Counter-Strike equipment

In the first-person shooter computer game Counter-Strike, at the beginning of a round each player has a certain amount of time (usually 5 seconds) to buy equipment. Equipment includes weapons, armor, and other devices. Sometimes, equipment that is exclusively for either team has a foil on the opposing team, such as the AK-47 for the Terrorists, and the M4A1 for Counter-Terrorists.

The BETA releases of Counter-Strike featured left-handed weapons models and the style has been retained through current version 1.6. In the interim, the option of flipping the model over so that it would appear right-handed has become available. However, since the weapon models are direct mirror images, the left and right side of the weapons are reversed. For instance, the forward assist and ejection port of the M4A1 carbine and the bolt and selector switch of the AK-47 appear on the left side of the gun. This is incorrect and rather absurd in reality, as right-handed (majority) users of the guns would be showered with the ejected cartridges of their weapons. It is even worse for the bolt-action rifles, since the original left-handed models incorporated a right-hand bolt, which equates to a left-hand bolt when the image is flipped to a right-handed model. The consensus is that the creator of CS, who also modeled the original CS weapons, could only model right-handed firearms as used by left-handed people. Hence, during the early beta versions of CS, the firearms were lefthanded only.

The weapons included are the same in Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, and Counter-Strike: Source, but the skins are different, as are some aspects of weapons in different versions. Hence, if one plays Source than the opinions voiced on weapons may not necessarily be accurate. When Counter-Strike for the Half-Life engine was released as a retail product, many of the firearms, save for the MAC-10 by the now-defunct Military Armament Corporation, were renamed possibly due to legal/licensing issues (e.g. the Desert Eagle .50AE was renamed the Nighthawk) or are omitted entirely (the Glock 18C is renamed the 9x19mm Sidearm). Counter-Strike: Source for the Half-Life 2 engine continues this.

Weapons in CS, as in most first-person shooter games, are not true to their real life counter parts. As a general rule of thumb in the game, a higher rate of fire and a larger round capacity a weapon has, the less damage each individual round will do, even if caliber and barrel length are equal. A fairly even playing field sometimes takes priority over making weapons true to life.

Knife

Each player starts out with a combat ka-bar knife; unlike the other weapons, the knife cannot be dropped. The knife has a fast, low-damage primary attack and a slow, high-damage secondary attack which can kill most opponents with two stabs. Since version 1.6, both attacks inflict more damage when attacking an enemy in the back. Players are able to run faster with the knife equipped than with any primary weapon other than lighter SMGs, and for this reason they are often used when rushing. Knife kills do not occur frequently and being killed by a knife-wielding player is considered one of the most embarrassing ways of dying in the game; many servers using stats plugins such as AMX Mod and StatsMe emphasise the event using the "humiliation" announcement from Unreal Tournament.

There is a form of Counter-Strike etiquette in which if there are only two remaining players and one pulls out a knife, the other player must follow suit. If the two players are far from each other, the first player may repeatedly knife the wall or ground, producing a loud knifing noise to get the other player's attention. The two will then run back and forth stabbing at each other. Using a gun to kill the player with the knife will usually result in the shooter being criticized by other players or even kicked or banned from the server.

Handguns/Pistols

GLOCK 18C

Alternate name: 9x19mm Sidearm

The GLOCK 18C Select Fire 9mm is the pistol Terrorists (Ts) spawn with. It costs $400, has 20-round 9mm magazines, and can be fired in either semi-automatic or burst mode, which fires three shots rapidly. Burst fire is typically most effective from close range. Semi-automatic can take a long time to finely tune to make it a usable weapon, especially when facing USPs (the default CT weapon).

Advantages of the GLOCK include its large magazine size, fast rate of fire, semi-auto/burst fire choices, ability to stay semi-accurate while player is in the air and low recoil. Disadvantages of the GLOCK include it's meagre power and the fact that it is not accurate at anything other that close to medium range. The GLOCK has been in CS since BETA 1.0.

