Among all the changes Valve introduced into the game in the recent update, one thing clearly stands out: from now on, players can drop grenades, just like weapons. Nevertheless, this isn’t a new mechanic for CS:GO: it had already been there in Danger Zone (the Battle Royale mode). Now, however, you can drop grenades in other modes too, including competitive mode. The CS.MONEY Blog is here to elaborate on how this innovation will affect gameplay.
Upgraded fakes
You can drop grenades by pressing the G key or any other key assigned for dropping an item on the ground. Note that the number of grenades you can purchase hasn’t changed: there are still four slots. And it’s only flashbangs that you can buy in duplicate. So you won’t be able to throw a smoke at the start of a round and then immediately purchase a second one.
The ability to drop grenades gives birth to endless new tactics. The most obvious being the one where you bring the nades to one site and leave one player there, while the remaining four go to the other site. Professional players are already doing this. In this example, the T player threw five flashes, which is half the maximum. That’s right, defensive players will now occasionally have to put up with as many as ten flashbangs.
By the way, the new patch will be in force at the upcoming RMR tournaments and Major. Given the specific nature of the group stage (all the matches will be BO1), this may even affect the final results.
The site you can’t enter
Let’s look at another possible use of the upgraded grenades: for the CTs.
CTs can bring four smokes to the B Site and drop them for the anchor player on, say, Inferno. Plus, the anchors have their own smoke. The smokescreen in CS:GO lasts for 18 seconds. Five times 18 is 90. Meaning, if you want, you can cut off entry to the site with smoke for a minute and a half, whereas the round lasts 1 minute 55 seconds. If you also factor in the time offense needs to get to the site and the flashes and an incendiary in the possession of the anchor player, the attacking party will either have to rotate or enter the site under the most uncomfortable circumstances imaginable: blinded, through smoke or fire.
Of course, the Ts can figure out the opponent’s unsophisticated plan if they see that the smokes only come to one site, while they see no smokes on the other end of the map. But this is where the mind games come into play. What if the CTs are just reinforcing the plant?
Actual fake flashes
“When you’re out of grenades, you can go to the corner and drop your pistol. Your opponent will think it’s a flashbang and turn away.” Surely almost every CS:GO player has used or heard of this trick at least once. In fact, it only works in matchmaking against low-ranked enemies, with the inexperienced players not understanding at all what’s happening on the map.
The update enables players to throw actual fake flashes in the same way. Of course, the mechanics are a little different for a real flash and a dropped flash. Besides, you can’t hear the sound of the grenade pin being pulled. But an opponent focused entirely on their aim might not even hear it anyway. There’s a high chance the long-standing reflex will take over: if a flash is coming your way, you should turn away. If you have already managed to pull this off, tell us in the comments 🙂
The possibility of dropping grenades is a breath of fresh air for those into updates — and a headache for conservative fans of classic CS. One thing is clear either way: CS:GO before the upgrade and after it are two different games. Let’s see what tactics Tier-1 players will be able to come up with, and how the innovations will generally affect the meta. We’ll find it all out soon enough at IEM Fall 2021.
Read more details about the latest CS:GO update and Operation Riptide here. Meanwhile, the CS.MONEY Blog will continue to follow the news from the world of skins and esports. There’s plenty more to come. Stay tuned!
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