There’s no doubt that the AWP is the flashiest role to play in Counter-Strike 2. It costs an awful lot of money to bring into the server at $4750, but a player handy with the CS2 AWP can win rounds all by themselves. If you find yourself wanting to rise through the Counter-Strike ranks with the Big Green in hand, you’re in luck – we’re going to show you exactly how to AWP in CS2.
Credit: Valve
As the AWPer, your main weapon may not come out for three to four rounds. AWP CS2 players need to get used to using cheaper guns while their teammates carry in the early rounds. Where they buy an AK-47, maybe you take a Galil instead, or a Mac-10 for extra kill bonuses. It’s important to properly manage your economy to make sure you get that AWP out as early as possible.
That said, you still want to be a useful asset in rounds. That’s why we’d recommend plenty of practice with cheaper weapons, to make sure you’re not a liability whenever you’re saving your funds for bigger and better things.
When learning how to AWP in CS2, you should try to always be aggressive and mobile. The AWP is one of the best guns in Counter-Strike, and you should treat it like one! Of course, there’s a balancing act to be found – push an entire team with an AWP and a dream and you’re very quickly going to be found out.
CS2 AWP aggression can throw your enemies off their rhythm. Credit: Valve
But where possible, AWP CS2 players should always look to switch up their position after each shot. The CS2 AWP is a one-shot kill, and no one likes to know they could be dead in an instant. Repositioning with the AWP makes things uncomfortable for the enemies, and can even lull them into a false sense of security.
Let’s take a very specific example. If you’re the AWPer on CT-side on Nuke, chances are you’re playing in Garage and looking toward Red Box and Silo. If you get a pick outside, with no further aggression, you should ask a teammate to rotate with you. However, if you swap with the Ramp player, there’s no way the enemies expect you to be holding Ramp with an AWP. They expect you to still be outside, and it’ll probably earn you another kill.
For a perfect example of how to stay mobile while remaining aggressive, watch dev1ce’s games.
This is quite a simple piece of advice, but you need to know exactly how to hold angles when using the CS2 AWP. A common mistake players make when learning how to AWP in Counter-Strike is to place their crosshair too close to the wall when holding an angle. Unless you’ve got godlike flicks every time, this will get you killed more often than not.
This is how you correctly hold an AWP angle. Credit: Valve
Instead, you should place your crosshair where you expect the enemy to be the moment after they swing. That means that any movement you make with your mouse is minimal, maximizing your chance of hitting the shot every single time.
As an AWPer, you’ll often only have one chance to kill your opponent before they get you – that’s what makes it one of the most important CS2 roles. Because of this, you need to remember one fact: the AWP is a one-hit kill everywhere except the legs.
You’ve got a better chance aiming for the chest. Credit: Valve
Head, chest, it doesn’t matter. You hit them in most areas, and they go down. The chest just happens to be the biggest area, which is why you should always aim for it. You get style points for CS2 AWP headshots, and nothing more.
This is good advice for Counter-Strike in general, but when playing in default positions with the AWP, you should always try and hold off-angles where possible.
Try and be where they’ll least expect. Credit: Valve
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting pre-fired, and if you play a lot of default positions with the AWP it can happen a lot at higher ranks. That’s why you should always try and be where the opponent will least expect you, without exposing yourself to other threats.
Follow the tips outlined here, and you’re well on your way to becoming the next ZywOo or s1mple!
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