Counter strafing is the most important movement technique you can learn in Counter-Strike. If you don’t know what counter strafe is, it is simply a technique where you completely stop your momentum while moving. As Counter-Strike has an enormous moving inaccuracy, every player must learn it in order to improve in the game.

It may be a simple technique to learn, but mastering it and doing it flawlessly is quite hard. Even pro players find it difficult to do it perfectly 100% of the time. In order to counter that, companies like Razer and Wooting have innovated new features like Snap Tap and SOCD that allow players to counter strafe in CS2 without any mistake, making the movement possible 100% of the time.

Naturally, it feels unfair for players who don’t have the specific keyboards or don’t want to waste hundreds of dollars just to enjoy a feature. Thankfully, there’s a feature called Null Bind that you can use in Counter-Strike 2 and get the similar benefits of Snap Tap and SOCD on any keyboard.

Related: Donk Counter-Strike 2 Settings: Video Settings, Mouse Sensitivity, Crosshair & More

What is Null Bind?

Null Bind is a combination of commands in Counter-Strike 2 that works similarly to Razer’s Snap Tap and Wooring’s SOCD. Similar to Snap Tap and SOCD, the Null Bind basically nullifies the movement of a direction [W, A, S, D] when the opposite directional button is pressed, making the counter strafe possible without human error. Although the bind has been public for a long time now, due to Snap Tap and SOCD’s releases, everyone has started using it.

How to Use Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2

Using Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2 is pretty easy. All you have to do is copy the commands in a config file and execute it through the launch option or in-game console command. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to bind and use the Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2:

• Go to Steam. Right-click on Counter-Strike 2> Properties> Installed Files> Browse.
• Open game> csgo> cfg folders.
• Create an Autoexec file. Make sure to change the type of file to .cfg in order for the commands to work. If you can’t see the file extension type, go to View> Show> File name extensions and check it.
  • Note: If you already have an Autoexec.cfg file. Ignore the above step.
• Now, open the Autoexec.cfg file with Notepad. Copy the commands from below, paste them into the Autoexec.cfg file, and save it.

alias "checkfwd" ""
alias "checkback" ""
alias "checkleft" ""
alias "checkright" ""
alias "goForward" "-forward; +forward"
alias "goBack" "-back; +back"
alias "goLeft" "-left; +left"
alias "goRight" "-right; +right"
alias "+mfwd" "-back; +forward; alias checkfwd goForward"
alias "+mback" "-forward; +back; alias checkback goBack"
alias "+mleft" "-right; +left; alias checkleft goLeft"
alias "+mright" "-left; +right; alias checkright goRight"
alias "-mfwd" "-forward; checkback; alias checkfwd"
alias "-mback" "-back; checkfwd; alias checkback"
alias "-mleft" "-left; checkright; alias checkleft"
alias "-mright" "-right; checkleft; alias checkright"
 
bind "w" "+mfwd"
bind "a" "+mleft"
bind "s" "+mback"
bind "d" "+mright"

• Now, go to Steam> Library. Right-click on Counter-Strike 2> Properties> General. Type “+exec autoexec” under the LAUNCH OPTIONS and exit the menu.
• There you go. You have successfully bound the Null Bind.

Now, get into the game and try Team Deathmatch or practice servers. You will immediately feel the difference when you try to counter strafe and shoot. Although there is still a chance that you may miss the shots, it won’t be because of your counter strafing skill.

Is Null Bind Safe to Use?

There is obviously the question of whether you can get banned for using the Null Bind commands in Counter-Strike 2 or not. As of this writing, it is completely safe to use Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2 official matchmaking and FACEIT.

However, keep in mind that Null Bind is not allowed in any kind of tournament, including the ESL/ESEA-branded tournaments. So, if you are a professional CS2 player, we recommend you don’t use Null Bind in the game.

Note: The use of Null Bind is subject to change. We’ll update the article if Valve, or FACEIT make any changes to their rules regarding Null Bind.

There is also a question of competitive integrity regarding using the Null Bind in Counter-Strike 2, as many players in the community, including the pros, think that it should not be allowed in Counter-Strike 2. However, they also believe that features like Snap Tap and SOCD that are built-in, as well as the Wooting and Razer Huntsman V3 keyboards, should also not be allowed. So, it is possible that we may see some restrictions against Null Bind, Snap Tap, and SOCD in the future.

