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[FONT=Arial]Independent Gameplay

Welcome to Spikey00’s ultimate guide to Counter-Strike : Source. The main purpose of this guide is to provide advice on how to improve on your knowledge about the game and yourself. It introduces knowledge from a linear view—from the basics, to the hardcore. It focuses on teaching the philosophies and benefits from following the information, but encourages readers to implement their own style of gameplay with the tips. Prepare to develop your abilities in Source mentally and physically during the read of this guide.

As an only request, I ask of those who have read this guide to please register to these forums, and post your comments about this guide, and inform others that might find this guide useful to visit this page. You can also ask me directly upon questions related to the information in the guide. If you just want to include how well or horrible this guide is written as, you may feel free to do so as well. Please make it constructive. You can afterwards stay in our community and chat if you feel welcomed.

Have an excellent read, and I sincerely hope you do find this guide insightful and valuable.


Beginners

More of the bulk information of playing Counter-Strike : Source, this generally reviews most of the basics—from how to actually begin to use your senses, grenades, combat etiquette, how to exploit graphical glitches, and more. It also brings about the various philosophies for better understanding.

Those who are familiar with the game can take a quick glance about what it conveys, and then move on to the more advanced sections.


All Your Senses - Beginners

It is not hard to remember what you need to do in Counter-Strike, and all FPS games. Kill the opposition, and get some of them headshots. Nevertheless, what sets apart those who just focus upon aiming? Is it all about the headshots, and those awesome kills? How are CEVO-P players so good at this game?

The reason behind why this section is before the aiming and shooting section is due to the critical information that most new players miss out. The utilization of all human senses breaks the wall apart, between a well-seasoned player, and those who just play the game for fun, or just do not realize the importance of hearing, seeing, and thinking. It is imperative that you understand the importance of each, and I will break the three down.

Seeing

Here is what most people do understand. You see, and react, and you can eventually kill a person if given enough time. However, the eyes can only be relied upon at a certain degree until they are less efficient to use alone. The reaction of many humans is around ~0.2 seconds, which is around 200ms. This means that the times you are complaining about your lag, more delay is being added, thanks to your reaction timing. You just add up the milliseconds, and there is your total reaction time, so if you have an average ping of 100ms, you will have around 300ms of response time. That is 0.3 seconds, which might be the difference in between the first bullets to kill, or the first bullets to be received. Your reaction time should be the first thing to be criticized, not the meagre 100ms to the server.

In summary, your sight may be an important part of your gaming, but ultimately, you can be better if you use your other senses in combination.

Hearing

I do not know how many times my hearing has saved me from knife wielding marauders. It provides me an absolute advantage over players who do not listen to their environment. With hearing, your reaction time to shooting decreases, sometimes to 0ms because you know roughly where the enemy is. Despite of this clear advantage, new players do not use it. Simply put, I do not understand, every time I creep ever so closer to a newb that is moving in a linear path to their death that never listens to the person behind.

Though again, hearing can only be sufficient enough if it is used along with other senses. Still, it gives you an amazing advantage. Think of it as a legal wall hack.

Also, note about the various sounds that different types of weapons emit. If you have ever heard an AWP being fired, then you should automatically know that someone has that weapon. All weapons sound unique, and if you can deduce how far the sound is from you, then you can technically calculate how far that person is from yourself. This is potentially important information.

Thinking

This is the most complicated sense that you may ever use. Your brain is the nucleus of your body, and you would probably be nothing but soil without it. Since there is plentiful to discuss about intelligence, this beginners section will only be covering the light material.

Have you ever developed an idea about the general layout of maps? Do you know where people usually move? Have you ever put it to any use? These are the right questions to ask. All three of these should be known at minimum, because you are starting to become more human. Bots seemingly wander aimlessly around, seeking out their next kills, as programmed. They are programmed to respond to certain events, those of which are not very complex and can be understood, and be addressed. The bomb being planted, and as a Counter-Terrorist, they should seek to defuse it. Newbies apparently grasp the basic idea, but behave similarly to bots. Consequently, they do not perform so well.

To know your maps is extremely important, and to your benefit. You then no longer need to investigate where you should be headed, and neither should you be rushing. You should be focused upon what type of strategy you should be using, and what may you do to complete it. Many of the new players do not understand the idea of the defence of bombsites, nor do they understand the effects of concerted efforts in order to achieve something. This would be known as teamwork. If you are wandering around, you are usually in a bad position. You will be a lone target for which the other team can easily eliminate. Five guns can be on you, before you can even shoot. However this can be sometimes an effective tactic to use, it should not be used often. It is rarely used randomly during scrims between decent clans/groups, because they understand the consequence of it, and how ineffective it is. However, people in scrims are more susceptible to random rushes, than in pubs. Five on one is better than ten on one in pub servers, but when you are in position, facing enemies one by one, you stand a whole lot of a better chance.

Expect much more information in the intermediate and advanced sections. Remember to be always thinking about other things, besides shooting. “You have a brain, now use it.”

Grenades

Do not forget about using grenades. Here are the key guidelines for using them, and it is up to you to use grenades for yourself. Do not just allow them to sit on your belt, waiting for you to die, so an experienced player can use them against your team.

HE Grenades: Use them in chokepoints, such as inside the room of double doors at long A in de_Dust2 early in the round, or when you believe the other team might rush at. It is also effective to throw them towards areas where people are known to congregate together, such as places of camping. Note that an exploding grenade usually does around 60 damage if close enough. After doing such amount of damage, you can decide to spray at them until you kill them.

Flashbangs: Always use them where applicable—throw them at an appropriate level where it can effectively blind enemies. Throw them when you are travelling through a tight area with walls, where it is quite possible to have enemies on the other side. The objective is to allow you a safer passage, and higher probability of killing someone in close quarters. Flashbangs can effectively provide you with a few extra kills each round if you use them properly. You can carry two, but it takes only one to blind multiple enemies.

Smoke Grenades: Most beginners do not use these simply because they find no use for them as they prefer to shoot instead. However, there are many useful attributes that make the smoke grenade effective. It can sometimes be as effective as using a flashbang since it deploys a cloud of thick smoke--it can offer you a much larger range of protection if placed correctly. Always place them where it is most effective. This includes placing them where you are moving to, especially where there is open space. Use them against snipers—areas that your weapon is ineffective due to range, and where snipers can easily pick you off. Afterwards, travel to your objective or location, and perhaps find another route that will give you the range of advantage.

The use of all grenades in harmony is difficult to understand, because there are just so many uses, and most are nervous of using them because there is a probability that an enemy will pop out and kill you whilst you are preparing your grenade. There is always the question of effectiveness with grenades, and the risk. What is more appropriate in a situation? Is it worth the risk? How can people counter my tactics? More information upon the use of grenades will be explained in the intermediate section.


Mitigating the Flashbang Effect

Some beginners have already discovered this out coincidence: that if you are facing away from a flashbang, the flashbang does not have the same degree of effectiveness with blinding your screen. With this useful information, always turn around if you see a flashbang heading for you, or hear it around you. This will dramatically decrease the blinding effect. If you are successful in avoiding it, then you can turn around once again to wait for a common rusher that believes you have been flashed successfully and is not expecting much resistance.


Aiming/Shooting

This section is pretty simple, but is the most commonly done thing in an FPS. This gives you nearly all the information that you need in order to be successful with weapons, aiming, and shooting.

You should be using two to three shots medium range with most rifles, excluding of course, sniper rifles, and a few particulars, that include the FAMAS, and GALIL. You should usually be using the AK47, or the M4A1 in typical scenarios. After these first initial shots, the accuracy will decrease, and will not usually be on target for exactly where your intension is—usually at a head. During the pause, take cover or strafe. After two seconds (wherever you feel comfortable with your instinct and knowledge about the game) or so, begin once again. If you are low on money, purchase the MP5NAVY. Not only is it cheap, but it is probably the most effective out of all submachine guns.

Close range, you should be spraying if you believe it is appropriate in that scenario. If you are being sprayed by an enemy from the same distance, you should try to headshot them with accurate shots, instead of spraying. This should be done, especially if the opposition is crouching, where there is less of the person to shoot at but their head. The person who initially sprays and misses after a while usually is the one to die--make your shots count. If you know the person is damaged, then attempt to spray their body if they are standing. Always remember to pull your aim down, and concentrate your bullets in the area where the enemy stands/crouches. Also, remember to counteract the horizontal resistance. If you practice your spraying, it will be habitual; consequently, it will become automatic for you. Though do try to minimize the amount of damage that you take yourself, if possible. Remember that other players with this knowledge will try to do the same to you.

