Overview
A few simple notes on how to headshot easily, tips about camping, when to crouch and when not to, reasons why bunny hopping doesn’t work, ect.
The Intro
When I first started play counterstrike I remember facing tons of people I couldn’t possibly compare to. I felt like quitting (I’m sure some players now wish I had! :D). This is probably the most important thing to remember, don’t give up!
In order to get used to playing this game try fighting some bots on a server you make. Then once you have gotten used to the controls and can possibly win a match then it will be ok to try a public server. Watch out when you choose a server, go into servers that don’t have more than maybe 6 players. The more players there are the harder the game will be.
Try challenging yourself, it’s really the only way you’re going to get better. Trust me I know. If you think I’m full of it challenge me! I’ll show you 🙂
I’ll try to keep all of these sections really short so you don’t have to read much. I’ve sprinkled hints and tips all throughout my guides so pay attention! I don’t like typing and I’ve already got writer’s cramp so give me a break if I don’t sound like the most literate person. Enjoy
Let me know if there is anything I can add.
Game Types
Three Main Types of Counterstrike: Source
When searching for a server note that there are many different ways to play the game. There are three main ones though. Those three are traditional, gungame, and zombie mod. I personally like gungame better.
Traditional counterstrike: source is comprised of two teams. The terrorists (Ts) and the Counter-Terrorists (CTs). Depending on the map the object is either for the Ts to plant a bomb at a specific location and the CTs are to either stop them from planting it or to defuse the bomb after it has been planted. The other option again depending on the map is for the Ts to have hostages and the CTs are to rescue those hostages. Either way most of the time the object will not be met because both teams usually kill the entire other teams before an objective can be performed, unless the server has very few players. The weapons choices are really based upon your personal comfort and skill but for any person you really can’t go wrong with the CV-47 or the Maverick M4A1 Carbine.
GunGame counterstrike: source is my personal favorite. You can play this many different ways. One way is free for all, which is nice if you want to be the all glorious champion (who doesn’t!). Team deathmatch of course is composed of two teams trying to kill each other. Another thing to note is that the function of the game is you accrue kills to advance your weapons. Sometimes it’s one gun change for one kill, other times it’s one gun change for two kills. Usually but not always you can knife kill a person for an immediate weapon change. Sometimes the weapons will change in a particular order like least damage to most damage or the opposite. This doesn’t really matter as long as you don’t waste time in killing. Trying to find a camping spot or hiding waste time and you can soon find you have been left behind on the score board so don’t hesitate!
ZombieMod counterstrike: source is interesting indeed! Basically you don’t start out on a team, you can choose Terrorists or Counter-Terrorists but it really doesn’t matter. Quickly buy your weapons, your choices are usually based upon the rules of the server. If a server has no reload then you may want to choose either the CV-47, Maverick M4A1 Carbine, Leone YG1265 Auto Shotgun, or Bullpup. If there is reloading you may want to choose the M249 simply because it holds so many rounds. The drawback is that it takes forever to reload when it does finally need to.
When the match starts you must find yourself a place to bunker down. Usually you will want to shoot objects to block doorways and windows. Do so quickly because usually between 30 seconds and one minute random players will change into zombies. When facing a zombie, the best way to go about it is not at all. Depending on the server a zombie can have rediculous amounts of health and will turn you into a zombie with just one hit. They have super speed and jump. The only real flaw they have is that they can only wield a knife.
The other way to play zombie mod is slowly being phazed out which is sad because I personally liked it. Again quickly buy items and switch to your knife or pistol (this helps you run faster). The objective it to get to the finishline before the zombies take you out. You can’t outrun zombies so use the object provided you (boats, helecopters, trucks, ect.) to survive. There really are far too many alterations to the zombiemod maps to really explain them all. So play a few!
I suggest you play all game types until you really find out what you like.
There are easier ways to search for maps though this doesn’t always work. For easy server searching try searching:
For Traditional Games: “DE” or
“CS”
For GunGame Games: “GG”
For ZombieMod Games: “ZM”
Bunny Hopping
Well, here I am, talking about bunny hopping.
What is bunny hopping you ask? Well, bunny hopping is when a person propperly times thier jumps to get a good amount of altitude and doing it repeatedly while dodging and attacking other persons. This is done by: timing, server-mods, personal “hack” mods. I tend to stay away from “B-Hop” servers.
