Beginner’s Guide to CS:GO Esports

The Best Esport

Counter-Strike Global Offensive is a competitive first-person shooter game released in 2012. This installment of Counter-Strike is a complete modernization of the Counter-Strike series developed by Valve. Counter-Strike, better known as CS, has always been a competitive esport. The release of Counter-Strike Global Offensive, shortened to CS:GO, was timed perfectly to the explosion of the esports industry. Today, CS:GO is the most popular first-person shooter and one of the most popular esports. This guide is a quick introduction for those who are interested in CS:GO. We will go over the basics of the game, what makes it so competitive, and important aspects of the competitive scene. After reading this guide, you’ll be able to talk with all the cool kids about the best esport.

The Basic Framework

CS:GO is a team game, with 2 teams of 5 players playing against each other.

One team is the “Attacking” team or terrorists. For this team, the objective is to plant the bomb on the “bomb site” and ensure it blows up before the in-game timer runs out. The other team is the “Defending” team or counter-terrorists. For this team, the objective is to defend the bomb site from the terrorists, ensuring that their malicious intentions are not realized.

The attacking team can win by eliminating everyone on the other team, or by planting the bomb and blowing it up at a bomb site. There is a timer of 1 minute 55 seconds, forcing the attacking team to take the initiative and attack the bomb sites. When this timer reaches 0, the defending team wins. The defending team’s winning condition is stopping the bomb from going off before the time runs out. They can do this by eliminating everyone on the other team and defusing the bomb, defusing the bomb without eliminating everyone, or by eliminating everyone before they plant the bomb.

This may seem like the defending team has an advantage, as all they have to do is hold onto the bomb site and wait until the time runs out. Right? Not quite. On every map, there are two bomb sites. The defending team has to defend both. Although the attacking team still has to take the initiative to attack a bombsite so that they can plant the bomb, the defending team cannot simply stay idle. If they do stay idle, they will find themselves outnumbered as the whole attacking team pours in to attack a bomb site defended by a smaller defence. This makes information gathering a big part of the game. For the attackers, they want to figure out which bombsite is the least defended, easiest to attack. For the defenders, they want to figure out where they should commit more defenders in order to defend the bomb site from an incoming attack.   

Once the winner is decided, the round ends and the winning team is awarded one point.  The first team to accumulate 16 round wins is the winner of the game.  The game continues for up to 30 rounds.  A scoreline of 15 – 15 would be considered a tie.  Many professional games do not allow ties.  If after the end of “regulation”, 30 rounds, the score is even, the game continues for an extra 6 rounds until one team wins by 2 rounds.

Health

Every player has 100 points of health. Armour can also be purchased, which adds 100 points of armour. Armour can be seen as a semi-extension of health. The player’s health will be damaged when they are shot. However, when a player has armour, this damage will be reduced, with some of the load being taken by their armour.

The Maps

In competitive CS:GO, there is a “map pool”. The map pool is a collection of maps that the game can be played on. Currently, the maps that are in the map pool are: Dust II, Inferno, Overpass, Nuke, Mirage, Vertigo, and Train. Every map has a defining feature. These features make teams favour certain maps over others, as some may suit their playstyle much better. Usually, in competitive games, there is a map-picking phase, where each team has the opportunity to ban maps they do not want to play on, and pick ones that they do. This is usually a quick process, but very important. Many teams have “permanent bans” which are maps that they refuse to play. For example, Team Liquid always bans Train.

Even though every map is unique, there are many similarities between maps. In fact, the framework for a map is the same across all maps. As mentioned earlier, each map has two bomb sites. The A-Site and the B-Site. Every map offers multiple angles of attack for the attacking team. But not too many as to make a bomb site indefensible by the defending team. The framework of all maps are so similar, that the same names are used for areas with similar function across maps. An examples would be how the hallways that attack the A-Site on Inferno and the hallway that attacks the B-Site on Mirage are both named “Apartments”.

(Mirage callouts)

(Inferno Callouts)

Another aspect of this similar structure, is the similarities between B-Sites and A-Sites across maps. The A-Site is more open, whereas the B-site is tighter with choke points. Across all maps, there will be choke points, and open areas. Not only does this make positioning of both the attackers and the defenders important, it also makes the choice of weaponry important.

