Change can be good, but at what cost?
CSGO’s latest update, released on November 18, shakes things up in a major way for players at any and all levels. The change comes after months of clamoring by the players, but these changes may not be what many players may have wanted. All changes are initially met with opposition by those set in their ways, but this update will undoubtedly leave the community divided.
The Update
The update itself is actually quite simple, with just a few lines describing the changes. However, the repercussions of these will echo through CSGO for the foreseeable future.
Today we’re adding Anubis to the Active Duty map pool. Dust2 has been removed. We’re also making adjustments to the M4A1-S and the AWP: https://t.co/SDjg8uaXs2 pic.twitter.com/1h6YMkw0Mb
— CS:GO (@CSGO) November 18, 2022
Anubis in, Dust 2 Out
The first change we see is the addition of Anubis to the Active Duty pool. Anubis is a fantastic map with plenty of potential, but as with any new map, pro play tends to bring out certain issues, vulnerabilities and exploits that need to be ironed out. It’s highly likely that many changes will be made to the map before it’s so much as a year old. For now, however, the freshness is absolutely welcome and we can’t wait to see how the pros play Anubis.
What is a more contentious issue is the removal of Dust 2. Since its remake/update (depending on who you ask) in April 2018 was added to the list of tournament maps, it has had its critics, but it has remained a staple of Counter-Strike itself for so long that not having it in the pool feels at least a little off. Moreover, most people in the community expected to see Mirage being taken out of the pool for a long-overdue revamp, but now it doesn’t look like it’ll be happening for at least a year.
Mirage is, by far, CSGO’s most played map — and not just because it hasn’t been taken out of the Active Duty pool since its introduction therein back in July 2014. While often seen as way too CT-sided because of its proclivity to be as such in pub games, most pros agree that it is a balanced map that’s just a little too overplayed to be fun anymore. As such, a change-up would have been both refreshing and rejuvenating for what has become a bit of a stale staple for the scene.
AWP Magazine Reduction
The last time there was this big a change for the AWP was way back in 2015, when Kenny “kennyS” Schrub essentially caused Valve to nerf the scoped movement speed of the weapon with his aggressive peeking. Now, after 7 years of dominance of all sorts of rankings by AWPers, the bolt-action rifle has been nerfed once more by having its magazine capacity cut in half.
Aside from being more akin to its Valorant knockoff, this change will certainly muddle things up for AWPers, who had previously rarely had to reload their weapons in the course of a game. Missing an AWP shot will now be more vital as the player will have to consider a reload at some point lest he run out of bullets. Another important thing to note will be the increased need for AWPers to invest in a sidearm, since they might not always have the bullets required to take closer-range fights.
M4A1-S Range Modifier
By far the most important change, the increase of damage falloff for the M4A1-S will be a welcome deviation for what has grown to be called the “CT meta.” For those annoyed by the sheer number of times someone with an M4A1-S has mowed you down from long range without much in the way of spray control, the Range Modifier of the A1-S has been reduced from 0.99 to 0.94, which means that past very close range (roughly the same as the old two-Deagle body shot), you can’t kill someone with 4 bullets from the rifle.
Not only will this put an end to the tangible CT bias that had taken control of the game over the last few months, it will also bring the M4A4 back to viability. Expect to see a lot more of that as the A1-S fades back into limited use.
Overall, it looks as though the change will take some getting used to, and will cause CSGO to both lose and gain players.
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