Lethal’s guide to playing professional Counter-Strike Table of Contents : Preface •
Me and my purpose
•
Origins
•
Statistics
Chapter I – Starting to play and natural evolution Chapter II – The Basics •
Getting comfortable
•
Mouse acceleration
•
Rates
•
Monitor Refresh Rates
•
Miscellaneous Commands
Chapter III – Aim, shooting, and movement •
Basic movement
•
Finding your sensitivity
•
Shooting with the AK
•
Shooting with the Colt
•
The DE
•
The AWP
•
Shooting with pistols
•
Putting it all together
Chapter IV – Consistency •
Bad habits
•
If you’re caught in a slump
Chapter V – In game strategy •
Buying up pistol round (T and CT)
•
Buying up in general (T and CT)
•
Setting up to hold a bombsite (CT)
•
Setting up to hold a bombsite (T)
•
Using stacks effectively
•
Other in game tips
•
When not to play
Chapter VI - Joining a good clan and getting noticed Chapter VII – Something a little more advanced Chapter VIII – Some advice for teams
•
Creating a default strat
Chapter IV – Closing statements Index
Preface
Me and my purpose I, Kevin Rosenblatt, am 19 years old and have been playing Counter-Strike for over 4 years. Over this span of time I have gained many innovative insights into the game, as well as insight at how to be better at things in general. About 8 months ago I decided to give private CS lessons, and am currently one of the most successful instructors in the history of the game. I like to think it is because I actually care about making people better at CS and have found a successful way of accomplishing this. You can read my testimonials as well as view my past clans and
experience
at
the
Complexity
page
(http://www.complexityclan.com/index.php?file=cota_teacher&id=16). Please keep in mind that I am not an English major and I apologize in advance for any grammatical or spelling errors that you may find. My goal is to be able to offer my insight to a larger group of people by writing this, so because of this I will try to keep this as short and sweet as possible. I also would like to tell you that mostly everything I go over in this guide is covered in the private lessons that I give. These lessons are roughly $23/hour and I understand that not everyone can afford this, which is yet another reason I am doing this. I truly hope this is a cost effective solution to all of you out there that wish to improve your game. So first let’s get started with a little background about the game and myself.
Origins Counter-Strike, the online multi-player phenomenon that burst onto the scene nearly 5 years ago, remains the number one online FPS today. With nearly 2.5 million people playing a total of 3.84 billion minutes a month, CS can truly be crowned the most poplar multiplayer FPS game of all time. Why do so many people play it? What does it have that other games don’t? What does it take to be good at it? These questions I have strived to answer over the last few years of playing this game, consequently this guide is a compilation of the conclusions I have drawn.
To become good at CS you must have the mental strength, the patience, and above all, the stomach. CS is defiantly not a game that is easy to pick up and play a top level. Only a handful of individuals from each country have achieved high levels of success in a relatively short amount of time while the rest of us have been playing for years. This is one of the first things you should concrete in your mind before you take on the task of becoming a good CS player. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to take months of practice, maybe even years. It all depends on your drive and commitment to what you’re trying to do. Some people in life will focus all their time, energy, and power to one specific goal, no matter what it is. I believe these are the kind of people that play at a top level the quickest, the truly driven. The fastest way to pick something up is to become obsessed. You also have to realize that the more people that participate in a given activity, the better you must become. For example, it will be harder for someone to make a final table at the world series of poker when the starting player count is 2500 rather than a player trying to make a final table when the starting player count is 500. Seeing as how counter-strike is growing everyday, it will in theory become harder and harder to become and stay successful at it.
Statistics Let’s look at some numbers. League
Number of teams
Number of players*
% of CAL players
CAL Open
2103
10,515
68.3%
CAL
757
3,785
24.6%
CAL Main
138
690
4.4%
CAL
Premier
58
290
1.8%
CAL Invite
20
100
.65%
Intermediate
Total players* :
15,380
*A conservative figure, calculated by multiplying the number of teams by the minimum amount of players (5).
As you can see from the table, today a mere .65% of all CAL players actually make it to the much sought after CAL invite. In this next chart, I have plotted Number of players as a function of skill. 1 = CAL open, 2 = CAL im, 3 = CAL main, 4 = CAL premier, 5 = CAL invite.
Number of players versus skill level 18000
16000
Number of players
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0 1
2
3
4
5
CAL skill level (1 being CALo 5 being CALi) That graph should be pretty self explanatory. Only a few individuals out of the entire group seem stay in the progression stage long enough to reach high levels of play, but what exactly does it take to play at that top level and how do you help your chances? These questions and much more I hope to answer in the following chapters.
