CS:GO 101 – 5 Beginner tips for playing the CT side

Welcome to CS:GO 101, where the very basics of the game are discussed and tips are given to become a real CS:GO professional.

In this article we’ve got some handy tips for the counter-terrorist side so you can optimize playing on the defending side.

1. You are defending

Probably one of the things beginners forget the most: you are defending. You do not need to go on the offensive until the bomb has been planted. That is the only situation where, playing purely by the basic rules of engagement, you should be attacking. Whilst this is not the case you should be defending and waiting for the terrorists to attack you. Hold your angles and be patient.

The only situation where in you can change this up is if you have really specific intel that gives away enemy positions, even then you need to play the patient game. You might be able to advance a little bit or go for a flank. Regardless, going really aggressive from the start is almost always a sure-fire way to get killed and potentially throw away a round.

2. Bomb control is everything

Moving on from the first tip, imagine that you get the kill on one of your opponents and they drop the bomb. Excellent! Ideally you should have some utility to throw (an incendiary is perfect here) so that you can lock down the bomb and play around that. Call the location of the bomb and tell your team to circle around and lock it down.

As long as you hold that bomb the terrorists cannot do anything and you can run down the timer. You can also hold all the potential angles that they might approach from and can seriously reduce any risks that you might have to deal with.

3. Don’t be a loser, buy a defuser

Speaking of bombs, it can still happen that the terrorists break through your defence and get the bomb plant. Not the end of the world as you can still recover from this. If you fall back and pull off a successful retake, the bomb can be defused. An interesting tactic that is sometimes worth a try is the ninja defuse, throwing a smoke on the bomb and sticking the defuse. A defuse kit is perfect for this, it will allow you to defuse in five seconds instead of ten, which makes a HUGE difference.

There is a small tip related to this one: turn on the ten seconds warning music. It does not have to be ridiculously loud, but it is the perfect indicator to tell you how much time you have remaining to defuse the bomb. If you know you do not have more than five seconds, run for dear life.

4. Know when to change your positioning

It is easy to always go to the exact same spot when defending, but you sometimes need to go for that slight change in angle or in position. Do not completely switch up bomb sites or anything of the sorts, but just add some variety. Take the Long position on Dust2 for example, do not always stand behind car; eventually your enemy will start to expect this and use something like a molotov to get you out of your position. Change it up and go to pit for a change. You cannot let the terrorists get a read on your defensive game, otherwise your chances are nullified.

5. Use your utility

Of course utility is everything on both the terrorist and counter-terrorist side, but do not underestimate how vital it might just be to holding off a site. A very useful piece of counter-terrorist utility is the incendiary grenade, this will completely stop an enemy unless they throw a smoke on top of it, and even then they will still be lacking vision and you can go for a smoke spray-down. It is the perfect piece of utility to stop a terrorist advance on a bomb site. Smokes can function in the same way, being perfect to delay your opponents.

HE Grenades are also a potentially devastating weapon but require more team play. If you can get a nade stack off in the start of a round you might be able to wreck the terrorist players their health and make them far softer targets. A good place to try this strategy in is the Banana spot on Inferno. If you line up three grenades in this spot and you manage to hit your target, you are golden and have practically pocketed the round.

Also read:

• CS:GO 101 – All about utility
• CS:GO 101 – Basics of the economy

What should we look at next? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!

You can also help improve our website by submitting direct feedback!

Image credit: Valve / CS:GO