The Weapons

At the start of every round, players have the opportunity to purchase their loadout. The “base” loadout, when the player purchases nothing, is horrible. It consists of a pistol. That’s it. No armour, no rifles, no big boys. Just a small little pistol. Because of this, how a player chooses their loadout is extremely important. Players can purchase different grenades, pistols, SMGs, rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, and armour. The choice of weapon is extremely important. Some weapons will shred through unarmoured opponents thanks to its high fire rate. However, when it comes to armoured opponents, these weapons may not fare nearly as well.

Sniper rifles are excellent when it comes to holding angles of attack from long range. At close range, they aren’t nearly as effective because of their slow rate of fire.

Weapons all have different prices. The better the weapon, the more expensive it is. The worse the weapon, the cheaper it is.

One important feature of weapons in CS:GO, is the recoil. This is how the bullets being shot sway from the original target based on the kickback of the rifle as bullets are being shot in quick succession. Recoil is a big deal in CS:GO, as after the first few shots, the path of the bullets are completely off target. But there’s a secret. The pattern of the recoil that guns have in CS:GO, is always the same. This is referred to the “recoil pattern”. Through practice, one will be able to memorize the exact pattern for particular guns, allowing one to fire the gun in quick succession without going off target. This allows the player to deal more damage and quicker.

This guide will focus on 9 weapons which are most commonly seen.

The first weapon we will focus on is the AWP. As previously mentioned, this is a sniper rifle. It has an extremely slow fire rate, more than a second between rounds. It is also a heavy weapon, making the player’s movement speed much slower when holding it. However, it has extreme lethality. It can kill any opponent, armoured or unarmoured in one shot to the body or head. This makes it very useful for holding choke points or any long-range angle. Because of the AWP’s penetrating power, it can shoot through many walls and deal significant damage, sometimes even kill. Because of the AWP’s properties, it is an extremely powerful weapon that has the potential to single-handedly hold an entire area of the map by itself. This is the most expensive weapon in the 9 that this guide highlights at $4750. This weapon is available to both the attacking and the defending team, but mostly utilized by the defending team because of its stationary nature.

The next two weapons we will focus on, are the M4A4, and the AK-47. The M4A4 is the standard rifle that is available on the defending side, this is not available to the attackers. The AK-47 on the other hand, is a rifle available to the attacking side, not available to the defenders. These weapons are very unique.

First, let’s take a look at the M4A4. This is a gun that costs $3100. On armoured opponents, this gun takes two shots to the head to kill. The first few shots that are fired from the M4A4, are very accurate, which makes it very good for holding medium-ranged angles. This weapon is usually used in short bursts at this distance. This is the standard weapon on the defending side.

On the attacking side, this gun is not available. In it’s place, they have the superior AK-47 available to them. The AK-47 is superior in every way to the M4A4. It costs $400 less, at $2700, and only takes one shot to the head to kill an armoured opponent. The only disadvantage to the AK-47, would be the crazy recoil. But, if you’re a professional, that means nothing, since you’ve got the pattern memorized anyways.

The next guns we will focus on, are the budget versions of the standard rifles on the defending and attacking side. These guns are weaker than the M4A4 and AK-47, but much cheaper. They are the Galil AR, and the FAMAS. These guns are basically worse versions of the standard rifles on their respective side. They do not offer lethality with shots to the head in the same way that the standard rifles do. They are horrible when attempting to duel a sniper. However, they are much cheaper. So, at medium and close range, they can still have the same impact as the other rifles. The rifles are also very useful for “force buy” rounds, which we will cover in the economy section of this guide. Just remember, the Galil AR is the budget AK-47, and the FAMAS is the budget M4A4.

Cheaper than the Galil AR and the FAMAS, are a line of SMGs. These guns boast a high fire rate that shreds through unarmoured targets, and provides potential stopping power at close-medium range. These weapons are usually used to hold tight and close angles. They are particularly effective in sneaky corners the opponents do not usually check. The most commonly used SMG on the defending side, is the MP9. The most commonly used SMG on the attacking side, is the MAC-10.

