Using grenades in csgo in a smart way is almost as important as having a good weapon. In fact, if you analyze some professional csgo matches you will see that all the teams will have at least one or two players prioritizing buying grenades over buying a better weapon. There’s 5 kinds of grenades in csgo: HE grenades, Flashbangs, Smoke grenades, Molotovs/Incendiary Grenades and Decoy grenades.
In this article I will give you a general approach on how every kind of grenades works. Then I’m going to give you some tips on how to use them to the most effect possible.
Smoke Lineup Crosshair Bind for CS:GO. Create a fullscreen crosshair to line up smokes and other nades. For particular smokes, it can be hard to find something natural to place your crosshair at to hit that perfect smoke. This key bind will help you align those hard nades. Simulate grenade throw. Hold your smoke/flash/molly in your hand, then press the bind. The game will simulate where the nade will go. There is no need actually to throw the nade. This is very useful if you're trying to find a pixel perfect smoke. Bind X clsimgrenadetrajectory 3. Preview grenade trajectory. Shows a line where the nade will go.
In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the inventory is a player's personal inventory, allowing for storage for all in-game items, including skins, containers, graffiti, etc. Items are kept in individual slots and can be viewed, inspected or deleted from within the backpack interface. Additionally, most tool items can only be used from within the inventory. Items are displayed as pages, with.
For our guide on ‘how to use your equipment in CSGO’ click here for more information.
Different ways of throwing grenades
There are three different ways of throwing your grenades in csgo. By pressing the left button of the mouse you can throw your grenades at a long distance. Pressing the right mouse button will throw them at a short distance, while if you press both buttons at the same time you throw them at a medium distance. It’s very good to have all this versatility because in the game you will face a lot of different situations. Also, knowing this can give you some advantage over your opponents, primarily in the lower ranks, where they commonly don’t even use grenades.
How many grenades can you buy
In the beginning of each round you can buy a total of four grenades. However, you can only buy one grenade of each kind, or by other words, you can’t buy four smokes, four flashbangs, and so on. The flashbang grenades are the only grenades that you can buy two at a time. But, remember that if you buy two flashbangs you will be able to only buy to more grenades. The kinds of grenades that you should buy will depend on your strategy for the round. Remember to only buy grenades which you are planning to use on that round. Otherwise you are just wasting money.
HE grenades
HE means high explosive and as the name tells you it’s a grenade designed to deal damage to your enemies. A HE grenade costs 300$. The damage dealt by one will vary with the distance between the players and the grenade explosion. The maximum damage in csgo is 98HP, if the enemy is unarmored, and 57HP if the enemy is armored. Remember that it can also affect you, like every kind of grenade, if you don’t throw it properly.
When to use HE grenades
The HE grenade can be used in many situations with good results. As you noticed you can’t kill an enemy with 100HP with just one HE grenade. Also, you can’t buy 2 HE grenades at the beginning of a round. However, if you and another player of your team buy a HE grenade you can throw them at a spot where you know that your enemy are and deal a huge amount of damage, and probably kill him if you throw them right.
If you are playing with a Scout or AWP the HE grenade can also be used to finish off enemies. The Scout will give around 75HP damage and an AWP shot in the legs will deal around 85HP. So you can get an easy kill with a HE grenade in these situations.
The situations that I just described are mainly created by individual plays. However you can incorporate the use of HE grenades in a tactical situation. When you are on the CT-side and you are facing a eco-round of your opponents it’s likely that they will try to rush one of the bombsites, trying to catch your team of-guard and at least planting the bomb. In these situations, if one of your teammates gives you info on where they are going you and the players that are closer should all throw your grenades at the same time, giving damage to almost all of your enemies, and then you can easily stop the rush.
If you are on the Terrorist side you can use the HE grenades to clear CT positions. If you are facing an opponent that is constantly playing the same spot try to throw a HE grenade to that spot before showing yourself. That way he will be already damaged when you will try to challenge him and you will be victorious the majority of the time.
Another important and obvious thing to do is trying to avoid being hit HE grenades. If you see one coming in your way just try to deviate from it as soon as possible in order to preserve your HP.