Chapter I – Starting to play and natural evolution Here is a natural timeline of the stages the average CS player goes through in the span of their career. Please keep in mind that these are simply the conclusions I have drawn from speaking to numerous students, and these timeframes WILL be different depending on the person. 1. The pub stage – This is where everyone starts, at the bottom of the ladder. This stage occurs normally right after the game has been purchased until about a maximum of 4 months later. In this stage a player is just learning the basic objective of the game and user controls. During this stage a player has little or no desire to play with a team. Timeframe : installation – 4 months 2. Structured play interest – After about 6 months a player a player normally becomes curious about structured game play. It is around this time that players join ladders like OGL or perhaps even entry level leagues like CAL open. Most players are fascinated when they find out they can play competitively, and if you complete this stage, there is a good chance you will be playing CS for a while. Timeframe : 4 months – 1 year 3. Progression – In this stage, players acquire the drive to play to the best of their abilities. When you see posts on E-sports sites like “How addicted are you to CS?” and “I can’t stop playing”, it is more than likely the player that posted the thread is in this stage. Timeframe : 1 year – Indefinite 4. CAL Invite and beyond – For a long time, playing in CAL invite has been B major goal and sole driving force behind many team. To even make it to that level is a huge accomplishment in itself, forget sponsorships and other nonsense. Playing in CAL invite has been a cornerstone for CS players for a long time. As you will see, only 1% Timeframe : No guarantees
Stage
Timeframe
% that achieve*
Pub stage
0 – 4 months
100%
Bottom of the ladder
Structured play
4 months – 1 year
68.3%
Drive to gain
interest
(CAL open )
Progression
1 year – Indefinite
experience 6.2%
N/A
beyond
(CAL invite/CPL)
Drive play at a top level
(CAL main +) CAL invite and
Description
< 1%
Playing at a top level
* Players in the given CAL league compared to total CAL players
This table is based on extremely rough estimates, and only takes into account the CAL gaming league. The reason I did this is that CAL is a good example of proportionality in this game (number of players versus skill – see graph above). The higher the level of play, the less people involved, this will still hold true even if you take in to account every league in the world.
Chapter II – The Basics Let’s start at the beginning. In my lesson plan, I normally start with an introduction and ask the student to give me their information. I usually ask for their name, age, location, experience, past leagues, past teams, and just about anything else I feel like drilling them with. This marks the start of my 5 minute speech. In my speech I cover a few important topics. The first of these is consistency. Players often ask how does one stay consistent? Most people are looking for a secret word or answer that will make them play well 100% of the time, and to be honest if that is what you are looking for you will be disappointed by what I have to say. All players have off times. There is nothing you can do about that. What you can do is play at such a high level, that when you do have off games you’re still holding your own. One way to stay consistent is not to change up your settings. Your resolution, sensitivity, crosshair size and color, zoom sensitivity, all of these things, keep them constant! The mind likes consistency, so please do not change your sensitivity after a bad half in a scrim or a lousy missed shot. Don’t mess with your resolution either because it’s not going to help you. In fact it may end up putting you deeper in a slump. Best case scenario is you get a quick skill increase for a few hours but then you’re worse off. I’m a firm believer that the only time you should ever mess with your settings after having them already set is after you take a break from the game. Taking a break from the game is a big part in overcoming slumps. The first piece of advice I give to people that are in a horrible slump is just to walk away from the game for a few days. The frustration you feel during a slump is worse for you psychologically in the realm of CS than taking a cold break from the game is. After you come back from your break and you’re STILL in a slump, or feel as if your sensitivity just doesn’t feel right, I believe it is then time to change your sensitivity. However, I do warn against changing it by too much too quick. If you want to change your sensitivity, start out in small increments. Change it by .1 to start, and if you feel no difference, move up to .2 until you have found your perfect sensitivity. You will know this sensation when your crosshair no longer bounces around as you try to shoot. You will feel completely in control of every
movement of your crosshair. It truly is a great feeling once you’ve pegged it. I will cover consistency more detailed in a later chapter. The next part of my speech talks about being nervous. If you’re the person that gets nervous before a big match or scrim, there are a few things that you should know. First of all, it’s ok to be a little nervous. In fact, I’ll even go as far as saying you’ll play BETTER when you’re a little nervous versus when you aren’t nervous at all. It’s a term in psychology called the Yerkes-Dodson law, and I suggest reading more about it here http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/arousal.html. If you are having trouble staying in control of your nerves, and are frequently passed the stage of being ‘a little nervous’, then there are a few tricks I have learned to help you out. First you want to picture in your mind the emotional state you would like to be in. Next I recommend breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly, letting your body relax. Physical activity is the next step in calming yourself down. I recommend at least 5-10 pushups. This will relieve a lot of the nervous energy that you have built up and combined with the breathing, I guarantee you’ll be able to get your emotions in control. If your hands become cold because you are nervous, warm water can be used. I remember when I first started playing I would run my hands under warm water so when it was time to play, my hands were steady and calm. The third and final part of my speech has to do with the fact that no one gets good overnight. Everything that you learn must be integrated with your normal play, and practiced over and over and over again. If you can do this, you are on your way to CS success. I tell most of my students, there is a natural timeline on which each player will eventually achieve their goal. My goal as a teacher is to help people achieve their goal, but in half the time. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we can start the good stuff. If you’re a relatively new player, go ahead and finish out the rest of this chapter. If you feel like you’ve heard enough, skip on down to chapter three.
Getting comfortable Since being comfortable is closely related to how well someone plays, this is the first thing I suggest to everyone. You need to find a natural feeling, comfortable setup for you to play on. I recommend placing your hands on your keyboard with your eyes closed and feeling the natural position of your hands. This is the position you will play in. Many times players tell me that they are in a slump, and later I find out it is because they are too uncomfortable while they play. I personally need a pillow in the back of my chair to make sure my back doesn’t start to hurt. It’s the small things like this that will gain you a small edge consistency wise. While playing, don’t become mesmerized by the crosshair. You want to view the entire screen as a whole, not just the center of it. There are people that have trouble taking their attention away from their crosshair and here’s a tip for those of you that have this problem. The crosshair is at the center of your screen and will always be at the center of your screen. It isn’t going anywhere, so take your eyes off of it. Also, don’t sit to close to your monitor.
