Lethal CS Guide Vol 2

Lethal’s Guide to Playing Competitive Counter-Strike Volume 2
Click-able Table of Contents :

Preface 2
Chapter I – Beyond Volume 1 2
- My config and information... 2
- New ideas... 3
- Some things you can’t avoid... 5
Chapter II – CSRT and the CS puzzle 7
Chapter III - What would you do? 11
- Situation #1 (CT on Dust2)... 11
- Situation #2 (T on Nuke)... 12
- Situation #3 (CT on Inferno)... 13
- Situation #4 (Defending against a save round strategy)... 14
- Situation #5 (Entering a room or bomb site)... 15
- Situation #6 (How to maximize your visibility)... 16
Chapter IV - Strats for popular maps and why they work 17
- de_nuke... 19
- de_dust2... 22
- de_inferno... 25
- de_train... 28
- de_cpl_mill... 31
Chapter V - Playing at a higher level 34
- Clutching... 35
- LAN communication... 37
- Aggression and momentum... 38
- Changing gears... 42
- The DE, revisited... 43
- Multiple enemies at once... 43
- Pegging your sensitivity... 45
- Over thinking yourself... 48
- The importance of cross-fire 48
- Consistency, revisited... 50
Chapter VI - Q&A 51
- Q1 – Where do I aim?... 51
- Q2 – What does ex_interp do?... 51
- Q3 – Why do I go into a slump so often? How do I overcome it?... 52
- Q4 – Why is my voice on Ventrilo garbled while I’m in game?... 53
- Q5 – How do I find max Hz on my monitor given my resolution?... 53
- Q6 - How do I “read” the opposing team? 54
Index 55
With support from :

Preface
The general consensus is that sequels are in capable of surpassing their original counterparts.
I kept this in mind the entire time that I wrote this guide and I took all the knowledge of what people
liked and disliked about the original and used it to make sure that the sequel surpassed the original.
Chapter I – Beyond Volume 1
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything as the last guide was quite the chore. After giv-
ing myself a few months off, I’ve decided to return with all the knowledge of what people liked and
disliked about the original guide. It is my hopes that I can use this knowledge effectively to create an
even more comprehensive guide than the original. While the over-all feedback was defiantly positive
(over 90% positive), there were still a few un-answered questions that people still seemed to have.
To be honest, when I wrote the first one I told myself I would do a follow-up guide because I knew that
I could write another 45+ pages on the subject. There is so much to know and explain and there are
only so many words in the English dictionary.
Last time I told you that good mechanics and repetition will make you a good player. This is
100% true, but it is also not the only thing that will improve your game. Overtime you have to eventu-
ally reach the point where your reaction time is quicker than your opponents. When you’re dealing
with highly skilled players, most everyone has their mechanics down. What some of them may lack is
a quick reaction time and good instinct. So how do you improve your reaction time? This is just one
of the many topics discussed in the following pages. Also included is the #1 thing missed in the first
guide, raw strats. I have also included a Q&A section that has questions about the game from play-
ers that I take a moment to answer. I hope it proves to be of some value to you.
My config and information

It came to my attention that some people were still unclear about my settings, so I’ll list them
again.
Mouse : Microsoft IntelliMouse explorer 3.0
Mouse pad : DKT pad
OS : Windows XP home edition

Windows sensitivity : One notch lower than default, no mouse acceleration.
In game sensitivity : 2.9 (it varies by .1 or .2 every few months)
Zoom sensitivity : Default (1.2)
ex_interp : .01 (more on this later)
rate : 20000
cl_rate : 9999
cl_cmdrate : 101
cl_updaterate : 101
New ideas
Here’s a good lesson for you to apply in any area of your life, especially Counter-Strike. If
you’re having problems with any specific area of play (IE your movement, shooting, etc) there’s a
good way to over-come the average learning curve.
Whenever you face a new challenge it’s a good idea to first break it down into small pieces
that once individually mastered, will yield the results you have been looking for. For example if you’re
having trouble with your movement and shooting, you first need to strafe back and forth for a solid 10
minutes. This will help make this muscle memory. After you have the basic movement down, add
shooting into the mix. Make sure of course you’re only shooting at the end of your movements (or
strides as I sometimes refer to them). You can apply this to any area of your game, isolate and con-
quer.
With Volume 2 I hope to be able to go beyond what Volume 1 did (the raw mechanics, and
basics of the game) and delve into the more complicated areas of the game. A lot of things that will
be discussed are theory and concepts, which differs from Volume 1 in which I taught you actual physi-
cal things. Of course there will still be plenty of those; but it’s important to know that to improve your
game beyond the limits of just moving and shooting, you have to have a solid understanding of the
underlying concepts. Concepts such as reading the other team (knowing when and where they will
attack based on previous rounds), quickly reacting to different situations, knowing how to setup based
on your teams abilities, adjusting your game to the way your opponents play, and much much more.
These are just some of the underlying concepts of the game that are discussed in detail in the follow-
ing chapters.

I want to take a moment now to talk about one important concept in particular. It has to deal
with the fact that one person can play X amount of hours of Counter-Strike and reach a certain level
of play and understanding, while another person can play the same X amount of hours and make
almost no progress. This is a concept I like to call differential progression. Basically it means that
just because someone can play 100 hrs of Counter-Strike and reach the CAL-Invite level, that doesn’t
mean 100 hrs is the definite time frame in which people could expect to achieve CAL-Invite status.
So this leaves the question, what causes differential progression? Why does it seem like some
people are progressing through the Counter-Strike scene faster than ever, while others are stuck
playing lower levels for sometimes years? Like all complicated questions, the answer is pretty com-
plex. It has to do with how well someone can understand a concept, and put it into effect. A big part
of this is learning from your mistakes, and realizing that every time you make a mistake that means
you never have to make it again.
People who progress faster :
- Generally have a background of video gaming/computers.
- Are able to train themselves to make quick decisions based on previous experiences. Usu-
ally this naturally becomes easier the longer you play. People that play sports in real life will have an
easier time with this. A recent study found that people playing competitive video games emitted brain
waves similar to the brain waves of people that played competitive sports.
- Realize that it’s not all about quantity, but quality as well. My philosophy is that practice doesn’t
make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Staying consistent with perfect practice is one of the
best things you can do to progress quicker.
- Play to the point of obsession. Usually the newer players on the scene tend to become a tad ob-
sessed with playing competitively. However, this is not a bad thing if you are looking to improve faster
than average. It may have an adverse effect on one’s social life, but with proper time management a
proper balance can be found.
There are more factors that determine one’s progression and how fast it will be, but those men-
tioned above seem to be the most common.

Some things you can’t avoid

During your CS career things are going to happen to you in which you can’t control. If you play
long enough, all of these things have a good chance of happening to you. I have listed these things
along with the best course of action after they happen.
- You’re going to play bad under pressure. Everyone cracks under pressure sometimes. Be
warned, after you have played bad because of pressure you’re going to be very upset. Don’t let this
affect your future games (IE when you’re at a tournament). Try to put the bad behind you and think
about the next match. NEVER forget your mistakes, if you don’t learn from them you’ll keep making
them. It’s ok if your performance haunts you for a little while, it’ll motivate you to play better.
- You will be beat by a huge underdog. There are no words of advice that can help the feeling you
have after one of these games. People will start losing their faith in you and your team, but fear not, it
happens to every team from time to time. Just be prepared to bounce back.
- Your abilities will be in question and legitimacy issues will arise. This happens to almost all up
coming good players. Until you have a good game at a respected LAN tourney, be prepared for this
to continue. I recommend rather than being nervous about playing on LAN for the first time, you use it
as a driving force to play better. Use it to motivate you.
- You’re going to lose a big game. Like losing to an underdog, you’re going to feel terrible after this
game. Like I have said previously, you need to put it behind you the instant it’s done. Learn from the
mistakes you made and don’t let them happen again. Don’t let one bad game ruin your chances of
reaching your goals.
- You’re going to lose in a clutch situation. After the round is over, your heart won’t be finished
pounding until about 30 seconds into the next round. Make sure you don’t forget to buy and try to
get your head back into the game as quick as possible, although at times I know it can be hard. One
thing that separates the good players from the bad is the ability to move forward and at the same time
not forget the mistakes they made.
- You’ll go into a slump and want to quit. If you don’t believe me then you haven’t played long
enough… you’ll eventually see what I’m talking about. This time period separates the men from the
boys.

- Your age. Age does play a big role in how good someone is at Counter-Strike. It’s not coincidence
that the best players are between the ages of 18 and 23. I believe it has sometime to do with the
maturity of the brain, but I’m not exactly sure. Now this is not to say there aren’t good young players
(as I was only 15 when I started to play), there are just far less. If you’re young (below the age of 15)
and these concepts aren’t coming easily to you, don’t give up hope. Within a few months things will
gradually get easier.

Chapter II – CSRT and the CS puzzle
Counter-Strike is a game in which decisions must be made instantly. When I use the term
“instantly”, I use it literally. Within 3/10th’s of a second (the time it takes for a situation in game to
reach your brain, and then for your brain to shoot a message down to your extremities) a decision
on what to do must be reached and then executed. For the sake of this book, we’re going to call this
time your CS reaction time or CSRT. The lower the CSRT, the better the player can become. Yes, it
does take mechanics and good form to be able to be good at this game, but that is only one piece of
the puzzle. Here we’re going beyond the basics of aim and shooting and deal with some theoretical
aspects of how to get better. I will show you some tricks to improve your reaction time and overall in
game judgment.
If you think of progressing in the game as a puzzle, you know that in order to play at a top level
you must have all the pieces together and in the correct place.
- Correct mechanics (movement, shooting, etc)
- Good judgment (knowing what to do in certain situations)
- In-game reaction time (CSRT)
- Experience (closely related with good judgment)
In the last guide, we went over correct mechanics so I’m going to assume from this point for-
ward that you have a good understanding of the proper way to shoot and move. The next piece
to the puzzle is good judgment and good judgment is closely related with experience. As with most
things, the more experience you have the better your judgment will become. To help yield proper
judgment quicker, it is a good idea to run through hypothetical situations in your head. For instance,
what should you do if you’re playing a bomb site and the opposing team takes the opposite site over?
How will you flank? Should you save? The faster you can make these sorts of decisions in game,
the better you’re going to be. To get quicker, you have to play a lot and see a lot of different situa-
tions, sort of like playing a lot of hands of poker will make you a better poker player, the same rules
apply. A little bit later in this guide we’re going to run through a lot of hypothetical situations. It is my
hope that you will study them and be able to apply them in game. This will help you gain valuable
experience quickly and will ensure that instead of playing a situation badly and learning

the correct way to play it (which is how we learn, from our mistakes) you can instead make the correct
play the first time. It is extremely important however that if you do make a mistake, you learn from it
and don’t let it happen again.
Reaction time is a very important part of your quest to become a better player. Let’s look at
some ways in which you can improve your in-game reaction time.
- Scout practice. One of the best ways to improve your reflexes is with the AWP. From the previous
guide you know that one way to get good at the AWP is to practice with a Scout. 1v1’ing with Scouts
is a great way to improve your CSRT.
- Online reflex testers. Although this “reaction time” doesn’t translate directly into the CSRT, it is a
good guide to see how quick you actually are and a great tool to make yourself quicker. See if you
can reach about .12 seconds.
- Driving. Driving is a lot like playing CS. You have to be able to scan the entire road with your eyes,
picking out matters of importance. You also need to have the ability to react quickly and pay attention
for long periods of time. It is my theory that people that drive are just better CS players. So next time
you’re in a car, think about how you’ll use those skills to improve your CS game.
- The “wall” method. I heard about this a long time ago and it’s been used by some professional
players. It is a technique originally created by Mike “SmEeZ” Bell. It goes something like this. Stand
facing a wall and pick a point on it (medium to close range should suffice). Now turn 180 degrees so
you are facing the exact opposite direction. The object now is to turn as fast as you can and shoot
the point you had picked out previously. It’s a little silly at first, but you will see that eventually you will
become lightning quick at finding the spot you need to shoot, and extremely efficient at hitting your
target.
Of course the key is always consistency. Stay consistent in your practice, and I am
positive that your CSRT will improve.

