Weapon guide

Detailed charts comparing the stats of every weapon, and advice about their usage.

Introduction

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has 33 guns which differ in more ways than a bicycle differs from a time-travelling DeLorean (well, nearly), so whether you've logged two hours' playing time or two thousand, there will still be something to learn about them. And you can do that right here.

What you'll find in this guide:

• A breakdown of how CS's damage and accuracy systems work.
  
• Summaries of each weapon in the game, detailing their strengths, weaknesses and ideal role.
  
• Stat charts showing hard data on the main characteristics, with percentages highlighting the difference between weapons of the same class.

You can quickly skip between sections by using the Index menu on the right side of the page.

So, enjoy this comprehensive guide - whether it's to compare the stats, read about a weapon's ideal role, or find out how best to use them. Or just print it out and rub it on your nipples, that could be enjoyable too.

Accuracy

Bullets in CS don't necessarily obey your crosshair. There are two systems governing this, and both can be controlled.


Recoil
When holding down the trigger, recoil jerks your gun, moving the crosshair and making bullets fire above and side-to-side in a set pattern.

You can aim to compensate for this: stay on target for the first few shots, then pull the crosshair gradually down and slightly sideways (right is usually best), finally pulling to the opposite side if you near the end of the clip. Each gun has its own specific recoil pattern, which will be the same every time you fire it. Animated images of every weapon's recoil pattern can be found here[csgoskills.com].

Recoil gradually resets when you stop shooting, so firing in short, slow bursts will give you the best control over your weapon. Recoil patterns are completely unaffected by crouching.


Inaccuracy/spread
This system makes bullets randomly spread away from the target to a variable amount, depending on your physical actions. Every action penalty gradually reduces over a few tenths of a second (typically 0.4), this is called the recovery time.

Just as every weapon has a different recoil pattern, they also have different levels of inaccuracy for each action type:

• Moving: Using a direction key gives a large accuracy penalty, though it's lower when walking, or moving so briefly that you don't attain top speed. Pistols, SMGs and shotguns retain much more accuracy while running than rifles and machineguns, but it's usually still a sizeable penalty. If you have a choice, always stop moving for a moment before you shoot.
  
  
• Jumping: Aerial travel gives a major penalty, which scales depending on up/down air speed. You're slowest at the apex of a jump, when you hang in the air for a moment, so this is the time to take your shot. The penalty is variable while in midair, but is affected by the weapon's recovery time when you land. Make sure you don't combine the jump with a direction key, otherwise you'll incur the movement penalty too.
  Most weapons are very inaccurate even at the apex of a jump, but the SSG-08 is an oddball that fires almost as accurately while hanging in mid-air as it does on the ground.
  
  
• Climbing: Using a ladder gives a massive penalty. A few oddballs like the Revolver, MAC-10, Sawed-off, UMP and MP7 retain a little accuracy on ladders, but you'll always want to step off the rungs before you start shooting.
  
  
• Firing: Every bullet you fire adds an accuracy penalty immediately afterwards. Multiple firing penalties stack up, but each one recovers separately. This means the maximum firing penalty is reached when you hold the trigger for the weapon's whole recovery time (usually 0.4 seconds), so after that, it's only the recoil pattern that's further worsening your accuracy (unless you move).
  The charts near the bottom of this guide show the maximum shooting penalty for every weapon, taking firing rate and penalty recovery time into account.
  Shotguns and submachine guns have the most accurate sustained fire. Pistols have the least, but it's easier to stagger their firing rate.
  
  
• Standing: Weapons have a varying amount of inaccuracy even if you're just standing still. This underlying value always applies, in addition to any penalties - so if you run while carrying an M4, your inaccuracy will be 5.5 (standing) + 137.88 (moving) = 143.38.
  When crouching, standing accuracy is replaced by the crouched accuracy value.
  
  
• Crouching: This improves your fundamental accuracy. Some weapons have very large bonuses over standing for crouching, others very small. The specifics are listed in the charts later in the guide, but usually the bonus is just over 20%.
  
  Additionally, crouching speeds up your penalty recovery time, usually by around 30%. This is very useful when holding down the trigger, as it reduces your maximum firing penalty.
  
  While crouched, moving doesn't incur an accuracy penalty, but this "crab-walking" technique is usually a terrible idea. You move too slowly to make yourself any more difficult to hit, and if you crab-walk around a corner, the edges of your hitbox will move into the view of your enemy before you catch sight of them.
  It's also arguably easier for enemies to hit your head while you're crouched, and your player model's forehead and gun barrel poke out further from your line of view.

If you have a dynamic crosshair, accuracy/inaccuracy/spread (this guide uses those terms interchangeably) is the system it's telling you about when it shrinks and expands. All the action penalties are cumulative, so if you jump forward onto a ladder while spamming a Desert Eagle, the universe will probably implode.

This system works simultaneously with recoil, the spread determines how far the bullet can stray from where the recoil pattern dictates it should go.

Every weapon has a different recovery time for accuracy penalties (viewable on the monster chart near the end of the guide). It's usually around 0.4 seconds while standing, faster if you crouch. That's how long you'll need to wait after you stop moving to get optimal accuracy, although the penalty does gradually reduce during that time - so if you shoot after being still for 0.2 seconds, you'd get half the moving penalty.

Your instinct will be to shoot immediately on sight, whether you're moving or not, but taking that part-second to narrow your spread before opening fire could make the difference between winning and losing.


Alternate firing modes
In addition to CS's fundamental accuracy systems, some weapons can be affected by alt-fire modes, activated through secondary fire (right-clicking).

• Activating the scope gives a large accuracy bonus to the rifles that have them, but be aware that nearby enemies can hear the 'click' of the zoom. Transition from unscoped to scoped accuracy isn't immediate, it's affected by recovery time.
  
  
• The Glock and FAMAS have three-shot burst fire modes. The Glock's reduces accuracy, so is only useful for dealing damage more quickly at close range. The FAMAS's has nearly half the bullet spread of automatic fire when stationary, making it great for long-range combat.
  
  
• The USP-s and M4A1-s have silencers, removable by right-clicking. Obviously this shortens their gun barrels, makes them noiser and gives bullet tracers, but it also affects accuracy (usually for the worse, with the exception of lowering the M4A1's movement penalty).
  
  
• The R8 Revolver's two fire modes have radically different traits. Primary is as accurate as a zoomed rifle, with tiny action penalties, but can only be fired slowly. Secondary is monstrously inaccurate, has high penalties for any action, and negligible bonus for crouching, but it can be fired very quickly - useful for dealing with very close enemies.

Damage

The damage value of each weapon is affected by a number of factors.


