It’s a turbulent time for the Counter-Strike meta. The SG 553, also known as the Krieg, is hailed as one of the most overpowered guns in the game—and it could be on its way out. But Astralis’ in-game leader Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander believes the recent nerfs might not be enough.
The first indication of the Krieg nerf and its impact will be showcased during the ECS season eight finals from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. Dot Esports spoke with gla1ve at ECS regarding the changes to the weapon.
Valve increased the Krieg’s price from $2,700 to $3,000 on Nov. 18 with the release of CS:GO’s latest Operation, Shattered Web, to make it further in-line with other scoped rifles. Even though this nerf was considered progressive, it didn’t change the damage output of the weapon, so its impact has largely remained the same.
“I’m not sure if the price buff is enough for the Krieg. I definitely feel like we’re going in the right direction,” gla1ve told Dot Esports.
The in-game leader said that the Krieg could be situational because of its price increase. Depending on the tactic, players may require less utility, which means they can afford the Krieg. But this comes at a cost.
“I really see that sometimes you have to buy the AK-47 instead because you want more utility,” gla1ve said. “So, I think that utility vs. Krieg is pretty good.”
Gla1ve said players have to consider their actions when buying the gun, especially if they’ll need utility for their tactic.
But this doesn’t mean that the Krieg is effective in every round. During the SG meta, the force buys in the second round from the Terrorists shot up from 42 to 77 percent. This didn’t immediately result in a higher win rate percentage, though, as players would expect with the Krieg. Instead, the force buy win rate decreased from 55 to 41 percent in the AUG meta, according to HLTV. This suggests that CTs can exploit and predict when the Krieg will be used.
Regardless of the Krieg’s impact in the early rounds, it’ll likely be used in every match. The weapon is effective in almost every late-game round considering it’s a powerful scoped weapon on the Terrorist side. If players on this side are able to snowball rounds, the Krieg will only act as fuel to the fire.
Many expect the gun to receive another nerf since its scoped counterpart, the AUG, was hit with a price increase from $3,150 to $3,300 in March. But this didn’t change much. Similarly, this price increase for the Krieg is expected to take the same route. In June, Valve adjusted the AUG’s gameplay by reducing its rate of fire and accuracy while unscoped.
If history repeats itself, the Krieg will likely receive another nerf in the near future.
