Exerticus' CS:S Guide: Movement

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Exerticus' CS:S Guide: Movement

Here is the second installment of my CS:S guide. This section will cover movement, this will include when to walk, run, strafe, and how to move effectively with any type of weapon. This will touch on firing patterns as well, but I will, for the most part, save that for a later installment. Some of these sections might seem helpful for first week players only, but I assure you that there is information in these sections that nearly anybody can benefit from.

 

Walking VS Running

There are some instances in Counter-Strike that call for stealth, whether it is to prevent a CT from hearing you approach the hostages in a CS_Office pub, or in a CEVO-P finals match. Some might just stick a silencer onto their rifle and be done with it. While that can prevent the enemies from pinpointing where you are at long ranges, it does not help at all in close-range situations.

 

Something important to remember is that, for the most part, maps in Counter-Strike are small. Which means that anybody with a $20 headset and onboard sound can hear your footsteps. In all my experience of playing Counter-Strike one of the situation that will kill a player the most is when they do not know when to walk. Looking at this from a competitive player's point of view, walking does take time. Making your way into a bombsite with three enemy Terrorists with the bomb ticking is often very intimidating to players and the faster the beeping gets, the faster they want to get to the bomb. Yes, you will have less time if you walk into the bombsite, but, if that means that you can get the jump on one enemy, then you just turned a 3v1 into a 2v1, which is much easier to win. Also, do not forget that once your stealth is blown, it's gone. Once you take your first shot, the enemies will know where you are and will be calling that spot out for their teammates. At that point, walking is just a waste of time and is likely to get you killed. Once you get that 2v1, you need to move fast. Most people will peek you once you kill their teammate, and that is when you need to avoid their first shot and take a mental note of all the enemy positions you see.

 

But, when do you start walking? The answer to that is very simple. Just before you are within ear-shot of the closest common hiding spot. Using de_inferno as an example, say the bomb has been planted in A site and you are rotating over from Middle. You would first run around to Banana, check the car for AWPers, and run up until you can be heard from behind Sandbags. Walk just before they can hear you, check the spot, and avoid the basket lid on the ground at all costs. As soon as you take a shot, somebody sees you, or you hit that basket lid, run.

 

As for how you know where to start walking at, there really is no trick. Just use experience, or practice with a teammate. But, if at all possible, try to practice with somebody who has a good headset or a good soundcard, it won't do you much good to try it with somebody who starts hearing footsteps within five feet of their position.

 

Movement While Firing

Stationary targets are much easier to hit versus a moving one. They always have and always will be. Strafing is a very good technique to help you to avoid being hit while in a firefight, and can prove invaluable when it comes down to a pistol vs an assault rifle. It is for this reason that I do not recommend crouching down while shooting. It will make you more accurate, but it will make you a very easy target to hit. Not only can you not move, but you also are taking a system of spread out hitboxes, the head being the smallest and most difficult spot to hit, and cramping them together so that if somebody doesn't hit you in the head, they will destroy your torso, it also makes dinks much more likely.

 

So, first get out of the habit of crouching and shooting. You can just practice firing standing up or if you are really having difficulty, unbind your crouch button for a short while. This can be done by going into your options menu, the keyboard tab, hilighting the crouch command, and clicking the 'Clear Key' button.

 

First, the easiest way to practice strafing between shots is to buy a Desert Eagle and play in maps that are close to mid range. Maps like cs_office and de_dust2 are good pub maps to practice in, and de_tuscan, cpl_mill, and de_nuke are good league maps to practice this in. The best way that I have seen to move with a pistol, specifically the Desert Eagle, is to make very small strafes from side to side while firing. Being as random as you can with the distance also helps as it prevents the enemy from being able to predict where you will be next. This is especially effective against headshot oriented players.

 

Next, the automatic weapons, specifically the M4A1 and the AK47. These weapons are very quick killers and are more than capable of ending a firefight with one burst. While firing at another player with these from mid to long range, strafing is key. However, unlike when using a pistol, these strafes are generally going to be longer and more drawn out, this is done to give you time to let your recoil level out so your next burst will be accurate. Once again, though, be sure to not make your strafes too regulated. Stop at random and fire, you do not need to be completely leveled out before you can fire again, and firing at random intervals will confuse your enemy as well. It is very important, however, that your bursts are accurate and that you can kill your enemy quick. While strafing does make you harder to hit, it is far from impossible. It is primarily to prevent them from being able to get a headshot on you, so the longer you take, the more body shots they will get on you, leaving you weaker and weaker.

 

AWPing is also movement oriented, but it is not as key as it is for rifles. While using the AWP, your movements will be much like that of pistol strafing, you do not have to wait long between shots and therefore your movements can be shorter and more random. Just be sure to not take too long when taking your shot, the key is to have the enemy firing at you when you are moving so they are more likely to miss and to have them moving when you are about to fire. It will decrease their chances of hitting you, it will make them fire faster to try and kill you before you shoot, and it will keep them from shooting at you when you are standing still.

 

Peeking

Peeking spots get you killed, a lot. Primarily because many people do not know when to peek out effectively and when they do, they do it very wrong. Knowing when to peek out is generally pretty easy to figure out:

 

Do:

If you both have rifles and you have high health.

If you have an AWP and they have a rifle.

 

Don't:

If you both have rifles and you have low health.

If you have a rifle and they have an AWP.

 

I have seen many people lose very important rounds in league matches simply because they expose themselves in the wrong situation. Another rule about peeking is to not do it if you do not have to. You can always try to fall back to a different location and hide somewhere, which gives you the upper hand in the fact that they do not know where you are anymore.

 

But, assuming you are either in a good situation to or it is necessary to, always randomize your peeks. One of the easiest ways to kill somebody is to be able to time exactly when they will expose themselves and simply prefire them in the head. Do not fall into a rhythm. As soon as you do, they will time you and be able to kill you before you can even get around the corner.

 

Also be sure to never show too much of your body. You should only show as much of yourself as you need in order to see them. If that requires that you show your entire body, wait for them to get at a better angle. Many times in Counter-Strike, you can angle yourself so that they can only see the side of your shoulder, but you can see their entire body. This will give you a huge advantage over your enemy.

 

 

This concludes the movement section of my CS:S guide. Once again, thank you for reading and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask me in either a comment or PM. Comments are always welcome and appreciated as well.

 

By:exerticus