CS:GO has many mechanics and these open up many possible approaches to problems you may encounter in your games. Your weapon, the spray, your movement - all of these are rather fundamental but still take a lot of practice and maybe even talent to get right. A different thing, however, are boosts: They rely primarily on your knowledge of them and your knowledge of your in-game situation instead of cold, hard mechanics. Therefore, it makes sense to read this article, look at all the possible boosts, which consists of one on each side per map, and expand your repertoire of possible plays in the future.

In this article, I will show you a total of 14 boosts, some of them fundamental and part of the meta, and some of them a bit off-meta or rather unknown. I'll give you an idea of how and when to use the boost as well as point out its weaknesses and strengths. Let's start with the newest map in the competitive mappool: Vertigo.

Vertigo

CT-Side

Secret Boost





Giving you a weird off-angle towards Ts approaching A from Ramp, you can get at least one kill here before the Ts even reach you and can react. The guy boosting you on the orange cone can still watch towards Secret and will make sure that you aren't caught off-guard by sneaking Ts. Be sure to practice this at least once with your premade, since the guy boosting should stand at the right end of the orange cone so that you can even jump on the edge of the cone.

The best part about this boost spot is that, should the Ts somehow avert your watching gaze (maybe with a rush towards A), your position is still OK for holding off the A take from there and to then wait in Secret with your teammate for reinforcements. Like almost all boosts, after using this a few times, the Ts may check or pre-nade this spot.

Vertigo

T-Side

A Afterplant Boost





Taking A often isn't the problem, but holding off the Retake from maybe three or four different angles can be. Boosting a T quickly on top of these stacked panels will allow you to have a guy standing in a spot that will most likely not be checked. Even if the CTs check there, they'll be exposed to a variety of different, dangerous angles that you may hold.

Be sure to do this quickly once you're on A, since the CTs may otherwise arrive during your boost.

Overpass

CT-Side

B-Short 1 & 2





Probably the most fundamental boosts in this guide, I'd still like to shine some light on how to use these two correctly. First, everyone checks the boost spot to the right, B-Short boost 1, when they enter B-Short as a T. To allow you to still get a kill from there without having to fight fairly (and no one ever wants a fair fight in CS:GO) you can either use this spot very late, after the Ts have acclimated to not to pre-aim this spot, or make them believe that something else is happening. A way to do this is to use an incendiary to block off the side tunnel in B-Short, as shown in this guide, to make the Ts believe that you're entering B-Short, as this will draw attention away from the boost spot.

The second B-Short boost, shown on the left, is exactly there to catch Ts off-guard that are watching for the first boost. It can be used after a round where you used the first boost, or even in the same round to get a second, free kill. You just need to be wary of Monster when using any of these boosts and hope that your Monster player can hold off the Monster rush, should it happen.

Overpass

T-Side

Heaven Boost





Incredibly useful for afterplant situations, this boost can either be used when you're trying to enter an empty Heaven to try to catch the CTs off-guard or to peek a CT still holding from Heaven.

You just need to be sure that you have time to execute this boost, either when you just planted the bomb or when you know where the last CTs are exactly.

Train

CT-Side

On A



It can be hard to be the master of the A-Site on Train: Popdog can rush out, the Ts can go out of Olof or run to Electric and your Ivy player will get one-deaged anyway. To fight situations where you can't organize your CT-Side well enough, boosting on A with a mate can give you an early man-advantage during the Ts' Bombsite take.

It will still be difficult to decide what to watch, though, as the Ts can come from Popdog and Main.

Train

T-Side

Palette Boost





Exiting A-Main can be like spinning the roulette wheel, as the CTs can hold from Electric, on Green, or simply behind Green. To fight a CT holding Main with an AWP from on the green train (just called Green), you can boost on the palette in A-Main and try to catch them off-guard to open up the round with an early pick.

Be sure to keep an eye out for signs of CT aggression, like no thrown nades if the CTs liked to use nades early on before, in order to not to get caught off-guard when you're boosting.

Dust 2

CT-Side

B Doublebox Boost





If you notice a tendency from the Ts to seek a pick from Tunnel, or they just like to go B in general, placing a CT in this boost will allow you to watch Tunnel with high security. The bottom player should still be ready to hold Window, though, in case you lose Mid control.

You should always be ready to dodge flashes since people don't just rush Tunnel without any nades. You also need to be ready to break up the boost before it gets too impossible to hold from there. The Ts could also come from Door if the take Mid control, the worst-case scenario with this boost.