Flashbangs
The main objective of the flashbang is to temporarily blind your opponents. They cost 200$, and like I said previously it’s the only kind of grenade that you can buy in double. Flashbangs are a crucial aspect in the success of a round. If you watch a professional csgo match you will notice that a successful flashbang can make the difference in a round, and if the flashbang is not thrown well that could also make the life easier for your opponents to kill you. The same can be applied to your individual skill level and plays. Mastering the use of flashbangs would help you a lot, getting you free and easier kills, buying time to for you, confusing your opponents, and so on.
How to use flashbangs
Flashbangs are a little different from the other grenade. Because they are designed to blind players they can also blind you, so you have to throw them in a way that won’t affect your vision. The easiest way to do it is to throw flashbangs into a corner, bouncing them in a wall. That way you won’t see the flashbang explode, and you won’t be blinded. However this technique is very rudimentary and if you are facing against an experienced player he will probably avoid the flashbang effect when he hears the sound of the flashbang bouncing on the wall.
The most effective way of flashbanging an opponent is called pop-flashing. This technique consists in trying to thrown a flashbang in a way that the flashbang can only be seen by your enemy for a few instants before it explodes. There are many ways that you can do this, and some maps have spots that can get you this effect by just throwing your flashbangs in a normal way. However you can also use the different distance combinations that you can do with your mouse and ally that to your creativity.
Imagine that you are hiding on a corner and you know that your enemy is on the other side of a wall, waiting for you to get out. In this case you can do two things. If the corner where you are hiding doesn’t have a ceiling you can throw a flashbang over the wall and your opponent will be blinded on the other side. If there’s a ceiling you can throw a flashbang with the right click on the mouse and turn way from the flashbang, in order to avoid being flashed by yourself. This will probably flash an opponent who is watching your corner, and then all you have to do is turn yourself again to the front, get out of the corner and kill him.
Pop-flashing is harder to master and it only comes with practice. However it will give you a lot of advantage in duels, and even compensate for the difference of skill if your opponent is better than you. Sometimes a smart player is better than a more skilled player aim-wise.
When to use flashbangs
As I said flashbangs can also be prejudicial to your team if they are not thrown properly. With HE grenades you can easily see if there’s a teammate in the spot to where you are throwing. However flashbangs are different because your teammates will be blinded in multiple positions, as long they can see the flashbang exploding. So always remember to communicate that you will be flashbanging a certain spot if your teammates are near you. This way they are expecting it and can avoid it and you only blind your opponents.
You can also use your flashbangs in a tactical way helping your teammates clear positions and killing enemies. Imagine that you have a teammate in front of you, and on the other side you know that is likely to be an opponent. You can communicate with your teammate, throw a flashbang to the other side and then your teammate will appear and kill your flashed enemy. These are simple plays that teams can pull together with only a little bit of communication and that will make your rounds a lot easier.
How to avoid flashbangs
Above I stated that you can avoid flashbangs. The time that you will be blind by a flashbang varies with how close you were to the flashbang, and if you saw the flashbang in the center of your point of view or far from the center. Basically you can be right in front of a flashbang, but if you turn on your back when the flashbang explodes you won’t get blinded. Actually you don’t even need to fully turn on your back, because that’s hard to do faster. Turning 90 degrees to one side is enough, and you can be prepared to look again to the front and face your enemy.
There are a lot of ways to avoid flashbangs. The basic way is just to turn yourself to the opposite side of where it will explode. If you throw a flashbang just above you, you can look to the floor, for example. Practice throwing flashbangs on empty servers in key points of the maps and try to avoid them. After that you will be ready for your competitive matches.
Smoke Grenades
The smoke grenades are the most important piece of grenade to use for tactical plays in csgo. Basically a smoke grenade deploys smoke around the point where you had thrown it. The smoke lasts for 18 seconds and covers the vision of your opponents, and your vision too. It has a cost of 300$ and is used to delay plays of opponents, cover retake areas, and so on. Learning how to some key spots in maps is crucial for all players in csgo.
How to use smoke grenades
Smoke grenades are key pieces in some tactical plays. That means that you have to perfect them on empty servers before trying them in competitive matches. Basically when you are on a very good economical situation you should buy a smoke grenade. In this article I’m not going to show you particular smokes because there are too many. So my advice is for you to watch some youtube tutorials on smokes in the maps that you are going to play.
The smoke grenades are always used from the same spot and you should always have one or two reference points in order to throw them well. If your smoke lands a few centimeters off your target your opponents can exploit the little gaps. They will see your teammates crossing the smoke, and possibly kill some of them. So always make sure your smoke is thrown perfectly.