Mouse Acceleration For all those of you that are still reading, go ahead and load steam. The first thing we want to do is make sure you have mouse acceleration turned off in game. If you aren’t sure you can go to control panel > mouse > pointer options and make sure “mouse acceleration” or “enhanced pointer precision” is unchecked. If you are NOT running Windows XP, then you have completed the task and you can skip down to ‘Rates’. However, if you are running Windows XP, you aren’t done quiet yet. There are two ways of doing this. The first method is the registry fix method. I must warn you, if you use this method you will turn off mouse acceleration in Windows XP and it will turn your mouse acceleration off for all applications and programs. The second method is a bit more complicated, but will only affect your CS in game settings as apposed to all of Window’s mouse acceleration settings.
1. Method One. Go to ftp://ftp.thecpl.com/mouse_fix.zip and download the file to your desktop. Unzip the file, double click mousefix.reg, and click ok which adds the values to your registry. You will need to restart your computer before the changes take effect. 2. Method Two. To use this method open steam, select games, right click on counterstrike, select properties, launch options, and input the following commands without quotations : “-noforcemparms –noforcemspd –noforcemaccel”. Click ok and open CS. If mouse acceleration was on, you will notice a drastic difference. Your sensitivity will seem a little slower, but I promise it is better for your aim in the long run.
Rates Next thing we need to do is check your rates and other settings in game. Load up CS, open the console, and input the command “cl_cmdrate”. The ideal “command rate” is 101, and is what I recommend setting this value to. Next type in “cl_updaterate” and set that to 101 as well, hitting enter after each change. Next command is “rate”. Please make sure this is at least 20,000, if not you will probably notice choke when playing. If while using these rates you are experiencing heavy ping spiking, lower your cl_cmdrate by 20 to cl_cmdrate 80. Keep lowering this value until the ping spiking goes away. If you are experiencing choke, lower your cl_updaterate by 20 until the choke has gone away. The way you can see if you are getting loss/choke in a server is by enabling your netgraph. To do this, type the command “net_graph 3” into the console and hit enter. You will be able to see your choke and loss at the bottom right of your screen. Command
Default CS setting
Recommended setting
If you’re getting Choke/Loss
Cl_cmdrate
20
cl_cmdrate 101
Cl_cmdrate 101/80*
Cl_updaterate
30
Cl_updaterate 101
Cl_updaterate 80*/101
Rate
9999
20000
Ensure your rate is 20000
* = keep lowering this value by 20 if choke or loss continues
Monitor Refresh Rates Typically if you’re running in 800x600 or lower and your monitor is fairly new (but NOT an LCD display), you should have no problem running your refresh rate at 100Hz or greater. There is a big advantage to playing with 100Hz or greater, the game seems more fluid and it isn’t as choppy. Please keep in mind though, the higher your monitor refresh rate, the more your sensitivity is going to change. I strongly recommend if you play with 100Hz at home, you play with 100Hz on lan. To change your refresh rate and you’re running Win XP you will more than likely need the help of a tool called Reforce which is available at ftp://ftp.thecpl.com/reforce.zip. The program is extremely easy to use. You simply open it, find your in game resolution, and change that setting to 100Hz. Be warned, only do this if you know for a fact that your monitor can display 100Hz @ the given resolution. Failing to do this could result in failed hardware. Once you’re up and running at 100Hz you can turn V-Sync on, and enjoy fluid, tear-free graphics.
Miscellaneous Commands Here are some commands that I recommend using. To enter these you must first bring down your console using the “~” and hit enter after each change is made. •
Fps_max 101 – this will ensure you are getting the maximum fps possible
•
Hud_centerid 1 – this will place the enemy/friend text in the center of your screen, making it easier to see
•
Brightness 3
•
Gamma 2
•
Zoom_sensitivty_ratio – defaulted at 1.2, make sure you do not overlook this great tool. This variable sets the zoom sensitivity and is done by ratio. For example if your in game sensitivity is 2, and your zoom_sensitivty_ratio is 3, while zoomed in your sensitivity will be 6 (2 sensitivity multiplied by the ZSR). This works for any zoomed gun including the AUG and SIG assault rifles.
•
Old vgui menus – I recommend using the old vgui menus to buy. If you like clicking the icons to buy, that is your deal. You can toggle this option on and off in settings > advanced.
Chapter III – Aim, Shooting and movement The goal is for everything to feel natural. I often tell people, when you don’t have to think about playing anymore and just automatically do it, that is the place you want to be. The time it takes you to think about something prolongs the time that it takes you to accomplish a task. The shorter you have to think about something, the quicker you’re going to be able to do it. Whenever I turn or peek a corner I already assume that an enemy will be there. If there happens to be one I have already made up my mind that I will shoot him before he shoots me. I don’t have to think about it at all, I just have to react. I like to call this intuitive playing and it’s a big part of CS. Intuitive play is directly proportional to experience and is all about being in different situations and knowing instinctively what to do. Different situations require different skills, whether it be your long range game or perhaps your AWPing abilities. Believe me if your CS career is long enough, you’ll see most situations pan out to their end. This is what experience is. Experience is taking all of these situations that you have seen and making sense out of them. Unfortunately, I cannot teach someone experience. It would be impossible to go through every single situation that could possibly occur. Instead, I offer you insight on how to make the correct choices. My method of teaching breaks down aim into three parts (or components). •
The close-up shot (standing right next to an enemy)
•
The medium range shot (on Dust2 from T side long A DD to the pit/ramp)
•
The long range shot (on Dust2 from the A bombsite to the pit/ramp) All three of these components play an equally important part of your normal playing. I
listed them in order from easiest to hardest, the long range shot being the hardest. You probably have already come to this conclusion, as someone that is farther away from you is smaller, making them harder to shoot. After all this time, the long range shot still gives me trouble sometimes with an automatic.