Dust 2

T-Side

Window Boost





B can be like a fortress for you: Easy to defend, hard to capture. Once you've captured the fabled B fortress, it is not unlikely that you have a man disadvantage, though, which can make things complicated if you just try to hold. If you feel a little proactive, try to boost above Window, to the right of the merlon (the pointy thing on top of the wall).

The bottom player should always hold either Door or Tunnel, depending on utility and where the CTs were last seen.

Inferno

CT-Side

Mid peek above the smoke





To get an early pick on Inferno Mid without just straight-up peeking into a potentially faster AWP, you could smoke off Mid and peek above it, as shown in the image, boosting just at the corner of the wall of the yellow building. The bottom player should try to stand behind the wall as much as possible since Ts like to spray through the smoke in Mid for the chance of a kill. It is also recommended to abandon the boost after you've gotten a kill with it, at least in the same round.

If you don't have Apps control, the bottom player should also at least be ready to fight a T peeking out of Boiler.

Inferno

T-Side

Apps silent Boost





It is possible to get into Lightroom without making any noise, and here is how: A T just needs to stand up on the barrel just at the stairs next to the balcony of Apps. A different T then needs to jump up on the railing of the stairs, walk to the T on the barrel and use him as an extended railing to reach the balcony without letting go of shift, timing the jump right in order to get into Apps without ever making noise.

This can really weird out your enemies and has a good chance of resulting in a free kill, especially if the CTs like to take Apps control a lot, something that is often hard to fight against effectively without wasting time and utility.

Nuke

CT-Side

A Silos Boost





A on Nuke is prone to be overrun, regularly getting plastered with early molotovs on Hut and smokes in Main. The main goal of these executes and rushes is to overwhelm the CT defence in such a situation. This boost is a good one-off defence against recurring A-site rushes, giving you an incredible off-angle between the silos. On top of this, should the Ts take control of Main and A be in danger of being split through Main, Squeaky and Hut, you can use this boost to get a free pick against the Ts coming from Main early in the execute.

The only problem could be a bunch of Ts rushing out Hut to peek you and your buddy boosting behind Silos or if the Ts are able to wrap through Heaven.

Nuke

T-Side

Blue to Garage (Outside)





If you have trouble taking Outside control with sparse or no utility, this quick little early-round boost can give you a surprising peek towards Garage, catching the CT playing there, most likely with an AWP, with their pants down, watching a different angle entirely.

However, should you be caught jumping on your buddy, it is not unlikely that the CT can hit his shot on you before you can even shoot precisely, so use this boost with care.

Mirage

CT-Side

B-Box Boost





Just like every B-site in CS:GO, holding B on Mirage can be hard or boring, depending on if the enemies even try to go B. If the Ts do go B, though, they'll most likely try to come through Apps and Short, making this boost a reliable and strong part of your playbook, giving the bottom CT the ability to hold off Apps from an off-angle, as well as the upper CT the possibility to catch Ts running out Short without even considering this dangerous angle.

It is likely, however, that the Ts will also jump out of the window in Apps and overwhelm the bottom CT the further we are in the B-take.

Mirage

T-Side

Top-Mid boost





Mid in Mirage is probably the most contested area of any CS:GO map, which is why it is hard to come up with new things still. I know that this boost isn't new per sé, however, it is pretty off-meta and most people that will get killed by it in the future will not have been killed by it before. The problem of this boost is that you have to reach this spot, though, but once you got there, maybe for holding Mid control later on in the round, you will probably get a free kill on a CT coming through Short or peeking Window.

The bottom T can, depending on the situation in the round, hold T-Spawn, for example, should you have no control towards A.



Switch it up to keep ahead of the competition

It is not worth it to insist on a playstyle or spot if it has been found out and turned obsolete: CS:GO will never be a solved game since it is ever-changing and will never stop doing exactly that. Keep an eye out on what works over time and what doesn't and replace those plays that do not work anymore, even if it is just for a single game or if it is for an entire season. Having variety in the possible ways that you approach the game is key.

To be sure that you are still ahead of your opponents, feel free to take a look at my Vertigo flash guide.

Want to say hello or share your thoughts about our guides? Head over to our #Digscord and share your thoughts there or write to me on Twitter to provide any kind of feedback or simply follow me to stay up to date with my guides!

Come watch Dignitas live on Caffeine.tv!