When to use smoke grenades
The smoke grenades can be used in multiple situations. If your team’s plan is to go together to a bombsite you should probably think to buy as many smokes as you can in order to smoke every retake point after you plant the bomb. That way you would have a huge advantage because you are aiming to the smoke but your enemies won’t be able to see your position before crossing the smoke. If they wait for the smoke to disappear you have already wasted 18 seconds of the bomb time, and it will be a lot harder for the CT’s to kill all enemies and defuse the bomb in that amount of time.
Other use for smokes is smoking dangerous areas in which you can be very vulnerable to enemies. This will able you to reach another positions in the map. A good example of this is smoking the CT ramp when you are going A long on Dust2. That will almost guarantee you a plant because it’s safer for your enemies to just wait for the smoke to disappear. Smoke grenades can also be used in the Terrorist side in order to make your opponents abandon some positions which are being dangerous for you. For example, if it’s common for one of your enemies to have an AWP in a certain location you should probably try to smoke him out of that position and move to a more vulnerable one.
In the CT-side you also can use smoke grenades to your advantage. Remember that in many rounds you will be either alone or with just one more teammate in a bomb-site and you will probably face 5 terrorists. So in this cases you should smoke one or two of the key entrances to the bomb-site in order to delay your opponents attack. If they rush through the smoke you have the advantage of seeing them before they see you, and if they stay behind the smoke you can try to ear some info and communicate with your teammates in order for them to rotate properly and help you.
Also you can use the smoke grenades for trying “ninja defuses”. “Ninja defuses” are plays in which you see where the bomb is planted, then you smoke that area and try the defuse within the smoke. This can be a very powerful play if the remaining enemies are not in positions in which they can clearly see the bomb. If they couldn’t see the bomb they don’t know where to aim in order to kill you.
Last but not the least, you can use smokes for your own personal defense. If you are playing a certain spot and your enemies see you and you don’t have a lot of room to cover yourself you can always smoke your position and rotate somewhere else without being seen. This of course can be applied only to certain positions but can save your life. Also, if you are being molotoved you can throw a smoke to the fire and the fire will extinguish. This way you can keep your position and wait for help, or rotate to other position without being seen.
Playing against smoke grenades
It’s good to know how to use your smoke grenades. Equally as good is to know how to play against them. This will depend a lot on the situation and every situation is different, but there’s always a principle that you have to apply when you are facing a smoke. How can you exploit it the most?
Imagine that your team is rushing a site and your main entrance just got smoked. First you should face the smoke and see if there’s some gap in it. If there is try to peak it and gather any info. Maybe you will even be able to kill an enemy off-guard. If the smoke is perfectly placed you can wait without making noise, not revealing your team positions. At the same time listen to enemy steps in order to guess how many enemies there are on the bombsite. If you don’t ear anything is possible that you are facing only one or two enemies. In this situations you can try a coordinated rush through the smoke, preferably flashing first.
Also, if your are near enemy smokes you can hide in them and listen for info. It’s a risky play for sure but it can give you high rewards as well. Hide in the smoke and wait for your opponents to move. After they cross the smoke you can get behind them and kill them. However if they have one more player watching their backs he will probably kill you.
If you are a Counter-Terrorist and you are facing a smoked site, trying to retake it you can wait for the smokes to disappear, listening for info and waiting for your team to rotate. If you have info on some of the enemies you can attack the bomb-site at those positions, at the same time.
In addition to this never rule out the possibility of going through the smoke. Most of the time your enemies won’t be expecting that. Try flashing before crossing the smoke and you can have good results in this kind of aggressive plays. However do this with caution, and not to many times. Otherwise your enemies will be expecting you and you will easily die.
Molotov/Incendiary grenades
The Molotovs and Incendiary grenades are two similar grenades used for the same purpose: deal fire damage to your opponents. The Molotov is only available in the Terrorist-side and costs 400$. Incendiary grenades cost 600$ and are only available in the CT-side. The damage they deal to you is proportional to the time that you are in contact with the flames. This means that if your position is on fire and you can’t rotate somewhere else you will die. Like the smoke grenades they are mostly used within team plays. The differences between molotovs and incendiary grenades are very slim. The incendiary grenade is smaller and you can control it better when you throw it. They also deal more damage to the armor. The incendiary is cheaper and has a better armor penetration. Both have a maximum time of 7 seconds.