Note: A Glock18 in real life is either semi-automatic or full-automatic; there is no burst fire. The three-shot burst was given so that players could not have a 20-shot machine pistol as a secondary weapon. Also, a glock is highly accurate, and is somewhat nerfed in the game.

H&K USP .45 Tactical

Alternate name: K&M .45 Tactical

The Heckler & Koch .45 USP Tactical is the pistol Counter-Terrorists (CTs) spawn with. It costs $500, has 12-round .45 ACP magazines, and has an optional silencer (although using this slightly reduces accuracy and damage). Advantages of the USP include its high accuracy and power. Disadvantages include an average amount of ammo (12 rounds per magazine) and more recoil than some of the other pistols. The USP has been in CS since BETA 1.0.

Desert Eagle ("Deagle")

Screenshot from a player using a Desert Eagle

Alternate name: Night Hawk .50C

The IMI Desert Eagle .50 AE, nicknamed "Deagle" by players, has the most raw power of any pistol in the game. It costs $650 and has 7-round magazines of .50 Action Express. It is the only pistol with the capability to shoot through walls like rifles. Advantages of the Desert Eagle include the power of its .50 round, and the ability to shoot through walls. Disadvantages include its small ammo capacity (7 rounds with 35 in reserve), the fact that it will sometimes be wildly inaccurate, and its price (the Desert Eagle is the third most expensive pistol in the game.)

SIG P228

Alternate name: 228 Compact

The SIG .357 P228 costs $600 and uses 13-round magazines of .357SIG ammo. It is moderately powerful and highly accurate. Its rate of fire is faster than that of most other pistols allowing the user to get off more shots than an opposing player. Even so it is one of the least used pistols in the game. Many players use the P228 simply to be different from other players. The P228 was added in BETA 4.0.

Dual Berreta 96G Elites ("Dualies")

Alternate name: .40 Dual Elites

The dual Beretta 96G Elite 40 S&Ws is a pair of pistols that can be wielded akimbo (one in each hand) and is only available to the Terrorist team. They cost $800 and each gun has a 15-round magazine of 9mm ammo, despite the fact that the real Beretta 96G are chambered in .40 S&W, a different round from the 9mm Luger. Advantages of this gun include its fun factor, fast rate of fire, and appealing aesthetics. Disadvantages include a long, if aesthetically pleasing, reload time and inaccuracy due to recoil and only using one hand to fire the gun. The Dualies were added in BETA 7.0 after overwhelming fan support for it, despite the creator's original intention to not include it.

FN Five-seveN

Alternate name: ES Five-Seven

The Fabrique Nationale Five-seveN is only available to the Counter-Terrorist team. It costs $750 and uses 20-round magazines of 5.7mm ammo. Advantages of this gun include its high accuracy and large, 20-round magazines. The Five-SeveN has very little power per round however, sometimes requiring 3 or more shots to the head to kill an opponent, that combined with its high cost means that it is rarely used. Sometimes it is used by advanced players as a way of showing off, similar to killing another player with a knife, although not considered anywhere near as embarrassing. The Five-seveN was added in Counter-Strike 1.0.

Shotguns

Shotguns are reloaded one shell at a time and can be fired while reloading. Unlike other guns, shotgun accuracy is the same regardless of whether the player is moving, jumping, or crouching, which although very unrealistic, adds a great amount of fun in using a shotgun, and therefore attracts more users.

Benelli M3 ("pump action")

Alternate name: Leone 12 Gauge Super

The Benelli M3 Super 90 Combat is round-for-round the more powerful of the two shotguns. It costs $1700 and holds 8 rounds of 12 gauge shells. The M3 is a pump-action weapon that is pumped after each shot to advance the next shell (hence the nickname "pump shottie"). The main advantage of the M3 is its high damage that can kill with one shot at close-range. Its disadvantages include its pump time and the need for precise timing and aim. Some have also complained that the default M3 model's reload animation obscures what one can see in front. The M3 has been in Counter-Strike since BETA 1.

