What is Tagging and how does it work?

This guide explains the system that is commonly referred to as "tagging".

Explanation

The term "tagging", is used to explain what happens to player when their movement is "slowed down" when they are shot or take damage.

When a player is shot and "tagged", their movement speed is reduced and their max acceleration and movement speed is capped by an amount determined by a bunch of factors.

How does it work?

For a player to be tagged, they need to take damage. The most common way to take damage is when one player shoots another player. For the explanation below, we will call the player shooting the "Attacker" and the player being shot, the "Target".

The amount of tagging that the Target receives is defined by the Attacker's currently held weapon in combination with how many times in quick succession the Target was shot. The more powerful a weapon is, the more tagging it will do to its target. Additionally, if the Target is hit multiple times in quick succession, they will be tagged more.

The Target also has a minor amount of control over how much they are tagged. When the Target is tagged, the tagging amount is modified slightly and "capped" by the "Mobility" value of weapon that they are currently holding.



Here are some examples of how much the Target's movement is modified by being shot with different weapons. If a player is running at 100% (top speed) and they are shot, we display what their new (temporary) movement speed percent would be as "New Speed". This number is a percentage of their held weapons "Mobility" value.

Powerful weapons tag more.

Attacker's Weapon	# Hits	Target's Held Weapon	New Speed
Glock	>	M4A4	40.6%
Bizon	>	M4A4	38.4%
AK47	>	M4A4	31.9%
AWP	>	M4A4	28.3%

The weapon you're holding matters.

Attacker's Weapon	# Hits	Target's Held Weapon	New Speed
AK47	>	Glock	36.0%
AK47	>	M4A4	31.9%
AK47	>	AK47	29.2%
AK47	>	AWP	25.1%

Hitting a Target multiple times in quick succession will slow them down more.

Attacker's Weapon	# Hits	Target's Held Weapon	Hit #1	Hit #2	Hit #3	Hit #4
Bizon	>>>>	Knife	46.6%	35.0%	31.4%	30.4%
Bizon	>>>>	M4A4	38.4%	28.9%	25.9%	25.0%
Bizon	>>>>	AWP	30.3%	22.8%	20.4%	20.0%

Decay

When you are tagged, the slowdown penalty does not last forever and decays rapidly. The decay will only happen when your feet are on the ground and you aren't currently being shot.

If you've been tagged and your New Speed is at 20%, you will make a full movement recovery in about 2 seconds. If you're tagged and your movement has been reduced to 40%, it'll take about a second and a half to recover fully.

Practical Examples

In the below example, we have a CT peeking around a corner to see if he can see anyone approaching.




In example A, he moves back around the corner without being shot. This will take approximately 0.75 seconds to travel this distance.




In example B, he spots an enemy and the enemy hits him once with an AK47 before he is able to move back. Our CT is carrying an M4 so it would roughly take him twice as long to travel the same distance (because his speed recovers as he moves). Or in the same time, he would travel approximately half the distance.

[fish]

shut up lil bro

[Leonardo]

ok

[Jupiter Rsabbit]

PENIS

[Hal-ium]

the short answer is it's stupid and it doesn't work.

[AZUL]

13th of 2017

[buddhapest]

excellent explanation of an often totally misunderstood mechanic - ty!

also 1st of 2018 :P

[Gooseman]

It's annoying and should be reduced just like the aim punch

[Volian3]

X

[icus]

9th of gazorpazorps

[Kualdir]

8th of 1337