I’m starting a new series where I’m going to go through the active duty map pool and breakdown each map and explain a couple of things that make these maps fundamentally different from the other maps in the map pool. They won’t be super in depth, as I’m trying to hit all of them, but I will be highlighting the most distinctive features and how you should use and abuse them on each side.

Train

Train’s defining characteristic as a map, besides having a mosaic of Putin Lenin (thank you /u/noooitsari), is the ability for both sides to rotate almost instantaneously. As long as the Terrorists have control of popdog/ladder room, they can move from B upper to A site in a matter of seconds. The same goes for the Counter-Terrorists if they have control of connector. This makes fakes more important and less effective on the T side. They become important because if you do no fakes, as soon as you throw your grenades on one site, the CTs can rotate and get on site before you can. They are also less effective because even if you fake the CTs out successfully, it takes them seconds to rotate. This means that fakes are no longer higher level strats to be used sparingly. Terrorists need to dance between the sites, hiding their true intentions until they strike.

The other defining characteristic is the range. Both sites are incredibly long. B upper, A main to connector, Ivy, Alley, T hell to A main, these are all fairly long distance fights. Its hard for Ts to close the distance and get up in the CT’s faces, especially without utility. This, in turn, makes pistol rounds especially hard on the Ts.

For Terrorists, these things mean control of popdog/ladder room are incredibly important, as they allow for advanced mobility. Also important is the correct usage of nades. They can be used to effectively cut sites in half, reducing the amount of aim battles that you have to take at long range.

For Counter-Terrorists, this means that you should have a player in connector. Being able to cover both sites like that is important. Knowing where to stand and when to engage is also important. Abusing the distance advantage you have is important, so you shouldn’t ever be taking disadvantaged duels.

Cobblestone

Cobblestone is especially interesting as one of its most important features has to do with the meta of how pro teams play the map. If you’ve ever seen a cobble game, which I would hope that you have, you would know that the majority of the action takes place on the B site. Heavy B presence by the CTs is the defining characteristic of this map.

The most important area in Cobble is drop, which is something I personally don’t see abused nearly as much as it should be. While yes, it can be difficult to take, it is an incredibly important position for Ts and CTs alike. If the CTs can hold it, they can stop B and A splits. If the Ts can hold it, obviously, they can split onto either site. In the post plant, drop is even more important. If the Ts have control of drop, and the CTs are on the wrong site, there is very little that can be done. The Ts can easily cut off rotations by holding in window.

For Terrorists, get in drop. Abuse the falling accuracy when you don’t jump. Use your nades to get into connector and take control of window. The split onto a site. Its much harder to hold a site when you’re being pushed from two directions, so use that. It is also important to go A. If you go B every round the CTs will start to stack it, which makes it harder. You need to force the CTs to respect the fact that you could go to A.

For Counter-Terrorists, hold drop. Holding window is okay if you’re willing to dedicate a player to holding outside drop on the other side, but control of that area is extremely important. I would also recommend holding it with a shotgun. B site can absolutely work using more “specialty” weapons, which also helps the economy on CT side. Don’t be afraid to force up and buy a sawed off and an XM for drop and broken wall. Also, don’t be afraid to dedicate people to A site. You should always have 1 at least, as the rotate usually isn’t that long.

The next installment will be out soon, and I will be going over the 3 lane maps, Cache, Dust 2, and Mirage. I will also have a couple youtube videos coming out soon, which you will be able to find here. Videos will be posted soon, so you should subscribe so that you get notified. My first video will be about map control. Thanks for reading.