Goodbye Tec-9, Welcome Train: A View on the Latest CS: GO Update

The latest update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) was shipped out last March 31, 2015, and many things have been changed due to the fact that certain weapons and in-game functions have proven to be game-breaking, especially at the highest echelons of the CS: GO community. Feedback from high-level players, professional matches as well as from the community itself  have deemed some of the changes long overdue.

In particular, the Tec-9 pistol has been the subject of much deliberation, with certain teams such as EnVyUs, NiP and Fnatic mastering it to the point that they are able to turn rounds in their favor through the raw power of this pistol.

Meanwhile, many CS: GO stakeholders have said that Nuke has become a “CT-fest” (a map where being on the Counter-Terrorist side proves to be such a dominating advantage) instead of being a game of strategy and skill, thus leading to boring matches both for the player and the spectator.

Finally, the “flick tactics” used by players such as Kenny “kennyS” Schrub of Titan as well as Fnatic’s Jesper “JWonderchild” Wecksell have allowed them to carry their teams to victory even against what may seem to be insurmountable odds, letting them win rounds that they are not even supposed to win!

Thus, Valve felt that it was time to re-balance the game once more and remind people that CS is not just a game of skill — it is also a game of strategy.

We dissect the top five most influential changes for this particular patch (in no particular order):

1.      Tec-9 Nerf: The Wreck Train Crashes!

After receiving a lot of hate thanks to its very powerful impact in proportion to its cost (making seemingly under-equipped teams win rounds that nobody was supposed to win on the Terrorist side), the notorious semi-automatic handgun has finally gotten its much needed nerf.

Innumerable competitive matches have shown how imbalanced the Tec-9 rush is: In a few seconds, a team can easily get into a sit, even through a decent smoke grenade placement. Afterwards, the power of the gun, even at longer ranges, makes sure that the remaining members of the CT side would not be able to retake the bomb plant.

By reducing the size of the magazine by 25% as well as reducing the damage of the bullets over longer distances, Valve has made sure that the pistol will still be a viable competitive choice. At the same time, the change intends to bring back the handgun to its original function as a close-range engagement weapon and not as a “mini” semi-automatic rifle that can one-shot people at absolutely long ranges.

Before the patch, it was not unusual to see moments like this:

2.      Train Is Back! Choo-Choo!

Train is one of the most iconic maps in the earlier eras of Counter-Strike. After getting a much needed makeover, the developers of CS: GO have finally brought back Train into the active competition pool.

The two bombsites have been retouched, along with some visual updates. In addition, the map has been optimized for general gameplay, so it would be really interesting to see how the repackaged Train works out at all levels of the CS: GO food chain.

Train actually replaces Nuke in the active duty pool. The main reason why they needed to change the map is that the latter has turned out to be a headache for teams who play on the T-side of Nuke. Not only does it allow the CT to take very good positions and create strong defensive setups, the structure of the map itself allows the CT-side to rotate from one site to the other with relative ease.

The effect of this balancing is that the matches end up in an onslaught for the CT team and this does not make up for interesting competitive play as well as for good viewership. Thus for the sake of better map balancing, Nuke is taken out and good old Train is put in its place.

3.      SMGs galore: An Anti-Eco Option

With the accuracy of MP9, MP7 and MAC-10 being increased, these three guns have just become much more palatable for players who want to have good firepower after winning the first round of each half.

Increased accuracy means that players can stop rushes on the CT-side or kill targets at close to medium range on the T-side given proper spray-control. This particular change to the sub-machine gun (SMG) family will make sure that there will be a plethora of players who will use these guns in the next patch.

After all, even in the previous patch, there were already players who specialized in using these guns even at the professional level. After all, the bounty for killing someone with these guns is $300 in Casual Mode and $600 in Competitive Mode. The increased accuracy and attractive incentives may very well mark the difference between a robust in-game economy or a lost match.

Talking about economy: we believe that this patch favors both sides as it allows teams to be able to choose SMGs at any point in the game. Getting a few kills, bolstering whatever money left in the bank you may be spending as you upgrade your weapons with that of your fallen enemies — all of this allows both sides to have tighter control over their cash flow. With one kill using any of the upgraded SMGs, players will be able to buy at least two grenades or a defuse kit, which is indeed a great boost when defending or taking a site.

4.      Snipers, Don’t Move Please…

Imagine that you are in a match when all of a sudden, you lose one or two teammates thanks to a fast peek from an enemy sniper. Would you be able to fight your way 3v5? Unless you are Robin “flusha” Rönnquist or Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund, you might be up for quick rout.

While this may seem like a minor change in casual gameplay, the reduced movement when scoped on the AWP and autosnipers is an immediately-felt change for competitive matches. Now, it takes longer for snipers to pre-aim or pre-peek certain areas of the map.

In this case, it is possible that there will be a lesser number of AWP players who will play aggressively and snipers will have to focus on holding angles instead, thus leading to what could be termed as a “passive” metagame in this patch.

5.      M4A1-Silencer: What the Hell?

Okay, we have to admit: this is the change that stumped us the most. Given that the M4A1-S rifle is extremely accurate and deadly despite having only 20 bullets per magazine and only two extra clips, we see no reason why the price should be bumped to $3200.

The only probable reason why this could have happened (besides the official explanation that the “price has been increased to match its utility”) is this: A player who has this gun can easily hold a site with even just decent positioning and aim.

Thanks to the M4A1-S lack of tracer shot and muffled sound, camping certain areas of a bomb site and eliminating Terrorists become easy with even just a slight positional advantage.

Still, the mainstay gun on CT-side is still $500 more expensive than the equally deadly AK-47, making the already expensive counter-terrorist gameplay all the more pricey.

One man, one gun, one site. That’s how powerful the “utility” gun is.

 
With these latest patch changes, we could infer three things: First, a much more passive style of gameplay is to be expected especially in the gun rounds as AWP players will have to hold angles more passively and do less peeks. Secondly, with the latest buffs on the SMG family, the gun options for both sides will increase, thus leading to many different strategic choices for each side especially on the first five rounds of each half where teams try to gain momentum in the game.

Finally, the rest of the other changes as well as the addition of Train in the competitive pool will make teams think twice about how they approach the game, as maps are opened up for execution strategies or certain boosts are wrecked effectively by the latest changes.

Featured image by Ronnel Tinedero

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