settings: 2x and 4x. By the way, although the gun has an auto-fire trigger (which shouldn't be the case, since this is a bolt-action gun), the rate of fire is so slow that it doesn't matter. NAME: AI Arctic Warfare/Magnum (Magnum Sniper Rifle) [4-6] COST: $4750 AMMO: .338 Magnum Lapua CLIP/MAX: 10/30 CLIP COST: $125 (10) ACCURACY: Low MOVE ACC: Low RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Slow AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: 4x Sniper Scope NOTES: This is the most bad-ass gun in the game, and my ex-personal weapon of choice. The AWP is also known as the "one-shot" gun, because one shot is enough to kill anyone, regardless of health or armor. In fact, it is enough to kill three or maybe even more people standing in a straight line. That's how bad this gun is. Although this was without a doubt the best weapon in the early betas of the game, this gun has slowly been downgraded because of its unbalanced power. It is now terribly inaccurate, and the penetration of the ammo is not as strong as it used to be. Worse of all, you are no longer guaranteed of one-shot kills. Still, it is a very lethal weapon in the hands of a specialist. Just be sure to use the 2x sniper setting, or else your shot will go way off target; a result of the downgrading the gun went through. (Especially since you no longer have a crosshair). In the past, it was great for assaults, but ever since accuracy was downgraded to the most inaccurate gun in the game, it is now only useful for long-range combat. Still, master this weapon, and you easily have the potential to make the most kills in the game. As much as it pains me, I am inclined to say this is no longer the best gun in the game. That honor probably goes to either the M4A1 Carbine or the Sig552 Carbine Commando now. Oh, and as with the Scout, the AWP has an auto-fire trigger but it fires so slowly that it's as slow as a single-shot bolt-action rifle. TRIVIA: This is the same sniper rifle used in Action Quake. NAME: H&K G3/SG-1 (D3/AV-1 Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle) [4-7] COST: $5000 AMMO: 7.62mm NATO CLIP/MAX: 20/60 CLIP COST: $80 (30) ACCURACY: Low MOVE ACC: Low RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Slow AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: 4x Sniper Scope NOTES: The G3 in CS is a weird gun. A normal G3 is supposed to be an assault rifle, but here it has been converted into a sniper rifle. Anyway, this gun has slightly less power than the Steyr Scout, but has a much faster rate of fire. It was meant for long-range combat for trigger-happy people. However, it is no match for an Arctic at such distances, and thus I don't find it very useful. Still, it is good for long range and can pass off as a somewhat decent assault weapon, if your aim is good. Otherwise, the rate of fire is still too slow to compete with an MP5 at close quarters. I don't really recommend this gun, because it is expensive and yet is not as effective as the Arctic. Still, if you're playing against people who don't use Arctics and want to snipe while using the auto-fire style, this is your gun. Oh, and as of v1.0, this is a terrorist-only gun. It is also quite cumbersome and you will move quite slowly. NAME: Sig 550 Commando (Krieg 550 Commando) [4-8] COST: $4200 AMMO: 5.56mm NATO CLIP/MAX: 30/90 CLIP COST: $60 (30) ACCURACY: Low MOVE ACC: Low RECOIL: Medium RATE OF FIRE: Slow AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: 4x Sniper Scope NOTES: This is a CT-only gun that was introduced in v1.0. It is probably the worst sniper gun in the game. It is not a good sniper/assault hybrid, because the rate of fire still means you will be eaten up by MP5s and its cousin, the Sig 552. Its damage, while stronger than most assault guns, is the weakest in the sniper class. Its strengths are its relatively cheap price (for a sniper gun), its large clip, and its fast rate of fire. It also has a 4x sniper scope, which gives it a slight edge over the Aug and the 552 at long range. It also does the most damage among the 5.56mm guns in the game (although it does the least damage among all the sniper rifles). This gun is best used when there are no "true" snipers on the field, against SMGs at the edge of their effective range. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.f -- Machine Guns There is only one machine gun in this game, the FN Para. It is good only in the hands of a specialist, it is not the kind of gun a newbie should use. And yet, for some reason, newbies love to buy this gun. I wonder why? NAME: FN M249 Para (ES M249) [5-1] COST: $5750 AMMO: 5.56mm NATO CLIP/MAX: 100/200 CLIP COST: $60 (30) ACCURACY: Medium MOVE ACC: Low RECOIL: High RATE OF FIRE: Medium AUTOFIRE: Yes SPECIAL OPTION: None NOTES: This full-sized machine gun is a modified version of the M249. The M249 was supposed to be the standard machine gun issue that would replace the M4 in the US Army. This gun is NOWHERE as good as the M249 is supposed to be, though. It is very, very heavy, easily the heaviest gun in the game. This gun is like an over-souped version of the AK-47, slow, but very painful and quite accurate. Still, I find this to be a rather pathetic gun, and the only reason I would recommend you buy it is for its huge magazine clip -- 100 shots. You practically don't need to reload at all, unless you splurge your fire on the walls of the opponent's encampment: the true use of this gun. The best use of the gun so far by my estimate. Hope to score hits by spraying on the walls. Otherwise, it is too slow for serious close combat use, is quite inaccurate except in small bursts, has virtually no accuracy while moving, and is very, very expensive. I'd pick it up if someone left it and I had no weapon, but I would never trade my AK-47 or Carbine for it. TRIVIA: Heavier guns tend to have lower recoil. Why does the M249 have such horrendous recoil? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.g -- Other Equipment Aside from guns, there are other things you can purchase to help you in your life and death struggle. These can be bought through the use of your buy equipment key. (Bind this as 'buyequip' -- see Binding Technique) NAME: Kevlar Armor [1] COST: $650 NOTES: This will provide your torso area with extra protection. For more details, see the Damage section in Chapter III. NAME: Kevlar Armor with Helmet [2] COST: $1000 NOTES: Same as normal armor, except the helmet works wonders in stopping those headshots. Buy this and not the first one whenever possible. NAME: Flashbang [3] COST: $200 NOTES: Also known as the concussion grenade, flashbangs do no damage whatsoever, but blind anyone caught in its blast for an amount of time dependent on the victim's proximity. Looking up or away doesn't matter; you'll be blinded just the same. However, the blast does not go through objects, so you can keep your vision by ducking behind an obstacle. Most people frown on the flashbang, but those few seconds of blindness can be far more damaging than an HE explosion. You can carry up to two of these at a time. NAME: HE Grenade [4] COST: $300 NOTES: Most players prefer this grenade. It explodes in a small radius, and anyone inside that radius is damaged a certain amount. This damage is almost never enough to kill anyone from full health, but is good enough to weaken enemies and damage their armor. Because of the blast radius, this is a favorite item for clearing several enemies in one fell swoop. You can carry only one of these at a time. NAME: Smoke Grenade [5] COST: $300 NOTES: Most people consider this a useless item. However, it is perhaps the single most effective grenade to aid in breaching an enemy's well- camped position. Once thrown, it does no damage, but it releases a cloud of billowing smoke for a few long seconds. The smoke impairs the visibility of everyone. Needless to say, this is the perfect weapon to get past those sniper-prone areas. NAME: Defuse Kit [6] COST: $200 NOTES: In bomb maps, CTs can purchase this to drastically cut down bomb defusal time. At $200, many CTs may find expensive, but it can mean the difference between winning the round (and the $2750 bonus) or losing. Most terrorists leave the bomb at a certain time to prevent getting killed. If they wait to the last possible moment, a CT who comes in after the terrorists have fled won't have enough time to disarm it (provided the server didn't mess with the bomb explosion time). However, with the defuse kit, the CT can make it just in the nick of time. Thus, terrorists up against CTs with defuse kits must stay to the death, or risk having the bomb defused. NAME: Night Vision [7] COST: $1250 NOTES: This is one worthless piece of equipment. Although being able to see in the dark areas of the map is vital to CS, the Night Vision in this game is so poorly done that it's more of a headache than of help. It simply ups the gamma a bit and changes the palette to a greener color, but the palette change is volatile and quite painful to the eye. If you want night vision, there's a cheaper, better way: see the Dirty Tricks section. NAME: Knife COST: Free! SPECIAL FUNCTION: Sadistic Stab AUTOFIRE: Yes! NOTES: You don't actually buy this, you always have it. Since it is a weapon, I might as well discuss it. The knife in the early beta days was one dangerous weapon. Two or three slashes was more than enough to kill a fully-armored agent. Now, however, knife damage has been weakened drastically, making normal knife attacks less than half the strength of what they used to be. The special weapon function is not a setting change, but a secondary attack of the knife: the sadistic stab. This does roughly as much damage as the old knife used to do with a normal attack, but takes longer to execute. In the old days I would recommend switching to the knife whenever you were at point blank range. Nowadays, since it does so little damage, I hesitate to do such. If you manage to get the jump on your enemey, sure. Then again, maybe not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.h -- Weapon Movement Speeds Right, different weapon weights contribute to different weapon speeds. Here is how movement speed is rated depending on what weapon you equip. This is a rough guide, estimated from experience. (Fastest) Knife, Grenades H&K USP, Glock, Desert Eagle, Sig P228, Five Seven Benelli M3, Benelli XM1014, Dual Beretta, Steyr Tactical Machine Ingram MAC-10, MP5, FN P90, Steyr Scout Steyr AUG, Sig Commando, M4 Carbine Krieg Commando G3/SG-1 Sniper AK-47 Artic Warfare Magnum FN M249 PARA (Slowest) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.e1 -- Ammo These are the strengths of the different ammo types in Counter Strike, from weakest to strongest. Take note that this is by no means definitive, I did not check with the CS team or read a guide about them. Nor did I interview gun experts. Instead I relied on a much simpler method: I computed ammo to cost ratios! I honestly have no idea if this is accurate, but it seems to fit with my experience. Here is the order, from weakest to strongest: Cost Ratio Ammo -------------------------------------------- (0.66) 9mm Parabellum (1.00) 5.7x28mm (1.00) .338 Lapua Magnum (5.7 P90 Round) (2.00) 5.56mm NATO (2.08) .45 ACP (2.67) 7.62mm NATO (3.84) .357 Sig (5.71) .50 Action Express (8.13) *12 gauge (12.5) .338 Lapua Magnum (Sniper Round) -------------------------------------------- * - the 12 gauge buckshot used in shotguns is a special case. Apparently, one buckshot shoots 8 smaller projectiles which are concentrated at the start of the shot, but which disperse as range increases. In close range, the highly concentrated buckshot can do almost as much damage as a .338, but from mid range it only does about as much as a 9mm, and at long range it does next to nothing (and might not even hit). Anyway, keep in mind that ammo does damage based on its size and the power of its gunpowder charge. In general, the stronger the ammo, the more damage, but recoil also tends to be stronger. Also, remember that armor piercing ability varies: the best AP rounds are the 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 5.7mm, .50 and .338 calibre. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.i -- Weapon Damage Table Here is a rough table to show the comparative strengths of each gun. These are NOT the actual damage values for shooting an enemy! The methodology used to obtain these values was shooting a hostage at point-blank range with each gun. While hostages take damage differently from a real agent, these values should help gauge the relative strength of each gun. A few things to remember: * Armor skews the damage values as well. Certain ammo types do better against armor than others. I was unable to test armor penetration. * Certain shots do more damage, mostly depending on your angle of entry into the body. These provide "damage ranges." In the table, a single number is average damage, with minimum and maximum damage given if the damage range is very big. Damage range is usually large when shooting the body, but more stable when shooting the extremities. * An X means a shot there killed the hostage in one shot. * The groin apparently is a critical hit area of the Body. Shooting there often gives the maximum Body damage. * Headshots are always lethal (to hostages, anyway) * With the exception of the AWP, these are currently v1.0 damage values, not v1.1. I've only tested the AWP in v1.1, since the damage was apparently tweaked a lot. Hopefully I will be able to test out all the other guns in for v1.1 in future versions. CS WEAPON DAMAGE ON HOSTAGES TABLE ------------------------------------------------------ Weapon | Body Leg Arm ------------------------------------------------------ USP | 70-90 15 25 w/silencer | 60-70 10-15 20 Glock | 40-55 10 20 DEagle | X 20 40 P228 | 70-90 15 25 Berreta | 40-55 10 20 Five Seven | 40-60 10 10 M3 Shotgun | X 70-80 X XM1014 | X 35-50 60-85 MP5 | 50-80 15 25 TMP | 40-60 10 15 P90 | 40-60 10 15 Mac-10 | 60-80 15 20 UMP | 70-80 15 20-25 AK-47 | 85-90 15 25 Sig 552 | 70-90 15 25 M4 | 70-90 15 25 w/silencer | 60-80 15 25 Aug | 60-80 15 25 Scout | X 35 55 Arctic | X 50-60 85-90 G3 | X 30 55 Sig 550 | 80-100 20 30 Para | 60-90 15 25 Knife | 40-60 10 10 Knife 2 | X X* 50 ------------------------------------------------------ * - I do not know why the secondary knife attack (sadistic stab) does more damage to the legs than to the arms. I'm just reporting the facts. Grenades do variable amounts of damage, mostly depending on proximity and facing from a target. I was unable to get specific damage values, but here are some things to know: * It is possible to kill a fully armored, 100% enemy agent with a direct grenade blast right below or slightly behind the target. * Grenades do more damage to an armored opponent with his back turned to the blast. That concludes weapon damage for now. Hopefully, I will be able to make a damage table based on shooting real agents, armored or unarmored. If anyone knows of a CS bot that has an option to stand still, tell me so I can test it out on those things. Keep in mind that these are damage values to hostages only! Again, they are NOT the damage levels done to enemy agents! For now, here are some things I have confirmed regarding damage to enemy agents: * It takes two headshots from a Glock, Beretta or TMP to kill an unarmored, 100% enemy agent. * Hitting team members with friendly fire on does significantly less damage. For instance, you can actually hit a teammate with a headshot at close range with the Eagle and he will survive! Thus I did not use this methodology to get values. =============================================================================== V. COUNTER-STRIKE TECHNIQUES This is the meat of this FAQ, that which separates this from all the other guides. While these techniques may not be all there is to it, and certainly they may not be perfect, but these are the best techniques I have learned. I hope it's enough to help you become a better player. I eventually hope to put in every single tactic and technique I know, even the ones I don't use, because part of defeating your opponent is knowing how he operates. Now that we've discussed the basics and are familiar with the weapons, we can get to the nitty-gritty combat tactics. These are tactics which you will be using most of the time you play CS, be sure to learn them, and more importantly learn how to counter them! =============================================================================== 5.a -- General Techniques These tricks are useful for general CS play. Be sure to learn them and make them work for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a1 - Listening "If you want to defeat me, you must not make a sound." -- Utsutsu Mujuro, Jubei Ninpucho Although while playing on a LAN it may be very noisy, listening still plays an important part in personal fighting tactics. The most important thing about listening is to listen for your opponent's weapon. Each weapon in CS sounds distinct, and by listening to the gun fire going on, you can determine what weapon your opponent is using. If you know what his weapon is, you can determine what kind of approach you can take to defeat him. These different techniques will be discussed later in the individual weapon strategies. In CS, it is imperative that you learn what each weapon sounds like, so that you know what you are up against, and thus can plan accordingly. -------------------------------------------- | Listen for your opponent's weapon sounds | -------------------------------------------- Another, more difficult skill to learn is listening for footsteps. If you don't have a friendly dead team-mate coaching you as to the enemy's location, your best recourse is to listen carefully for footfalls. Most people disregard this ability, but it is often crucial in ambushing enemy players. When you hear foot falls, keep quiet and sneak. You just might ambush an opponent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a2 - Weapon Switching "That's why they call me Himura Battousai, because I learned all the sword drawing techniques." --- Himura Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin In CS, different weapons slow down your movement. The worst perpetrators are the Arctic, the AK, and the Para. Still, even if you're not using these weapons, weapon switching is important to get you where you want to go fast. Weapon switching can mean the difference when you are diving for cover from enemy fire. -------------------------------------------------------------- | Switch weapons intelligently! It can save your life, or at | | the very least get you to where you want to go faster | -------------------------------------------------------------- At the start of the round, where it is crucial to get to the strategic points of the map as quickly as possible, changing your weapon to your knife or grenade is the single best tactic you can do, aside from buying your equipment as fast as possible. While buying equipment fast takes practice, anyone can switch to his knife. Many people laugh at those who charge at the start of the rounds with their knives, but they don't realize these knife-maniacs are doing it to get to the key points as quickly as possible. This is one of the basics of good team strategy. The other important use of weapon switching is to get out of enemy fire. If you are outgunned and decide to strategically withdraw, you have two options: shoot back while side-stepping for cover, or change to your knife and make a mad dash for cover. Switching to your knife is the fastest way to escape. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a2a - Super Weapon Switching This is an advanced technique which the advanced, mentally-developed players use. A player who has refined his awareness and reflexes to a razor's edge while assaulting will often be seen switching weapons continuously while marching into enemy territory. Many inexperienced people will think he is mad, but in truth he is doing so to speed up movement as much as possible while the enemy is gone. This is a very powerful technique; it enables one to move as if one were equipped with nothing (knife speed), but the moment an enemy shows up, the player immediately has his primary weapon ready -- an AK, a Para, whatever, and has it aimed at his opponent's head. Because of his lightning speed due to the weapon switching, lesser opponents have trouble hitting his fast moving body, and as soon as he sees the opponent, he opens fire. Dead enemy. Achieving the highest level of this technique takes long practice, but the lower levels of it are accessible to the intermediate player. A lower level use of this technique is to eliminate recoil and reload time. This is a favorite application of Arctic assault snipers. After shooting a well-aimed AWP shot (and hopefuly killing someone) an advanced Arctic fighter will quickly switch to knife or pistol, so you can move and dodge while waiting for your chance to shoot again. If you're fast enough, you can potentially switch back, ready to fire again, shortening rechambering time. Good Benelli M3 fighters use a variation of this technique, switching to their secondary to finish the job in case they missed the opponent's head. More on these techniques later. The advanced weapon switching technique is easily done by assigning a key to the "previous weapon" command, preferably one close to the movement keys. This way, a person can switch weapons easily with one button while moving. More skilled players do it the hard way: pressing 1, 2, and 3 to switch from knife, primary and secondary while moving forward with the 'W' key. Practice whatever method you find best suited to you. Note that you can only achieve the quick version of the technique by turning "HUD_FASTSWITCH" on. (See console commands) Take note that while running, using the "LASTINV" weapon switch button, will switch almost instantaneously between weapons. This is very important for some guns, like the Arctic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a3 - Radar Most people wonder what that green thing at the top left of their screen is. It's actually a radar which tells you the position of your teammates! This is a minor concern, but keeping your eye on that HUD will let you determine where your opponents are, in case an enemy kills them. Just watch where the light blinks out. Don't overdo it, though, especially if you are at the front of your team. You wouldn't want to be caught looking at the radar when an opponent jumps in front of you and riddles you to swiss cheese. The best use of the radar HUD is to keep track of where the bomb or the VIP is. That way, you can easily defend the VIP, or pick up the bomb if someone kills the bomb-bearer. You can also actually turn the HUD off, to give you more visibility. The console command is "HIDERADAR". To get it back, type "DRAWRADAR 1" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a3a -- Cheap Night Vision Here's a funny technique someone sent in. Notice how the radar HUD is a lightgreen color? If you are in a darkish area and look through that little circle, you'll find that it actually lights up the darker areas, as if it were a nightvision filter! Well, it's rather small and inconvenient, but hey, it's free. You can use this little quirk to scout out dark areas on the map. However, I really don't recommend doing this while assaulting or while walking since you have to look downwards to get the HUD at center-viewing level. I only recommend doing this when you're skulking around in a near pitch-black room. Take note that, like regular Nightvision, if it is pitch-black and there is really no light, this won't work at all (like in the hostage room in CS_ALPIN). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4 - Miscellaneous Console Commands This isn't really a technique, but you should know this anyway. Console commands are command-prompt style commands (ala DOS) which give you a lot of hands-on control over your environment. As much as possible, to be a truly good CS player, you should familiarize yourself with the console, and use it as much as possible over the GUI interface. It's like computer users: Windows users are often technically inferior compared to DOS or Linux users. To enable your console, be sure to start Counter-Strike with the -console switch. If you don't know what that means, follow these instructions: 1.) Right-click on your Counter Strike desktop shortcut. 2.) At the bottom of the menu is Properties. Click it. 3.) The properties window will pop up. There are two parts, General, and Shortcut. You start in Shortcut by default, stay there, this is what you're interested in. 4.) In the middle portion are three fields: Target Type, Target Location, and Target. You're interested in the third. It should read something like: "C:\program files\Halflife\cstrike.exe" 5.) Add to this the switch "-console" The new command should look something like this: "C:\program files\Halflife\cstrike.exe -console" 6.) Click Apply, close the window with Ok, and you're set. Your console is now enabled the next time you start Counter Strike using this desktop shortcut. Congratulations! Now you can meddle around with all the console commands. Be sure to make good use of your console, you can type a lot of things there to improve your game. You can bring out the console by default by pressing the tilde key (`) beside 1, above TAB. Then you can type in commands. You can type multiple commands in one line by separating them with a semi-colon. (i.e. -- "ADJUST_CROSSHAIR";"SENSITIVITY 5") I will only include here the commands that will directly influence your gameplay. If you want a complete list of commands, go find another guide. What's here is strictly limited to the useful commands that affect your game. I will add other commands in the "Dirty Tricks" section, the ones which are quite unfair. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4a -- Sensitivity Be sure to adjust your mouse sensitivity to your needs. Type: SENSITIVITY "X" Where X is a real number from 1-20. Twenty is very sensitive, and a short tug of your mouse will give you a 180 degree spin. This is useful for assaulters who need to see a wide area as fast as possible. Twenty, though is for the really skilled who have perfect mouse control. A setting of 10 or so is more than adequate for an assaulter, any greater may entail aiming difficulty. For snipers, a value of 2 to 8 is good, giving great control needed for precision. Some hardcore snipers use 1. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4b -- Crosshair Some maps have textures whose colors blend with your green crosshair. You can fix this and make aiming easier by changing the crosshair's color. To do this, type ADJUST_CROSSHAIR at the console. This will cycle from the five different cursor colors: light green, light red, light blue, cyan, and yellow. Be sure to select the color that suits the map best. Even if no cursor fits the map color, it still feels good to change the color to your favorite color. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4c -- Quick Weapon Switching You need to use this command to achieve the "Quick Weapon Switch" technique described earlier. When on, pressing your primary weapon button will bring out your weapon immediately, without you needing to press the fire button to select it from the weapon HUD. To turn on, type: HUD_FASTSWITCH "1" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4d -- Mouse Filter Sometimes, you might notice that the movement while looking around with your mouse is not very fluid. This can be very detrimental to your aim, and is feared by snipers everywhere. More often than not, this is due to the mouse filter being switched off. You can switch it on in the config screen, but that takes too much time. Here's how to do it with the console: M_FILTER "1" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4e -- Binding Technique Binding commands to a key is a trick which has carried over from the Quake Engine. To bind a command to a key, type: BIND "X" "COMMAND" Where x is the key you want to bind the command to. For instance, to bind the adjust_crosshair command to the letter c, type: BIND "C" "ADJUST_CROSSHAIR" There are applications to this command, but I will discuss them later in the "dirty tricks" section. More mundane uses for this are easy like using the console to change your name, or your controls. Refer to other documents listing all the commands; I'm just enumerating all the tricks that can improve your gameplay performance and killing skill. The most powerful trick perhaps is the power to combine binds into a powerful hotkey technique. By combining commands, you can bind two or more commands into one key, for a variety of effects limited only by your imagination. Simply separate the commands with a semi-colon: BIND "X" "COMMAND1;COMMAND2" The most obvious application of this is to power-up your buy menu hotkeys. For instance, you could have a "quick ammo" button to buy all the ammo you need in one stroke: BIND "X" "BUYAMMO1;BUYAMMO1;BUYAMMO1;BUYAMMO2;BUYAMMO2;BUYAMMO2" This would purchase three clips of primary and secondary ammo each, at the bargain price of one keystroke! To select a menu option, use the command "MENUSELECT X" where X is the number on the menu you want. Menus are brought up by certain commands like "BUY" (which brings up the basic buy menu) and "BUYEQUIP" (which brings up the equipment menu). For instance, to buy a full suit of kevlar by pressing X: BIND "X" "BUYEQUIP; MENUSELECT 2" To close a menu, use the command select option "SLOT10" preceded by a couple of "WAIT" commands (to ensure the SLOT10 is read at the right time) BIND "X" "BUY; MENUSELECT 6; WAIT; WAIT; SLOT10" You can also program a command to another command by using the ALIAS command. For instance, this would call the ADJUST_CROSSHAIR command whenever you type CHANGE. ALIAS "CHANGE" "ADJUST_CROSSHAIR" This is useful for making shortcuts to long, often-used commands such as the one for closing menus. For instance: ALIAS "CLOSE" "WAIT; WAIT; SLOT10" Now you can use the command CLOSE to shut off a menu: BIND "X" "BUY; MENUSELECT 6; CLOSE" Learn how to use the console and the binding commands! Old DOS-boys should have no problem picking this up, it's the impoverished Windows generation that I'm worried about. Shame on you Bill Gates, for teaching a whole generation of computer users to be ILLITERATE! (or its equivalent in the computer world) I'm not a real expert on this stuff, and I'm just giving you the cursory information to get your started. For more in-depth descriptions of this, see the links section. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a4f -- On the Fly Config Switch This is a useful technique to get you up and running as soon as possible in a LAN environment. In the CS directory is a file called CONFIG.CFG. This contains all your controls for CS, and is loaded when you start the game. What you do is rename that file as another file, say MOCHAN.CFG. This is now your very own personal config file, with all your binds and controls! Load this file from the console with the command: EXEC MOCHAN.CFG This will load all your controls and binds on the fly! Be sure to edit it manually to add the more esoteric commands (i.e. - the ones detailed in this section). Aside from use in LAN shops, this trick is also useful at home, for instance if you are sharing one computer with someone else, and you use different controls. This way, you can swap controls on the fly with a few key strokes! Also, certain commands do not get saved in the default config file, like the CL_XSPEED codes. Loading your custom config file with all these commands makes life so much more convenient. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a5 - Speed Buying Technique "In the words of my idol Bruce Lee, to win, you must be fast." -- That guy on the Discovery Channel This is a technique which all serious CS players should master. Often, it is this technique which really separates the newbies from the veterans. At the start of each round, most inexperienced players fumble around the menu screens, pressing the "Buy Equipment Button" and looking at the gun selections. Then they "Buy Primary Ammo" and look over the "Buy Equipment" menu. Unfortunately for the Newbie, they were playing in AS_FOREST and the grizzled vet had already come over and shot him full of holes. To avoid this, you have to be very fast in the buy menu screen. You should at the very least be capable of buying everything in less than three seconds, faster if possible. The best players waste 0 seconds buying what they need. --------------------------------------------------------- | Decide what you will buy before the next round starts | --------------------------------------------------------- This is CRUCIAL. Read the text in the box above over and over and over until you have nightmares about it. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Many people have quick fingers to buy the goods they want in record time, but may people hesitate at the start of the round because they do not know what they will buy. The trick is to decide what you will buy before the next round starts. Do not waste time looking at the pretty pictures and stats of the the different guns in the menu screen. That's why I included a weapons section in this guide; so that you can read the important stuff now, and not later while you're playing. The easy way to decide is to stick to a preferred weapon. This is a good idea for newbies, because to gain skill quickly, you have to specialize in one weapon type. The drawback here is that sometimes you might not have enough money to buy the weapon you want. Specializing in the Arctic, for instance, takes a while because you need two rounds on average -- three if you just won the last fight but lost the next two -- to buy one. Thus, an advanced mastery of this technique requires you keep track of your finances. Don't worry if you can't compute it all precisely, but you should be able to estimate how much you will spend. Now, some newbies like to hoard their money up to the maximum, $16000. This is a no-no. What good is all that money if you're not going to use it? Spend as you need; don't be afraid to buy that expensive Arctic if it will turn the tide to your favor! The only time you should be hoarding is when you're saving up to buy an expensive gun you need, like the Arctic. To help you manage your budget, here's the money table (taken from the CS manual which is in your CStrike directory) Action: You Get: Your Team Gets: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kill a Hostage -$1500 'Use' a Hostage $150 $100 Kill Opponent $300 Kill Team Mate -$3300 *Terrorist Win by bombing $2750 *Win by Elimination Hostage map $2000 + Hostage Bonus *Win by Elimination Bomb map $2500 *CTs Defuse Bomb $2750 *CTs Win by Rescuing Hostages $2000 + Hostage Bonus HOSTAGE BONUSES: Surviving Hostage Bonus $150 per hostage Rescuing a Hostage $1000 $150 Hostages Rescued Bonus $250 per hostage *Either Team Loses Round $1400 Either Team Loses 2 Rounds Straight $1400 + $500 per round over 2 (to maximum $2900) You should be able to get a good estimate of how much money you will have in the next round using this table. Now, in most cases you will not know the outcome of the battle, unless there is an overwhelming reason for you to assume who will win (like the bomb is about to explode with no CTs in sight, or a 1 on 5 situation). As such, to properly estimate your balance in the next round, you must assume you will be defeated, to ensure that you can purchase whatever you had in mind. "To prepare to defeat your opponent is to first prepare for your own defeat." -- The Ookina, Rurouni Kenshin Of course you could get cocky and assume you will always win, but such an optimistic view can tend to get you in budget trouble. The best approach is the conservative approach, methinks. Thus, you must particularly memorize the bonuses I marked with an asterisk -- these are the bonuses which you cannot determine before the round ends, and which are the most useful for estimating how much income you will have next round. Other things, like killing an opponent or hostage, you can check before the round ends in most cases. Just keep in mind the ones marked with an asterisk. If you have a good head for figures, you can also figure in the hostage bonuses, but these are hard to keep track of, and doing so would really detract from the fun of playing. Next, make use of the prices I gave in the weapon guide. Also take careful note of whether you will buy armor, and how much ammo you plan to take along, and what peripherals (grenades, etc). Most people like fully loading their ammo, so I have also included the maximum ammo you can carry. Keep in mind that all weapons you buy come with a full clip, but no extra ammo, unless you had some previously. For instance, as a terrorist, if you buy an MP5 you will already have 40 rounds carried over from your default Glock. Remember that CTs start with 24 .45 ACP rounds, terrorists with 40 9mm rounds. Carefully plan how much money you will spend each round. It helps to remember how much you spend with the configurations you routinely buy. For instance, I like buying an Arctic with 10 extra rounds and a full suit of armor. That's $4750 + $125 + $1000, for a total of $5875. I also know how much I will spend for a fully-loaded MP5: $1500 + $80 = $1580, plus armor for $2580. Keep track how much money you expect to have, and compare it with your standard configurations. That way you can have smooth sailing while buying at the start of each round. ------------------------------------------ | Use the Hot Keys and Quick Buy Numbers | ------------------------------------------ Now that you've got a good grasp of the economics and the foresight to buy what you want, let's get to the actual buying techniques. Many newbies rely on the primary buy menu (defaults to F1, I think) to buy all their equipment, even their ammunition. This is a big no-no, because it takes more key clicks and wastes time. Instead, you should assign a key for the main buy menu only to buy guns, and three more hotkeys for the three important submenus: primary ammo, secondary ammo, and equipment. With these four hotkeys and the "Quick Buy Numbers" I notated in the equipment list, you can achieve godspeed in arming yourself. Quick numbers are the corresponding menu slots of certain items. For instance, the MP5 is [3-1] in the primary buy menu: assuming F1 is your hotkey for the buy menu, you would press F1 to bring out the buy menu, then '3' for SMGs, then '1' for the MP5. Check out the Quick Buy Numbers in the weapons list. This is how you should buy: Step 1: Before the round begins, know what to buy Step 2: Buy your main and secondary guns with the primary buy menu Step 3: Buy your ammo with the ammo hotkeys Step 4: Buy your armor Step 5: Buy other peripherals (grenades, bomb kit, etc) My controls are configured this way: Bind Command F1 - Buy Menu BUY F2 - Buy Primary Ammo BUYAMMO1 F3 - Buy Secondary Ammo BUYAMMO2 F4 - Buy Equipment BUYEQUIP In case you haven't configured your controls properly, you can quick configure them using the binding technique. For instance, to bind the buy equipment menu to F4, type at the console: BIND "F4" "BUYEQUIP" Using Quick Buy Numbers, I can buy whatever configuration I chose ahead of time in a second or so. For instance, as a terrorist one of my favorite setups is an AK-47 with 2 extra clips, full armor, and a flashbang. As soon as the round starts, I very quickly press F1-4-1-F2-F2-F4-2-F4-3. Nine simple keystrokes, all in a few seconds. I am ready for action while most newbies are still deciding what weapon to buy. ----------------------------------------- | Start moving the moment you buy items | ----------------------------------------- Some servers have a few seconds at the start of the round to buy equipment, but many more do not. Thus, it is imperative to learn how to apply the buying technique above WHILE moving. It depends on your control setup, but if you modify your controls be sure to do to keep all your buy keys right next to your move keys, so you can achieve this technique. To ensure that you don't waste time and thus lose strategic ground, be sure to master buying while running. This is useful because most of the time you cannot press all those keys in under a second. Further, sometimes you may have to do twelve or more keystrokes, if you choose to buy a secondary weapon. This can take up to three seconds or even more, and those three seconds are crucial, best spent already running for your objective than standing at your base. FINAL NOTE: I haven't explored this fully, but you can if you want. You can use bind scripts to simplify this entire process. Imagine assigning one key for your "MP5 Configuration," and having to just press that one key to get fully suited up. Go see the links section for sites going in-depth in the use of scripts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a6 - End Reloading Technique This is a very simple technique that many people do not do. Most likely, they will reload at the start of the next round, which is a big waste of time. In order to achieve maximum speed, you should always start the next round fully loaded. Doing this is simple: --------------------------------------------- | Reload the moment the previous round ends | --------------------------------------------- It's as easy as that! Make it a habit to press your reload button as soon as your team wins the round. When the next round starts, your gun will automatically be fully loaded, even if you hadn't finished reloading yet (it happens with slow reload guns like the AWP, Steyr Aug, and FN Para). If you reload at the end of the round, you will be free to utilize the Speed Buying technique in the next round. Most importantly, you will be able to switch to your knife immediately and run for whatever key point you have to secure as soon as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.a7 - Bunny Hopping This is a funny technique which is very hard to master. Actually, I haven't actually managed to pull it off yet, but Paul Kerr assures me that it works. You just need lots of practice. Remember in Thief Gold, where you could run, jump, and at the precise moment that you land jump again, and so on? With each successive jump, by spending as little time as possible on the ground, you increase your velocity, as if you were falling down a long pit. It's a bug which is present in almost all the older FPS games, Quake II included (and thus, Counter Strike by default). If you do this properly in CS, you can achieve inhuman speed while travelling in a straight line. This is actually bordering on being a cheat, but since its usefulness is limited and it is very, very difficult to pull off, I don't consider it as such. You actually have to work hard to pull this one off! Cheats are usually things which give instant results without training, so this thing is still valid in my book. =============================================================================== 5.b -- Defensive Techniques These techniques are invaluable for keeping yourself alive. Defense is the most important, more important than offense. Defense comes first. Most advanced offensive techniques can only be learned after first mastering the basic defensive movement techniques. To become a true fighting god, you must master the basic defensive movement techniques. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b1 - Side Stepping Side-stepping is a very useful skill for staying alive. Even beginners have little trouble hitting a stationary target, but a moving target is far more difficult to hit. Especially when the target is moving from side to side, directly perpendicular to you. To ensure that your opponents have as much trouble as possible hitting you, the zig zag side stepping technique is essential. Basically, you just side step directly left and right when your opponents start shooting you. Barring taking cover and not showing yourself, this technique is the best defense against one-shot Arctic snipers. Assaulters should master this technique first and foremost, because they are often in the line of fire. -------------------------------------------------------------- | Side-stepping decreases your accuracy, but keeps you alive | -------------------------------------------------------------- The drawback to side-stepping is that your accuracy goes down dramatically. A shot you might have made easily while standing, will often go wild while side-stepping. Thus, you generally should only attempt side-stepping while fighting at close to mid-range, especially while using pistols or the more accurate assault weapons like the MP5 and M4 Carbine. TRIVIA: Everyone calls "side-stepping" "strafing." This owes to the morons at Apogee and id who erroneously called side-stepping strafing, thus leading an entire generation of gamers to believe that 'to strafe' means 'to sidestep.' In truth, however, to strafe simply means to fire in rapid succession at a target. As good old Websters would put it: strafe: to rake (as ground troops) with fire at close range and esp. with machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft There you go! Diablo II got it right, whereas Wolf 3D, Doom, and just about every mindless FPS game in the market got it wrong! Anyway, since everyone uses it in that manner I suppose it's acceptable as "colloquialism." Hey, when enough people start to believe something long enough, it becomes true, right? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b2 - Ducking Ducking is an important defensive technique, and is also an offensive trick. Ducking will help you take cover behind smaller obstacles, but it is also equally effective at making you a smaller target when in plain sight. The drawback to ducking, though, is that an opponent aiming for your body might get a headshot when you duck. Still, that is a calculated risk you will have to take, because ducking gives you the added advantage of increasing your accuracy as you counterattack. That is why ducking is also an offensive tactic. ----------------------------------- | Ducking increases your accuracy | ----------------------------------- In general, you must choose from one of these two techniques when fighting an opponent. You can either keep side-stepping while firing back in order to make yourself a harder target, but you also sacrifice your own accuracy. Ducking is less defensive, as you will be easier to hit than a side-stepping maniac, but the trade-off is that you will have an easier time hitting your opponent. It is your call, but you should adapt a tactic based on your opponent's weapon. For instance, if your enemy is using an MP5, ducking can be safe, but if he is using an Arctic, ducking is a stupid thing to do, and side-stepping would be better. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b3 - Jumping Jumping is also a defensive technique which can save your skin. However, it is not as important a technique as side-stepping or ducking. Jumping is more the coward's technique: you will usually want to side-step and jump only when you have no intention whatsoever of fighting back. Unlike side-stepping and ducking which is meant as evasive techniques while counter-attacking, jumping should only be used for purely evasive purposes. Why? --------------------------------------- | Accuracy goes to shit while jumping | --------------------------------------- Remember this basic truth, and you'll go a long way in Counter Strike. Lots of newbies like jumping around while firing back at their enemies. Small wonder most of their shots miss. If you're going to attack while dodging, stick to side-stepping. Jumping while sidestepping is a purely defensive, escaping tactic. However: ---------------------------------------------- | Be careful jumping around an Arctic player | ---------------------------------------------- A skilled sniper will calculate the end of your jump and aim their, tagging you instantly as you land. Avoid jumping in plain sight of an arctic wielding opponent; it is a quick way to die. If you must jump, begin the jump where the opponent cannot see you, thus he will have trouble anticipating your jump and your landing. Or, jump only when the end point of your jump is concealed from the Arctic's deadly line of sight. Jumping also plays a role in Arctic-to-Arctic duels. More on that later. These are the basic movement-related defense skills. However, true defensive skills are awareness-based and not movement based, and are more tactical in nature. Most of these techniques I might eventually disclose in specific map tactics, but for now I will just give a general overview of the general advanced defense techniques, the mind-based techniques. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b4 - Shadow Technique Since CS uses the Half-life engine, which emphasized dark shadowy corners for monsters to hide in, the CS environment is complete with dark places on the map where you can hide and, in general, make yourself less visible. One can't shoot what one can't detect, and making yourself hard to see is the key to exploiting this weakness. This technique is especially useful for campers. Be sure to find those spots on the map where you are given cover, whether by obstacles, shadows, or both. Surprise is a lethal weapon that is worth more than a hundred bullets. I may someday write specific map tactics to point out all these good hiding places. For now, a good example of the shadow technique is the CT-side of the sewers in DE_AZTEC. The back of the grate from the bridge is pitch-dark, and a CT agent wearing a dark skin is practically invisible from a terrorist coming from underneath the bridge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b5 - Hit and Run Technique This is what is called the "Style of the Ages." There is no better way to keep yourself alive than to shoot fast at the moment you see your enemy, and run like hell away after that shot. That is, shoot your enemy once, hoping to damage or kill him, but regardless run away and duck for cover as soon as the shot is fired. This gives your opponent no chance to react to you and do you harm, yet gives you the chance to kill him. This technique works best with an Arctic, but can be adapted for any gun. These guerilla tactics will harass and frustrate your enemy, if nothing else. And messing with your opponent's mind is one of the most important tactics in winning a battle. Needless to say, to succeed with this technique you must have pinpoint sniper accuracy in as quick a time as possible. Some people like to pop out again after hiding, but this is dangerous as your opponent knows where you are likely to come from, and the advantage of surprise is lost. The best course is to run away completely and flank the enemy to try to get at them from another angle they don't expect. It's easier said than done, but familiarity with the map and experience will help you achieve this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b6 - Crowd Defense If you're a smart, unscrupulous player and are not playing for the good of the team, one of the most effective defensive techniques is the crowd defense. Stick with your team, and be with them all the time! This is the best way to increase your chances of survival. Specifically, hide behind your teammates whenever an opponent shows up. This way, your teammate will likely get fragged before you, but he will hopefully have softened up your opponent, leaving you to clean-up the mess. This technique also works cooperatively while camping. Two heads is better than one, so to speak. When camping, it is best to camp in crowds. You can cover more area, and there is a good chance if the opposing team assaults, they will kill your other teammates instead of you. So make sure to use the shadow technique while camping and make yourself less visible than your teammates, so they will be hit first while you finish off the attackers! 