Far range, you should be executing either short bursts, or single shots. Of course, you should always be avoiding snipers from distances of which would render you ineffective towards a sniper who has a higher probability of accuracy and damage to kill you. If you are not a kill hogger, allow someone else to eliminate an enemy whilst you are distracting if they are nearby the enemy, because it is simply more effective and efficient. Be sure that your ally is smart enough to come to help, though.

Remember: Always keep your crosshairs at optimal levels--wherever you believe the head of an enemy will be. I spectate newbies and even intermediate players doing this all the time, where their cursors point at the floor whether they know it or not. They always have to move their cursor back up to head level when they spot a target, where they lose precious milliseconds in doing so, instead of being able to immediately acquire their target and shooting. It just does not look professional, so make the effort to keep it up there! Remember—the more you do it, the more habitual it becomes.

With pistols, you should be doing similar—conserve your accuracy, instead of spraying maniacally at your target, depending on your luck, and spray control. It will nearly always be more beneficial and proficient, excluding the moments where it is recommended. Such scenarios include your knowledge about someone you are currently targeting is low on health and you are quite assured upon it; if you appear to be losing and/or being attacked at by more than one person, and if you are behind someone, or simply because you are at an extremely close range that you can land a few hits. When spraying, do the similar spraying method as done with rifles—bring your cursor down. Pistols do not really have side-to-side recoil, excluding the deagle [which is random after the first shot].

As a final rule, you may have noticed that while you are moving, your bullets seem to be significantly off-target. Bullets that are fired while you are in motion are less accurate in comparison to when you fire while you are stationary. Do not move while spraying, unless in situations that you should be doing so. However, do bear in mind that there are a few weapons that do offer a decent accuracy ratio, such as the MP5. Be aware of the weapons that can be fired accurately.


Sensible Applications for Your Beginner Skills

This is a small story, highlighting what might occur if you begin to use the knowledge you have gained so far from the independence guide. Consider this an interesting story, and an encouragement after reading all of this. It has been separated (instead of one conglomerate) to allow for easier reading.

Imagine you are within a nice normal server, with a plentiful amount of people in it. You already have purchased an AK47 on the Terrorist side, and you are heading out with a full body of grenades. You decide to venture out to long A on Dust2, and there are a few people who are trying out tactics from this portion of the guide.

You notice that there are a few grenade explosions near long A, so you decide to wait it out. As if you were psychic, the few people ahead of you died, as more grenades arrived on their feet. You then decide it is generally not intelligible to venture out to long A, as having that many grenades going off at that specific location means that there are quite a few Counter-Terrorists outside. You do not have enough teammates to penetrate their defensive line. You move to the middle, and decide to smoke the double doors to render an AWPer on the other side useless. You then throw an HE grenade, and it kills him. Perhaps he was the one that was shot through the double doors by one of your team snipers before he was eliminated at their mega AWP duel.

You then travel behind a teammate that shortly dies afterwards at short. You quickly decide to pop a flashbang out and ricochet against the wall, where if he stood above the stairs, he would probably be blind. He would also be blind if he stood below the stairs as well. Right when the flashbang takes effect (as if you timed it perfectly), you come around the corner and there he is! All huddled against the wall, like some homo. He is also firing his empty clip at the wall, making a hopeless clink-clink-clink sound. You decide to knife him, and you get him without further waste of time. An ally comes out from behind you, and starts travelling up the stairs with his AK47. He wants you to watch, as he annihilates everyone in A; but as soon as he disappears up the stairs [while you sit on the victim’s face, like some weirdo] he is greeted by an AWP. You now know that there is an AWPer in good position to defend A, and so along your better judgement, you decide to turn to the tunnels, and to B.

Since you sneaked a peek at what is ahead in this guide, you check your scoreboard. It provides you with helpful information about who is alive, and you notice that you have three teammates alive, and five opponents still alive. However, you soon see that some pro on your team takes out two of your enemies before succumbing to his critical injuries, and lays sprawled at A. The AWPer is still there. You continue your journey to B, and your ally is there camping at the tunnels. He notices you, and begins to travel with you, as you throw a flashbang out to B while staying clear of the blast. While exiting the tunnels, a person sitting just outside to your left is raped by your ally with a MAC, and there is no sight of anyone else in the bombsite.

You carefully tell your teammate that there will be probably a sniper coming through CT spawn once the bomb is down, so you suggest he watches DD. Unfortunately, he is not too smart after he plants the bomb to cross without jumping, and the pro sniper has him dead with a headshot through the doors, as he interpolated his movements. You now have to use your own thinking to get out of this mess. The sniper at the doors has a deadly shot, and has probably superior knowledge.

Though you do have the current advantage, you have to find a way to maximize your potential by finding a good spot to cover. You decide against camping where the crate is at beside the car, and you decide against going in the back of the site. You want to stay where the sniper is unable to remain effective because he is your top priority. You have to take your chances, and camp right beside the large crate that can be seen from the tunnels—the one outside of the elevated platform. You have no cover from a possible entry from the tunnels, but you are quite sure that the sniper will not bother changing course since the bomb timer is nearing the end of its 30 seconds.

As a last moment of preparation, you gather yourself for the adrenaline in order to control yourself effectively, and you start to hear the sand sifting as someone approaches from the doors. You wait however, because you hear and then see someone with a M4 coming out of the tunnels. You, with your awesome aim quickly eradicate the threat with a swift headshot. Without stopping, you know that the sniper now knows where you are, and you do not hesitate to challenge him. You hear him up at the rocks because of the distinctive sound, and you spray him to death, as he barely touches the ground to shoot his weapon. You are triumphant, and this experience will further your improvement as a more competitive player as you should begin to see what works well and what does not.


Basics of Avoiding Being Killed/Evasion

Have you ever wondered why all your bullets are seemingly curving to avoid your target that is strafing? Were you ever crouching, and someone comes around the corner and instantly gives you a headshot with an AWP? Here are the basics of giving your enemy a difficult time to being able to hit you, giving you more time to kill them in a typical situation of a “missing” battle.

It is usual to see intermediate players strafing back and forth whenever they are in a battle against another player. Strafing is the process where a player moves back and forth—usually to avoid bullets from enemies. It makes that player more difficult to kill if an enemy is attempting to shoot at a moving target, instead of a stationary object. Most strafing is a side-to-side motion to where you are facing ahead. It is best to be unpredictable with your movements with strafing, but this is covered in the intermediate section. Practice your basic strafing, and get the knowledge of when to shoot.

With crouching, we previously mentioned that it should be done if you absolutely need to inherit that extra bit of accuracy to kill someone. It should ]never be done while you are moving and crouching—it contradicts both benefits. Crouching also leaves a lesser target for your enemy to obtain, and for some reason allows your enemy to give you a headshot more easily, in combination that you are not moving. At least, I hope you are not.

In summary, strafe and do not crouch to give your enemy a harder time to kill you, because they will have to move their cursor in response to your movements, and if you are just crouching, you cannot possibly be moving to avoid bullets. From a personal level, those who do not strafe correctly or do not do it at all, or those who crouch while in combat with me do not pose a threat to me, and I can easily eliminate these types of players.


Radar, and Scoreboard Alike

Everyone knows the existence of such tools—the radar, and scoreboard. However, I must concede to explain the use of such graphical interfaces conveniently located upon your LCD/CRT/etc monitors. This is the first step of effort to becoming more of a professional player as they provide vital information that does not involve your shooting, but rather assists with it.

