[ARTICLE] Basic habits when stepping up to a higher tier level of play:

[MoeycQ]

A new gamestyle at a higher level:
Written by Mohammed 'Moeycq'
Ezatech Computing Solutions

Please Note: In this articles videos and pictures I have used the CounterStrike: 1.6 game, this does not mean the article is solely meant for 1.6. It was a much easier engine to record quick and easy videos and the videos and images apply for both CounterStrike: Source and CounterStrike: 1.6. Enjoy.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, you may know me from threads such as the 'kotso cheat thread' or the 'fakeh has a teary' threads. Today i present to you an article on how to adapt to a sudden change from a lower tier level of play to a higher level of play.

As many of you may or may not know, it is proven that only 1% (or close to that figure) of players reach the highest professional level. Talking from mostly experience, I understand that in every players career they reach a point where they remain at a normal, not getting better or not getting worse. This is the time where a player must take that extra step to become a much better player and play against high tier teams. I hope my article can help you guys have a general idea on how to adjust your gamestyle and mental factor when playing against high tier teams, especially when you are only just starting out.

For starters, there are many bad habits players pick up from playing "easy" lower tier teams, some of these include:

• Re peaking
• Unnecessary pushing
• Lapse of concentration of round timing
• Going into a situation solo or not considering the best available options in a situation

Understanding these habits is most probably the most important part of this article so In the next few images and videos I will attempt to help you understand these. Many people have these bad habits without realising which is why it is a good idea to casually watch over your point of view demos to catch onto your bad habits and attempt to fix them.

Before going through the following images, I shall introduce you to a general rule of thumb in the higher tier level. In most case scenarios, especially on the terrorist side, a Counter-Terrorist picking a terrorist usually means a terrorist's team mate is right next to him to get the TRADE KILL on the opposing enemy.



Let's say for example, you have picked one enemy in the following scenario in the above image. Generally and in most cases, there will be a player near him, behind him or infront of him. Unfortunately most players will push up aggressively like so:



Problem: The problem with pushing up as displayed in the above image is not just being too cocky and aggressive, it has a huge chain reaction which not many people understand. Some of the effects of pushing up even if picking one more player include:

• Not giving your team-mates time to rotate from the other bombsite to come assist
• The risk of getting killed, resulting in a huge disadvantage for your team and a lesser chance of winning the round
• The opposing team having access to an area, or a gun if they are saving
• Giving the opposing teams many options on where to go after your death

Obviously many argue there are advantages to pushing up after a frag, but you are usually only successful 30% of the time, it isn't worth the risk especially in important games.

A good idea to do after getting that one pick would be falling back and flashing, or even just falling back like the image below:





This allows the following benefits for you and your team, along with the disadvantages to the other team:

• You give your team mates MORE time to rotate from the other bombsite to come and help you or retake a site
• The opposing enemy is trapped in a netted area whilst your team mates rotate
• The opposing team are delayed, which can allow your team mates to flash push on them, or nade a specific area if you fall back and flash. (Since the opposing team will be blind)

The topic above also covers un-necessary pushing and lapse of concentration on round timing (due to you not allowing your team mates optimum time to rotate and assist).

Choosing positions:

After watching a few of the lower tier matches such as games from Cevo-A and sometimes Main, I see this a main problem. I will only cover this briefly with one or two examples.

A good spot, usually, is considered a spot where you have cover to fall back to. For example:

If you are in an open position such as the following spot pictured below:



You then have no spot to fall back to, this could result in you dieing, getting naded, flashed or just even under pressure.

As you can see below, this is the area of the screenshot above, there is no place to fall back to:



[b]Remember, as a counter-terrorist you want to take out at least 2 or more with you. A 4v4 situation is in most cases in the terrorist sides favour.

A good example of a spot where you have alot of room to fall back to is the screenshot below:



In this spot, you have numerous spots to fall back to upon a rush or even being under pressured. You can fall back as far as here:



Or even here to flash over and give your team mates time to rotate:



Some may say that the following things i have covered today are basic and are things that any Cevo-Amateur player will know. Sadly enough, subconsciously many many people make these mistakes day in day out and they are extremely bad habits. Perfect the basics before you go and spend hours on end in GotGames FFA Deathmatch or three hours of muscle memory or whatever crap it is called.

I hope some people have found this useful and for those that don't, I hope you can appreciate the time i have put in to try and help those who did find it useful (if that makes sense)

Peace.

- Moeycq

[yourmate]

Haven't read yet. Will edit when read.

Good read. The basics are sometimes the hardest to get used to.

[MoeycQ]

made an error with a few of the images, you can now refresh the page and it should be replaced with the correct ones. enjoy.

[BaptismalPrawn]

really basic shit..
unfortunately as moey said most amateur players neglect the basics.

good read and huge props for taking the time to post!

the key to winning is doing the basics right.. then working on the rest.

p.s by amatuer i mean most players in general

[shazam!]

ahh the old quad peek

[Liam]

you're bad

[froggeh]

good read brah

[MoeycQ]

you're bad

and you're hr gamings css division, you see the irony?