5.b6a -- Hostage Defense This is a varation of the Crowd Defense technique. When teammates are scarce, the next best alternative is to use hostages! By having hostages follow you around, you can easily get some cover from fire, and if you're good enough at dodging, your enemy might actually hit and kill the hostage, getting a whopping cash deduction. In fact, one of the cheap tricks I do for fun is get a hostage, hack it down to 7% life, and have it follow around. An enemy will shoot me, miss, and hit the hostage, depleting his money. Even better, I often get groups of the hostages and hack them down. Enemies love throwing grenades all the time, and it only takes one well-placed grenade to kill all of them, leaving the grenade thrower with no cash whatosoever. One of my nastiest techniques involves the Hostage and Shadow Defense techniques in the darkest corridor of CS_MANSION. Recall that corridor outside the hostage room? Hide in the intersection of the corridor, where it's really dark, and put a hostage to either side of you. CTs charging in will likely hit the hostages, killing them, and leaving you to mop up the mess. It's a very effective technique, though your enemies will probably curse you for the coward you are. ^_^ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b7 - Smart Reloading Reloading is an often ignored aspect of Counter Strike tactics. But knowing when to reload and when not to is one of the most crucial aspects of CS gameplay! Reloading tactics vary from weapon to weapon, and there are a lot of specific circumstances which one can learn only through experience. But I will try to give a basic theory of how to reload properly. Basically, you want to balance your reloads such that you are not reloading when an opponent is likely to show up, but you must also reload whenever the rounds in your clip is below the amount you need to make a kill. In general, you must gauge how much ammunition you need to kill one opponent. When you know this number, you should keep at least twice that number in your clip as much as possible. If you have less than that, you should consider reloading. Reload sparingly, as much as possible don't reload at all. I see a lot of newbies get killed because they see an enemy, fire a few shots, which the enemy dodges easily as he ducks for cover. As the enemy disappears, the newbie immediately begins reloading, "to keep his guns at top capacity." Then as soon as they reload, the enemy pops out and shoots holes in them. This is really sad. Many novice players reload their MP5s even while they have 20 or more rounds in them. This is no good, the risk of getting caught reloading is greater than that of running out of ammo. Learning to balance when to reload when ammo is running low is crucial. The opposite extreme is also true. The newer players -- particularly those who have either not played an FPS before, or are used to Doom-style shooters where there is no reloading -- often do not reload at all. In the middle of a gunfight, they suddenly run out, and find themselves automatically reloading as they are still pressing the trigger button tight, out of ammo. The enemy will immediately smile at the clicking sound, and gun them down as they change the clip. The most important consideration, though, is enemy density and proximity. If it's the start of the round and enemies are far away, you can reload with no worry. But if it's late in the game and an enemy could be waiting just around the corner, reloading is dangerous. ---------------------------------- | Do not attack while reloading! | ---------------------------------- Doing so is one of the most idiotic things you can do, but sadly I see a lot of people do it (I myself am guilty of this at times). If an opponent suddenly shows up, you'll be dead before you even fire a single shot. A few basic tips to reloading: - When reloading, keep yourself covered. Reload either when you have a buddy backing you up, or after ducking behind a crate or empty corridor. - Do not move toward where an opponent could be hiding when reloading. Only actually start to reload when you are safely hidden and you are sure no enemy is hiding around you. - Be prepared to bring out your secondary if an opponent does jump you while reloading. This is your last-ditch effort to save yourself in case an enemy catches you with your pants down. In general, reloading also depends on your weapon. Weak weapons which require lots of shots to kill, like the MP5, should be reloaded as much as possible, whenever there is a lull in the battle. Stronger guns like the AK-47 and especially the Arctic, should be reloaded sparingly. I usually don't reload my AK until my ammo goes below 15, and I only reload my Arctic when I have less than 5 shots left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b8 - Continuous Movement Defense The final important mental technique is that of continous movement. ---------------------------------------- | Never stay in one place for too long | ---------------------------------------- Even a camper shouldn't stay in one place too long, for an enemy may go around and flank him, sneaking up on him from behind. Also, the use of continuous movement makes you as hard a target as possible at all times. CS players, particularly Arctic snipers, love nothing more than a stationary target. But someone who is constantly on the move will foil this expectation, making you far more difficult to kill, even if an opponent catches you by surprise. But, the most important use of continously moving around, is to constantly exercise your mind, keeping it from stagnating. This is an important physiological consideration, as allowing your mind to stagnate will dull your reflexes and make you easier to kill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b9 - Flee from Fire Technique This is a very basic technique which all CS players should learn, but surprisingly few put into action. What do you do when you walk into a room or clearing and suddenly the you hear gunshots, and if you're unlucky the screen might flash a bit as you are hit by some unseen sniper? There are two basic responses to this: first, the player looks around, trying to find the culprit, and shoot back. Second, the player ducks back the way he came like a coward. If you're the kind who does the first, then I commend you on your bravery but I condemn you for stupidity. I admit I still do this sometimes because my instinct is to kill kill! But chances are, this course of action will get you killed. Why? Because of the simple fact that you are already in your opponent's sights, while you have yet to locate your opponent. This is NOT favorable at all, and unless your opponent is using an underpowered gun or is stupid (or both), you will die. While under some circumstances it is to your benefit to quickly locate the opponent and fireback, in general it is the more prudent approach to back out quickly before you get your ass kicked. This is the "Flee from Fire Technique." Trust me, it will keep you alive more often than not. When not to use this technique? There are some situations when you will want to ignore this teaching. The first is when you are in an assault squad trying to break into the enemy's defensive position. A good example would be when playing CTs in CS_ASSAULT. In this case, death is practically inevitable, you would best be served by having a "I'll take as many of you down with me" mentality instead. But in general, this technique is the rule if you want to survive. Another instance you might want to ignore this rule is when you are using an Arctic Sniper Rifle, and the opponent who took potshots at you was using a Glock or something (you should be able to tell by the sound of the gun). In this case, it is your call whether you want to take the chance, but keep in mind your remaining health and, of course, your confidence in your sniping skill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b10 - Backstabbing Technique (Uragiri) When camping, it is best to camp with your other team members. But in those instances when you are alone or don't want to camp with team members, the usual camping tactics must be discarded in favor of "uragiri" techniques. If you are alone but choose to camp and hold a particular point, chances are you won't survive against a wave of enemies unless you are really good and/or using an Arctic. But if you don't have an Arctic, you must resort to the less valorous backstab. This should be discussed in detail in specific maps to point out the good backstab points, but I will explain here the basic theory. Backstabbing is done best with a good close-range weapon like a shotgun, MP5, Desert Eagle, or Carbine. First find a secluded, shadowy area where an opponent is likely to pass, but you are not likely to be seen behind cover. Hide in your niche and switch to your knife. This minimizes your visibility since the knife is very short. Now, when an enemy passes by, switch to your gun and riddle his back with holes. Simple, no? It is easier said than done, but with experience and knowledge of the best backstabbing points, you can pull it off. When you've gained enough skill in this technique, you will be able to spot the best backstabbing points in a map immediately. In the future, I hope to give out specific map strategies to point out these good backstab locations. Just be sure not to do it all the time, because the next time you do it your opponent may be ready. Take care when using the same backstab location twice in a row. Move to other spots to outwit your opponent. Teach him to fear the corners. When you've done that, switch to the otherside so that when he checks the old corner, he turns his back to you again. Happy backstabbing! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b10a -- Letting the Shadow Pass (Kage Yurutou) This is an advanced modification of the backstab technique. Use it when you expect a lot of enemies, and when you are very confident in your hidden niche and your enemy's ignorance. Most players go for the backstab immediately as soon as an enemy passes by. This is fine, especially if the enemy is alone and has a good probability of spotting you. But what if he has friends? When camping in an unlikely position where the enemy is not likely to check, and when there are a lot of them (at least two of them passing you by), then it is often prudent to "let the shadow pass;" that is, let the second guy (or the last guy if there are more than two) get past you. ONLY then should you start shooting at their backs. This way, they will all have their backs turned to you! It is less likely for them to fire back at you under these conditions. If you had fired on the first guy, you might have killed him, but then the guy right behind him would likely make minced meat out of you. Have patience; if you weren't detected, then waiting a few seconds won't hurt you. Premature firing will. After you make sure no one else is coming, that's the when you shoot them all in the backs. Of course, if you are detected, then you have no recourse but to fire back and try to kill them before they kill you. It's just the risk that a backstabber takes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b10a -- Baiting the Enemy This technique was sent in by avielh, and I actually find it pretty funny yet very sound. Basically, before you go camp to do an ambush, you drop your secondary weapon in plain sight where the enemy is likely to pass, as "bait." Judging where the enemy is likely to come from, he will stop over the weapon to examine it, maybe even to pick it up. If this happens, you have the advantage of surprise as you jump out of your camping spot (out of sight from where you think he will come) and grab a quick kill. This seems to work best with certain guns. As a terrorist, the Dual Berettas, though expensive, are great because they look very distinct and are especially coveted by CTs, who can't buy it themselves. As a CT, maybe you could use the 5/7, but that gun isn't in demand as much. You could also try using a Desert Eagle, it's shiny and catches attention a lot, and many players (myself included) would rather have it than the default gun. Of course, don't use this trick too often. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b11 - Hiding the Ghost (Yurei o Kakushite) This is a simple technique you should always keep in mind. In CS, as with just about all First Person 3D games, clipping (parts of character models passing through walls) is a big issue. What this means is that, if you stand next to a thin wall or door, parts of you might clip through it, making you visible from the other side. Needless to say, this makes you a great target for snipers and rifles on the other side. This is especially true for big guns with long barrels, like the AWP. No gun gives your position away like the Arctic sniper. But then, no gun takes advantage of this more than the Arctic. Just be sure not to point your gun over a thin door or wall -- it'll reveal you to any enemies on the other side. Try not to stick to walls too closely, either. I don't need to say this, but use this knowledge well to find enemies clipping through walls! And when you do, be sure to hit them with an AWP, Para, AK-47, or some other weapon with wall- punching ability. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.b12 - Thrift Technique People tend to pick up the guns of dead opponents or comrades. There's nothing wrong with this, especially when there's a good gun on the ground and you're carrying squat. However, be careful because some cunning players leave guns on the ground on purpose. They may be waiting for you to pick up the gun and ambush you as you drop your weapon. Or, you could be totally unlucky and have an enemy randomly pass by just as you go for the gun. In general, stick to the weapon you bought at the start of the round. If you can do well with it, why change? Keeping your focus on the battle at hand, and not scavenging, can keep you alive. But there are certain instances when you will want to change guns. For instance, you may have been low on cash and forced to buy an MP5, but instead are a sniper, and an AWP was conveniently left on the ground. Or maybe after a skirmish you were brought down to 10% life, so you decide to pick up that G3 or AWP so you can fight the rest of the round at range, increasing your survivability. Whatever the case, if you must pick up the gun then do it quickly. But it is often the better idea to rely on the gun you bought at the start, no ifs and buts about it. =============================================================================== 5.c -- Offensive Techniques These techniques were designed to kill, or help you while killing. They will reduce the chance of you dying while you are attacking, while increasing the mortality rate of your opponents. Combined with the defensive techniques earlier, these techniques will help shape you into the ultimate warrior. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c1 - Stationary Aiming The most basic offensive technique is aiming while not moving. Those who like camping or otherwise not moving around should master this technique -- such to the point that they can find the opponent's head on average in half a second. Since you aren't moving, you have to learn to kill quickly before your moving opponent hits you. This requires long hours of training to acquire a fast reaction time. One of the tricks to improve your stationary training is to keep your mind focused and busy. Never allow your mind to stagnate. An assaulter does this easily by constantly moving, but a camper can often forget when he stays glued to one spot. That is why campers need mental training even more than assaulters. ----------------------------------------------------------- | Keeping your mind sharp is the key to stationary aiming | ----------------------------------------------------------- Do not just think of anything, though. You must concentrate on the attack. Focus is necessary, keeping your mind busy is not just a matter of thinking random thoughts. If you think of just anything, it might distract your concentration away from your aim. One good mental exercise to do while camping is to mentally visualize how your opponent will look and move when he does show up at the point you are guarding. Another, simpler but more difficult technique to master is to be totally aware of everything you see and hear. This will keep your mind busy and keep you totally aware of every detail, heightening your senses and your reaction time. This is a difficult technique to master, but if you do it will increase the effectiveness of your camping a hundred fold. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c2 - Hot and Cold Firing Technique This is an advanced form of the stationary firing technique, which is very useful for weapons that have low accuracy while moving. It is a combination of defensive movement techniques and stationary firing. Basically, you side step as usual when confronted by enemy fire. While dodging, you take aim, and when your aim is true, you suddenly brake, stopping your movement altogether, and fire. As soon as you fire, you move again, making yourself once again a hard target. This is a difficult technique to master and execute effectively, but when you do it will increase your offensive and defensive capabilities tremendously, especially while using single-shot low movement-accuracy weapons like the AK-47, the FN Para and the Arctic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c2a -- Jump Aiming This is an advanced form of the Hot and Cold Firing technique. You jump to avoid enemy fire, and while in the air you are already searching for your opponent. As soon as you land, you jam the trigger and smash your opponent with precision accuracy. This is important because accuracy is non-existent while in the air, and jumping is a very effective means of confusing enemy fire. This technique works best with the Arctic, but also works well with all the other weapons which have low accuracy while moving. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c3 - Figure Eight Sidestep Technique While Hot and Cold firing was developed to increase the offensive/defensive capability of using low movement-accuracy weapons, the Figure Eight Side Step, often erroneously called "circle strafing," was developed to increase the attack and defense power of high movement-accuracy weapons like the MP5 and M4 Carbine. This technique is perfect for literally running circles around your opponent while shooting holes in them. Basically, upon seeing your opponent, you sidestep either left or right. At the same time, you keep your cursor pointed straight at him, moving your mouse in the opposite direction of your sidestep. In this way, you make a curving movement around him, making yourself hard to hit while keeping him in your sights. As with all techniques, this is easier said than done, and only practice will make you a master of this technique. To complicate the matter, your opponent may have the same bright idea. This technique is the main reason why just standing or ducking in one place to shoot an opponent is so dangerous. It is by far the most effective side-step technique in all the FPS games because you also flank your opponent, as opposed to a simple left-right sidestep. This technique is especially useful against snipers, who often have low mouse sensitivity settings, making it harder for them to turn all the way to follow your movement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | While sidestepping, your shots tend to go in the opposite direction | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Because of this, you should adjust your aim slightly to the left or right of your target, depending on which way you are moving. If you sidestep left, aim a bit to the left, because your shot will go a bit to the right, especially at longer distances. Take note that when you stop sidestepping, your shots will still be off to the left or right, if you were using auto-fire. It will eventually correct itself, the rate varies on each weapon. Usually, guns with lower movement accuracy correct slower. If you stop shooting, it will correct almost instantaneously (so Burst Fire is recommended). Remember that those few precious moments while the aim is correcting could mean the difference between life or death. Keep this in mind while aiming with the Figure Eight technique. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c3a -- Anti-Arctic Technique The Arctic is the most dreaded weapon at range. All it takes is one hit, and you're history. That is why many people have developed many anti-arctic techniques to combat the feared AWP. While the most basic technique is to just keep moving eratically, and close in on the sniper, where his Arctic is not very useful, the best players have developed techniques to allow them to fight the Arctic sniper on equal terms, even at range. Fighting, duking it out with an arctic at range? Ridiculous! The way to go is to zigzag towards them, steadily closing the distance, right? Wrong! While this technique does work, it is very dangerous. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Moving forward decreases your sidewards velocity, thus making | | it far easier for the arctic sniper to pick you off | ----------------------------------------------------------------- The alternative anti-arctic technique is to stay at range, and instead devote all your movement ability to sidestepping directly left or right. This way, no movement is wasted going forward or backward. Arguably, this makes you a far more difficult target than someone zig-zagging forward, trying to close the distance. While side-stepping, you must engage in figure-eight sytle shooting, only you are not flanking towards the opponent. Fire in short bursts of 3 or so bullets, and one of them should hit your opponent and chip away at his life. As long as you keep moving left and right erratically and in no set pattern, you have a chance of surviving as your opponent's inaccurate Arctic will keep missing. This is by far the best technique developed for combating those annoying snipers, but is very difficult to master. Indeed, it is also very dangerous! Just remember that, if your sniper opponent is very good, you'll probably die no matter what technique you do. Thus, the best defense is often to just get out of sight and stay out of sight! There are other more advanced techniques to get around the problem, and it involves using smoke grenades and flashbangs. But those are advanced tactics which will be discussed later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c4 - Assault Weapon Sniping Technique Most people like to think that sniper rifles are good for sniping, and assault weapons are good for close combat. Period. No overlapping of roles. However, the best assault players are also those who can use their assault weapons for sniping at medium to long range when necessary. In fact, some of the best assault players I know started off as snipers to hone their aiming, and then went assault to showcase their skill. At any rate, as an assault player you will be more effective if you can fight at medium to long range with your weapon, and not just close range. This is the reason why the shotgun should be left to the specialist who only wants to fight at point-blank to close range. All the assault rifles, do well at medium to long range. Most SMGs still work well at medium range. Learning to use them at range is the key to becoming a good, well-rounded CS player. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Sniping with assault guns requires skill in burst or single-fire shooting | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- You cannot expect to use auto-fire when fighting at range. You will simply be wasting ammo. Instead learn to aim at your opponent and shoot in small bursts. You will eventually wear out his armor and life and kill him, if he doesn't kill you first. If your opponent is not using a sniper rifle, you are better off being stationary and ducking while doing this technique. If your opponent insists on side-stepping while trying to hit you, you will be at the advantage at this range, because his shots will hit you far less often, whereas you will be shooting aiming for his neck area, and your shots are far more accurate. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | When fighting at close range, the Figure Eight style is more effective. | | When fighting at mid to long range, ducking and sniping is better. | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== The previous offensive techniques were based on the defensive movement techniques discussed earlier. However, like defense, the most potent offensive techniques are the ones which mold your state of mind. They are mind-based, mental techniques. Getting that agressive, killer instinct is the fundamental skill needed that is more effective than all the physical techniques metioned earlier. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c5 - Perpetual Motion Agressiveness Technique This is the offensive counterpoint of the Continuous Movement Defense technique. The ultimate goal here is to stay in constant motion, in order to keep the mind perpetually sharp. Assaulters practice this technique almost unconsciously, as it goes hand-in-hand with their practice of assault. However, whereas the defensive movement technique's main purpose is to avoid getting flanked by the enemy and prevent making yourself an easy target, the Perpetual Motion Agression is focused to keeping your mind sharp while hunting out every single enemy you see. You want to get into a mindset where you are like a hunter, continously sniffing the air for the opponent. At the smallest sign of a target, you fire immediately, quickly and precisly, with lethal results. Many players achieve this mindset unconsciously, as a result of die-hard assaulting. But if you're not a true-bred assaulter, this mindset will not come to you naturally, and you must make an effort to slip into this kind of mindset. Again, your mental condition is the most important component of fighting; be sure to slip into this mindset whenever you are attacking, and you will surely increase your fighting level significantly. --------------------------------- | Weed out hesitation and doubt | --------------------------------- "To be human is to know the fear of death, yet keep on fighting." -- Gau Ban, Shadow Skill. There is no room in your mind for hesitation and doubt. These two will poison your resolve and drastically weaken your fighting skill. Don't dwell on the fact that you might be at the bottom of the kills score, or that you're about to face the high scorer, or that you only have 5 life left. You must commit everything to the attack, and believe in yourself. That way, you will perform much better. While adopting a more defensive technique is prudent when your life is low, you must never allow yourself to succumb to the fear of death. As long as you are alive, you must continue to strive to fight and kill your opponent. "The Kuruda Mercenary who is still standing, cannot be defeated." -- Vow of the Kuruda Mercenary, Shadow Skill ------------------------------------------------ | Case Study: Point Men should NOT be cowards! | ------------------------------------------------ Know that this aggressive mentality is necessary for the point man (the guy who heads the assault) in the squad. A friend of mine recently complained about how the CT leading him suddenly turned coward upon running into a terrorist wielding an AK-47 in the wine cellar of CS_ITALY. Because the pointman lost his nerve, he turned back, trying to go back through the doorway they came. As he did, the terrorist opened fire, cutting him and everyone behind him down. His teammates, who did not lose their nerve, could do nothing, as their view of the terrorist was obscured by their cowardly point man. Let this poignant example drive home the fact that being the point man means you should NOT hesitate. ---------------------------------------------------- | NEVER EVER backtrack and run into your teammates | | who are following you, under any circumstance! | ---------------------------------------------------- Even if you are blinded by a flashbang, you should try to move forward and duck for cover ahead of your teammates, not into them. Remember that the rest of your squad is counting on you to lead the assault properly! Hesitation and doubt will only get you killed! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c6 - Find the Weakpoint "There is nothing cowardly about my technique at all. To win a fight, you must attack your opponent's weak point." -- Saitou Hajime, Rurouni Kenshin This mental offense technique is very difficult to master. You need to get a feel for your enemy's fighint habits and tendencies. You have to be able to strike when they are most vulnerable. It is very hard to determine this in a computer game like CS, but it is possible. The easiest weakpoint for you to target is your opponent's reloading habit. Catching your opponent while he is reloading or out of ammo is the ultimate coup de grace which allows for a no-risk, easy kill. By watching out for when your opponent tends to reload, and by intently listening to the amount of fire he shoots out with his weapons, you can determine when he is vulnerable for an out and out charge. It is indeed difficult to be right all the time, but even if you just get it right half the time, you are already proficient in this skill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c6a -- Finding the Blind Spot "I have found her weakness! She is still unused to the lovely eye-patch, which obstructs her view from the left!" -- Koinosuke, Jubei-chan Another use of this technique is determining the right time when your opponent plans to strike, and charging before him. The benefit of this is simple. If your opponent plans to move forward, his attention is diverted straight ahead, and he is less likely to be able to respond to threats to his sides. The trick here is to immediately charge forward and flank your opponent as he is about to charge forward. Thus, you can make use of a Figure Eight flanking technique to get to his side, his "blind spot." Another way to do it aside from the Figure Eight is to do a Jump Aim technique and leap to his side. On average, opponents are less likely to hit you while you are jumping to his side at close range, and while you are on the way you must face him immediately, and upong landing (or even before then if you are close enough) let loose your bullets. One of the best ways to execute this is at the intersection of two corridors. The Figure Eight variation works well with the high move accuracy weapons like the M4 and MP5, while the jumping variation of technique works exceptionally well with close range weapons like the shotguns and also the M4. Upon spotting each other in a corridor, you quickly dodge to cover after firing some shots. As you have hidden, listen closely whether your opponent has decided to pursue you or not. If he is pursuing, you simply time your move as he is about to round the corridor or obstacle, and you can easily jump or sidestep to his blind side, finishing him off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c7 - Money Flash Awareness Technique (Kane Kae Sen) One of the largest problems of many players is that they keep on firing even after their enemy is dead. This accomplishes nothing but waste ammo and keep you unprepared for your next opponent. There are three ways to determine whether you have killed your opponent: the old-fashioned look at him and if blood spurts out he's dead way, looking at the who killed who text at the upper right, and looking at your money. Among these three ways, the last, your money, is the best option. Why? The graphical approach is hard because players can bleed a whole lot and still live, and it takes a while for their death animation to kick in. The who-killed-who text is instantaneous, but not very reliable because it displays anyone who's been killed; it is not necessarily your enemy. ------------------------------------------------------ | Watch your money at the lower right of the screen. | | If it flashes green, your enemy is toast. | ------------------------------------------------------ The most reliable measure is your money, which pops up a bright green the moment you kill your opponent -- by far the best indicator to determine whether you've killed an enemy or not. The only drawback is that if your money is at $16000, it won't register. But that's a minor quibble, and if your money is at $16000 that means you must be having a winning streak anyway, no? This just serves as more incentive not to hoard up that money and spend it on worthwhile guns. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c8 - Stealth Technique One important thing to remember in CS is that your footfalls can give you away. This only happens while running, which most people do all the time. However, if you simply walk, you will not make a sound. This means you can conceal your presence from enemies! The applications are varied, but when walking, it is easier to sneak up on people and knife them in the back for bonus points. You can keep your presence unknown while hidden behind a crate, waiting for your opponent to pass by. Regardless, keeping silent has its uses. To stay silent, use the "walk" button. You can configure this in your controls. If you want to bind it, the console command is "+SPEED". Take note that you must hold the button down; commands with "+" at the start usually remain active only while you press the button. To be even more silent, crouch. But this makes you move far too slowly; you may have trouble catching your quarry. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Be sure to crouch while climbing ladders. This will eliminate | | any noise, without slowling you down at all. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is assuming autorun is turned on. If autorun is off, using the speed command will make you run instead. I forget the command to turn autorun on and off at this moment. However, the default is on, and unless some weirdo messed with it (I hope not you!), there is no reason for it to be off. You will be doing far more running in this game than walking, after all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c9 - Team First, You Last This is another technique for unscrupulous people who believe in "better you than me." When assaulting, it is often the case that the first person spotted is the first one shot. Well, since this is the case 90% of the time, you would be a fool to go in, guns blaring, right? This is the sad truth of team assaults into enemy defensive territory. Unless you are all very good and lucky, and your opponents are lousy shots, some of you will die whenever you force your way through a position. The trick, of course, is to hang back and wait for a teammate to take the first step. Then follow in behind him. This should increase your survivability. Take care not to follow directly behind him in a line; if your opponent is using an arctic, the shot will kill both of you. Even if he isn't, an opponent waiting in ambush will tend to shoot with a little reaction delay, meaning he will hit YOU behind your teammate even if he intended to hit your teammate. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have published this technique; maybe now no one will want to charge in first, hehehe. Still, not to worry. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are willing to be the sacrificial lamb and go first. And don't think only the newbies do this! The best players are also willing to charge in first: the reason is because this means they get first dibs in killing the enemy. And they have the skill to back it up. In the end, it's a trade-off between survivability and kills. You'll find that the best players have no qualms walking straight in with their MP5s, and they can kill one or two opponents easily without themselves dying. You decide what kind of player you are: the craven coward or the valiant vanguard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.c10 - Catching the Motion (Mugento Shunkan) This is an advanced aiming technique which I now realize I should have included much earlier. It is actually the parent technique of Gulay Ryuu Hiken: Nigeto Sen. I did not explain how to achieve it to well there, but with a little basic theory I hope you will be able to grasp it easier here. Have you ever noticed how, when riding a fast moving car your eye is suddenly caught by an outstanding detail off to the side, and suddenly your see that object, whatever got our attention, in full detail, as if time slowed down for you to see that object's details? It could be a patch of red on a pedestrian's shirt, a bird flying low alongside your window, or even a plastic cup discarded by the car in front of you. Regardless of what it was, that thing caught your attention, and for some reason you suddenly have a "moment of clarity" wherein you attention is seeming focused entirely on that object, as if everything else were a blur except for that point, which is alive in all its detail. This "moment of clarity" is the basis of the advanced aiming technique, Mugento Shunkan. Literally, it means "forever stopping the moment." Basically, what happens is that, to your mind's eye, you are freezing time to focus exactly on that single object at the center of your attention. What does this have to do with aiming and Counter Strike? Simple. If you can train yourself to consistently achieve that "moment of clarity," and direct it on an opponent (your center of attention), you will be able to aim at him easily, in that one perfect moment between seconds. And once your cursor finds him, he's dead. To be completely honest, I don't really understand the mechanics of this technique very well. I just know that it happens; I've experienced it many times. It is especially helpful for sniping, but it obviously can be applied to any sort of aiming (It has other applications as well, to be sure, but I won't go into that). For now, I can give some tips to help you achieve that "moment of clarity." The first thing to remember is that achieving this requires a LOT of practice. Next to that, you will need a conscious awareness to pull it off. You must be mentally aware that it is possible, and that it will happen. If you are aware of it, apparently it happens more often, and when it does happen you will be better able to take advantage of it. Herein lies the paradox of this, though: if you urgently will yourself to have these moments, apparently this increased desire of yours will push or block it! It's hard to explain, but all I can say is that you must be aware of the phenomenon and allow it to happen, that is, TRUST in it that it will happen, but you must NOT desire it to happen, or force yourself to achieve it. Typically, these moments of clarity are quite brief, but usually sufficient for you to react if you were aware of it. However, I think that with sufficient training you can actually prolong these moments of clarity. Don't ask me how, though, I'm not a master of this technique, really. Hmm, now that I think about it, I think this explanation of the technique is even more confused than in the AWP section. Oh well, do as you will. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, you don't. I'm sure that somewhere out there are people who have mastered this technique. If you're lucky, you might find one and have him or her teach it to you more efficiently. All I can say is this: when you've learned this technique, you will be raising your kills substantially because you will be actively killing opponents with SKILL, not passively through LUCK. =============================================================================== 5.d -- Dirty Tricks "How far are you willing to go for $1,000,000?" -- Sales Pitch, Survivor A win is a win, no matter how you achieved it. Machiavellian tactics will get you far in CS, although you might have to face social repercussions afterwards! ^_^ I will list here the basic concept of all the dirty tactics I know. If I were to write a specific map guide, I would be able to add more dirty techniques, but for now you will have to content yourself with the general, all-purpose tricks that work on most maps. Just remember that the end justifies the means, and that this is just a game! How far are you willing to go to win? With these techniques you can win, but you may be called an asshole for doing so. These "cheats" are "legal cheats," that is, they do not require the server to have sv_cheats enabled, or any kind of special software. You can use them on almost all servers, provided the console is enabled, the desktop isn't locked and most importantly the server did not disable the command. Most of the things I write here, though, are considered "unfair" by most players who know about them. I will not enumerate the "true cheats," the ones that require sv_cheats to be on. If you even want to use these cheats, you are either bored and want to have fun in a non-serious environment, or are a total loser. In either case, go somewhere else. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d1 - Adjusting Light Gamma The Half Life engine has a lot of naturally dark spots, and the best way to get around this is by adjusting the light gamma! While CS is supposed to have some internal control over its light gamma, I've never gotten it to work. Thus, the alternative is to change your Windows video card settings manually! Of course this varies from computer to computer, but in general you simply need to left click on the Windows desktop, click on the properties, and click on the videocard display settings. Find the light gamma, pump it up, and you'll be seeing into those dark shadows in no time! The only drawback is that the game looks uglier from the excessive brightness. And of course, snow-tile maps like Tundra are an eyesore. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d2 - X-Ray Vision This technique no longer works because CS v1.1 has apparently disabled it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d3 - Super Figure Eight Sidestepping This technique is no longer necessary because CS v1.1 has been fixed so that it is automatic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d4 - Team Jumps This is easily the most abused team-technique method to gain an advantage. Most Counter Strike maps have a spot or perch that is excellent for sniping or otherwise gaining a tactical advantage. These spots, however, are often out of the reach of a normal crouch-jump. The good part is, if a player is crouching down, you can actually jump on top of him, and use him as a stepping stone to get to higher places. With enough concerted effort, it is actually possible to jump on someone who jumped on someone to get onto even higher places. The potential to get to tactical places is practically unlimited; get a friend to crouch for you whenever you want to get to a high place and you'll immediately get a tactical advantage. This technique is often blantanly used in many maps. The CTs do it a lot in CS_ITALY to get to the roofs, the CTs also did it in CS_MANSION to get on top of the TVs. The scariest technique is in CS_ARABSTREETS, to get to the roof. Terrorists do it in DE_DUST to plant the bomb, in DE_AZTEC to get on top of the sneaky crate, in CS_ARABSTREETS to snipe from the building top, and so on. The potential is limited only to your imagination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d4a -- Hostage Jumps While most players know about the Team Crouch jumps, less people know about the Hostage Jump. This is the one dirty trick that gives terrorists a supreme advantage in CS maps. It lets a terrorist get to impossible tactical positions by himself, and with the help of a team mate, he can get to practically any high ledge on the map. It's simple. First use a hostage to get him to follow you. Position him underneath, next to the ledge you want to get up to. Then, from an elevated position (like the head of a crouching team mate), jump onto the head of the hostage. Be careful! This is the tricky part. You have to get on his head, and keep your balance to stay there. It's harder than it sounds, but once you've mastered the trick you should be able to do it easily. Once on top of the hostage, keep jumping repeatedly. As you jump, the hostage will "follow" you up, giving you a surface from your elevated position to jump again! As you do, the hostage goes up again, and so on and so forth. You can keep going up indefinitely with this technique, thus allowing you to scale any wall. Once you're on a position higher than the wall you want to get over, just jump forward and you're there! The best part is that you have a hostage with you, making it terribly difficult for the CTs to win by rescuing the hostage. Worse comes to worst, you can just cop-out and win the cheesy way by hiding out at your inaccessible spot with your hostage and waiting for the time to run out. This trick may give the terrorist a strong surprise advantage, but it is not an earth-shattering one, and certainly you need some skill to pull it off. As such, I don't mind using this cheat, and a good opponent can pick you off no matter what. So do what you must, and it's fun doing this to hear the curse of your opponent as you kill them from the most absurd places. One of my favorite places to use this technique is in the central building next to the bridge in CS_ITALY. Hardly anyone expects you to get up there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d5 - Sound Binds This is another cheap trick that only works on a LAN, or where your opponent can otherwise hear the sound coming from your computer. The point is to mislead an opponent who listens carefully to sound in order to derive his strategy. What you do is order your computer to play a specific sound when it's not supposed to, thus misleading your acutely-eared opponent. For instance, in CS_ITALY is radio which plays the tenor opera sound. A CT hearing a terrorist's computer with that sound will logically assume that the terrorist is in their base, when in actuality he could be somewhere else, waiting for the CT to turn his back to him as he enters the house. Or you could play the sound of an Arctic shooting. As you supposedly "shoot," your opponent would expect that you are rechambering your gun, and thus he will jump out to attack you, only to be shot as you fire your real shot. The possibilities are varied, but the point is to mislead your opponent by making him think that you are doing something you are not. To do this, bind a specific sound to a key, so that whenever you press that key, the sound comes out. For instance, to bind the opera sound, you would type: BIND "G" "PLAY AMBIENCE\OPERA" Each time you press g, your computer will play the opera. To bind the sound of the arctic, type: BIND "B" "PLAY WEAPONS\AWP1" You can check out all the sound files available in the CStrike directory under SOUND. Of course, these tricks don't always work, and depend largely on how much your opponent relies on his sense of hearing. And of course, it won't work over the Internet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d6 - Autoaim No, I do not use autoaim, and neither should you. In my opinion, using autoaim takes away a lot of the spirit and purpose of playing CS. Further, it seriously damages community spirit because legit none-autoaim players often feel really bad about someone who's killing them easily without exerting much effort. Autoaim is simply a cheap option which has no place in a world where the main point is to aim and shoot at people. Turn auto-aim off. You'll feel much better for it. Just turn it off in the config panel. There's also a server command to disable it, "SV_AIM 0". But if you must use auto-aim, you can turn it on with "SV_AIM 1". Take note, though, that many servers disable auto-aim on purpose, so typing that a million times won't do a thing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d7 - Smoke no More Technique (Kemuri Muyougiri) "Smoke is the single most powerful barrier in anime. When smoke is present, nothing, bar nothing, not even a kamehameha from Super Saiyan 4 Gokou, will do even the most infinetisimal amount of damage to the enshrouded target." -- Me, paraphrasing my friend who watches too much Dragon Ball Nothing is more annoying to a camping AWP sniper than a smoke grenade tossed right in his face. Well, okay, there are some things, but that is near the top of the list. There is a way around it, though. This doesn't actually get rid of smoke, but it reduces the effect of smoke, making it easier for you to see through it. Simply type: MAX_SMOKEPUFFS 0 FASTSPRITES 1 Actually, the first command I am not sure how it works, but it seems to decrease the amount of smoke marginally. The more important command is the second, which changes the appearance of smoke entirely. The default, fastsprites 0, is the kind of smoke you are probably used to: the grey, billowing smoke which obstructs vision. Set to 1, the smoke will appear as a white colored mass which is more transparent and easier to see through. More importantly, it speeds up your machine because it is easier to render! Some people like to set fastsprites to 2; the smoke appears as a very ugly, low-res dark opaque sprite which totally obscures your view. However, because it is so low-res, the edges do not overlap well, providing PERFECT visibility within the cracks. I don't find this too helpful for the precision I need when using an Arctic, but it is good for verifying the presence of the enemy in the smoke. It is up to you which setting you want to use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d8 - Paralyzing Smoke Technique Alright, this technique won't actually help you win. Actually, it will probably contribute to your loss, as well as ostracize you from your team. By throwing the smoke grenade at an immobile teammate's face, you can actually make it stick there, and your teammate will be permanently unable to move for the rest of the round (or at least until the grenade drains off at his feet). While this in incredibly hilarious, it is also very difficult to do. Your teammate must not be moving for you achieve this effect. You must get the angle and distance just right. I can't relate it further, you'll simply have to figure it out yourself. I myself cannot achieve this trick all the time. WARNING: do not use this technique when MP_FRIENDLYFIRE is on. I don't think your teammate will mind the 3,000 bucks he'll lose after the humiliation you put him through. Theoretically, it is also possible to use this technique on an opponent who is camping and whom you have managed to sneak up on. Of course, there would be no point to attempt this difficult and dangerous maneuver other than for style points because it would be so much easier for you to just do a headshot, or even stab the hapless opponent. Still, if you want a good laugh.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.d9 - Mimic Technique This is easily the dirtiest, most despicable "legal" trick available. I actually HATE this technique, I condemn it when I find it, and I don't like using it because it destroys the spirit of the game. Basically, this technique will make you look like a member of the opposing team. You'll still be part of your team, but you look just like one of them. This is done by skin-swapping, and it is PERFECTLY LEGAL in most servers. Since I really detest this cheat, I will not tell you how to do it. MWAHAHAHAHHAHAAA!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These are the different cheap, dirty tricks that I have picked up from playing Counter Strike over the years. I may have missed some techniques, if I remember them I'll include them in a suceeding version. While some techniques should always be used, like the gamma trick and the diagonal movement trick, some should not always be used, lest the enemy learn it and get used to it. "Magic is magic only because it is rare, even magic becomes ordinary when it is used every day." -- Raistlin Majere, The Soulforge This is true of the team and hostage jumps, and especially with the sound bind tricks. Use them sparingly, and they'll catch your opponents by surprise more often. =============================================================================== VI. COUNTER STRIKE ETIQUETTE =============================================================================== Right, I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, because this guide is about tactics, not manners. Anyway, I've been under duress lately about the various dirty tricks I published in this guide. Well, cheats have been a problem in on-line games for ages, and for many (myself included) they detract from the gaming experience. Some of the cheats I published help augment your skill, but some are annoying and take the fun of the game away. By publishing them, I sought to inform people about such cheats, so that they know if someone is short-changing them. I had also hoped that people's wisdom and integrity would stop them from using the more "evil" cheats. But apparently people used them anyway; I can't count the number of people writing in asking me how to do the Mimic Technique. Well, many of these "cheats," I feel, are quite legitimate and acceptable in normal play. Some people, though, would disagree. In the end, all I have to say is this: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Be sure to ask the people you're playing with what "cheats" they are | | okay with. If they don't like a cheat and ask you to stop, stop. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Be considerate enough to respect another person's preference of playing. If you prefer to "cheat," I think you should give priority to the "regular" way of playing without cheats: that is how the game was meant to be played, after all. Many of the "dirty tricks" I gave, though, are accepted by most people. For instance, just about everyone is fine with the CL_XSPEED codes. Many people don't mind the GL_ALPHAMIN code. And hostage/team jumps are really part of the game. But some cheats, like the mimic technique, really detract from the spirit of good, clean fun. I feel that such cheats should not even be used. Take note that I've taken out how to do the more "evil" cheats. Anyway, you will see my stand on which "cheats" I feel are acceptable, and which are not. Regardless, you should always ask people if they are okay with a cheat or not. This is my stand: "Good" Tricks: -------------- Light Gamma Team Jumps Hostage Jumps Smoke no More Paralyzing Smoke Sound Binds "Bad" Tricks: ------------- Mimic Technique Aimbots Autoaim Switching to the enemy team when friendlyfire is on and shooting them Crashing the server for any reason More than anything else, always keep in mind that Counter Strike is a game, and in a game all players are supposed to have fun. Cheating can sometimes add fun to a game, but more often it takes it away. Remember that while even losers have fun (well, at least they should), it's hardly fun losing to a cheater, and only a spoiled immature brat has fun winning while cheating his opponents dry. I supposed if you don't mind compromising any principles or your self-integrity, it's alright to cheat "discreetly," or using a cheat your enemey is unaware of. In such a case, at least you don't spoil your enemy's fun. Just don't get caught. But take note, when playing a game of skill like Counter Strike, cheating really hurts you more than your opponent. Your opponent may not have as much fun because of you, but you suffer a worse fate: by relying on cheats, you cheapen your own skills and your own self- integrity. To me, that is a fate worse than death. Kindly keep these things in mind whenever you play. Finally, if you want to take steps against cheating, visit this website and support their cause: http://www.punkbuster.com =============================================================================== VII. WEAPON SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES =============================================================================== You've learned the general techniques to make you a good player. I've thrown in some general weapon techniques as well in the previous sections, but now we're going to go in-depth with the weapons, and hopefully you'll learn uses for each weapon that you never thought of. Unfortunately, I am not a master of all the weapons, so I cannot give in-depth knowledge of every single weapon's techniques. But some weapons I have been using since day one, and I have mastered them (in my own way). For now, I'll concentrate on the weapons I know best, and hopefully soon I will outline how to use all the weapons. Anyone who knows how to use a weapon better than I do, you're welcome to write in. =============================================================================== 7.i -- Weapon Archetype Guide While each gun has its specific nuances which apply to itself alone and make it unique, many guns share similar qualities. From my observations, I believe that certain guns serve as "archetypes" for a particular playing style. These are the guns which serve as a "model" for using other the other guns. That is, other guns are used in basically the same way as the archetype. As such, you can refer to the guide for the archetypes when using the sub-guns. As I see it, here is how the weapon playing styles are broken down: Sniper Archetype: AI Arctic Warfare Magnum Assault Archetype: H&K MP5 Navy Shotgun Archetype: Benneli M3 Super90 Sporadic Archetype: Kalashnikov AK-47 Pistol Archetype: H&K USP .45 Tactical The Sniper Archetype is defined by a style which kills at long range with as few shots as possible. It is single fire and has a slow firing rate, and is of limited use close range. The Assault Archetype is characterized by good close range combat, with high rate of fire, auto fire, large clips but limited long-range capability. It is the antithesis of the Sniper Archetype. The Shotgun Archetype refers to a style which is strong at close range, with single shot increments. Similar in use to the Assault Archetype, but differing in philosophy and style: emphasis is on single shot instead of auto-fire, and is best for solo encounters at close to mid-range, with no use whatsoever at long range. The Sporadic Archetype is an off-shoot of Assault which does not do particularly well at either Assault or Sniping. Thus this style requires you to make up for the short-comings in either class by finding the middle ground. It is your job to find those "spots" where the gun excels in, and stick to those conditions. Often, this means using ambushes from cover to avoid enemy fire (guerrilla tactics). The Pistol Archetype is debilitated by single fire triggers, thus requiring repeated clicks to attack. This limits attack power. Of course, only pistols fall under this archetype. Aside from the archetypal guns, all the other guns for the most part fall somewhere in between all these archetypes. Still, they are usually most closely associated with one. Familiarity with the Archetypes makes it possible for you to use the associated guns quite proficiently by applying the same principles that govern the Archetype. For instance, if you are good with the Arctic, the Sniper Archetype weapon, you could use many of the principles for the Scout, which falls under the Sniper Archetype. Here is the main distinction of which weapons go where. They are listed in order of closeness to the Archetype. SNIPER: ------------------ AI Arctic Warfare Magnum (4-6) Steyr Scout (4-5) H&K G3 Sniper (4-7) -- about equal mix Sniper and Sporadic Sig 552 Commando (4-8) -- almost more Sporadic than Sniper SPORADIC: ------------------ Kalashnikov AK-47 (4-1) FN M249 Para (5-1) Ingram Mac-10 (3-4)-- very close to the Assault SHOTGUN: ------------------ Benelli M3 Super (2-1) Benelli XM1014 (2-2) -- about equal mix Shotgun and Assault ASSAULT: ------------------ H&K MP5-Navy (3-1) Colt M4 Carbine (4-3) -- about equal mix Assault and Sporadic Sig 550 Commando (4-2) -- also uses Sniper techniques Steyr Aug (4-4) -- also uses Sniper techniques Steyr Tactical Machine (3-2) -- Sporadic tendencies H&K UMP45 (3-5) -- also has Sporadic tendencies FN P90 (3-3) -- also has Sporadic tendencies PISTOL: ------------------ H&K USP .45 Tactical (1-1) Sig P228 Sauer (1-4) Glock18 (1-2) -- Shotgun in burst mode FN Five-Seven (1-6) -- borders on Sporadic Desert Eagle (1-3) -- strong Sporadic tendencies Dual Beretta (1-5) -- strong Assault tendencies =============================================================================== 7A. AI Arctic Warfare Magnum/Military [4-6] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Use the Arctic? ----------------------------------------- "I am invincible! No one can defeat my shadow skill! My one single blow is... Invincible!" -- Kuruda Style Annihalation Technique: Martial Language The Arctic is easily the single most-feared weapon in the game. Why? Oneshot. That's why. All it takes is one shot, and you're dead. Any time. Anywhere. No other gun can claim the same. Weaknesses ---------------------------------- Keep these in mind carefully when you use the Arctic. You must play to compensate for these weaknesses. 1.) Very heavy. It is the second slowest gun, and you will be an easy target while moving because of it. 2.) Inaccurate. The Arctic is the most inaccurate gun in the game! Yes! I know it's a shock. You'd think a sniper rifle would be the most accurate gun in the game. Think again, the Arctic is the only gun with a likelihood of the shot going in a greater than 45 degree angle from where you're pointing. And it's actually very likely. 3.) It's damn expensive. If your team keeps losing consistently, you won't be able to buy it all the time. 4.) Everyone hates it! No other gun has drawn as much ire from the gaming community that the developers had to continuously tone it down all the time. Because of this, the AWP a.) no longer has a crosshair, b.) fires much slower, c.) lost a lot of penetrating power, and d.) does so much less damage than it used to. Yipes, legshots are actually non-lethal now! ======================================= The [gulay] School of Sniping ======================================= The following treatise will teach you how to fight the way the [gulay] clan fights with the arctic sniper! This is a very subjective portion of this guide, and details my personal Arctic fighting style. There are a few techniques here which are universal, but mostly they are how I fight. There are other ways to fight, but for now listen to what I have to say. ^_^ Focus ---------- In order to effectively use the Arctic, you need one thing: unwavering mental concentration. This is the most basic aspect of Arctic use. You must keep focused on each and every single shot. Remember: your one single blow is invincible. You must strive to hit the enemy with each shot. More than any other weapon, the Arctic requires steady, steely concentration. The warrior whose mind is scattered does not deserve to wield the Arctic. ------------------------------------------ How to Use the Arctic: General Principles ========================================== Use that Scope --------------------- To compensate for the gun's terrible inaccuracy, you must as much as possible use the sniper scope. Without the zoom, your accuracy is the worst in the game, bar none. Your shots will go to the left, to the right, up or down, anywhere but where your crosshair is pointed. But at 2x or 4x zoom, accuracy is upped significantly, and you can expect pin-point accuracy as long as you are not jumping, moving, swimming, or on a ladder. Remember this well. This was not always the case. Before beta 6, the Arctic was fairly accurate, perhaps as accurate as the FN Para. Because of this, the most dreaded creature was born: the Arctic Assault Sniper. There is nothing more terrifying than a rampaging agent who can run amongst the MP5s and M4s and kill with a single shot ALL the time. Since the Arctic Assault Sniper was so scary, the CS team apparently decided to tweak and downgrade the Arctic considerably. Know this: we Arctic warriors were once the proud and confident in our power; but the CS team took it all away from us! One day we will restore ourselves to our former glory and take what is our birthright! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAA!!! Still, even with the scope, accuracy is not %100. You will still miss far too often for my liking. Damn the tweaks that watered down the Arctic! Stay Alive ----------------- How about the price tag? In order to afford the $4750, you MUST pinch pennies. One thing I used to do was not buy armor. This is alright IF and only if you plan to camp all day long. If you plan to go assault, this is a risky proposition, and dying is very scary: you wouldn't want to lose that AWP. "If you think like that, the hitokiri in you will well up. Live your life, Kenshin!" -- Hiko Seijuro, Rurouni Kenshin The single most important thing to keep in mind when using the Arctic: play to live! You must play as if dying is not an option. You have to draw on your inner strength to steel yourself against death. Because dying means kissing your expensive rifle goodbye. If you want to be an Arctic master, you must not take any unnecessary risks. You have to be sure that you can survive to fight the next round with your weapon intact. As an Arctic player, you must save up money a lot. You, more than any other player, want to have lots of spare money in reserve. Try to save up your money however which way you can, and staying alive is the best way to do that. Camping ---------------- Camping with an Arctic is the most logical choice. You can pick the place to defend, preferably one with a long narrow space for that enemies have to pass through. You want to find a place that is difficult to reach except by passing through a long, empty passage without cover. Good examples of such places are the bridge and the ends of the tunnel in DE_DUST, the sewer passage in the DE_AZTEC, and the ends of the mousehole in CS_MANSION. If you are going to camp with the Arctic, stick with it. Don't second doubt yourself and think of leaving; this only serves to waver your concentration, and when an opponent does pass by you will miss. Further, leaving your post means that an opponent can go through unmolested. You don't want that. However, the AWP is not a camping only weapon. Assault sniping is still possible, but only under certain conditions. Being an Arctic master isn't just about having a steady enough mouse arm to shoot at anyone you see. It's about playing to make those conditions possible. More on this later. For now, just remember this: camping is the obvious choice for the sniper, but the obvious choice is not always the best choice. You may keep yourself alive, but hiding out in your base like a chicken more often than not compromises team strategy and makes you lose in the end. The true use of the Arctic is to control the key points of the map, not to camp out in fear at your base. (although in some maps like CS_ITALY your base is a key point) Stay Away ------------------ You are using a sniper rifle that has poor fighting ability up close, but lethal power afar. Needless to say, keep your distance from your opponents. While you could try to shoot them from up close, there is a good chance (about 50%) that your shot will not go where it is supposed to, unless you zoom. But if you use your zoom scope, your peripheral vision will be severely limited, making it hard to track someone doing a figure eight around you. Worse, since your perspective is magnified, your zoomed view will not reflect the usual sensitivity setting you are used to. It is as if your sensitivity was effectively increased while you are in zoom. The greater the zoom, the greater the perceived increase. Finally, your movement will seem sluggish, for the same reason. ------------------------------------------ | Bottom line: stay away from your enemy | ------------------------------------------ Body Aiming --------------------- The AWP requires a special aiming philosophy. This is the only gun where you can justifiably break the general rule of aiming for the neck area, and aim for whatever body part is convenient. This is because the AWP can kill in one shot, whether you hit the hand or the foot or even the finger nail. When aiming with the AWP, go for the exactly middle of the body. This center provides you the easiest target. Do not even think of going for a head shot; you don't need to. If you get one, that's well and good, but it is totally unnecessary. Perhaps the biggest argument for aiming at the center is to allow for the gun's inaccuracy. Since the AWP is so innacurate, the shot will often go a bit up or down, left or right. As of CS v1.1, the fact that legshots are no longer lethal complicate things a bit. Now, I recommend aiming for the middle of the chest, as opposed to the middle of the body (stomach). You MUST get used to not hitting the legs, to preserve the integrity of the AWP's legendary killing power. --------------------------------------------- These are general Arctic-using tips any player who wants to go sniping should know. Now, I will tell more of my personal fighting style when using the Arctic. --------------------------------------------- Advanced [gulay] Style Arctic Tactics ============================================= Aiming Philosophy ------------------ As an AWP sniper, you must first learn that aiming is the fundamental aspect of sniping. Unlike the other guns which can get away with hap-hazard aiming (just pointing in the general direction and pressing the trigger), the Arctic requires precision aiming because you fire only one shot at a time. Unlike the other sniper rifles, though, which still generally go for the head, body aiming is the basic principle of the Arctic. You know where to aim, and you know that you only have one shot to do it. But there are two aiming methods that you must know to truly understand Arctic sniping philosophy. The first method is called Mouse Aiming: following the target with the mouse. This may sound like common sense, and actually, it is. But you must see the difference of this with the other method, which I call "Glide Aiming." Glide Aiming is keeping your mouse steady, and aiming at a target by sidestepping left and right. You rely on your lateral movement to aim, not your cursor movement. Glide movement is great for learning to snipe while side-stepping, thus allowing you to evade enemy attacks. The drawback is that this has a funny effect on your accuracy: it moves your shot a little to the direction in which you are moving. By mastering this change in trajectory, you will be able to compensate, and this technique of aiming is especially accurate at long range. However, do not use this technique! Or at least, don't get too used to it. [gulay] aiming philosophy and sniping tactics is based on the first method: mouse aiming. The more advanced techniques of the school require that you master this method. This is because the style's philosophy is "shoot as quickly as possible, then run away." Glide Aiming has a disadvantage in that it takes a bit longer for you to line-up the shot. That crucial time it takes to aim is its downfall, the crucial time that a [gulay] sniper takes advantage of. Aim with your mouse, not your feet. Mouse Sensitivity ----------------- Mouse sensitivity is important for all CS players, but doubly so for the Arctic sniper. As a [gulay] sniper, you must accustom yourself to a particular sensitivity setting. This is vital, because split-second aiming is equal parts reflex and conscious thought, and your reflex movement directly corresponds to your mouse sensitivity. Select a sensitivity level and stick with it, so as not to confuse your sniper reflexes. I use a level around 5, buy you can work with whatever level suits you best. Early Game Tactics ------------------ The Arctic is one of the most expensive guns in the game. Don't expect to be able to buy one until the third round, second round if you were lucky enough to kill enough enemies and/or rescue some hostages. If you've been losing straight and haven't gotten any cash bonuses from killing enemies or whatever, you may only be able to buy one by the fourth round. But believe me, it's worth it. If you seriously want to go the way of the [gulay], do NOT buy anything in the first two rounds. You want to have enough money to buy your Arctic by the third round. The [gulay] sniper forgoes all in the first two rounds in order to slaughter on the third. Low Ammo ------------ Most people who use Arctics buy the gun and stock up to the full thirty shells. We of the [gulay] sniping school scoff at this practice. The [gulay] sniper only carries into battle the ten shells that come with the Arctic, plus spare ammo of about 10, no more than 15. The reason for this is manifold. The most obvious is economics: AWP ammo costs 12 bucks a shot! It is the most expensive ammo in the game. But the real reason is to train you to kill as efficiently as possible with as few shots as possible. Your ultimate goal is to be able to kill one enemy with one shot, most of the time. The final reason why you should stock your ammo so sparingly is a macabre one: in case of your death, you want to make sure that whoever killed you will have as little ammo as possible. With luck, your killer may be reluctant to have little ammo, and decide not to use your gun. At worst, if your killer is not used to the low ammo clip of your gun, it will leave a psychological fear of low ammo which will ruin his game. You have to get used to the scarcity mentality of ammo. Bringing along sparing ammo will train your mind to make each shot count. Further, this will teach you the next valuable skill: reloading. Minimal Reloading -------------------- The Arctic can kill in one shot. This is such an innocuous fact, but it has one very powerful implication: ten shots is a lot! Your AWP, with its starting clip, can kill at least ten people, more if you get a two in one. And this is pretty realistic; unlike other guns, the AWP stands a fair chance of killing one person with each shot. An MP5, for instance, can theoretically kill 30 people with one clip, but this is highly improbable. With the AWP, though, this is much more probable. With the scarce ammo mentality learned earlier, you are now ready to learn a very crucial skill: minimal reloading. Most people like to reload their Arctics after one or two shots, when the enemy has been killed and no other is in sight. This is fine, but a true AWP sniper will scoff at this. Why? Because the slow reload time of the AWP is better spent either going back to the assault or carefully waiting for the next victim. You cannot run the risk of an opponent showing up while you are reloading your gun. If you're not waiting for another opponent, then surely you want to get to the next key point as quickly as possible, so instead of reloading you should switch to your pistol or knife. Thus, reload as sparingly as possible. Further, remember that you should not develop the security blanket mentality for ten shots. Feel confident even with just five rounds in your AWP; it's more than enough! If you think that way, you'll improve your shooting, trust me. The [gulay] sniper should only reload when his ammo goes below 5. Five shots is still enough to finish off two opponents, even with a few misses. With the Arctic, you should be "good to the last drop." Shotgun Sniping (Zoomless Arctic) ---------------------------------- Back in the early betas when the AWP was still accurate without the zoom, the prime skill you would need to learn was the art of "Shotgun Sniping." This basically means using your AWP like a shotgun: for a quick, decisive shot without the zoom. The reason for this is because the zoom impairs your peripheral vision, ups your perceived mouse sensitivity, and slows your perceived movement rate. Take note, though, that as of CS v1.1 the crosshair has been removed for all the sniper rifles, except the Sig550 (which is really an assault rifle after all). Shotgun Sniping just got a lot more difficult! While in truth you still have the same movement and sensitivity rates, your perception is warped by the magnification. This decreases your fighting ability greatly. Thus the need for shotgun sniping. Unfortunately, this art is no longer as powerful as before due to a loss of accuracy. Still, you must learn this art for close-combat defense in case an opponent gets close to you. Besides, you still have about 60% accuracy while standing, more than that if you kneel. In an emergency situation where you must defend yourself from a nearby opponent, this is your last desperate gamble. Without the zoom, track your opponent and concentrate. You only have one shot. If it misses, you will likely die. Bend the AWP to your will, and hopefully you will be able to get the shot to go where you are pointing. Be sure to duck, and pull the trigger. Pray the shot goes where it is supposed to. Close Combat Zoom ----------------------- The alternative to shotgun sniping, which is very difficult and which I do not really recommend, is to go the normal shotgun sniping, but at the last moment before the shot, engage the zoom. This will up the accuracy to what its supposed to be. However, this is very difficult, as you will require a split-second to engage the zoom before shooting. That split second means all the difference between life and death: in that moment your opponent could put a bullet in your head, or your aim could come off in that key instant. Still, this technique is an alternative if you do not trust the odds of the shotgun snipe. The most advanced form of this technique is coupled with one of the hidden techniques (Hiken) I will explain below. Anyway, some people actually do not play with the zoom crosshair at all! This is something you should consider to become a truly advanced sniper. Learn to visualize the target on your opponent without seeing the crosshair, and you will become a super sniper. The Desert Eagle --------------------- The Desert Eagle is the [gulay] school preferred sidearm. Why? Because it is powerful. When you have the extra money (and only if you have the extra money), buy an Eagle to complement your AWP. Extra money is defined as money in excess of buying another AWP plus armor. The Eagle should fall in line with your shooting philosophy: kill with as few shots as possible. That is why it is the perfect handgun for the [gulay] sniper. You should switch to the Eagle whenever conditions are not favorable for assault sniping. In the close combat emergency, this is your final option. Important: when going for the shotgun snipe detailed earlier, do NOT consider the Eagle as an option. Think that you must make the shot, or you will die. If you are thinking of the Eagle already, this will destroy your concentration and increase the probability of missing the shot. Still, when you do miss the shot, you must be ready to switch to your pistol immediately. If you do not like the DEagle, then a good compromise is the Sig 228 or the USP. Although the Five Seven is now available, you should be wary of the size 20 clip. It's the same reason why you should avoid Glocks and the Dual Berettas: aside from their weaker ammo, these guns encourage auto-fire style of play. When training to be an Arctic master, this is debilitative and gets in the way of your training. You must stick to single- fire skill as much as possible; going auto-fire will regress your training. Later on, when you have become comfortable with the different firing techniques, you can experiment with the more "auto-fire" pistols. But for now, stick to the Eagle. Assault Sniper --------------------- Assault sniping is no longer as effective as it used to be, but it is still an option. The trick to assault sniping it to create the conditions necessary for it to work: a narrow corridor where the opponent has little opportunity to dodge. Under these conditions, you can afford to go shotgun sniping at point blank range and expect good results. When going on the offensive, you as a sniper must choose the locations in the map which give you a good opportunity of hitting your opponent. A good example is, again, the tunnel in DE_DUST. Only go assault sniping in such places; otherwise, switch to your Desert Eagle or follow in the wake of a team mate who has a good close-combat weapon. Most importantly, when assault sniping, keep in mind the principle of Hot and Cold Firing. Hot and Cold Firing Technique ---------------------------------- As discussed in the Techniques section, hot and cold firing is moving, but at the moment before firing you instantly brake, and fire from a motionless position. This is invaluable for Arctic players who have to go assault for any reason. Be careful; some inertia is present in the CS engine, and it is not easy to stop immediately. Just letting go of the movement key is not enough; you must counter your momentum by lightly tapping the movement key of the opposite direction. This is not as easy as it sounds, but with practice you should be able to achieve it. By instantaneously stopping your movement, you will increase your assault sniping accuracy tremendously. Keep in mind, though that the Hot and Cold technique does not quite bring your accuracy to the same level as keeping still. Sometimes, you might want to duck instead of braking; it's more accurate, the only problem is that your aim will move a bit. Assault Sniping Two --------------------------- The previous lesson was about assault sniping at close range. However, the more common use of assault sniping will be doing it as sniping was meant to be: at medium to long range. Examples of this would be storming under the bridge in DE_DUST. In the case of long to mid range assault sniping, you proceed cautiously and use the Hot and Cold technique when you spot the enemy. However, I cannot stress how you must anticipate where the enemy is. It is highly probable that the opponent you will encounter in this case is a camper who is waiting for you to show. You must therefore be ready for him the moment you see him, and react swiftly. Aside from the Hot and Cold technique, you must learn the secret deadly sniping skills of the [gulay] school. These will be detailed later. For now, concentrate on positional awareness; this is the key to anticipating where your opponents will be found. Positional Advantage and Awareness -------------------------------------- The most important aspect of Arctic Mastery, though, still lies in your positional awareness. As mentioned earlier, developing the keen sniping eye is just half of the total skill: the other half is knowing where to be, and when. This is difficult to teach, and as with most advanced skills, experience is the best teacher. Specific map discussions would help imparting this knowledge, by pointing out which points are the most effective to cover. Still, the basic rules to consider can be outlined: 1.) When camping, choose a remote position which is difficult to reach without exposure to the AWP. 2.) When assaulting, choose enclosed spaces where potential targets will have difficulty dodging. 