Are you a fan of Valorant and never played CS2? If so, this CS2 guide for Valorant players is for you, so let’s dive in.
Even though Counter-Strike is one of the most popular shooters in the world and one of the oldest games, some people haven’t played it yet. Due to CS’s popularity, a lot of other game developers came out with similar types of games, one of which is Valorant.
After it became available in 2022, Valorant quickly became CS’s rival and one of the games that has a load of fans. Some people have started playing Valorant instead of CS2 and haven’t tried out Valve’s legendary title yet. Therefore, it is time for our CS2 guide for Valorant players, where we will help users make their first steps. Let’s get started.
CS2 vs Valorant
Before we start with the CS2 guide, something you will find all the time is a comparison between the two games. There are many reasons why people are comparing them all the time, one of which is because the lead dev in Valorant used to be a part of Counter-Strike. This is one of the reasons why there are so many similarities between the two.
The Maps
Depending on the Valorant Seasons, you will find different maps that you can play on. However, similar to Overwatch 2, Valorant players can’t actually choose the map they want to play on yet. There are rumors that Riot will add the feature in the future, but for now, this is not the case.
Well, something that you will find if you take a look at a popular CS2 guide is that people can actually choose the map they want. This has always been the case, but maps are even more important in Counter-Strike 2 than they were in CSGO. People who want to play in the competitive modes will have specific stats for each map and a different rank, meaning it is very important which maps you focus on.
Unlike Valorant, CS2 maps do not have any ropes, teleports, or other kinds of things. This is a very important thing we wanted to point out in this CS2 guide for Valorant players because some are used to relying on those things.
Valorant vs CS2 – Game Mechanics
Another crucial thing that we want to point out in the CS2 guide for Valorant players is the different game mechanics. For starters, moving in CS2 is a lot faster, meaning you need to be a lot more careful when playing. Peeking is a lot easier, so you will have problems at first.
In CS2, you can also boost people to certain locations, throw mollies in specific areas, and more. We will need hours to go through everything, so we suggest taking a look at a CS2 guide for beginners.
The Guns
You’ve probably read Vandal Guides and Phantom Guides in Valorant and know that these guns are good. To be honest, after you read this CS2 guide for Valorant players, you will see that there are a lot of similarities between the two in the gun department. However, instead of spending credits, you need to use cash to buy them.
The first round in both games is also a pistol and you can also buy armor. However, there are a lot of differences, such as the fact that you can customize which guns you want to see in your buy menu in CS2. Also, CT and Ts (the two sides in Counter-Strike 2) have many differences in the weapons they can get. For example, Ts can buy an AK-47, whereas CTs can go for an M4A4 and neither can buy the other gun. There are also differences in the starting pistols.
Speaking of the AK-47, this is the Vandal in Valorant, whereas the M4A4 is the Phantom. The AWP is The Operator, but Valorant’s latest gun called the Outlaw, does not really have an equivalent in CS2 yet.
CS Guide for Valorant Players – Abilities/Nades
One thing that you may be disappointed by after reading this Valorant CS2 guide is the lack of abilities in Valve’s game. The idea behind it is to make it look as realistic as possible so you won’t find any abilities. Instead, Counter-Strike 2 allows you to buy different utilities and use them in specific ways.
The big difference in CS2 is that any player can buy as many utilities as he wants as long as he has the funds. Utilities have a very important role in the game, and they are one of the things that differentiate players. There are loads of guides about nades that you can find here, so go through them.
To make it easier to understand, here is a breakdown of the utilities:
- Smokes in CS2 are similar to Viper’s Ult
- Flashbangs are like KAY/O’s flash
- Grenades are similar to Raze’s nades
- Molotovs are the same as Brim’s mollies
Economy in CS2 vs Valorant
As mentioned in the CS2 Guide for Valorant players so far, the economy in the two games is similar but also different. Losing the first round in Counter-Strike usually means you must be Eco for the second round. However, you can try something known as a “force buy” and get a gun that will surprise your opponents.
After playing both games for many years, we believe that the CS2 economy is harder to understand. It is more complex and more punishing, especially if you are on the CT side. In CS2, it also matters what you use to kill people because some guns (and the knife) grant you a lot more cash than others.
There is also a difference in the maximum cash – 16000 for CS2 vs 9000 for Valorant.
Positions
Unlike in Valorant, where you have Duelists, Initiators, Sentinels and Initiators, in CS2, you have none of that. All players are equal because there are no abilities, but some people have distinctive roles in the game. For example, almost all teams have an AWPer (the team’s sniper user), Entry Fragger, In-Game Leader, Lurker, and Support.
In terms of each player’s position across the map, it depends on a variety of things. Since CS2 players have an equal start, it usually depends on each player’s preferences and/or the gun he is using.
CS2 skins
There are tons of other things we can talk about in this CS2 guide for Valorant players, but the skins are probably the most important part. While it is true you can find a lot of cool Valorant skins, those things are usually not in the same league as some of the most expensive CS2 skins you can get.
In CS2, you will find a lot of skins that are really expensive. In fact, some people even try to buy and sell them, so keep that in mind. People who do not want to buy a given skin right away can get a case and open the case. The latter will drop a random item,
CS2 also has stickers, which are similar to the buddies in Valorant.
Others
Aside from everything mentioned in this CS2 guide for Valorant players, it is also worth knowing that there are differences in the game modes. The best thing you can do is to start playing right away because this will allow you to learn about all of the differences between the two games.
