Default Terrorist Strategies for de_dust2

The default ways to enter bombsites and collect information as terrorists on the poster map for CS:GO, de_dust2.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

You have played on Dust 2. You have dozens, if not hundreds, of hours of playtime on Dust 2. You will play Dust 2 in the future. There is a good chance you have played Dust 2, or will play Dust 2, today. But how should you play it as a Terrorist?

Recommended Videos

Starting a round: Default.

What makes a good default?

Most importantly, a good default gives the Terrorists as much map control as possible. This is so that the Counter-Terrorists can’t get behind the Terrorists and kill them all. This is also to give the Terrorists options as to how to play the rest of the round. If every Terrorist is near Long A while the clock is running down, they are forced to go push Long A if they want to win the round, even if every Counter-Terrorist is waiting for them.

Another quality of a good default is not having any player by himself. If the team splits up into groups of two, then they can push a single Counter-Terrorist together and kill him. This way, even if the Counter-Terrorist kills one guy, there is always another to get the trade. In addition to this, the Terrorists have gained even more map control, since they have taken Long A, and forced the Counter-Terrorists to rotate from B-Site, letting the player or players at B try to take over that area as well.

How to do this on Dust 2:

Callout spots on Dust 2

On Dust 2, there will be one player, either Outside Long or in Long Doors, looking to take Long, an AWPer whose only job is to watch Mid from T-Spawn or Top Mid until the team decides where to go together, and a player at Top Mid and Outside Long, whose job is to help the AWPer and the player trying to take Long.

On the other side of the map, there will be two players in the Tunnels, one in Upper and one in Lower. The player in Upper Tunnels is supposed to make sure that the Counter-Terrorists don’t push into the Tunnels, and also to try to kill the players that are holding B-Site if he wants to. The other player on that side of the map is to make sure that no Counter-Terrorists push into Mid from Catwalk, as well as helping the AWPer to control CT Mid, or helping at Upper Tunnels.

While this is where everyone should be, where is the bomb? The bomb should be in between Top Mid and Outside Long, so that it is easy for it to be rotated to B-Site if that is what the terrorists decide to do, and the Counter-Terrorists also won’t be able to see the bomb while it is down.

Each gray dot above represents a player.

How do I finish the round?

This setup is good because there are multiple things that you can do. Some common executions from this setup are:

  • Splitting B – Two players push the B-Site from the Tunnels with the bomb, while the other three push CT Mid into Window and B Doors.
  • Taking Long – All of the players take Long A together and push the site from there.
  • Splitting A – Three player take Long with the bomb, while the two players who were in the Tunnels push Catwalk to Short to A-Site.
  • Push Catwalk – Exactly how it sounds, with all five players pushing Catwalk to Short to A-Site. Maybe one or two of them will drop into CT Spawn while everyone else pushes the bombsite.
  • BBB – A very iconic strategy, all of the players congregate in Upper Tunnels and push together. This is only advisable during pistol or save/low-eco rounds.

 

Executes: Splitting B.

Splitting a site means entering and taking the site from multiple directions. On B-Site, the directions would be the Tunnels, Door, and Window. The two players pushing Tunnels have two jobs: clear out every angle and distract. The players in Door and Window will have optimal angles to kill the players on the site, but they need to know where the Counter-Terrorists are. One issue remains: How do the players at the door and window even get to that point?

Taking Mid:

In order to take Mid, the first thing you need to do is smoke out CT Spawn. That way, if there is a Counter-Terrorist in CT Spawn, he cannot kill you. To throw that smoke, you need to stand next to Xbox, in the corner under Catwalk:

Once you are in position, look at the window above Mid Doors and do a normal left-click throw. Your smoke should land in a position which will completely block off any player on the other side of the smoke:

After the smoke:

After the smoke has landed, there might still be a player in CT Mid itself, which is why there are three Terrorists pushing. It is crucial that at least two Terrorists survive, so that one can go in through the Door, and the other through the Window. If one of the Terrorists dies, the other two will easily be able to get the trade kill, and this is the point that the players in Tunnels should push for information and as a distraction, possibly clearing the site on their own if the Counter-Terrorists were alerted and are watching Door and Window.

 

Executes: Taking Long.

This strategy is very simple. All you have to do is take control of Long A, and then push the bombsite from Long A. The first thing you have to do is get past Long Doors. This involves one smoke and one flash. The smoke is very easy. Just stand in the corner of the boxes next to the car near T Spawn. Once you are standing there, look at top corner of the flap on the box in front of you. Do a normal, standing left-click throw:

Once the smoke lands and pops, it will block off the view from a very popular spot for Counter-Terrorists to watch Long Doors from:

If you accompany this with the flash below, which is a standard left-click throw as well, no Counter-Terrorist will be able to stop your team from taking control of the area:

You can now start pushing up Long A, but then you have the issue of crossing the well-named “Cross.” You can smoke the cross with a special smoke throw. The first step is to stand by the corner where the original smoke was:

Then look at the chain on the barriers then do a jumping left-click throw. Using a jump-throw bind would be preferable, but with enough practice, you can perfect the jump-throw. That’s for another time though. Here is the rest of the smoke:

Now you can run up to A-Site and take control of it. Make sure to check for any Counter-Terrorists at Car!

 

Executes: Splitting A.

Splitting A is the same as taking Long, except now, two of the riflers will sandwich the bombsite from Catwalk. The first step for those players is to smoke out Xbox. This allows them to run up Catwalk with having to fear an AWPer in CT Mid. The first step in this smoke is standing right underneath the arch in Lower Tunnels. Once you are there, point your crosshair at the center of the side of Xbox:

Then, you want to jump right-click. The smoke should land on top of Xbox:

Now you can run up Catwalk. Once you are up Catwalk, you must clear out the site with molotovs and grenades. Both of these next two throws are interchangeable between the grenade and molotov, but the molotov would be better to use if it is affordable. The first throw clears out the bombsite. All you have to do is point around the pizza sign, it does not have to be perfect, and do a running throw:

The other throw is for Goose, and all you have to do is look in that direction and do a running throw:

At this time, the players at Long should push up and all of the players can take the bombsite together.

Executes: Push Catwalk.

This is essentially the same as the Catwalk part of Splitting A, except all five players go together, and it is generally more fast-paced. This is advisable when saving, or when you have a light buy.

Executes: BBB.

This strategy does not have much of a description, it is just all five players pushing Upper Tunnels as fast as possible. Only do this if either:

  • Only one Counter-Terrorist went to hold B-Site, or none at all.
  • When trying to throw the Counter-Terrorists off.
  • When you don’t have a full buy.

Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article LoL fans claim struggling Galio ‘has no point’ anymore—but Riot totally disagrees
Galio's splash art in League of Legends
Read Article WoW SoD: When does Sunken Temple reset in Season of Discovery
Enemies in Sunken Temple in WoW Classic
Read Article Take-Two Interactive shares drop following report on potential GTA 6 delay
There is a shot of Vice City at night. There is a lot of traffic on the strip.
Related Content
Read Article LoL fans claim struggling Galio ‘has no point’ anymore—but Riot totally disagrees
Galio's splash art in League of Legends
Read Article WoW SoD: When does Sunken Temple reset in Season of Discovery
Enemies in Sunken Temple in WoW Classic
Read Article Take-Two Interactive shares drop following report on potential GTA 6 delay
There is a shot of Vice City at night. There is a lot of traffic on the strip.
Author