Basic Movement Before you can learn to shoot correctly, you must first learn to move correctly. This is often the hardest part for a player to pick up. The good news is once you’ve practiced for a solid day movement becomes a lot easier. Medium and long range shots each have the same movement associated with them. Basically all it is is a combination of strafing back and forth while at the same time shooting while not moving. Sounds complicated at first, but let me walk you through it. Create a lan server and buy an AK. To first get the feeling for the movement I want you to hold left strafe for 1 second, then switch to holding right strafe for 1 second, then start over again. This gives you the basics of the movement. You will be strafing from left to right at medium and long ranges. The length of your strides depends on the length of time you hold each strafe button. Now lets throw some shooting into the mix. You want to shoot when you are completely stopped. Failing to do this means your bullets shooting inaccurately and is not the goal here. Start your strafing left, then at the exact time you let go of the left strafe button and hit the right strafe button to strafe right, fire. When you switch strafing (left to right or right to left) you stop for an instant. This is the window of opportunity when you want to shoot. It will be hard to do at first, but I recommend a good solid 15 minutes of practice if this a totally new subject to you. Once you get it down, you will be able to do it without thinking.
Finding your sensitivity Finding your sensitivity is a key part of playing well and overall consistency. By now you should have been playing with a general sensitivity that you have used for some time. We can use this as a starting point. First I want you to make sure mouse acceleration is off, you can find ways to do this in Chapter I. The next step in finding your sensitivity is lots of 1v1ing. While playing observe your play and ask yourself this question : Do I have trouble putting my crosshair right on someone? If yes, does my crosshair seem to jump over the enemy, or does it seem to lag behind the enemy? If it jumps over an enemy, your sensitivity is probably just a little too quick. Try lowering it by .2. If the situation is
the opposite, raise your sensitivity by about .2. Keep using .2 increments until you have found your sensitivity. You will know this feeling when you are finally able to put your crosshair directly on someone with no extra movement or lag behind. It will take some time, but it is worth finding, trust me!
Shooting with the AK47 The close range shot is pretty easy and self explanatory, so I’m not even going to cover it in this section. I recommend just crouching and holding down fire while pulling down on your mouse slightly. The medium range shot with an AK however, is the first thing I recommend working on. Most players burst the AK at medium range doing a 3-4 shot burst at times. I don’t fully agree with this. In order to keep AK recoil at a minimum, I recommend doing a thing I refer to as “tap-shooting.” Tap-shooting involves tapping mouse1 as apposed to holding it down to fire a burst. The ideal medium range shooting should be a tap followed by a burst, followed by a burst and more tapping. This will keep the AK recoil low, while allowing you to be extremely accurate with your shots. As for long range with an AK, I do not recommend bursting at all, and think the best strategy is to tap exclusively. 1-2 shots of tapping at a time at long range should suffice.
Shooting with the Colt (M4A1) Once you have the AK mastered it is time for the Colt. This fine piece of machinery will allow you to shoot bullets faster and more accurately than its T counter-part, the AK. The rate of fire makes up for the fact that the colt is weaker than the AK. Shooting a colt medium range is a dream, all you have to do is point and click. Hold your mouse button down long enough so that you do a three shot burst, while simultaneously pulling your crosshair down to compensate for recoil. This will ensure that all of your burst will hit the same spot, and have maximum efficiency. Long range I simply recommend 2 shot burst, and lots of quick moving. One thing that I highly recommend is that you play silenced OR un-silenced. Please do not switch back and forth between the two. The reason behind this is that both silenced and un-
silenced have different spray patterns, and I believe it would be a good idea for a person to master one before using the other. Like I stated earlier, the mind likes consistency.
The Deagle (DE) This is one of the best kept secrets of my lessons. I tell my students to guard this tip closely. If you notice, all guns shoot in the exact same position relative to the crosshair. This position is the center. The only gun that does not obey this rule is the DE, making it truly one of the most unique guns in the game. It is cheap, is able to shoot through walls, and also has another big secret. The DE does not shoot directly in the center of the crosshair; it actually shoots lower than that. The DE bullet fires at the very top of the bottom crosshair. By this I mean out of the four individual crosshairs that are each horizontal or vertical, the very top of this bottom vertical crosshair. Try it, go into a server and test it out. I think you’ll be very surprised to see that you haven’t noticed this sooner. What this logically tells us about the DE is that you have to aim just a little higher to get a headshot. Since now you know exactly where every shot you shoot with the DE is going, you should now be even more accurate with it. I do recommend shooting slow long range, and as the enemy becomes closer, you must increase your rate of fire. This is true for all guns.
The AWP Once you have found your zoom_sensitivty_ratio (z and tab in console, see Miscellaneous
Commands above) you will notice a big difference in your AWPing. I recommend practicing with scouts to improve your AWPing abilities. There are a few really nice advantages in practicing with scouts. One good thing is that they are a lot of fun to practice with, so playing for a long time normally isn’t a problem. Another advantage is a scout takes two shots to kill an enemy normally, so you get twice the practice without having to respawn. I also recommend not having an AWP without armor and at least a USP, but a DE if possible.
Shooting with pistols I have one thing to say that will help a lot of you out there. Aim, and shoot slow. That is pretty much all there is to pistols. Keep your glock off burst too. Don’t spam your USP, you’re not going to hit anything.