When to use molotov/incendiary grenades
The molotov and incendiary grenades can have multiple applications. As a Counter Terrorist you can use them to delay your opponents plays. This will help you stop rushes or keeping an enemy from passing through a choke point. You can also use them together with smoke grenades. Take Dust2 as an example. If you have the info that your enemies will rush the B Bombsite you can smoke the B tunnel entrance and deploy an incendiary grenade right behind the smoke. That way, if your opponents decide to rush through the smoke they will be caught of guard by the fire, dealing them a huge amount of damage and making your life a lot easier. You can also use them to finish off a wounded enemy if you don’t have any HE grenades.
As a Terrorist the molotovs are mostly used to clear positions. If your team is going together to a bomb-site you can molotov some of the most powerful spots that you know that can be being played by your opponents. This way you force your enemies to rotate and show themselves. This will gather you info and probably easy kills if they don’t have protection nearby. The other powerful use for molotovs is for buying you time post-plant situations. You can use them in some of the entrances keeping your enemies away. You can even molotov the bomb if the explosion time is near, guaranteeing the round for your team. The CT’s won’t be able to defuse the bomb within the fire because they will be killed. Also if they wait the 7 seconds of the burning molotov they won’t get enough time to defuse the bomb.
Decoy Grenades
The decoy grenades are the cheapest grenades in the game (50$) and also are the least used of them all. The purpose of decoy grenades is to emit sounds in order to confuse your enemies. This will lead them to believe that someone is in that area.
When to use decoy grenades
The decoy grenades have the great disadvantage of being easy to identify. However they can be incorporated in some of your plays. In rounds in which you have a bad economy you and your team can invest in some decoy grenades. This will help you show a greater presence in one bomb-site, probably forcing your enemies to rotate. This will make the other bomb-site empty or weakened. Other than that you can use decoys as fake flashbangs. If you are facing experienced players and you have ran out of flashbangs try to simulate one with a decoy. Sometimes your enemy will see the decoy and turn around, thinking that it is a flashbang. At the same time you will appear and you shoot your enemy while he is looking the other way.
Mastering the use of your grenades will make you a complete player, and will improve your ratings a lot. Practice throwing a lot, especially flashes and smoke grenades. Go only to competitive games after you have a couple of good smokes and flashbangs in your bag. I also didn’t mention that all grenades can deal damage on your opponents if you throw them to their body. They can only deal 2-4HP of damage this way, but it’s always a funny moment when you see someone getting killed by a flashbang or a smoke.
Using grenades in csgo in a smart way is almost as important as having a good weapon. In fact, if you analyze some professional csgo matches you will see that all the teams will have at least one or two players prioritizing buying grenades over buying a better weapon. There’s 5 kinds of grenades in csgo: HE grenades, Flashbangs, Smoke grenades, Molotovs/Incendiary Grenades and Decoy grenades.
In this article I will give you a general approach on how every kind of grenades works. Then I’m going to give you some tips on how to use them to the most effect possible.
For our guide on ‘how to use your equipment in CSGO’ click here for more information.
Different ways of throwing grenades
There are three different ways of throwing your grenades in csgo. By pressing the left button of the mouse you can throw your grenades at a long distance. Pressing the right mouse button will throw them at a short distance, while if you press both buttons at the same time you throw them at a medium distance. It’s very good to have all this versatility because in the game you will face a lot of different situations. Also, knowing this can give you some advantage over your opponents, primarily in the lower ranks, where they commonly don’t even use grenades.
How many grenades can you buy
In the beginning of each round you can buy a total of four grenades. However, you can only buy one grenade of each kind, or by other words, you can’t buy four smokes, four flashbangs, and so on. The flashbang grenades are the only grenades that you can buy two at a time. But, remember that if you buy two flashbangs you will be able to only buy to more grenades. The kinds of grenades that you should buy will depend on your strategy for the round. Remember to only buy grenades which you are planning to use on that round. Otherwise you are just wasting money.
HE grenades
HE means high explosive and as the name tells you it’s a grenade designed to deal damage to your enemies. A HE grenade costs 300$. The damage dealt by one will vary with the distance between the players and the grenade explosion. The maximum damage in csgo is 98HP, if the enemy is unarmored, and 57HP if the enemy is armored. Remember that it can also affect you, like every kind of grenade, if you don’t throw it properly.