Now that you know what helps your CSRT, you should also know what hurts it.
- Fatigue. Playing for long hours at a time

12
for someone that isn’t used to it can wreak
havoc on your game. Generally, you’ll start 10
to notice fatigue first in your mind, and then

8
in your body. When you see yourself slow-
ing down (try to be as self-aware as possible Fatigue
CSRT
6
while at the same time staying honest with

4
yourself) take a break! Watch for fatigue
to set in after about 3-4 hours of play. The 2
graph to the right illustrates this point. The X

0
axis is your time playing in hours, and the Y 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Hours of play
axis represents your CSRT. The good news is that like with most competitive activities, you can build
stamina. Over time it will take longer to take fatigue to set in, and fatigue will start to have a smaller
effect on your CSRT.
- Nerves. Being nervous can dramatically effect your CSRT, for better or for worse. As discussed in
the last guide with the Yerk-Doddson law, you do play at your top level while mildly nervous. Howev-
er, being too nervous will cloud your judgement and will lead to a rapidly falling CSRT as your confi-
dence goes with it.
- Lack of confidence. Normally lack of confidence is a problem that takes advantage of the previous
two items. It feeds on your nerves, and it feeds on your fatigue. It is a vicious loop in that once you
start playing bad, your confidence falls, which keeps you playing bad, which leads to less confidence
and so on and so forth. Although with lack of confidence there is nothing physical happening to you
that is lowering your CSRT as the previously listed items are, the effects can be just as real. Lack of
confidence sometimes is the worst thing of all because it is a mental problem, not a physical one.

- Distractions. Sometimes we don’t realize it, but our lives are abundant with distractions. They
come in all shapes and sizes, and it’s not always easy to know exactly when you’re being distracted.
However, it is something that can decrease your CSRT simply because your full mental capacity is
not geared toward what you’re trying to do. Eventually you’ll get to the point where you can play with
a minimal amount of distractions, but for now try to eliminate outside distractions while playing as best
you can.
The last piece of the puzzle, experience, is the sum of everything that I cannot teach you. Your
experience will shine through after all of the previous pieces have fallen into place. There isn’t any
magic command or piece of advice I can give you that will increase your experience, it simply comes
from playing as well as seeing a lot of Counter-Strike.
10
Chapter III – What would you do?
Let’s go over some hypothetical situations. You need to realize that there are an unlimited
amount of situations that can and will happen throughout the course of you playing this game com-
petitively. It is impossible to go over every single one in the course of this guide. This being said,
you need to apply these limited situations to broader scenarios. Use these situations as a guide and
apply them to your game when they appear.
Situation #1 - CT on de_dust2
You are CT on de_dust2, watching the B bomb site entrance when the opposing team at-
tacks long A. Your teammate that watches middle has already rotated to help your other 3
teammates defend the site. Should you stay and guard B or go help your teammates defend
Step 1) Ask your teammates how many terrorists there are, and if any of them see the bomb. If the
bomb is not at long A, do NOT leave your position. If they have a confirmation that the team is trying
to push the bomber into the bomb site, you need to rotate quickly. Also, be careful when a teammate
says “they’re all rushing here!”. Sometimes when bombarded with 4 of the opposing team, team-
mates will say they see all 5 when they actually do not.
Step 2) Hit tab and check your statistics. If your teammates are defending their site with ease, hold
your position until bomb is called. If your teammates are in immediate danger of losing the site and
they see the bomb, then obviously you need to rotate. Have your flanking route already planned in
your head and notify your teammates which way you will be coming. If you are playing in B and most
of your teammates are in the A site, I would recommending running to long A to try to flank the opposi-
tion. Be careful though as many teams will leave a man behind to watch for flankers. Quick flanks
win rounds.
11
Step 3) If the site is taken and you are forced down to a 3v2 or worse with the bomb down and you
and your remaining teammate have an AWP or is out of position, the smart idea is probably to save.
It is important to always know how much money your teammates have because it will be a factor if
you need to save a gun. However, if your team has been steam rolling the opposite team and the
entire team can buy the next round regardless in order to setup a good defense, you must go for it.
Situation #2 - T on de_nuke
You are a Terrorist on de_nuke and can’t seem to get a round. The CTs are being overly
aggressive and are often pushing ramp and outer to flank the main holding room. What
should your team do?
Step 1) There are two options you can take here depending on your team. One good way to fight
aggression is with aggression. If the team is constantly pushing ramp room, you must hold inside
for a few moments, and around the time the CTs normally push, you do a 5 man rush ramp. This will
put the aggressive players in a different position than what they are used to. Instead of attacking and
shooting people from behind, they will be bombarded with 5 guns on them at once and forced to de-
fend their position rather than attack yours. It takes a lot of coordination, and if you can’t seem to pull
this off there is another option. You can also fight aggression with a strong defense. The object of
the CTs is to guard their bomb site and when they push on a terrorist team they invert the natural flow
of the game. If they have become the attackers, you must become the defenders. Setup a strong
holding pattern in main room and wait. Stay as quiet as possible but also communicate. For a team
that constantly pushes, a team that sits back to wait them out will drive them absolutely crazy. If they
have been pushing and winning, just hold and I promise they will try to push again. You just need a
little practice before hand to assign spots to each major area that needs to be watched.
Step 2) If all else fails, you need to do strong rushes. If you find that rushing a certain area works,
rush that area until they finally put an extra man in that position to help hold the rush. Once this hap-
pens, rush a different area. Flash-bangs are crucial in a rush, so make sure you make good use of
them.
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Situation #3 - T on de_inferno
You are a Terrorist playing de_inferno. Your team is currently down four rounds and dur-
ing this round the bomb has been dropped in right halls. The CT’s are defending it in a
3v2 situation, not in your favor. What should you do?
Step 1) Whenever you’re in a situation like this on T side, it’s important to stick together. You and
your remaining teammate should be joined at the hip at this point. If you think about the strategy,
there’s a good chance that all of the remaining CT’s are guarding the bomb. It’s now up to you to out
smart them. (Please note that you wouldn’t save in this situation because your team is already down
four rounds. Saving your guns will give you no advantage as your team will not be able to buy with
you next round.)
Step 2) If the bomb is down halls and you have enough time left, you and your teammate need to
go the opposite way that they will be expecting you to come. My advice here (time permitting) would
be to run all the way through the enclosed A bomb site on the far left of the map, and run through CT
spawn. As soon as you reach CT spawn start to walk.
Step 3) Now comes decision time. If all three remaining CT’s are watching the bomb (which they
probably are) there’s a good chance there’s at least one flank they aren’t watching. For example, if
they are setup with one CT in halls, one CT in window room and one CT in pit you have a lot of op-
tions. You could both walk quietly into window room without being seen from either the pit CT or
the hall CT and shoot the one in window room in a 2v1 situation. You could also try the same thing
against the guy in pit. It’s very important to get at least one kill here to force a 2v2 situation.
Step 4) Once you’ve forced a 2v2 situation, it’s time to steam roll. When it becomes 2v2, normally
the CT’s group together to avoid being shot 2v1, so there’s a good chance the other two remaining
players are in halls guarding the bomb. This is the exact reason why you need to act quickly. You
need to try NOT to allow the CT’s time to regroup after you have given yourself a slight edge. Make
your way quickly into window room OR halls to try to pick off one of the last two remaining CT’s quick-
ly. (This is assuming one of them didn’t peak while you shot their 3rd player).
13
Step 5) You won’t always win these, but if you use strategy to your advantage you give yourself a
fighting chance. This is one of the hardest situations in the came for a T to have to win, but believe
me, it can be done. The key to winning this round is what you do after you force a 2v2. If you can get
in and get eliminate a 2nd CT quickly, my advice would be to grab the bomb and plant ASAP. Other-
wise, you’re in for a gun battle and you have roughly a 50/50 chance of winning.
Situation #4 - Defending against a save round strategy
This scenario is more general than the previous ones. You are a CT on de_dust2 defending
the A bomb site. One of your teammates gets killed by a DE and it’s assumed that the oppo-
site team is saving. What changes should you make in your play right away?
Step 1) Protect the damn gun! Do not let the opposite team advance far enough to pick up your
teammates colt. This could mean the difference between winning the round with all your guns in tact,
or losing crucial guns and money.
Step 2) Unless the Ts are doing a DE save, there’s a chance that some of them may have glocks.
When up against glocks it’s a good thing to stay long range which renders their guns virtually useless.
Try never to get up close and personal with more than one glocker, unless of course you feel like los-
ing your gun.
Step 3) Don’t over rotate! If they’re saving they’re probably either going to rush, or try a split to get
the bomb down. If they’re not rushing you can assume they will try some sort of strategy that enables
them to plant, giving them more money for the next round. As a CT it’s your job to make sure they
never get the bomb down. This being said, please don’t rotate at the first sign of someone being
killed.
It is important to note that you should always have a good idea before the round when the
opposite team will be saving. It’s safe to assume that if they’ve lost at least two gun rounds in a row,
they will probably need to save. If they don’t save, there’s a good chance they’ll be using armor with-
out a helmet, and the lower level guns (galil/famas).

14
Situation #5 - Entering a room or bomb site
There are different ways to enter a bomb site (which in essence is just a really big room).
While most of the common methods don’t lend a strategic advantage, there are some
things you can do to increase your chances of getting in safely.
Step 1) Visibility is the single most important thing to consider before entering a new room. You want
to first make sure that before entering you have made sure that those that can shoot you will not be to
your back. This concept is illustrated below.

