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Improving Your Counter Strike Skills

Posted on May 10th, 2005 | by admin

Is your lack of Counter-Strike skills getting you owned in CS:S every night? You can only blame it on lag, lousy hitboxes,
or "the phone" so many times before you either admit you suck and do something about it,
or become plagued with Terminally Owned Operating Lethargy (TOOL). A terrible affliction that permanently
scars your ability to operate a video game properly after being owned for too many years. If you’re
serious about preventing TOOL, read on.

How to Not Die

Not dying is a critical component of living. In order to not die in CS:S, you have to employ a subtle
combination of skills, skills, and skills. Or hacks, but if you hack you obviously don’t care about
skills. Let’s move on.

Below I have outlined some of the most common techniques employed to prevent death.

  • Take a deep breath and loosen up the death grip on your mouse. The more tense you are, the more mistakes
    you’re going to make and the more susceptible you are to "the shakes".
  • Take your time. Don’t run around every corner at top speed. Try walking, and paying attention to your teammates.
  • Listen. If your speakers suck, get some headphones and use them. If you aren’t listening around every single corner, you’re
    already dead.
  • If your under assault, don’t run for cover unless there is actually cover nearby. If you have to move more
    than five feet, any player with skills is going to shut you down. It’s better to face your enemy, and
    take them down with one clean, well aimed shot to the head.
  • Employ strafing. Strafing gives the enemy a moving target without removing your focal point
    from the enemy. Remember to stop and shoot, and time around the enemies fire.

How to Kill

In addition to not dying, experts agree that in order to possess true Counter Strike Skills one must
not only not die, but also subject others to death. In other words, you need to waste your enemy
efficiently and taking as little damage to yourself as possible in the process.

The following strategies have led to the successful death of many counter strike players, skilled
and otherwise.

  • Head shots. Head shots, head shots head shots. Head shots. Got it? The next time somebody empties
    half a clip into an enemy’s left foot and then whines about the injustice when they only did 43 damage
    gets slapped. Don’t even both aiming below the neck unless it’s your only shot available.
  • Don’t run and shoot. In Counter-Strike, one or two good shots from any decent
    gun will lay out your enemy, so it’s often best to stand your ground and take the best shot you can. Strafe is incredibly useful when
    under assault, but use it wisely.
  • Time your attacks. If you know your enemy is reloading, recovering from switching weapons or
    throwing a nade, or doing anything else that will have them distracted for a momeny, take advantage. A charge
    can be an effective maneuver if there is only one enemy and you have the upper hand.
  • Use flashes wisely. If you flash, make it count. Remember that the enemy is probably going to see it
    coming from a mile away if you just heave it out into the open. If you’re throwing around a corner
    or through a doorway, time it so the flash bursts on entry and doesn’t give them a chance to react.

Teamplay

Being a good team player is incredibly important if you want to win consistently, and enjoy Counter-Strike to
its fullest. Let the following basics be a guide for you in becoming the best team player that you can.

  • Listen to your teammates. If someone requests help, don’t run the other way.
  • Watch your teammates. Know where they are. You don’t have to plan and calculate every
    move if you pay attention to “body language”. If your temmate is reloading and open to fire, cover his
    ass. And hopefully he/she will do the same for you.
  • Use momentum. If your team is getting pounded every round, it’s time to take advantage
    of the one thing you do have – numbers. A good hard rush into the enemy base can be an incredibly effective tool in turning the tides
    of a match. In order to work though, you need everybody in on it and you don’t stop halfway – just move!.
    There are sacrifices to be made, but they will be worth it.

Buying Weapons, etc.

I see so many players that jump into a match and immediately spend all their money on the most powerful weapon they can.
Flashes, nades, smoke, armor, kits, nightvision, and anything else they can afford.

There are a few things wrong with this picture. First of all, if you just joined you have no idea what
type of enemy you’re up against. You might find youself wishing you bought a Scout instead of that M4.
Secondly, for many of us the first few matches we’re in “warmup” mode and the chances of dying and wasting all that
cash increase quite a bit.

So, to wrap this up let me share a few buying tips that might help you become a better CS:S player.

  • If you’re broke, save your money and get a powerful pistol. You can probably grab a gun off the ground
    anyway, and using a pistol now and then keeps your aim honed. :)
  • Only buy nades/flashes/smoke if you plan on using them. Furthermore, only buy them
    if you plan on using them and will actually get a chance to use them. If you’re dying before you use your
    inventory, you’re wasting money.
  • It’s often good to let the few front runners buy the flashes, and everyone else pick up a nade and
    maybe some smoke. The flashes are most effective for rushing/breaking a point.
  • Mix it up a little. Everyone has their favorites, but using different guns keeps your skills
    in check and you will be prepared the next time you have no weapon and pick up some peashooter off the ground!

Thanks for reading, and please share any tips or general feedback you have in the forums.

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Tags: counter strike, mod

Tags: counter strike, mod

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