Wiki
Beyond the item database
The written half of the codex — how the game works, what it costs, and what to do about it in a round. Every figure in these articles is checked against the same weapon and map data the rest of the site is built from, and every draft is put through an independent fact audit before it goes up. Anything that fails either check is held back rather than published.
Callout and map-strategy pages are deliberately not here. We publish no map geometry, so a claim about what a smoke denies or where a rotation goes cannot be checked against anything we hold — and a wrong callout is the fastest way to lose a Counter-Strike reader. They wait for real map data. The pool itself, with the callouts we do publish, is at /maps.
Game mechanics
32How Counter-Strike actually works — economy, utility, movement and round logic.
Accuracy
Accuracy determines where your bullets land relative to your crosshair, governed by movement, firing rate, and recoil patterns tha…
Aim assist
Aim assist is a console-specific mechanic that subtly adjusts your crosshair to track enemy movement, and it does not exist in Cou…
Ban/Pick
The ban/pick phase is a pre-match procedure where teams alternately remove maps from the pool and select one to play, determining …
Best of three
A Best of three is a match format where two teams play up to three maps, and the first team to win two maps wins the entire series…
Clutch
A clutch occurs when the final surviving player defeats all remaining enemies to win the round.…
Command Line Arguments
Command line arguments are text parameters added to the game launch command that modify client behavior and performance settings b…
Community server
A community server is a non-official game instance hosted by third parties that allows custom configurations outside Valve's stand…
Competitive matchmaking
Competitive matchmaking is the ranked queue system that pairs players of similar skill to play MR12 matches where winning rounds i…
Crosshair
The crosshair is the visual indicator on your screen that shows where your weapon will fire based on your current movement and sta…
Crosshair placement
Crosshair placement is the practice of positioning your reticle at head height where an enemy might appear before they become visi…
CT Spawn
The Counter-Terrorist spawn is the fixed starting location for defenders at round start and after successful bomb defuses or attac…
Damage Falloff
Damage Falloff is the reduction in bullet effectiveness over distance, meaning shots fired further away deal less health loss than…
Deathmatch
Deathmatch is a practice mode where players spawn continuously with full health and unlimited money to engage in constant combat w…
Entry Frag
An entry frag is the first kill a team secures during an attack to break a defender's initial hold and create space for teammates …
Entry Fragging
Entry fragging is the act of being the first player to engage and eliminate an opponent on the enemy team to create space for your…
How a round works
A competitive round is a timed match segment where Terrorists attempt to plant the C4 bomb or eliminate Counter-Terrorists before …
Kill Feed
The kill feed is a persistent on-screen log that displays every elimination, assist, and suicide in real time using weapon icons a…
Map Rotation
Map rotation is the coordinated movement of players from one area of the map to another to reinforce a defence, execute an attack,…
Overtime
Overtime is the tiebreaker format played when a competitive or Premier match reaches a 12-12 score, consisting of three additional…
Overwatch
In Counter-Strike 2, overwatch is a tactical role where a player covers teammates' movement by holding an angle and firing on enem…
Premier, CS Rating and ranks
Premier is a competitive matchmaking mode where players earn or lose CS Rating points based on match outcomes and individual perfo…
Server administration
Server administration in Counter-Strike 2 refers to the backend systems that process player inputs and determine game state, inclu…
Server Browsers
The server browser is the interface allowing players to search for, filter, and connect to community or official game servers with…
Shoulder Peek
Shoulder peeking is a movement technique where you briefly expose your shoulder to trigger an enemy's reaction before committing t…
Sight Lines
Sight lines are the unobstructed paths between two points in a game map that allow players to see and shoot each other without cov…
Smurfing
Smurfing is the practice of a highly skilled player creating a new account to compete against opponents with significantly lower s…
Terrorist spawn
The Terrorist spawn is the fixed location where every player on the attacking team appears at the start of a round and upon respaw…
Terrorist vs Counter-Terrorist
The Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist factions define opposing objectives, spawn locations, and economic advantages that create an a…
Tick rate, sub-tick and netcode
Tick rate determines how often the server updates game state, while sub-tick technology records player inputs precisely between th…
VAC and anti-cheat
VAC is Valve's automated system that detects unauthorized software modifications and issues permanent bans from secure servers wit…
Veto
The veto process determines which map is played in Premier or competitive matches by allowing teams to remove options from the ava…
Wingman
Wingman is a game mode played on smaller maps with faster round pacing than standard competitive play.…
Equipment
1Armour, kits and utility: what it costs and what it actually does.