Hit location
The bodypart you hit will scale the amount of damage:

Bodypart	Scale	Damage for 1-hit kill	Damage for 2-hit kill	Damage for 3-hit kill	Damage for 4-hit kill
Head	4x	25.0 (77% of guns)	12.5 (all guns at close range)	8.4 (all guns)	6.3 (all guns)
Stomach	1.25x	80.0 (23% of guns)	40.0 (30% of guns)	26.7 (68% of guns)	20.0 (88% of guns)
Arm/chest	1x	100.0 (AWP and shotguns)	50.0 (30% of guns)	33.4 (41% of guns)	25.0 (77% of guns)
Leg	0.75x	125.0 (some shotguns only)	66.7 (24% of guns)	44.5 (30% of guns)	33.4 (41% of guns)

Range
Damage lowers based on how far away the target is. For example, an AUG has the power (25.2) to kill a helmeted enemy with a single headshot, but beyond 3.7 metres the power drops below 25, so headshots will just make a large dent in their health instead.

Distance-based damage drop-off is different for each weapon. The exact figures are noted in the data section later in this guide, but here's a general overview.

Damage retained at range	Weapons
Excellent >90% at 20 metres	All sniper rifles All assault rifles Both machineguns
Good >70% at 20 metres	Pistols - Glock, P2000/USP-s, P250, CZ75 auto, R8 revolver SMGs - MP9, MP7/MP5-sd, P90
Meh >50% at 20 metres	Pistols - Dual Berettas, Tec-9, Five-SeveN, Desert Eagle SMGs - MAC-10, UMP, Bizon
Terrible <50% at 20 metres	All shotguns

Wallbanging
You can shoot enemies through walls and some obstacles. The exact damage is hugely variable, based on the penetration of the weapon and type of intervening object. Rifles, machineguns and the Desert Eagle are best at this; the Nova can't do it at all.

Sometimes, the game's inconsistent hit detection / lag compensation will think you shot an enemy behind cover when they appeared to be out in the open.


Armour
Finally, kevlar reduces damage, to varying degrees based on the weapon used. I've listed the power of each gun against armour in the charts. Competitive is the sole gametype in which armour isn't automatically given, so the 'unarmoured' damage stat is irrelevant in the rest of the game.

Players' heads are only protected if they have a helmet. Again, this is automatically given in most gametypes, but in Competitive you can't buy a $1000 full suit with your $800 starting money, so the opening rounds are fought helmetless. When you don't have a helmet, most shots that dink the head are instantly lethal.

Legs are unprotected by kevlar, but still usually take less damage than a shot to the chest.

Summary - melee

• Knife

  You always have one of these, for point-blank encounters and fast movement. The fastest you can move in-game is when holding the knife (or holding the bomb, which allows the same speed). Be prepared to quickly whip out the knife if you need to fall back or dodge a grenade.
  
  Primary fire is a quick 34 damage slash with slightly increased range, secondary is a slow stab for 55 damage. If you get directly behind the enemy, those values increase to 76/135, making secondary fire an instant-kill backstab.
  
  Why bother? Aside from humiliating the enemy, keeping quiet and conserving ammo, it has a gargantuan, game-changing $1500 kill award.
  
  Knives also have special benefits in non-Classic gametypes --
  
  Arms Race: scoring a knife frag makes you immediately increase weapon rank (normally it takes 2 kills), and makes the victim drop a weapon rank.
  At the final weapon rank, you'll need to use the knife to win. Try hiding in a corner near conflict zones, finding a high spot and dropping down behind someone passing below, or walking quietly behind an isolated sniper.
  
  Demolition: if the victim hasn't made any kills during that round, knifing makes them lose a weapon rank when they respawn. That's not desirable in Demolition though, because lower weapon ranks are usually more powerful. Unless you're trolling someone, only bother whipping out the knife against AWPers, to downgrade them to Scouts.
  
  Deathmatch: the knife used to give a sizeable point bonus, but that's been changed in 2017, and it now nets you 12 points. That's the same as a pistol, and even the lowest-scoring weapons net you 10 points, so don't bother.

• Zeus

  $200 buys you a single-use, instant kill taser. *Slightly* increased range to the Knife, but with slower movement speed and no kill award at all.
  
  The Zeus is a liability to use, because it's very easy to misjudge the taser's range (190 game units, less than 1 second's running distance), and unlike the knife it's subject to mild inaccuracy. The enemy hears a harmless 'bzzzt' when the electrodes fall short, and will promptly annihilate you before you can draw a less stupid weapon.
  
  The *only* objective reason to ever use this lump of ♥♥♥♥ is for a melee takedown if you can't get behind the enemy to backstab. In any other situation, use something that'll give you a kill award.

Summary - free pistols

You start with a pistol, and can carry one in addition to your primary weapon. Switching to it is quicker than reloading your rifle, if you happen to run out of bullets but urgently need to keep shooting (it happens to the best of us).

As well as being a sidearm and low-cost option, pistols have low penalties for moving, so it can be worth whipping yours out when you run between cover. However, most of them need to be fired slowly to maintain accuracy.

Kill awards are the standard $300, so aside from being cheap, pistols won't do anything special for your economy.

• Glock

  Terrorist starting pistol. The free pistols are more accurate than nearly all the others, and have less damage reduction over distances. So if you choose to spend your starting money on equipment rather than a new pistol, try to engage the enemy at long range to maximise the Glock/P2000/USP's strengths.
  
  Their damage is similar to the other pistols against unarmoured enemies, but poor against kevlar. The Glock takes this to extremes - the weakest gun in the game, taking 7-8 body shots at point-blank range to take down an armoured target. If they didn't buy a helmet though (always the case in Competitive starting rounds), even this peashooter can score a 1-hit-kill within 10 metres.
  
  Glock trigger-mashing accuracy works differently to the other starting pistols. Like most rifles, it has a short recovery time initially, which grows longer over the course of the first five bullets. So for the first few shots, the Glock is very accurate indeed, but gets significantly worse the more you spam.
  
  Glock secondary fire activates a three-round burst fire mode, with reduced accuracy - only useful for very close targets, if you think a triple shot will finish them off.

• P2000

  CT starting pistol. This is better than the Glock in almost every respect - minor bonuses to accuracy and more reasonable damage, needing 5-6 point-blank kevlar body shots.
  
  The only downside over the Glock is a smaller clip, but it's still large enough to engage multiple enemies. Also lacks the burst-fire option, not that you'll miss it.
  
  Remember, all the starting pistols are effective at longer ranges, and for fighting non-kevlar-wearers. P2000 headshots against unhelmeted enemies are lethal at a nifty 33 metres, compared to 11 metres for a Five-SeveN and 19 for a P250.

• USP-s

  Replacement for the P2000, selectable in the Loadout section of the main menu.
  
  It has less ammo than the P2000, but uses a silencer which quietens your shots and removes tracers, making it harder for the enemy to see who's shooting them. It's also 10% more accurate, but has slightly higher penalties for moving and firing. Removing the silencer makes the USP less accurate than the P2000, so there's not really ever a reason to do it.
  