Putting it all together In theory, you now know how to shoot properly and move effectively if you have read the previous sections. Now the question is how do you put it all together? Well the answer is practice and hard work. Whenever you need to work on something, I recommend going into a pub with no more than 10 people and playing for at least an hour. Use what you have learned and try to make it muscle memory. See if you can do it without thinking. Make sure your movement is fluid, not jerky. Also be sure you are shooting only while stationary, NOT moving. If you’re trying to shoot while running, you probably won’t be hitting much of anything.
Chapter IV – consistency The question on most everybody’s mind is consistency. This key part of the game allows you to play your best, always. Great players like tr1p, storm, rector, volcano, and others all have the great ability to have incredibly consistent games. They often put numbers up and can be found to be #2 or #3 on the scoreboard every single match. They rarely have bad games but on the flip side, rarely have MONSTER games. It is my opinion that it is better to have more consistent good games than it is to have a monster game every once in a while. Success follows the consistent players. So of course the question is, how does a player stay consistent? I have my own theory on this. Here are the first steps to becoming a consistent CS player. •
Play often. The more experience you have, the better you’re going to become. There is no way around that. The amount of time you spend playing is directly proportional to how good you become.
•
Play correctly. I once heard the statement, “practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.” I could not agree with this more. As you see yourself progressing and getting better, make sure you start playing against people that are better than you. This helps ensure your skill progression. Also, make sure once you are set with the correct way to do things and make them habits. Do not allow yourself to create new habits out of existing bad habits (ie: panic crouch spraying).
•
Don’t change your settings. Changing up your settings (ie: resolution, sensitivity, interp, etc.) too often is one of the worst things you can do. I know you think it’ll get you out of a slump, but trust me on this one, it’s just going to put you farther behind in the long run. Stick with one set of settings. If you’re in a bad slump, take a break from the game for a few days, and if when you come back you STILL think you need to change your sensitivity, change it by no more that .2 or .3 at a time. Small steps.
•
Stay calm. Staying calm under pressure plays a big part in consistency. Performing well in those 1v1 situations is what will get you noticed. Techniques for staying calm can be found later in Chapter IV.
•
Focus. I know it sounds obvious, but it is overlooked a lot of times by players that are in slumps. You need to be focused on the game 100% if you plan to play well, do not divide your attention up between other things. If you follow these tips, you’ll find yourself becoming more consistent. Of course, there
will be times when you go into a natural slump. Often there is no avoiding this, so when it happens you know what to do. As I’ve said before, I strongly suggest taking a short break from the game even if it’s just for the rest of the day. The tendency is when you’re playing bad to get frustrated and angry. These are two things that hinder your game play greatly, and I suggest being able to control your anger in game. Another reason that a break might do you some good is the fact that the longer you play without a break, the more bad habits you to pick up. Taking a short break is refreshing, and often times when you play again you get back to basics. Those bad habits don’t seem to be as prevalent anymore.
Bad Habits I suppose now is as good a time as ever to talk about bad habits. We all have them, or have had them in the past, and they sometimes can be extremely hard to overcome. Here are some of the most common bad habits •
Crouching panic spray – I think we all know what this means. I know it is hard to overcome, but in the long run it will make you better. Only time you should panic spray is in extremely close range situations, and normally when there is more than one enemy involved. If you are having trouble breaking this bad habit I suggest unbinding your crouch key for a little while.
•
Peeking when you shouldn’t – When you’re practicing this bad habit you seem to peek when you shouldn’t. For example you try to peek a known AWPer with an automatic. Just don’t peek him.
•
Calling everyone a cheater – Sure there are un-legit players out there, but until someone does something REALLY worthy of being called a cheater, you should probably keep your opinion to yourself. It hurts your team play as well as your own and seems to have the power to put people in slumps.
•
Baiting – There are times when you need to bait to get a kill. For instance if your team has two players, the opposing team only has one, it is ok to bait your teammate as long as you get the final kill. However, it is not ok to constantly bait your team to improve your personal score. Sometimes it is hard for a player to realize they have a problem with baiting, which is why I suggest watching your own demos. When you watch them try to pick up your mistakes in order to make yourself better.
If you’re caught in a slump If you don’t need this advice now, you’re going to need it later. Everyone goes through times where they can’t play to their full potential and they don’t know why. It is the equivalent to a writers block to a novelist. Nothing seems to register, your aim is horribly off, and you find yourself getting more and more frustrated. These are all signs that you are in a natural slump and there are a few things you can do to ensure your time spent in a slump is at a minimum. My first piece of advice would be to take a break from the game. There are natural times players go into slumps, there is just nothing you can do about it. As you gain experience and play for longer, you will notice the frequency of the slumps starts to slow down. They also become less powerful and last about half as long. These slumps just happen, and it is best if you walked away from the game for an entire day. Next I would advise you to watch your emotion. Normally if you’re in a slump you tend to get frustrated the more you play. It’s sort of a cycle because the worse you play, the more drive you have to play to prove to yourself you’re not really in the slump. This just leads to more and more frustration. It is never a good idea to play when you are frustrated, and could end up putting you deeper into a slump.
Sometimes change is good. If you have taken your break from the game and you come back and still find yourself in a slump, you might need to change something up such as sensitivity or positioning. However, don’t be drastic. Make one or two minor changes at a time if you can. For sensitivity I recommend a change of no more than .2. You might just have to wait it out. I know it sucks, but there have been times in every good player’s career when they just don’t play to their full potential for sometimes long periods of time. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do except sit back and wait for the slump to be over. I do however think that if you are in the correct mindset of muscle memory instead of active thinking, you can overcome slumps much easier.