Benelli XM1014 ("auto shottie")

Alternate name: Leone YG1265 Auto Shotgun

The Benelli XM1014 is a semi-automatic shotgun. It costs $3000 and holds 7 12-gauge shells. The XM1014 has a high rate of fire, but it empties quickly and each shot does less damage than the M3. As a semi-automatic it requires neither timing nor the accuracy of the M3, which is why some have derisively nicknamed it the "noob cannon" (a name also applied to the AWP at times) and also the "newbie blaster". This is because most new or less skilled players to the game often find it the best weapon for killing other players. The XM1014 was added to Counter-Strike in BETA 5.0 (December 1999). It is to be noted that although CS players common refer to it as the 'auto-shottie', it is NOT an automatic shotgun. An example of an autmatic shotgun is the Pancor Jackhammer.

Note that the internal name of the auto-shotty is weapon_xm1014. At the time CS was first created, the XM1014 was an experimental semi-automatic shotgun being tested by the USMC. It is now known as the Benelli M4 Super 90.

Submachine guns/Automatics

MP5

Alternate name: K&M Submachine Gun

The Heckler & Koch MP5 9mm Navy costs $1500 and has 30-round magazines of 9mm Parabellum ammo. The MP5 is one of the most widely used weapons in game because it is fairly accurate, cheap, and easy to control. The MP5 has been in CS since BETA 1.0. Although it is chambered in the same ammunition calibre as a Glock18, TMP, or the Dulies, it deals significantly more damage.

TMP

Alternate name: Schmidt Machine Pistol

The Steyr TMP 9mm is a gun exclusive to the Counter-Terrorist team. It costs $1250 and has 30-round magazines of 9mm Parabellum ammo. It is the cheapest fully automatic gun and has a high rate of fire, as well as a silencer. The TMP lacks power and is poor beyond close range. Its bullet caliber is the same as the MP5, but due to balancing and the unremovable silencer (which is a bit strange and useless) it deals very little damage. The TMP has been in CS since BETA 1.0.

P90

Alternate name: ES C90

The Fabrique Nationale P90 .57 is an SMG that uses a large clip. At $2350 it is the most expensive SMG and uses 50-round clips of 5.7mm ammo (which is kevlar penetrating, but the makers didn't add that advantage in). The large clip is an advantage in longer shootouts. The P90 has poor accuracy though and is best at closer ranges. The P90 was added in BETA 3.0.

MAC-10

No alternate name

The Ingram MAC-10 .45acp is a Terrorist-only gun. It costs $1400 and has 30-round magazines of .45 ACP ammo. The MAC-10 is not difficult to control even when going fully automatic. Like the TMP, it is best at close range. The MAC-10 was added in BETA 6.0.

UMP45

Alternate name: K&M UMP45

The Heckler & Koch UMP45 .45acp is like a higher power version of the MP5. It costs $1700 and has 25-round clips of .45 ACP ammo. Its rate of fire is slow, so it can't keep up with other sub-machineguns like the MP5. But this also helps reduce recoil, so it is one of the steadiest SMGs. The UMP45 was added in Counter-Strike 1.0.

Rifles

In CS:S, all rifles can shoot through thin objects and crates and damage things on the other side. In CS 1.6, all rifles can pierce up to 3 objects/walls.

Galil

Alternate name: Defender

The IMI Galil 5.56 is a cheap Terrorist-only counterpart of the CT's FAMAS. It costs $2000 and has 35-round magazines of 5.56x45mm ammo (same as M4A1, but for some reason much weaker). It is a good gun when money is tight as it has a slightly larger magazine than most rifles. The benefit of using the Galil is that it has the recoil of a submachine gun but has the stopping power of a rifle. The Galil was added in Counter-Strike 1.6.

