Learning CS:GO – Weapon Guide

In the first article of the Learning CS:GO series, we talked about the different game modes and gave an introduction to the game. Today, we talk about the most important weapons with an overview of everything you can buy in the game.

CSGO Weapons:

Handling your weapon in Counter-Strike is different than other FPS games you might be used to. With most weapons, you can not aim down the sights, so you must focus on moving your crosshairs to the right place and on having good spray control.

Pistols:

Name	Side	Price	Ammo	Description
Glock 18	T	200	20/120	Starting weapon – Terrorists
UPS-S	CT	200	12/24	Silenced starting weapon – Counter Terrorists
P2000	CT	200	13/52	Starting weapon – Counter Terrorists
P250	Both	300	13/26	A better pistol
CZ75-Auto	Both	500	12/12	Very effective but low ammo
Five-SeveN	CT	500	20/100	Very accurate with armor penetration
Tec-9	T	500	24/120	High armor penetration and high fire rate
Dual Berettas	Both	500	30/120	One pistol for one hand. Double pistol double fun – Cowboy
Desert Eagle	Both	700	7/35	Very powerful pistol with a lot of armor penetration
R8	Both	850	8/8	Revolver with very low firerate but with tons of damage

CT: Counter Terrorist, T: Terrorist, Ammo magazine: size/ammunition

The most important thing you need to know about the pistols is that there are three starting weapons. On terrorists side, the Glock 18 is capable of doing 130 damage when you hit the head of an unarmored opponent. With armour, headshots do 61 damage. Unarmored body shots do between 24 and 40 damage. Damage output depends on distance, armor, and the hitbox.

On counter-terrorist side, you choose between starting with a P2000 or UPS-S in your inventory. They feel a bit different from each other but are basically equal in effectiveness. The P2000 has more ammo and slightly more range than the UPS-S, but lacks when it comes to recoil control and does not have a silencer.

In this video, TheWarOwl gives an overview to all pistols and how to use them correctly.

Rifles:

Name	Side	Price	Ammo	Description
Gali AR	T	2000	35/90	Cheapest assault rifle with large magazine
FAMAS	CT	2250	25/90	Cheap rifle for counter-terrorists
M4A4	CT	3100	30/90	Good magazine size and efficient
M4A1-S	CT	3200	20/40	Silenced weapon with less spray, but low on ammo
AK-47	T	2700	30/90	Wide spraying but powerful weapon
SG 535	T	3000	30/90	Zoom in assault rifle
AUG	CT	3300	30/90	Zoom in assault rifle
SSG 08	Both	1700	10/90	Cheapest sniper
AWP	Both	4750	10/30	Most powerful sniper
SCAR-20	CT	5000	20/90	Semi-automatic sniper
G3SG1	T	5000	20/90	Semi-automatic sniper

Your weapon of choice on T-side should always be the AK-47. It is most efficient if you know how to use it properly. With its potential (taking down armored enemies with one headshot), comes a need to train this weapon and learn to control the spray and aim for the head.

The counterparts on CT-side, M4A4 and M4A1-S, do not kill armored enemies with one bullet to the head but are easier to control. If you are not sure which of these you should use,  think about this: Do you spray a lot? Do you need more ammo or do you prefer silenced shots?

The M4A1-S has a smaller spray pattern, but the M4A4 has a bigger magazine. This will help you when it comes to pre-firing, spraying, and wall banging. That is why an aggressive, pushing playstyle fits better with the M4A4, which is also $100 cheaper. However, in a playstyle that is more about being sneaky with less spraying, the M4A1-S would be the better choice. In the end, it is up to you which weapon you use and what fits you.

Let’s talk about snipers. When used correctly, the SSG can one-shot kill even armored enemies (headshots), but as with every weapon, effectively using a particular sniper rifle depends on the situation. Your movements with the SSG are fluent and good for a one tap shot attempt (especially jump shots). However, the AWP is better. You one-shot everybody you hit above the legs, but the power has its price. The kill award (money you get when killing an enemy) with the AWP is just $100 in competitive CS:GO instead of $300 or more.

Heavy:

Name	Side	Price	Ammo	Description
Nova	Both	1200	8/35	Classical shotgun
XM1014	Both	1200	7/32	Automatic shotgun
Sawed-Off	T	1200	7/32	Sawed-Off shotgun
MAG-7	CT	1800	5/32	Light shotgun with lower spread
M249	Both	5200	100/200	Machine gun for bullet lovers
Negev	Both	5700	150/200	Machine gun for bullet parties

Shotguns are very effective in combat when you are close to your opponent. Their efficient range is very low, so when you play a shotgun you need to use their burst potential at close range correctly. Camp edges where an enemy cannot shoot you from a distance, or rush them and prefire the close corners.

SMGs:

Name	Side	Price	Ammo	Description
MAC-10	T	1050	30/100	Cheapest primary weapon with high recoil and high rate of fire
MP9	CT	1250	30/120	Cheap and efficient first machine pistol
PP-Bizon	Both	1400	64/120	Bullets for everyone, but with low base damage
MP7	Both	1700	30/120	A good machine pistol even so it is expensive
UMP-45	Both	1200	25/100	Small magazine, but light with high damage potential
P90	Both	2350	50/100	Best armor penetration from SMGs and low recoil

SMGs are often used as spray weapons. With a large magazine and enough additional ammo to back you up, the P90 and company need to be controlled correctly. “Spray and Pray” is not effective with these weapons. Instead, aim and shoot downward to let the spray hit the enemies the right way. Of course, you can also use them for aimed shots. In competitive, SMGs are often used in the second round where you spend some money for a better weapon, but they can be used in different situations as well.

Grenades:

Name	Side	Price	Description
Decoy grenade	Both	50	Makes noises after detonation
Flashbang	Both	200	When detonating, everyone who sees it is flashed
Smoke grenade	Both	300	Rushing through a smoke is not a good choice
HE grenade	Both	300	Does damage depending on the distance to the detonating grenade (up to 96)
Molotov cocktail	T	400	Bottle of alcohol sets on fire where it lands
Incendiary grenade	CT	600	Fire comes out when detonating

Use your grenades to stop enemies from rushing or make them move somewhere else. For example, pushing a sniper out of his nest by throwing a molotow under him is effective. We will talk more about how to use them in a later post.

---

A good way to get to know each weapon is by using them in different game modes. If you turn on ‘random weapons’ in Deathmatch, you will be able to get a good feel for all of them. Other gamemodes bring you closer to weapons in their own way. Also, playing the introduction can help a lot.

You can find a  more detailed weapon table here. Another site I used for this overview is the  Counter-Strike Wiki. A very good explanation was given by  Hatton Games. He clarifies in short videos the pros and cons of different weapons and how to use them.  Some videos might be a bit outdated (price and stats) but are correct when it comes to gameplay parts.

Thanks for reading! The next part in this series will cover gameplay basics.

Learning CS:GO:

#1 Game Modes

#2 Weapon guide

#3 Basics

#4 Training

#5 Maps (coming soon)

#6 Coaching (coming soon)

#7 Pro Tips (coming soon)

#8 Mindset (coming soon)

#9 Nade spots (coming soon)

#10 eSports (coming soon)

---