Been told to “git good” by a cocky opponent? Here’s how to improve with CSGO Workshop maps.
Although most people “play it for fun,” CSGO in any and all forms — and at any and all ranks — is more of a competitive game than a casual shoot-em-up. The vast majority of people who play the game have one thing in common: they want to win. Whether you’re playing to take the edge off, have a fun little group activity with friends, or get better to go pro one day hopefully, chances are that you do — at the end of the day — want to improve at the game so you can win.
However, in a game that has a skill ceiling as high as CSGO, it can be very difficult to improve just by playing pub games or even scrimming. Don’t get us wrong, those are essential to the process of improvement as well, but there are some maps out there that will go much further to make you a better player than a hundred scrims — maps that aren’t available in Matchmaking mode.
These maps, found on the Steam Workshop, can be played multiplayer, but their main point is to boost your performance. If improving is your goal, here are some maps that can assist you in this.
1. Mr. uLLeticaL’s Recoil Master
One of the most perennially frustrating things in all of Counter-Strike as a whole is recoil. Unlike many other titles, weapon recoil in CS — and indeed its Global Offensive variant — is on the realistic side and extremely difficult to master. This is due to a variety of reasons, such as separate recoil patterns for each weapon, first-shot inaccuracy, and muscle memory.
Copyright: Steam
Any player worth their salt must know the recoil patterns of at least every regular-use weapon, and preferably even more because you are bound to face situations where you pick up someone else’s gun. While there are hundreds of recoil mastery maps that will enable you to do this, the one by Steam user Mr. uLLeticaL is above and beyond the rest. It gives you easy access to all the weapons and options you’ll need for practice, doesn’t try to overdo things, and provides some options you didn’t even know you needed. A must-have for any aspiring pro.
2. Yprac’s Grenade Training Maps
CSGO might mostly be about reflexes, control, and muscle memory, but strategy is an integral aspect of the game, and the biggest part of the strategy is utility. For newer players, utility is the collective name given to grenades, and these are as useful in winning a round as your weapon — sometimes even more. At the top level, grenades more often than not require extremely precise positioning, aim, and even movement to get just right, and if your goal is to play at that level, it’s imperative that you learn these.
Copyright: Steam
For this, we recommend that you make use of Yprac’s Grenade Training maps. These will show you lineups and positioning for the most important grenades, flashbangs, smokes, and incendiaries. There are some other users that offer similar practice maps, but the best ones left the trade a while ago and didn’t have similar guides for newer maps. This might not sound that important if you’re still at a lower level, but believe us when we say that this has the power to transform the way you play the game regardless of your level.
3. Mr. uLLeticaL’s Aim Botz
The idea of shooting the heads of often immobile computer players might seem like something out of an early 90s arcade rail shooter, but it is as important a part of CSGO training as anything else mentioned on this list. Due to the rapid but measured nature of the movements, your muscle memory builds up as fast by doing this as it does with playing on Deathmatch servers. The added benefit in practicing against bots is that you get to have a more generalized practice experience, and can easily customize the map to fit your needs.
Copyright: Steam
To that effect, Mr. uLLeticaL’s Aim Botz gives you the ability to go crazy with your practice. You can have a narrow to 360° field of play, make the bots stand still or strafe, change the elevation and size of the map, do timed challenges, and a lot, lot more. This is one training tool almost every single pro or semi-pro player uses, and if you’re unfamiliar with it or have been ignoring it, we recommend you give it a whirl.
4. DC’s Aim Course
Although many CSGO players complain about the number of Active Duty maps in CSGO, the reality is that it’s just not easy to master many maps at the same time. If you don’t play a map for a while, your brain or your muscles are bound to forget the angles you need to hold, the measurements of the flicks you need to make, and the movements necessary to traverse the map without getting stuck in places. While dry runs on maps helps this somewhat, there’s something much better out there.
Copyright: Steam
DC’s Aim Course maps remedy this by giving you veritable obstacle courses with enemies in the most common positions and angles so that you don’t just learn the map, but also the possible angles that come with it. One might argue that playing an actual game on the map is more effective, but there are only so many scenarios that can take place in each game. You’ll be able to learn much more about the map itself using these trainer levels.
5. Config Generator by crashz and Misterio
Have you ever tinkered with your settings, but weren’t sure about which settings did what and copied some pro’s config anyway, only to end up hating the changes you made? Either you struggled with the game or went back to your own settings, convinced that it was best for you. While it’s true that changing settings alone doesn’t make you a better player, little tweaks can go a long way in improving your game. A slightly smaller crosshair, adding some keybinds, or changing your sensitivity can often be tremendously helpful.
Copyright: Steam
If you ever wanted to see the changes you’re making and determine if you like them in real-time, the Config Generator map by crashz and Misterio will be a treasure trove for you. Not only can you pick from a wide variety of configs used by pros and prominent members of the CSGO community, but you can also see and test out the feel of your changes as you make them on bots. Things don’t stop there, because you’ll also be able to edit your HUD, Radar, Viewmodel, and even add binds like Jump+Throw and Clear Decals.
How to Add Custom Maps to CSGO
Never added custom maps before? All you need to do is select CSGO on Steam, click on the Workshop tab, search for the maps above and subscribe to them. Steam will automatically download the maps, and you can then go into the game and start an “Offline with Bots” match to use these.
Keep coming back to us for your fix of all things CSGO.