3.) Seek out sniping points early in the game where you can steal a quick kill before running away to a more defensible spot. These points are usually vulnerable positions where the enemy will not expect you, but which are very narrow and offer an excellent shot. Upon making a kill or two, withdraw to a safer position. Style of the Ages ----------------------- "The Saotome Ougi is based on three principles: Speed, Seperation, and Strategy. In other words, run away until you think of something better." -- Saotome Genma, Ranma Nibunnoichi The third rule of positional awareness is what is called the "Style of the Ages." Shoot once, kill, and run away. Discovering such a point from which to use the technique is practically a free kill. And since you do it at the start of the round, most inexperienced players unfamiliar with your skill do not expect it. To best explain this skill, I will give an example from DE_DUST. You are a terrorist. This is the DE_DUST tunnel, where the majority of conflict in Dust occurs. to terrorist base |O | | | |------- ---- |-------- --| O \ the tunnel | --------------------------| --| xO |O------------------------| |-----------| _________________________| |___________| \ O \ bomb <- to bridge double doors -> \ site ______________ ________ \____________________ | | to CT base O - Crates x - Style of the Ages Sniping Point The Style of the Ages requires you to move with incredible speed to get to the key points before your opponents do. Here is one of the riskier, but highly-effective points. As a terrorist, make your way to the 'x' marked on the map. From there, aim towards the crack of the double doors that you can see. The faster CTs will probably have gone ahead to the bomb site, but from your vantage point, you will be able to easily snipe the slower ones still heading either into the double doors or into the tunnel where you are. The ones entering into the double doors are easy targets. The moment they are about to step through the thin slit to the bombsite, you shoot and they are history. This technique garners so many kills. Do not be afraid of the CTs who plan to enter into the tunnel! This is what I meant by narrow spaces. The entrance to the tunnel is a very narrow space; you can easily shoot any CT the moment he shows his face into that small entrance. However, upon grabbing a few kills and giving away your position, you should retreat to a safer position. There is such a thing as being too greedy; be sure to leave and get to a better position. Knowing when to withdraw is as important as the agression of getting there in the first place. That is the gist of the technique; this example will hopefully help you master the fine points of the Style of the Ages and assault sniping. That's what it's all about. Find points like this, and you have learned the other half of the important skill of Arctic Sniping: Positional Mastery. The other half is the usual camping points, of course. Instilling Fear ------------------------------------- Another important aspect of [gulay] sniping is to control or at least influence the movements of your enemy. I have always emphasized that mental state is the underlying key to winning your battles. As such, battle exists on two levels: the physical and the mental. You must learn to badger and scare your opponent for the twofold purpose of breaking his mental concentration and teaching him where to move. "Get out of my way, you maggot-infested piece of shit." -- Shinomori Aoshi, Rurouni Kenshin (Hecto version) By controlling key sniping points on the map, you can effectively limit your opponent's movements. It's the same principle as with the backstab technique: you scare your opponent with such deaths, teaching him to look out for those dark corners. As a sniper, you instead teach him to be wary of open spaces. A good example of this is for the terrorists in CS_MANSION. Most people think that the terrorists should cower in fear in the mansion while CTs assault to rescue the hostages. Wrong! Terrorists rule CS_MANSION, and snipers are the key to doing it. From the two top windows and the balcony, a sniper can control the middle field of the map and severely limit CT movement. Another terrorist must jump out of the house immediately on the terrorist's right side to cover the mousehole. When that has been accomplished, the CTs are deadly paralyzed with only one option: the sewers. And the sewer is so easy to defend from above ground. After you have instilled the fear of death in certain places, you must push the advantage in suceeding rounds. Presumably, your enemies are scared stiff of charging the well-beaten path, so they will tend to hang-out and camp a little farther back. Once that has happened, you repeat the vicious cycle, taking control of the ground they have relinquished, and expanding your circle of fear. By doing this, you can rout your opponents. A good example would be the Style of the Ages snipe point I showed earlier in DE_DUST. If you scare the CTs enough with that technique, they will eventually be so scared to pass the double doors that they will no longer rush to defend the bombsite. Which makes your job as terrorist really easy: no CTs to guard the bombsite, you can plant away. By using techniques like this to frighten your opponents, you can easily break their fighting spirit and mental concentration, and severely limit their physical movement: you have won the battle on both levels. The weapons best suited for teaching such fear is of course, the Arctic. Learn to use it to strike fear in the hearts of your foe, and you have mastered one of the key secrets of the [gulay] school. Some day, I hope to release detailed map strategies that will teach you how to utilize these psy-war tactics. For now, you must content yourself with the principles of it, and learn how to apply them on your own. Taunting (minumura) ------------------------------------- As a student of the [gulay] school of sniping arts, you should make it a habit to taunt your opponents. Even if you do not mean it, taunting is a great way to get under your opponent's skin and make him lose his focus. The degree of your taunting is totally up to you; if you're a congenial guy you can tone it down, but if you're a real asshole feel free to say whatever. But in the spirit of my teachings, you should taunt whenever possible. For the pride of the [gulay] school, an acceptable form of taunting is to bind a message to a key. After killing someone, press the key to taunt. This becomes your "signature," and if you're good enough and do it regularly enough, that phrase will strike fear into the hearts of your opponent. This technique, thus, serves four purposes: to help instill fear, to ruin your enemy's focus, to establish your presence on the battlefield, and to simply make you feel good about yourself. Morale is important in battle, remember that! If you wish to take up the [gulay] battlecry, bind this message to a hotkey, to be pressed upon slaying an opponent: "Main Cannon, Eva Black, FIRE!!!" Of course, if you think that sounds corny, you are free to make up whatever taunt you want. I just have a personal bent towards anime quips. Finally, if you feel like being even more irritating, bind it to your attack key so that you say it each time you fire: BIND MOUSE1 "+ATTACK;SAY MAIN CANNON, EVA BLACK, FIRE!" I don't recommend that last bit, though. Even I haven't done that. ^_^ Team First, You Last ------------------------------------- One of the great vulnerabilities of the Arctic is to close combat in unfavorable conditions. That is why you should make it a habit to rely on your teammates for protection. Following the "Team First, You Last" technique given in Chapter 5, you should under most conditions make your assault in the wake of a team member's charge. Even when doing mid to long range assault sniping, you should follow this lead. The reason is because at that range, enemy snipers are likely to be camping, unless you are so good that you can hit them that easily, the more unscrupulous sniper should let the team mate take the bullet, then come in and kill the opposing sniper. Still, valor is often required to win. If you're good enough and have confidence in yourself, feel free to charge in and take the key positions for yourself. This is especially true if your teammates are slower than you are -- no sense in wasting precious time waiting for someone to take the plunge for you. High Ground ------------------------------------- Camping and sniping is best done from a high position, where you can get a good view of your enemy, right? Wrong! Although common sense dictates this, the [gulay] school believes differently. Although you do get to see a larger area, you also expose yourself terribly to enemy vision. That's why I don't understand the logic of camping in a sniper tower. If you go to high ground for sniping, do it in an unexpected place in order to gain the advantage of surprise, not the advantage of height and vision. Sniper towers are often the first thing enemy snipers check. I have another personal preference for not wanting to stay in high places. Most people disagree with me, but I maintain that shooting from a higher position is actually harder than shooting from ground level. I also believe that shooting at a higher floor is easier than shooting at a lower level. Why? My reasoning is mathematical. Imagine yourself on a level, 2D plane (like the ground). From one point on that plane to any other, there are less lines. In contrast, imagine yourself on a higher point not on that plane. You'll find there are more lines to any particular point, because you are now on a 3D plane. The same goes true for someone aiming at someone on the same level, and someone aiming from a higher point. More lines, thus more aiming possibilities to cover. Make sense? I don't know if you'll agree with me, but that's how I see it. Further, aiming at a higher floor is actually easier, with similar reasoning. As discussed earlier, aiming from a higher point means your entire set of aiming possibilities lies on a plane -- more points. But aiming from a lower point to a higher level is simpler, because you do not see the entire floor. Instead, you only see a single line where the target will be moving from to shoot you. Thus, there is a smaller set of aiming possibilities -- a single line. It is therefore easier to aim at something higher, than to aim at something lower. To make this clearer, let me give a concrete example. Imagine the balcony in CS_MANSION or CS_ESTATE. A terrorist sniping from that balcony must cover an entire plane, the field below. A CT, however, need only look at the single line where his vision intersects the balcony. Make sense? I hope so. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | In conclusion, a higher position will usually give you more | | visibility, but make you an easier target. The main objective | | of going to higher ground is to gain surprise, not visibility | | or ease of targetting. | ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** These are ground rules of the [gulay] style sniping school. However, there is still more to learn: the special [gulay] style Arctic Techniques, the hidden killing techniques (hisatsu) which will help you beat all opponents. ------------------------------------------------- |Movement Skill: Hyperspeed (Hisatsu! Shukuchi) | ------------------------------------------------- This technique is the advanced, Arctic-specific application of three general techniques: Weapon Switcing, Speed Buying and End Reloading. When you have mastered these techniques, you can learn the Shukuchi. The first order is to change to your knife at the beginning of the round. This will allow you to run as fast as possible to wherever you want to go (presumably to execute the Style of the Ages). That is the most basic use of Shukuchi. However, the advanced skill of Shukuchi is more than just speed at the start of the round. By learning to switch weapons all the time, you can get rid of one of the AWP's main drawbacks: weight. When running, utilize weapon switching and you will be able to run fast, as if you weren't using an Arctic. The final level of Shukuchi is in actual combat. Once you have mastered weapon switching, you can achieve tremendous speed in between shots of the Arctic. The trick is to change weapons exactly after you fire. Utilize the Hot and Cold firing technique first to stop while firing. After firing, switch to your knife or pistol immediately, to give yourself a quick speed burst to run away from enemy fire. Or, you can switch back to your Arctic again -- it is ready to fire! This can cut down on the severe rechambering time that slows down the AWP's rate of fire. Once you have mastered this technique, you will be a cannonball AWP sniper who can seemingly move like an MP5 fighter. --------------------------------------------------------------- | Sniping Skill: Shooting the Shadow (Hisatsu! Kage Utsugiri) | --------------------------------------------------------------- "You can run, but you can't hide from my .338 Lapua Magnum round!" -- Me This is the first deadly skill of [gulay] sniping. The AWP has the strongest penetration among all the CS guns. Take advantage of this by learning to locate enemies hiding behind rocks, crates, and other obstacles. They think they are safe, but flimsy obstacles offer no protection from a [gulay] sniper. The secret is to famliarize yourself with the common placement where a person will stand when hiding behind crates. Familiarity with the map is a must to master this skill. People tend to crouch precisely at the corners of such obstacles where they intersect with the wall. By using 3D-depth estimation, you can pinpoint their exact location, fire, and kill. The downside is that the AWP is no longer as powerful as before, so thicker crates may require you to shoot twice now to kill an armored opponent at full health. Still, learning this skill will strike even more fear into the hearts of the enemy, for you are teaching them that hiding is not a guarantee of safety. The more advanced application of this technique can limit movement on some maps. Certain defensive positions of opponents are easy to undermine with this trick. A good example is in CS_ASSAULT2K (or even in CS_ASSAULT). Terrorists like to camp out inside the warehouse to wait for the CTs. Many of them stay on the railway on the right side of the warehouse from the hostage room. Little do they know that that part of the map is on a similar level to the bridge outside. The crafty [gulay] CT sniper will move on to the bridge and aim at the wall, behind which is the long railway where the terrorists perch. Shooting a few shots here, you can easily kill any terrorists camping inside. This is the most advanced form of Kage Utsugiri. By studying the enemy's camping habits, you can eliminate them without a fight with a few well-placed shots. This skill is easily strengthened when you have a dead teammate coaching you where the enemy is hiding, but to master this technique you must learn the basic intuition that will guide your hand. SPECIAL NOTE: As of CS v1.1, Kage Utsugiri is no longer as fearsome or deadly as it used to be. Chances are, you may score a hit, but damage has been GREATLY decreased, so typically it will take 2-3 shots to kill someone behind an obstacle. Too inefficient. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Sniping Skill: Flash of the Dark Sky (Hisatsu! Yuugusora Sen) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is the second deadly skill of the [gulay] school. Most players find jumping as an easy and effective way of avoiding enemy fire. You, as a sniper of the [gulay] school, should teach him otherwise. To be able to kill a person the moment he lands is the aim of this skill. This is quite possible and logical because CS jump trajectory is very easy to plot and estimate. Unless your opponent is using stop-jumping techniques, you should be able to kill him easily at the end of his jump. The secret to this technique is to familiarize yourself with the jumping physics of the CS engine. Once you have done so, you can easily shoot down any jumping opponent with practice. --------------------------------------------------------------- | Sniping Skill: Instant Death Blow (Hisatsu! Shun Satsu Sen) | --------------------------------------------------------------- "Main cannon, Eva Black, Fire!" -- Yamamoto Youko, Soreyuke! Uchuusenkan Yamamoto Youko This is the third deadly sniper skill, the ultimate refinement of the camping art. With this technique, you can kill an opponent the very second he appears from your camped position. This skill is as much a mental skill as a physical one. To achieve it, you mind must be working at a fast enough level that your reaction time is at its zenith. This is a true camper's Arctic skill. By pointing at the spot where your opponent is most likely to appear, you fire immediately at hit him as soon as he appears. That is the physical aspect. The mental aspect is mastered by keeping the mind at the edge of activity. By utilizing mind exercise techniques, you can achieve this. Perhaps the best method to achieve this mental level is by being keenly aware of your breathing. A basic method is counting while exhaling, but not while inhaling as you breath at regular intervals. This will help train your mind to achieve the concentration needed to execute Shun Satsu Sen. The actual use of this technique, though, is not strictly for camping, but rather for stopping at narrow passes where your opponent is likely to show up or follow you. By waiting at a bottleneck and shifting to your 2x scope, you wait for an enemy to burst from cover and get into your sights. As soon as he does, shoot. He dies. In case you didn't figure it out, this is the technique used with the Style of the Ages. -------------------------------------------------------------- | Sniping Skill: Catching the Movement (Hisatsu! Nigeto Sen) | -------------------------------------------------------------- This is the fourth and final deadly sniper skill. As of the moment, this is the most advanced technique I have learned. I do not know if I care to call this my ougi, but it is at the moment my finest achievement. By finely honing your mental concentration, you can exist in a world which has one purpose: shooting a moving enemy in an eyeblink. With this technique, you can track down a moving opponent, estimate his position, and shoot with lethal results. This all occurs in a very short span of time. This technique requires intense, constant concentration. To train it, an ideal spot is at the end of a tunnel where an opponent can suddenly enter. Keep your cursor aimed at the spot directly next to the wall where the enemy is likely to come from. His movement the moment he comes from the edge of the wall should register in your mind. As he moves away, swing the mouse immediately in his direction. When you fire, you should be able to hit him. By training in this fashion, you can master this technique. Do not confuse this skill with the instant death technique: Shun Satsu Sen. This is a different skill beyond that technique. It allows you a fluidity to kill opponents not from a set point. Master it, and you can kill any opponent anywhere from mid to long range. Combined with Shun Satsu Sen, this is the lethal technique to kill in an eyeblink. Perhaps you could call it Shun Ten Satsu (Instant Heavenly Murder), in honor of Tenken no Soujiro, God's gift to nature. "I see, you make an attack using the speed of the Shukuchi. It is indeed worthy of being called Shun Ten Satsu." -- Himura Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin ------------------------------------------------------------------ | Sniping Skill: Two Headed Dragon Flash (Hiken! Nipun Ryuu Sen) | ------------------------------------------------------------------ "I dodged it... Ack! Sword and sheath..." -- Udo Jinee, Rurouni Kenshin This is an extra technique which is not fully in use by the gulay school. However, anything goes, and if you learn this technique it might save your life. Use it when when someone gets too close to you for comfort, but you're too low on life for comfort. Simply switch to your handgun before the skirmish begins, and use figure eight sidestepping to hit your opponent. The aim is to stun him, not kill him. When you get in that one good shot to stun him, switch to your AWP. Since you already hit him with your handgun, your AWP should be pointed straight at him. Shoot and finish him off while he's stopped. Most pistols have decent stopping power, meaning if you hit your opponent (particularly the chest) they will be stunned for a moment, their aim knocked up and unable to move. This makes it easier to kill them quickly with your AWP at close range. Of course, this is not easy to do, and it is crucial that you get the initiative and hit them before they hit you. There is also the argument that, if you already hit them with the pistol, why bother switching to the AWP? Why not finish him off with the pistol? Well, the answer here is that this technique should be used as a last ditch effort when you are down on life and you run into someone at close range. If you have a little life and your opponent has a lot, trying to finish him off with your pistol is not a good idea, especially if he's packing a true assault weapon. But, if you can nail him with the AWP, then his high life is not an issue. The problem is hitting with the single fire AWP -- it can be quite a problem, and all your enemy needs is one shot as well, and he probably has a fast-firing weapon. The way to increase your chances is to stun him with your hand gun, since it has a high rate of fire, then switch to the AWP and finish him off. This technique works well with the stock terrorist gun -- the Glock. It also works with the USP, but the USP is strong enough to finish a weakened opponent by itself. I don't recommend this technique with the Eagle, though. If you're using an Eagle, just rely on it to finish the enemy off: it's strong enough. ======================== How to Defeat the Arctic ------------------------ This section is for people who want to go up against the arctic. However, by knowing your own weakness, an Arctic player can compensate and adjust his fighting style. The AWP player should know this just as well, if not better, than his opponent. One of the things to consider is to learn how your opponent aims: whether they use Glide Aiming or Mouse Aiming. It is often easy to tell. If your opponent is side-stepping at range with the funny gait that only the AWP, then you are sure he is Glide Aiming. If he is standing still or kneeling down, then you know he is Mouse Aiming. The key to surviving an arctic attack is to watch the point of his gun. Before the sniper has drawn a bead on you, his gun will be pointing away from you. You will still actually be able to see the barrel and stock of the AWP. However, once the gun is pointed at you, all you will see is a dot as the barrel lines up with your eye. It is at this crucial moment that you either jump or dash or do whatever movement you feel is appropriate. In that split second before he fires, you must move as fast as you can, for your life depends on it. If you can achieve this, then you have learned the basic skill needed to survive an AWP sniper. The next skill you will have to learn depends on you. What weapon are you using? If you are using an MP5, Carbine, or other automatic weapon, then you should engage in the Anti-Arctic Technique that was detailed in Chapter 5 (under offensive techniques). You can use the same technique as well using a pistol, although it will be harder. If you are using a shotgun, don't even think about it. You have practically no chance of winning. Duck for cover, and find a way to get closer while under cover. You can also run the gauntlet and try zig-zagging closer to your opponent, but that is highly risky and not a very smart thing to do. Barring these techniques, you could use a smoke grenade and/or some flashbangs to get closer. Smoke Grendades are the sniper's worst friend. Things get interesting, however, when the weapon you are using is a sniper as well. Then, we get an intersting sniper duel. The Arctic Duel -------------------- Regardless of whether you use a G3, Scout, Krieg or AWP, the fundamental rules of sniper duelling is the same. But the culmination of this ancient dance is the classic Arctic vs. Arctic. It is very funny to see two AWP snipers locked in a ferocious duel as they strut left and right, occasionally jumping, firing earth-shaking shots all the while. There are two basic courses of action for a sniper in a sniper duel. The first is stand the opponent off and attack relentlessly, hoping to hit him first. This is where the scenario I painted earlier occurs: two snipers hopping around like idiots at the ends of a vast expanse. Here, you must rely on the various basic offensive-defensive techniques outlined earlier: Hot and Cold Firing, Jump Aiming, Ducking, and Sidestepping. Just keep going until one of you wins or gives up. "I'll teach you who you picked a fight with." -- Yamamoto Youko, Soreyuke! Uchuusenkan Yamamoto Youko But the smart dueller will not fall for such an insane joust. The motto of the [gulay] skill is to shoot first, then run away. Regardless of whether you hit or not. If you missed, that's where the Arctic Duel starts. As you miss, your opponent will shoot back at you. What you do is you hide back from where you came from, just enough so that you are no longer visible. You should still have a view of a part of your opponent's side of the field. If your opponent is predictable (and stupid), he will try to follow after you, trying to get into position to shoot you. What he doesn't know is that you are prepared for him. After you have taken cover, sit in place, aim at where he is likely to appear, and engage the Shun Satsu Sen. The moment he appears, fire. You have the Shun Satsu Sen on your side, your aim is set, you should win easily. However, if your opponent is less predictable, or has some shred of common sense, he will not fall for the trap and follow you. He will stay in place as well, and attempt a Shun Satsu Sen of his own. The solution to this is simple. You take the battle back to him. But you do NOT edge out to get a glimpse of him. That would be stupid. What you do is you JUMP from cover and land a goodly distance from where his gun is pointed. Utilizing the Jump Aiming technique, finish him off as you land. Now, what if your opponent tries the same technique on you? Then put together the deadly sniper skills of the [gulay] school: Yuugusora Sen and Nigeto Sen -- catch his movement and let loose with flash of the dark sky. He will be toast. One last consideration: if you get into the Arctic duel and your opponent ducks for cover, you can either chase after him with the Jump Aiming technique, or make use of the first sniping skill: Kage Utsugiri, Shooting the Shadow. Hit him behind wherever he's hiding and end the battle. Of course, you might wonder what's stopping your opponent from doing the same stuff to you? Well, from my experience, the majority of snipers do not follow the philosophies of [gulay] sniping. Surely there exist people who use some of its techniques, and there are probably others who know all these techniques as well. And of course, as of this writing, many people now have access to these techniques. Still, the majority of people will probably act the predicatable way -- the way which the [gulay] sniping school was formulated to defeat. People who run after you when you duck for cover, people who zigzag towards you, these are the most common reactions of the majority of players. Be assured that this skill is the "sneakier" skill that will give you the edge. And in the end, what it all really boils down to is a battle of skill. When you both use the same techniques, the victor is the one who is better, and in most cases, the one who is the luckier. That is the harsh way of the Arctic Duel. Stop The Jump (Tobu o Tomete) ----------------------------- An added tidbit that is limited in use. It's a funny technique, but can help you defeat those snipers who've mastered Yuugusora Sen (catching the jump). Someone who has learned the Yuugusora Sen can catch you at the end of your jump easily. To make it more difficult for the sniper, you can "stop" your jump mid-air and screw his aim. While jumping in one direction, simply tap the key in to move in the opposite direction. This will make you freeze in mid-air, and fall straight down. While this doesn't always work, it makes you far more unpredicatable, and could save your life from the dreaded AWP sniper. =============================================================================== 7B. H&K MP5-Navy [3-1] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: The MP5 is the archetypal weapon for the assault, quick firing close-range combat guns. Most of these techniques apply as well for the other guns in its class: the TMP, the P90, the M4 Carbine, and even the the Mac-10. (In the absence of the other gun sections, use this as reference) Why Use the MP5? ----------------------------------------- It is arguably one of the finest, if not the best close combat weapon in the game. It has insane firing rate, unparalleled handling and is still quite effective for sniping at medium range. All this for the incredible cheap price of $1500. Win or lose, you can buy this gun. Any time. All the time. Weaknesses ---------------------------------- 1.) Poor attack power. While stronger than the other guns with the same ammo type (TMP, Glock, Berreta), the 9mm still does weak damage and has poor penetration at best. 2.) Limited range ability: the MP5 is a killer up-close, but is a little inaccurate at range. You can still steal some kills at medium range, but long range is dubious. The weak attack power also means a luck shot at range is less likely to do much damage compared to the rifles. 