AK-47

Alternate name: CV-47

The AK-47 7.62 is a Terrorist-only rifle and the most popular gun for Ts. It costs $2500 and has 30 rounds of 7.62x51mm ammo (though in real life, it uses 7.62x39mm). The AK-47 is slightly more powerful than and the first shot is more accurate than the CT's M4A1; also it reloads the quickest of any rifle. The AK-47 is arguably the best rifle in the game; however, its erratic recoil combined with low accuracy when fired full-auto makes it a poor choice for inexperienced players. Good players learn to shoot in controlled bursts while dragging down on their mouse to negate the upwards recoil. The AK-47 was added in BETA 2.0.

SIG-552

Alternate name: Krieg 552 Commando

The SIG SG-552 5.56 Commando is the Terrorist-only counter-part of the CT's AUG. It costs $3500 and has 30-round magazines of 5.56x45mm ammo. The secondary fire activates its 2x scope, improving its longer range effectiveness but reducing its rate of fire. The SIG-552 was added in BETA 2.0.

FAMAS

Alternate name: Clarion 5.56

GIAT Industries' FAMAS 5.56 is a cheap rifle exclusive to the Counter-Terrorists, similar in role to the Galil. It costs $2250 and has 25-round clips of 5.56x45mm ammo (once again, same as the M4, but much weaker). Secondary fire toggles between fully automatic and 3-round burst mode. The FAMAS is not very powerful, but 3-round bursts give it an accurate punch at short range (similar to the GLOCK), as the burst has no recoil (which is unrealistic, because the only gun that is able to do that is the H&K G11). The FAMAS was added in Counter-Strike 1.6.

Colt M4A1

Alternate name: Maverick M4A1

The Colt M4A1 Carbine (usually just called "Colt" or "M4") is exclusive to the Counter-Terrorists and is a favorite of the CTs. It costs $3100 and has 30-round magazines of 5.56x45mm ammo. Secondary fire adds or removes a silencer. The Colt is accurate, controllable, and powerful; indeed, it is perhaps the most-well rounded and forgiving rifle in the game. It formerly had a scope, but it was removed since it was generally believed that it made the Colt a decent sniper rifle in addition to its dominance in close and medium ranges. It is to be noted that for some reason, the M4 doesn't have much side-to-side recoil, which makes it the most advantageous rifle in the game. The Colt has been in CS since BETA 1.0.

AUG

Alternate name: Bullpup

The Steyr Daimler Puch AUG 5.56 is scoped rifle for the Counter-Terrorists. It costs $3500 and has a 30-round magazine of 5.56x45mm ammo. The secondary fire button activates its 1.4x scope and reduces its rate of fire. It is slightly more accurate than the M4A1 but is comparably more expensive. When unzoomed, the AUG seems to be slightly more accurate when firing one round at a time, but less accurate when attempting to fire many rounds semi-automatically than its Terrorist counter-part, the SG-552 Commando. The AUG was added in BETA 6.0.

Scout

Alternate name: Schmidt Scout

The Steyr Daimler Puch Scout Sniper Rifle is the least powerful and cheapest sniper gun. It costs $2750 and has 10-round magazines of 7.62x51mm ammo. The secondary fire activates its 2-10x scope. In 1.6, the Scout is a light gun that will only kill with one shot with a direct hit to the head, but it was made more powerful in CS:Source, where center-mass body shots will sometimes kill with one round. The Scout's main advantages over its much more powerful counter-part, the Arctic Warfare Magnum (below), is that it is almost completely inaudible at medium ranges and further and that it does not cripple the player's running speed. In 1.6, the Scout is considered by some to be a more elegant precision weapon, where as in CS:Source, accuracy has become less important. It is arguably the true sniper rifle of CS, as it takes time, skill and practice to use it correctly. Moreover, since it is light, the player can move swiftly with it unlike the AWP, and is quite accurate unscoped. The Scout was added in BETA 4.0.

