Do you know what separates the best players from everyone else? The ability to use all CS2 mechanics to advantage. And movement is one of the most important things you need to understand and learn. Today, CS.MONEY Blog explains how to move properly in CS2, shows some advanced techniques, tells about bunnyhopping, strafing, counter-strafing and all that, and names weapons you run the fastest with.
While you’re learning how to move in CS2, don’t forget that skins, another essential part of the game, are best bought on CS.MONEY! Huge selection, low prices and a handy search system await! Join now!
Movement Basics in CS2
There are two main types of movement in CS2: moving and jumping. Very modest, by the standards of modern shooters, which feature sprinting, sliding, grappling hooks, teleports and other sophisticated options. Yet, Valve believes that the simpler, the better. So, moving in CS2 is divided into three sub-types:
- Running
- Walking
- Crouching
Running is the fastest you can go in CS2 but it makes noise and penalizes your accuracy. Walking is twice as slow but it’s completely silent and your accuracy gets quite better. Crouching is also silent while your speed is reduced to 1/3 of running speed.
Speaking of movespeed in CS2, it depends not only on how you do it but also on the weapon you hold. Running with a knife is faster than running with a pistol, and obviously holding a pistol makes you move way faster than for example with a sniper rifle. Machine guns have the harshest movespeed penalties: they cut your speed almost by half. But we will talk about weapons and their movespeeds below, wait for it.
Gaining Speed and How To Move
By combining walking and jumping, you can obtain new types of movement. Let’s look at them in more detail.
As already mentioned, the player model gains full running speed in about half a second. After that, friction catches up with the acceleration. There’s one interesting detail in this process: acceleration is non-linear. Say, you hold a knife. With it, your movement speed is 250 units per second—a maximum running speed in CS2. We have already talked about units in the article about the in-game distances, but briefly, one unit is equal to one inch or 2.54 centimeters.
So, a player with a knife in their hands starts running. The player model will accelerate from 0 to 50 units per second in 0.032 seconds. Wow! Even Usain Bolt accelerates much more slowly. Speeding up from 200 to 250 units per second will take much longer, approximately 0.27 seconds. The difference is almost ten times!
Advanced Movement Techniques in CS2
In case you didn’t know, there are other movement options besides just pushing the W button. Counter-Strike 2 allows to move backwards and sideways as well. The latter is especially useful. Surprising your opponent by running from the cover sideways helps you gain an advantage in a firefight. Kids, it’s called Strafing. We’ll talk about how to strafe below, as for now, let us explain Advanced Movement Techniques in CS2.
Counter-strafe. Since shooting accuracy depends on your current movespeed, you need to lower it down to shoot. For this purpose, people use counter-strafe. It’s easy: you quickly press S instead of just waiting for your player model to stop by releasing W. Thanks to it, you can instantly reduce speed and get better accuracy.
Advanced Moving Techniques also include various combinations of jumping and running. For example, by crouching in a jump, you can climb a little higher than by a regular jump. When you crouch, you can become a platform for another player as well, which is called Boosting. Thanks to it, players can climb high boxes and other obstacles. If the player above jumps, the player below release crouching and launch their teammate towards an even higher obstacle!
Besides, players can throw their teammates even farther by using runboosts. Just repeat the same actions as for boosting, but the player who wants to get farther needs to jump at a specific moment, while the other player release crouching. It’s hard to perform but significantly helps covering long distances.
Movement Tips: Jumping, Bunnyhopping, Strafing
Runboost is just one of the Advanced Techniques. CS2 has more of them. For example, strafe jumps, long jumps and other types of jumps. You need to perfectly execute these techniques by controlling your actions and mid-air movement. Using the movement keys you can change your flight path. For example, jump from around the corner.
Strafe jump is a basic aerial movement CS2 technique. It works like this:
- Run
- Jump
- Press A/D while turning your mouse sideways
If done correctly, your jump will be longer. A good strafe jump allows you to jump a distance 10-15% greater than a regular jump. Also, if you crouch right before your strafe jump, you can get a long jump. If you combine strafe jumping with controlling yourself mid-air and hit the right timing with the next jump, you bunnyhop. Alas, in previous versions of Counter-Strike bunnyhopping was imbalanced but now it works noticeably worse.
What weapon is the fastest to run with in CS2?
Unlike the vast majority of other FPS games, in CS2, your movespeed depends on the weapon used. And the difference is pretty notable, up to 40%! The fastest way to run in CS2 is holding a knife or C4. In this case, your movespeed is 250 units per second or 6.35 meters per second.
All other weapons impose penalties of varying amounts. Pistols won’t slow you down much, while sniper rifles and machine guns turn players into snails.
Best Five Weapons by Movement Speed in CS2: The Fastest Movespeed
With these guns you move the fastest in CS2, that is, they have a high movement speed.
- Glock-18
- P2000
- USP-S
- P250
- Tec-9
Worst Five Weapons by Movement Speed in CS2: The Slowest Movespeed
With these guns you move the slowest in CS2, that is, they have a low movement speed.
- Negev
- M249
- AWP
- G3SG1
- SCAR-20
It’s worth noting two cases where weapons can additionally affect movement speed. First, using scopes on rifles. Scoping with AUG, SG 553, AWP, SSG 08, G3SG1 and SCAR-20 significantly reduces your movespeed. Second, when shooting from R8 Revolver: at the moment the trigger is cocked, the speed drops from 220 units per second to 180 (the rest of the time it is 220).
Weapon Movement Speed in CS2
Movement speed with CS2 meta weapons:
- AK-47 – 215 units per sec
- M4A4 – 225 units per sec
- M4A1-S – 225 units per sec
- Galil AR – 215 units per sec
- Deagle – 230 units per sec
- MP9 – 240 units per sec
- MAC-10 – 240 units per sec
Map Knowledge & Understanding
Another important component of good movement in CS2 is simply knowing maps by heart. Experienced players know what surfaces to jump on, how to jump between specific spots, or how far their landing sounds are heard. In addition, map knowledge allows you to increase the time you spend moving with a knife, that is, at the maximum possible speed. Spend time exploring your favorite maps and you will find many places where you can use your movement skills in Counter-Strike 2!
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