  The main decision to make between the two pistols is whether you'd rather have a silencer or an extra bullet in the clip.

Summary - premium pistols

During starting rounds, money is tight - $800 in Competitive, $1000 in Casual. The only weapons you'll be able to afford are pistols. Even then, spending too much on a gun will limit the amount you can spend on equipment. Buy a kevlar vest in Competitive and you can't afford a pistol at all.

It's a perfectly valid decision to just stick with a basic P2000/USP/Glock - as discussed above, they have their strengths even over the premium pistols (although a Glock will put you at a slight disadvantage against CT enemies). Each option has its own specialisation, so make your pick based on how you intend to play the round.

Past the starting round, pistols are a cheap option that can save your life if your primary weapon runs out of bullets, or enters a situation it can't handle (eg. an AWP at close range, a shotgun at longer range, a rifle while moving). These situations will normally favour the premium pistols more than the free ones.

• Dual Berettas

  The pistol of choice for brutalising nearby unarmoured enemies with repeated firing.
  
  The Dualies are among the best pistols for trigger mashing, but they're so much better if you shoot fractionally slower than maximum, providing by far the smallest accuracy penalty in the class. For best results, try to fire 4-6 times per second, at close range, preferably while stationary (this usually requires an ambush), or walking if necessary.
  
  With all that said, they're pretty damn specialised. Against kevlar you'd be better off with another premium pistol (Five-SeveN is the closest match), and at longer ranges you'd do better with most other weapons.

• P250

  The cheapest gun in the game, the P250 is the best pistol for tackling kevlar wearers at medium-to-long range, aside from the specialised and expensive Desert Eagle / R8. Get the best accuracy by firing 3-4 times per second.
  
  Within 12 metres, the Tec-9 and Five-SeveN are more damaging, and are aided by huge clips and gentle accuracy penalties, so they're superior options for close-range combat if you can spare the extra $200. Against non-kevlar-wearers you might want to save even more money and stick with the P2000/USP, which are similarly damaging and more accurate.

• Tec-9

  T-only premium pistol. Sizeable clip, decent armour penetration and (uniquely, aside from R8 primary fire) almost no accuracy penalty for moving. The main drawbacks are that it's much less effective over distances, and can accrue a huge accuracy penalty if you shoot rapidly - at six shots per second it's like no-scoping with an AWP.
  
  The Tec's a great choice for players who want to keep moving while firing, and you can get the most out of it by firing 2 or 3 times a second at close-to-medium range.

• Five-SeveN

  CT-only premium pistol. Like the Tec-9, the Five-SeveN packs a decent punch against nearby kevlar wearers. Similarly large clipsize too, though it lacks the freakishly perfect moving accuracy.
  
  Instead, the Five-SeveN is excellent for trigger-mashing. Like the Glock and most of the rifles, it uses a special accuracy system in which the first few bullets have negligible rapid-firing penalty. Also, recoil is incredibly forgiving and doesn't veer sideways at all. Basically, the Five-SeveN is incredibly easy to use.

• CZ75-auto

  Loadout replacement for the Tec-9 and Five-SeveN.
  
  It's the only pistol with full auto fire, but the ammo pool is tiny and there's a buttload of recoil, so you need to shoot in extremely short bursts. It's also slower to draw than the other pistols, making it a poor sidearm.
  
  That firing rate does make the CZ devastating at very close range, and if you can control your bursts then it's useful at moderate range too. Bear in mind that the small ammo supply makes it best used against lone enemies.
  
  Due to a balancing decision made when the CZ was rather more potent, kill awards are an AWP-matching $100, 1/3rd of any other pistol. There's only one spare clip, so bear in mind that extended fighting will necessitate picking up a replacement pistol.

• Desert Eagle

  The pistol of choice for immobile, precise players. The Deagle is extremely unreliable if you're moving or spamming the trigger, but if you sit still and fire slowly, it's a beast - massive power that can stop a nearby enemy with two body shots, rifle-level accuracy, and a huge aiming bonus for crouching. While crouched you can retain good accuracy at 3 shots per second (pinpoint at 2); if standing it'll need to be 1-2.
  
  Headshots are lethal within 38 metres versus helmets, and 41 metres without. Like most of the non-free pistols, it loses a lot of power over distances, but it'll take 50 metres before the P2000 does more damage against unarmoured enemies. None of the cheaper pistols ever matches it against kevlar.

• R8 Revolver

  Loadout replacement for the Desert Eagle.
  
  This is essentially a sniper pistol. Shot damage is extremely high even compared to the Deagle: two body hits or a headshot are fatal at virtually any distance, regardless of armour.
  
  Primary fire is cumbersome, needing 0.2 seconds with your finger on the trigger before it fires, during which time your movement slows, and nearby enemies can hear the 'click' of it loading. But it has pinpoint accuracy, and is barely affected by movement. This makes it even better for sniping than the SSG-08 rifle (at less than half the price!), if you can aim long distances without a scope. You can easily land hits from across the map with this pistol, sometimes even while running. If you know where the enemy is, hold down the trigger before emerging from cover, so you can fire immediately rather than waiting the 0.2 seconds.
  
  Secondary fire is faster, but extremely inaccurate, with sizeable action penalties. Basically, it's like no-scoping with a sniper rifle, so is a last resort for dealing with enemies at taser range. Just remember that the R8 ammo pool is tiny, and with only one reload.
  
  So, which heavy pistol to choose? Both favour accurate players, with the Desert Eagle best for careful use at medium-to-close range. The R8 is the only pistol qualified for sniper-range combat, and can be used while mobile, but its painfully slow firing means that it's outclassed when fighting at the other pistols' optimal ranges.

Summary - shotguns

A cheap but risky option for force-buy rounds, or for brave players to stimulate their economy (kill awards are a gigantic $900 - that's $4500 for a 5-kill ace). Only the knife can net you more money.

Shotguns are close-range weapons, with each shot releasing a wide spray of pellet projectiles. They're difficult to use effectively: damage per pellet drops massively with distance, and accuracy penalties (eg. for moving) cause the pellets to spray more widely, making less of them hit the target.

When used properly they can annihilate an enemy in a single hit, but you MUST be able to do that or a shotgun's a liability; refiring is so slow that you're unlikely to get follow-up shots before the enemy responds. Maximise your accuracy and damage: get close, keep still before shooting, try to dink the head.

Shotguns are more forgiving to use late in the round - low-health enemies can be one-shotted down from greater range, and the wide spray of pellets allows you to hit them more easily than other weapons.

• Nova

  The Nova's great for mopping up unarmoured targets, shots which dink unhelmeted heads will usually kill. This makes it a smart investment for early Competitive buy rounds as it's cheap and will make back its price + $600 profit from two kills; further kills will see you rolling in money by round 3.
  