Straightforward, the radar reveals where you are located on the map. Back before the radar update, (that many remember which occurred around the times of the dynamic weapon pricing update) all you could see were shapes. There was little to see, and it was somewhat difficult to understand what the radar represented except for the obvious. Enemies, allies, and the bomb as squares, triangles, circles that flashed and changed. It did not display the background, where it shows where you are actually located if you were to be seen above on a birds-eye view. Personally, I find little use in it because I already know most of the map layouts are. It is little more than an aesthetics upgrade. However, it does improve on the clarity of what is occurring on the battlefield, and remains critical for a professional player. Because it is much more simplistic now, new players are able to be more familiar with its use; nevertheless, many still refuse to use it actively. Some do not understand that it reveals enemies that your allies see. What else is convenient is the representation of the location where your allies die. A smart person then is able to deduce that an enemy has to have killed them, unless the people you are playing with seek pleasure in suicide. This therefore gives you an estimate of where an enemy might be, if you missed seeing the actual enemy, or if your ally never took a glance at the opposition. From this, you should able to determine the wisest choice for yourself.

Use the radar. It has proven me great use since I began to use it, and similar to hearing, it offers the potential of wall hacking, without cheating.

Different from the radar, the scoreboard it allows for the tracking of the player count. It displays who is currently alive, and who is not. Some intermediates also fail to know that you are able to see who is carrying the bomb when you are dead. This information is helpful to relay to your teammates during scrims.

If you know how many players there are, you will not have to look foolish prior to defusing a bomb. You do not need to be glancing around at camping spots when otherwise you know that everyone on the Terrorists side is defeated. You then can set yourself in an area where you are able to have greater success, depending on the amount of teammates, and enemies you have alive. I assume that you understand the various possibilities in using the information you gather from both the radar and the scoreboard together to map out where enemies are, and where they are generally travelling.


Graphical Bugs and Their Significance to You

Foremost, it is recommended that you enable shadows in the game if you can afford for a small advantage at the expense of a few FPS. It gives you a leading edge in combat, as you can sometimes see an approaching enemy even if they do not make any sound by their shadow. Another advantage is also given below.

Have you ever seen a shadow through a wall, or a gun through a door? Have you ever wondered what was so special about them? Valve developers have failed to introduce a fix for such anomalies that gives players a sometimes-absurd advantage over the player on the other side. This section speaks about the various uses for exploiting graphical glitches.

First, this is actually legal in most or all leagues, because it cannot be regulated, as this is part of the game. Give a partial salutation to Valve for that… Anyways, as a visual cue, you must recognize what it actually means—if it is abnormal to see an AWP through a door: shoot it. If it is strange to see moving shadows that appear to be silhouetting on the roof of cs_assault, then shoot the nearby area. In short terms, shoot the damn enemies when they least expect you to know where they are. They will not even know where you are exactly shooting. This usually leaves them moving away from the danger.

To avoid such a scenario for yourself, remember to be a certain distance away from various surfaces, particularly the thin ones. When opening a door, stay away from the immediate surface of the door, because you can still open it when you are a certain distance away. When crowding near the metal connection (commonly called as “hut”) between the Terrorist area and the upper bombsite (it is beside “squeaky”, the door) do not go right up against the perimeter of it. Always be aware of such exploits, and their annoyances, so you do not have to accuse players of using a wall cheat simply because you do are not using this exploit yourself.


Basic Counter-Terrorist bombsite Holding and Penetration “After Bomb Planted” Knowledge

This section offers a moderate amount of information to the described scenarios for where they occur. Remember that situations always changes, so try to react to them.

Tips in holding a bombsite successfully:

- Do not rush out beyond your objective in protecting a bombsite. It is not in your best interest to do so because it is the least effective strategy unless you understand what you are up against, and what you are doing.

- Play it safe and in a position of advantage. It is usually more effective if you stay away from areas where you can be seen and killed from before you can be the most effective. If you survive, and many of the Terrorists are in the site, you can pop out try to kill some of them before they spot and eliminate you. If you can at least kill one, then you have done your job successfully. What you have also done, is earn a few hundred dollars for killing an enemy, possibly allowing yourself to sustain what you are doing because you are earning money that you can put to purchasing more guns and equipment. Also try to keep out of the way of your allies.

- Flashbangs and grenades out! These can prove to be extremely useful if you use them in a case such as this. bombsites are fairly open—this allows you to potentially blind all or most people, allowing you to take your time to kill one by one until they are either all dead, or see clearly once again and kill you. Grenades can heavily damage groups of people, especially when they are all cluttered together. This usually happens when they are coming into a bombsite, such as from the tunnels to B on Dust2. They might spot you, but if you can hit some of them with the grenade, it can really help you and your other teammates win the round.

- Spray and prey. Along with the above advice, you should be able to know when to spray, and when to burst. If you see many Terrorists approaching from a single path, again such as in the tunnels, then you can spray at them. Focus on hitting as many of them as possible—this means trying not to focus on those who are further away from the majority. Of course, this should be done if they are a short distance away.

- Focus. It is important to keep calm, and choose your strategy and targets, instead of panicking. Focusing usually results in more kills, and raises your degree of effectiveness.

- Retreat! It is not always the most effective to stay in a bombsite that you see that is easily going to be overrun. If you know how many teammates there are left in the bombsite, you can try to cover your retreat by using all your remaining grenades (without sabotaging your allies), and try to help your teammates in a position where you can easily and immediately evacuate to the outside of the bombsite. After you are outside, wait for allies to come to enter the bombsite, whilst you are watching out for yourself by either moving back out even more, or watching carefully from a position where you can cause further damage if a lone terrorist rusher comes out.

Remember again that it is more effective to have better odds. 5 on 1, or 5 on 3? The odds might be against you after the Terrorists have a foothold of a bombsite, but it still is more effective if you resist rushing, playing it safe, utilize your grenades, using your weapon effectively, staying focused on what you need to do, and retreating when you need to.


Tips in Penetrating a bombsite with Greater Success:

- Travel out where you are less out in the open. A good example is to decide to travel to Long or Short instead of taking a shortcut through CT spawn to bombsite A in Dust2. If you are in an open area, you can be engaged more easily by multiple Terrorists. You have a decreased chance of success. However, if you believe you will be unable to make a successful defuse in the time remaining, then take the shortcut.

- Travel where you are most effective. If you have a pistol or submachine gun, try to find ways to the bombsite that allow you to be of most use. You are more effective coming from Short A to bombsite A, then from looping around to Long. An exception for this is if you have other teammates coming in for the bombsite, and you want to go to Long intentionally to kill Terrorists that are watching the bomb from a distance, which means the same to you if you fight from the bombsite to Long A. Try to make up your own purpose if you can before entering a bombsite.

- Try to keep coordination with your other teammates. If you know teammates are approaching the bombsite, try to enter the bombsite at the same time, even if it does not look like it is their intention as well.

- Use grenades! Now is the time to use all the grenades that you have remaining. You should throw explosive grenades first, and then flashbangs just before you enter the site. Be aware of friendlies that might already be in the bombsite, so you do not cause harm to them as well.

- It is not always wise to decide to go for a defuse. If you are absolutely outnumbered, then you may choose to back off to save your weapons. If however you do have a lot of money, then you can choose to risk it. I would define a risk as a 1v3 situation.


Basic Terrorist, “Before and After Bomb Planted” Knowledge[b]

- Check all camping spots. It is important to do so, because a hiding Counter-Terrorist can do all sorts of things to your team if you let one sneak around. However, they usually will only try to come out to attack.

- Do not get picked off in the open. This means avoiding areas where you can be shot from while you are moving to another area in a bombsite. If you find appropriate, jump across to where you are moving. This helps conserve your health where you really need it.

- Try not to rush out of the bombsite. Leaving the bombsite to engage a single Counter-Terrorist is usually risky, since other Counter-Terrorists may be approaching the bombsite. You will have more success inside a bombsite with other teammates than outside. If you really want to, try to give yourself cover. Render that lone enemy blind, and then go in for the quick kill. Then retreat to an area of safety.

- Flashbangs out to delay to provide cover for your bomb planter if there are forces near the bombsite.

- Plant the bomb in the open at a safe position. This means that you should plant the bomb where your other teammates can actually cover it. Do not plant it where you and your teammates cannot see a bomb defuser. See the below URL for possible plants!

http://whisper.ausgamers.com/wiki/index.ph...rce_Bomb_Plants

- Find a position of cover of both yourself and the bomb. The key is finding an area where you can protect yourself, along with allowing you to move to see the bomb and a possible defuser. This may be from a distance—as long as you can protect the bomb.

- Delay. Delay the enemies from approaching the bombsite. This can be done by using remaining grenades to hinder, damage, and blind enemies from entering the bombsite.