Chapter V – In game strategy Here’s a list of things that will help you that aren’t directly related to aim.
Buying up pistol round It may be confusing at first when knowing exactly when or what to buy. Generally, in a scrim on CT side you would want to buy whatever makes the most sense for the position you’re playing. Two common first round buying setups for CT are : 1. Armor + Ammo 2. Kit + HE Nade + Flash If you are playing in an area alone, I suggest going with setup number one and using the armor to your advantage. If you are playing with a partner in a spot (ie : catwalk on dust2) I suggest going with setup number two and buying a kit and valuable nades. On T side there are different setups depending on the strategy that is going to be run. Here are a few common first round buying setups as T. 1. Armor + ammo 2. DE + ammo 3. Flash + HE/Smoke More often than not you will be buying the first setup for T side on pistol round. A glock + armor setup is very effective when rushing. An example of a time when you might want a DE over a glock is on de_nuke. Perhaps the strat is the team will rush outside and get to the lower bombsite. It would be a good idea to have DE’s so that you can setup behind the doors lower, giving your team a huge advantage because the CT’s USP won’t be able to penetrate the doors without them being opened. The last setup listed you would only want to buy if the pistol round strategy your team is using requires it.
Buying up in general At the beginning of each round is a good idea to type your money in to team say. For example, after I respawn if I have $5400 I type “54” in team-say notifying my teammates that I am able to fully buy for the next round. NEVER buy within the first 5 seconds of a round unless
you are 100% sure everyone is buying. The normal freezetime is 15 seconds so there is no reason you should buy within the first 5. I would also suggest you pick one person on your team that calls a team buy or a team save based on the amount of money everyone has. You do not want to have a round where half of your team buys, and half saves. If this were to occur and you end up losing the round, your team will have to save again. This effectively gives the opposite team 2 free rounds. Don’t buy up unless you have enough money to buy two rounds in a row or unless told to by the team in game leader. Also be prepared to drop a weapon for needy teammates. If you are in need of a weapon, while in spawn spam a radio command to let your teammates know your position. This helps ensure the process of buying up goes a lot smoother.
Setting up to hold a bombsite (CT) Finding good setups in bombsites is an important part of having a successful CT side. I first recommend watching lots of demos. I have a feeling if you are the slightest bit serious about this game, you probably already watch a lot of demos, but I want to emphasize the importance of paying attention to them. Look at the spots the good players use, look at their setups, their rotations, and take note when two people play a site and try to emulate their play style with a partner. Here are some tips for good setups in a bombsite on CT : •
Cover only one spot at a time. Cover one spot at a time and make sure you are completely covered from all other areas unless you have a teammate watching them. It is a common mistake for players to split their attention between two different areas of a map.
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Think ahead. What will you do if a teammate dies? How will you flank if they take the opposite bombsite? Have all these questions answered in your head before they happen, that way when they do finally occur you won’t have to think, and you can simply react. This will save time and eventually make your in game instincts stronger.
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Be creative. Use stacks and spots that are rarely used and seen. Keep your opponent guessing; try not to be too predictable.
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Use nades to your advantage. If the Ts are flashing the site on entering, flash back! You may be blind, but getting the last flash off could mean the difference between holding and losing the bombsite.
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Use stacks and crossfires. You’ll more than likely see a lot of these in demos, take notes.
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Hold it at all costs. Do what you have to do as long as your partner knows about it. If you play a bombsite with a teammate, make sure to communicate, and let him know what you are doing.
Setting up to hold a bombsite (T) If you have successfully entered a site and planted the bomb, you have completed the first step in winning the round. The next step is physically holding the bombsite. In order for the CTs to win after the bomb has been planted, they MUST defuse. It is your job as a T to stop this at all costs. It doesn’t matter how many people on your team die, if you are able to successfully stop the CTs from defusing for 30 seconds, the round is yours. Never feel bad after winning a round, even if you were killed by entering CTs. Here are some tips to help ensure you won’t give up your bombsite. •
Crossfire. The most common of all the holding setups, the crossfire is also the most effective. To setup a crossfire all you need is a teammate and good positioning. The objective is to setup on opposite sides of the site, but watch the same area (ie : the bomb or DD).
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Hide. Do NOT peak out of a bombsite unless the opposite team is saving. This is a common mistake and is one of the reasons why bombsites are lost after the bomb has been planted. Once your team has planted the bomb make sure each team member still remaining calls the positions they will be watching. Be sure to watch only your spot and not to over peek. Communication is also a key here.
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Waste time. Do everything in your power to make sure you can hold the bombsite for the 30 seconds you need. Flashes are a good way to slow the enemy down. There is
nothing worse than getting ready to take a bombsite back over as CT and getting blinded for 5 seconds. You can also stay hidden until you hear the diffuse, make a footstep as if you are coming to kill the diffuser, and then stay hidden. More often than not the diffuser will come off the bomb to try to kill you. Be warned though, this normally works in a 1v1 situation only. •
Have preset positions. Go over the bombsites with your team before you play each map and make sure all entrances will be covered.
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Don’t plant until the site is clear. This is a good overall tip. If you have just entered a bombsite, make sure there are no hiding CTs before you plant.