When bunny hopping you have to remember a few things:
1) You will look like a douchbag doing it
2) You will quickly be hated for it
3) Many servers will ban you for it
4) You have SIGNIFICANTLY reduced accuracy when doing it
5) It’s unsportsmanlike (Unless you’re on a deathrun level)
Sometimes a single hop can be very beneficial though!
For example: If you are coming around a corner and you heard an enemy walking around that corner you can quickly jump out and land in a crouch while blasting you weapon the whole time usually dispatching the enemy with little or no harm to yourself.
In general bunny hopping is bad. Not to mention on many occasions I’ve encountered bunny hoppers who assumed that it was an effective way to play and they ended up losing because of number “4” on my things to remeber list; Accuracy. Accuracy is important. Counterstrike: source calculates damage according to where a person is shot. So if you keep shooting at a person’s extremities or worse not hitting them at all you will lose. The most important thing is that bunny hopping is considered by many to be bad sportsmanship. If you want to glory you must be friendly to achieve it. Otherwise you end up with infamy.
I’ve been asked many times but no, I will not tell how to bunny hopp. Sorry.
Headshots
Headshots are a wonderful little thing. Nearly always it will end in a dead enemy and one point for yourself.
Headshots are actually easy to accomplish, just download hacks! I’M KIDDING! DO NOT USE HACKS! They get you banned from servers and they are extremely unsportsman-like.
When having mastered headshots it’s like shooting fish in barrel! Remember one thing though; When you see an enemy your natural reaction will be to drop your crosshairs to thier body which most of the time effectively removes your chances of getting a headshot and turns your fishie in a barrel into an old west shootout, who wins? Whoever shoots fastest.
Ways to nearly guarantee headshots:
1) Remember to stay calm
2) Aim a little higher when walking than you might be used to, when you drop your crosshairs you will usually be in line with thier head.
3) From long ranges take your time shoot slowly, aim for the head, and pay attention to the crosshairs. If they start expanding you are shooting too fast and you’re loosing accuracy
4) PRACTICE, don’t think you’ll be a potshot right away!
Crouching
Crouching is very important. It allows you to increase your accuracy and puts you out of the enemy’s normal headshot area.
Crouching is simple to accomplish, I crouch almost every time I shoot. I know my character must look like a man plagued by serious bowel trouble with the running and crouching and running and crouching and more running and yet more crouching but, I almost always win. That’s the point isn’t it?!
Try pairing crouching with jumping! Also, always crouch when shooting long distances. This really does significantly increase your chances for that all important headshot.
Don’t forget about crouching. I don’t have much to say about it but IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!
How to Use Each Weapon Effectively
There aren’t many weapons in Counterstrike: Source but here are the weapons and ways I use them best.
Knife – First and foremost, only use this if you need to unless you wanna get knifed back! But simple enough, always use right click not left click, and try and knife people in the back; it usually kills them in one hit.
9×19mm Sidearm – This really is a piece of crap weapon. The secondary option for it is a 3 round burst fire but it has too much recoil to use the option. I preffer crouching and shooting as quickly as possible at the head. Luckily you can shoot as fast as you want with the single fire option and never really suffer accuracy loss.
KM .45 Tactical – This weapon is ok at the very most, it loses accuracy no matter how quickly you fire it. Just like the 9x19mm I crouch but I fire much slower. I’ve been stuck on this weapon now and again when playing gungame. The silencer option doesn’t really come into play unless you’re playing a traditional game.
228 Compact – This gun is usually underestimated simply because it’s not as powerful as the night hawk. I like it because it has a good sized magazine, it does a fairly good amount of damage, and it fires fast while remaining extremely accurate. Use the the same as the other pistols, crouch and shoot.
Night Hawk .50c – This is the big daddy of pistols, sadly is has a small magazine. Luckily it does super damage! Use this short range and fire quick or slow firing long range. It’s not very accurate.
ES Five-seven – This gun has the largest magazine capacity. Crouch and fire to your heart’s content. I rarely have to reload before I get a kill with this gun.
.40 Dual Elites – Well, they aren’t acurate but there’s plenty of round and power. You can use this gun like a rifle and just run and shoot. I wouldn’t suggest long ranges, they just aren’t very effective that way.