- Support your teammates if possible. As long as you have another teammate alive in the bombsite, the opposition has to look around to kill him/her before having a safe defuse. Remember as well—any smart teammate also has the same objective as you do: defend the bomb until it destroys your target. You want to preserve your allies by offering them cover whenever possible, because they are another set of hands with a gun. Again, remember the ratio! The more Terrorists you have in comparison to the Counter-Terrorists, the more likely you will be able to win the round.

- Listen for the defuse noise. As previously mentioned, hearing is an important part of the game. This proves to be especially critical for defending a bomb, because when a person begins to defuse a bomb, it always makes a distinctive sound. Therefore, it means that someone is beginning to defuse the bomb. Many intermediate players however, use this sound to attempt to draw out defending Terrorists from their positions so that they can kill them before actually defusing. This is called a fake defuse. Remember that a defuse with no kit takes 10 seconds, and someone with a kit only takes 5 seconds to defuse the bomb. You should wait a few seconds before coming out to see if that person is still on the bomb. Remember: after the plant, this is a game between you and the Counter-Terrorists. Your objective is always to defend the bomb, and to delay the opposing team! Killing them does not matter as long as you win the round! Below is a procedure. I consider this to be an intermediate strategy, but it is essential to know for all players.

1. Wait for a defuse. Hearing it, of course. You would have to be playing bad and with bad people to be able watch someone approach the bomb and completely ignoring you, while you stare at them defusing.

2. Listen for any footsteps that do not belong to you or your teammates, which you believe is the defuser. This means that they did a fake defuse. If you heard it, you can move further away to hide, or stay where you are. Do this as well if you hear no footsteps, but hear the pickup sounds of items, like a defuse kit. This means they are off the bomb, and trying to trick you still to come out of hiding. Do not engage, because they are expecting you! You have a better chance if you stay in your position. Go back to step 1 if you hear footsteps or pickup of something.

3. Wait a few seconds, and listen for signs that they are off the bomb as told in step 2.

4. Check on the bomb. If a defuser is actually defusing, kill that person immediately. If they are off the bomb, you can choose to retreat to your position, or engage them if you want to take the risk and they are out of cover. I suggest staying in cover. If they are off the bomb and you retreated, return to step 1. Be cautious and fall back if you were damaged moderately.

At this point, the bomb should be nearing its detonation. The Counter-Terrorist will soon have to stay defusing, or trick you into staying into the bombsite where both of you will be killed by the explosion. Either way, this procedure ends here. This information might not be considered if you are facing more than one opponent.

- Save yourself! After taking a last glance at a bomb, you should be heading outside of the bombsite to where you can remain safe and take no or little damage from the explosion. If you die, you lose your weapons and will have to purchase them again next round.


[B]Intermediate

Congratulations on finding enough interest to seek to improve yourself upon this meagre game. Here, in the intermediate section, you will find even more detail. This assumes you are above the beginning level of understanding of Counter-Strike : Source, and are curious to find out more information to learn from. Always strive to become better. You probably will find one or more interesting facts that you previously did not realize. Hereafter this guide will be using competitive Source terminology.


Muscle Memory

Muscle memory has been spoken about within the competitive community. It involves the reflex of your muscles, and their own recognition of how much energy does it take to move somewhere; it is truly amazing to know that your muscles have such an ability. Your brain also combines its processing power to adjust and provide a protocol on how to take your muscles, and move them as you desire. The higher the repetitiveness of the activities that you do, the easier it is for your muscles to adjust to, and be more automatic. Some believe this is important, as your hand decides whether you are aiming perfectly, or contrarily, if you will never hit anything in your life. With this knowledge, people have been creating muscle memory maps. The one that I first saw, and the one that I use, may be downloaded with the link provided below.

[insert download link here to both of the maps at a future date. If you are interested and a download link still is not here, please search for it through Google. Mm_delight_64. Mm_delight_8. Also—the new one that is better: mm_kozzy_targets. You actually do not need to register at their website—just go to the download section and find it.]

How does muscle memory help? It helps by improving your aim. People believe that this serves as a similar purpose to practicing on deathmatch servers. To increment your aim in infinite amounts of movements is nearly impossible to complete, but your body will start to recognize those of which are important to you, and will start to improve your Counter-Strike aiming. It starts to remember how much distance, energy, and velocity your hand requires to move to ping a headshot, with the assistance of your optical sensors.

With the benefits listed, there are a few consequences. From a personal experience, you will find yourself frustrated with how you are not progressing extremely fast with muscle memory. You will find that this process is extremely tiring, and boring. However, the benefits really outweigh the downfalls of this method of practicing. The author of the maps believes that for every square that you manage to move your cursor to with pinpoint accuracy it is proportional to a headshot. Therefore, you can be making over hundreds of headshots within minutes, instead of connecting to a deathmatch to practice your aiming.

My advice is to prepare a decent list of songs, and provide you enough time to enjoy the actual game in combination to this serious practice. Always do the activity with accuracy, or your muscles will adjust to the wrong amounts of movement and will render your practice useless and ineffective. If you are warming up and appear to be missing the squares on the wall, move your cursor back and forth from the center point, to the area of focus. When you have received enough practice for that movement, prepare the same for another location. I strongly recommend begin slowly, and then try to speed your routine up. It is not imperative to be travelling to all the points for every single time you touch them with the cursor, and nor do you need to be using the 64 point map. I have not used it significantly yet. As long as you are doing it, you will realize that this is assisting your actual aim; as long as you are consistent, you will discover that your performance will not decrease significantly at a single instance of playing the game. You will however, discover that your aim is reaching a pinnacle where your improvement slowly decreases. This is due to human limitations—you are unable to become perfect at anything. Most people will be extremely proficient at aiming if they have perfected it and so they no longer need to focus upon it. Practice it for 15 minutes per day, or as you see fit in your schedule.

It is also important to note that the maps have helped me improve my own aim; however, since I am quite inconsistent, I have allowed my aim to become less effective. Muscle memory is also effective after a period of inactivity away from Counter-Strike, as it re-prepares your muscles for the game.


Self-Analysis

If you are serious about the game, then you should probably conduct self-analysis at intervals-- seeking how to improve yourself by evaluating yourself. An important part of your mentality is to maintain a willingness to criticize yourself. If you are scriming, and recording your demos, it is valuable to view them, and determine what have you done wrong, and how may you improve yourself. It is mature and ethical to find something to improve, as even the experienced players review themselves in order to progress their understanding of themselves in the game. If necessary, view what is your enemy doing, and what are you doing. Has it been successful, or are you not reading their methodology so well? What could you have done? I like to stand by the cliché, "never make the same mistake twice". How will this actually help you? It is quite simple, and does not require much thought in why this would assist in your gameplay, and other areas of life that may be applicable for this.


Probability, Psychology, and Early Warnings, and Instant Decisions

This section really focuses in on more deeper ideas related to the game, and not surprisingly, it requires already a depth of knowledge about Source. This might prove to be a large step to becoming more proficient.


Probability, Psychology and Early Warnings

The type of probability that we will be discussing upon, is human behaviour. How likely is it for them to rush all together with deagles in an eco round? The answer should be very clear that this is probable. However, what is the chance that the team does not eco, and buys out to the best of their ability in an attempt to surprise your team? This does not seem like a smart choice, and seems unlikely. Remember that they could try a hybrid—a few of both. This section focuses on how to rely on probability and the knowledge of psychology of others.

To begin explaining, let us bring in a typical scenario. Perhaps you are a Terrorist on Dust2, playing at a position near long A double doors. You notice that the enemy team has been using two grenades to lob at the chokepoint for over the last few rounds. You can decide to risk it, and have yourself damaged for no reason. Taking into account that an enemy team usually does this early on in the round, you should normally head to long A after the usual grenades have gone off at the doors.

This scenario is neutral. You gain barely anything (though the CTs have used their grenades.), and you lose barely anything (except that you are unable to rush early to long A). If you do not believe that taking a risk in trying to kill these two Counter-Terrorists is too dangerous, then this is the only solution to avoid the area until either the Counter-Terrorists stop their pattern, or after until they release all their grenades. The next, can help you to change this scenario to being a potentially successful one.