The best thing about this spot is that the enemy
cannot see you at all! You can see them perfectly,
but they have no chance of ever seeing you. We’ll
look more into this in the next situation where I
give a better explanation of why angles are so
important.
Since when you walk into the room you’re going to be facing towards hut, you need to check behind
where you WILL be once you enter the room. This ensures you don’t have to be shooting two oppo-
site directions at once. Always clear a room like this by sneaking around, checking all of it’s parts BE-
FORE entering. A lot of times you can use angles like the one above to shoot unsuspecting enemies.
Step 2) Grenades will be the next thing to consider. If there is a high probability that an enemy is in
the room/bomb site, and you don’t have the need to conceal your position any longer, a flash-bang or
smoke could get the job done. There are situations when no grenades are needed, for example while
you are flanking a position quickly, or entering a room which no enemies could logically be.
Step 3) Attack a bomb site with coordination. Make sure everyone is following steps 1 and 2, and
go at the same time from various bomb site entry points. This is the most effective bomb site taking
maneuver.
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Situation #6 - How to maximize visibility
There are some methods to maximizing your visibility. Below I will list a few.
Play correct angles - This is one of the most important concepts of this chapter. I went over this
briefly in my last guide, but feel that it is so important that I should give a better explanation of it in
Volume 2. Playing correct angles is a way of giving yourself the best possible reaction-time (CSRT)
while standing/crouching near a large object (like a box, or a wall for example).
The first picture illustrates a point in time in which I’m trying to check to see if there is an enemy behind the box.
The scary thing about it is, the player that is behind the box can already see me. It’s not until I go a few inches
further that I can start to see the right half of his body. This is an important concept in that angles make a differ-
ence in “who sees who first”. The person hiding behind the box gave himself an advantage by not sitting in the
corner where the box meets the walls, but rather by strafing out a few feet and sitting on the wall. This is how
you play an angle correctly. For me to play the angle correctly, I would need to step back from the box a few feet.
Cut off part of the map - This is relatively easy, and can be done a few ways. My personal favorite
is by using smoke grenades. Properly placed ‘smokes’ can limit the part of the map that you need to
be worried about, thus improving your visibility. Smoke grenades can entirely cut off a vital CT choke
point, which allows you a great advantage. This is the reasoning behind why you smoke grenade
from CT spawn when you’re rushing up the ramp to the A bomb site on de_dust2.
Watch smaller areas - Don’t get caught up in watching two places or choke points at once. Always
watch one area at a time. It’s better to have a 50% chance of seeing your enemy than a 95% chance
of getting killed.
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Chapter IV – Strats for popular maps and why they work
Before we get into actual strats, there are a few things I need to explain first. There are two
types of clans. Passive clans and aggressive clans. On Terrorist, the passive clan likes to work dif-
ferent areas and pick enemies off and work the weak areas of the map. On the other hand, an ag-
gressive clan prefers rushing and pushing up to picking off. This is not to say teams can’t be both
passive and aggressive at certain times, teams are usually just more one than they are the other. I
have included in the following chapter strats for pistol round and default for both passive and aggres-
sive clans. Feel free to try them both out and find out which works best for your clan. Also, it is im-
portant to realize that just because your team is more passive than aggressive doesn’t mean that an
aggressive pistol round strat is doomed for failure before you try it. Try a bunch of these, see which
ones work for YOU and YOUR team.
For the sake of easy reading, when I refer to a certain number of players I will type the number
out rather than the word. For example instead of “Four CTs go left and one goes right” I will type “4
CTs go left and 1 goes right.” I will only type a number rather than the word when referring to a team
of CS players.
I have also included pictures to help illustrate some of the strategies in the following chap-
ter. Let me explain to you how they work. In the guide, I have included them in thumbnail format as
there is not enough room in the guide to include the entire full-sized picture. Instead I have made the
thumbnails links so that when you click on them, your default web browser will open and you will be
able to view them fully sized. For every map I have included the default CT setup (in which I clearly
illustrate where your ‘nades should be thrown at the beginning of the round, the common wall spam
spots, and names of all common areas), the CT Aggressive defensive strategy, and the CT passive
defensive strategy. The blue dots indicate where your players should be, and the lines illustrate the
path of fire (where that player should be watching).
But before we get to strategies we have to go over some things quickly. On the following page
I have included a table of how the normal game flow should work. It tells you what rounds to buy and
what rounds to save and it is extremely important that if you do not already understand the following
concepts, you memorize the following charts.
17
Pre-game flow chart
Strategy Type Round commonly used Description

Pistol round 1 The pistol strat is the first you’re going to
use. Make sure you have more than one
because if the game goes into over-time,
you’re going to need a different PR strat
than the one you previously used.
2nd round 2 This strategy details who should buy what
for the 2nd round (I suggest mp5/armor),
and how your team will be cautious should
the opposing team try a save rush. If your
team wins 1st round, do NOT have single
players buy AK’s on second round.
3rd round 3 N/A
Save N/A How your team will perform a save round.
Default 4-15 The default gun round strategy for your
team. Should detail who goes where, and
who buys what. Good idea to have a few
defaults you can run (Default 1, Default 2,
etc).
Actual game flow chart

Round Strategy If you lose the round... Thoughts
1 Pistol round Save next two rounds Be sure everyone knows the
pistol round strategy before
the round begins.
2 2nd round/Save Save one more round Do a full save this round as
well as next round if you lose
the pistol round.
3 3rd round/Save Buy regardless Try to sniff out enemy setups
while saving and use them to
your advantage.
4 Default Save one round
5-15 In-game captain calls N/A Keep the opponent guessing
with your strategies
Note : If you have to save during rounds 5-15 It’s important not to let those rounds go to total waste.
Even though you are saving you can still sniff out enemy stacks and setups and use that knowledge
to your advantage for when you can finally buy up.
Not too complicated. Once you feel you’ve got all this down (should take a few minutes if
you’re 100% unfamiliar with any of this) go ahead and move on to the first section of strats on the
next page.
18
de_nuke
Terrorist Strategies
Your Clan Type Pistol Round Strategy Default Strategy
Aggressive 4 buy DE’s with ammo, 1 buys Depending on the type of team you
armor. The glocker goes ramp to are you can chose to have a quick
distract while the 4 try to make it default or a slow one. Some teams
down the stairs outside. Once the are just naturally better at rushing
team is downstairs, stay behind the than they are holding back. If you
glass doors as much as you can. chose to rush, make sure you switch
it up between upper and ramp room
often. Have assigned spots based
on spawn as to where each member
should attack. IE first two spawns
go door, third go window, fourth go
hut door, and fifth watch flank. A 3-2
outer rush upper (3 outside, 2 in-
side) is also a good strat for rushing
teams.
Passive Have 2 buy DE’s and spam the roof A passive team likes to work certain
while 3 hold inside (all 3 watching areas rather as apposed to all out
hut door and ramp entrances into rushing. If you are a passive team
lobby). Once you’ve made noise on it’s important to use AWPs in order
the roof quietly start to walk ramp to clear ramp room and outside. A
leaving one teammate in the dark normal default would be one AWP
spot in hut. Rush ramp and flank picking ramp, two watching hut, one
around to ladder dropping the bomb AWP looking through squeaky door
to the person that waited hut in the to outside and one person holding
upper bomb site and plant. the outside ready to move once the
AWP picks his man.
Notes Aggressive strategy : It’s just as important to know how to execute this strat as it is
to know why it works. If you can ever use a map’s features to your advantage, you
should do it. You will hardly ever see a CT buy a DE first round which means you
can safely assume that the CTs will have USPs that can’t penetrate the glass doors
downstairs. If you can get behind the doors after the bomb has been planted in the
lower site, you can sit right behind the doors and pick the CTs off without having
any chance of them being able to hit you.
19
Counter-Terrorist Strategies
Aggressive As with any pistol round it’s impor- Sometimes it’s a good idea to play
tant to practice it with your team this round quickly, pushing all areas.
ahead of time over and over again. However, if you’re going to do this
For an aggressive team it is a smart you need to make sure that the op-
move to stack 4 ramp on the pistol posite team is a passive team, and
round and have one teammate spot you have them ‘out-gunned’. The
upper. If the Ts plant upper, have basic idea is to push through hut
2 flank hut and 2 go through lower window, outside, and ramp room all
vents to upper. at the same time. One of the main
advantages of this strategy is that
your team is able to quickly intercept
and call where the other team is
going, even if you lose a man. You
can make up the loss of the CT by
rotating quickly.
Passive The safest setup is to have 2 upper 3 upper, 1 watching garage, 1
watching hut and door, 2 ramp (with watching door from in the bomb site,
one ready to rotate to window to and 1 watching hut entrance/spot-
help outside) and 1 outside spotting ting outer. Put 1 ramp watching it
to make sure they don’t go lower or with hopefully an AWP and 1 spot-
go garage to upper. ting window/backing up ramp.
Notes Regardless of which strategy you decide is best for your team you need to under-
stand that a solid rotation is key to winning pistol rounds. The quicker you can
get players to a given site will be a huge factor in determining whether you win the
round or not. If you are stacking ramp, be sure your teammates are ready to flank
their respective positions on a moments notice.
Thoughts on de_nuke continued on the next page...
20
Thoughts on de_nuke
Nuke at first glance appears to be a heavily CT sided map, and although this is true, it also de-
pends greatly on the individual skill of the people holding the various bomb sites. In short, teams with
a solid CT defense make the map heavily CT sided. The great thing about Nuke is that if you think
about it, it seems so simple. In order for the Ts to plant, they have to either come from 3 places up-
per, one being a door, one being a hut with a door attached to it, and one being a garage. Later you’ll
read that these points all have potential for high-volume killing.
One of the best things you can do for your team as CT is to be completely honest with your-
selves. If you want to put a man in garage to AWP outside, who is your best AWPer? Who on your
team has the best rifle? He/She needs to be playing in the upper bomb site on the ground. Who on
your team has an exceptional amount of teamwork? They need to be ramp. Just be honest when
answering these questions, and your team will find the places they’re best fit to play.
As for T side, it sometimes can be incredibly hard, as well as incredibly easy. It really all de-
pends on how the CTs play their defense. The major advice I can give however is to make sure that
you are using grenades to their full advantage. Click the link below to view some ‘nade spot pics I
have included for teams having a hard time on T side.
Click here to view grenade spot screenshots
de_nuke map layout de_nuke CT aggressive de_nuke CT passive
Click the above thumbnails to view them full size with your web browser.
21
de_dust2
Aggressive Splits on this map win gun rounds. Rushes on this map should be
However, it’s important not to divide mainly dependant upon where the
and conquer on the pistol round due team spawns. If your team spawns
to the fact that strategically placed close to B and you can buy up that
CTs could eliminate a group of Ts round, it’s a good idea to try to rush
leaving your team in a bad situa- the site. If you spawn toward A, it’s
tion. For the pistol round you should probably a good idea to do a 3-2
run some type of 4-1 split. If your split A. Either 3 catwalk, 2 long A or
team spawns close to B it is a good 2 catwalk and 3 long A depending
idea to rush B with one T waiting in on what works better for your team.
middle for flankers
Passive To be passive and still win a pistol One of the best passive strats I’ve ever
round on T you’re going to need to seen works something like this. Previous
to the round you need to be sure to as-
fool the CTs as to which bomb site sign each person their spots so when the
your team wants to plant at. Try round starts each teammate doesn’t need
doing the “roundhouse” in which you to waste any time. The setup is as follows.
rush B halls then turn down tunnels 1 stays at spawn and watches the push
into mid, up through mid, then out from long A, 2 people go middle (throwing
smokes down to the double doors) and
to long A to plant the bomb. It takes boost one man on top of the green box in
some coordination to do, but after a T middle to watch for a catwalk push. The
few practice runs your team will able person that boosted then proceeds to walk
to execute this flawlessly. down to middle while following the wall on
the left hand side. While this is going on,
2 people are holding outside B to wait for
a pushup. After about 30-45 seconds if
no CT pushes their position, the players at
B then try to pick off the bomb site. Once
someone either picks off someone pushing
or someone is picked off at B, regroup with
your team and decide (based on the time
left in the round) whether it would be smart
to go to a particular site or hold your posi-
tions hoping to catch flankers.
Notes Before you play a match on this map you should know all the common CT setups. When entering a site
assign certain spots that each member will check (plan this out before hand). It is extremely difficult
for 2 CTs in the B site to hold off a 4 man rush. In fact it is more likely for the CTs to stay outside the
site and call for necessary backup rather than try to defend against 4 enemies. Planting the bomb in B
is not the hard part, holding the site is. Have a definite plan of action once the bomb is down including
having the middle guy come out mid double doors to shoot those CTs that have rotated from A in the
back as they try to enter the site.
It is also important not to get picked off at your position while exectuing a passive strategy.
22
Aggressive This map is deals with one of the A nice pushing strat for CT side is as
most important concepts of Coun- follows. Put 2 long A, and one spot-
ter-Strike. Due to the long rotation ting cat walk. If the Terrorists rush
times, it is smart not try to take on 3 B, the two should flank through long
or more enemies at once by your- A. One should be watching catwalk
self. Instead, having one CT spot from ramp and the other two should
middle and one CT spot B will save be watching B and middle from in-
your team from being at a huge dis- side the site.
advantage early on. If the Ts rush
B on the pistol round, don’t try to be
a hero. Fall out of the site and call
for backup. Make good use of flash
bangs and HEs, making sure none
of the Ts exit the site into CT middle
via the window or the door. A good
setup at A would be to have 2 up
close long A (prenade with HEs at
the beginning of the round) and one
spotting cat walk.
Passive The above strat works for both types When you are playing passive on
of clans. this map, it generally means you’re
just trying to spot an area and fall
back while calling for backup. It cer-
tainly is a smart thing to do on this
map considering the insane distance
between the two bomb sites which
translates into really slow rotation
times. I recommend keeping all
the players in the A bomb site, with
players spotting long A and catwalk.
The B players should be playing
in middle spotting the B bomb site.
This serves two purposes. If they
Terrorists rush long A, they can offer
backup from middle quickly. If the
Terrorists rush B instead, the play-
ers can throw grenades and call for
backup.
Notes Spotting is a huge part of keeping your teammates in the game. You need to be
able to call a rush accurately (don’t call a bomb rush if the bomber isn’t coming
your way) and quickly. Fall back out of position and let the Ts enter the site. Once
you have re-grouped, re-take the site with your high powered USPs vs the Ts lower
powered glocks.
23
Thoughts on de_dust2
One of the most popular maps in Counter-Strike, this map was designed from the retired origi-
nal de_dust. De_dust2 for a long time was used as the CPL finals map and for even longer teams
have struggled with it because of the long distance between bomb sites which translates into slow
rotation times. As you know from above, the quicker the rotation/flank, the better your chances are of
winning the round.
One of the main things to keep in mind on de_dust2 is to have a set rotation plan, and let your
team know about it. The idea is to flank the quickest route, while at the same time flanking a posi-
tion which allows a strategic advantage. For example, as I have said in the past, you’ll have the best
chance of taking a site back from Terrorists if you coordinate the attack with your team so that you are
entering the bomb site from as many entrance points as possible. This being said, for the A site you
want to try to attack from Long A, catwalk, and CT spawn (ramp) all at the same time once the Terror-
ists have planted the bomb. This will ensure that even if the Terrorists did a plant for long A pit, you’ll
be able to lay down cover long A while the teammates that came up CT spawn ramp and catwalk
defuse.
de_dust2 map layout de_dust2 CT passive de_dust2 CT Aggressive
24
de_inferno
Aggressive It doesn’t get much more aggres- 1 quick AWP tries to pick B, 1 AWP
sive than rushing B (hard left out of tries to pick middle and the rest work
middle). middle/right halls. Object is to pick
one quickly then fall back and rush
the opposite site.
Passive A more thought-out approach to win- This is a tough map to be passive
ning the pistol round calls for a little on at times depending on the type of
more patience than the previous team you’re playing. For example,
strat. To execute this you must all 5 if you’re an extremely passive team
walk perfectly quiet into middle until and decide to play the pick off game
either spotted (in which you will rush on this map, the CTs simply just
and engage) or if you are not spot- have to wait back in the site and
ted you proceed to walk up middle not peak. If you find yourself in this
into CT spawn and hold. After 45 position, you must become more
seconds you will then re-assess the aggressive.
situation and determine whether it’d
be a good idea to attack A or B. If you decide to pick off and are able
to, the best advice I can give you
on this map is to take it as slow as
possible. Use smokes and flashes
before you enter a choke point (IE
middle) to strategically disable the
defense. A good pickoff default
would be 1 left with an AWP, 3
middle and 1 right halls.
Notes Aggressive : Make sure you have at Aggressive : Since the bomb sites are
least one flash bang to throw the de- so far away, it’s pretty easy to get a CT
fenders at B off guard. to rotate out of their site by picking just
a single teammate of theirs. After a few
rounds you should have a good read on
the opposite team to know how quickly
they rotate.
Passive : It’s going to take a lot of prac-

