- CS_Italy is a hostage rescue map taking place in the dense urban environment of an Italian city. While close-ranged weaponry remains popular by many players, snipers and ambushes are also common. Generally, the areas with the highest amounts of snipers are found in the back alleyway, far side, and the apartments while the wine cellar almost never contains players who are armed with sniper weaponry. Instead, ambushes are the main concern for players thus caution is exercised to a great extent. Due to these aspects, a variety of grenades are used for protection or to drive away and reveal aggressive opposing team members. Meanwhile, the market contains large concentrations of players because the area is nearly between the route of the house (where the hostages and the Terrorist spawn zone are located) and the only hostage rescue zone (also found in the Counter-Terrorist spawn zone). Both the house and the rescue zone can easily be camped by the terrorists while the Counter-Terrorists can also be prepared and equipped with their favorable weapons and predict where the Terrorists will run and hide. Note that the house where the hostages are located is heavily guarded nearly at all times. To breach inside, use flashbangs and smoke grenades for assistance but enemies can hide from it by taking cover, can camp close to the hostages or above the stairs, or even leave the house by jumping off the balcony and eliminating opponents from behind. Combining all of these particular events, Italy requires skill in planning, breaching, and teamwork. Failing to excel in any of these characteristics may lead to your team in being dominated by the opposing force.
- DE_Nuke is a small map in which a variety of weapons and grenades are used by players. Primarily, snipers are encountered in the exterior parts of the map while players with shotguns and generally weaker armament are usually located within the facility. Close-ranged weapons remain very popular among players while snipers tend to be present from the outside or at the hangar, overlooking bombsite A. While the fighting is dense from the outside, in the bombsites, and inside the facility, the basement and the underground hallways hardly ever contain any players. To many people of the Counter-Strike community, this map is mainly infamous for the recurring amounts of wallbanging to eliminate enemies behind a wall or a penetrable object. Notably, the walls of the building are exploited by players, even the floor/ceiling that separates site A and B thus frustrating many players. If you are playing with bots, the Terrorist bots will often choose to plant the C4 in bombsite A. If you are a Counter-Terrorist, get to the hangar and position yourself to guard the area. If you are a Terrorist, watch out for ambushes around the area, especially at the hanger and the corridors around it. Since the bombsites are located within enclosed buildings, tactics regarding footsteps might help you approach the site a bit easier without being spotted by enemies. Weapons like Shotguns, Sub-machine guns, Assault rifles and machine guns are recommended when inside while outside, sniper rifles and assault rifles are recommended.
- CS_Office is one of the most popular hostage rescue maps in the Counter-Strike series. Office offers many hiding areas since it has many CQB (close quarters battle) spots. Submachine guns are recommended for this map, especially the MP5 and the ES C90. Shotguns are also recommended but some shotguns like the Leone 12 Gauge Super are not recommended due to the low rate of fire as it gives opportunities for enemies to (counter) attack unless a one-shot one-kill is performed. Be sure to equip yourself with a Kevlar and a helmet as you will need all the armor you can get in a map like this. Also, remember to pack flashbangs and a smoke grenade to clear hallways and rooms from enemies. The smoke can also be used to provide temporary cover against snipers. Although sniper rifles are not commonly used inside the office complex, players can effectively use these rifles. The long hallways and the outside yards are excellent for AWSM users so be sure to approach these sections with caution. While sniper weaponry can provide better damage and accuracy than submachine guns and assault rifles, snipers will lack the accuracy while on the move when rushing through the office complex. Semi-auto sniper rifles are more effective when used indoors, especially at long corridors. If users are in locations that favor their positions, they can inflict even more damage than AWSM users. Specifically, the Terrorists have control of the office complex while the Counter-Terrorists can take advantage of the outside sections of this map with sniper rifles. Moreover, the Terrorist team is often prone to "camp" within the hallways, especially the projector room. Meanwhile, the CTs will rush with flashbangs to rescue the hostages.
- DE_Piranesi is a close to average long range combat map where nearly all type weapons can be used. Piranesi is a large, open-spaced map. Due to this, snipers have an advantage in this map. However, players will rifles can still retain an edge in combat. Meanwhile, shotgun users can struggle so they may have to resort to ambushes within the hallways and corridors of the museum and avoid both bombsites completely. Submachine guns are not always recommended to fight head-on against opponents at nearly any range, although wielders can burst-fire/spray bullets at enemies while strafing. Notably, the team that controls the rooftop of this map will be able to access the bombsites easily, especially site A. However, this area has very little cover/protection as there are two entryways for players to use.
- DE_Port is a very open-spaced map. Snipers often have the upper advantage in numerous locations and players will often try to avoid them. Some of the most infamous scenarios include a sniper guarding bombsite A and bombsite B simultaneously. Campers are often present at the spawn zones and they can eliminate enemies from long distances without ever leaving. Flashbangs are useless in the wide pathways (except the underground tunnels), alongside with HE grenades as players can easily dodge them. Smoke grenades are better to use but players can easily avoid them and simply walk around the smoke, rendering ambushes close to impossible. Because of the lack of cover, this map lacks popularity and balance thus Port is rarely seen in servers.
- DE_Prodigy is a map that many players in the Counter-Strike series do not highly favor, due to the enclosed areas of the map and the confusing pathways. Prodigy is a medium to close-quarters range combat map as Sniper Rifles do not provide adequate advantages in this map (unless you are a good sniper). This map has two bombsites; one at the fuel pipe corridor (known as bombsite B and where the Counter-Terrorist spawn zone is also found) and the other is at the computer lab (which is bombsite A). Submachine guns are a good choice to wield in Prodigy while shotguns are utilized mainly by flankers who have troubles in engaging the enemy at medium range outside the bombsites. The most traversed paths are the security doors, the guardhouse, the Counter-Terrorist Spawn Zone, ducts, crates, the outside, and bombsite A.
- DE_Tides has narrow pathways and enclosed areas. To make matters worse, the bridge and bombsite A (the only major pathways for players) is often guarded by snipers. Smoke grenades are highly recommended to use in order to fend off snipers in the bridge and bombsite A. Although the hallways and the middle may seem appealing to traverse through, ambushes are very common and players armed with shotguns can easily overwhelm enemies. Rushing through the bridge in later rounds is often a poor choice without backup thus players may prefer to move to bombsite A as it`s possible to throw some smoke grenades to conceal movement. The middle is usually an important area in Tides as it`s located in the very middle of the map and serves as alternative routes to access the bombsites.
- DE_Train is a small but open-spaced map that allows snipers to easily eliminate exposed enemy players and makes designing a quiet and controlled ambush harder to implement. Due to the narrow passageways and the simplicity of the map, combat between the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists is very fierce in the bombsites, back/long halls, and occasionally, the back alley and the CT spawn zone. Although it is tempting for players of both teams to head over to Bombsite B (as it is nearby the spawn zones for both the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists), the back and the long halls can contain other players who do not want to be involved in the first minute of outside combat. There is also a ladder in the hallways that will allow the Terrorists to reach Bombsite B from behind the CTs thus any wary player should keep an eye on this section and the entrances. If fighting does not occur at all or some of the players were not encountered in these areas, then it is likely that the back alley or the CT spawn zone may contain a few players who have arranged an ambush or are simply waiting for the right time to move. Notably, it is possible for campers to hide underneath the derailed train cars and either launch surprise attacks or wait to plant/defuse the bomb.
Custom mapsSince the map editor for source engine games(Hammer tools) is so easy to learn the amount of community made maps are enormous. The game also has an included downloader so if the server is running a third party map you will have it automatically downloaded to your steamapps folder. |