The team is doing the same as the other round, and you decide to have your whole team except for you eco since you lost the other round trying to push through their strong B players—one with an AWP. You have the bomb, and intentionally requested that those who are in your group purchase smokes. Two of your better players go along to short, and you along with the rest rush long A ASAP at the beginning of the round. You have a good spawn, and you waste no time in reaching the doors. You quickly pop out and kill the two grenadiers, giving you an open bombsite. You then use the smoke to cross into A, asking that your remaining group watch long A. Afterwards, you win the round and manage to kill all the Counter-Terrorists.

Information can you obtain from this scenario:

- The enemies are medium-high in cash since you lost the last round. This means your other teammates on eco can benefit greatly from dropped guns if you are successful at making opening kills, as the opposing team should all have guns.

- Since you should be on an eco round, it is less of a risk to have one buy, because one of your other teammates can make use of the gun if you are to be killed. This allows your team to keep pushing towards the site. You need the gun because the two Counter-Terrorists at Long can retreat into A if you are not able to eliminate them, which thwart your attack.

- With you having the bomb, it leaves less of a chance that one of your other teammates will die. Your deaglers should be pushing forwards after you enter Long A in a coordinated attack with your short. Even though the bomb will be spotted, the other team should already know you are rushing A, allowing for the B guards to rotate. Rushing to A usually tells the other team that you are planning to plant at A.

- There should still be one remaining Counter-Terrorist defending the bombsite at A, and the odds are against that person if you attack from two directions with deaglers, especially that person is AWPing at you from Long A.

- Since you killed two of the CTs, your other two allies now have guns. No more, no less then what is needed. These two can then help you kill the remaining guard at A, if your deaglers at short were not able to take the kill.

- You successfully remembered that there is a sniper watching B, and you used that information to buy smokes to render the sniper useless as you cross with the bomb to plant at A, as you have the bomb.

Not only did you win the round here, but you successfully a) established coordination for your team under pressure, B) used information you previously obtained, c) reacted from that information, d) completely recovered from an eco using enemy guns, not having to purchase your own, and e) you probably have discouraged the enemy team for throwing grenades at the doors at Long, making the A defenders more passive in their strategies for a duration of time. It is very easy to overlook such a scenario as this. Be proud if your team ever does anything like this.

The results should be very clear. Your team now should be at an equal advantage over your enemies if not slightly better than before, and the enemies should be surprised and internally demoralized. If you are lucky, their momentum can now be distorted psychologically.

<POWER POINT HERE>
Instant Decisions

<new scenario here?>
<add information here>


Aggressive Modes, and Tactics

Many professional players are known highly from their playing style. Danny “fRoD” Montaner for example, plays quite aggressively because he is confident and skilful enough to frag the opposition easily. Whenever he is able to kill an enemy, this provides his team with more opportunities, or less trouble. Most AWPers tend to be aggressive as they find their most use doing so. However, there is a risk, and if Danny is the one to be eliminated, his team suffers from it. Below, are the various modes of aggression, and roughly the idea of when to change your playing style.

Aggressive: This mode is most commonly used during times on the Terrorist side, or during eco rounds. You are nearly always attempting to frag someone of the opposition, and try your best to gain an entry to a bombsite or execute a convincing fake. You are usually pushing out into areas with common passage. On the CT side or during defensive gameplay, this is quite rare. It is only recommended to become aggressive if the Terrorists are not likely to be expecting your strategy. It should not be done frequently, and is most successful at first attempt. I say it as so, because better teams will immediately become less susceptible to an aggressive strategy if it has already been used because they usually adjust to it. However, they do not usually expect for one if it has not been performed yet. Lastly, CT aggressors should not be snipers, as their purpose is to defend a specific area from a distance.

Success Scenario 1: You are on the Terrorist side, where your team needs an entry pick in Dust2. This team is not aggressive at all in B. After attempting to pick off from DD during the time where the Counter-Terrorists cross, you travel to B, where your team is waiting to explode into the bombsite. You peak around the corner immediately to kill the AWPer in the back of the site, and your team now has the upper hand to rush the site without much casualties.

Success Scenario 2: Your team has lost the three prior rounds on Dust2. You decide to get your teammate holding B with you, to rush into the tunnels with MP5’s, while your others hold A at close range to entryways with deagles. Immediately you are able to kill the usual person in the tunnels, and tell those who are holding A to be expecting something. Picking up the AK47, you then watch short from the tunnel boxes, until three cross while you are able to damage them all. You believe one is watching DD/tunnels from middle, and you decide to rush out quickly before the Terrorists at short push through into A, where you are at a disadvantage, position wise. The enemies soon push through and kill all of your team. Luckily, your remaining teammate from the tunnels manages to spray down the flank guard and gain entry from short, where he holds his position with another AK47 while you travel to Long. With careful coordination, you are able to punch through both sides of the site, with you in the pit pressuring and killing those who are in your view, as they are still expecting a rush from short, while your teammate gains entry and kills the remaining Terrorist out of position.

Ineffective Scenario 1: You are on CT, and decide to rush middle on the map Mill. You have done this already in the same half, and have a decent amount of money. The last rush was successful, so you decide to do it again. You flash the left side (SA2) and enter, expecting everyone in the area to be blind. However, your plan does not go accordingly as a sniper in the back is not blind, and kills you easily, while those who were blind huddled against corners where you could not kill them. The Terrorists soon win the round, as there were only two watching A where you were also supposed to be. The opposition knew which bombsite you defend, and exploited your absence.

Passive: You do not take a risk in trying to pick off players—instead, you are camping and holding position, using different types of grenades to ward off and/or damage enemies. You also take advantage of your immunity to flashes due to position, and come out of position to engage those who are most vulnerable. Since you are always near a position of cover, you can retreat and reload and reallocate to another position, confusing the opposite team in believing there are more of your team then there actually are, leading the other team to be looking everywhere for campers. This stance is usually done by players guarding a specific position. Usually the most successful risk-free option if you do not make the mistake of allowing yourself to be picked off or exposed before you are of any use.

Successful Scenario 1: You are behind the yellow generator/small vehicle of some sort at Inferno A, where you are playing passively against an aggressive Terrorist team. Soon, flashbangs and smokes deploy everywhere around you, and you move your view away in order to negate most of the effects. You quickly take action while they are all rushing out and you throw your HE and then flashbangs. Believing that everyone is blinded badly, you begin to engage all in the lane to the bombsite, and manage to stop their concerted rush with ease.

Ineffective Scenario 1: Following the success of your win from last round, you decide to take position in the same place—behind the generator. You do not bother to mix your position up, because you believe it still would be an effective strategy. The team nearly does the same strategy as last time—however, three HE’s are purposely thrown where you were last round, and they manage to kill you. They then enter the site, where they shortly win the round.

Passive-Aggressive: This proves to be the most effective mode of combat if used properly. This combines the two--time where you attempt to pick off one player of the opposing team, and falling back afterwards whether successful or not. Many AWPers play this mode on both sides, but more commonly on the Counter-Terrorist side. The effectiveness depends on the frequency that this is used, the positions where you engage, and whether or not the opposition is being aware of possible strategies such as this.

<EXAMPLES HERE>

In summary, having different types of engagement levels may prove to be effective, if you are able to catch the other team off guard. Always be sure to mix your play up, and try to have a backup plan first before doing anything. It nearly always depends on the what the other team is doing. Usually for Terrorists:

CTs are aggressive: Be more passive. Allow them to come to you and your main fraggers. Counter-flash, and do early grenades.

CTs are passive: Be more aggressive. Try not to use up too many grenades, as these should be used for entries to a bombsite.

CTs are passive-aggressive: Always be aware of the areas where these types of strategies are done. Smoke these areas, and if they still try to push, flash and grenade the rushers to discourage them. These damaged players usually decide to hold their fallback positions if you pressure them enough, allowing you a chance to eliminate that secluded player.

For the CTs:

Ts are aggressive: Mix it up. If you can pick off one player, it can seriously derail the opposing team, especially if you drop back to survive. If you see them using grenades commonly, try to rush with lower tier weapons to catch them off guard, damaging or killing many. It is best to confuse them with different types of strategies, so that they do begin to waste their time expecting random rushes or picks. Try to stay at longer ranges if possible if the other team is possibly on eco.