3.) Weak against armored opponents. Again, a consequence of the 9mm round. It will take about five shots to kill a healthy armored opponent. ------------------------------------------ How to Use the MP5: General Principles ========================================== ------------------- | Always Sidestep | ------------------- The MP5 has the second best handling in the game (best is the TMP). This is true even while going full-auto. Thus, to be truly effective with the MP5, learn to sidestep while attacking. Always. Master the Figure Eight technique if you want to be able to kill opponents while taking minimal or no damage. ------------------------------------------ | Use Full-Auto Fire as much as possible | ------------------------------------------ Because the MP5 has very weak attack power, you must compensate by firing full auto, to do as much damage as quickly as possible. And since the MP5 has minimal recoil and great close-range accuracy even while moving, this is not a problem. ------------------------ | Fight at Close Range | ------------------------ While the MP5 can peform reasonably well at medium range (but not long range), it isn't a match for the true rifles or even some of the pistols and SMGs. No, the MP5 was built for close-range combat, assaults in particular, and you should take advantage of this. Thanks to its great handling, the MP5 can easily outperform all the assault rifles in close combat, in spite of its weaker attack power. Train to kill with the MP5 in close quarters, and you will be surprising the M4, Aug, and Commando users in close combat. ------------------------- | Go for the Headshots! | ------------------------- The MP5 is the best gun to go for headshots up close. It is relatively easy to get them with the gun, thanks to the many shots you fire and the accuracy/controllability. And unlike the TMP, its closest rival, the MP5 can actually kill an unhelmeted opponent with one headshot, two with the helmet. The TMP needs two shots unarmored, more (four, I think) with the helmet. For the best results, aim, as always, for the general neck area. Hold your gun cursor at the general neck area while you are moving around, and when you spot an enemy SIDESTEP first then quickly move the cursor horizontally until you reach his head. Fire the moment your cursor touches his shoulder, and keep firing while sidestepping madly. Using the Figure Eight technique, keep sidestepping while keeping the cursor fixed on his neck/head. ------------------------------------------ MP5: Other Techniques ========================================== Sniping Tactics ------------------ The MP5 is still relatively good for sniping at medium range, but even then there is a good chance your shots will not be accurate and shoot around your crosshair. Far too often have I seen my shots hit around a target's head at medium range. Still, for sniping at medium range, you can still kill an opponent with headshots. Body shots are easier to do, but are not very effective because you need something like five or more shots to kill an armored person, and at this range only one in every three shots might hit the target. When sniping with the MP5, your best recourse is to try for the head. At medium range, it is still quite possible to shoot full-auto and get decent results. This will increase your chances of hitting the target and killing him faster. However, I personally prefer going burst fire for the most part. At long range, I always use burst fire, and I recommend that you should, too. However, the more prudent thing to do would be to get closer and not engage in long-range combat. Especially if you are up against one of the rifles better suited for this kind of combat. --------------------------------------- | When sniping with the MP5, sidestep | --------------------------------------- Regardless of whether you use auto or burst fire, always sidestep while sniping with the MP5. Rely on your rate of fire to hit your opponent. The only exception is when your opponent is unaware of your presence, in which case sniping while crouching is a good idea. Take note that it is also easier to use bursts while sidestepping than full-auto. Full-auto is easier to do while crouching. Crouching in a medium range duel is often the thing to do when using the rifles, but doing so with the MP5 is dubious, especially when up against the rifles. The MP5 simply does not have the accuracy to compete. So stick to sidestepping. If you do decide to snipe while crouching, pay attention to your first shot. If it hits on target, go auto-fire all the way. If it is off target, stop firing, aim, and shoot again. Only go autofire when the first shot is on target. The reason for this is because auto-fire causes succeeding shots to trace around the first shot. If you continue firing when the first shot is off, all succeeding shots will probably be off, too. Make sure the first shot is true, and the rest will follow. ------------------------------- | Use your Pistol for sniping | ------------------------------- However, when I am forced into a medium range confrontation, I actually prefer to switch to my pistol. In general pistols, with their single fire triggers, are actually better than the MP5 for sniping. They generally share the same range and accuracy, but most pistols have better ammo and some, like the beretta and the five-seven, have better accuracy. Recoil is also much lower, making it easier to keep on target. When you want to fight medium or even long range and you have no intention of side-stepping, switching to your pistol is often a better idea. Only stick to the MP5 when you plan to fight at that range while sidestepping -- such as when using the Anti-Arctic technique (5.c3a). And when you sidestep, go burst. Sidearm of Choice ------------------- Although while using an AWP the Eagle is the only way to go for me, with an MP5 this may be different, and there is no "Gulay School of MP5." When I play with the MP5, I tend to stick with the default weapon until I have enough money to spare to buy a sidearm. The great thing about the MP5 is that, since it is so cheap, you can easily afford to buy a sidearm on a regular basis. In my case, I like to pick a secondary that can act as my sniping weapon. I personally find that the MP5 is really best for close range, and not sniping, and that many pistols are actually better for the purpose. In general, I like to get the Desert Eagle, but that's only because it is my favorite sidearm. The power of the .50 is intoxicating, and it is suprisingly good for sniping. Because of the power, three or so shots is enough to kill at range, one if you're lucky enough to get the head. Aside from the Eagle, as a CT I like to get the Five-SeveN. Since it is quite accurate, it is a great choice for sniping. As a terrorist, I might have recommended the Dual Berettas, but I have reservations about this; the largest being that it uses the same ammo. I hate sharing ammo for my primary with my secondary. Thus when using the MP5, I tend to avoid having the Glock or Berettas for my secondary. The perfect secondary would be the Five Seven, or failing that the Sig Sauer is a good alternative. Take note that the Desert Eagle is only good as a sniping alternative to the MP5. Avoid using it in close quarters, as the MP5 and Eagle use very different philosophies. The MP5 has a large clip size and tends toward auto-fire. The Eagle has a small clip and tends to single fire. These two will be in conflict. That's why the best sidearm for the MP5 is actually still the Five-SeveN, and for Terrorists the Glock is just fine. You should always keep yourself in an auto-fire mindset when using the MP5. In general, having a sidearm is not as important for an MP5 user as it is for, say, an AWP user. The MP5, being able to perform reasonably well under most conditions, needs no sidearm. For the most part, since I try to avoid ranged skirmishes while using the MP5, the only time I switch to the pistol is when I run out of ammo. Thinking about changing to your secondary tends to distract you from sing the MP5 to its fullest capacity -- in close combat. Kamikaze Run --------------- This technique is very useful when your team is on the losing side and cash is low for everyone. Take note that this technique is best used in a group, rather than individually. At the start of the round, being low on cash, just buy an MP5. That's it. Don't buy any extra ammo, don't buy a pistol, don't buy pistol ammo, don't buy armor. Then go along with your buddies into a blitzkrieg rush, taking the fastest path to the map objective (bombsite, hostage point, or where the enemy is likely to be) that's obscured and good for close combat. Have the mentality of "I'll take as many of you down with me as I can." When you meet the enemy, throw caution to the wind and go for the kill. Chances are, the enemy will be taken aback by the sudden intensity of your assault. You practically are like madmen charging in with your MP5s. Having no extra ammo is very important: it gives you a "do or die" attitude which heightens your killing instinct. Once the enemy is down and if you're still alive, pick up their guns, they probably have a good expensive rifle or something, since they've been winning. The point of this technique is to save money while giving yourself a reasonable chance of killing at least one opponent. It has the advantage of costing only $1500, and since you buy only one thing, you have a lot of speed at the start. And since you should do this in a group, the bloodlust is pretty terrifying. If you survive the run, you can pick up your enemy's gun free of charge. If you die, then at least you saved up some money for next time. Regardless, your weapon on the ground is empty (since you bought no extra ammo), and any opponents looking to pick up your gun may be disappointed that there's nothing inside. Using this technique for one round is usually enough to net you a better gun and armor in the next round. If you're going for an arctic, consider using this technique twice in a row. Take note that this technique also works well with the other cheap SMGs, such as the TMP or the Ingram. Bunny Combat -------------- Although jumping greatly decreases your accuracy, it makes it more difficult for an enemy to hit you. Use this to your advantage with the MP5 when you are up-close. Although in the past I said the MP5 doesn't suffer much from the jumping inaccuracy, as of v1.1 this is no longer true. It is FAR more difficult to succeed with this technique now, so use the MP5 Bunny Combat at your own risk. When jumping with the MP5, try to flank the enemy with the jump while keeping the cursor aimed at his head. As soon as your aim is true, let loose and when you hit the ground, keep running around him. If neither of you are dead yet, repeat the process. I've found that this fast-paced bunny combat really wastes lesser shrubs who haven't quite gotten their CS legs yet, or against snipers who tend to remain stationary while trying to aim at you. Alternately, upon facing your opponent, you can duck while aiming vertically towards the enemy. As soon as he is within your vertical sights, start hopping up and down while still crouching. This tends to really disorient the enemy. If he isn't familiar with the technique, he will have at first adjusted his aim down to compensate for your ducking, but when you jump this throws his aim of a second time. Chances are, his shots will hit your feet instead of your chest or head, doing minimal damage. All the while, keep your cursor trained at his chest or neck while hopping, and you will be doing far more damage. It is especially useful against a stationary opponent, since typically your aim will be at his chest, and once you duck and jump the crosshair typically goes straight to his head, giving you a clean high-damage shot. This alternate stationary jump-ducking trick is very useful against opponents of equal caliber as you, but who might be surprised at the move. Beware not to use it to often against them, though; if they're good, they'll probably figure out to aim up when you are about to jump, and that tends to waste you faster than you can waste him. ======================== How to Defeat the MP5 ------------------------ "Our fighting style has never lost a battle. Because we always run away, we never have the chance to lose." -- Grand Master of the Wind Style, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue The best defense against the MP5, without a doubt, is to keep your distance. When using just about any other gun (except the shotguns), keeping yourself at medium to long distance from an MP5 player will increase your survivability a lot. MP5s are simply devastating at close range, but less terrifying at range. Pistols, for instance, I've generally found to work better at sniping than the MP5. If you're armed with just a pistol, stay away and snipe from a distance, where your lesser recoil gives you the edge. Assault rifles also follow suit. Most assault rifles do not have the high-level of handling the MP5 has, and good MP5 players exploit this fact. But all rifles have stronger ammo, and better accuracy. Thus, try to stay away from the MP5 and kill him at medium range. With a sniper rifle, do it at long range. However, the fun really begins when you both have assault weapons. The MP5 Duel, although usually over in a few seconds, is one of the most exciting (and common) aspects of Counter Strike. In these cases, the general guidelines above apply. Side step, side step, side step. That's the best way to ensure you survive. Try the Bunny Combat every now and then to throw your opponents off. Most of all, with the MP5, never be afraid to fight in close quarters. Close combat is your domain. Don't ever be afraid at this range, no matter if your opponent uses the XM1014, the Aug, the Para, or is a master assault Arctic sniper. Don't hesitate. Move in, and kill. =============================================================================== 7C. Kalashnikov AK-47 [4-1] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: The AK-47 is the archetypal sporadic weapon. Most of these techniques apply as well for the other similar guns: the Mac-10, the M249 Para, and the UMP. (In the absence of the other gun sections, use this as a reference) Why Use the AK-47? ----------------------------------------- Bang for your buck. No other gun gives you so much power and ranged accuracy for such a cheap price. It is great for long range bursts, and the 7.62mm ammo can kill an armored enemy in two or three hits. It is the strongest-damaging gun among the assault rifles. Finally, priced at $2500, it is very affordable even for the terrorist on a budget. Weaknesses ---------------------------------- 1.) HEAVY. Only two guns impede your movement more than this gun. In other words, you're an easy target. 2.) Killer recoil. Few guns have such a strong kickback. You know the old saying "Lightning never strikes the same place twice?" You could apply that to this gun in autofire mode. 3.) Slow rate of fire. The AK-47 has one of the slowest rates of fire among all the auto-fire guns. ------------------------------------------ How to Use the AK-47: General Principles ========================================== Burst and Single Fire ----------------------- The AK-47 has one of the worst recoils in the game. What this means is that your first shot will typically be dead on, but the second and subsequent shots will likely spray elsewhere. Because of this, you should refrain from using auto-fire with the AK-47 as much as possible. In general, stick to two or three bullet bursts with this gun. This gives you the best ratio for killing power and controllability. --------------------------------------------- | With the AK-47, three shot bursts is best | --------------------------------------------- Aim Before You Shoot ----------------------- Aside from the single shot sniper rifles, no other gun benefits more from this simple rule. Since the recoil gives you a solid first shot, but dubious succeeding ones, the first shot is vital. Thus, aim before you shoot, unlike with other guns with less recoil where you can spray all over. Headshot Mania ----------------- Because of the power of the AK-47, a single headshot will kill anyone, regardless of health or armor. By aiming at the general neck area of any opponent, the recoil of the AK-47 tends to make your second shot hit the head as the gun kicks up. While you should strive to make the first shot be a head shot, the recoil of the gun actually makes it likely that your subsequent shots will hit the head. By learning this nuance of the AK-47 and mastering it through practice, your kills will soar. To Sidestep or Not To Sidestep ---------------------------------- While the AK-47 has decent handling, it is nowhere near as good as that of the MP5 or other true assault guns. Because of this, you should side step sparingly when using the AK-47. I believe that, instead of side- stepping, you should focus on aiming and killing quickly instead of defense. Throw defense out the window. Learn how to kill as quickly as possible with lightning fast aiming. The AK-47 has the bullet power to do so. Besides, since BETA 7, the AK-47 was downgraded to be very heavy. It slows you down a LOT. Moving and sidestepping simply doesn't provide you as much defense while wielding the AK. -------------------------------------- | Aim is more important than Evasion | -------------------------------------- Thus, in general, when in a face-to-face combat situation, I find that ducking and shooting is the preferred technique with the AK-47, as opposed to figure eight sidestepping. If you're in long range battle with a sniper, by all means keep moving! But against other guns like the MP5, Aug, and Commando which have lesser fire power, you're better off just being quicker on the draw and better with the aim. To achieve that aiming accuracy advantage, duck and shoot. You have more potential of dealing damage than if you sidestep. Sporadic Ambush Mentality --------------------------- The AK-47 suffers from three main disadvantages. They are: 1.) Terrible Recoil 2.) Slow Movement Speed 3.) Slow Rate of Fire However, it has two important advantages: 1.) Strong fire power 2.) Superb Accuracy These weaknesses mean that the AK-47, like all the sporadic guns, does not particularly excel as a frontal assault weapon. The recoil makes it difficult to kill consistently at close range, as you will usually lose to the more controllable assault guns. To aggravate this, the slower Rate of Fire means you cannot deal as much damage as quickly as the assault guns, and the slow movement deprives you of the maneuvering advantage of the Figure Eight form. Thus, you must make up for this by playing the Sporadic way. You have to be a little sneakier than usual. The first vital rule is to have cover close by at all times. By ducking to and from cover, and shooting while doing so, you greatly increase your chances of killing an opponent while reducing the risk to yourself. It may seem that this is common sense for all guns, but it works more effectively for sporadic guns than assault guns, because sporadic weapons tend to have more killing power in short, sporadic bursts. The AK-47, for instance, has more power than an Aug. It can do more damage in that instant darting from cover than the assault gun. And unlike the sniper guns, which tend to require more aiming time, the Sporadic gun has a good chance of hitting a target without as careful an aim. Since cover is essential, you often want to keep your distance from the assault guns that are more dangerous at close range. In addition, most sporadic guns have good accuracy for mid-range attacks. Thus, the Sporadic class tends to work better at mid range than close range. Ambushes, thus are important methods for the Sporadic gun. While ambushing works for all guns, it is doubly important for a Sporadic gun because the strong firepower usually means that extra second of surprise is enough to kill any opponent. ---------------------------------------------------------------- | With Sporadic Guns, do quick ambushes and duck back to cover | ---------------------------------------------------------------- Other guns in the Sporadic class share this pattern of strengths and weaknesses. While the specifics for each gun differ a bit, they generally all conform to this pattern. The Mac-10, for instance, is not as effective for assaults as, say, an MP5. This is because the recoil screws your aim. As for its strength, it may not have the range accuracy of the AK-47, but it is strong in bursts because of the very fast rate of fire and .45 ammo. Within a shorter span of time, it is more effective than the MP5 at dealing damage. It is thus sporadic in short bursts at very close range. What this means is that they do not operate as well for frontal assaults as the true assault guns. Thus, you have to compensate by playing a little sneakier than usual. Although I said that in a frontal combat situation you generally have a better chance of surviving by focusing on aim instead of side-stepping, the true sporadic mentality impels you to avoid getting in frontal combat situations in the first place. ------------------------------------------ AK-47: Other Techniques ========================================== Sporadic Side Step Technique ---------------------------- Unlike the "Assault Figure Eight Side Stepping Technique" used for the MP5 and other assault guns, the AK-47 requires a slightly modified sporadic side-step technique. In Assault Figure Eight, you usually engage an enemy in a head-on fight as you rush his position. Because you keep your facing towards your enemy while sidestepping, you are actually moving towards your enemy while (thus you tend to curve around your opponent, like the arc in an '8'). You are effectively flanking around your enemy. Figure Eight Assault Side Step: -> B / / A C However, for a sporadic gun, you generally do not want to move towards your opponent. Your concern is to get to the next patch of cover. Thus, an AK-47 sidestep is best done from two points behind cover, like a doorway or two opposite crates in a tunnel. Sporadic Sidestep: Doorway Diagram: Tunnel Diagram: C --------------------- [] -- crate or ------| |------- A [] other obstacle ------| |------- C A ---> B B [] ---------------------- A is your starting point, then you rush and sidestep from A to B, pointing towards C (your enemy) and firing in that brief instant between cover. To achieve this kind of sidestep, you must adjust your movement such that you do not move towards your opponent like a Figure Eight Assault side step would. In Figure Eight, you typically just move either left or right while changing your facing to match your opponent. With Sporadic Side Step, you will be pressing your back movement key a bit to keep from getting closer to the enemy. To increase your survivability, it is also a good idea to jump when darting from point A into the open. AK-47 Sidestep Burst Firing ------------------------------ The effective way to shoot while doing a Sporadic Sidestep is in quick bursts. While sidestepping from cover, point your gun towards your target. Use a modified sort of Glide Aim (moving the cursor to your target by sidestepping) mixed with Mouse Aiming (pointing your cursor at your target). As soon as your cursor goes over your enemy, tap the trigger button lightly, thus attacking either single fire or with a short burst. This keeps your aim from dissolving, thus you can fire again in a split second. Continue this until you reach cover. If your opponents do not charge you, you can make another sorty backwards, though this is dangerous if your opponent decides to wait at the other end to fire at you. Instead, you should leave that area and find another spot to do a sporadic ambush. AK-47 Aerial Strike ------------------------ "No matter the fighting style, one cannot defend an attack from the air." -- Hennya, Rurouni Kenshin This is the only defensive technique an AK-47 player should use during skirmish assault duels. In a close quarters assault duel, MP5 and other fast assault gun fighters will likely figure eight sidestep. Occasionally, they will bunny hop. The AK-47 player should ALWAYS bunny hop as a defensive technique. Side-stepping is not as effective because you move rather slowly. But while your lateral movement is limited, your vertical movement is not. Jumping with the AK-47 is as fast as jumping with an MP5, so if you are looking for a defensive technique while sniping, jump. Learn to do the jump aim, and while in the air, let go with bursts of your AK-47. Attacking your opponent in this way should make you a harder target. Most of the time, enemies will hit your legs as you jump, minimizing damage. Close Combat ------------------------ The secret to winning duels with the AK is to aim carefully and strike true. But if you miss the first shots with your AK burst, you are in deep trouble. In this case, you have three options. 1.) Auto-Fire Like Crazy This is the easiest and likely the best option. Just auto-fire at the enemy, and pray you hit him. When doing this, try to compensate for the recoil by aiming downwards. It is difficult to score a kill this way, but waiting a bit to wait for the recoil to wear off for another burst is a worse alternative. By the time you fire another shot, an MP5 player will have gunned you down. 2.) Run Away If the reckless option doesn't suit you, switch to your knife and jump and run away like hell. This is actually a very stupid option to do, because turning your back to your enemy is stupid at best. If you are right next to cover (having spurted out from cover following sporadic mentality) you might be able to get away with this trick. Be wary of stopping power, though. Otherwise, modify it a bit. Jump away, but don't turn your back. Instead, jump away to stall for time and shoot back with a second three-shot burst. 