The latest update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has reintroduced a classic map to the game while also powering down its most controversial weapon.
That gun, the CZ-75, has been a matter of hot debate ever since it was introduced. The secondary weapon is able to fire at such a high rate that fans and pros alike have argued it’s closer in power to a more expensive, primary weapon.
This is disruptive to the game because a team with a weak economy can, in theory, just pick up a full set of CZ-75s and have a decent chance against a team wielding fully automatic weapons and a standard set of equipment. In this way, the economic advantage the opposing team has earned through winning rounds can be marginalized.
Valve has said in the best it would like to see teams who’ve saved most of their money for a later round have a better chance at winning a save round. But the CZ-75 would seem to have swung things too far in favor of saving players and teams.
For this reason, Valve has scaled down the damage, firing rate, and clip size of the CZ-75. It’s also increased the number of clips that come with the weapon, giving the pistol slightly more staying power in a round to offset the significant changes made to it, and also doubled the time it takes to draw it.
This affects the pistol in a very different way. Snipers who purchase a CZ-75 as their secondary weapon can no longer quickly unsheath it after missing an AWP shot, spraying its bullets haphazardly at charging opponents.
Valve also made changes to the Counter-Terrorist M4A1-S rifle, which now costs the same $3,100 price as the M4A4 rifle, and the Desert Eagle pistol, which was $700.
Meanwhile, Valve have released an updated version of the classic map Train.
Train was recently removed from the official competitive map pool, and this reconstruction is likely the reason why.
The update has clearly added more visual flair to the map, but most players will be far more interested in the effects on how it’s played.
Valve’s primary motivation for the changes was balance. Traditionally, Counter-Terrorists have had a significant advantage on Train, to such an extent that winning just a handful of rounds during a Terrorist half of play was considered advantageous.
Now, the map has been significantly opened up, especially at bombsite A.
The “popdog” train has been completely removed, and the central train located at the bomb planting area has been shrunk and made less complex. The middle tunnel in the bombsite has been closed off to restrict defending players to two lanes rather than three.
Bombsite B hasn’t been affected quite as dramatically, though changes have been made there as well, such as forcing defending players holding the upper walkway to more fully expose themselves to attacking players.
Additionally, the color scheme of the entire map has been redone to make players stand out more clearly against their surroundings, especially in a few key sniping positions.
Screengrab via Valve/Youtube