Ts are passive: Be more passive. They are the ones who will have to come to you eventually, and they are hoping to create more opportunities by waiting for rushers. If they wait too long, they will not have enough time to have the bomb planted if you delay them long enough. During times such as these, always keep the pressure on, and ensure that they are unable to plant the bomb, as they will be focusing on doing so.

Ts are passive-aggressive: Mix it up. This usually means that the rest of the team is passive, waiting for an opening or time interval before they enter a bombsite. This also means that you are not pressuring and confusing them enough to be using a more risky strategy. Even puzzling the enemy to believe you are rushing (eg. flashing out randomly) can make them use more grenades, draining the amount of grenades they have during the penetration of a bombsite. However, remember that losing one Counter-Terrorist is worse than killing only one Terrorist due to a bombsite ratio (eg. 4 Terrorists to only 2 watching A on D2, instead of a better ratio of 5:3).


The Amazing Smoke Grenade

There are various tricks in using all types of grenades—some are intentionally obvious, and some are not. The smoke grenade has the most use in purposes other than the primary one, which is to obscure view from long ranges, or areas of approaches.


Peering Through the Clouds of Uncertainty Internally

Have you ever noticed that you can actually see through to the other side of the smoke if you are inside one? Well, I can say that this tactic works somewhat well against inexperienced teams or teams that are just not expecting such a tactic to be used. To be specific, you enter a single or multiple non-concentrated cloud(s) of smoke that was deployed by either you or your team, or an opposing team. If there is more than one, chances are that you will not be able to see through, and you might get yourself “lost” in the smoke. Afterwards, you stay near the middle of the cloud, or far back as long as you are able to see through it. Once there, you wait for an enemy to be seen, and then you can either engage, or wait to see if there are any more targets, depending on the dissipation of the smoke. I strongly recommend that this be used in a passive-aggressive stance, as it only makes real sense out of this.

Remember that firing a gun without a silencer usually produces a noticeable glare through to the other side, and reveals your location immediately. However, from my experience, it does not take long until the other team notices you if you begin to shoot, so shoot your enemies effectively, and then drop back. If you can, also try to cover your retreat by throwing an HE grenade towards the general direction of the enemies, or in the smoke if they are approaching close enough while moving back to a safer position. This strategy requires a good execution, and can have great success if you do it right. Not only will this spook your enemies into throwing HE grenades and flashbangs into a suspicious smoke (and you can intentionally assure them that a smoke is “suspicious”), but it might make them use less of smokes for fear of a random smoke rush, allowing your team sniper(s) to pick off at longer ranges. Then, they must decide which is at more risk to them. You can definitely play off that. Not only are they using more grenades, but also they are more focused on particular areas, allowing other strategies to be used, such as multiple attack points when you have them distracted, or having a friendly sniper picking from where they can nearby. If you keep winning rounds, this will demoralize them even further. Of course, if it doesn’t work as much, then you should have been able to detect what their possible strategies are.

When not to do it: when you are being beat out of it. If grenades are already being thrown in that area, do not do it there, even if your strategy has not been used before. However, if the other team is being excessively aggressive, for example if they are rushing through the smoke, you can throw a frag to damage them. If you feel raucous, you can try a rush of your own afterwards--if you have them blinded with flashbangs.

There are just too many possibilities with this strategy that you can use, it is nearly impossible to counter it effectively because you can always benefit from the use of enemy grenades. Practice it, and see if it works for you. As a last note, I recommend that this be done for those who have stable and high amounts of FPS. It will not help you if you are lagging too much with all the smoke particles, which leaves your sensitivity inconsistent. This strategy works for any type of weapon, even with sniper weapons. The only limiting factor for your weapon is the type of range. This can be done both defensively, and offensively.

Below are more pictures.

<Pictures here>


Peering Through the Clouds of Uncertainty Externally

This type of strategy is used for snipers in general. This is more limited in what can be done with it, as it depends on the level of surface in the region where you are targeting.

To explain completely, I will have to use a screenshot of an applicable area for the scheme. Below, is the example of the ramp room within the map of nuke. As you see, it is clear that you are able to see the feet of someone through in the direction of the radio room, which is usually a major chokepoint of the map.

<insert picture here>

What can you do with this information? Well, what can you do? You can pretend that you have no idea what this means for you or you can start to pick off the clueless Terrorists through that small entrance. They will have no idea how you are shooting through the smoke, because they cannot see under the smoke as you are (which is why you have to be positioned below the floor where the smoke deploys). Usually what happens after is they grenade/flash/shoot through to the general area of the position, so you should have a rifle partner to deal with them. If they absolutely do not know where you are (as in you were never spotted outside of the looking position, eg. killed), they will be focused slightly on the wrong area to attack you. This somewhat protects you against possible picking strategies, where they will get a sharpshooter to pick through the smoke without seeing through it.

The key here is to look through the smoke not from the middle of it, but the bottom for feet. From this information, I can now tell you that this also works <check this information ASAP and then add the final details> with walls on the sides. The smoke leaves a bit of space in between walls and floors so that you can see through it. The only problem with walls peering is that the enemy can see you the same way you are viewing through it. If the team is smart, they will keep moving and shooting where you were approximately.

<i>In entirety, the lesson derived from viewing through smoke externally is to look where the smoke does not cloud up the view. This often includes walls and floors. You have to be positioned appropriately in order to see through the smoke. In addition, you also have to be watching for the enemies in the right areas. Do not look through the smoke where you obviously are unable to, and interpolate their movements to where you can engage them, unless you are a reflex superstar. This means that your crosshair is not pointing at wher

Attached File ( Number of downloads: 106 )
 Copy_of_Spikey00_s_Ultimate_Guide_to_Counter_Strike_Source1.ppt

[Spikey00]

Changelog will be added as posts as we go along.

[Spikey00]

Added more pictures of D2.

[Spikey00]

New section! Independent Gaming.

[Spikey00]

Major additions to the Independent section.

[Spikey00]

Added more information in the muscle memory section, and created a few more sections.

[Spikey00]

Added slightly more information. Created a rough, "TO DO" list.

[Spikey00]

Created a few new subsections of information, and made a few new sections based on the TODO list.

[Spikey00]

This guide was split from the independent guide due to forum constraints. It remains unfinished.

Since e.Gaming no longer exists, this guide is therefore irrelevant. However, the information within this guide may prove to be quite useful to those who read.

This guide is still being completed. Scroll down to the independent section if you seek interest in improving yourself. The teamplay portion of the guide is incomplete, currently.

There is much still to be added to this guide, and it will be reorganized in the future.

Remember, this has been created for Source, not for 1.6.

- 2009 01 01

[font=Arial]Spikey's e.Gaming Teamplay and Other Information Guide


I'd like to take the time to create some sort of tip book for warmup with CAL, before we adventure any further within our clan.
This is serious material, which may only benefit you, and us, as a team. You want some action? You must learn the basics of teamplay.

All members are required to read this, and understand the material.

Why is this information important to me, and us as Edge Gaming?
This is important to everyone as it will offer tips to everyone about how other professional players are, and how their teams play.

You think it would be just "frag, frag, frag,", well it is definitely not the case. Behind the scenes of a professional team, is a team which functions in unison. It works like a production line; one person calls the strategies, another is the leader, and others are either just teammates, or some other significant part. During a match, everyone has a position to take, a waypoint to take, a smoke to throw, a flashbang to hurl, and a grenade to damage. I have not seen a single good team ramble about, doing whatever they wish, and be successful. It just does not work like that with professional gaming.

Up to this point, if you are thinking, "Oh, this guide is probably for just myself to read and to improve upon myself as a individual gamer, and whatever extra is bonus. It does not matter much as a team, as long as we all have perfect aim, perfect reflex, and perfect strategies. All I want to do is kill people, and win", then you really need to change your direction of mentality.

Up to this point, you probably have not seen what real professional Counter-Strike Source gaming is all about, as we have only been pubbing around, randomly doing things as they see fit. This is good, but does not teach you anything about where to stand, where to move, what to do with your team, what to say on your microphone, and actually; how to play.

This is why I have created this guide-- It is not to atrociously waste my time, or to impress anyone. It is to renew the image within your knowledge about gaming. To expel any corrupted knowledge. To help, you, become a true gamer.


Beforehand Checklist

Here is a list of the preparations you must take, in order to be ready with the next level to professional gaming.

