WHY and HOW to Counter Strafe in CS2 - The Fundamentals of Movement

Explanation of Counter Strafing. This guide tells you how the source 2 movement works in terms of acceleration, why you need to counter strafe, and how to do it.

WHY and HOW to Counter Strafe in CS2 - The Fundamentals of Movement

Transcript

So, you just switched over from a children’s video game and are now ready to be an absolute Counter Strike giga Chad?

But how are you supposed to dominate the playing field when it feels like you have ice skates on every time you move??? When your bullets are not going where your crosshair is??

Well then, welcome to the first episode of BREAKING THE BARRIER, a series that tries to destroy the barrier of entry for Counter Strike 2 and explain fundamentals of the game to new people. And today’s lesson? Movement and Counter Strafing!

The Source 2 game engine uses acceleration and deceleration when it comes to movement. This means that when you press a movement button, it will take some time before you reach your max speed, and when that button is released, it will take some time before you to stop, aka, the ice skate feeling you may notice.

This is important when considering shooting accuracy, , which is closely tied to movement speed. You are most accurate when standing still, and the faster you are moving, the less accurate you become. And due to momentum, if you shoot immediately after letting go your movement key, you will still be moving and inaccurate.

All good players use something called COUNTER STRAFING to slow down and reach peak accuracy faster. The main idea is to release your movement key and then tap the opposite movement key to cancel out any motion you have. This allows you to slow down almost immediately and shoot. As a summary, to stop faster, press the movement key of the opposite direction you are currently moving to stop faster.

And if you take this idea and repeat it going left and right, you will be counter strafing back and forth, timing your shots with the brief moment you are standing still. This makes you are hard target to hit, while still being extremely accurate. It works especially well with pistols!

*bell rings sound*
Alright, class is now over! I hope you were taking notes! Come back to next time where I will teach you to lick your own elbow!

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