Counter-Strike Global Offensive Guide: Tips For Beginners

Counter-Strike Global Offensive  may as well be the most popular online shooter in the world. Created by Vietnamese Canadian Min Gooseman Lee, the game is about the endless confrontation between the team of terrorists and the special forces squad.

Typically, players choose a game scenario, the most standard and popular of which is where terrorists have to plant a bomb and protect it for a certain amount of time while the special forces need to get the terrorists out of the way and defuse it.

Millions of players around the world love Counter-Strike Global Offensive for greatly optimized graphics, indescribable adrenaline, and atmosphere that remain relevant for more than twenty years.

However, to become a team player and master the game online, you will have to master some basic skills. Novice players need to reach the third level in the casual mode to become enough self-aware and joint to not mess up the match every time.

If you haven’t ever played Counter-Strike and want to try right now, here are the basics you’ll need to know.

Shooting and Recoil

First, you’ll need to get a hang of shooting. Everybody knows that you should shoot in the head. What you may not know is that it’s best to stand still before you open fire.

The trajectory of shooting depends not only on the aiming point but also on the recoil force of the selected weapon. To reduce the level of recoil, you can shoot multiple bullets at the same time. To do this, you just need to hold the trigger. By the way, this approach works well for close-range targets.

There is a universal tip on how to reduce the recoil force ‒ you need to hold the weapon slightly lower than your target.

It is also great to reload time once you see that the ammo is running out (not right after it runs out completely). Otherwise, this moment of downtime can cost you a frag in the match. By the way, here is a great 7-minute tutorial that will teach you how to shoot properly.

Another essential thing is that each type of firearm has its spray pattern ‒ the trajectory of the bullet. You can go through each pattern here if you want to make your shooting as effective as possible.

What About Aiming?

Once you got the basics of shooting, you will need to figure out where to aim to surely kill the enemy with one shot. But it’s better to see once than hear a hundred times. We recommend watching this video describing in detail the technique that works for both beginners and experienced CS players.

When you’re only starting your CS journey, it’s better to aim from the safest places because aiming takes precious time that can only be reduced with skill. The optimal position is when your target is hiding around a corner and is unable to fire directly at you.

Figuring Out the Map

Many newcomers to Counter Strike Global Offensive don’t pay enough attention to the stage map. But you will need it, for instance, to correctly calculate your position and the position of opponents when throwing grenades.

You can also see your opponents on the map, even those hidden behind closed walls; and go for wall-banging ‒ this is when you randomly shoot opponents through walls. This doesn’t work with all types of weapons, however (most rifles and machine guns will do).

This is how you shoot guys through walls in the heat in practice.

Money and Guns

CS has its economy, which is important to get a grasp on from the start: if you have enough funds, you can purchase just the right equipment and weapons for the match.

Go for armor and a helmet at $1,000. You get a free default weapon ‒ either M4 (if you are a counter-terrorist) or AK-47 (if you are a terrorist). Note that the AK is slightly more powerful and pierces helmets right through (M4 takes two shots for that).

When you buy weapons during the eco matches, it’s important to see that each of your team members has at least 4 thousand dollars. In case one of your companions doesn’t have enough money, it would be better to share a weapon with them.

You should be able to also properly prepare for the pistol round. Get a brand new Tec-9 or P250s. And, of course, don’t forget the bulletproof vest for $650. Here is a great shopping guide.

After the pistol round, you will need an SMG rifle. This type of weapon brings in quite a lot of money for killing an enemy ($600) and is ideal for shooting players without body armor.

And when it comes to the AWP sniper rifle, usually, one such rifle is enough for a team to shoot groups of opponents from cover. It is best to shoot in the stomach or chest, using the rifle’s high damage rate to optimize the aiming time. The most common map for using this type of weapon is Office.

Settings

Last but not least of the basics in CS GO is your configurations.

First of all, it may be a good idea to reduce mouse sensitivity (check out this vid). And here’s a great tutorial on how to set up the crosshair. The basic recommendation is to choose a crosshair shade that will contrast with the environment so that the pictogram doesn’t merge with the background.

Lastly, don’t forget to turn off the “switch weapon on pick up” option. This will protect you from arbitrary switching to weapons and, in some cases, will help save your life.

Bottom Line

We hope our beginner tips help you understand the basics of playing Counter-Strike Global Offensive and now you aren’t afraid to start your first battle. If you have any tricks of your own that have helped you go from beginner to experienced player, share them with our readers in the comments below!