First things first, there is a common misconception about pistol armour buys and a force-buy. A force-buy is a last resort to win a round or prevent a team from getting to match point or winning the game. This involves spending everything you can in order to win the round and knowing you won't be able to get a good buy next round or will have to force again. However, a pistol armour is a buy you make when you have enough money to buy next round but you want to maybe do a bit more damage and apply pressure to the other team's economy, knowing they survived a lucky clutch and saved a gun or two, but with no intention of winning the round.

A big problem with players in Counter-Strike is that they don't know how to use a pistol armour buy effectively. Even knowing they can buy next round anyways, it is still a bit of a throwaway round if you don't play it properly because you are missing the opportunity to do some good damage to the economy which could save you late game or potentially winning the round. Throughout this article, I will be going through some tips and advice on how to play these rounds as a Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist.

First Tip:

Always play close unorthodox angles and positions. The reason you want to do this and not do your usual 'rush b no stop' tactic is because you are increasing your odds of winning a duel even with your upgraded pistol. This is because a pistol like a P250 at close range will still one shot your opponent in the head even if he/she has head armour. This can then ultimately lead you to save a gun and improve the economy in the long run, or you can just end up winning the current round or the next off this rifle.

Let's take a look at the damage charts for pistols, so I can further elaborate my point.

Courtesy of Schuzak

From the damage chart above, the P250 when shot at head/neck level does 138 damage to the head and 107 to the neck. Therefore, it will one shot your opponent at close range. The same applies to any other upgraded pistol, which is why you want to play these unexpected and close angles because you will catch your enemy with their pants down and that's better than rushing B and getting sprayed down by a P90.

Some examples of these unorthodox angles are:





Second Tip:

The second piece of advice I have for you is to not go around playing close angles alone and to go in pairs. Why I suggest you go around with a team mate or even in threes is because you have more firepower and you can definitely trade a kill or two as long as you ensure you don't line up. Furthermore, walking around in pairs or holding in pairs also increases your success rate of winning a gunfight. Going around in pairs also allows you to push areas of the map much quicker and lets you cover more ground. This can allow for a good call to rotate to either site, which could possibly win you the round. Finally, another benefit to pairing up is you can isolate the Lurker of the opposing team or the one generally watching the flank. You can both push different angles and he/she will have to worry about both of them, and when you double peek, it's an instant frag. If you survive the pushes, this puts constant fear into the other team's heads because they have to watch the flank and it also could mean they use one less player to push the bomb site, which evens out the situation a little bit with having pistol and armour.

Third Tip:

Be mobile. With this tip you may combine Tip 1 by taking unexpected angles. The combination allows you to consistently keep your opponent guessing to where you will be and, due to you playing these weird angles, you'll have the upper hand in the close range gunfight. Being mobile also allows you to confuse your opponent and put fear into them mentally. Jst be aware of any flashes they might throw to catch you off-guard, but as long as you avoid getting double pushed by an enemy you should be fine by combining this tip and the first tip. Another thing with mobility is movement. Ensure you practice your movements because this can easily get you a frag. Make sure you learn how to strafe shoot and how to AD peek. These two things make it very hard for an opponent to get close to you or let alone hit you. Additionally, with AD and strafe peeks, you can deprive the other player of ammo and then, as soon as they have to reload, use the advantage of the run speed you have with the pistol and rush them down as they try to reload. This is why being mobile and having good movement is important, because you can outmanoeuvre your opponent and maybe score a lucky headshot or a frag while they struggle to trace you as you move.

Strafe Shooting - Courtesy of TheWarOwl (caution opens new tab)

To Summarize:

With pistols, you want to hold angles your opponent won't expect in the heat of the moment. Also, if you notice they tend not to check angles a lot, this can be very beneficial. You also want to make sure you are mobile and use the advantage of the agility a pistol gives you compared to an AK or an AWP. Use your knowledge of strafe shooting and ADAD to bait out AWP shots or to manoeuvre enemy fire. Make sure you rush someone who is playing in a enclosed area near you when they reload in order to pick up an easy frag. Lastly, if you want to push for info or map control while with pistols and armour, make sure you move around in pairs so you can isolate enemies and save a gun or two.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully this article helps you in your pistol armour buys!

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