You must:

• Be ready to accept whatever I tell you to do.
• Be working for the team, not for an individualistic approach.
• Habitually utilize grenades, flashbangs, and smoke grenades.
• Be able to be an average aimer.
• Use good guns.
• Know your CS:S basics.
• Know all your map basics, such as common locations and map names.
• Know the basics about reading the enemy.
• Use the audio to your advantage.
• Have at least 2 guns you are excellent with.
• Know the C4 Timer.
• Be able to learn and perform team-specific strategies.
• Be prepared to submit yourself in a professional environment herein, as you probably have never done before.

General Information and Terminology

Depending on your current knowledge about Counter-Strike Source matches and such, I am assuming everyone here does not have a clue of what anything is. So, without any more delays, here we go.

CAL [Cyberathletic Amateur League] is a broad league of which gaming enthusiasts engage each other within each division of a specific game. Ours is Counter-Strike Source, so we will not have to worry about other games. Entering CAL-O may occur in the distant future, as I do not believe e.Gaming is prepared to face challenges beyond what they are able to handle at this moment.

Although, we WILL be seeking out for scrims when we have the members, whether it be 3v3/4v4/or 5v5 on their servers as guests. These will most likely be unofficial, and most likely be for our own practise. Please be prepared to participate whenever it may be possible.

"Scrim"-ing, is the process of having a match with another clan, or team. If the match is unofficial, it is frequently referred to as a "Practise Clan War", or PCW. Traditionally, we usually have five on five matches on de_ maps. Usually, a match has 2 halves, both consisting of 15 rounds [according to CAL]. During the end of the first half, everyone switches teams to the opposite side, and awaits the LO3. Usually, teams exchange "Good half", or "GH" comments for courtesy.

Live on 3 (LO3) basically means that the match is now live [started], the proper executions have been made, and to prepare to record demos. [Required by CAL matches, and other official matches.] It is also the time to say "Good luck, have fun", or "GL HF" for general courtesy.

At the end of a match, both teams should exchange good gestures by saying "Good Game," or "GG."

(IMG:http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/3336/dedust20195dy4.th.jpg)
Dallas Venom exchanges GG.

In most cases, a configuration file will be loaded to load all the default settings appropriate for scriming, and three restarts will follow, and the match will commence afterwards.

Team Basic Strategies

I have always wanted to have everyone understand how important team cooperation, and unity is. Within my vision, to be an exceptional team, you do not need to aim extremely well, or know the physics of the game a hundred percent. Source is team game, not a individual game. Any team may consist of amazing shooters, but will almost always be shut down by a great team with logistics and uniformity. Team communication and thorough strategies demonstrate how professional a team is, or is not.

A team must be properly disciplined, and must understand how significant teamwork actually is in order to function in adequate levels. Every decent team positions everyone in several significant locations to cover specific areas of a map. Most decent teams attempt to pair up specific compatible teammates with others, to offer best results.

We shall get more thorough with these positions, and move on. We shall only be covering Counter-Terorrists positions, and one counter-act strategy of the position given, as terrorist positions are ultimately interchanging during the gameplay, and no real formation can be shown in every single situation. Generally speaking, the positions given are the most frequently used.
[Please note I shall be collecting information and including it here when I can!]

First of all, dust2, an extremely famous map for excellent gameplay and layout, while remaining simplistic, is a favourite of most people. Here is a strong main position holdout, where Counter-Terorrists should be.

(IMG:http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/9682/dedust20149ctpositionsni2.jpg)

The general idea, usually 2 are at B, and 2 are at A. Frequently, teams may have a free man to reallocate to other areas of significant activity where he is required.

Bombsite A: #1 is watching short, #2 is watching long and short, and middle. One of these should be a sniper, preferably #2, to pick off targets off in the distance. #2 will be able to snipe to long, and middle with ease. #1 may also be a sniper with #2, but then #5 should be a rifler just to offer assistance to prevent a smokeout and a strong rush.

Bombsite B: #3 may be located at the back, where he is offered with the crate cover provided. #4 should be also somewhere in there, and if #5 is spare near B, he should watch DD without being picked off by the opposition, and should move in B whenever there is heavy activity within the tunnels. #3 may be a sniper, although it is preferred that at least 2 people are with rifles as B is a more close ranged bombsite.

Here is a good counter strategy for the terrorists.

(IMG:http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/926/dedust20149tcounterbs1.jpg)

As you immediately see, terrorists do not just all go straight to a bombsite; it does not work like that in matches all the time, like you have been taught by pubbing on servers. The theory is that the terrorists attempt to induce a change within the Counter-Terorrists positions, to allow a weakness to transpire within their holding positions to allow for a breach. How they do so is they attempt to fake and seek out what the Counter-Terorrists's are doing, where they are moving, and where they seem to be focusing on. Counter-Terorrists's job is to detect where the terrorist movement is heading to, and ultimately where the bomber is, which should be always kept behind, covering spots in the background. It is absolutely useless having your bomber going out first, and ending up being killed by the opposing team, and having the bomb on the ground, unable to recover it without taking some serious damage from the opposite team. Usually, when the Counter-Terorrists team which has the bomb dropped, and are in position, T will almost certainly lose. Do not let this happen.

Within the picture, you may see that #1 is at long, throwing flashbangs and such at long, and perhaps having others throwing additional smoke grenades and flashbangs at round start to fake a rush to long, #2 is somewhere within middle, throwing a smoke grenade towards DD, and assisting with middle penetration, #3 is attending to short, #4 and #5 are within the tunnels, walking, unless they are pretending to be a huge rush to get the spare man to rotate to middle B, letting A be vulnerable to a breach.

What I want to get into detail, is the smokes, indicated by the grey blobs within the picture. They can be placed anywhere, but this is just an example of a smoke throwout early round. These are absolutely key for a decent terrorist rushing and faking.

The smoke(s) at long, may allow for a Terrorist long A rush, as the smoke should disable A Counter-Terorrists's to see terrorists moving through long and into the pit. A good sniper is crucial for this strategy to work. Be careful, as long rushing usually results in Counter-Terorrists snipers taking out everyone, and backup arriving at short/Counter-Terorrists spawn, and the A Counter-Terorrists's will move towards short to wait for the rush to get to A. Rushing Long A is discouraged, but may work once in a while. But, it works as a decent faking, as when Counter-Terorrists's rotate over to A (any good team will leave at least one teammate at each bombsite until they spot the bomber), they will be using up all their grenades, and will have some people watching long, instead of short and middle.

The smoke(s) at short disables the strong Counter-Terorrists crate hold, and the back corner of A, allowing for a smooth rush of hegrenades and flashbangs to register near the corner and lower back A. Afterwards, a smoke grenade should be thrown towards the front of the cars facing Counter-Terorrists spawn, if you believe a Counter-Terorrists sniper is in the pits, or if you are moving to the pit. This smoke disables Counter-Terorrists middle picking to middle A. This is a very strong strategy, and works out frequently than other strategies. If faking, smokes should be thrown closer to the T crate, and a few flashbangs should be also thrown towards A. The only reason why this strategy would not work, is because the other team is strong on their defence flashbanging, and manage to damage/kill a few of the terrorists rushing A with fire and hegrenades. If faking, it will not really have much of an affect, as they are already watching short, but they will be using up grenades.

The smoke(s) at DD will be important-- they offer DD snipers to be rendered useless and T will be able to move freely within the middle parts for a good ~20 seconds. Another smoke may be placed afterwards, if the one smoke manages to run out, but I do not recommend it, as the other team sniper may be at B, depending where their positions are within the map, and your team is already in positions to counter-act against the sniper if he choses to pop out. If you smoke from T spawn to DD, you will be able to purchase additional smoke grenades. Almost every single good team I have seen smokes DD on T side. Rushing DD is strongly discouraged, as A snipers will pick your team off (unless you smoke Counter-Terorrists spawn), and B will have your team cut down with flashbangs and hegrenades. A combination is fine, but the other team may have a player at Counter-Terorrists spawn which will destroy your team, as it is a huge chokepoint.

The smoke(s) at B should disable back B support, leaving B DD visible (as you should allow for a bit of visibility here-- or your team will be destroyed when you rush through the wall of smoke if the B Counter-Terorrists's are not completely flashed. If faking, you should never expose yourself within the Tunnels, so walk and smoke without exposing your body, or use a flash before smoking. Another man may be rotated to B, allowing your team sniper to pick them at DD if the smokes are gone.

