The best pistol round strategy for every map in CS2
Winning pistol rounds in CS2 is incredibly important. It starts the game off well, and, if you win the following round, can also help you build the necessary momentum to dominate a half.
For that reason, people are often forced to ask how to win pistol rounds in CS2, so we here at BLAST.tv have put together a CS2 pistol round strategy guide to help you win as many pistol rounds as possible.
In the CS2 pistol guide, we'll tell you a pistol strategy for every map in the Active Duty pool, including the utility you should buy in those rounds and where your players should end up.
The best pistol round strategy for every map in CS2
Mirage
Let's start off our CS2 pistol round strategy guide by looking at Mirage, one of the most popular maps in Counter-Strike 2.
For the Mirage pistol strategy, you will need:
- Three players with Kevlar
- One player with smoke + two flashbangs
- One player with smoke + Molotov
At the start of the round, send the two players with utlity towards Ramp and the other three players into Palace. Make sure to make no noise.
At 1:35, the two Ramp players should smoke Stairs and Jungle. The player smoking stairs should then throw both flashbangs.
As the smokes bloom, the three Palace players should enter the bombsite, all fighting towards Default, Triple, and CT. When they drop down, the third player should check Dark. At the same time, the Ramp players should also swing. The player who smoked Jungle should throw his Molotov at Bench.
The first two players out of Palace should then head straight for CT and fight for control of it, the third should plant the bomb at Triple.
From here, the players without armour can play safer from Ramp and Tetris, holding the cross to Site. The player who planted the bomb should try to get back into Palace, too. From these positions, including the two players in CT, you will have excellent post-plant positions.
Dust II
For the next map in our CS2 pistol round strategy guide, let's look at Dust II, the newest addition to the Active Duty map pool.
For the Dust II pistol strategy, you will need:
- One player with smoke + two flashbangs
- One player with smoke + Molotov
- Three players with Kevlar
Dust II is a map that often favours whichever team is fortunate enough to get better spawns within a round. For that reason, this CS2 pistol round strategy aims to reduce the need for a good spawn.
Players will often rush either bombsite during Dust II pistol rounds, so instead, let's slow it right down.
At the start of the round, four players should head towards Lower Tunnels. The last player, the one with the smoke and Molotov, should stay in spawn.
When the group of four gets to the end of Lower Tunnels, the player in spawn should smoke CT as shown in the video below.
When the smoke blooms, three of the players in the tunnel should run through Mid Doors and fight. The fourth player should throw his two flashbangs behind them for support. Once they have been thrown, that player should also go into CT Mid.
After that, one player should remain next to the CT smoke to fight anyone who runs through the smoke or attempts to rotate through CT.
The other three players should head up to B Site to fight the B anchor. Make sure that you enter the site through Window and B Doors, this will limit the B anchor's ability to earn a multi-kill.
The final player should then keep Upper Tunnels control to prevent flanks and also be safe to use his Molotov at the end of the round if it is needed.
Inferno
We know that rushing Banana is the fun thing to do on Inferno, but we have something better in mind for our CS2 pistol round guide.
For the Inferno pistol strategy, you will need:
- One player with smoke + two flashbangs
- One player with smoke + Molotov
- Three players with Kevlar
For this CS2 pistol round strategy, every player on the team should start the round by going to Second Middle - don't worry about making noise, this pistol strategy is intended to be fast to catch the CTs off-guard.
One of the players with Kevlar should split off and shift walk into the Apartments, making sure to not be seen unless a CT player is peaking down the stairs.
The player with a smoke grenade and flashbangs should then smoke the Long side of Brackets and use his first flashbang to support the players getting into Brackets.
Once Brackets has been secured, the players should then continue up Short, supported by another flashbang that should pop above the Apartments. On this flashbang, the player in the Apartments should also make his presence known and help to fight.
Finally, the player with the smoke and Molotov should smoke Moto to prevent the CTs from rotating into the site easily. He can save the smoke to further delay the retake once it is clear where the enemies are coming from.