  When fighting kevlar-wearing enemies, the Nova's usefulness decreases, as it does around 2/3rds the damage of the other non-automatic shotguns. It loses less damage over distances though, and beyond 10 metres it'll outshoot any other shotgun even against kevlar. It also has a narrow spread when you're stationary, so enemies can be one-shotted from a surprising distance if you're precise enough to target most of the pellets at the head.
  
  Maximum range is 57 metres. At typical range for a shotgun fight (5 metres), you'll need half the pellets to hit the body to one-hit-kill unarmoured enemies. If you can make every pellet hit the body (again, no kevlar), the Nova's fatal up to 22 metres. Against kevlar, body shots are only lethal near point-blank range, so always aim for the head.

• XM1014 'autoshotty'

  Full-automatic, expensive shotgun. The autoshotty is kind of a compromise solution. Per shot it's the least damaging shotgun (against kevlar, one-shot frags are only possible if you hit the head), but for damage-per-second it's the best one (on par with the better SMGs). It fires much faster than the other shotguns, but far slower than other automatic weapons (less than 3 shots per second).
  
  The result is that it's very difficult to frag in one hit with the XM, but unless you're at long range, two good hits should do the job. That'll take just over a third of a second, which gives the enemy an opportunity to fight back.
  
  When should you use it? My personal opinion is that if you're good enough to reliably score one-hits with the other shotguns, then don't bother. The others are cheaper, and actually safer, because you can take out enemies without allowing them a chance to fight back.
  
  If you're not quite that good, or might have to fight at slightly longer range than shotguns are typically good for, then the XM's firing rate can allow you to survive encounters that other shotguns wouldn't, and still give you that sweet $900 kill reward. It's also a handy tool for cleaning up Casual games, as lower-skilled enemies often don't react fast enough to beat the XM's second shot. If you're looking at buying a P90 or MP7, maybe think about using an XM instead if you know there won't be any long-range fighting.
  
  Maximum range is 57 metres, and like the Nova it's better at a distance than the anti-armour shotguns - beyond 13 metres it'll outshoot the MAG-7.

• Sawed-off

  T-only alternative shotgun. Only useful for one-shotting kevlar wearers near taser range.
  
  The Sawed-off has nothing at all to commend it over the CTs' MAG-7, but has more armour penetration than the Nova. Just be warned that you have to get very close - if you're not confident about this, pick the Nova instead, even versus kevlar. Another disadvantage is that the Sawed-off slows your movement, so it's poorly suited for popping in and out of cover.
  
  Because the Sawed-off has the widest spread and lowest effective range of any shotgun, you don't need to be so accurate with it. A Nova needs solid headshots to stand a chance against kevlar, but with the Sawed-off, you just need to worry about getting close enough, and not flat-out missing.
  
  Maximum range is 12 metres, a distance you could run in 3 seconds, and you'll want to be even closer for a strong chance of an instant kill. At 5 metres, you'll need 75% of the pellets to hit the body to score a frag.

• MAG-7

  CT-only premium shotgun. This is usually the best shotgun choice. It has a smaller clip, but it combines the Nova's narrow spread with the Sawed-off's armour penetration. Best-in-class movement accuracy (and movement speed) means that it's even effective on the run. It's the most popular shotgun among professional players, sometimes even venturing into full-buy rounds.
  
  Maximum range is 27 metres, but even if every pellet hits, it can only deliver lethal body damage within 7 metres. Basically, if you're not within spitting distance then you'll need to aim for the head.

Summary - SMGs

Submachine guns are low-cost options which are forgiving for new or highly mobile players, as their penalties for moving and spamming are a fraction of a rifle's, and they shoot rapidly.

However, their ultimate accuracy isn't great, and they lose a lot of damage over distance, so they're best used at close to medium range. Beyond 70 metres, they won't do anything at all.

Kill awards are a strong $600 (except for the P90), double that of a pistol or rifle. A couple of successful SMG rounds should allow you to buy pretty much anything you want.

• MAC-10

  T mini-SMG. Fast-firing little beast with a small clip, this will take out a lone, close-range target quickly and easily. It's less effective for continuous or distant shooting, so pick your fights carefully.
  
  Two kills in Competitive give you more $ than its purchase cost, so it can be a handy buy even on eco rounds. Best-in-class moving accuracy makes this a great weapon for aggressive play, and it's surprisingly potent for the price.

• MP9

  CT mini-SMG. Static accuracy's the best among submachine guns (with a major bonus for crouching), so it can just about hold its own if you need to hunker down and fire long distances. Its damage-per-second is similar to the MAC-10, but as this comes from a faster firing rate, it's harder to control. Significantly less accurate on the move too.
  
  The MP9's higher price means it's not such a handy choice as the MAC, you can buy an UMP or Nova for $50 less. Another $250 buys you an MP7 with better power and movement accuracy, and $500 nets you a Negev (can't quite believe I'm saying that) or Scout. But if you absolutely must pinch every penny, and want a high-reward automatic weapon that can engage at longer range than the UMP or Nova, I guess the MP9 is for you. Be warned though, it's no rifle.

• MP7

  Mid-priced all-rounder SMG.
  
  Think of the MP7 as an MP9 and MAC-10 rolled into one, with a higher price tag - the former's accuracy, the latter's power and low movement penalty. So it's a fairly potent SMG that's best against single opponents, with some long-range potential, particularly when you crouch.
  
  It's not the best at anything. The MP9/MAC are cheaper, the UMP has more power at close range, the Bizon has a much bigger clip, the P90 is faster firing. But it doesn't have their particular weaknesses, making it a versatile, unspecialised choice for players expecting variable combat situations.
  
  Note that the MP7's recoil pattern is unusual, you need to aim lower-left to compensate rather than the usual down-then-right.

• MP5-sd

  Loadout replacement for the MP7, added to the game in August 2018.
  
  The MP5 has a silencer, so like the USP and M4A1 you benefit from quiet shots and no bullet tracers, making it harder for enemies to tell where the shot is coming from. You also run slightly faster than with the MP7.
  
  The downsides over the MP7 are that it's 7% less powerful, and suffers a 51% greater accuracy penalty for moving (roughly on par with the MP9, UMP and Bizon).
  
  The two guns' stats are mostly identical, so it's basically a choice between whether you want the silencer or a bit more run-and-gun accuracy. Bear in mind, the MP5 is the only weapon with a silencer that Terrorists have access to, and even for CTs it's less than half the price of the M4A1.

• UMP-45

  This low-priced SMG is the most powerful per-bullet in the class. Hell, it's nastier than some assault rifles. The disadvantages are that it also has the slowest firing rate, smallest clip and worst power loss over distances of any SMG.
  
  The UMP can be the best SMG option when accurate players use it at close range. If you try to snipe or spam, you're better off with something else. Final note, this is the CTs' cheapest primary weapon (tied with the Nova), so with the SMGs' high kill reward it can be worth having one player buy it on eco rounds. It'll give a nasty (for them) and lucrative (for you) surprise to anyone who pops around the corner.

