As you move up through the ranks in CS:GO, the game becomes less of an aim competition and more about the strategy and mental game behind the shooting. This article will look at faking – what it is, how to do it, and when.

First things first, let’s clarify what I mean by faking. In the context of CS:GO, faking is attempting to convince the enemy team you are doing or going to do one thing when in fact you are doing quite another. The most commonly faked events are site takes, bomb plants, bomb defusals, reloads, and flash grenades (made famous by Swag against kennyS).

Fake site takes are perhaps the easiest to explain – as a terrorist, a few players will push one site using grenades and gunfire to try and convince the enemy team that in fact the entire team is pushing that site rather than only a few players. If successful, the CTs will rotate one or even all of their other players to help in the defense of that site, leaving the other site weakened to a push from the rest of the T side. The T side will also have good intel on the positions of the remainder of the CT team, aiding in the retake. Terrorists can also double fake, which works exactly as it sounds – fake one site, fake the other, then go back to the original site, hopefully leaving all of the CT side out of position. Done properly, this can throw the CT side off their game and make site takes and holds much easier for the terrorist squad.

The other events you can fake mostly hinge on audio, and in particular the way that audio files are played in CS:GO. When you trigger an audio file for certain events (for example, planting the bomb, defusing the bomb, and reloading), it will play for both you and those within audible vicinity. However, it will also play to the completion of the audio file regardless of whether or not you stop it playing! For example, if you start to plant the bomb and then let go of your bomb plant key, the beeping of the buttons being pressed cuts off for you. However, anyone nearby will still hear the full sound effect, and the only way they will know the bomb was in fact not planted is when the “The bomb has been planted.” voiceover does not play. The same thing happens when you defuse the bomb – if you stop defusing, the defuse sound will still play, even if you only hold it for half a second. An important note on fake defusing, though – ever since game version 1.35, there is now an animation for defusing the terrorists can see. This means it is immediately obvious to an enemy if you are sticking the defuse or not, and additionally the wires can give away your location to the enemy. Fake defusing is still possible, it just needs to be done more quickly. The other audio file that can be used in this way is the reload sound. If you begin reloading a weapon, but stop the reload, the full reload sound will still play to those around you.

Now, how can you use these to your advantage?

Fake bomb plants and defuses are usually used in 1v1 or 1vX (X > 1) scenarios, where winning the round without it (ie eliminating the enemy team) is unlikely or impossible. Fakes here are used to try and draw the enemy out, give you information as to their whereabouts and therefore give you the upper hand. If a terrorist is hiding, faking a defuse may well draw him out, and if not, you can try again or stick the defuse, depending on the information you have. Similarly, you can fake a plant as a terrorist because a counter-terrorist knows that the most vulnerable moment for a terrorist is when planting as they are defenceless.

An example of a fake plant.

Faking reloads and flashes are slightly different from fake defuses and plants in that they can be employed at any time throughout the round, not only near the end of it. They can be used to attempt to get the drop on an enemy and hopefully secure a quick kill by catching them off guard.

Fake reloading can be done by beginning to reload your weapon, then switching to another weapon and back to the first. The reload sound will cut off for you, but it will still play to those around you. An enemy may well try and peek you thinking you are reloading and defenseless, giving you the element of surprise by having a loaded weapon waiting for them. Fake reloading is situational, however - there are several important things to consider when attempting it. Are the enemy likely to fall for it? Have you recently fired at them, or killed one of their teammates, or otherwise betrayed both your location and the fact that you may need to reload soon? Do you have enough bullets left to secure the kill? Are you in a position to do so quickly? The mistake most players make when attempting to pull off a fake reload against an enemy who actually pushes them is not having enough bullets left to deal with said adversary, so make sure you have enough bullets to secure a body shot kill (to be safe), and be aiming at where their head will be to go for the quick headshot. If a player knows where you are and that you have fired at least some of your bullets, they will be more likely to try and take advantage of your vulnerability while reloading than if they just happened to hear a reload with no other information.

Finally, and perhaps most entertainingly, fake flashbangs. This will really only work at higher levels of play where players have developed the reflex to look away from flashbangs, and indeed was first used in a pro match against kennyS (ex-Titan and now Team EnvyUs) by swag (ex-iBP) to win a 1v1. To fake a flashbang, throw something (usually a pistol, although Australian team Renegades did it with the bomb a few times, and it can be attempted with rifles for nothing more than your own amusement – don’t expect a rife to work though) around a corner or into the field of vision of an enemy and hope they look away, trying to avoid what they think is a flash. You can then round the corner and catch them unawares. This can only be done at close range due to the limited distance one can throw a pistol, so it is rather risky. It is always entertaining when it goes correctly though, and these moments, while rare, can make it worth the occasional attempt. You can also fake a flashbang by using a decoy grenade as it looks quite similar to a flashbang, but this doesn't have quite the same amusement value. Still, it has a tactical use and can be interesting to experiment with.

That just about covers everything you can easily fake in CS:GO. Remember, the higher you climb, the more you have to think and the less you can rely on aim alone to carry you through. All the aiming skill in the world won't help you if you're out of position and looking the wrong way! To close, here's the immortal video of kennyS falling for a Glock "flashbang" in a professional match. See you in the next article!

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