[BaptismalPrawn]

OK just re-read some of it.

Keep in mind that the moving player has the advantage in source and 1.6, so it is in your favor to take advantage of a prefiring situation..

In saying thing that, do not open yourself up to unnecessary risk.

If as the images suggest you pick someone at mid on inferno expect to be flashed or counter flashed,or naded or peaked. So do not push that is just common sense.

i think most players understand this..

the rest of the article is tight

[BaptismalPrawn]

you're bad

liam gets a lot of banter for being in hr..

what is so bad about them?

[khz]

good effort man enjoyed the read. nice work!

[InternetFUG]

nice work! should help to start somepeople getting rid of their bad habits >_>

[BaptismalPrawn]

any use to nitric?

[azitiz91]

your shit moey

[InternetFUG]

any use to nitric?

we just try to be as random as possible

[rensz]

^keGy

[wartype]

OK just re-read some of it.

Keep in mind that the moving player has the advantage in source and 1.6, so it is in your favor to take advantage of a prefiring situation..

In saying thing that, do not open yourself up to unnecessary risk.

If as the images suggest you pick someone at mid on inferno expect to be flashed or counter flashed,or naded or peaked. So do not push that is just common sense.

i think most players understand this..

the rest of the article is tight

im confused.

The only advantage to moving is avoiding taking hits if your strafing and theyve already seen you, strafing out to prefire is dangerous and better if you know they are solo. Pre-aiming while stationary on an unpredictable angle however imo is better odds than a running prefire, also due to the fact you can generally do it from some sort of cover, but what do i know

[BaptismalPrawn]

im confused.

The only advantage to moving is avoiding taking hits if your strafing and theyve already seen you, strafing out to prefire is dangerous and better if you know they are solo. Pre-aiming while stationary on an unpredictable angle however imo is better odds than a running prefire, but what do i know

OK so im speaking about online..

the moving player has and advantage with rates.

[davestr1zl]

Basically the main thing your saying is if your holding and get a kill, to not agro for further kills. While this seems logical and the 'smart' thing to do, it really cant be used as a set rule as it wont apply to some situations.. probably not even the majority of them.

Obviously many argue there are advantages to pushing up after a frag, but you are usually only successful 30% of the time, it isn't worth the risk especially in important games.

Pulling that random statistic is a complete load of crap tbh as it has no backing whatsoever.

CounterStrike is a game of risks. If you dont take risks you dont win games. With risks also comes luck, obviously both good and bad.

In most situations, it is the aggressor/attacker (to put it simply - the guy thats moving and not holding sitting still) will win in a confrontation in CS. If you play passively you are in essence allowing them to become this attacking role and hand over all the advantages to them. Not to mention the ground in-game you'd be giving them, such as in your jungle/ct arch example: allowing them the entirety of jungle and to anal A, splitting it from both sides and overwhelming the lone A site player(s).

Falling back and flashing wont do anything, or atleast not against good opponents, as they will know your position and push you - or if you fall ignore you and take the A site as i said. By the time your flash bangs, even if it is in a useful flash spot, it will be too late. Your example works perfectly well if your only thinking about urself as a player - this is obvious - but you have 4 other teammates to think about aswell.

Going back to being the attacker: The advantages you gain by pushing or being aggressive rather than passive (obviously within reason though, not just rushing like an idiot) are you will actually slow them down and delay them far more than falling and flashing will, as i said just b4 the flashing wont do anything against good opponents (Delaying their attack is probably the most important and beneficial thing you can ever do, obviously second only to killing them all). You will also be harder to hit, and will suprise them making it easier for you to hit them. There is also the benefits of the confidence factor of knowing you can agro them and kill them, something that will increase with each kill, and the numerous other psychological benefits that it has on both you positively, and your opponents negatively.

But meh, the main thing is that either way all of it will happen in a few split seconds, and no 2 situations will ever be the same, perhaps similar though, so there really isnt a set 'rule' that you can use. It just comes down to experience as a player and utilizing your skills and minimizing your weaknesses in the best possible way in the nick of time in each position that may present itself. (ie. aggressive play wont always be effective, but neither will passive play. There are no rules on things like this, you just have to do what your experience tells you will work best).

Its definitely no coincidence that players like f0rest and neo are the best players in the world, as evident by their play-styles and the numerous teams/players that have said how much they have playing against them. Dont think id be seeing either of those 2 (or many/most/all of the best players in the world) retreating in a hurry when the obvious beneficial choice is to push to get the kills.

Your other examples with like playing in places that dont allow you to fall back - again this isnt always the best thing to do as it limits the places u'll play and by definition will make you more predictable. Like i said previously, CS is all about taking risks and if you dont take them u'll never get anywhere far. Playing in random spots that may get you numerous frags one round or 0 frags another is one of the many many examples of said risks.

soz 4 wall of text, eat it.