Related: Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rank Distribution [Updated Rating]

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The CS community’s most-awaited Counter-Strike 2 update came out on September 27, 2023. Despite months-long beta tests, the game came out with lots of bugs and glitches. The fact that Counter-Strike 2 was no longer a fairy tale excited the community, but the optimization and cheating issues caused players to have second thoughts about the game’s premature release.

Among all the bugs and glitches, the Michael Jackson peek might be the funniest thing to happen to Counter-Strike 2. Nevertheless, you know how the Counter-Strike fans are. Instead of getting pissed at the annoying bug, everyone started to make memories over it and it grew to become the most popular meme of the early Counter-Strike 2 days.

The Michael Jackson peek became so hilarious that even Valve joined in on the fun and updated their Twitter banner, tributing the smooth criminal move until it was fixed later on December 12, 2023.

Smooth Criminal Peek is Back!

After getting some well-needed rest, the smooth criminal returned to Counter-Strike 2. If you stand next to a wall and press ‘W + SHIFT,’ your legs will be pinned down to the ground, and you can make a smooth criminal move to surprise your enemies.

The move is not as strong as before, as you get really slow when you are doing the Michael Jackson peek. However, you can still surprise your enemies if you do it at the right moment.

More Related: Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rank Distribution [Updated Rating]

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Despite being only 17 years old, Danil “Donk” Kryshkovets is currently one of the best players in Counter-Strike 2. He is currently playing under Team Spirit as a rifler/ entry fragger.

Like most players, Donk uses customized CS2 settings that let him perform at his peak. All these settings have been tried and tested in CS:GO and are now carried over to CS2. Want to play like him? Let’s see what settings he is using in Counter-Strike 2.

More Related: Counter-Strike 2 Copenhagen Major: Stickers, Souvenirs & PickEm Preview

Video Settings

Donk mainly uses 4:3 at 1280×960 stretched resolution. To see enemies clearly, he set his multisampling AA mode to 8x and shadow quality to high. He uses the standard ZOWIE XL2546K that most pro players use as the primary monitor.

Here is a list of Donk’s full CS2 video settings:

Viewmodel

Donk uses the classic viewmodel. You can turn classic viewmodel on by going into Game>Item>Viewmodel Position setting. You can also execute the classic viewmodel via the console command.

Here is the classic viewmodel code Donk uses in CS2:

viewmodel_fov 68; viewmodel_offset_x 2.5; viewmodel_offset_y 0; viewmodel_offset_z -1.5; viewmodel_presetpos 3; cl_usenewbob false;

Mouse Settings

Compared to most pros, Donk utilizes a relatively high mouse sensitivity. It helps him to make quick flicks into enemies’ heads. To maintain his precise aim, Donk uses the SteelSeries QcK+ mousepad and the Logitech G Pro X Superlight mouse.

Here are Donk’s full mouse settings in CS2:

Crosshair

Donk uses a tiny static crosshair in Counter-Strike 2 with a low gap and no outline. He occasionally changes the crosshair color depending on the map. However, his preferred crosshair colors are yellow, green, and white.

Here are Donk’s latest crosshair settings in CS2:

CSGO-3P8vG-eFro9-pvpiB-Ut7o3-dv6KQ

There you go! These are the settings Donk is currently using in Counter-Strike 2. Keep in mind that pro players like Donk tend to change their CS2 settings quite often. However, the changes are always minimal.

Everyone has a different playstyle. So, we advise you to take ideas from pro players’ settings but not copy them exactly the way they are. Nonetheless, try Donk’s CS2 settings, but fine-tune them as per your liking to make the most of it.

More Related: Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rank Distribution

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The first official major event for Counter-Strike 2 will take place in Copenhagen. After hundreds of teams from all around the world fought, there are now just 24 teams left, and they will compete against one another in Copenhagen, the Danish capital.

Fans are understandably very excited to witness the first major of Counter-Strike 2. And to make the event more memorable, Valve will, like always, release stickers, souvenirs, and PickEm challenges.