tice.
25
Aggressive 4 rush banana hallway with HE It’s risky, but if you feel you have a
grenades and USPs while 1 stays really strong AWPer on your team
middle. If the 4 in banana are it’s probably a good idea to let him
unsuccessful in stopping a middle pick middle a few rounds. Picking
rush, they flank through middle to A one T early gives you a huge advan-
bomb site for backup. tage in the round. Otherwise switch
up your stacks and keep 2 in the
A variation on this would be an ag- right bomb site, and 3 on the left.
gressive save round strat where
4 members rush middle with HE
grenades and one stays banana
hallway.
Passive Normal setup as passive default. 2 go B (right site) and stack using
cross-fires. The other 3 are in the
left hand site. On the left (A bomb
site) 1 watches halls from in the site
while the other 2 stack/cross-fire
middle.
Notes The goal of the grenades is to damage Aggressive : I didn’t go into much detail
the body armor of the glockers (as most about where you should play on the left site
Ts buy armor rather than a different mainly for one reason. You need to switch
gun). Make sure you get a good HE off it up and keep the Ts guessing. It’ll only
at the first call of an enemy in middle. take a solid 15 minutes of practice for the 3
teammates on the left side to come up with
a few stacks that will allow them to cover
the site efficiently.
Passive : Getting picks at the start of the

round is crucial. If you can get a guy setup
in B quickly with an AWP you can hopefully
get a good pick if the Ts come B. After you
pick 1, always fall back. I don’t recommend
picking the middle with an AWP as much as
I do picking at B.
Thoughts on de_inferno continued on the next page...
26
Thoughts on de_inferno
Inferno is a fun, but also unique map. What makes it so unique is that it isn’t like other maps in
which one side (T or CT) is heavily favored to win. For example, on the maps de_train and de_nuke,
the CTs usually have the greatest advantage and it is usually assumed that most of a team’s rounds
will be scored while playing as CT on those given maps. It is the opposite for maps like de_dust2 and
de_cpl_mill where the T side is actually easier.
Through my experience I have seen inferno matches go both ways, and it is not uncommon
for teams to have both monster T sides and monster CT sides. I offer a few possible explanations
for this. For one, CT’s have an advantage in the fact that even though the bomb sites are not close
together, rotation can be done quickly and effectively without ever having to expose yourself. On a
map like de_dust2, to rotate from A bomb site to B bomb site you have to travel through the middle
where a T could be waiting to pick you off. This is not the case on Inferno. Rotation can be done
quickly and easily through CT spawn where you have virtually no chance of being picked off by a
camping Terrorist. I encourage you to make full use of the map’s rotational advantage. For Terrorists,
the advantage comes once they have taken a bomb site. Inferno offers some of the best tactical ad-
vantages to teams that are able to consistently get the bomb planted. By using good setups, and the
advantages that the map has to offer, once the bomb is planted the CTs have little chance of re-taking
the site against a well mounted T defense.
If you are a T, if you plant the bomb in the A bomb site be sure to keep guys in pit, halls, and
window room. If you plant in the B bomb site, be sure to keep players in banana, back halls, and
cross-fired in the site. These make a CT offensive nearly impossible once the bomb has been plant-
ed and your team has setup in the bomb site to defend.
de_inferno map layout de_inferno CT Aggressive de_inferno CT passive

27
de_train
Aggressive The best aggressive pistol round strats There are only two places you can rush,
are of course rushes. Since we’ve estab- inner or outer. However, there is more than
lished the fact that you can only rush two one way to rush each of these places. A
places, inner or outer it makes the decision good way to rush outer is to do it by spawn.
a little easier. If you’re going to rush outer The general rule is to send the first spawns
I recommend rushing through the back to the spots that are the farthest away.
alley where you can take enemies at close Using this logic, first two spawns go back
ranges (glocks work better against USPs alley, third spawn goes middle (he goes out
at close ranges). If you try to rush outer of turn because he needs to flash early)
there’s a good chance you’ll be no match and fourth and fifth go ladder. The reason
for the long range capabilities of the CTs the 4th and 5th players go ladder is so that
USPs. If you decide on the other hand to after the middle CTs are distracted at alley
rush inner, it’d be a smart thing to rush both and middle, the 4th and 5th players can
upper and lower inner at the same time. catch them in the back a lot of times.
If you rush alley and make it through the If you decide to rush inner, try to smoke
alley killing at least one CT and can plant upper ramp to ensure an AWPer doesn’t
easily, it may be a good idea to run through pick you off from that position. If there is an
CT spawn to inside and plant rather than AWPer upper ramp, those that rushed lower
take the easy plant outside. ramp need to HE grenade upper CT ramp.
Passive To be passive on pistol round on this map If your team just can’t seem to get any
would mean to slowly pick off. Try send- rounds it’s a good idea to save for AWPs
ing 3 inner with bomb, one down ladder and have at least two members of your
to pick yard and one alley to distract/pick team using them. With AWPs, 2 backalley
alley. Careful, don’t get spotted inside with (1 AWP), 2 middle (1 AWP) and 1 ladder
the bomb. After 30 seconds of no action, pick-offs normally work well.
the ladder and alley rush outer at the same
time to give the appearance of a rush. After
the CTs have rotated or the players outer
have eliminated some of the opposing
team, rush inside and plant.
Notes .: When planting in lower be sure to face .: Nade upper CT ramp inside to kill
away from the train. AWPer without confrontation.
.: When working alley slowly setup a
.: Rushing works better when you have cross-fire so that the people along the
to engage an enemy with a glock vs. right side of the wall are watching the
a USP at close ranges rather than far left side and vice versa
ranges. .: When rushing back alley and planting
outside, it’s a smart idea not to go left to
peak CT spawn ramp unless you have
an AWP. If you don’t have an AWP, try
smoking the left side and rushing into
the middle of the train yard via the right
side.
28
Aggressive 4 inside, 1 spotting outer. The 1 out- Having 1 person upper inside
side spots train yard while the other pushed up watching it with an AWP
4 push up through halls inside and saves a lot of man power. The other
flank to middle/ladder. player that usually plays inside can
then rotate to outer. Another plus
is that when an AWP is in that posi-
tion, often he can call a rush quick
enough to give you plenty of time to
rotate to the site. 1 upper, 4 outer
(2 watching back alley, 1 ladder, 1
middle)
Passive 2 CT ramp watching back alley, 1 A common default would be 2 inside