When to use HE grenades
The HE grenade can be used in many situations with good results. As you noticed you can’t kill an enemy with 100HP with just one HE grenade. Also, you can’t buy 2 HE grenades at the beginning of a round. However, if you and another player of your team buy a HE grenade you can throw them at a spot where you know that your enemy are and deal a huge amount of damage, and probably kill him if you throw them right.
If you are playing with a Scout or AWP the HE grenade can also be used to finish off enemies. The Scout will give around 75HP damage and an AWP shot in the legs will deal around 85HP. So you can get an easy kill with a HE grenade in these situations.
The situations that I just described are mainly created by individual plays. However you can incorporate the use of HE grenades in a tactical situation. When you are on the CT-side and you are facing a eco-round of your opponents it’s likely that they will try to rush one of the bombsites, trying to catch your team of-guard and at least planting the bomb. In these situations, if one of your teammates gives you info on where they are going you and the players that are closer should all throw your grenades at the same time, giving damage to almost all of your enemies, and then you can easily stop the rush.
If you are on the Terrorist side you can use the HE grenades to clear CT positions. If you are facing an opponent that is constantly playing the same spot try to throw a HE grenade to that spot before showing yourself. That way he will be already damaged when you will try to challenge him and you will be victorious the majority of the time.
Another important and obvious thing to do is trying to avoid being hit HE grenades. If you see one coming in your way just try to deviate from it as soon as possible in order to preserve your HP.
Flashbangs
The main objective of the flashbang is to temporarily blind your opponents. They cost 200$, and like I said previously it’s the only kind of grenade that you can buy in double. Flashbangs are a crucial aspect in the success of a round. If you watch a professional csgo match you will notice that a successful flashbang can make the difference in a round, and if the flashbang is not thrown well that could also make the life easier for your opponents to kill you. The same can be applied to your individual skill level and plays. Mastering the use of flashbangs would help you a lot, getting you free and easier kills, buying time to for you, confusing your opponents, and so on.
How to use flashbangs
Flashbangs are a little different from the other grenade. Because they are designed to blind players they can also blind you, so you have to throw them in a way that won’t affect your vision. The easiest way to do it is to throw flashbangs into a corner, bouncing them in a wall. That way you won’t see the flashbang explode, and you won’t be blinded. However this technique is very rudimentary and if you are facing against an experienced player he will probably avoid the flashbang effect when he hears the sound of the flashbang bouncing on the wall.
The most effective way of flashbanging an opponent is called pop-flashing. This technique consists in trying to thrown a flashbang in a way that the flashbang can only be seen by your enemy for a few instants before it explodes. There are many ways that you can do this, and some maps have spots that can get you this effect by just throwing your flashbangs in a normal way. However you can also use the different distance combinations that you can do with your mouse and ally that to your creativity.
Imagine that you are hiding on a corner and you know that your enemy is on the other side of a wall, waiting for you to get out. In this case you can do two things. If the corner where you are hiding doesn’t have a ceiling you can throw a flashbang over the wall and your opponent will be blinded on the other side. If there’s a ceiling you can throw a flashbang with the right click on the mouse and turn way from the flashbang, in order to avoid being flashed by yourself. This will probably flash an opponent who is watching your corner, and then all you have to do is turn yourself again to the front, get out of the corner and kill him.
Pop-flashing is harder to master and it only comes with practice. However it will give you a lot of advantage in duels, and even compensate for the difference of skill if your opponent is better than you. Sometimes a smart player is better than a more skilled player aim-wise.
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When to use flashbangs
As I said flashbangs can also be prejudicial to your team if they are not thrown properly. With HE grenades you can easily see if there’s a teammate in the spot to where you are throwing. However flashbangs are different because your teammates will be blinded in multiple positions, as long they can see the flashbang exploding. So always remember to communicate that you will be flashbanging a certain spot if your teammates are near you. This way they are expecting it and can avoid it and you only blind your opponents.
You can also use your flashbangs in a tactical way helping your teammates clear positions and killing enemies. Imagine that you have a teammate in front of you, and on the other side you know that is likely to be an opponent. You can communicate with your teammate, throw a flashbang to the other side and then your teammate will appear and kill your flashed enemy. These are simple plays that teams can pull together with only a little bit of communication and that will make your rounds a lot easier.