Ancient
The fourth map we'll be looking at in our CS2 pistol round strategy guide is Ancient.
For the Ancient pistol round strategy, you will need:
- One player with smoke + two flashbangs
- One player with smoke + Molotov
- Three players with Kevlar
Ancient is another map where rushing is the best option. Retaking is difficult on Ancient, and so too is defending anywhere on the map, so swarming and overcoming your opponents is a strong option.
Therefore, for this CS2 pistol round, the player with the smoke and two flashbangs should instantly smoke the Red Room from spawn and throw his two flashbangs into Mid.
The other four players should use this utility to fight in Mid, killing any opponents they see and quickly pushing through Donut to A site. At this point, the player with the other smoke can smoke CT and throw their Molotv to it to prevent any CTs from pushing through.
Finally, the player who threw the Red smoke should go into A main to backstab any potential CTs that may have pushed into it to create a more difficult situation for the T side when they come out of Donut.
Once the bomb is down, make sure you hold onto control of Donut as that is the most powerful place to defend against retakes.
Anubis
In the next part of our CS2 pistol round strategy guide, let's look at Anubis.
For the Anubis pistol round strategy, you will need:
- One play with smoke + two flashbangs
- Four players with Kevlar
At the start of the round, all five players should head towards the A site. They should all go towards Rugs instead of down the Stairs, as going down the Stairs will allow them to be seen from Connector.
You don't have to worry about sound as you won't be heard from Rugs until it is too late.
Four of the players should then continue to rush the A site, while the final player should smoke Camera and flash his teammates into the site.
Once you have the site, plant the bomb so it can be protected from A Main. The player who previously threw the utility should still be in A Main, defending the flank for his teammates.
Nuke
The penultimate map in our CS2 pistol round strategy guide is Nuke.
For the Nuke pistol round strategy, you will need:
- One player with a smoke + a HE + a flashbang
- four players with Kevlar
For the Nuke pistol round strategy, you should start the round by having all five players head towards Lobby. Once there, four of them should shift walk towards Ramp, being careful to not actually peek Ramp. The final player, the one with the utility, should wait in Lobby. The player at the back of the four should watch in case a CT pushes Hut.
At 1:35, the player in Lobby should HE the Squeaky Door to blow it off. Then, he should throw his smoke in Mini and flash into the smoke.
The remaining players should then wait a few seconds before pushing Ramp, this is to give the Ramp player time to rotate towards A.
After taking Ramp, they should head straight down to the B Site, securing Control if a CT hasn't managed to get there first. They should then plant the Bomb for Ramp. The player who previously threw the utility can stay in Ramp to protect the flank.
Please note, this CS2 pistol round strategy can have some variations based on what happens within the round. These variations are as follows:
- If the Ramp player smokes Trophy, the Ts should wait until the smoke dissipates before throwing the A fake grenades.
- If the Ramp player pushes Trophy, the Ts should speed up and save the A fake grenades for us on the B site.
- If there are two CT players towards Ramp, the Ts should wait for CTs reactions after killing them. It may become better to go back into Lobby to A or even go to A through Heaven rather than going straight down to B.
Vertigo
The final map in our CS2 pistol round guide is everyone's least favourite map, Vertigo.
For the Vertigo pistol round strategy, you will need:
- One player with smoke + two flashbangs
- Four players with Kevlar
Vertigo is a map where the CTs can rotate quickly, so it doesn't hurt to it them fast and dwindle their numbers before they can rotate in.
Rushing A isn't wise because Ramp is so loud, so instead, for our Vertigo pistol round strategy, let's try rushing B.
For this strategy, four players should rush straight towards the B bombsite. The final player, the one with the utility, should remain in T spawn.
From T spawn, they should smoke the right side of the Generator and flash twice for their teammates. This smoke will funnel the CTs to the other side of the Generator, limiting the angles the T side needs to fight and making the site easier to clear.