Arctic Warfare Magnum

Alternate name: Magnum Sniper Rifle

The Accuracy International AWM (or mislabeled as "AWP"; the last letters denote "Military" and "Police", respectively, although is is impratical for police to use such a beast of a gun) is the most powerful sniper rifle. It costs $4750 and uses 10-round magazines of .338 Lapua ammo. Secondary fire enables its 2-10x scope. It is highly accurate while standing still and usually kills with one shot. The AWP is highly inaccurate when not zoomed in and dramatically slows the player's running speed. It has been in CS since BETA 1.0.

In the culture of Counter-Strike, "AWP whore" is online vernacular for one who accumulates kills with the AWM sniper rifle. The AWP delivers one-shot kills to all parts of the body except the legs, which some players criticize as making it overpowered and easy to use. The drawback is that it has a slow rate of fire, causes the person carrying it to move more slowly, and that the player must use its zoom function to have any accuracy. Although its balance is debated, most Counter-Strike players agree that the AWP requires just as much skill to use as other major guns in the game (M4A1 and AK-47), and is balanced by its drawbacks. To dominate a game with the AWP requires the player to move effectively, scope quickly, and have good aim. It is used sparingly in matches and in professional competitions — usually one or two players on a team of 5 will use the AWM, while the other three use M4A1s or AK-47s. However, one can argue that because CS calculates running speed by the weapon held, and not total weight, the weight should be no problem to any player.

The AWM is no longer as powerful as it once was. The AWM was the most powerful in version 1.1 of the game, when one shot to any part of the body was an instant kill. Later updates reduced its effectiveness: 1.3 made the leg shot non-lethal: 1.5 made it so that the AWM and pistol could not be pulled out as fast, as well as making the AWM extremely inaccurate without the scope, crippling the AWM's in close-quarters; 1.6 dramatically increased the time for the scope of the AWM, which was criticized as making it nearly worthless. The latest update to Counter-Strike, removed some of the "scope time" and restored the AWP to some of its former glory.

G3/SG-1

Alternate name: D3/AU-1 Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle

The Heckler and Koch G3/SG-1 Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle is the Terrorist-only auto sniper gun. It costs an impressive $5000 and has 20-round magazines of 7.62x51mm ammo. The secondary fire activates its 2-10x scope. It is similar in power to the Scout, able to kill within 2 shots, with the difference that the G3SG1 is semi-automatic. In version 1.6 the recoil of the rifle was reduced, allowing players to make kills at almost any range with relative ease. Players who accumulate kills with this weapon by camping in the same spot and shooting away at anything often earn themselves the title "auto sniper noob", since it requires relatively little skill to hit anything. The G3 has a smaller clip of its Counter-Terrorist counterpart, but packs a more powerful punch. The G3 was added in Counter-Strike 1.0.

SG-550

Alternate name: Krieg 550 Commando

The SIG SG-550 Sniper Rifle is the Counter-Terrorist auto sniper gun. It costs $4200 and has 30-round magazines of 5.56x45mm ammo. Secondary fire activates its 2-10x scope. It is like the G3, but less accurate. It can kill in 2 shots, like the G3, but is often so innacurate that is appears to take 3 to kill. The SG-550's accuracy was also increased in 1.6, leading to similar "auto sniper noob" situations as is the case with the G3-SG1, though less often. The SG-550 was added in Counter-Strike 1.0. There was a time where the terrorist only had an 'autosniper', this was actually added in a later version than when the terrorist autosniper was around.

M249

Alternate name: ES M249 Para

The Fabrique Nationale M249 5.56 PARA is the only machine gun and the most expensive item in the game. It costs $5750 and is fed by 100-round belts that require several seconds to reload. The M249 is hard to control at fully automatic. It has far more rounds in a single magazines than any other gun in the game and works well at providing covering fire and at clearing out rooms. Contrary to popular belief, the M249 is actually fairly accurate when used in single or burst fire. In reality, the M249 is quite controllable, as it is heavy but still chambered in the same caliber as the M4. It has been in CS since BETA 1.0.

