Guide to using weapons in Counter-Strike competition

This is a guide outlining the strengths and weakness of certain guns, and also good ways to use each gun effectively. This guide only focuses on the weapons commonly used in competition for the Counter-Strike games. If the weapon is not listed in this guide, you probably don't want to use it in your match or scrim.

*M4A1 (M4) guide, hints, and tips: This is the primary weapon for the Counter-Terrorist side of matches or scrims. This is a very solid and versatile weapon. This weapon if very accurate at long range, but still very lethal at close range. When using the M4 at long range, you are going to want to use 2-3 shot bursts. It is very helpful if you are able to either use cover at long range or to strafe then burst then strafe again then burst again. At medium range, you can take the burst up to a 3-5 shot burst. Yet again, you are going to want to try to use cover or use the strafe and burst technique. One importante note is that you should not try to outpick an awper from medium to long range with the M4. At short range you can use 3-5 shot bursts again or you can even just spray at the other team's players. As mentioned before, the M4 is a very accurate gun at all ranges, this means that you can aim for the head and connect often. One weakness with this gun is that a headshot only does 82 damage when your opponent has a helmet. So you have to hit your opponent at least twice when they have a helmet.

*AK47 (AK) guide, hints, and tips: This is the primary weapon for the Terrorist side of matches or scrims. This, like the M4, is a very solid and versatile weapon. This weapon is somewhat accurate at long range, but most deadly at medium or close range. When using the AK at long range, you are going to want to use 1-3 shot bursts. It is very helpful if you are able to either use cover at long range or to strafe then burst then strafe again then burst again. When using the strafing technique, you are going to want to make your strafes a bit longer than you would with the M4. This gives the AK recoil time to settle down. At medium range, you can take the burst up to a 2-4 shot burst. Yet again, you are going to want to try to use cover or use the strafe and burst technique. At short range you can use 3-5 shot bursts. One thing to note is that the AK spray is tough to control without practice. I would suggest trying to stick with bursts at close range. One strength of the AK over the M4 is that the AK is a one shot to the head kill gun. Even if the other team bought helmets, you can elimate one of them with a shot to the head. Another strength is that this gun is much cheaper than the M4, which will allow your team to be able to buy more often.

*AWP guide, hints, and tips: Many players believe this is the best gun in the game. In my opinion, this gun ranks right up with, but slightly behind the M4 or AK when used for competition. This gun, when used right, can dominate an opponent. Their are a few things you should know about the gun that can help you use it to its fullest. The first thing is that it is quicker to just let the gun rescope on its own than to switch to your knife/pistol and then switch back to the awp ("known as quick switching"). Another tip is that if you are seen picking from a certain spot, take your shot then switch positions. Most teams will have their awper lock onto the spot you were just at and you will get picked if you re-peak that spot. Their are exceptions to this rule depending on the map and whether or not you have flashes. To go along with this, if you want to re-peak the same angle, it is a good idea to flash before you re-peak. This will blind any members of the other team trying to pick the spot you are about to re-peak. Another important thing is to give yourself a place to fall back to. The awp if very poor at close range battles when the other team is halfway decent. Due to this fact, you need to be able to pull back a bit if a group of AKs/M4s try to push you. Lastly, make sure you are good with pistols, and use your pistol when moving on close range choke points.

MP5 guide, hints, and tips: This gun is usually only used when your team won pistol round. This is the only time I suggest using this gun. If your team can't buy AKs/M4s, then you should save or deagle save. This gun is an SMG, so it is pretty accurate at medium to close range. The key with this gun is to keep moving around while firing. This gun is just as accurate while running around as it is when you are crouched. At long range, you are going to want to burst with this gun. Since I suggested only using this gun on the rounds following pistol round, make sure you work together with your teammates to stop the saving Ts or CTs. The last thing you want is to give the other team a gun while not fragging many of them.

*USP guide, hints, and tips: This is the standard CT pistol. It is pretty solid at all ranges. At long to medium range, it is helpful to use 2-3 shot bursts while strafing. At close range, you can pretty much spray with this gun and have it be accurate. Improving your ability with this gun will give your team a better shot at winning CT pistol round, save rounds, and will also help you out a lot if you are an awper.

*GLOCK guide, hints, and tips: This is the standard T pistol. This gun can be surprisingly powerful during pistol or save rounds when used well. One of the big advantages with this gun is the accuracy at close range and the 20 bullet clip. A prolonged fire fight with a deagle/usp will usually end up with you winning it if they can't kill you with their initial clip. A few keys is that you don't want to take any USPs or deagles on at long range. Try to get into situations when you can be at medium to short range. Also, it is only helpful to use the burst at close range. Stick with the single shot setting on the glock for medium or long range shots.

*DEAGLE guide, hints, and tips: This is the best pistol in the game due to the amount of damage it can due with one bullet. This gun is very useful when you are the awper and need a good sidearm for clearing choke points. One shot to the head from the deagle will kill, except at extremely long range. The key to using the deagle is to make every shot count. You only have 7 shots, so you don't want to spray these shots. Also, if you have a good angle, try to go for the head shot.

*GALIL guide, hints, and tips: This is a pretty solid gun, but I would recommend the AK if you have the money for it, however. This is a useful gun when your team is buying, but you are a bit low on cash and could use an extra flash and HE or head armor. This gun can also be useful in certain situations early in a match in scrim such as a surprise buy round. Usually on a surprise buy round, you are only going to have around 3K, so a galil may be a good option since you can then afford armor and a nade or flash. When it comes to using it, the galil is very similar to the other rifles in that you want to burst at medium to longer ranges. At closer ranges, this gun is a bit more accurate than the AK, so you can try spraying with it.

*FAMAS guide, hints, and tips: This gun is good to use when you don't have the money for an M4. It is accurate at all ranges, but it has a small clip, causes you to move slower, and has a lot of recoil. Due to these disadvantages, you should try to burst almost all of the time when using it. The first shot from the famas is very accurate, so try to make that one count. I would recommend a 2-4 shot burst while strafing in between bursts with this gun. Also, make sure you take into account the fact that you move very slowly with this gun out. Try to utilize good cover and positions in which you can retreat quickly.

Note: I have seen the regular shotgun used before, but I would recommend the MP5 in the situations. However, if you are very strong with the shotgun, it is ok to give it a try in certain situations.