lower inside ramp watching lower (one watching upper, one watching
inside, 2 middle watching train yard. lower); 1 ladder, 1 middle, 1 back
alley.
Notes Aggressive : Important to know that if

you make it around to ladder, you should
send 2 down ladder and 2 to flank
middle.
Passive : If the Ts rush inner, it’s an
easy rotate for both sets of teammates
(the ones in spawn and ones in middle).
Good early calls are the key to success
with this strat.
Thoughts on de_train continued on the next page...
29
Thoughts on de_train
Good teams always enjoy a match on de_train. One of the main reasons is that personal skill
and teamwork is highly showcased on this map. A major key to winning on CT side is getting your
grenades off at the start of the round. Everyone should know where to throw their ‘nades PRIOR
to the scrim/match beginning. Every single round (with the exception of rounds that you can’t buy)
‘nades should be thrown into the main train yard. This is one of the single most important things on
CT side. These grenades have the ability to stop an outer rush, or greatly delay it/hinder it enough to
give your teammates in the inner bomb site time to rotate. It is NOT a good thing once the T’s take
the outside train yard, and from there the round could go anyway.
A hard part of CT is a strong ladder/middle defense and I recommend a lot of practice with your
teammates to figure out the best setup for you. The setup that I personally like the best is the Aggres-
sive strategy on outer in which one team member rushes into ladder room and sits below ladder. It
doesn’t always work, so make sure you get your timing down if you’re going to try it.
As for the T’s on this map, the key to winning rounds is picking off. It’s not uncommon to see
at least 2 AWPs at a time on T side due to the fact that so much of the round relies on picking CTs off.
Always be ready to rush if the team is together after a pick, as the CTs are already disoriented and
short-handed at the spot you just picked.
de_train map layout de_train CT Aggressive de_train CT passive

30
de_cpl_mill
Aggressive Bomber and 1 other person take the 1 sewer with flashes, 2 left, 2
bomb sewers to far bomb site. 1 middle. When the person with the
person buys full nades and distracts flashes gets to bomb site A grate
left. The other 2 wait until bomber is he throws his flash and the team
in position behind door and storm up rushes A.
the right side into the site as the per-
son on the left distracts and flanks.
Passive The only type of passive strat you A good setup to pick off on this map
would want to do on this map is a involves AWPs. The goal is to try to
delay rush. Try a few scrims out to pick off a peaking CT from the far-
see which is a better rush for your thest distance possible. You can try
team, left side or right side. this by putting an AWPer on the left
and right side both trying to pick off
CTs at their respective bomb sites.
The other riflers on your team need
to remain alert for any push-ups at
the beginning of the round. If an
AWPer on your team dies, grab the
AWP and don’t peak again.
Notes .: Always watch for a random CT middle push, every round.
31
Aggressive A nice little aggressive pistol round The normal setup is 2 watching
strat is to send four guys left rush- right ramp, 1 middle, and 2 left. It is
ing through, while one stays back to advisable to make sure you stack or
guard A. Risky, but might be worth cross-fire your positions.
a shot if you think the team your up
against may be more skilled.
Passive Back in GB we developed this strat Most passive strats work the best
as a solution to the problem we when AWPers are setup in positions
were having. The problem was that to hold large choke points on their
we kept getting over-run on the right own. CT on this map is no excep-
site (site A) so we used the follow- tion. When your team can afford
ing setup to remedy this. 2 went left them, it’s advisable to buy 3 AWPs.
to cover the B site, 1 stayed middle 1 watching left, 1 middle, and 1
near grates spotting far right ramp, right. The 2 remaining players
and the remaining 2 did a stack in should have colts and be split be-
spawn (on each others head) to tween the two sites, ready to rotate.
watch middle. Be sure that every-
one buys up an HE grenade.
Notes Passive : Spotting middle from a boost- Aggressive : Pushing at random times
ed position with a USP is a huge advan- with this strat is what makes it effective
tage facing a T at the same range with with highly aggressive teams. Pushing
a glock. This is one of the advantages middle and then setting up a cross-fire
of this strategy. If the Ts take the A site, with at least 2 CTs is a good idea when
regroup with your team and make sure pushing up.
you throw at least 3 HE grenades into
the site.
Thoughts on de_cpl_mill continued on the next page...
32
Thoughts on de_cpl_mill
I honestly like this map a lot. My favorite thing to do in Counter-Strike is pick off enemies in the
middle from left ramp as a Terrorist. One of the unique things about this map is that it has a sewer
system that leads to both bomb sites. If used correctly, the sewers can become a powerful advantage
to the T side. To correctly defend the sewers as CT, it doesn’t even require putting a player down
there, it only requires that your team watches one of the only two points they can enter the bomb site
from. To enter a bomb site via sewers, players must either A) come up the ladder and break the vent
covering the manhole, or B) enter the enclosed site via the door.
These are very small choke points, and only one player can get through them at a time. While
it isn’t smart to dedicate a player’s full attention to watching either of these choke points, you cannot
forget about them. Normally, when T’s use the sewers, they are doing some sort of coordinated at-
tack and not doing a full-out rush.
If you’re going to use the sewers as Terrorists, try not to fit your entire team down into there
and only send one or two players to distract. If you’re distracting at the A bomb site you’ll be flashing
up the ladder into the site, and if you’re distracting at the B bomb site (the enclosed one located to
the CT’s far left) you’ll be simply opening the door and clearing the site. Note that when opening the
door at B it’s a good idea to have one player lined up ready to shoot, while the other player throws his
glock at the door to open it.
de_cpl_mill map layout de_cpl_mill CT Aggressive de_cpl_mill CT passive

33
Chapter V – Playing at a higher level
By now if you haven’t realized that doing anything “professionally” takes a lot of hard work and
dedication, I’m not sure you will ever become the player you want to be. I’m going to tell you a few
things that I am 100% positive will happen during the course of your CS career. First, you’re going to
get frustrated and want to quit. There was a time where I thought I was just wasting my time because
I could never stay consistent. One day I was playing on the level that I wanted to, and the next day it
seemed that I couldn’t shoot anything (playing in CAL-main, about to go to CAL-invite at the time with
e7, I had serious thoughts about quitting the game). This will happen to you which will cause you to
get frustrated and you’ll want to give up. It’s at this point in your ‘career’ that you’ve got to make the
decision to either stop playing competitively all together and give up all the progress you’ve made, or
to continue to pay your dues and keep playing. I chose to keep playing and I’m glad to say it worked
out. All players go through this phase, it is the great equalizer. This time period is what separates the
good from the great players.
You need to be able to motivate yourself. No one else is going to motivate you to do what
needs to be done. If you feel you need 3 hours of practice per day, do it. If you feel like you can play
12 hours a day and not feel the effects of staring at a monitor, go for it. As a general note, if you are
playing for longer than 5 hours, please make sure you have a high refresh rate on your monitor (at
least 100Hz if possible. Anything under 100Hz could cause headaches when playing for extended
periods of time). When Israeli news site E-Srael asked Jason Lake how to create a successful orga-
nization, he replied, “Outwork your competition in every facet of your organization”. This must hold
true for you.
Eventually in your career you’re going to be told you’re not good enough. For example, back
in one of my first good clans (Scope Resolution ::SR::) a player named “Warden” wanted to try out
for the team. In order to make it he had to 1v1 sunman on de_aztec while the rest of the team spec-
tated. After the 1v1 was over, sunman and Drax informed Warden that he just wasn’t what they were
looking for and denied his request to join the team. Warden at that point could have gotten angry and
quit, but he didn’t. It wasn’t until a few years later that me and Warden met again in GB. After a while
we moved on to coL, and Warden is now one of the top players, if not the best player in the US. We
all have times of trial and judgment, and it is how we deal with those judgments that determine how
34
far we will really eventually go.
Clutching
Since I wrote the last guide, one of the top questions on people’s minds still is how does
someone consistently clutch a situation? For those of you not familiar with the term, clutching means
to come up big in a pivotal situation. I went over this subject a little bit in my last guide with the 50
percent rule, but now I want to cover this subject in just a little bit more detail. To clutch you need to
be able to keep calm. Even if your heart is beating out of your chest (which in some circumstances it
will feel like it’s beating out of your chest) you still need to be in control of your extremities. It is a hard
thing to do at first when the heart rate increases, but over time and through experience your hands
will become steadier. If you ever find yourself in the position that you can’t seem to keep your arms
still, envision in your mind storing all that nervous energy in your legs. When I play I usually subcon-
sciously move my legs up and down, I don’t ever realize I’m doing it, but it sure helps my upper body
stay steady. In the last guide I gave you some tips for controlling yourself if you’re overly-nervous so
if you’re still having problems I suggest you re-read that section in Volume 1.
You need to keep a clear head and have a plan of action. If you are in a situation with the
bomb planted and there are two remaining CTs trying to defuse for the win, you need to have planned
out in your head already what your next move is going to be. When you are in a situation like that it’s
a good idea to either hide completely and wait until the defuse, or if the situation is worse (3 to 1 or
greater) it’s a good idea to put yourself in a spot where you know a CT will be coming from and try to
get a quick kill to even the score. It may give away your position, but your position will be blown soon
anyway. While hidden, listen to footsteps to get a good idea as to where the CTs are coming from. It
is very important that you realize that in a 2v1 situation with the bomb down, the CTs are always go-
ing to storm the site, making noise. When you hear the defuse you want to wait just a second before
peaking. Before you peak remember that you’re not going to shoot at the diffuser, but rather his
teammate (unless time permits of course). The reason for this is if you shoot the diffusers teammate
and kill him (he will be the one guarding the diffuser) the diffuser will get nervous and may come off
the diffuse. This could buy you some valuable extra time. If he does not come off the bomb, all you
need to do from this point is continue to stay calm and shoot the diffuser. Shooting a man while he’s
diffusing is simple target practice; just make sure you eliminate him quick enough. If he comes
35
off the bomb to try to shoot you, hide again until you hear another diffuse. After you hear it, count
in your head between 2-3 seconds then peak him. This will ensure if he comes off the bomb again
he’s killed his chances at a diffuse and even if you are killed, you will still win the round. If he doesn’t
come off the bomb, make sure to kill him quickly.
Defusal times
12
10
Defusal time in seconds
10 seconds
4
5 seconds
2
0
1 2
Without defusal kit With a defusal kit
See why kits are so important? In a game where every second counts, one of the easiest and
quickest (not to mention inexpensive) ways to be quicker is to have a defusal kit. You’d be surprised
how many times a kit can help you clutch a round, and how many times a round is impossible to win
without one. I can’t stress enough the importance of them, and you should note that on every save
round you should have one person buy a kit just incase someone is able to defuse the bomb.
36
LAN Communication
There’s much more to playing on LAN than just playing solid CS. It’s about the intensity, and
for a CS player playing on LAN with your team for the first time is one of the biggest thrills you can
experience in the game. People that don’t play CS usually don’t understand why we would travel
around the US just to meet with 4 other “strangers” and play a video game. Of course, there is a lot
more to it than that.
When you’re on LAN you should usually play better than you do on-line. However, this isn’t al-
ways the case. I have found through my experiences LAN’ing with different teams (coL, iwa, GB, BiO
and e7) that it is the intensity of the team that makes all the difference. Intensity separates the good
LAN teams from the great ones.
The biggest piece of advice I can give to you is to not use your in game microphone (if pos-
sible) and scream all the calls. This is one way to get yourself as well as your team fired up. After
your team comes up big in a clutch situation, it’s good to yell and act crazy as it serves two purposes.
One, the more fired up you are, the better you’re going to play. Two, it is devastating to the opposite
team to have just lost a huge and to hear the opposing team celebrating. It just rattles them even
more. If you can get in your teammates heads, you have a huge advantage. Rival (now team Ga-
merCo) would do this at the pre-CPL boot camps in Dallas. Needless to say they took home 1st at the
boot camp and 3rd (I think) that year at CPL.
You need to get used to looking at your teammates screens while at the same time paying
attention to your own. Looking at a teammates screen is one of the best things you can do, as there
is a huge amount of information about the round that can be obtained by just a glance rather than
someone screaming out positions. For LAN play, it’s my advice that you should have the people play-
ing opposite sites sitting next to each other. This way, you can see what’s happening on the other
side of the map as well as your own.
Tip : When you drop a gun for a teammate at the beginning of the round, don’t buy your gun until
AFTER your teammate has picked up the gun you dropped. This will save you some money in
the long run.
37
Aggression and momentum

