TeamPlay: Entering, Clearing, Planting, Holding a bomb site as Terrorist

This guide will give a detailed explaination on how to enter, take, and hold/defend a bomb site as terrorist. We will go over basic to advanced tactics on how to achieve these very important skills both as an individual and team. Involving such topics as entry fragging, spreading, clearing, the importance of plant spots, crossfires, flashing, counter-flashing, smoking, coordinated grenades, calling positions, the all or none peak, and many other topics.

Taking the Bombsite

There are multiple methods to take a bomb site, however there are three main methods that are most successful. They are the full take, split take, and the slow take. These three methods vary by quite a degree and should be used in different circumstances that are usually dependant on your money situation and the other teams money situation at the begining of that given round.

The Full Take

The full take is a tactic that involves bluntly flooding the bomb site rapidly with at least four members of the terrorist side. It is a rapid and easy tactic to follow - and one of the most commonly used strategies you will see used in competitive match making, PUGs, and even pubs. It comes with many weaknesses, and usually should be avoided when both teams are on full buys. It should be used primarily when the opposing team is on a save round or partial buy. It can also be used as a strong pistol round strategy.
To fully utilize the strength of this strategy I recommend that you utilize all five members of your team to initially take the bomb site, and worry about the rotation after the bomb site is cleared. When approaching a bomb site all team members should be staggered so that no one is directly behind the other to avoid both friendly fire, and opposing bullets causing damage to more than one person. The person with the best spawn OR your best fragger should be the first person in the bomb site. This tactic largely involves getting the first frag within the bomb site (which is called the entry frag), without getting that entry frag you start at a disadvantage before you have even cleared the site. Once the entry frag has occured, or the choke point threshold has been crossed your team should spread out rapidly throughout the bomb site to not only clear the bomb site, but begin to take position to hold the bomb site for bomb plant. A key ingridient to this method of taking a bomb site is that no more than two people should be looking at any given part of the bomb site, both before it's cleared, and after it's cleared - simply put the more angles you can have covered simultaneously, the better. The more crossfires you can quickly establish while taking the site the better, which is why the sooner you spread out in the bomb site the better. Do not start planting the bomb, until the site is fully cleared. I only recommend use of flash bangs on the very initial take of the site and only by the front runner/entry fragger. Use of HE grenades is risky and better used for holding the site. I find smoking entry points from the closest rotation point for CT's to be a must (ct spawn smoke for inferno B, double door smoke for dust 2 b, mini smoke for upper on nuke, etc).

The Split Take
This is a variation of the full take in a way, however instead of flooding through one entry point, you take 2-3 ways into the bomb site. This tactic is best used for when both teams are on full buys, or your team is on a partial buy. It is a risky pistol round strategy at best. It is usually smart to have your larger group (3 players) work the section that is more closely related with the "mid" section of the map, while your other 2 players work the edge of the map. For example taking A on dust 2, you would want 2 people taking long, while 3 take cat. A key to this tactic is that one arm of your team creates a distraction while the other comes in and catches the enemy off gaurd forcing them to either hide or get shot at from two angles, allowing the terrorists to quickly and safely approach and then take the bomb site. The split take is all about timing and distration, while creating a crossfire onto the bomb site that is hard for the CT's to counter. Having both sides flash then take simultaneously is the most advantageous way to use nades on this strategy. While secondly HE nades thrown from both directions simultaneously can also have a major impact. Smokes should be saved for holding the bomb site, or smoking off rotation points that need to to actually take the site (long A crossroads smoke for A on dust 2). Once again, as with any take, getting the entry frag is extremely vital - however this time you have two people hitting the choke points vying for the entry frag instead of just 1 with the full take. Once the site is cleared, and smokes are established, plant the bomb - and set up to hold the site.

The Slow Take
This is the most radically different from the other two, as it is commonly used in a pick-and-go strategy. In a pick and go you will likely have 3 people slowly playing the angles and going for an entry frag on one bomb site, while the other 2 players watch mid and for CT's pushing at the other bomb site choke points. The three people picking one site don't have to necessarily take the same path, and odds are shouldn't. The goal is simple: Catch a CT pushing or playing their bomb site incorrectly - get the pick, then take the site. You can achieve success with this strategy by either waiting for the CT's to make a mistake or getting an early entry frag. This tactic also is very versatile and allows the team to easily rotate and try to take the other bomb site instead. I find this to be the most advantageous strategy for both teams being on full buys, or when you can't accurately predict the other teams money situation. A key to success with this strategy is keeping the bomb in a centralized location for easy rotation either to the primary bomb site and for quick access to mid and the other bomb site. NEVER have the bomb on one of the players trying to push farther and farther up into a bomb site or mid to get an entry frag. This tactic is all about patience and raw skill. Also remember that getting an entry frag at a bomb site does not necessarily mean you should take it immediately due to the fact that you will have a maximum of 3 players available to quickly take the bomb site, while the CT's will likely still have one in the bomb site, with their mid player quickly rotating to assist. The best tactic is to wait until a total of three frag have occured in the round whether on your team or their team or a combination. Once a bomb site is taken, a quick decision has to be made on when to plant the bomb. I find it wise to not only have the bomb site cleared but have one to two people set up to counter the CT rotation before planting the bomb. In this tactic flashes, smokes, and HE nades should be up to each individual player to be used at his/her discretion and on a need-be basis to garner an advantage to achieve a frag.