More Related: Counter-Strike 2’s New Telemetry Settings will Give you All the Benefits from CS:GO’s Net_graph 1

PGL Copenhagen Major Stickers Preview

The CS2 Copenhagen 2024 major will feature teams and player signatures in paper, holo, and gold sticker formats. Like before, this tournament will not release any major stickers.

Here are the sticker formats without backgrounds:

PGL Copenhagen Souvenir package and PickEm Tokens

You can buy the viewer pass + 3 souvenir tokens to earn 3 souvenir packages during the Copenhagen major. Playing with an active viewer pass can grant you extra souvenir tokens, which you can use to get more souvenir packages.

Unlike previous majors, you don’t need an active viewer pass to play the PickEm challenge. Anyone with the Prime status can play PickEm. However, to get the rewards and upgrades in each stage, you need an active viewer pass.

More Related: Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rank Distribution [Updated Rating]

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Counter-Strike 2 is Valve’s upgrade to the fan-favorite Global Offensive. The tactical shooter is a graphical overhaul with new mechanics and, most importantly, a new way to rank up. The Premier matchmaking system comes with new leaderboards and a numerical ELO rating that adjusts after every game.

The previous ranking system returns with the revamped matchmaking system and Premier Mode. It works the same as in CS:GO, just on a per-map basis. So even if you master a single map, your rank will only update for that particular map, not the others. This allows you to grind new maps for a new rank without losing your progress on your other ranks.

We updated the global Premier ratings on March 7, 2024.”

What is Premier in Counter-Strike 2?

The Counter-Strike 2 Premier is a new addition to the game. The new rating system or Premier, can more precisely calibrate which ranks are closest to you skill-wise and match them with your team and against you. By having a numerical ELO number attached to you, the game can translate that into a relative skill pool.

Previously, even when you were in the same rank, the skill disparity caused issues and questions among the players. The new rating system tries to combat that and provide a fairer system.

Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rating Brackets

The Premier ranking system is color-coded for every 5,000 rating points. The color codes are the same as the weapon rarity colors in the game, so the higher the rarity, the better your rank.

The current Counter-Strike 2 Premier rating brackets are as follows:

Counter-Strike 2 Premier Rank Distribution

Valve’s leaderboard only shows you the top 1,000 players for every region and the world’s top 1,000 overall. However, the popular Counter-Strike stats tracker, Leetify, and csgostats analyze demo files and have their own database with a huge sample size.

Here are the numbers for the Premier rank distribution for the current season, as reported by csstats.gg*:

Overall Distribution

• Unranked – 29.87%.
• Grey – 8.35%
• Light Blue – 29.87%
• Blue – 39.91%
• Purple – 19.24%
• Pink – 2.52%
• Red – 0.11%
• Gold – 0.01%*

When will the ranks reset?

Currently, Valve has not revealed details on when and how the rank reset will occur. It is, however, not too far-fetched to assume that a seasonal reset will occur after every major cycle. Valve hosts a major every six months, so without any other information available, we can assume, at the latest, a rank reset will occur after a major end and a new season of competition will begin.

Read More: Best Counter-Strike 2 Maps for Premier Matchmaking

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Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev is considered the GOAT Counter-Strike. He has been playing for NAVI since 2016. With this team, he had some notable performances in CS:GO and even won PGL Major Stockholm in 2021.

s1mple played his last tournament in IEM Katowice 2023. Since then, he has been on a break from professional Counter-Strike. Now, after so many months of being inactive, s1mple has signed a deal with Saudi Arabian professional esports organization Team Falcons. This might finally make the 26-year-old Ukrainian player debut in Counter-Strike 2.

Read More: Counter-Strike 2’s New Telemetry Settings will Give you All the Benefits from CS:GO’s Net_graph 1

s1mple Returns to Competitive CS

Team Falcons, a Saudi Arabian professional esports organization, has announced their loan deal of s1mple from NaVi. As of now, the loan deal is for one month. In his new team, s1mple will be replacing Mohammad “BOROS” Malhas, who has just been benched after Team Falcons failed to qualify for the PGL Copenhagen Major.

With this deal signed, Team Falcons will now be ready to compete in BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown. This will finally mark s1mple’s return to CS2. However, this doesn’t remove the possibility of s1mple coming back to NAVI after the loan period. As of now, neither the organization nor the player has said anything about this. Whatever the outcome might be, s1mple fans will surely be delighted to have their favorite superstar coming back to CS2.