• P90

  Premium SMG with a hyperactive firing rate and enormous clip. Devastating up close and very easy to use (though recoil compensation veers a little left rather than right), it's more expensive than the entry-tier rifles, and has a rifle's poor $300 kill award too. Accurate players might get on better with the MP7 (and save/earn a LOT more money), but the P90 wins out in spamfests, and goes much further between reloads.
  
  If you need to engage over long distances, you might be better off putting the same money into a Galil/FAMAS/Scout instead, but the P90's just about usable at range by hunkering down and firing in short bursts. It's definitely the better option for mobile combat.

• Bizon

  This quirky mid-price SMG isn't particularly fast-firing, accurate, powerful or long-ranged. What it does have is a virtually bottomless clip, making it handy if you're expecting to go Rambo, fighting multiple opponents between reloads. Recoil on the Bizon is hilarious - keep aiming at the feet. You don't really need to bother with controlling your firing rate, just hold down the trigger and *eventually* they'll die, but it does help to keep still.
  
  Sounds like I'm ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on it, but in all honesty, the Bizon is one of my favourite weapons. It allows such an aggressive playing style that enemies can be buried under an avalanche of aimpunch and tagging, allowing scrappy imprecise frags you'd never normally get away with. And it's just plain funny. Maybe not one for Competitive though - nothing beats damage and accuracy.

Summary - assault rifles

Should be your mainstay, if you can afford one. These are very powerful, and accurate over long ranges. However, they lose most of their accuracy when moving, and are best fired in short bursts - if you're intending to lead a fast attack, an SMG might be a more useful choice.

All of the assault rifles apart from the AUG and SG553 have an unusual accuracy system, in which the first few shots give very little accuracy penalty. This works by having a short penalty recovery time that gets longer over the course of the first 5 bullets. So basically, these rifles are great for short bursts, but much worse for long spraydowns. Another benefit is that movement penalties are cancelled almost immediately - so while it's still critical to stop moving before you shoot, you don't need to wait for your accuracy to stabilise.

If your team's wielding rifles, the chances are that your enemy won't have the money to do the same. Take advantage of this by only engaging at long range - other weapon classes are similarly potent at short ranges, but nothing can match a rifle when aiming at a tiny, distant blob of pixels.

Unlike other weapon types, assault rifles have price-divided tiers, each giving a more-or-less complete upgrade on the previous tier. CTs and Ts also have separate weapons at each tier, which give different advantages - the Ts' options are cheaper and do more damage, the CTs' allow faster movement and are easier to control.

Kill awards are the standard $300.

• Galil

  T entry-level rifle. Cheaper than a P90, useful for force-buy rounds. The Galil isn't particularly accurate for a rifle (and is terrible for spraying), but its larger clip allows you to fight more enemies between reloads.
  
  The Galil is the only Terrorist assault rifle that does less damage than some Counter-Terrorist options - it's punchier than a FAMAS, but if you find an M4 or AUG, you should pick it up (unless you really want the extra bullets).

• FAMAS

  CT entry-level rifle. Reverses the Galil by having a smaller clip than other rifles, but has the lowest movement accuracy penalty among rifles (note: it's still huge).
  
  The FAMAS has a very useful three-round-burst secondary fire mode that boosts accuracy beyond the M4's. This mode's slow refire rate means you'll be left with your pants down if the burst doesn't kill, so you're better off switching back to less accurate full-auto for close-range fighting.

• AK-47

  T workhorse rifle. Most professional buy-rounds consist entirely of AKs or M4s.
  The AK provides a significant upgrade on the Galil, and is VERY powerful (more than any CT assault rifle - a headshot is almost always lethal).
  
  Downsides are a slower firing rate than other assault rifles, and a massive accuracy penalty for moving. You'll have to be close enough to pluck the enemy's nostril hair before you're likely to score a hit while running, so even more than with other weapons in this class, the AK favours controlled players.

• M4A4

  CT workhorse rifle. Moderate upgrade on the FAMAS - it provides similar accuracy to that weapon's burst fire mode, without the drawbacks. The M4A4 also provides a larger clip and slightly more damage, particularly over longer ranges.
  
  The M4A4 doesn't get anywhere near the per-bullet damage of an AK, but fires more quickly and is a little more forgiving. Essentially, the AK is better for careful and accurate play, while the M4 is better for spraying.

• M4A1-s

  Loadout replacement for the M4A4.
  
  The A1's main draw is its silencer, which quietens your shots and removes tracers. It also retains slightly more damage over long distances. However, it has a tiny ammo clip - this puts you at a disadvantage in sustained shootouts, as you'll run out of bullets in two seconds. The A1 also has a slightly lower firing rate than most other assault rifles, on par with the AK.
  
  The silencer is detachable. Removing it gives a large bonus to moving accuracy (better than the FAMAS), and a penalty to sustained shooting accuracy. Obviously, it also makes you louder and adds tracers. Most importantly though, it shortens the gun barrel - the silencer makes the weapon RIDICULOUSLY long, I've seen the best players in the world killed by accidentally leaving their A1 tip poking out of a corner.
  
  So, which M4 to choose? If you're a stealthy player who wants to avoid signposting their position, the A1 is your best friend, being the quietest automatic weapon in the game.
  For face-to-face sprayfests, the A4's larger clip and faster firing make it the best choice.

• SG 553

  T premium rifle. The main advantage of a premium rifle is a scope accessed with secondary fire. This doesn't just give you a closer view of the target, it also increases the weapon's accuracy, massively so when crouched. It also slows movement speed and obscures your close-range vision, but that shouldn't matter - the scope is best used for squatting down and sniping the heads of medium-to-long-range targets, for which the first shot will be precisely on target.
  
  The 553 has 100% armour penetration, giving it the highest damage-per-second in the game against kevlar (very narrowly beating the Negev). However, the AK-47 has enough power to frag helmet-wearers in one shot, and is actually quite a lot more powerful against unarmoured enemies, so the damage alone is arguably not enough to merit an upgrade. But the 553 is much more accurate, even when unscoped (on par with the AUG). It also has a faster firing rate than the AK, which is a mixed blessing as sprayed 553 fire is hard to control.
  
  The big drawback is that the 553's recoil is unusual - to compensate for it, you need to aim gradually lower-left, rather than down-then-right as in most weapons. If you don't master this, you can empty your entire clip without scoring a hit.

• AUG

  CT premium rifle. Has a scope like the 553, greatly increasing weapon precision. When zoomed in and crouched the AUG is the most accurate weapon in the game, though the 553, R8, AWP and autosnipers are all very close.
  
  Aside from the scope benefits, the AUG's a fairly mild upgrade on the M4, but it's the only CT assault rifle powerful enough to score an instant kill from headshots against helmets (even then, only at close range).
  
