Flashbangs play a crucial role in CS:GO, sometimes setting the difference in winning or losing a round. They're a very important part in putting a strategy into play and, if thrown effectively, can render an opponent helpless and unable to see anything for a few seconds, forcing him to give up his position.

This guide will not show you how to align flashes in determined spots at different maps. Instead, it will give you some general advice on how to make your flashes more effective, even when improvising.

- Know the map you’re playing! And I mean, really know it. Knowing that there are two bomb sites, one mid, one catwalk or one long is not enough. What I mean by knowing the map is to understand the map layout, the best walls to bounce flashbangs off, the most common spots (and even the most uncommon) where an opponent might be hiding or peeking, best bomb site spots to plant the bomb, etc.

- Throw your flashes as wide as possible, unless a specific situation suggests otherwise. Imagine this situation on Mirage’s A Site: you're playing as a Terrorist looking to get in the site through T Ramp and you know that there is one player under Palace, in Shadow, looking at Ramp. Don’t throw a pop-flash to blind him! Yes, he may get blind and hide, but you don’t know if there is another player on Stairs, in CT Spawn or even on the Site. Instead, throw it wider. Make it higher, but in a way that it still fully blinds the player in Shadow. Because it is higher, it can also affect players on Site, CT Spawn and Stairs, even if they’re not looking directly at T Ramp. It can be enough for you to push Tetris and make a 1v1 situation against the player in Shadow. Below you see an example of a Flashbang I consider incorrect in the situation I described and another I consider correct. There is a Flashbang to show where it is supposed to blow as well as the trajectories of each one.

- Use your flashbangs! I cannot stress the importance of this point enough. It is so common for players to die while still having grenades unused. Use them to clear corners, to force opponents out of their position and even to fake a push. Imagine you’re in a 1v3 situation, have a flash and you’re trying to save your gun for the next round. Use it! You may use it to get away from the spot you’re in (in case they know it) or even to burn time – although you may not know that they’re coming from one spot in particular, you can win several seconds throwing a flashbang and possibly blinding any attackers. Even if they’re not making any noise, they’re temped to run towards cover when blinded, which can give you important sound cues. Each flashbang only costs 200$ and they can save you a lot of money when used.

- Use the environment. You can use the walls, ceilings and even the floor to make a Flashbang bounce of it, getting it to explode in those hard-to-reach spots. It also allows you to put it in the right place without getting out of cover. You can get very creative with this tip, catch your opponents unaware, and make the fight easier for you.

- Make your opponents turn their back on you by peeking before the flashbang goes off. Although it is common sense to make your flashbangs as hard to see as possible to your opponent before going off, there are times you can make the exact opposite to surprise them. Throw them in a way that he will be able to clearly see it before going off. Most of the times he will try to avoid it by turning his back to it. You can take advantage of that fraction of a second to peek and surprise him. But be ready to fall back immediately if you get blinded by your own flashbang.

- If you don’t have a flashbang but have a decoy grenade instead, you can also try to fake it (they look really similar to one another when thrown) and peek before it would go off if it were the former, like in the previous tip.

- Try to understand where and how your opponents usually play. Knowing this can help you understand what are the best places and timings to use your Flashbangs, and even think of a way to blind all of them with a single one, or at least to create situations where you will only be fighting one opponent at a time. But remember that a smart player is switching spots all the time!

- Start a local game and practice flashbangs on bots to see how effective they are and how you could throw them even better. Using console commands, you can put stationary bots in spots where you want to practice a Flashbang. Using the commands sv_cheats 1, bot_add, bot_stop 1 and bot_place (in that order) will place a stationary bot where your crosshair is pointing. Make sure to use the tools available to you.

One other important point you need to always have in mind - although you can see your opponents with their arms covering their face when blind, it does not mean that they are fully flashed. They may be already recovering their vision, making them able to see just enough to get the kill on you. Don’t always assume you lost the duel purely by luck. Learn from your mistakes. You can even check the demo after the game to understand where you could have been better or why he wasn’t blind. Use that knowledge to improve your next flashbang in that very same spot.

The goal is to outsmart your opponents and it can be as simple as throwing a good flashbang to make him lose his positional advantage.

Always take these tips with a grain of salt because every situation is different. You’re playing a game where no round is the same as another one. Not all situations will require the use of Flashbangs or other utility. Sometimes even using nothing at all will surprise your opponents more than throwing the best flashbang in the world. Adapt to the playstyle of your opponents and use that to your advantage. Just remember that utility can sometimes be your best friend in such a tactics heavy game. After all, they’re tips for the general gameplay and not specific situations.

Try these tips in your next game! Maybe they will help you get that crucial kill to win the game!

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