Pros and Cons of Playing as a Counter-Terrorist

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Counter Strike is a balanced game, but not an equal game. There are two sides, the terrorists and the counter terrorists, and each side has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. These are important to know as both a player and a bettor, as it can help both with live betting and with predicting how teams are going to play on specific maps depending on their style.

Objective

Counter Terrorist

Counter Terrorists are supposed to stop the bomb from being planted, or failing that, to defuse it. This is the simpler job in the game, as it’s much easier to hold space than it is to take it away. If two teams of roughly equal skill were to play a game, both teams would likely win more rounds on CT side.

Some maps are more CT sided than others. Train and Nuke are the best for CTs, as they allow for pretty oppressive restrictions on the movement options for the Ts and give the CTs plenty of map control at the beginning of the game. Most teams, on most maps, will put anywhere between one and three players on each bombsite, and then the leftover players will hold the other major avenue of attack on the map. On Mirage, Cache, Inferno, and Dust 2, that would mean holding mid.

There are plenty of different schools of thought on how to play each map, and the counter terrorist side in general. Some teams prefer aggressive styles of play, pushing for info and denying map control to the terrorists. Other teams prefer to hold back on site and use their utility to stop and kill the enemy as they stream into the bomb site. Sometimes teams will retake sites, where they play almost no players at all on a site, and then take the site back after the bomb goes down.

Terrorist

Terrorists have a harder job. They are responsible for taking the bomb site and getting the bomb planted, then protecting it until it explodes. They do this using their utility and teamwork, to dismantle their opponent’s setup.

Terrorists do have advantages on some maps. Cache in particular swings in the terrorist’s favor, although not nearly as heavily as something like Train swings towards the CTs. Pretty much every team in Counter Strike uses a default on their T side. A default is a predetermined set of positions that the terrorists will go to and take control over the map.

This is where styles can start to diverge. Some teams prefer to play loose, and let their players try to make individual plays. They’ll hunt for kills and try to open up bombsites spontaneously, which can make them unpredictable. Historically this has been a hallmark of North American Counter Strike, as NA has historically been very focused on players who could make big plays and abuse their aim.

Alternatively, you can work the map slowly. Get info from around the map, expend some utility in an attempt to manipulate the CTs, and then execute onto a site. An execute is a set of utility that is thrown in a specific patter, to specific places. After their thrown, the terrorists will move out onto the site and get the bomb down.

Equipment

Counter Terrorist

Counter terrorists have a sizable disadvantage when it comes to their equipment. The M4 is generally the rifle of choice for the counter terrorist side, and for good reason. It has solid all around stats, and it has been the gold standard since 1.6. The problem is, it doesn’t one shot headshot through helmets. This puts the CTs at a pretty tremendous disadvantage at pretty much every range, as they require at the minimum one extra bullet to kill, as opposed to the AK. That’s why you’ll see CT players drop their M4 for the AK.

Where the CT’s have an advantage is their pistol. Both the USP and the P2000 are superior to the Glock, both in aim and in damage. This gives the CTs a necessary buff, especially with the economy working as it does.

In a pretty major update in October of this year, Valve reduced the price of the AUG, the more expensive rifle on the CT side, down to $3150. This has been turned out to be an impactful change, as now AUGs are commonly seen at the highest levels of play. It kills on a helmet kill at closer ranges, unlike the M4, and has a scope.

Terrorist

As I said, the AK is the better rifle by far. It has the ability to “one tap” players, killing them instantly with a headshot, indifferent to their head armor. This is needed, as entering onto a site is much harder without an AK. It is a very high skill ceiling gun, and it needs to be.

Terrorists also have the Glock, which isn’t terribly effective. It is okay at spamming when at close range, but it generally falls short when taking a long-range aim duel (No pun intended).

The October update that changed the price of the AUG also changed the SG553, the scoped rifle on T side, to cost $2750. This has opened up options for the Ts and lets them use it almost like a pseudo-scout-AK hybrid.

Economy

Counter Terrorist

Another area where Counter Terrorists are at a disadvantage. The M4 and M4A1 both cost $3100, which can make full buys difficult. Luckily, they can occasionally skip out on the helmet, as the AK kills with a headshot most of the time anyway, but it can still hamstring the CT economy.

Not only is their gun more expensive, they also must buy kits. A kit halves the amount of time it takes to defuse the bomb, which is crucial when attempting a retake.

Terrorist

The main terrorist rifle is the AK, and it costs $2700 dollars. It is one of the best guns in the game, especially at its price point. There’s a reason CT’s make an effort to pick them up wherever they can.

That $400 extra can make a big difference in a round. That’s a smoke, a molly, two flashbangs. There’s a reason that T sides can buy so aggressively and still maintain at least passable money for most of the game.

Counter Strike is a complex game. There are lots of factors to take into account all the time, on both sides, on every map, during the buy round, while betting. Learning to understand them and keep them all in mind is crucial to success.

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