How to avoid flashbangs
Above I stated that you can avoid flashbangs. The time that you will be blind by a flashbang varies with how close you were to the flashbang, and if you saw the flashbang in the center of your point of view or far from the center. Basically you can be right in front of a flashbang, but if you turn on your back when the flashbang explodes you won’t get blinded. Actually you don’t even need to fully turn on your back, because that’s hard to do faster. Turning 90 degrees to one side is enough, and you can be prepared to look again to the front and face your enemy.
There are a lot of ways to avoid flashbangs. The basic way is just to turn yourself to the opposite side of where it will explode. If you throw a flashbang just above you, you can look to the floor, for example. Practice throwing flashbangs on empty servers in key points of the maps and try to avoid them. After that you will be ready for your competitive matches.
Smoke Grenades
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The smoke grenades are the most important piece of grenade to use for tactical plays in csgo. Basically a smoke grenade deploys smoke around the point where you had thrown it. The smoke lasts for 18 seconds and covers the vision of your opponents, and your vision too. It has a cost of 300$ and is used to delay plays of opponents, cover retake areas, and so on. Learning how to some key spots in maps is crucial for all players in csgo.
How to use smoke grenades
Smoke grenades are key pieces in some tactical plays. That means that you have to perfect them on empty servers before trying them in competitive matches. Basically when you are on a very good economical situation you should buy a smoke grenade. In this article I’m not going to show you particular smokes because there are too many. So my advice is for you to watch some youtube tutorials on smokes in the maps that you are going to play.
The smoke grenades are always used from the same spot and you should always have one or two reference points in order to throw them well. If your smoke lands a few centimeters off your target your opponents can exploit the little gaps. They will see your teammates crossing the smoke, and possibly kill some of them. So always make sure your smoke is thrown perfectly.
When to use smoke grenades
The smoke grenades can be used in multiple situations. If your team’s plan is to go together to a bombsite you should probably think to buy as many smokes as you can in order to smoke every retake point after you plant the bomb. That way you would have a huge advantage because you are aiming to the smoke but your enemies won’t be able to see your position before crossing the smoke. If they wait for the smoke to disappear you have already wasted 18 seconds of the bomb time, and it will be a lot harder for the CT’s to kill all enemies and defuse the bomb in that amount of time.
Other use for smokes is smoking dangerous areas in which you can be very vulnerable to enemies. This will able you to reach another positions in the map. A good example of this is smoking the CT ramp when you are going A long on Dust2. That will almost guarantee you a plant because it’s safer for your enemies to just wait for the smoke to disappear. Smoke grenades can also be used in the Terrorist side in order to make your opponents abandon some positions which are being dangerous for you. For example, if it’s common for one of your enemies to have an AWP in a certain location you should probably try to smoke him out of that position and move to a more vulnerable one.
In the CT-side you also can use smoke grenades to your advantage. Remember that in many rounds you will be either alone or with just one more teammate in a bomb-site and you will probably face 5 terrorists. So in this cases you should smoke one or two of the key entrances to the bomb-site in order to delay your opponents attack. If they rush through the smoke you have the advantage of seeing them before they see you, and if they stay behind the smoke you can try to ear some info and communicate with your teammates in order for them to rotate properly and help you.
Also you can use the smoke grenades for trying “ninja defuses”. “Ninja defuses” are plays in which you see where the bomb is planted, then you smoke that area and try the defuse within the smoke. This can be a very powerful play if the remaining enemies are not in positions in which they can clearly see the bomb. If they couldn’t see the bomb they don’t know where to aim in order to kill you.
Last but not the least, you can use smokes for your own personal defense. If you are playing a certain spot and your enemies see you and you don’t have a lot of room to cover yourself you can always smoke your position and rotate somewhere else without being seen. This of course can be applied only to certain positions but can save your life. Also, if you are being molotoved you can throw a smoke to the fire and the fire will extinguish. This way you can keep your position and wait for help, or rotate to other position without being seen.
Playing against smoke grenades
It’s good to know how to use your smoke grenades. Equally as good is to know how to play against them. This will depend a lot on the situation and every situation is different, but there’s always a principle that you have to apply when you are facing a smoke. How can you exploit it the most?