Using stacks effectively Stacks are a good way to hold an area, but there are a few common mistakes people make when stacking that makes them ineffective. The first thing players tend to do is stack in the wrong places. You want to pick a place that won’t be visible to a large amount of enemies at any given time. For example, stacking on the ramp as CT on dust2 to watch Long A is a horrible stack. However, stacking on the boxes as shown in the picture can be quite effective. The next thing you want to do is make sure both you and your partner are directly inline with each other. If you do not, you could run the risk of both you and your partner being killed without taking out any enemies. If you are not perfectly inline this could mean that an enemy sees you or your partner before he sees the other stacked player, which in essence ruins the whole point of a stack. The point is to engage a single enemy at once from the same position, not to bait your teammate.
Other in game tips Here are a few other good in game tips that will help your overall level of play. •
Know the map. I sometimes joke with people that if you can walk through the map backwards while hitting a minimal amount of walls, you probably know the map well enough. Make sure you know each one like the back of your hand BEFORE you start to play.
• Move out from walls. If you are watching a corner of a wall, it is suggested that you take a few steps out from the wall. This helps ensure you get the first shot off on anyone coming around the corner. • Communicate the correct things. Don’t spam voice with useless gibberish. Call things as you see them, but be sure not to say too much. Also make sure you aren’t fooled into calling a rush when there are only 2 opponents there. Just because a team nades doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to rush your way. • Use nades. Never underestimate the power of a few smokes or a few flashes. Smokes can be effectively used to cut off part of a map. If you smoke off an area of a map, you do not have to worry about that area while entering a bombsite. You can also use a smoke in a 1v1 situation as a flash, making the opponent turn their head while you peak them. This move was first made famous by HeatoN (of NiP at the time) vs X3 on nuke. • Know your opponent. There’s a big difference in playing a team that is straight out of CAL-open and playing a team that has been around for a while and is CAL-main in skill. You need to adapt your game depending on the team. Sometimes when you play a lower league team you can get away with things you normally can’t. For instance it’s a good idea to push CT side on teams you know just don’t have the aim’ing abilities to stop you. Don’t let them group up and rush you all together. You can also out-smart these players easier. One thing that does commonly happen is what I like to call being “out-dumbed.” This occurs when the opposite team is so clueless they win the round due to their own lack of in game experience. Overall lesson here, know your enemy.
When not to play If you have to play a CS game to the best of your ability, it would be a good idea to avoid doing so while any of the following conditions are met : •
You are tired. Sleep deprivation slows down reaction time and often times makes me feel like I’m being hypnotized when I watch the screen.
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You are angry. Being angry isn’t a good thing when you’re playing competitive CS. You want to be as clear as possible.
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You are frustrated. This one will hurt you, stay away from playing seriously when you are frustrated. It will just make the situation worse.
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You are hungry. Normally when I play and I’m hungry, I have a hard time concentrating. Not a good thing when you need to be focused. Try to avoid serious games when if any of the preceding conditions are met, as you may
cause yourself more grief than it was worth.
Chapter VI – Joining a good clan and getting noticed “Next to ‘how do I play well?’ and ‘how do I stay consistent?’, this is probably next on my list of all time most asked questions. How does one REALLY go about joining a good team? This is not an easy question to answer, but I will share with you my views on this touchy subject. First you need to decide what your goals are and find a team that has goals similar to yours. You want to stay away from “pub clans” that sit in their public server all day and ban people for cheating. These clans won’t get you anywhere in this game, and if you plan on taking things seriously, I highly advise staying away from them. The next bit of advice I have to give to you is to work your way up. Nothing will come easy, so don’t expect it to. If you have to start in CAL-im to work your way to invite, then do it. I have played every league CAL has been able to come up with, from open to invite. The absolute best way to make it to CAL invite is to work your way up with a team that is dedicated and practices. All your skill levels will increase at about the same rate, and when you finally make it to CAL invite you will be able to look back on the months of hard work. People get too caught up in trying to walk before they can crawl. Do NOT overestimate yourself. If anything underestimate yourself. Be humble about your abilities, and do not get arrogant. Every good player has paid their dues, you will be no exception. If you truly wish to make it in the CS scene, you need to work your way up the ropes and gain respect. Finding a team to play with can often be a chore. I recommend getting yourself into as many pugs and scrims as possible. I think the ESEA pug idea is a great idea, and it gives players a chance to play with others of a higher caliber. If you want to get better you need to be playing against people that are slightly better than you. After a while, you will make connections with the right people, and if your skill level has increased to the correct amount, people will start to notice you. Getting noticed won’t happen right away, so please don’t expect it to. Also, don’t be bashful. Ask to scrim with a team if you want to. Networking skills is a big part of this game. It’s not only about how good you are, but also the people you know. Be nice but not pushy to players of a higher caliber. Never expect
them to do anything for you, especially answer your messages on IRC, but still be polite. This will win you favor in the long run and it is always a good idea to have a “nice-guy” image, especially when you’re first starting out. Never talk about your ‘CAL-I+’ experience, as this is the biggest turn off to a good player. You should never have to talk about your CAL invite or CPL experience, because if the person you’re talking to doesn’t already know you’ve played in CAL invite or CPL, there is a good chance you haven’t. It makes me sick to see all the CAL open players out there looking to join the next “CAL-invite reform clan”. These teams seem to last about a month when everyone finally realizes they’re not as good as they made themselves out to be. Be sure to stay away from these types of clans as well. When you’re first looking for a team channels on IRC like #findclan can help you find recruiting teams, although this way of finding a clan is hardly ever successful in the long run.