Read More: How to Remove Bullet Tracers in Counter-Strike 2

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The update to the source 2 engine was a much-anticipated demand of Counter-Strike fans. While Counter-Strike 2 does finally deliver it, the new title also came up with lots of negativity. CS2 has been here for a while now. The community loved the updated visuals and audio of the new title. However, players were found to have a hard time adjusting to some of the changes.

CS2 takes the core gameplay of its predecessor, CS:GO, and updates it with modern graphics. However, one much-talked-about problem remains even now: the cheater issue. Besides upgrading the game’s visuals and gameplay, the community also demanded an effective anti-cheat system. As of now, CS2 failed to do so, as hackers in matchmaking servers are getting out of control.

Read More: Counter-Strike 2 Releases its First Weapon Case Named “Kilowatt” Since Release

Cheating in CS2 is Getting Out of Control

Counter-Strike 2 has one of the highest active player counts for competitive shooters. However, recently, the numbers have tended to decrease due to the uncontrollable cheating situations found. Players have reported finding cheaters for the majority of their games in official matchmaking servers.

To fight the problem, the community is demanding an improved and effective anti-cheat. Apparently, Valve has implemented an AI-generated anti-cheat in CS2. This was supposed to catch the players using hacks and cheats through machine learning and AI. However, the practical result is nowhere to be found.

This problem is not confined to any particular game mode. Even the Premier mode is flooded with cheaters.

Players Demand an Immediate Action

Currently, this cheater issue has grown so much in CS2 that players are boycotting the game out of frustration. This can also be seen in the player count data, as the gain for the last two months is negative. Even professional players are also starting to denounce Counter-Strike 2 until the issues around cheating have been resolved. Players are found expressing their frustrations and urging Valve to resolve the problem in official Steam forums and Reddit threads.

Valve still has not published any official announcement on this matter. However, counting the backlashes from players, steps should be taken as soon as possible to keep CS2 alive. Fortunately, Valve has fixed many issues before with constant patch updates, as we hope to see in this case as well.

Read More: How to Remove Bullet Tracers in Counter-Strike 2

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Counter-Strike 2 has been here for a while now. Even though the new title of this decade-old franchise offers a lot of new changes, old fans have been rooting for some essential features. One such is the familiar net_graph command.

The net graph command was used in CS:GO to accurately present important information such as fps, ping, packet loss, choke, server tick rate, and much more in-game. However, this familiar function was absent from CS2. Later, Valve introduced a new console command that enabled net graph. However, it wasn’t exactly the feature people wanted. So, a change was needed.

With the recent bug-fixing patch, Valve has implanted a new Telemetry setting that can serve as the new net graph of CS2.

Read More: How to Remove Bullet Tracers in Counter-Strike 2

CS2 Introduced New Telemetry Settings

CS2 has a feature to show FPS and packet loss in-game. To do so, you need to use multiple console commands. However, the visual representations for these can often be found to be distracting. As of now, there have been no options that could show essential information like the net graph command used to be and look clean as well.

Valve has recently added a new Telemetry section in-game settings. With that, you can now toggle various information like FPS, frame time, ping, and packet loss to show on the in-game screen. The presentation even looks much cleaner than anything before.

How to Enable Telemetry Settings in CS2

The Telemetry settings will allow you to show essential network information on screen just like net_graph. You can get the in-game information about the FPS data, ping, and packet loss.

To enable Telemetry data in CS2, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Click on the Game tab.

3. Scroll down till you find Telemetry options.

4. Set Show Frame Time And FPS, Show Ping, and Show Packet Loss/Misdelivery to Always.

5. This will show all the information on the top right hand of your screen.

Console Commands to Enable Telemetry Data in CS2

You can also use console commands to enable Telemetry data in CS2. Use the following commands to change the telemetry settings:

FPS command
cl_hud_telemetry_frametime_show

Ping command
cl_hud_telemetry_ping_show

Packet loss command
cl_hud_telemetry_net_misdelivery_show

Command values
2 = Always show
1 = Show If conditions are poor
0 = Never show

Using these commands, you can now see your much-needed network information and FPS update popping on the top right corner of your screen. This can surely be an alternative for net_graph.