Planting the Bomb

Planting the bomb should only be initiated once a bomb site is cleared, unless you are in a 1v1 situation. Before or during the act of planting a bomb entry points into the bomb site that are most quickly accessed by rotating CT's should optimally be smoked off. A few counter-flashes should also be used towards the rotating CT's to allow for setting up the plant and the hold of the bomb site. Picking a proper place to plant the bomb is very important, and should be done so that an angle outside of the bomb site can be accessed to defend against the defuse. The person planting the bomb should always call out where he/she is planting the bomb, so that all T's have knowledge of where it is in the event they have to frag a defuser. Molotovs can be used on the bomb when the site is being re-taken by the CT's to keep defusers off of it for an extra few precious seconds.

Holding the Bomb Site after the Plant

Spreading out and establishing 1 or 2 crossfires per entry point is the best method of defending a bomb site as terrorists. The more crossfires and angles that are covered the better.
THE MOST IMPORTANT element of holding a bomb site as T, is remember the all-or-none principle. The all-or-none principle refers to when to peak CT's trying to retake the site. Every T should be hidden completely from site until CT's have come at least a little ways into the entry of the bomb site, when one terrorist fires his/her gun, every Terrorist peaks his/her angle. This is the easiest way to utilize all available and relevant crossfires, while taking the least amount of damage. It's hard for a CT to react to one peak, let alone 2-3 people peaking him at once. Once 1-2 frags are achieved everyone goes back into hiding and awaits the next waves of CT's. The more hidden you are the less of a chance you have of becoming flashbanged by retake flashbangs coming from the CT's. Saving a flashbang a piece for counter-flashing the CT retake flashes is important as well. If you become flash banged, try to flash bang the entry points to stop them from taking the site while your team is flashed. HE nades also work well when thrown into the entry points 10-15 seconds after the plant. I find smoke to be the most vital for the begining of the hold so that the T's can set up for the hold. Your goal no matter your position in a bomb site is simply to delay the CT's for as long as you can, or frag them out. The longer you can make them waste shots on you or spend time dancing around trying to get an angle on you the better chance you have of successfully holding the bomb site. If two or more people on the terrorist team are alive still and you hear a bomb defuse (regardless if you think it's a fake-defuse or not), everyone peaks and attempts to kill the player closest to the bomb.

1v1, 1v2, 1v3 Section Coming Soon!

[lootpig irrationale]

Thanks for the guide, it has really helped me gain ideas for how to lead and follow calls for Competitive games!

[♥ Filthyy]

Good guide, could use some pictures or videos though.

[Hanosandy]

Thank you guys, it was fun writing it, and being a help to a community that CAN BE the best gaming community out there is something I love to do. I've had a decent amount of success on LAN, and have been playing since the very early betas (switch over from R6). :) We all start somewhere, and anything to help people learn is a good thing. I give steam appaulse for having this feature for "guides" built in as well....great for people learning or wanting to improve.

[Veo]

Well-written

[Your Average Egg]

This is a very concise guide to being a T. I appreciate you writing this and posting it. Please consider including short illustrative videos for those who are visual learners.

[Hanosandy]

Thank you Sparty, I tried to say it well - and I also try to have a lot of fun playing the game. I've been playing this game since beta 2.1 in 1999, and I realize more than most this game relies on it's community moreso than many other games. Unfortunately the more uninformed the community is, the more angry other players in the community get - Nature of competitive based games I guess!

[Silencer]

Very well said, you sound like a fun person to game with.

[Ender of Games]

*It

[Ender of Games]

Planting the Bomb: I is important to note that the more open that you plant the bomb, the more open it will be when CTs try to defuse. I notice this a lot with B site on Dust II. People shouldn't be planting in the back corner and hiding in tunnels, especially if you have full control of site when you go to plant.

[Hanosandy]

Thank you for the compliment, and your welcome for the contribution - I try and help give back to a community that has garnered me a lot of good times. If I were forced to paint a comparative between paintball and Counter-Strike, it would be if speedball and center flag (with two center flags) existed. :)