Leone 12 Gauge Super – This is a difficult shotgun unless you know how to use it. I usually wait for an enemy to come around a corner and I aim where I thinkhis head will be then blast him. Hopefully you can either kill him first hit or pump the gun before your target gets a shot off.
Leone YG1265 Auto Shotgun – Run and gun baby. This is only effective at close ranges but boy is it fun. It carves a path thru enemys at close ranges.
Schmidt Machine Pistol – This is a nice cheap weapon for traditional games being that it’s silenced. In a gungame just run and gun and aim for the head.
Ingram Mac-10 – I really hate this weapon. It’s completely inaccurate. I played on a server by myself to see the type of bullet spread this thing has and it’s equivelent to ten feet of spread at 30 feet. It’s rediculous. The best way to use this is to mash yourself against and enemy and aim for his point blank head.
KM Sub-Machine Gun – Relatively nice gun, you can use it close up or at a range of you pulse your fire.
KM UMP45 – This is an interesting one. Unlike most of the other submachine guns it’s better at long ranges. It has a really slow fire rate sadly and if you don’t pulse the rounds you wont get much out of this gun. Unless of course you point blank full auto fire. Most of the time you are outmatched with this gun.
ES C90 – This gun is armor piercing which is cool. It has an extremely fast fire rate. It holds 50 rounds. This gun is great for short and medium distances and great for ambushing.
M249 – There’s not much tactic behind this baby. 200 round magazine, armor piercing, and it shoots under water on some servers. Sadly the monsterous amount of recoil and slow movement speed seem worse than the pros for this gun. One hint, it shoots threw some walls and with 200 rounds you can afford to keep firing.
IDF Defender – This weapon has good armor and some light wall penatration. It has a high rate of fire for closer encounters. The accuracy degrades really fast after the first shot so if you want to use it long range make sure you’re keyed in on your target before firing.
Clarion 5.56 – Be careful with this gun, it may not look like it but you suffer almost as much speed reduction as the big M249. It’s very accurate at long rage is you burst fire. I can’t say I’ve ever really used it’s alternative burst fire option.
CV-47 – This is a great gun for headshots. Any headshot will kill instantly even if somebody is wearing a helmet. The first shot is highly accurate and it has great armor penetration and pretty good against walls too. I frequently will crouch and snipe with this because of it’s immense power.
Maverick M4A1 Carbine – The accuracy and fire rate are excellent with this gun. at medium ranges you can open up fire and usually come out on top. It’s great at long ranges if you tap fire. Plus a silencer is always nice to keep you off the radar.
Schmidt Scout – You need to practice with this gun or be lucky. You need two torso shots or one headshot to kill somebody and it’s virtually impossible to kill without using the scope. Be pacient with this gun and you will eventually learn to quick scope. (Line up a shot and fire a headshot witht he scope very fast).
Krieg 552 – This gun annoys my because of how confused it is. It has good damage but it doesn’t do enough to really be an auto sniper but when you use it as a assault rifle it fires much faster but accuracy is terrible. I preffer to use it long ranges or very close range, theres nothing in the middle.
Bullpup – Great powerful gun. You can unleash hell at close and medium ranges then switch to zoom and take slower but relatively accurate powerful shots at long range.
D3/AU-1 – This is an auto sniper, long range only but very effictive at it.
Krieg 550 Commando – This also is an auto sniper, long range only but very effictive at it.
Magnum Sniper Rifle – This is the most powerful sniper, great range and power (instant kill pretty much anywhere on the body any time) It has a better close range window than the other snipers (unscoped) but single it takes a while for a second shot I’d reccomend not doing that.
HE Grenade – This is difficult for even me. I noticed people use it alot in hopes for an instant kill but that won’t happen. At very most you can get 96 damage if the person is unarmored. If you use this throw it ahead of where teammates are firing, that will increase your chances of getting an enemy that’s already hurt. Be careful not to blow up a teammate though.
Spikey HE Grenade – These are awesome! Usually only in gungame but I’ve seen them on all server types. You can throw these directly at an enemy but my favorite thing to do it let and enemy shoot at mt from a medium distance and when they duck behind a wall, if they have another wall behind them you can bank the gredane off of the back wall and it will stick to them. Watch out with using this at close range, an enemy can charge forward and kill you with your own grenade. Remember you usually can’t outrun another person, everybody usually travels about the same speed.
Try finding a gun that works for you, or get used to them all in a gungame!