Properly timed aggression can set a good player apart from the rest of the crowd. There are
certainly times to be aggressive and times that you shouldn’t be. Here are a few of each of these
times.
When you should be aggressive :
When your opponent is reloading. If they are reloading and not behind cover, use that to your ad-
vantage.
When you have your opponent pinned down. If you are able to pin your opponent behind a box
sometimes it is to your advantage to push on him. However when you are pushing on him make sure
you stay at a good angle.
When you’re struggling as CT. Sometimes brute force is the only thing that wins rounds.
When your team has a huge player advantage. 3:1 or better. But be careful… being overly ag-
gressive could do more damage than good. Remember that being aggressive still means that your
team has to coordinate it’s attacks and think strategically. More often than not teams forget that last
point.
When you shouldn’t be aggressive :
After you have planted the bomb. If the bomb is down, it’s better just to make the safe play and get
some cover unless you have at least a 3:1 advantage.
If you’re a CT and no bomb has been called. Try to fight the urge to rotate at the first hint of a gun
battle. If I am holding a bomb site alone, I will hold my position until either bomb has been called or
people on my team start dying.
Aggression also plays a big part in the idea of momentum. Momentum is what happens when
one team is simply steam rolling another, or when one team loses 9 rounds in a row and rallies back
to win out. There are many things that effect momentum, and like how classical physics describes
momentum with the equation p = mv, I will describe momentum with an equation.
Momentum equation :
Momentum = (Money + AgGression) * Streak
38
Let’s start by breaking the equation down. Classical physic’s equation p = mv almost holds
true in CS. P being momentum, M being mass, and V being velocity. Momentum in CS is defined
by how much money a team has (the ability to buy up) plus your aggression factor (how Aggressive
your team is playing) and that entire quantity is then multiplied by your streak (rounds you’ve won in
succession). Since the ability to buy up is something you can only achieve through winning rounds,
the only variables you can change are your aggression and your streak. Let’s start by talking about
your streak. Momentum can change at a moment when you stop doing what works, or when what
has been working fails. For example, if you do a rush B 3 times in a row and take the site and win
the round all three times, you have created a streak. When you change the strategy, you effect the
streak, thus giving the possibility of a momentum switch. Streak’s can be more complicated, such as
doing a 3-2 split, then a 2-3 split while hitting the same bomb site on alternating rounds. Your streak
can also be changed and momentum flipped when what your doing fails to work again. For example,
if you rushed the B bomb site three times in a row and taken the rounds, if on the fourth round the
CT’s mount a defense and win, your streak is over and the momentum has a chance to switch the CT
side.
Since whoever wins the round generally gets the most money, the momentum has a
greater chance to be on the side of the team that won the previous round. However, momentum is
always on the side of the team that won the previous three rounds, as this gives them enough money
to buy up even if they lose the next two.
Here’s how to use the formula.
P = (M + A) S
Momentum = (Money factor + Aggression factor) * Streak
Money Factor = This will either be 0, 1 or 2. 0 means you have no money, 1 means your team can
buy up fully ONLY for the current round, 2 means your team can buy fully for the next two or more
rounds.
Aggression Factor = This will either be a 0, 1 or 2. A 0 indicates your team is not aggressive at all. A
1 indicates you are rushing some of the time OR you are playing as CT’s, and a 2 indicates you are
running mostly rushing type strategies.
39
Streak = The number of consecutive rounds your team has won in a row.
Important things to remember –
• If you’re playing on CT side, your aggression factor will be 1.
• If you have not won any previous rounds, yet are very aggressive and can buy up fully, you still
have 0 net momentum on your side.
Now let’s look at some examples...
Team A is on CT side of de_dust2. Team A has won the previous 3 rounds, and has enough money to buy for the
next two rounds. What is their momentum?
P = (2 + 1)(3)
P=9
Their momentum is 9.
Team B is on T side of de_dust2. Team B has won 1 previous round, but is playing extremely aggressive due to
the CT’s playing outside of the bomb sites. They have enough money to buy fully for one round only.
P = (1 + 2)(1)
P=3
Team B from the previous problem win their next 3 rounds, giving them a 4 round streak. What is their new mo-
mentum?
P = (2 + 2)(4)
P = 16
Their momentum is now 16. Please note that their money factor changed to 2 due to the fact
that they are able to buy up for the next two or more rounds.
Team C is on T side of de_inferno. They have won 10 rounds straight. What is their momentum?
P = (2 + 2)(10)
P = 40
40
Team D is playing Team C on de_inferno, what is their momentum?
P = (1 + 1)*0
P=0
Their momentum is zero.
The lowest possible momentum is a 0, and highest is a 60 (although this would mean your
strategies are mostly rushing, you have enough money to buy for multiple rounds, and you have won
the previous 14 rounds straight). Any momentum calculated to be higher than a 10 is favorable.,
although this is only 1/6th of the total momentum possible. Hopefully you can see from those exam-
ples what momentum really means and how it is calculated.
So how does momentum actually affect your game? To be honest, there’s no scientific study
you can do like you can in classical physics. Everything beyond this point is my own speculation,
and can never be proved right or wrong. It’s up to you to make up your mind if you want to trust my
judgement and experience.
Momentum can win and lose matches. Although it’s not the MOST important thing, it certainly
plays a big roll in who wins and loses. One thing that momentum gives a team is hope. When mo-
mentum builds for a team that’s an underdog, or needs many consecutive rounds to win, it fires the
players up and makes them actually think “we actually can win this”. This in turn leads to better play-
ing, which leads to more rounds, which leads to higher momentum, which leads to a closer match.
Even tough momentum many not actually win a round for a team, it effects a teams mentality enough
so that they can play to their full potential. Either way, momentum and winning rounds are closely
related.
41
Changing gears
The term ‘changing gears’ refers to the changes a player must make in their play style depend-
ing on different factors such as your opponents skill level, and various in game situations. As you’ve
seen above, there are times to play aggressive and there are times to play passive, although totally
changing gears effects much more than just being aggressive or passive.
When you change gears you need to take all things into account including aim and strategy. If
you’re playing a good team you need to play less aggressive, have smarter setups when defending
a choke point, make good solid calls, and use good in game reasoning. On the other hand, if you’re
playing a lesser team you need to change gears the opposite way. For instance if the team you’re
playing is worse than you, what good would it be to assume they’re thinking on your levels? Chances
are they’re going to make stupid mistakes that may sometimes catch you off guard, as you wouldn’t
normally see the same play with a team of more experience. You need to think below you, what
would someone with THEIR level of experience do in certain situations? Changing gears involves
taking all of these things into account and adjusting your play accordingly.
I want to share something that happened to me recently during a scrim. The map was de_cpl_
fire and we were playing a very experienced, well known west team. I was watching far left hall of
the A Bomb site on CT round when I decided to get aggressive one round. I pushed up only to see
them flash the choke point I was rushing to, knowing I was probably out numbered I quietly crept back
and waited. After waiting about a minute they smoked the site, and the bomber along with one other
teammate entered to try and get the bomb down. Keeping this in mind, the next few rounds I rushed
to outside the hall to listen for an early flash-bang. On the 5th round they tried the strat again, but be-
cause I positioned myself correctly and was able to hear the early flash-bang, I was able to tell one of
my teammates to quietly rotate because the bomb would probably eventually plant at my site. It was
a lot easier holding the halls 2v2 than 2v1, especially when you’re blind and smoked.
Moral of the story? Good players are going to think like good players. They’re going to be me-
thodical, performing each strat to perfection. Luckily in my case, I was able to find their “tell” and was
able to adjust accordingly. Look for patterns when you are playing good players… you can out think
and out maneuver almost anyone if you just try.
42
The DE, revisited

In my last guide the DE (or “Desert Eagle”) trick was by far the most popular piece of infor-
mation. Various people told me that the DE trick was worth the $8 alone, regardless of all the other
valuable information. So to quench the publics’ infatuation with this incredible piece of machinery, I’m
going to let everyone in on one of another of the DE’s best kept secrets.
Combined with the previous DE trick, integrating this should make you a DE pro. I’m not sure
how it works, perhaps it’s a bug in the HL engine, but all I do know is that this trick does work for
everyone. If you want to be more accurate with your DE while moving (which is one of the only guns
I recommend shooting while moving) there’s a valuable piece of information you should be aware of.
Strafing normally while shooting the DE will yield a semi-inaccurate shot, putting a lot of guess work
into shooting it. But if while strafing you hold the forward key so you move in a diagonal type direc-
tion, the bullet will always shoot dead on accurate. To try this, go into a private server and buy a DE.
Start moving forward and backwards while shooting it at a normal rate. After you have observed this
pattern of shooting, hold your forward key and strafe key at the same time while shooting. I think
you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how good your DE will become, especially when combined with the
previous DE trick.
If you are shooting the DE long range follow these steps to be more accurate.
First, make sure you’re crouched. Second, use the DE trick to line up your shot accurately. Third,
shoot at a rate of a little quicker than one bullet per second. With enough practice you’ll be able to
shoot quicker than one shot per second and still be as accurate.
Multiple enemies at once