Even cheaper than the SMGs, are pistols. This guide will focus on the CZ75-Auto (CZ), and the Desert Eagle (Deagle). The CZ is a fully automatic pistol that is only available on the defending side. It is an SMG but with only 12 bullets and takes forever to reload. Mostly used in extremely close range, when that is all the player can afford. The idea behind the CZ, is that the player can quickly kill an opponent, and pick up their weapon. It’s a very sneaky weapon.

The Deagle is the most popular pistol. It offers one-shot head-shot lethality, but with extreme recoil and only 7 bullets in its magazine. This pistol is the most expensive because of its lethal potential. With really good positioning, and well coordinated, skillful play, the Desert Eagle can be a formidable weapon.

In addition to these weapons, there are a plethora of grenades, known as “utility”. The name describes how useful these grenades can be. There is the molotov, which spreads fire to an area of the map for a few seconds. Stepping in a Molotov is not recommended, as it damages the player and can lead to death. This is often used to stop the opponents in their tracks.

Another grenade is the “smoke grenade” or “smoke”. This is a grenade that spews out a cloud of smoke, blocking off small areas of the map for a short period. This is very useful against snipers, as it can conceal the movements of your team while trying to avoid the lethal shot from a sniper rifle.

The last piece of utility that this guide will focus on, is the “flashbang”. This is a grenade that explodes a blinding light, disorienting all who have it in their line of sight for a few seconds. This is a grenade used when going around corners, to ensure the player’s safety and perhaps catch a disoriented enemy to secure a kill.

These are the main weapons that you will need to know about. Remember, the load-out that is the default, is just a pistol. The default pistols are pretty bad. So, the purchasing of weapons at the beginning of every round is extremely important to the gameplay. If the player does not purchase weapons suitable for their role, it makes the job of their opponents much easier.

The Economy

It may not be the first thing that comes to mind for first-time viewers of CS:GO, but financial management is an important aspect of competitive play. This was hinted at in the previous section where weapon prices were discussed. At the beginning of every game, each player only has $800. No armour, no weapons, save for a pistol, not a very good one at that. To make more money, the teams have to play. With a round win, each winning player receives a certain amount of money. With a round lost, each losing player also receives money. This is notably less than the reward for winning. Here is a quick table that summarizes the different amounts of compensation that can be awarded based on the outcome of the round.

The Loss Count is an interesting mechanic that is very unique to CS:GO. The loss count counts successive losses. The count increases by one with a loss, and decreases by one with a win. The loss bonus gives a little extra push, so that every round matters, so that teams can’t be stuck in financial ruin, making for a boring game.

Remember the cost of weapons and armour that was discussed earlier in this guide? Those numbers are extremely important, as precise financial management will give one team an extra edge over the other. If the team does not manage their finances effectively, they may find themselves in the situation where they may not have adequate, suitable weaponry for rounds going into the future.

Because this is so important, teams may find themselves in interesting situations. These situations seem counter-intuitive at first, but because of the economic system, and the importance of appropriate weaponry, these situations are very strategic and make sense. These situations are called “save”, “eco” rounds, “force buy” rounds, and “anti-eco” rounds.

The Save

After losing a few rounds in a row, a team may find themselves in a situation where they do not have enough money to purchase full weaponry and armour. Because of this, they may decide to “save”. It’s just as the name suggests. A save round, is a round where the team buys nothing, saving their money for the next round. The team who is saving is expected to lose the round, as the pistols part of the default load-out do very poor damage against armoured opponents.

The Eco and Force Buy

An Eco and Force Buy rounds come from similar situations to a save round. The team may find themselves in a situation where they do not have enough finances to purchase all the adequate weapons. However, their finances aren’t so horrendous that they find themselves unable to purchase any weaponry at all. At this time, the team has a few choices. They can decide to purchase a few upgraded pistols (like the CZ75-Auto or Desert Eagle) saving a bit of money or use all of their finances to purchase the best weapons they can afford (Galil AR, FAMAS, MP9, or MAC-10).

First, we’ll focus on the Eco and the implications making this decision this will have on future rounds. This is when the team decides to buy upgraded pistols and perhaps some armour. The objective of doing this, is to do economic damage to the other team while leaving themselves in good economic condition. When a team is on an Eco round, they are not expected to win. Furthermore, the team would not position like they normally would. On the CT side, the team would most likely hide in weird, tight corners, rather than the normal angles defending the bomb-site. The player’s goal would be to pick off individual enemy players, hoping to pick up their gun. If they do manage to kill a few players, and pick up a few guns, they might have a chance to win the round. Even if they don’t win the round, but managed to scavenge a few weapons from their opponents, this would be considered a successful round. Regardless of what happens, they will have enough to fully buy in the upcoming round.