Miscellaneous

Kevlar armor / helmet: Kevlar body armor costs $650 and offers some protection from bullets and HE grenades. Players can also buy kevlar armor with a helmet for $1000 that saves players from one-shot kills to the head by most weapons. It is to be noted that FN57 ammunition (used in the Five SeveN and P90) is designed to pierce kevlar in real life, but doesn't in CS.

Flashbang: Flashbang grenades cost $200 and a player can carry two of them. Players near or facing a detonating flashbang grenade will have their screen turn white (in CS:S, sound will also turn off) for several seconds, providing a moment for attackers to overtake the disoriented players. Players on public servers often use flashbangs inappropriately, flashing their own team either intentionally or because of inexperience. This is called "teamflashing".

HE grenade: The HE (High Explosive) grenade costs $300 and a player can only carry one at a time. HE grenades typically do about 1-92 points of damage to un-armored opponents at the point of explosion and 1-50 points of damamge to armored opponents. Great for softening enemies, finishing off wounded or scaring ambushers. A much frowned-upon tactic called "[gre]nade spamming" is to stand in a buy zone and throw grenades at any place the enemy may come from, then buy a new grenade and throw it again. The result is a rain of grenades that doesn't stop until the player runs out of money to buy the grenades, or the buy time ends. When friendly-fire is off, the grenade can still injure or kill you if mis-thrown, but it won't injure your teammates. HE grenades were added in BETA 4.0. In Counter-Strike:Source the power of the grenade has increased, while in contrast, is no longer effective through walls and other objects. A rare occurrence, but always a sight to see, is the grenade headshot.

Smoke grenade: The Smoke grenade costs $300 and a player can only carry one at a time. Smoke creates a distraction and can provide cover in the vicinity. The smoke grenade was added in BETA 6.5. In CS 1.6, the smoke grenade was notably improved by making its smoke more dense and with a much faster smoke dispersion. It is also used to increase the 'lag' in the game, causing other players to be unable to act quickly.

Defuse kit: The defuse kit is for the Counter-Terrorists on bomb defuse maps and costs $200. It halves the time required to defuse the bomb (4 seconds instead of the usual 8). Defuse kits were added in BETA 5.0 (the defusion scenario was added in BETA 4.0).

Night vision goggles: Night vision goggles (NVG) cost $1250. They allow the wearer to see in total darkness. Taking NVG on and off makes a distinct sound that your enemies can hear. In normal light, the goggles can make things difficult to see. Many skilled players regard the goggles as completely useless. NVG was added in BETA 2.0, later removed, and then re-added in BETA 6.0.

Tactical shield: The tactical shield is for the Counter-Terrorists only and costs $2200. When deployed, the player is invulnerable to attacks from the front (except for shots to the feet), but suffers a movement penalty and cannot shoot. When not deployed it hangs off to the side offering less protection, but allows you to shoot. This item can only be used with pistols (except for the dual berettas). The tactical shield was added in version 1.6 but removed for Counter Strike: Source, as it is often used by players to become almost invulnerable when hiding in hard-to-reach spaces. There were also many bugs with the shield that would allow players to use a rifle or SMG with it. Skilled shielders in 1.6 also often attempt to distract enemy snipers by activating the shield and charging their positions with their invulnerability; allowing friendly snipers to pick off the enemy snipers. These players typically earn themselves the title "shield noob".

External links

Counter-Strike weapons (http://www.bosskey.net/cs/weapons.html)
Counter-Strike equipment (http://www.bosskey.net/cs/equipment.html)
Counter-Strike Weapon and equipment information, including the 1.6 additions (http://www.csnation.net/view.php/csinfo/weapons.csn)

Counter Strike DL - CS Skins and CS Source Skins (http://www.counter-strike-dl.com) includes a number of models known as "skins" that can be downloaded. These typically improve the visual appearance of weapons, equipment and players to more closely mimick their real-life counterparts. Other than offering more realistic sprites and models, these "skins" do not affect gameplay.

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Categories: Counter-Strike