It’s no secret that every map plays out differently. Every map favors one side more than the other, and every map has a unique layout. Looking at the history of competitively played maps, there are layouts that are recognized as cornerstones of the community. Familiar maps such as Nuke, Inferno, Dust 2, and Train, just to name a few. A controversial topic when it comes to map design is Counter-Terrorist favorability. More often than not, these maps tend to make the job easier for the defenders than the attacking Terrorists. Why the community loves the Counter-Terrorist side is a topic for another conversation. We’re focusing on what makes a map favor a certain side, or what makes a map balanced.

Three core mechanics of a maps design can be credited to it’s favorability to one side: Rotation times, the number of angles, and the number of choke points. Applying any of these traits to any map, we can begin to see why maps tend play out the way they do.

Rotation times

Rotation time, in its simplest form, is the time it takes a player on one bomb site to run to the opposing site. A map that is very infamous for its CT favorability and insanely short rotation times is Train. Though recently redubbed to give aid to the Terrorist side, the map still stands as CT sided. If an aim duel is occuring between a Terrorist at the Popdog location and a CT holding the same angle from connector and both decide leave at the exact same time to peek each other again at lower B, the CT will reach the angle just over 5 seconds earlier than the Terrorist. This shows that with even with perfect intel on where the CT’s are located, the Terrorists are at a huge time disadvantage.

Figure showing the rotation path of each player described above

Angle Amount

Angle amount is how many positions the CT’s have to hide in to hold an angle. Angle amount is the reason Inferno’s B site is an Entry fraggers worst nightmare. There are an ungodly number of angles that Terrorists have to check, one by one, to clear the site. It’s a guessing game when trying to take B Site, as any of the spots has the potential to be occupied, and the first Terrorist in is often bait just to find out where the defenders are and is rarely able to make a trade. The more angles there are to check, the harder the site is to capture.

A Terrorist walking onto the site has to check these seven common angles, not including some uncommon spots

Number of Choke Points

Choke points are the entrances into a bomb site. How many options do the Terrorists have when entering a site and how different those options are gives both sides very different choices. A map known very being balanced, Dust 2’s B site shows us the importance of entering a site from multiple angles. With no middle control, if a Terrorist team wishes to take B site, all their forces must go through a single entry point. With so many potential CT positions, combined with only a single entry point, B site can become a slaughterhouse for our Elite crew in that scenario. But with the addition of Terrorist mid control, the entire situation changes. Now with three potential entry points, any CT trapped in the site must divide their attention to try to cover all the entrances. This gives the attackers a much higher probability of taking the site.



With only one entry point, any CT defending the site can focus all their attention onto one choke point. In the event of a B split, the CT's ability to lock down the site is severely restrained

Combining All Three

When taking all three factors into consideration of a map’s design, we can start to understand why maps like Inferno is so CT sided, and why a map like Cobble is balanced. Inferno has a low number of choke points, and a high amount of angles to check, making the initial assault on the bomb sites a very hard feat. Though once the Terrorists have control of the sites, the same attributes are turned against the retaking CTs, and the sites being so far apart causes high rotation times. The combination of all three make Inferno’s sites extremely hard to capture. Cobble is the opposite of Inferno in many ways. The sites offer little to no cover along with 2-3 entry points from different angles, making holding the sites a challenge. Though with quick rotation times, retakes are very doable. These are just two examples of a system that can be applied to any bomb site, on any defusal map.



Hopefully with this added information, you can look at map design in a new light! Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

Are you into fantasy leagues? Then check out AlphaDraft and put together your allstar lineup!