Read More: Unable To Move Stickers in Counter-Strike 2: Solved

The post Counter-Strike 2’s New Telemetry Settings will Give you All the Benefits from CS:GO’s Net_graph 1 appeared first on GameRiv.

Counter-Strike 2 came as a free update to CS: GO. However, it brings a lot of changes to the game, including visuals and many game settings. Among them, the bullet tracer is one of the options you might be looking for. Bullet traces are visible trails you can see when you shoot with your gun. This was an updated feature for CS: GO. It has both pros and cons.

Enabling the bullet tracer, one might learn the weapons’ spray pattern a bit more easily. On the other hand, many players, including the pros, found this option to be a distraction while focusing on gun fights. So, There was an option to disable the bullet tracer in CS: GO, which most players found handy.

In CS2, however, this feature was missing initially. Since the beta release, you can’t remove the bullet tracer in the new title. Fortunately, Valve has added this feature with recent updates. This article will explain the bullet tracer tweak for CS 2 in detail.

Read More: How to Use Jump Throw Bind in Counter-Strike 2

How to Remove Bullet Tracers in CS2

You could toggle the bullet tracer in CS: GO using a console command. You needed to use the r_drawtracers_firstperson 0 commands to disable the bullet tracer. Unfortunately, this command doesn’t work in CS2 anymore. However, the recent A Call to Arms update has come with an added setting to disable first-person bullet tracers in CS2.

Here is how you can disable bullet tracers in CS2:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Click on the Game tab.

3. Scroll down till you find Items.

4. Look for the option First Person Tracers. Set it to Disabled.

That’s it! Now, you will no longer be distracted by the bullet tracers in the game. Even though this setting was missing initially, Valve has taken steps to hear the community and put it back, even making it easier to toggle.

Read More: How to Reduce Overly Saturated Brightness in Counter-Strike 2

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Arsenal Football Club and Ukrainian star Oleksandr Zinchenko made an unusual cameo for his esports team, Passion UA, in a professional Counter-Strike match earlier today. The Arsenal left-back substituted for a player and took a map off against BLEED Esports in the YaLLa Compass Spring 2024.

Passion UA is a Ukrainian esports organization founded by Zinchenko and the former coach of NaVi and CSGO professional Mykhailo ‘Kane’ Blahin in 2023. The esports team primarily focuses on their Counter-Strike team. Zinchenko will be the primary sponsor for Passion UA; meanwhile, Kane will take on the role of Coach for the CS team.

Read More: Arsenal Star Gabriel Jesus VAC Banned in Counter-Strike 2?

Many professional football players have invested in Counter-Strike teams and even founded esports organizations. For example, former Manchester City and Argentina football superstar Sergio Aguero founded KRU Esports in 2020. Afterward, Lionel Messi joined KRU Esports as a co-owner at the end of 2023. But Oleksandr Zinchenko is the first footballer to enter a professional match in any esports event.

Zinchenko Steps In For His Team

In the Compass Spring 2024 Contenders Stage, Passion UA went up against BLEED Esports on February 8, 2024. Passion UA lost the first map in Inferno with a final score of 8-13 against BLEED. However, after the player faced some connection issues, Zinchenko subbed in for Eduard’ zeRRoFIX’ Petrovskyi in the second map, Ancient.

Zinchenko and the rest of the team won the map with a final score of 16-12, with the owner putting up decent statistics in the match. However, Passion UA lost the last map in Anubis with a final score of 11-13 and lost the match 2-1 against the tournament leader, BLEED. Even though Passion UA lost the match, Zinchenko performed well for his team.

This is not the first time Zinchenko participated in a professional match for his team. In December 2023, Zinchenko subbed in for zeRRoFiX, who could not participate in another tournament due to network issues against Illyrians. Zinchenko made his professional Counter-Strike debut against Illyrians and eventually won the match.

In 2023, Oleksandr Zinchenko participated in a charity match to raise funds for the war-affected people in Ukraine. In the event, Zinchenko played alongside legendary Counter-Strike players such as Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev and Yegor “markeloff” Markelov. The football star founded and invested in Passion UA because of his deep love for gaming and desire to contribute to the growth of esports in Ukraine.

Read More: Counter-Strike 2 Releases its First Weapon Case Named “Kilowatt” Since Release

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