Counter-Strike: Source/Strategies

General strategies

These strategies are useful for any player in Counter-Strike: Source, regardless of their team.

Rushing

Rushing is one of the major two tactics you can use in Counter-Strike: Source. (The other being camping.) Rushing involves gathering as many players of your team together as possible, and all running as fast as possible along a given path, swarming any opposition and taking the objective. The problem with rushing is that many players do not participate properly; languishing at the back and not running. This means that the rush is not as effective as it should be, and can result in the entire team getting picked off by the other side, and a humiliating defeat.

Camping

Camping is the other major tactic you can use in Counter-Strike: Source, but is less widely spoken of than rushing, as it is seen as rather cowardly by many players. Camping basically involves a player finding a good, sheltered spot in which they can hide (generally by crouching down), and then waiting there (without moving or making any noise) for the enemy to appear, and shooting them in the back as they pass. Although it is very similar to real-life operative tactics, it is not adviseable to camp on anything other than a server full of like-minded players.

Footsteps

All players run when moving by default in Counter-Strike: Source, and if you listen carefully, you can hear their footsteps. This can help pinpoint where people are if they're close to you, or when to shoot if you feel somebody's about to pop out from around a corner. Players who walk instead of running (by holding down Shift by default) make an almost inaudible amount of noise, and so this tactic doesn't work. Crouching will also soften the noise you make.

Flashbangs

Flashbang grenades will blind anyone who sees them go off, or a reflection of them going off; and deafen anyone within a certain radius (to a lesser or higher degree depending on their distance from the grenade). Although they will not hurt anybody, if somebody is caught in a flashbang "explosion", they will be incapable of a co-ordinated response to any attack, and will be an easy kill. Flashbangs should be preferably used against groups of enemies, and you should only attack if you're sure the flashbang has been effective. Flashbangs may be bounced off walls when thrown, but you must always remember that the "hitbox" of any grenade is slightly larger than you might expect, so if throwing one close to a wall (perhaps over a parapet), you must remember to throw it slightly further away from the wall than you might normally do so, to prevent it bouncing back.

If caught in a flashbang "explosion", the best thing to do if you remember your surroundings sufficiently well is to move for cover. If you do not remember your surroundings, you should at least jump backwards as fast as you can. If you're completely blinded, it would also be useful to reload so you can be prepared for any pending onslaught.

Frag grenades

If caught by a grenade going off, jump away from the blast. The further away you are from the grenade when it goes off (or as it goes off), the less damage you will receive.

Jumping

Jumping is a very useful tactic. When you're being shot at it's good to jump around, if you don't mind the accuracy of your shooting falling. If you're reloading, it's especially useful to jump around, as it lessens the chance of you being hit, yet your accuracy cannot incur any penalty, as you're not shooting. Jumping around corners (running towards the corner, jumping, and turning in mid-air) is quite a useful trick, as anybody waiting around the corner will be expecting somebody to come in at ground-level, and so any shots fired will hit your less-important chest, as opposed to your head. Jumping also has the added benefit of getting you around the corner faster, so any enemies will have less time in which to react. "Bunny-hopping" (jumping to move forwards, which is faster than running in some games) is severely ill-advised in Counter-Strike: Source, as jumping slows you down, and repeated jumping will slow you to a crawl.

Weapon accuracy

The accuracy of any weapon is greatly increased if you stand still, and/or crouch when firing, as such a position will allow you to hold the weapon more steadily. With just about any weapon, the accuracy tails off after the first few rounds of automatic fire. Experienced players will usually fire in bursts no more than three rounds long – unless they're at point-blank range &ndash' else they lose all the accuracy of their weapon.

Headshots

Always aim for the head; shots which hit somebody's head cause the most damage, and some weapons can kill in one shot to the head.

Counter-terrorists

These strategies apply only to counter-terrorists, but terrorists might gain useful insight into the way the other team works by reading them.

Bomb site

If you're on the counter-terrorist team, the terrorists plant the bomb, and you know at which bomb site they've planted it (either A or B), make this known to your team by saying either "a" or "b" in team chat. Doing this will help all your team to arrive at the right bomb site, and give you a greater chance of disarming the bomb before it goes off.

Get the hostages

If you're playing a hostage rescue map, don't ignore the hostages! Rescuing them will get you money and win the round for your team. Many counter-terrorists ignore the hostages, and just search for the terrorists, but if the area around the hostages is clear of terrorists, why not just rescue the hostages?

Terrorists

These strategies apply only to terrorists, but counter-terrorists might gain useful insight into the way the other team works by reading them.

Planting the bomb

When planting the bomb, a lot can rest on where you plant it. If you know of a good hiding place near the bomb site, make sure to plant it within view of that hiding place. Another strategy is to plant it so it isn't immediately visible to the counter-terrorists; some of them have been known to not notice hidden bombs, and go off to check the other bomb site. One way of doing this is to plant it, then knock over any nearby barrels and roll them on top of the bomb.

Check the hostages

Go back to the hostage areas regularly and check if the hostages are still there. If they aren't, alert your team and head straight for the hostage rescue area. If you see the counter-terrorist who is leading the hostages away, wait until you've got a good clear shot before attacking; attacking prematurely can cause him to get tactical and seek cover. Try your best not to hit the hostages, as killing them takes money away from you, but killing the counter-terrorist and the hostages is better than losing the round.