3.) Switch to your Secondary This is the alternative to the first option. Instead of auto-firing with your AK, switch to your secondary. However, this is not a good proposition, because switching does take time, and time is what you do not have in a close combat duel. The only time you should do this is when your AK's recoil is so bad that none of your auto-fire shots are on target. In general, though, you should just stick to auto-firing, and try to compensate your aim. The other two options are risky gambles at best. AK-47 Sniping ------------------------ The AK-47 is easily the best scopeless gun for sniping. In fact, I find that it actually performs better than the Sig 552 or Aug at times. This is mostly due to its great accuracy and powerful 7.62 round. Do not be afraid to snipe with the AK-47. It is a powerful weapon for ranged combat, even at long range. When sniping with the AK-47, it is a usually a good idea to crouch for sniping. Against all other guns except the true sniping rifles, you will usually have the advantage. Just calm down, crouch, draw a bead on your target, and aim carefully, keeping his general chest area at the center of your crosshair. When you've done that, fire a quick burst of two shots. By keeping your aim at his chest area, the first shot has a good chance of hitting there to do some damage, and the second shot has a good chance of recoiling upwards to do a head shot. Alternately, if you can visualize the target's head area fairly well (usually at medium range), you can aim directly for the head and use single shot attacks. ---------------------------------------------------------------- | When sniping with the AK-47, use single or two round bursts | ---------------------------------------------------------------- Learn how to do single shot bursts with the AK-47; it is perhaps the one assault rifle that benefits the most from single fire. ======================== How to Defeat the AK-47 ------------------------ The AK-47 is a difficult gun to go up against. To defeat it, you must exploit its two main weaknesses: 1.) Heavy and thus slow-moving 2.) Powerful recoil The first weakness is exploited best by opposing snipers. The AK-47 may be a good sniping weapon, but it is not a match for an AWP or other true sniper rifle. If you are using a sniper rifle and are situated in a good sniping position, you have little to fear from the AK-47. Just relax and keep your aim ready when the AK-47 player bursts out of hiding to try for some shots. Most likely, an AK-47 player will realize he's out-gunned and try another approach. If you are using an assault gun, defeating the AK-47 player is a little trickier. The second weakness must be exploited as well as the first. Going head-on against an AK-47 player works, but not all the time. There is still a good chance that a lucky shot will nail you, despite the recoil. And a good AK-47 player will aim carefully instead of avoiding you, so be careful. To increase your chances in an assault duel against an AK-47, you must figure eight sidestep around the enemy. You should focus on making yourself as hard a target as possible. Do not try to get into a "brute force" match (both duck and shoot it out from crouching positions) with the AK-47, you will likely lose. =============================================================================== 7D. Benelli M3 Super90 [2-1] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: The M3 is the archetypal shotgun weapon. Most of these techniques apply for other similar guns: the XM1014, the Glock on burst-mode, and practically even the Scout and AWP in better days. (In the absence of the other gun sections, use this as a reference) Why Use the M3? ----------------------------------------- It's relative cheap, being in the upper bounds of the SMG price range. For this price, it packs incredible power at close range -- one-hit kills are not uncommon. It's also very light and hardly slows you down. Weaknesses ---------------------------------- 1.) Very slow rate of fire - in CQB (close quarters battle) you will typically get only one shot. 2.) Poor range - its maximum effective range is close up. Any further reduces attack power a lot. 3.) Slow reload - reloading all 8 shells takes a while. Fortunately, the pump action lets you fire each time you load a shell. ------------------------------------------ How to Use the M3: General Principles ========================================== Go for the Neck ----------------- First and most important rule of the M3: hit their head (or around their). At point blank to close close range, this ensures you a one-hit kill, regardless of health or armor! The great thing about the M3 is that the shot radius is rather large, meaning that it is much easier to get a head shot with this than any other gun, on a one-shot basis. While it may be easier to get headshots with other guns with the "spray mentality," again that's a case of higher probability from multipile smaller probabilities (as discussed in Shooting Styles in 3.c). But singularly, the M3 is the best gun for head shots. Because of the radius, a shot to the neck is practically a head shot, and will kill your opponent in one shot at point blank to close range. Therefore, always go for the neck, since it is generally an easier target than the head. Even hitting the upper chest area tends to kill opponents in one shot. Close Range ------------- The second important rule: keep it close. Do NOT even think of fighting at long range. At medium range, you will still be able to do damage to your enemy, but this will be at a minimum, and if your opponent is using any other class of gun he will have the advantage. Your maximum effective range is close range, go for point blank as much as possible. The reason is because buckshot is actually something like 8 individual shots which dissipate in a cone- shaped radius the farther it goes from your barrel. At point blank all shots are more or less bunched together, and when they hit they will do incredible damage, enough to kill instantly. At close range this still holds true, but disperses a bit. However, at this range the dispersal is very small, and what happens is that damage is not compromised, but the radius of your attack is increased, making headshots easier! Although I have had experiences where close- range attacks did not kill outright, this is more the fault of my bad aiming than anything else. At close range, a neck/head shot will kill instantly regardless of health and armor. Move, Move, Move ------------------ "Muge! Muge! Muge!" -- Ikari Shinji, Shin Seiki Evangelion You can move quite fast with the M3 equipped; almost as fast as a pistol. Use this to your advantage by always being on the move when in a duel. Since you will be fighting at close range, and shotgun movement accuracy is very good, you can use the figure- eight sidestep technique without fear. Just aim carefully while you sidestep, and you shouldn't have any problems. Unlike other guns, crouch aiming is almost defintely out of the question. There is practically no benefit or advantage to be gained from crouching; you will only be making yourself an easy target. With the shotguns, the trick is to move, move, move. The sidestepping technique should be your basic movement skill with the M3. However, there are more advanced ways to make use of the M3s mobility, which I will discuss later. The Duel ----------- Because of the M3's slow-firing rate, you should as much as possible focus on fighting only one opponent. Taking on two opponents is difficult at most with the M3. ------------------------------------------ M3: Other Techniques ========================================== One Shot ----------- Because of the M3's slow attack speed, you will typically have only one shot to kill your enemy before he kills you. Make it count! As with the Arctic and Scout, you must train yourself to master single-fire, and to make the shot under intense pressure -- when the enemy is right in front of you. To achieve this kind of marksmanship and accuracy consistently, intense mental focus is required. No lapses are allowed, you must achieve that shot no matter what. You will likely want to learn the Mugento Shunkan technique (5.c10) to effectively use the M3 shotgun. When you see the enemy, catch his movement and focus on his head/neck, aim, and fire. Eventually, you will be doing it faster and faster, until you can achieve it instantaneously. Two-Headed Dragon -------------------- Although the ideal scenario is a one-shot kill at close range, far too often you will likely hit the enemy, but be a little off and thus be left with a weakened, but live, opponent who will no doubt be extremely pissed and rearing to tear your head off. If you wait until you finish the pump action of your shotgun, you will likely die. Thus, it is imperative that you make it a habit to smoothly switch to your secondary the moment after you shoot the buckshot. As soon as you switch, if you did not see the green Money Flash at the bottom right indicating your enemy's death (see Kane Kae Sen, 5.c7) get your pistol to aim and shoot carefully to finish him off. Since your opponent will already have been weakened (assuming you did not miss), one or two pistol shots should be enough to finish him off. Under [gulay] philosophy, the ideal sidearm for the M3 is the Desert Eagle. Without a doubt, a hit from a shotgun and a hit from the Deagle will kill any opponent. However, the default guns for either team (USP and Glock) are equally suitable. The USP is strong and fast enough, and if one shot won't kill, it's easy enough to pump a second shot. The Glock, on the other hand, is practically the perfect sidearm compliment: turn the burst-fire mode on, and the Glock becomes a mini hand-held shotgun. The firing philosophy for a shotgun and a Glock in burstmode is very similar; to use your Glock as the follow-up to your M3 attack is obvious. In the LAN where I play, it is usually the terrorists who use the shotgun, not the CTs. I don't think this is a coincidence. The terrorists, defaulting with the Glock, no doubt feel a kinship with the M3. And of course, terrorists usually have the better camping positions. Hiken! Nibuki Renkan ------------------------ The M3, after firing, has a slow recovery time as you engage the pump action. The Glock, in burstmode, has a slow recovery time after firing. Now, think about the weapon-switching technique. What do you get? The secret technique (Hiken) -- Nibuki Renkan. Start with your M3, and upon firing switch immediately to your Glock (burst mode) to fire. Upon firing the Glock in turn will have a firing delay, and so switch back to your M3, which is now ready to be fired again. It may feel rather awkward at first, but when practiced long enough and mastered, you will be able to achieve a smoothness with this dual attack combo which will give you versatility to surpass the M3's limitations. Ambush --------- The other way to get around the M3's limitations is to stage ambushes. Shotgun players are well-known for their ambushing techniques. Playing sneaky lends well to the M3, to compensate for problems in fighting multiple opponents. Follow the guidelines for the "Style of the Ages" technique in the Arctic section (7A), and find camping spots where people are likely to pass without you being detected. Hopefully I will be able to release map-specific tactics to point out these spots. For now, use the guidelines as indicated in 7A to find your special camping spots. An extension of the ambush is to use suprise in a frontal ambush. This is the same as the "Finding the Blindspot" technique as told in (5.c6a): the M3 Aerial Assault. M3 Aerial Assault ------------------- From cover, like behind a crate or the edge of a corridor, the M3 is lethal to approaching enemies. From that position of cover, listen intently for your opponent's approach. As soon as he passes the critical "ambush point" you jump from your position across him, and as you pass the ambush point while in mid-air you aim for his head, and shoot. As you land at your end point, your opponent should be dead. See this diagram: A - your position B - your ending position X - the enemy Y - ambush point A B A ----> B A -> B ========== Y ========== X ========== X || ^ || || || | || || || X || || Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Opponent approaches As opponent reaches Still in mid-air, you your covered position point Y, you jump out blast his head off as towards point B pass him, eventually landing at point B With practice, this technique works perfectly, killing the opponent the instant you leap out to see them. This technique has the advantage of you not being subjected to risk, as you are secluded in point A. The very instant you jump out, the opponent likely will not have the time to shoot properly at you. He will likely be surprised, and if he does get a shot off it will be poorly aimed, going off to nowhere or, if he was aiming at head level, it will hit your feet, doing minimal damage. More likely, though, you will have the initiative and fire first, killing him with a headshot before he can react. I've used this technique even on seasoned veterans and it gets even them all the time (as long as you perform the technique properly). Mid-Range Sniping ------------------- One final note about the M3. Although long-range shooting is just about out of the question, I've managed to defeat many opponents at close-medium range many times. By carefully aiming at their head, sometimes the buckshot dispersion isn't significant enough to soak the damage, and you can achieve kills in this manner. If you use the hot and cold firing technique (5.c2), it can increase your accuracy even more, making medium range sniping more effective. Typically, you will take down a fully-armored, healthy opponent to about %50 with a well-aimed shot like this. If the enemy is not wearing armor or is injured, you have a chance of actually killing him. Needless to say, if you manage to ambush an opponent in this manner, you may get off 2 shots, enough to kill even a healthy, armored opponent. I only advise doing this under special circumstances where the opportunity presents itself, though. I do not recommend actively getting into these situations. Remember, the M3 is best close up. ======================== How to Defeat the M3 ------------------------ Defeating the M3 is simple. All you have to do is remember its chief weakness: short range. By keeping your distance, you can outgun an M3 player anytime, even using your pistol. Of course, most M3 players are smart enough not to get into long range altercations. In this case, the best way to avoid dying to buckshot is be aware of the map and avoid getting into M3 ambushes. Without a doubt, a good M3 player will be biding his time somewhere waiting for you to come close enough for an ambush. Defeating the M3 is, as such, a mental game of avoiding the compromising situations where the M3 can do you the most damage. If you get into a sniping battle with the M3, count your stars if you're alive after the first shot and quickly get distance between yourselves. The farther away you are, the less deadly the shotgun is. As you do, I suggest switching to your pistol if your primary isn't a particularly good ranged weapon (like the Mac-10). If you've grown strong enough in aiming and evasion, there should be no problems. If you do get into a close-range battle with the M3, you have to rely on your reflexes to give you the initiative. You have to shoot first, and shoot true. You have to kill him before he gets off his shot. Quite frankly, this is VERY difficult, since any other gun aside from the AWP will likely need more time to kill than the M3. Also remember that M3 players like to move around a lot to make themselves harder to hit (like MP5 players). If the M3 player does get his shot off, just pray he misses your head. If he does, you can relax a bit, becuase your gun now has a good chance of finishing him off. The M3 Duel ------------- A close-quarters duel between two M3 players is very rare, but when it happens all I can say is that it tends to be the fastest, most brutal duel in the game. Each combatant is trying to kill the other in one shot, in as fast a time as possible. All you can do is hope that you're the one whose aim is true. =============================================================================== APPENDIX A -- USEFUL LINKS =============================================================================== Scripting Links This section contains some useful links to help you learn the fine art of scripting. This is important to make full use of your console. Thanks, Paul for the links! http://www.nextwish.org/nwcs.shtml#Download http://www.geocities.com/s_x_r_x_r_n_r Map Tactical Links In the absence of specific map tactics in my guide, refer to these sites. Hopefully one day I will muster the resolve to make my own map tactics. But for now, these will have to do. http://csnation.counter-strike.net/cs2d Bot Links These are links to Counter Strike bots. Bots are a great way to practice without embarassing yourself in front of other people, and you can play with them any time! I'll write a bot training guide soon. http://www.botepidemic.com http://www.nuclearbox/podbot http://www.planethalflife.com/botman Map Links Go here to download some maps. Sometimes you go to a server and find that they have maps you don't. Or maybe you're sick of playing the same old levels over and over again. Whatever, find them here. http://cstrike.digitalrefuge.com/maps http://www.planethalflife.com/csmaps/cs_maps.asp http://www.counter-strike.de Anti-Cheat Links Sick of cheating? Well, check this site out. http://www.punkbuster.com Aimbot Links Hah! You wish. As if I'd condone the use of such pathetic trinkets. Miscellaneous Links This is the homepage of this guide's mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CSFAQML This is where you can find the latest version of this guide: http://www.crosswinds.net/~mosquiton/cs-tactics.zip =============================================================================== APPENDIX B -- BOT TRAINING GUIDE (still under construction) =============================================================================== Some tips to help you train and increase your skill. Hmm, for now, I suggest you get Pod Bot. It's a fun bot to play with! But for real tough training, try NNBot. It cheats, though. =============================================================================== APPENDIX C -- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) =============================================================================== Q: When will the next version of the guide be out? A: It can take me any amount of time to do an update. It mostly depends on how much free time I have, as well as whether I have access to a computer. I share a PC with my brother, so I don't have the freedom to work on this just whenever. Sometimes, I get an update out in a week. Sometimes, a month. Hopefully, the time lapse will never reach a year. Rest assured, when a new version comes out, you will hear about it at the mailing list. Q: What mailing list? A: The Counter Strike Weapons and Tactics Guide Mailing List. (CSFAQML) I created it to notify people when a new version of the guide is out. However, you can also use it to send me comments as well as talk about the FAQ itself. To subscribe, send mail here: Q: I want to post your guide at my web site! Please let me! A: Go ahead. Who am I to argue? ^_^ Just don't change the content. You could format it better to make it look more presentable, but please don't make it say something it didn't, and kindly don't "cut and paste" and plagiarize anything. Q: How long have you been playing Counter Strike? A: I've been on board since Beta 1, but I stopped playing at intervals. I wasn't exactly impressed by Beta 1. But as more features and better graphics came in, I began playing CS more and more, especially around Beta 5, when the CS craze began overtaking the Action Quake and Rogue Spear craze over here. Q: What is your ICQ number? A: Sorry, I don't have ICQ at the moment. Q: Aw, but I wanted to have a match with you! A: There've been a lot of people writing in, telling me that they want to fight me. They think I'm a skilled player. Well, I'm here to debunk that myth. I am actually a very average player in the LANs I frequent. If you guys think I'm good, I'd love to introduce you to the people who kick my ass on a regular basis! In fact, many of the techniques I detail here were taught to me by these masters. I haven't even mastered many of the techniques I discuss. Q: So that means I can't have a match with you? A: Not unless you frequent the LANs I go to. I don't play CS on-line, sorry. Maybe when I get a DSL or cable connection. You can pray that I get a DSL connection soon. I am applying for a DSL connection from a certain service provider, but they are SO slow taking care of their customers! Q: How do I activate the console? HELP! A: Read the revised portion of the guide. Section 5.a4, I think. Q: The Mimic Technique won't work! A: Good! I am finally beginning to realize that I am doing the CS community at large a disservice by showing people how to do this cheap trick. While my initial intention really was to educate people about cheats (and thus take steps against them), I think what's happening is that more newbies are swayed by the promise of the cheap power it gives. Don't use this cheat! Grow strong with your own skills! Use this only if you and a bunch of friends want to do it for fun. In the next revision, I may take out how to do the 'bad' cheats altogether. Q: Where is the MP5 guide? I want it now! A: It's there already! Now you have to wait for the AK-47 guide.... Q: Where are the map specific techniques? I want to kick-ass in DE_DUST! A: Sorry, that part of the guide is not even confirmed yet. It's really hard to do it, because to properly explain such techniques I'd have to make a diagram of the map. If ever, this will probably be the last thing I add. I'm not a very graphically-oriented person, sad to say. Fortunately, there are some sites on the net which provide map strategies. See the Links section. Q: What do you think of Estrada? A: Yes, believe it or not, someone actually asked me this question! Only one person did, though, so it's not really a Frequently-Asked Question. Still, it was funny, and it was a foreigner who asked me this! I wanted to put it here because it was fun and, if you think about it, it's quite related to Counter Strike. A terrorist could plant the bomb in Estrada's residence and solve the problem once and for all! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if a "Counter Terrorist" team would be sent to "silence" the deposed president. I mean, the US tried to do that with Fidel Castro for years, right? HAHAHAHAA!!! Q: What about ? I want to know about it! A: If you're writing a question about a specific game-related thing, be sure to read the entire guide thoroughly. The answer might be there. Failing that, I suppose it's alright to ask a clarifying question to me directly. Just be patient, though, and use the [CS FAQ] tag. Q: I want to contact you! Will you answer me? A: If you're writing a friendly letter to chat, that's fine. If you're writing in to point out a mistake, make a suggestion, argue a point, or give criticism, that's alright. But I'd rather receive friendly mail praising my name. ^_^; =============================================================================== =============================================================================== i. DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with Sierra, Valve, or the CS Team in any way. This is an unofficial guide I am putting together, mainly for personal amusement, and as an effort to help the growing Counter Strike community, particularly newbies. You can do whatever you want with this file, because frankly I don't have the time, interest or resources to do anything to you. However, I'd appreciate it if you do not rip me off, and that you do not use this file for any form of profit (or if you do, give me a cut! :) Using it for websites to attract hits is fine. Anyway, bottom line is, I hope you acknowledge whatever you do with this FAQ by giving me credit where it's due. If you see any glaring errors, want to contribute something, want to disagree with me, want to marry me, want to shout your head off, praise my genius, send death threats, or whatever, feel free to e-mail. I'm open to suggestions or whatever or what not, and since the information herein could be entirely fallible and inaccurate. If you do send in something that I include, you will be credited for it. NOTE: Throughout the document I use the masculine pronoun. Call me chauvanist, I don't care. I do it to simplify my writing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ii. CREDITS I'm gonna give credit where it's due. Gooseman - and the rest of the CS Team. Thanks a lot for making this addictive game and wasting hundreds of hours of my life. I'll never get those hundreds of hours back! And to think I also had quite a backlog from Action Quake.... Count Floyd - for making POD Bot, currently the best bot for CS and the bot I use to get a fun work-out when I'm not fragging innocent humans. Hmm, since I'm thanking Floyd-hakushoku I guess I should also thank Botman.... Terraknight - he wrote the first CS FAQ I saw on the web. It influenced and inpsired me to write my own, I guess. While I don't agree with a lot of what he said, I respect his opinions. While his work did inspire this, I did NOT rip-off stuff from his FAQ! I swear! I would never shortchange a fellow countryman! Hal - for giving me a conscience [EED] Beej - for Sig 550 and drawradar info payataz_zealot - for telling me how to change weapon names Paul Kerr - for all those tricks and techniques, such as the Bunny Hop and the many useful links. Gomen if I didn't credit everything! Wavehawk - for all the useful gun info tidbits and the long, interesting conversations. Love Hina #8 is out. avielh - for the baiting trick, cheap nightvision and other stuff GenEx - my favorite party LAN for CS. Been there since Star Craft and Action Quake, now we're still playing CS. Blech. Glitch Snack Bar - for making those great tasting paninis for consumption while killing terrorists and counter-terrorists alike. GameFAQs - for giving this guide a home. [gulay] Clan - One day I'm going to take over Counter Strike! MWAHAHAHAAA!!! [GAY] Clan - for inspiring all those cowardly backstabbing techniques, thanks guys! (er, gays) If I forgot anyone, feel free to write in and give me a piece of your mind. Good night! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- iii. ADDENDUM: In the future, this guide hopes to have: - More techniques; I'm sure I missed some - Specific Map techniques - Japanese sounding names for most, if not all, the techniques - More funny-sounding quotes from anime and other media - More links to useful sites - Team tactics guide. Most of these tactics are personal; but true CS play is teamplay - Bot training guide to improve your skills in private - Personal training tips - no typos. I am lazy. I don't usually bother to edit. - better editing. Too many wasted words. - better formatting. An ASCII logo would look great. - better organization. - agent-based Damage Table for all Weapons, with and without armor.