Counter-Strike is a term that many people are familiar with, either from playing the earlier versions or from seeing the still enormously popular game being streamed live on Twitch at one of the numerous Esports tournaments. How can you really begin playing the game and get to the level of a reasonably good player in a short period of time?
It all begins, of course, with Steam, the software distribution platform developed by Valve, the company that also developed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Although the game itself is free to play, you may upgrade to Prime Status for a modest fee of €12,75, which is a bargain in today's world. This makes it possible for you to get drops and to be matched against other Prime members. With cheats being a potential issue in online shooters, purchasing this upgrade may result in you encountering fewer of them, making it a worthwhile purchase to make.
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Getting the configurations just right
It is not difficult to download and install the game itself, but once you are in the game, you will find that there are many options that may be altered. There seems to be an infinite number of options, ranging from finding the ideal crosshair for you to finding the optimum sensitivity or even screen resolution.
For novice players, it is highly recommended that they attempt to convert what they have previously utilized in other games. The majority of the time, a calculator to do just that is only a Google search away, which means you can simply play at the same sensitivity you used during, for example, Overwatch or even certain single-player games. If you have no previous experience with First Person Shooters, don't be concerned; you can just experiment with different sensitivity settings until you find the one that works best for you. However, it is recommended that you attempt to play with a somewhat modest sensitivity setting. Most pros and other skilled players utilize a mouse with a dpi of 400 to 800 with a sensitivity ranging from 1 to 3 in-game, depending on their skill level. If your previous gaming experience has been limited to titles such as League of Legends, you will find it difficult to adapt since high sensitivity is more appropriate for those types of games.
It is up to you to decide where the crosshair will be. Only you have the ability to choose the color and movement of the piece. This may be thought of as your own personal style statement inside the game. It is also not necessary to worry about the resolution since most users will just play at the native resolution of their computer display. Some people, however, prefer to use a 4:3 aspect ratio since it reduces the field of vision, which results in fewer distractions in the area surrounding the center of the screen.
Getting right into a game
In a competitive shooter, most players would want to be able to get into a queue for the competitive game mode in CS:GO right away, but there is a minor condition that must be met first. Players will have to reach Private Rank 2 in order to be allowed to begin their ranked experience since this requires new players to at the very least participate in some action in order to acquire a feel for the game before participating in matches where every round counts. Deathmatch is, without a doubt, the most straightforward game to learn. In this mode, players have the option of either selecting their weapon from the purchase menu or just receiving a random weapon every time they spawn. This will give you a fair sense of the types of weaponry available and which ones may be a suitable match for your playstyle.
When headshots continue to come from you rather than the opposing forces, you may try playing the Retake mode to see if it helps. You will recapture a bomb-site in the same manner as you would do in a competitive game in this mode, which was created specifically for this purpose. You get to practice using utility and dealing with time constraints, much as you would later on in your ranked play adventure.
There will be no running and gunning.
It is common knowledge among Counter-Strike players that their game is very complicated and has several difficult concepts to grasp. When comparing it to some other major first-person shooter games, this is indeed the case. In CS:GO, for example, you must maintain complete stillness when firing with the majority of weapons. There are a variety of approaches that may be taken, with the simplest being to just stop holding a movement key. Your character will begin to sluggishly slow down and ultimately stop. A dynamic crosshair is one that stops moving and comes to a halt the minute you come to a complete stop while playing a game.
'Counter-strafing' is a more difficult but more effective method. In order to do this, you must hit the key that corresponds to the movement you are now performing. Suppose you are traveling to the right, and you need to counteract that movement by pressing the left key. You will come to a complete stop at a particular point. You can just hold down both keys to stop and stay stopped, but you can also remove the key of your previous movement and touch the counter-key to stop just that little bit more quickly if you need to stop quickly. This, on the other hand, is highly time-dependent, resulting in a higher skill ceiling and a larger risk of failure.
Spraying for control
Unfortunately, your writer must confess that it took him a while to realize that this was a thing in CS:GO before he realized what he was talking about. Every weapon in this game has a fairly predictable spray pattern, particularly the AK-47, and both M4 rifles have a route you can easily follow that is simple to manage. It takes the shape of the number seven, which you must counter by repositioning your mouse in the other direction.
The most straightforward method of practicing is to design a game for yourself, either with or without bots, in which you spray on a wall and watch a pattern develop over time. Using the following method, you can attempt to break up this pattern and see if you can group the effects closer to one another. This will make it simpler for you to spray down opponents since you will be in command of the situation rather than the weapon.
Are you prepared to compete?
Upon reaching the required level, you may enter the competition if you believe you are ready, or if your friends have been nagging you to play with them for a long time. The objective of a competitive match is to reach the 16th round first, or 15th round if the match finishes in a tie. In order to do this, two halves will be played, with the second half often being completed in its entirety since either side must complete the required 16 rounds. You either start on the terrorist or counter-terrorist side in the first half of the game and must behave in accordance with your starting position.
Starting on the Counterterrorism side, it is critical to keep terrorists away from bomb locations until the operation is fully operational. Choose between going towards the A or B location and containing any potential offense that may be directed your way. It is possible to win the round by defusing the bomb if it has been planted, killing all of the opposing players before the bomb is planted, or allowing the timer to run out before the bomb is placed. You will, without a certain, lose if the bomb goes off or if all of the Counter-Terrorists are killed.
On the terrorist side of things, it is a little simpler to comprehend. Either you allow the device to detonate or you eliminate all of the Counter-Terrorists before the countdown expires. Half of the game will take 15 rounds, which means you will either play 15 rounds on the Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist side before switching to the other side.
The most effective weapons
There are a few factors to consider while evaluating the finest guns available. The AWP is the most powerful and costly single-shot sniper rifle on the market. Every shot that you land above the knees is an immediate kill unless there is a wall in the line of your aim. An armored target will typically take 85 damage from a leg shot in most cases. This weapon is available for purchase regardless of whose side you support.
The AK-47 is the most often used weapon by terrorists on the battlefield. The weapon is one of the most often utilized in the game due to its one-shot, one-kill capability when striking someone in the head while being reasonably priced. The spray itself is very controlled, and it is certainly one that you should learn to master if you want to progress in CS:GO gameplay.
On the Counter-Terrorism side, though, you have two choices to consider. The M4A4 or the M4A1-S, with the M4A1-S being somewhat less expensive than the M4A4. However, with this somewhat less expensive version comes fewer bullets but a spray that is simpler to manage. The M4A4 has a greater punch, but it will be more difficult to handle for most players due to its slightly higher firing rate and overall weight.
Communicate
It may be intimidating to enter onto a map that you are unfamiliar with, but the callouts in CS:GO are really very simple the majority of the time. You can often get away with just calling out what you see or what they are hiding behind, and the vast majority of gamers will comprehend what you are saying. As is often the case, not every person you come across will be as pleasant as you would like, but the vast majority of people will make an effort to assist you if you ask politely. It's now time for you to plunge headfirst into the incredible world of CS:GO.