[davestr1zl]

also to say that the same things apply for 1.6 and for CSS is complete rubbish. The way each game works is completely different and different actions are awarded or punished more in one game or the other due to the physics and how the games work.

Run speed is different, the maps are different, all nades/flashes behave very differently, the maps are structured differently, the difficulty (or lack thereof) of running/moving while shooting is different (even if theres no physical proof of that and its all purely psychological - its still there. psychology again plays a _massive_ part of counterstrike), the time it takes to duck etc is different, etc.

I would argue in CSS it is even MORE beneficial than it is in 1.6 to do the exact opposite of what your saying to essentially do in this article (the 1st part atleast, with the not agro-ing for more kills). The second part about not playing in places where you cant retreat i would probably tend to agree with for CSS due to the essential uselessness the role of crouching/ducking plays in the game.

[Hucky]

also to say that the same things apply for 1.6 and for CSS is complete rubbish. The way each game works is completely different and different actions are awarded or punished more in one game or the other due to the physics and how the games work.

Run speed is different, the maps are different, all nades/flashes behave very differently, the maps are structured differently, the difficulty (or lack thereof) of running/moving while shooting is different (even if theres no physical proof of that and its all purely psychological - its still there. psychology again plays a _massive_ part of counterstrike), the time it takes to duck etc is different, etc.

I would argue in CSS it is even MORE beneficial than it is in 1.6 to do the exact opposite of what your saying to essentially do in this article (the 1st part atleast, with the not agro-ing for more kills). The second part about not playing in places where you cant retreat i would probably tend to agree with for CSS due to the essential uselessness the role of crouching/ducking plays in the game.

CS Source is about booking p1gs on the run ~

1.6 is about finding a 1 pixel gap, throwing a flashbang through it then spraying through the wall when you hear footsteps

[khz]

Baptismal Prawn ur right. The person moving has the advantage.

watch a demo of zet

[sk0ney]

ummm... in css just buy a deagle and board the douglas train imo lol

if u dont get headshots... ur bad,

the end

[mitch-]

pffff why fall back. thats weak as someone above me said cs:s is all about risks.

[trick]

For starters, there are many bad habits players pick up from playing "easy" lower tier teams, some of these include:

Re peaking
Unnecessary pushing

i thought this is funny, cause i still do it and heaps of cevo-p players do it and it works LOL 1.6 u cant really do it but its source

[freakdawg_]

Read most of it, was very good. +1

[totalfrenzy]

Not a bad read, pretty general but it will help +1

[scaR]

PaDz repeaks, pushes randomly, goes solo without waiting for team mates (soz mate your a great example)... i think it comes down to your playstyle and your confidence.

The older RpM where notorious for pushing CT side on ANY map and while they was in there prime nobody could stop it even when you knew it was coming.

I wouldn't say something works any % of the time because against top tier teams your taking the risk of either taking a first pick or getting picked and its a very important stage of a round.

Against TEAM C you could say 90% of the time you can take B bombsite but against TEAM D you could only take B bombsite 5% of the time.

All comes down to knowing how the other team plays, there holds, positions where they place people 212 holds or 211 or 221 etc.. Although most professional teams these days will change there stratergy to keep the enemy guessing.

Its a nice writeup and will help newer players but at the end of the day some people feel more comfortable pushing and taking down 2-3 rather than holding and getting picked.

Personally im more of a holding position style player and will rarely push.

[tmc]

i've never seen the point in playing jungle from arch's (esp in source) when all you're really doing is allowing the other team ground in mid, giving up a potential crossfire with the diggity player and leaving him isolated lulz

peak the mid line, if they push you hard drop to arch's or kill em lulz

[Swordfish]

PaDz repeaks, pushes randomly, goes solo without waiting for team mates (soz mate your a great example)... i think it comes down to your playstyle and your confidence.

expect it on sunday

[joshkent]

scar is right

ps.
I push a fair bit and will take 2+ down with me 99% of the time

[tmc]

scar is right

ps.
I push a fair bit and will take 2+ down with me 99% of the time

no you don't

[stardock2]

no you don't

All sorts of crap works against gga players.

[D2therJdotCOM]

CS Source is about booking p1gs on the run ~

1.6 is about finding a 1 pixel gap, throwing a flashbang through it then spraying through the wall when you hear footsteps

LULZ

[zer0pS]

not a bad read for the lower tier players to improve goood work moey

[phaze[oh]]

depends on the opposition, teammates, ur playstyle..
going by the books will get u killed most times if the other play is smart and counter u

[Fawkes]

good work moey i liked the thread will use some of its features, but now i want to play 1.6 lol

[kent]

depends on the opposition, teammates, ur playstyle..
going by the books will get u killed most times if the other play is smart and counter u

where do you buy these books you speak of?

[psY]

twas a good read

[maeCAT]

good writeup moey. While I agree with that last statement everyone knows this kind of stuff, too many people still dismiss this kind of thing