The other choice teams can make in this situation, is to Force Buy. This is when the team decides to use all of their funds to purchase the best weaponry they can afford. This results in a team with some pieces missing. They may not have enough funds for everyone to purchase rifles, armour, and a full belt of utility. Some may be on SMGs or not have important pieces of utility. Teams are much more likely to win a Force Buy. However, if they lose, the team’s economy will be decimated. They would be forced to save. Because of this risk associated, teams usually choose to force buy when they know their opponents have a weakness (in strategy or their weapon loadout). Perhaps, the team was able to kill 4 out of their 5 members in the previous round, so they know their finances are not the best. A force buy is a risk, but the payoff can be huge, as it gives the team a good chance to win.

The Anti-Eco

An Anti-Eco is a strategic investment in cheaper weaponry by a team. They choose to invest in SMGs, or other weaponry that would normally be unfavourable. However, because they suspect the enemy team to be poor and unable to fully invest into the upcoming round, cheaper weaponry may be a very sound investment. The payback from this investment comes from a mechanic known as the “Kill Reward”.

The Kill Reward

Every time the player kills another player, they are rewarded financially based on the weapon they utilized to make the kill. For the most part, the kill reward is higher for weapons that are cheaper and harder to kill with. Here is a quick table with the kill rewards for the weapons that this guide has highlighted.

The kill rewards make some of the economic decisions highlighted in this guide clearer and more understandable. In an Anti-Eco round, teams may decide to invest in SMGs instead of rifles, hoping to capitalize on the large kill reward.

Saving Weapons

Because of the fragility of the team’s economy. Sometimes, when teams find themselves in unfavourable positions, rather than continuing to play out the round, they will choose to hide from the enemies and save their weapons for the next round. For example, a team finding themselves with only 2 players left while the opponents still have all 5 alive might choose to save their weapons for the next round rather than playing the current round out and most likely losing all their weapons. Saving a few weapons might bring a team from a situation where they have to save, to a situation where they can fully invest, or force-buy.

Example of Game

Round:

1. CTs win, Ts manage to plant the bomb 1-0
2. Ts force buy, Ts win 1-1
3. CTs save, Ts win 1-2
4. CTs buy, Ts still have their force bought weapons, CTs win 2-2
5. Ts force buy, CTs win 3-2
6. Ts force buy, CTs win 4-2
7. Ts force buy, CTs win 5-2
8. Ts eco, CTs win 6-2
9. Ts buy, CTs win 7-2
10. Ts force buy, CTs win 8-2
11. Ts can buy because of the round losses they’ve built, despite having force bought the last round, Ts win 8-3
12. CTs buy despite losing because they have saved a considerable amount of money from consecutive wins, Ts win 8-4
13. CTs buy again, CTs win 9-4
14. Ts buy, CTs win 10-4
15. Ts force buy, it is the last round of the half.  There is no point in saving.  CTs win 11-4

This concludes the first half of the game.  After 15 rounds, the teams switch sides.  The defending team now attacks, and the attacking team now defends.

1. CTs win pistol round 11-5
2. Ts force buy, Ts win 12-5
3. CTs save, Ts win 13-5
4. CTs buy, Ts win 14-5
5. CTs eco, Ts win 15-5
6. CTs buy, CTs win 15-6
7. Ts buy, CTs win 15-7
8. Ts force buy, Ts win 16-7

The Team that started on the CT side was able to build a considerable lead in the first half, 11 rounds to 4.  They only needed 5 round wins on their T side to win the game.

Now you know the basics to CS:GO esports.  CS:GO is one of the most popular esports.  There are tournaments weekly!  Hopefully, this basic information will allow you to gain a foothold on the basic concepts of the game.  You will learn much much more about strategy, and gameplay as you watch.  Do not worry if you are still a bit confused.  Esports is much different from traditional sports, much more entertaining and complex.  Have fun watching CS:GO!  The most superior esport, never forget that.

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