When a weakness is spotted, the whole team should regroup soon at the bombsite. If it is A, the team should regroup from short or long, depending on the Counter-Terorrists player count, to see if any are still possibly left at long. If it is B, they should regroup through the tunnels. Then the whole team should flash the opposition hard, and hegrenade the most probable spots where the Counter-Terorrists's are remnant within the bombsite.

Usually during eco [saving up for better guns] rounds, terrorists should still be utilizing grenades, but they usually all rush together into a bombsite. They should always pick up spare guns dropped by the Counter-Terorrists's, and use whatever they have to delay Counter-Terorrists's if the bomb is planted.

Below, are a few screenshots of the positions Counter-Terorrists plays. Pay attention to the minimap/radar as well, they offer team locations.

(IMG:http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/3272/dedust20154in6.th.jpg)
Moe of SF OptX, is seen with an AWP crouched in the back of B. The reason? The tunnels are smoked, and the other team might pick and fire at the crates through the smoke.

(IMG:http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6141/dedust20155wm9.th.jpg)
Warmach1ne of SF OptX, moves towards Counter-Terorrists spawn, as there appears to be heavy activity located at the doors, and A. Moe is left at B, to watch for a T movement back to B just in case.

(IMG:http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/8456/dedust20156nh1.th.jpg)
Clown of SF OptX, is seen at A, where he is watching short from the popular A-to-short position.

(IMG:http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/4548/dedust20157zt6.th.jpg)
Moe of SF OptX, is seen again at B, crouching right next to the dust crate. The same reason, except there is no smoke at B, so he is depending on his reflex and aim.

(IMG:http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/9946/dedust20159op5.th.jpg)
A good holdout position, demonstrated by OptX.

(IMG:http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4852/dedust20194sl6.th.jpg)
Funshine of Turmoil, is seen scoped at Short stairs viewing to middle with an AWP with a small view.

(IMG:http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5421/dedust20188ao3.th.jpg)
A demonstration of a good team stack to boost up over to Short to do a rush and retreat.

(IMG:http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2286/dedust20183nh0.th.jpg)
Funshine of the Dallas Venom, is scoped at the tunnels to Counter-Terorrists's entrance to upper Tunnels.

(IMG:http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8034/dedust20180tq6.th.jpg)
Another position for A. Acceptable, as zid of Dallas Venom has an AWP to cover from long to A.

(IMG:http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/304/dedust20179tn8.th.jpg)
zid of the Dallas Venom, positioned at DD with a an AWP watching through a small crack towards the long DD.

(IMG:http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/3310/dedust20174eb6.th.jpg)
Good smoke positioning, and another view of the Counter-Terorrists position at A.

(IMG:http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1970/dedust20170qb4.th.jpg)
Turmoil pushing out to Counter-Terorrists side DD, having the Counter-Terorrists spawn smoked.

[Hopefully you will understand what real gameplay is about now, I need to include more maps for strategies in the future, but dust2 is a major example which I wanted everyone to learn.]

Bomb Planting

Pubbing on servers has taught everyone incorrectly about correct bomb planting. It appears most pubbers plant the bombs in secluded areas, locations where Counter-Terorrists's will have slight problems locating the bomb. This is utterly horrible! Barely any Terorrists will be able to spot the bomb, and potentially a defuser working away at the bomb. It also restricts Terorrists to cover the bomb in a variety of positions, thus allowing the Counter-Terorrists's to flash and rush all the Terorrists. Your team should plant in moderately decent spots if Proper bomb planting is absolutely critical.

Please view this link to view and note all the proper bomb planting spots. It is mainly composed of pictures, and a few descriptions of why the locations are appropriate.
http://whisper.ausgamers.com/wiki/index.ph...rce_Bomb_Plants

After the Plant

For the terrorists, after the bomb is planted, any leftover hegrenades, flashbangs, and smoke grenades should be used to delay, and damage the arriving Counter-Terorrists's. They probably should be used sparingly to continually delay their team. Do not use all grenades at once. Every 3-4 seconds you should throw another flash once the blindness wears off to provide the maximum efficiency. Smoke grenades should be placed in areas to disable Terorrists to be picked off by incoming Counter-Terorrists's, and hegrenades should always be thrown to attempt damage. Remember that the C4 timer is usually set to 35 seconds.

All the terrorists should be remotely around the bombsite, or have sight of the bomb, and able to take out any defusers if the rest of the team is eliminated. They should never allow themselves to be picked off by the other team. The objectives have switched now; Counter-Terorrists's are now on the offencive, and Terorrists are on the defence. You want to take advantage of the conditions, instead of rushing idiotically and being killed by the opposing team easily and leaving the bomb to be open for a defuse.

For the counter-terrorists, prior to a bomb planting, the whole team should regroup, or attack the bombsite at the same time syncronized. Any spare grenades should be utilized, smoke grenades to block the view, flashbangs to enter, and hegrenades to damage terrorists in highly probable camping positions. Attempt to kill all the remaining terrorists before you begin the defuse, and be ready to defend the defuser if there are terrorists still left. Be sure to start defusing the bomb when you believe you will make it. Attempt to defuse it in a safe spot. Teammates should get in front, to delay the Terorrists from killing the defuser.

In stacked odds, normally they still attempt to enter the bombsite. Except, if there is only you [unless you have 10K+], and there are still 3-5 terrorists left or if 2 are positioned in extremely advantageous locations, you will want to camp away from the bomb explosion proximity, and attempt to pick off the remaining Terrorists. You are almost certainly going to be killed, and you will lose your guns and equipment.

Purchasing During Freezetime

Purchasing weapons and equipment during freezetime team oriented requires team co-ordinance. A primary principle is to have your whole team either having a primary and secondary weapon, or without.

A team should frequently provide their amount of money they have for the buying strategist, usually whenever the whole team is eliminated, or loses a round. This information should be provided as text, or through a queued voice server.

You should be clean and rapid with it, as it will be crucial to have the buying strategist to retrieve all the required information within the freezetime. You do not want your time to expire.

A clean way to announce your money is to just stay approximate.
eg. Money you have is $6,380.
You should call out in teamchat: 6.4k
Side Tip: A team should always buy up on last round of a half. There is absolutely no use to save, as there should be no further rounds at end of the half/match.
Depending on the team's buying strategist, he/she should call the following (they may also be used in conjunction):

Buy up - Purchase all equipment and a weapon. Usually this is called when the team has plentiful of money.

Eco - To save up for the next round(s) in order to purchase equipment and weapons. This is usually called when a team has run out of money. Do not purchase anything else!

Deagle up [this will vary] - Buy a deagle, and all equipment.

USP up [this will vary] - Buy a USP (T side), and all equipment.

MP5 up [this will vary] - Purchase MP5's and all equipment.

Auto up [this will vary] - Purchase auto's and all equipment. This is rarely called, and here will be the theory behind the auto up.

The auto up is frequently used on Dust2, on the T side for the last round of a half when the Terorrists have plentiful amounts of cash. The Terorrists continuously crouch and shoot at the space between the DD's to damage and/or kill any Counter-Terorrists's heading to B. T afterwards purchases another gun.


End so far, of the teamplay part, at this current moment. There is so much more to explain, so hopefully I will be able to finish this part of the guide some day in the future...

[Spikey00]

Some beginner information added that includes flashbang mitigation, and added Intermediate: The Amazing Smoke Grenade

[Spikey00]

Major updates to the guide--added information in a few sections.

Please note:

WARNING: THIS GUIDE IS NOW OBSOLETE. A POWERPOINT HAS BEEN CREATED TO REPLACE THIS GUIDE--IT IS THE ONE TO BE UPDATED BECAUSE IT OFFERS MORE POSSIBILITIES BECAUSE I CAN INCLUDE PICTURES AND HAVE A PLEASANT DESIGN FOR YOU. PLEASE SEE THE FILE ATTACHMENT BELOW AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST POST.

ANOTHER NOTE: THE FORUM HAS DISALLOWED ME FROM POSTING UP THE ACTUAL POWERPOINT FORMAT--IF IT DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU, PLEASE CHANGE THE FILE EXTENSION TO .PPTX BY DELETING THE .PPT AND CHANGING IT TO .PPTX.