Imagine that your team is rushing a site and your main entrance just got smoked. First you should face the smoke and see if there’s some gap in it. If there is try to peak it and gather any info. Maybe you will even be able to kill an enemy off-guard. If the smoke is perfectly placed you can wait without making noise, not revealing your team positions. At the same time listen to enemy steps in order to guess how many enemies there are on the bombsite. If you don’t ear anything is possible that you are facing only one or two enemies. In this situations you can try a coordinated rush through the smoke, preferably flashing first.
Also, if your are near enemy smokes you can hide in them and listen for info. It’s a risky play for sure but it can give you high rewards as well. Hide in the smoke and wait for your opponents to move. After they cross the smoke you can get behind them and kill them. However if they have one more player watching their backs he will probably kill you.
If you are a Counter-Terrorist and you are facing a smoked site, trying to retake it you can wait for the smokes to disappear, listening for info and waiting for your team to rotate. If you have info on some of the enemies you can attack the bomb-site at those positions, at the same time.
In addition to this never rule out the possibility of going through the smoke. Most of the time your enemies won’t be expecting that. Try flashing before crossing the smoke and you can have good results in this kind of aggressive plays. However do this with caution, and not to many times. Otherwise your enemies will be expecting you and you will easily die.
Molotov/Incendiary grenades
The Molotovs and Incendiary grenades are two similar grenades used for the same purpose: deal fire damage to your opponents. The Molotov is only available in the Terrorist-side and costs 400$. Incendiary grenades cost 600$ and are only available in the CT-side. The damage they deal to you is proportional to the time that you are in contact with the flames. This means that if your position is on fire and you can’t rotate somewhere else you will die. Like the smoke grenades they are mostly used within team plays. The differences between molotovs and incendiary grenades are very slim. The incendiary grenade is smaller and you can control it better when you throw it. They also deal more damage to the armor. The incendiary is cheaper and has a better armor penetration. Both have a maximum time of 7 seconds.
When to use molotov/incendiary grenades
The molotov and incendiary grenades can have multiple applications. As a Counter Terrorist you can use them to delay your opponents plays. This will help you stop rushes or keeping an enemy from passing through a choke point. You can also use them together with smoke grenades. Take Dust2 as an example. If you have the info that your enemies will rush the B Bombsite you can smoke the B tunnel entrance and deploy an incendiary grenade right behind the smoke. That way, if your opponents decide to rush through the smoke they will be caught of guard by the fire, dealing them a huge amount of damage and making your life a lot easier. You can also use them to finish off a wounded enemy if you don’t have any HE grenades.
As a Terrorist the molotovs are mostly used to clear positions. If your team is going together to a bomb-site you can molotov some of the most powerful spots that you know that can be being played by your opponents. This way you force your enemies to rotate and show themselves. This will gather you info and probably easy kills if they don’t have protection nearby. The other powerful use for molotovs is for buying you time post-plant situations. You can use them in some of the entrances keeping your enemies away. You can even molotov the bomb if the explosion time is near, guaranteeing the round for your team. The CT’s won’t be able to defuse the bomb within the fire because they will be killed. Also if they wait the 7 seconds of the burning molotov they won’t get enough time to defuse the bomb.
Decoy Grenades
The decoy grenades are the cheapest grenades in the game (50$) and also are the least used of them all. The purpose of decoy grenades is to emit sounds in order to confuse your enemies. This will lead them to believe that someone is in that area.
When to use decoy grenades
The decoy grenades have the great disadvantage of being easy to identify. However they can be incorporated in some of your plays. In rounds in which you have a bad economy you and your team can invest in some decoy grenades. This will help you show a greater presence in one bomb-site, probably forcing your enemies to rotate. This will make the other bomb-site empty or weakened. Other than that you can use decoys as fake flashbangs. If you are facing experienced players and you have ran out of flashbangs try to simulate one with a decoy. Sometimes your enemy will see the decoy and turn around, thinking that it is a flashbang. At the same time you will appear and you shoot your enemy while he is looking the other way.
Mastering the use of your grenades will make you a complete player, and will improve your ratings a lot. Practice throwing a lot, especially flashes and smoke grenades. Go only to competitive games after you have a couple of good smokes and flashbangs in your bag. I also didn’t mention that all grenades can deal damage on your opponents if you throw them to their body. They can only deal 2-4HP of damage this way, but it’s always a funny moment when you see someone getting killed by a flashbang or a smoke.