Counter-Strike: Source/Strategies

These strategies are useful for any player in Counter-Strike: Source, regardless of their team.

Rushing
Rushing is one of the major two tactics you can use in Counter-Strike: Source. (The other being camping.) Rushing involves gathering as many players of your team together as possible, and all running as fast as possible along a given path, swarming any opposition and taking the objective. The problem with rushing is that many players do not participate properly; languishing at the back and not running. This means that the rush is not as effective as it should be, and can result in the entire team getting picked off by the other side, and a humiliating defeat.

Camping
Camping is the other major tactic you can use in Counter-Strike: Source, but is less widely spoken of than rushing, as it is seen as rather cowardly by many players. Camping basically involves a player finding a good, sheltered spot in which they can hide (generally by crouching down), and then waiting there (without moving or making any noise) for the enemy to appear, and shooting them in the back as they pass. Although it is very similar to real-life operative tactics, it is not adviseable to camp on anything other than a server full of like-minded players.

Footsteps
All players run when moving by default in Counter-Strike: Source, and if you listen carefully, you can hear their footsteps. This can help pinpoint where people are if they're close to you, or when to shoot if you feel somebody's about to pop out from around a corner. Players who walk instead of run (by holding down Shift by default) make no noise, and so this tactic doesn't work. Crouching is also silent.

Flashbangs
Flashbang grenades will blind anyone who sees them go off, or a reflection of them going off; and deafen anyone within a certain radius (to a lesser or higher degree depending on their distance from the grenade). Although they will not hurt anybody, if somebody is caught in a flashbang "explosion", they will be incapable of a co-ordinated response to any attack, and will be an easy kill. Flashbangs should be preferably used against groups of enemies, and you should only attack if you're sure the flashbang has been effective. Flashbangs may be bounced off walls when thrown, but you must always remember that the "hitbox" of any grenade is slightly larger than you might expect, so if throwing one close to a wall (perhaps over a parapet), you must remember to throw it slightly further away from the wall than you might normally do so, to prevent it bouncing back.

If you see a flashbang coming your way, there are two ways to avoid being blinded:
 * Move behind cover
 * Face away from the flashbang

Frag grenades
If caught by a grenade going off, jump away from the blast. The further away you are from the grenade when it goes off (or as it goes off), the less damage you will receive.

Jumping
Jumping is a very useful tactic. When you're being shot at it's good to jump around, if you don't mind the accuracy of your shooting falling. If you're reloading, it's especially useful to jump around, as it lessens the chance of you being hit, yet your accuracy cannot incur any penalty, as you're not shooting. Jumping around corners (running towards the corner, jumping, and turning in mid-air) is quite a useful trick, as anybody waiting around the corner will be expecting somebody to come in at ground-level, and so any shots fired will hit your less-important chest, as opposed to your head. Jumping also has the added benefit of getting you around the corner faster, so any enemies will have less time in which to react.

Bunny-hopping
"Bunny-hopping" is a technique that allows you to move faster and be a harder target. Bunny-hopping is actually quite simple, it just needs to be mastered to be of any use. To bunny-hop, you start off by running forward until you reach your max speed, then jump. While in the air, strafe to the left while turning 35 degrees to the left with your mouse. As soon as you touch the ground, jump again. This time, strafe to the right while turning 35 degrees to the right. Always alternate between left and right. Continue this procedure and you should pick up speed, but it is crucial that you jump just as you land. It will take a lot of practice, but you will later find it to be worth it. To turn while bunny-hopping, simply turn more than 35 degrees to the direction you want to go and less than 35 degrees to the opposite direction (like if you want to go right, then turn >35 degrees to the right and <35 degrees to the left). Bunny-hopping can be much easier by binding jump to your mouse wheel (which can be done by opening a console and typing "bind mwheeldown +jump").

Weapon accuracy
The accuracy of any weapon is greatly increased if you stand still, and/or crouch when firing, as such a position will allow you to hold the weapon more steadily. With just about any weapon, the accuracy tails off after the first few rounds of automatic fire. Experienced players will usually fire in bursts no more than three rounds long – unless they're at point-blank range &ndash' else they lose all the accuracy of their weapon. (This is a do as I say, not as I do type of thing: top tier play involves a good deal of spraying more than a three shot burst.)

Headshots
Shots which hit somebody's head cause the most damage, and most rifles and high caliber pistols can kill in one shot to the head if the target is not wearing armor and helmet.

Counter-terrorists
These strategies apply only to counter-terrorists, but terrorists might gain useful insight into the way the other team works by reading them.

Bomb site
If you're on the counter-terrorist team, the terrorists plant the bomb, and you know at which bomb site they've planted it (either A or B), make this known to your team by saying either "a" or "b" in team chat. Doing this will help all your team to arrive at the right bomb site, and give you a greater chance of disarming the bomb before it goes off.

Get the hostages
If you're playing a hostage rescue map, don't ignore the hostages! Rescuing them will get you money and win the round for your team. Many counter-terrorists ignore the hostages, and just search for the terrorists, but if the area around the hostages is clear of terrorists, why not just rescue the hostages?

Terrorists
These strategies apply only to terrorists, but counter-terrorists might gain useful insight into the way the other team works by reading them.

Planting the bomb
When planting the bomb, a lot can rest on where you plant it. If you know of a good hiding place near the bomb site, make sure to plant it within view of that hiding place. Another strategy is to plant it so it isn't immediately visible to the counter-terrorists; some of them have been known to not notice hidden bombs, and go off to check the other bomb site. One way of doing this is to plant it, then knock over any nearby barrels and roll them on top of the bomb.

Check the hostages
Go back to the hostage areas regularly and check if the hostages are still there. If they aren't, alert your team and head straight for the hostage rescue area. If you see the counter-terrorist who is leading the hostages away, wait until you've got a good clear shot before attacking; attacking prematurely can cause him to get tactical and seek cover. Try your best not to hit the hostages, as killing them takes money away from you, but killing the counter-terrorist and the hostages is better than losing the round.

Quick Switching
Quick switching is very useful when you're using a sniper rifle or when your ammo is low or out. By default this is Q. Select the main gun, then your pistol, then push Q and the gun will automatically move back and forth. This is useful when you ran out of ammo for your gun and you need to quickly use your pistol. Quickly tap Q and your weapon of choice will came out.

Quick Crouch
When running and confronted by an enemy, quickly crouch and fire, this will force them to aim down making them be killed or at least seriously hurt.