  The AUG doesn't have the 553's weird recoil pattern, making it easier to spray - though you might still prefer to pick up a 553 for its far superior damage, which can land instant-kill headshots from virtually any range.
  
  Note that the AUG does less damage than an M4 against unarmoured opponents, so you might be better off saving your money if the enemy's on an eco round. And despite being the most powerful CT assault rifle vs kevlar, it's still less damaging per-shot than an AK. That said, in my opinion the AUG and 553 are the best all-rounders in the game.

Summary - sniper rifles

Like the AUG/553, these high-powered rifles have scopes accessed with secondary fire, in this case with two levels of zoom. This allows you to engage at extremely long range, and compromises your awareness of nearby activity.

You can fire without the scope, a last resort in case you get sneaked up on at close range. There's no crosshair and accuracy drops off a cliff (Mount Everest for the AWP).

• SSG-08 'scout'

  The bargain-basement sniper rifle, so cheap it can be bought on almost every round. The Scout allows you to snipe regardless of your economy level, but it's a little less accurate than the other snipers, with almost no bonus for crouching. This makes it quite unreliable. Make sure you come to a complete stop before firing, and if you want to continue shooting, crouch down to minimise the accuracy recovery time. Two hits will take down anything, and a headshot is always an instant kill.
  
  The Scout has a couple of unique features. One, it can be fired accurately at the peak of a jump - this is very useful, because most enemies won't be able to hit a player who just hops their head above cover for a fraction of a second. Two, the Scout allows quick movement even while scoped, so you can line up your shot while running across the map (just remember to stop before you shoot).
  
  This rifle has such long pauses between shots that it's not technically subject to accuracy penalties for sustained fire. However, it does unscope between every shot, and after the scope pops back up, it takes a moment to transition between those two accuracy values. Specifically, that's 0.14 seconds when standing, and 0.06 seconds when crouched - a massive 61% bonus for squatting.

• AWP

  CS's notorious binary weapon: hits are usually instant kills. You move VERY slowly with the AWP, refiring is slow and the kill award is tiny, but a single player can annihilate entire teams with this.
  If you miss the first shot, take your time to line up the next one - the accuracy penalty can send your shot off-target if you hammer the trigger as soon as the scope pops back up.
  
  When your enemy's using one, you'll need a smart plan of attack. Block them out with grenades, find a way to outflank them, DON'T let yourself be where they expect you to be.
  An AWP's cannon-like gunfire can be heard from across the map.
  
  Like the Scout, the AWP isn't technically subject to accuracy penalties for sustained fire, but is affected by the time it takes to transition from unscoped to scoped accuracy values (which, again, happens after every shot). This is much longer than for the Scout, taking 0.35 seconds when standing, and 0.25 seconds when crouched (a bonus of 29%).

• SCAR-20 / G3SG1 'autosniper'

  These team-specific automatic sniper rifles are mostly identical, the only major differences are that the CTs' SCAR-20 has a faster clip reload, and the Ts' G3SG1 has fractionally easier recoil.
  
  They fire with roughly the force of a Scout and accuracy of an AWP, but 5-6 times faster, with double the clipsize. They're very expensive, but they don't have the AWP's strangulated kill award.
  
  If that all sounds ridiculously deadly to you, you're not wrong. When fighting an autosniper user, you don't need to be as cautious about peaking as you do against an AWP, but this is the deadliest weapon against which to be caught out in the open (unless at close enough range that their scope becomes difficult to use). Remember that two hits will always kill you, so when you hear them firing, whip out your knife (so you can run faster) and dive for cover - DON'T try to outshoot them if they've spotted you first.

Summary - machineguns

Originally the two machineguns were pretty similar, but the Negev has been overhauled in 2017, making it a different beast.

The common factor is that they're both heavy weapons that slow you down and suffer major accuracy penalties if you move. They're fast-firing, powerful and have a near-endless ammo supply. The latter makes them handy for spamming through walls or smoke grenades. Although armour penetration is reasonable, they're particularly brutal as anti-eco, with vastly more unarmoured damage-per-second than any other gun.

Because of their low mobility, machineguns are best used for ambushes. They can inflict heavy damage at any range, but rifles are usually more precise over long distances.

Generally, machineguns are niche weapons, and not popular (exceedingly so for the M249). They do have some use though.

• M249

  The M249 is one of the most powerful weapons for close-to-mid-range combat, so long as you keep still. It fires a little faster than any rifle, with good stopping power and accuracy somewhere between an AK and Galil. That's enough to give you the edge, and the huge magazine means that you don't need to worry about reloading.
  
  Be aware that you'll be dealing with massive recoil on the M249. It's best fired in very short bursts, tipping the crosshair down slightly over the course of each one. The firepower is so strong that you can near-instantly toast an enemy without even aiming for the head. If you do get drawn into a long spraydown, tip the crosshair way downwards, then swing from side to side; just be aware that you're likely to get your head popped by the more accurate opponent.
  
  I won't get carried away praising the M249 - it's only mildly better than an AK even in optimal situations, and actually does less kevlar damage per second than an SG553, which will also easily outsnipe it. You're relying on the superior firerate to put enemies down quickly, so the massive accuracy penalties for spamming or moving will scupper the chances of that. The M249 also takes a little longer to become accurate after moving than most weapons.
  
  But the main reason the M249 is so unpopular is that it's so ludicrously overpriced. For some reason it's the most expensive gun in the game, worth almost as much as two AK-47s, despite never having the game-changing impact of the AWP and autosnipers. For $2000 less, it might actually be viable... as it is, it's mainly just a means for overly rich players to throw away their money.

• Negev

  CS:GO's most heavily changed weapon. It used to be a better and even more madly expensive M249; the current version is less fun but more viable.
  
  The Negev brings heavy firepower for minimal outlay. It's priced in mid-SMG territory, so can be purchased on most rounds. Damage-per-second is the highest in the game (and second only to the SG553 against kevlar), with an SMG-like firing rate and rifle-like power. It's even powerful over long distances.
  
  Accuracy is both bad and good, it doesn't work like any other weapon. For short bursts, it's quite poor, building up a slightly worse penalty than a Galil. But when firing longer than 12 bullets (just under a second), it becomes more accurate. Over long spraydowns it's on par with the best rifles, and arguably better because the recoil is so easy to control (there's no sideways motion at all, just aim the crosshair a little below the target).
  
  Being a machinegun it has an enormous ammo supply, so even with the Negev's super firing rate it'll take 11 seconds to empty the clip. It's the best gun for spamming, preventing enemies from entering corridors for even longer than a molotov.
  
  The lack of precision for short bursts is the key downside, but there are other drawbacks around mobility. Having it equipped gives you slower movement than anything else in the game, nearly half of Knife speed, and even that becomes halved while you're firing. To get anywhere in a hurry you need to switch to another weapon, and only have the Negev out when it's time to fight. The speed is particularly problematic when coming around corners, because your body will poke out before you can see around the corner - moving slowly increases the likelihood that enemies will spot you before you're ready to fire. Also, as a machinegun, the accuracy penalty for moving is enormous.
  