Chapter VI – Something a little more advanced In this section I’m going to throw in some more advanced tips, and also run through a few scenarios. Lets start out with a general scenario first. It is easier for the Ts to win a round 4v5 than it is CTs to win 4v5. Why is this? Each CT is watching a specific part of a map and each time one dies the other CTs must compensate for his death. The most common way of compensation is rotating, which often leaves a bombsite with only a single CT in it, or even totally open. The more CTs that die, the harder it is to watch both bombsites on the map, thus valuing the CT life over a T life. Think of it this way, a team still has a decent shot on T 4v5 or even 3v5. The 3 Ts can rush and bombard the CTs in a given site and over run them with sheer strength. So what should you logically deduce from all of this? Well look at it this way, every time you are watching an area you want to position yourself so that if you die, you can take at least 2 with you. For every one CT death, ideally you would want 2 T deaths. This would keep the odds in check, not making the CTs such an under-dog to win the round. Basically if you are a CT, try hard to stay alive, and in those situations when you have to die, try taking out more than one. Never let your goal be to shoot just one enemy, think big. Let’s say you’re CT on inferno, you normally play left bombsite with your partner, and the T s overrun the right site with ease. All three of your other teammates die, what do you do? First you need to ask yourself some questions. Do we need this round? If the round is do or die, of course you have to go for it. If you do not need the round, the better option may be to save and try to buy the next round. It is never a good idea to try to take over a site where the odds are so stacked against you and you know you will probably lose both guns + kits. It is of more value to the team to have those saved colts next round than to have absolutely no money or guns to work with. If you’re calling strats on T, try to always think about where the enemy is the weakest. If your team killed the enemy AWPer the previous round and won, it may be a good idea to attack his position again because there is a chance he wasn’t able to buy another AWP. Same
goes if you killed two consecutive players that play a spot, the next round there is a chance they might not have full armor.
Chapter VIII – Some advice for teams Since most of the leagues and lans you will probably ever play in or attend will be in 5 versus 5 format, it is probably a good idea that you gel with a team. You’re not going to get anywhere in CS playing 1 on 1. There are some players out there, no matter how hard they try, will never be able to play well with a team. They are so focused on their individual frags and attention from the community that they forget what is really important. If you do well in a match and your team doesn’t end up winning, you contributed to a whole lot of nothing. On the other hand, if you played bad and your team wins, you apparently didn’t play bad enough to make your team lose. You win as a team, and you lose as a team. If you want to enjoy any level of success I suggest you learn to both give and receive constructive criticism and please keep your mind focused on winning, not your individual status. You must like the people you play with. Playing with people you don’t like is like eating glue then wondering why your stomach hurts. If you don’t like the people you play with there is a good chance you will not work well with the team. Here are some practice tips that will hopefully help your team. •
Be online a lot – To play a lot you need to be online a lot, active teams are winning teams.
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Have players attack the same spots as T and CT – Let me explain. If you and a partner play ramp room on Nuke as CT, when your team is T a good default would involve you two picking off at ramp room while the others work their normal positions. When you play an area on CT you become extremely familiar with all the setups, and it is logical to have the same two people that played an area on CT to attack that same area on T.
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Communicate – Not just in game, but out of game as well. Some of my best online friends are former teammates. I treat them as I would any friend in real life, this helps solidify a team atmosphere.
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Don’t be a hero – Team effort over individual domination is what will win matches. A player putting up 20 frags a half and winning no matches has nothing to show for himself.
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Don’t be intimidated or trash talk – Make sure you steer clear of these two things. Trash talking goes around, and it will certainly come around. I have seen many times players call other players bad on lan, and when it came time for them to perform, they choked just like all the other players they had ridiculed. Trust me, what goes around will come around. Also, don’t be intimidated by another team. They are only human. There are limits to their reaction time as well as yours, they will never be better than you can be.
Creating a default strat Defaults come in all shapes and sizes and are tailored custom fit for each team. The ideal default strat would be to have each player picking off where they feel most comfortable. Try scrimming a few times trying different default strats until you find one that your team can consistently win with. Out of a 15 round game, you should probably run the default about 7 times. Try a strat that involves your T team picking off the same areas they covered as CT. If all else fails, have everyone pick off their strong spots, and meet up in a bombsite at a preset time.
Chapter IV – Closing statements Lets do a quick review of some important things you have learned. •
Mental strength, dedication, and stomach are the three things that make-up the foundation to your CS career.
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Practice correctly
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Stay consistent in everything you do to achieve overall consistency
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Play often
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Don’t shoot while moving
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Focus on your own individual game play
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Try not to be the hero of every round
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Learn to take and give good constructive (not destructive) criticism
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Know each map before you start to scrim it
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Most of all, have fun. If you can follow everything I have outlined for you in this guide, you should be able to
see a skill increase fairly quickly. It is my hope that the actual good of this guide won’t come sooner, but rather later as your long-term game should improve dramatically. If you have any questions you can find me on IRC at #NAU or #complexity. Thanks to everyone out there that read this.
Index CT – Counter-Terrorist faction CS – Counter-Strike Config - configuration file, userconfig.cfg or config.cfg DD – Double Doors CAL – Cyber Athlete Professional League ( www.caleague.com ) CAL invite – Highest league you can play in which consist of 20 teams, invite only. .65% of CAL players are currently playing here. CAL premier – Next league under invite CAL main – Under premier CAL intermediate – Under main CAL open – Entering league for teams FPS – Acronym for ‘First Person Shooter’ Frags – “Kills” in game Ping – Relative to the connection speed to the server. The lower the ping the better. Lan is played at about 5 ping. Ratio – K/D Ratio Scrim – Refers to 5v5 structured play Strat – More commonly used name for a “strategy” T – Terrorist faction
