After writing my first blog about different defaults on the Terrorist side of de_dust2 for beginner pugs and teams, I thought it would be a good idea to turn this into a series. I’ll be covering all the possible active maps in the current map pool and discussing standard defaults that will help you get out of lower-tier matchmaking. Today we will be focusing on the Counter-Terrorist side of dust 2. I’ll talk about the best ways to gather information, how to make decisions on what setups to call to your teammates, and how to execute those setups.

Pistol round

In pugs or matchmaking, I believe the most effective setup is 2 B., 1Mid., 2A., with your two A players either playing passively on site or playing aggressive long.

Passive 2,1,2 set-up

This is what the passive version of the setup should look like. The trick with a pistol round setup like this is the mid player. His importance when it comes to information can not be understated. With the weakness of this setup being catwalk, his information is vital for your A players to make a choice to try and hold or to fall back for a retake attempt. The reason I feel 2,1,2 is a powerful pistol round setup for matchmaking and pug games is because the B site can be really hard to try to hold with one person, without falling back for a retake. B retakes can be hard so opting to retake A is usually a safer bet on retakes. It’s also a lot tougher for the Terrorist to try and hold in after a plant situation.

Aggressive 2,1,2 setup

The aggressive version of this pistol round default isn’t too much different than the passive setup. The only difference is how the 2 A players choose to play in a retake situation. This is what it should look like:

Again, the weakness of this setup is a catwalk push. In this scenario, if the site is taken the long players have two choices: they can either push into mid and try to wrap around the catwalk. Personally, I believe from the position that the two long players are in, it’s better for them to sit tight and wait for the retake with 5 and 4 retaking from catwalk and player 3 retaking from ct spawn. Retaking from as many angles as you can is usually the best option, especially on pistol rounds.

Default Gun round setups and variances.

Playing 3,1,1

The trick with this setup is to always switch up what your 3 A players are doing. For example, you can boost someone, cat for a quick pop flash, and peak for information. So, the mid player can watch for a B Rush at the beginning of the round is one of the many ways you can effectively play this setup. The initial part of the setup should look something like this:

With these positions and setup, you can do any number of things from here and you can experiment with different calls like aggressive long plays and cat plays. At the end of the day, Counter-Strike is all about information. For example, if your mid player calls a B-split or, if they are attempting to smoke off a ct spawn player 4, they can drop and rotate to mid to help hold the split. It’s all reactionary, so make sure your team’s communication is on par. Another thing to note is the different things the lone B player can do in a B-split scenario. When he’s getting pinched, player 1 can flash B tunnels and push in. Chances are, in a split scenario there will only be 2 or 3 Terrorist players there. And, if you happen to frag them you will have put yourself in a great position for a retake and will have gotten a lot of information for your team.

The same principles that apply for the pistol setup and the default setup are the same when it comes to passive and aggressive setups, the only difference is the presence of a cat player.

In this aggressive long A scenario, Player 4 and 5 push down long. Player 4 will bank a smoke off the wall and smoke off the Terrorist, while player 5 pop flashes and pushes into pit. This is a standard crossfire, but the smoke and pop flash will insure that any rushing Terrorist won’t be able to frag player 5 as he’s trying to get into pit. If long is quiet for about 30 to 45 seconds, player 5 can walk into mid to try and gather information or to get a cheeky frag. If player 5 has discovered that Terrorist spawn and top mid is empty, player 4 will rotate back to crossover and spot cat and mid, while player 5 continues to lurk.

conclusion

I hope some of the things I have discussed will help you with setting up your CT side defense and give you ideas on different ways to outsmart the opposing team. Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works for you and your teammates.

Happy Fragging :]