  So the Negev is the best gun in the game for long spraydowns, but you get what you pay for in terms of first-second accuracy and easy mobility (ie. very little!). Try to get behind enemies, particularly in a pincer movement with teammates, so that they're preoccupied until you're up to full accuracy. Another idea is to shoot at the wall when you're expecting an attack, so you can be at full accuracy when they come into view. Obviously being so cheap it's best for force buy rounds, but you need to know its strengths and weaknesses to make it a round-winner.

Stat charts (updated December 2017)

These sheets show the basic stats for each weapon. If you need help deciphering them, head to the Chart Assistance section below.

For full resolution, open the thumbnail in a new window (ie. clicking it with middle-mouse), then click to magnify.

Or, just click the thumbnail for moderately high resolution.

Note: Charts are currently a bit out of date, I haven't been able to update them since March. You can find details about what's changed in the Recent Patch Changes section.

Pistols

Shotguns

Submachine guns

Assault rifles

Sniper rifles

Machine guns

M-m-m-monster chart, chart, chart

...And here's every gun in the game, plus the melee weapons, compiled into one chart. The blue/red bars compare every weapon in the sheet, so you can easily see how the movement speed of a Negev compares to that of an SSG-08, for example.

Bear in mind that the shotguns show damage *per pellet* for the sake of readability. If every pellet hits, their power dwarfs even an AWP.

Again, click for a larger resolution, or middlemouse click + magnify for the full thing.

Note: as mentioned above, I haven't been able to change the charts for a while, so they're a little out-of-date.

Chart assistance

Format

The red/blue bars illustrate the difference between the weapons. Blue means it's a category in which higher is better. Red means it's a category in which higher is worse.

In the weapon name fields, the yellow dot denotes a T-only weapon, blue dot is CT-only, and a purple line denotes weapons that can be swapped in CS:GO's Loadout menu.

Kill awards

Kill awards are halved in Casual, so the standard $300 reward becomes $150. On the other hand, with 10 players on each team, you're likely to nail more of them.

Movement speed

Movement speed is for the weapon you have selected, just having them in your inventory will make no effect to your speed.

The R8 revolver is the odd one out here, the speed shown for primary fire only applies *while you're pulling the trigger*, which takes 0.2 seconds. When you're just running around normally, it uses the secondary fire's speed, which is more in line with the other pistols.

Other movement speeds:

• 250 game units / 4.76 metres per second / 10.65 miles per hour: C4 (same as knife).
  
• 245 units / 4.67 m/sec / 10.44 MPH: Grenades.
  
• 200 units / 3.81 m/sec / 8.52 MPH: Any unscoped weapon when carrying a hostage (machineguns move faster than usual).
  
• While scoped and carrying a hostage, AUG/553 moves at 159, autosniper at 127, AWP at 106. SSG-08 moves at the normal 200.

CS:GO organises distances into game units, each of which corresponds to 0.01905 metres, or 0.75 inches. For example, movement speed when holding the knife is 250 units per second. To get a better grasp of this, I've converted the speeds into metres per second. (If you're not familiar with the metric system, a metre or meter is 3.28 feet, so two metres is Darth Vader-height.)

Damage

Base damage
The basic damage figure for a weapon is only applied when the enemy isn't wearing kevlar or a helmet, or if you hit the legs. So if you're not playing Competitive, this stat will be essentially irrelevant.

Damage versus kevlar
This is the base damage figure multiplied by the degree of armour penetration. Most of the time, this will be the relevant damage stat.

As described in the damage section, both of these damage values are affected by distance to target, bodypart hit, and any intervening cover.

Damage loss per 9.525 metres
This is the standard figure with which CS calculates damage reduction over range, it's the distance you would run in precisely 2 seconds at knife speed.

I'm thinking about adding another set of charts showing each weapon's damage at certain units of range (20 metres, 50 metres?) and the distance at which their headshots are lethal, both with and without kevlar. It's too much data to fit into the current charts while remaining legible.
Currently thinking I won't do it, because maybe it would make the guide offputtingly long (like it isn't already :D), but if you want to see this, whip out a comment.

Inaccuracy stats

With accuracy figures, lower ones are better - the number is the maximum amount the bullet can stray from where the crosshair and recoil pattern tell it to go. You can read more about the inaccuracy/spread system near the top of this guide.

Base inaccuracy
This is the fundamental accuracy of the weapon, which applies when you're standing still, with no action penalties or bonuses.

Moving
CS:GO has different accuracy penalties for moving, firing, jumping, landing or climbing a ladder. The first two are the most relevant ones, so I won't waste space on the others. Basically, with almost every weapon, jumping or ladder-climbing make you extremely inaccurate, so are best avoided.

Action penalties apply in addition to base accuracy, so one isn't replaced with the other - and the different penalties stack, too.

The penalty I've listed is the stat for moving at full speed, and it scales depending on the fraction of that you're currently doing. For example, it will be lower during the first moments of movement, because you don't instantly accelerate to top speed. It will also be a lot lower if you walk rather than run.

Remember, this penalty doesn't end the instant you stop moving. It will gradually tick back down throughout the weapon's recovery time, which is usually around 0.4 seconds. So if you fire ~0.2 seconds after moving at full speed, you should have roughly half the full movement penalty.

Maximum sustained fire penalty
CS:GO applies an accuracy penalty with each bullet you fire, and they stack up. This figure calculates the maximum accuracy penalty for continuous shooting. If you fire as fast as the weapon's capable of, you'll reach this penalty within the weapon's penalty recovery time, which as mentioned above is usually around 0.4 seconds.

Most of the rifles and a couple of pistols have shorter recovery times for the first few bullets, which makes them very accurate for bursts of 5-or-so shots. This category on the chart ignores that, and only shows the penalty after a long period of sustained firing.

For anyone with an insatiable need for algebra, here's the formula I'm using to calculate this stat.

x = penalty recovery time, y = time between shots, z = x/y rounded downwards

( z - ( y / x ) * z * ( ( z + 1 ) / 2 ) ) * x * [accuracy penalty per shot]

I'll be honest - that figure comes from a Reddit helper, after spending a full day melting my brain trying to devise an accurate formula. I'd need a different formula for weapons in burst mode, which is why they're not represented on the chart....

* The Negev is the odd one out when it comes to sustained firing. It becomes more accurate the longer you fire, and is wildly inaccurate for the first few seconds of firing. To keep things simple, I'm using the same formula as all the other weapons, so this shows the penalty after a long bout of firing. Shorter bouts will have far worse accuracy than the M249.

Crouching base accuracy bonus
There are lots of penalties that can be applied to your base accuracy, but only one bonus. That's for crouching.

