For nearly 25 years, USP-S has been the main defense pistol in the Counter-Strike series. In CS2, it’s favored by most pro players: approximately five percent of all frags come from USP. CS.MONEY Blog made a big guide on USP-S, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, tells how to play with USP and selects the best skins.
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USP-S Strengths: Accuracy and Stealth
USP-S has become a favorite among players for CT-side for a reason. Unlike the Attack, CTs have a choice of two starting pistols: P2000 and USP-S. However, most players prefer USP-S. All because of its accuracy and low shooting sound.
USP-S is the second most accurate pistol in CS2, only Desert Eagle has higher stats of this parameter. USP-S is capable of hitting the head from up to 24 meters while standing and up to 30 meters while crouching. In comparison, AK-47 offers accurate shooting at 22 and 28 meters, respectively. This is why CT players can engage in firefights at relatively long distances, before T-side approaches them.
Surely, USP has a Silencer, and it can give you a huge advantage. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it allowed you to shoot through smoke without tracers and thus hide your position. In CS2, the smoke reacts to bullets, which slightly reduces its usefulness, however, it still completely hides the sound of a shot at a distance of 20 meters. Thanks to this, a CT player can flank the enemy or have several free shots before discovered.
USP-s third strength is that it is completely free! It’s a starting pistol, CTs have it by default so it’s always at hand and does not require investments.
USP-S Weaknesses: Small magazine, average damage
USP-S has good base damage: 35 units. Problems begin when shooting at armor, because it has only 50.5 percent armor penetration, meaning a shot to armor or helmet only does half damage. Add to that low rate of fire: USP-S makes only 353 rounds per minute. Only Deagle and R8 Revolver have less! Because of this, USP-S is not suitable as a force-buy weapon. Note that a stack of several players with USPs still poses a serious danger due to the high accuracy of the pistol.
USP’s second problem is its small magazine and ammo supply. You get only three 12-round magazines, one already in the pistol and two in stock. It is too little! With such limited ammunition, you can’t even blast through smoke, can’t really spam the left mouse button.
Speaking of all other USP-S characteristics, this pistol is a strong average. Standard frag reward, standard running speed and shooting power, average on-the-move shooting accuracy.
Overall, it’s a very strong pistol for the first round. USP’s high accuracy and good no-armor damage allow you to land juicy headshots across half the map and confidently hold the attacks. In other scenarios, USP-S won’t work well. Still, flanking behind the enemy is a neat tactic thanks to the Silencer. Or you can just stack with your teammates to spam bullet in duo or trio and kill enemies.
USP-S in the current CS2 meta
USP-S, like Glock-18, is a must-have for pistol rounds. However, unlike the T-side starting pistol, USP-S has a place in other rounds. Where Ts spend 300 dollars on P250, CTs can stay with USP and try to play at a distance. However, that’s all you can do. USP-S is inferior to P250, Five-SeveN, and even more so Desert Eagle in situations where players are ready to invest.
Most Expensive USP-S Skin
As of today, the most expensive USP-S skin is Kill Confirmed. USP-S Kill Confirmed can cost up to $200 in Factory New. Even the cheapest USP-S Kill Confirmed costs at least $30! Why? This skins comes from an old case and it’s just a really popular and beautiful USP skin. Together, this creates high demand with low supply, and, as a result, leads to a high price.
Five Best Skins for USP-S
Fortunately, USP-S has skins worth cheaper than hundreds of dollars. And they still look decent. CS.MONEY has chosen five accessible but very beautiful skins for USP-S:
- USP-S Cyrex Field-Tested for $1
- USP-S Ticket to Hell Minimal Wear for $1
- USP-S Black Lotus Minimal Wear for $2
- USP-S Guardian Minimal Wear for $4
- USP-S Cortex Minimal Wear for $4
These amazing and cheap USP skins are available on CS.MONEY, where you can buy and sell other CS2 skins! Come around to learn more!
USP-S remains the best weapon for players who prefer to operate with stealth and precision. Learning to get the most out of this pistol is not easy, but it’s worth it. Accurate, quiet and mobile: USP is still one of the best pistols in CS2.