This is always a fun topic, because we get to talk about rounds in which you kill a good portion
of the opposite team, fairly quickly. There are a few things you should know when you’re shooting
multiple enemies so let’s take a look.
In this scenario, you’re shooting at an enemy when another jumps out and begins to shoot
at you while you’re firing at his teammate. You need to try to fight the initial instinct to shoot at your
biggest threat. If you’re already engaged, stay engaged. Don’t let up on one enemy until he’s dead,
even if it means you’re going to die. When you find yourself in a situation like this, you’re as good as
dead, and the only thing you’re trying to do is essentially “take one with you”.
43
If two enemies are in a line, it’s time to crouch and spray. Never try to do your normal bursting in
that situation. If two enemies are close to being in line, it’s time to crouch and let them have it, un-
less they’re extremely long range. In that case, the best thing to do is to fall back before you get your
head taken off by one of them. Remember though, when you’re “spraying” you still need to keep your
recoil in check by pulling down on your mouse.
Generally if you’re going to get multi-kills, it’s going to be in one of the following areas.
Bottle necks
Choke points
Flanks
Bottle necks are areas in which players must pass through which cause the players to clump
up. For example, the entry halls into bomb site B on de_dust2 is a bottleneck. When teams rush into
B they get clustered in those halls, which is an opportune time for multi-killing.
Choke points are the smaller areas that lead to the bomb site and they are generally larger
than bottle necks. Catwalk on de_dust2 and Z halls on de_train are two examples of choke points.
Flank just means being behind the opposite team. If you ever find yourself in this position, be
sure not to take the previous advice and take your time while shooting. Make solid bursts with preci-
sion accuracy, and remember that hit boxes are a little different when shooting at someone in their
back, especially while they’re crouched. Try aiming just a little bit lower than usual.
Tip : Try to avoid taking on multiple enemies at once at really long ranges unless you’re shooting
them in the back. However, contrary to the above, the correct thing to do in that situation would
be to burst and not spray.
44
Pegging your sensitivity

A lot of players have trouble finding their perfect sensitivity. I talked about it some in the last
book, but I think I was a little too vague when talking about certain aspects of sensitivity. Let there
be no mistake about it, there is no “perfect” sensitivity that will work for everyone. And let’s face it, if
there was everyone would be using it and you’d probably already know about it. When you find the
correct sensitivity, something clicks and you’re able to aim more accurately than you ever have be-
fore. I must warn you, try to find your sensitivity by only changing it by .1 or .2 at a time and once you
find it, stick with it! Below I have compiled a list of steps to help you find your sensitivity.
First, Make sure mouse acceleration is off; see the last guide for help on doing this. Turning
mouse acceleration off will help you aim better since turning will now be more accurate and consis-
tent. With mouse acceleration on, you never know how much you’re really going to turn when you
swipe your mouse as it depends on the acceleration of the mouse (how fast the swipe was).
High vs Low sensitivity – Some players like high sensitivity, some players like low sensitivity.
When I first started playing I was an extremely low sensitivity player. To give you an idea of how low,
it took me roughly 14 swipes across the mouse pad to do a single 360. After about 2 years of play,
I started to wonder if I could keep the same accurate aim but use a higher sensitivity. When turning
from flash bangs takes you 7 swipes, the game starts to become a bit tedious. After about 6 months
I was fully transitioned over to a high sensitivity (only 2 swipes to do a 360). Let me state that I do
not recommend switching from high to low or low to high unless you are prepared for a lot of slumps.
Looking back, I do wish I could have started out with a higher sensitivity than I originally used as 14
swipes was ridiculous at times. My advice if you are totally lost is to find a sensitivity somewhere in
the range of between 2 and 4 swipes to do a full 360 spin. This ensures the ability to aim accurately
at long distance because the sensitivity isn’t too quick, and also allows the ability to turn from flash
bangs efficiently. It seems to be that the lower the sensitivity the easier long range becomes, and the
higher the sensitivity the easier close range becomes.
Trouble spraying – If while spraying at medium to close range (hopefully with a colt only) you
are having trouble hitting your opponents it could be due to the fact that your sensitivity is a bit too
high. If you are positive it’s not your mechanics (IE you’re pulling down correctly and shooting the gun
correctly) try lowering your sensitivity by about .2 or .3.
Feeling sluggish – Go 1v1 with a friend and concentrate on how your crosshair feels. If your
45
teammate is able to properly move and you have trouble getting the crosshair to him (while he’s straf-
ing back and forth you always seem behind him) there’s a good chance your sensitivity may be just a
little too low. Use judgment here when adjusting your sensitivity, but try upping it by no more than .2
or .3 at first.
Too jumpy – If instead of the crosshair feeling sluggish, it feels too jittery and jumpy you know
your sensitivity is too fast. Lower it by .2 or .3 and see how it feels. Please do not mistake jumpy for
inaccurate, as there may be other reasons your shooting is inaccurate (IE you’re shooting while you
are moving)
A good way to help find a sensitivity that feels right for you is to have a friend stand at medium
range and strafe back and forth sporadically. Your job is to keep your crosshair directly on your friend
at all times. It’s a good idea to record a demo of that so you can go back and look at it later, but it is
not necessary. You should be able to feel right away what your crosshair is tending to do naturally.
If it’s sluggish and lagging behind your friend, raise your sensitivity just a bit. If it’s jetting past your
friend and too hard to control, lower it just a tad. Play around with small increments until you find a
sensitivity that you like.
On the next page I have included a graph which shows the inverse relationship between sen-
sitivity and accuracy at certain ranges. As you can tell from the graph, the lower the sensitivity, the
more accurate your long range shooting will be. The higher your sensitivity, the more accurate your
close - mid range shooting will become. It is your job to find a happy medium, a sensitivity which you
feel comfortable at all shooting ranges.
46
The inverse relationship between accuracy at different ranges and sensitivity

Low sensitivity
Accuracy level High sensitivity
12
High 10
Low 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Long range Medium range Close range
Shooting ranges
47
Over thinking yourself

In the last guide I talked the necessity to make everything muscle memory. You need to get
to the stage that you can shoot, move, and think correctly without actually having to stop and think
about it. Sometimes when players go in to slumps (as well as myself) I have noticed that they try to
over think themselves. This is something you shouldn’t do as it hinders all the progress we’re trying
to make. You need to try to make instant decisions and follow your instinct. The longer you play and
more experience you gain, the higher the chances are that the decisions you make will be correct.
Over thinking yourself can be detrimental in two ways. It can slow down the decision making process
and lead to a lot of frustration. When you have to think about moving and shooting, you obviously
aren’t doing it correctly. I suggest going back to the basics and practicing them until they stick and
you can execute all the maneuvers without thinking twice about them.
This concept also goes along with CSRT. When you over think yourself, your CSRT decreases
dramatically which is one of the many reasons you should try to avoid doing this. Please note that
over thinking has nothing to do with criticizing. It is still completely possible for you to realize the
mistakes you make while at the same time NOT over thinking yourself. They are two totally different
animals and should not be lumped together in the same category in your mind.
Importance of cross-fire
A cross-fire setup can be used in many situations. I detailed some of them in my previous
guide, but now I want to talk about using a cross-fire not just to hold a bomb site after you’ve planted
the bomb. Cross fires can be used in many effective ways that you may not have thought of, includ-
ing 2v2 situations.
The term cross-fire can be interpreted in many different ways. For the sake of this section, I’m
going to define cross-fire at any time you and your teamate’s fire cross each other in order to gain a
strategic advantage. For example, the bomb is planted at A and it’s just you and your teammate left
in middle. Since it’s a 2v2 you decide to go for it. Here’s what that situation would look like with and
without cross-fire.
48
Without cross-fire With cross-fire
Notice here that a T standing directly to the left Notice here that the same enemy, standing the
of the wall cannot be seen by either teammate. exact same position now becomes directly visible
by using a cross-fire technique.
When you don’t use a cross-fire you cut off a
part of the map that could be easily visible. In It’s important to keep the cross-fire while ad-
situations like this it is always better to use a vancing. You can even do variations on this par-
cross-fire technique while still advancing. ticular cross-fire such as a “high/low” cross-fire
in which the player looking towards the elevated
parts watches above you, and the other player
watches the ground.
Cross-fires can be used for all sorts of things, while you are on the offensive or defensive. The
next time you’re in a situation like the one pictured above, remember to play your angles and maxi-
mize your visibility by using a cross-fire technique with a teammate.
Cross-fires do more than just help your visibility and over, they also help your defense. When
you cross-fire a bomb site (to do this simply place one person at one end of the site, and another
person at the opposite end while at the same time staying in each others direct line of fire) you make
it very difficult for a single enemy to kill you both. More often than not, a properly positioned cross-
fire can take out at least two to three enemies before one of the two players gets eliminated. It is
ALWAYS advantageous to use cross-fires to defend when the opposite team must enter the bomb
site/room and only has between 1 and 3 players left. Keep in mind you can cross-fire just about any-
thing from a bomb site, to a room, to the bomb that the T’s dropped. Always be thinking of ways to
better cover yourself and your teammates!
49
Consistency revisited
Let’s see if I can describe your personal play pattern accurately in the following graph.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

In the graph above, the X axis represents time playing, and the Y axis represents skill. The
long areas of horizontal movement represents consistency at the given skill level. The sharp drops
represent slumps, the upward movement represent the times you’re trying to get out of slumps and
times your skill is progressing naturally, and the extended horizontal lines after a sharp drop repre-
sents prolonged slumps.
Most people follow this pattern and while it is frustrating, there is a positive side about going
into slumps. As you can see from the graph, when you emerge from a slump you usually are better
than you were before. Obviously you should be able to deduce that slumps are just part of getting
better. You have to go through a lot of them in order to reach the top. Just think of them as paying
your dues as sometimes they do seem to cause a lot of anguish. So next time you go into a slump,
just remember that it’s part of the game and everyone has to go through them to get better.
Confidence is a huge part of slumps as well. Slumps often cause you to lose confidence in
your play, something that’s hard to play without. Try not to think so negative because the less confi-
dence you have, the longer the slump will be.