This stat shows the percentage by which your base accuracy is improved by crouching, but it has no effect on penalties. However, it does shorten the time it takes to recover from penalties, as described in the next category.

Accuracy recovery time
This important stat is how quickly accuracy penalties tick down and vanish. This dictates how quickly you'll be able to fire accurately after you stop moving, land from a jump, hop off a ladder, and also how accurately you can spray multiple bullets.

• I've marked a few weapons which have longer recovery times after the first few bullets (usually the first five). This allows them to have a lot more accuracy for short bursts, but not if you keep spraying. The recovery time stat on the chart is the initial value, so stats marked with • will be higher if you shoot for longer.

I've only included the recovery time category on the Monster Chart, mostly to save space, but also because it's useful to compare the recovery times of different weapon classes.

Crouching recovery time bonus
In addition to increasing your base accuracy, crouching also shortens your recovery time. So if you're spamming bullets it's a good idea to crouch down, as the shorter recovery time will negate firing penalties more quickly, so you'll be able to spray more accurately.

I've only included this category on the individual class charts, because it's a slightly less relevant stat to class-compare than the recovery time itself. Got to save that space, it's already a crowded spreadsheet...

Recent patch changes

August 2018

New weapon time: the MP5 has been dredged from the mists of CS time and fitted with a silencer as a loadout replacement for the MP7. It's basically a silenced MP7 with some extremely minor debuffs.

Being a new gun I'd imagine it'll get tweaked again soon, but this isn't an R8 situation in which it breaks the game. It just makes the MP7 more-or-less obsolete (in my opinion....).

I'm still having software issues preventing the charts from being updated, so bear with me on that.


July 2018

The last few months have brought some changes:

• Negev: cost further lowered ($2000->$1700), making it cheaper than any assault rifle or the P90.
  Slightly less powerful vs kevlar (26.25->24.85), removing its ability to score one-hit takedowns against helmets - this is probably fair, as several more expensive weapons can't either.
  Initial recovery time massively improved (3.0->0.3 seconds), so it now has some accuracy when fired in short bursts (slightly worse than a Galil rather than a shark with a boomerang), and can fire without penalty from moving after a moment's stillness.
  New movement system introduced, you'll now move at half speed while firing the Negev - so that is 1.43 m/sec, making running speed equivalent to most other weapons' crouching speed.
  
  
• CZ75-auto: damage reduced from 33 to 31. This drops its damage vs kevlar from 25.62 to 24.07, so like the Negev it can no longer score one-hit-frags against helmets.
  
  
• MP7: cost reduced from $1700 to $1500. Premium over an MP9 is now small enough to question the latter's usefulness, in my opinion.
  
  
• M4A1-silenced: reserve ammo supply increased from 40 to 60. Should probably have been done a long time ago - now has the same number of reloads as the M4A4.

I've amended the summary sections accordingly. The charts will take longer to update due to software issues, which is the main reason why I've fallen behind since around March.


December 2017

There have been some minor changes in recent months, including a complete switch in how CS:GO organises its weapon data. As of December 21st, I've rebuilt the data charts from scratch, and updated the rest of the guide.

One unexpected aspect to late-2017's meta is that the Negev modifications from March have been kept, and the weapon added back into Competitive. In my opinion the Negev's now pretty much useless - and I used to have a soft spot for the big stupid noisy thing.

Also, the FAMAS, Galil, Glock and Five-SeveN now use the M4/AK's accuracy system, in which the first few bullets are more precise. The pistols are getting a revision at the moment, another major change is that the Tec-9 now has a *massive* sustained firing penalty. Pick your shots carefully.


March 2017

The 24th March patch has delivered the first weapon changes of 2017. They affect everyone's most-used game-dominators, the Revolver and Negev, which won't be usable in Competitive until the balancing is finalised.

• R8 Revolver: primary fire's loading time reduced from 0.4 seconds to 0.2, making it more usable.
  
  
• Negev: price dropped to $4000 $2000, carrying speed reduced to 150 (!), reserve ammo raised to 300, shots per second reduced to 13.33, new recoil pattern (compensation now just requires dragging straight down, no side-to-side motion at all), and new accuracy dynamic. It'll now take even longer than before to recover accuracy after moving (3 seconds, or 2.6 while crouched). First shot accuracy is unchanged but subsequent shots are up to 10x less accurate than before; accuracy gradually improves again the longer you fire, ending up slightly more accurate than before.
  
  In other words, they're making the Negev more of a weapon with which you sit in a camping spot and suppress enemy movement with a long barrage. It's hard to use in other roles now.

September 2016

The patch for the evening of September 29th has introduced a new accuracy system for jumping, as described in the CS:GO Blog.

Jumping/falling accuracy is now tied to air speed, rather than a fixed penalty at the point of initiating a jump/land that ticks down over the weapon's recovery time. So, basically, the only time you're accurate during a jump is at the very peak, when you hang for a moment in mid-air. Shooting before or after that will be inaccurate.

Also looks like jumping accuracy has generally been massively worsened for nearly all weapons.


August 2016

The patch for the evening of August 3rd has introduced the first weapon balance changes of 2016. They've changed the way that firing penalties work for the M4 and AK, as detailed in the CS:GO Blog post - it's no longer the same penalty which stacks with each successive shot.

The basic gist is that staggered shots or <6-round bursts are slightly more accurate than before, and long full-auto blasts are slightly less accurate than before.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, they're gradually replacing most of the weapon sounds. Keep calm, take deep breaths, try not to fall into an irrevocable state of existential terror.

Peace out

I've been regularly tweaking this guide - when it first launched, it was less than half the length, had none of the pretty pictures, and the charts were less readable with less data. The big changes are mostly done now, but I occasionally re-phrase sections or add little extra details. I'm also considering a major rethink on the charts - possibly separating damage into a new set of pages, allowing room to break down damage over range and time, and for the main charts to have more accuracy data. Let me know if you have an opinion on this.

I'm not playing CS:GO quite as often as I used to, but am still keeping the guide updated. Just not necessarily within 24 hours of Valve's changes anymore.

I hope this guide's been useful, and apologise for any residual chafing sensation it may have caused to your nipples.

[King]

Honestly deserves so much more attention, great job bro!

[VincentThaDJvip]

thx for the guide, now i know what weapon to choose ingame, rate/grade

[|iG| Vertigo]

Thanks Derpmind!

It's my own fault really, I launched the guide as just a few difficult-to-read charts, so it didn't catch on while it was still in the 'recently uploaded' section. I'm always pleasantly surprised whenever someone finds it in the murky depths of Steam's community browser.

[Derpmind]

Great guide, really made me rethink how I use many weapons. It's a shame this doesn't have more views over all of the outdated guides from 2013, but that's Steam's stupid star rating system for you.

[^~^]

Nice Guide! It's very helpfull

[ser]

Well made and has definitely kept my informed. Nice work.