Victory through trickery in CS:GO

Csgo 2014-11-11 10-58-23-76
TRIGGERNOMETRY

Evan writes about FPSes each week in Triggernometry, a mixture of tips, design criticism, and a celebration of virtual marksmanship.

CS:GO is, in plenty of ways, a game about playing with your opponent's expectations. How long it takes players to reach a key chokepoint from their spawn is a fixed variable—running at full speed, it's impossible for Terrorists to beat the CTs to bombsite B on Mirage, for example.

Those expectations form the basis for your tactics as a team and the decisions you make. But there are some clever ways to play with them, to use your opponent's expectations and assumptions against them. And what better time to do so than on an eco round, when your team has very little to lose? The highlight above was a lucky eco round we pulled out by playing a little unconventionally. The round was actually a turning point for our team: we started the game down 0-6, and went on to win.

Evan Lahti
Strategic Director

Evan's a hardcore FPS enthusiast who joined PC Gamer in 2008. After an era spent publishing reviews, news, and cover features, he now oversees editorial operations for PC Gamer worldwide, including setting policy, training, and editing stories written by the wider team. His most-played FPSes are CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress Classic, Rainbow Six Siege, and Arma 2. His first multiplayer FPS was Quake 2, played on serial LAN in his uncle's basement, the ideal conditions for instilling a lifelong fondness for fragging. Evan also leads production of the PC Gaming Show, the annual E3 showcase event dedicated to PC gaming.