Tip : After a bad game it’s normal to not feel confident in your play, however, before you play
another game you need to build your confidence back up. The best thing to do is wait at least
15 minutes before you play, and if at all possible, pub in a server where you know you can con-
sistently beat the other players. This is good for your confidence and could help pull you out of a
pre-slump. Also, I suggest reading as the “slump postulate” in the next chapter.
50
Chapter VI – Q&A
Question #1 – Where do I aim?
Answer – This is a question I get asked a lot. For clarification purposes, the question is about
where to aim on your opponent in order to do the most damage or be the most efficient in their shoot-
ing. Some players get obsessed with headshots and get discouraged when they can’t consistently
get them. My advice would be to aim at the upper chest area which would make a headshot more
common as the recoil moves up the body. Eventually, you’ll be able to aim at the perfect level without
having to think about it.
I used to be caught in the way of thinking that if I wasn’t able to HS someone instantly, there
was something wrong with my aim. Looking back, I can see that although it did help me to practice
getting only headshots, it also hurt me. I was always unsatisfied with my body shots, and it wasn’t un-
til Volcano gave me his advice that I realized what I had been doing. He told me simply to be happy
with my body shots. After taking that advice seriously, I become a much better player.
Question #2 – What does ex_interp do, and what should mine be set at?
Answer – The ex_interp command deals with hit boxes, registration, and timing. To be hon-
est, it is a command that used to have a lot more effect on the game than it does currently. In the
“good-ole-days” it was possible to artificially improve your reaction time by changing your ex_interp
setting. This rightfully used to be called “interp’ing”. When Valve made some enhancements to their
HL engine for CS 1.6, all the talk of “interp’ing” died down a little. What’s left is a residual fear that
someone with a .1 interp is somehow magically manipulating servers in to giving them more accuracy
than someone with an interp setting of .05, just how it was in the “good-ole-days”.
This being said, it is important that you do NOT go against the CAL/CPL default if you want to
play in those leagues. If they say your interp should be .01, then leave it at .01! (For the record, ex_
interp .01 is the current CPL default). However, the only reason the CPL default is .01 is because that
is the correct ex_interp setting for a CS client that is running cl_cmdrate 101 and cl_updaterate 101.
We all know not everyone has a connection good enough to run these rates, and for some people do-
ing this could cause choke or even loss. If you are one of these people that don’t use 101/101 rates,
then for scrims and un-offical matches, set your ex_interp to 0. This will allow CS to automatically
find the best interp setting for you, based on your update and cmdrate values.
51
Question #3 – Why do I go into a slump so often? How do I overcome it?
Answer – This is a topic I’ve covered many times. Let’s start with the important things. A
slump is a somewhat mystical thing, and I’m pretty sure has no basis in scientific fact. In all honesty,
it can’t be measured by any degree of accuracy (IE no way to measure a slump) and there is no tell-
ing when you could come out of yours. It’s something I learn more about everyday, and a lot of what I
tell you about slumps is pure guess-work.
There are some things that I do know about slumps. Although like I said before, these are
nothing more than my hypotheses since there is no real way to measure the things I’m about to say,
however, I can correctly state it the following as a postulate. It sometimes takes hundreds of years for
a postulate to become a law, so hopefully if people are still playing Counter-Strike in a hundred years
they’ll call this the law of slumps.
Here’s the postulate.
1. Everyone will enter into a state of “slump” at least once while playing the game competitively.
2. Slumps cause frustration which lead to longer slumps.
3. Most will experience them several times. (Now we’re finally getting to your question)
4. Every time you overcome a slump, you step up a notch in skill.
5. Slumps feed off of arrogance, inexperience and lack of confidence.
6. All players can eventually achieve a state where slumps are rare and happen with much less
frequency.
Now that you know the postulate, it’s a lot easier to answer your question. There’s a good
chance you’re going to experience more than one slump, and it’s honestly just a natural part of the
game. To overcome them you need to sometimes walk away from the game and calm yourself as
playing frustrated will just prolong a slump. You also need to try to gain some confidence back in your
abilities. The longer you go lacking confidence, the worse things are going to be. It’s best to try and
play with people you know you can beat during this time period to try to build your confidence back.
After a few games of scoring 20+ each half, you should be back in action.
52
Question #4 - Why is my voice on Ventrilo garbled while I’m in game?
Answer – You’ll have to thank our English friends from across the pond for this one. One of my
students from the UK , “tHiNK”, recently told me how to fix this annoying glitch.
Step 1) Open Ventrilo
Step 2) Hit cntrl+alt+del to bring up the task manager
Step 3) Click the Processes tab
Step 4) Right click Ventrilo.exe under “Image Name”
Step 5) Go to the Set Priority sub menu and select “High”
Step 6) Select Ok to the warning message and open CS.
Question #5 - How do I find max Hz on my monitor given my resolution?
Answer – This is an important thing to know for the sake of your monitor. If you ever (while
using Reforce or another program) set the refresh rate too high for your resolution, you run the risk of
damaging your monitor. To find out how many Hz your monitor can safely display in a given resolu-
tion follow the following steps.
Step 1) Right click on your desktop and click Properties
Step 2) Click the Settings Tab and change your desktop resolution to the resolution in which
you wish to determine max Hz
Step 3) In the bottom left of the Settings Tab, click the Advanced button
Step 4) Click the monitor tab
Step 5) In the Monitor Settings box, select the radio button that says “hide modes that this
monitor cannot display”
Step 6) See what is displayed in the drop down box. The highest number is your max refresh
rate in that resolution.
Note : If your max is 60 Hz regardless of resolution, you may need to install drivers for your moni-
tor.
53
Question #6 – How do I “read” the opposing team?
Answer - Hopefully while reading this guide you have picked up some hints as to what the
other team will be doing in the future based on what they are doing currently. I have compiled some
of the most common reads in the following charts.
Your CT Side (your opponents are the Terrorists)

Currently… Next round they are likely to…
The Terrorists lose 2 consecutive Either fully save, or DE rush an easily accessible bomb
rounds. site in which they have the ability to fire at close range. If
they have DE’s, they will go for a bomb plant.
The Terrorists take a bomb site, easily They are likely to run this strategy again in the near future.
plant, and win the round. If not the very next round, look for it on the round after
next.
The Terrorists pick a CT early. Watch for them to run the EXACT same pick.
They grenade and flash one bomb site They’ll try the same strategy, except actually hit the bomb
and hit the other with success. site they are flashing.
Your T Side (your opponents are CT’s)

Currently… Next round they are likely to…
The CT’s lose 2 consecutive rounds. They will probably do a full save, rushing one choke point
quickly. Grenades are possible.
The CT’s are getting trampled by your They will put an extra CT where your team has been rush-
rushes during consecutive rounds. ing. You can use this to your advantage by rushing an
opposite way, hitting them where they are short-handed.
The CT’s are being very aggressive They will continue to do this until you stop them. Don’t let
and pushing up. the CT’s become the aggressors, making your team the
defenders.
The CT’s are playing very passive in If it’s working, they’ll continue to do it. The only way to
their sites. change this is to be more aggressive and get into a bomb
site and plant. This will force them to be a little more ag-
gressive (peak out more) in future rounds.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, look for patterns in strategies for dead giveaways as to what the
opposite team will be doing next. These “tells” could be as subtle as a flash-bang, or as obvious as
footsteps. For example, if you know that a team throws two flashes upper on de_nuke before rushing
ramp, call the possible ramp rush as soon as you see the two flash-bangs being thrown. This can be
counter-intuitive in the fact that when you see flashes upper, you tend to want to call an upper rush.
This is how strategies trick you.
54
Index
Important terms and concepts
Consistency - Playing to your full potential at all times.
Cross-fire - Two players that are maximizing their visibility OR defensive advantage by crossing their
lines’ of fire.
CSRT - Your reaction time while playing Counter-Strike.
Default strategy - Strategy used on normal gun rounds.
Differential progression - The observation that some individuals are able to advance within a given
area quicker than others given the same amount of time.
Fatigue - Any moment when your CSRT falls dramatically due to the amount of time you’ve been
playing.
Inverse sensitivity/range relationship - The fact that the higher a given sensitivity, the easier close
range and harder long range shooting becomes.
Momentum - Defined as P = (Money factor + Aggression factor)(Streak). Momentum is the invisible

force that influences a match when one team is outplaying the other for consecutive rounds.
Pistol strategy - Strategy your team will use on the very first round of T or CT side when both teams
will have pistols only. This is one of the most important rounds of the game.
Reading the opposing team - The act of calling out the opposing team’s strategy before the round,
or during a round but before they execute the strategy.
Slump - Extended periods of sub-par play.
Slump postulate - See page 49 for a complete definition.
Lethal’s quick tips to remember

Important things you should integrate into your game
#1. Never engage multiple enemies long range at the same time with a rifle.
#2. If the opposing Terrorist team DE + armor saves, it almost always means they’re trying to plant.
#3. Buy at least one kit for your team on CT save rounds.
#4. When dropping a weapon for a teammate at the beginning of the round, don’t buy another until it
is picked up.
#5. Turn off “auto switch to a picked up weapon if it is more powerful” in controls > advanced.
#6. Keep your settings consistent!
#7. Don’t rotate until you have confirmation of bomb, OR know the team isn’t doing a fake.
#8. Keep enemies with pistols at long range.
#9. Put the past round behind you and review mistakes after the match/scrim is OVER.
#10. Happy teammates = successful team.
55
de_nuke Screen Shots
The two pictures above show exactly where you need to throw flash-bangs as Terrorists in order to
completely flash the upper site for a few seconds. If you throw your nades where I have marked with
glock bullets, at the same angle I am at in the picture, you should throw a good flash everytime. Be
careful however when doing this; if I were a CT on the ground in the bomb site, I would try to rush the
hut door and catch you with a nade out. That is why you need to have someone sitting in dark cor-
ner to try and protect the person throwing flashes. Below I have illustrated how to smoke the window
from outside without ever going past it. On the next page you can see exactly what the smoke looks
like when it explodes and where the grenade actually lands.
56
Click here to go back
57
(c) InventorSpace LLC 2006
Any un-authorized distribution of this guide is prohibited.
Any products mentioned in this guide are registered trademarks of their respective companies.
ESEA is a registered trademark of E-sports Entertainment Association, LLC.
Questions? Comments? Email me at support@inventorspace.com or lethal@esportsea.com.
58

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Lethal’s Guide to Playing Competitive Counter-Strike Volume 2

Click-able Table of Contents :

With support from :

Chapter I – Beyond Volume 1

only so many words in the English dictionary.

My config and information

Mouse : Microsoft IntelliMouse explorer 3.0

Mouse pad : DKT pad

OS : Windows XP home edition

Windows sensitivity : One notch lower than default, no mouse acceleration.

In game sensitivity : 2.9 (it varies by .1 or .2 every few months)

Zoom sensitivity : Default (1.2)

ex_interp : .01 (more on this later)

good way to over-come the average learning curve.

you never have to make it again.

People who progress faster :

- Generally have a background of video gaming/computers.

best things you can do to progress quicker.

proper balance can be found.

tioned above seem to be the most common.

Some things you can’t avoid

along with the best course of action after they happen.

as a driving force to play better. Use it to motivate you.

reaching your goals.

not forget the mistakes they made.

gradually get easier.

Chapter II – CSRT and the CS puzzle

- Correct mechanics (movement, shooting, etc)

- Good judgment (knowing what to do in certain situations)

- In-game reaction time (CSRT)

- Experience (closely related with good judgment)

and don’t let it happen again.

is a great way to improve your CSRT.

can reach about .12 seconds.

positive that your CSRT will improve.

- Fatigue. Playing for long hours at a time

for someone that isn’t used to it can wreak

havoc on your game. Generally, you’ll start 10

to notice fatigue first in your mind, and then

in your body. When you see yourself slow-

ing down (try to be as self-aware as possible Fatigue

while at the same time staying honest with

to set in after about 3-4 hours of play. The 2

graph to the right illustrates this point. The X

effect on your CSRT.

dence goes with it.

from playing as well as seeing a lot of Counter-Strike.

Chapter III – What would you do?

apply them to your game when they appear.

you next round.)

spawn. As soon as you reach CT spawn start to walk.

Situation #4 - Defending against a save round strategy

or losing crucial guns and money.

ing your gun.

out a helmet, and the lower level guns (galil/famas).

Situation #5 - Entering a room or bomb site

your back. This concept is illustrated below.

Situation #6 - How to maximize visibility

Chapter IV – Strats for popular maps and why they work

ones work for YOU and YOUR team.

path of fire (where that player should be watching).

concepts, you memorize the following charts.

Pre-game flow chart

Strategy Type Round commonly used Description