How to Practice Smokes in CS2?

Smoke grenades in Counter-Strike 2 are an important tactical element for defense and offense. When a CS2 smoke grenade detonates, it distracts the enemy and creates a dense veil of Smoke that limits visibility at a particular position. This allows players to move stealthily by pressing Shift, but enemies can still shoot through the Smoke to catch them, so Smoke doesn't make a player invulnerable. Smoke grenades can limit an enemy sniper's view and help you move closer to take him out.

The blix.gg team has prepared an excellent guide for mastering Smoke throws in CS2.

Highlights

• Smoke practice server in CS2
• Information about mastering smokes in CS2 and tips for practicing them

How Smoke Grenade Works in CS2

Smoke Grenade

Let's see first how the CS2 smoke grenade works. Once thrown, the grenade will only go off once it falls to the ground, bouncing several times. When the grenade explodes, it releases a dense cloud of Smoke that hides the game landscape within a radius of 5-7 meters. The Smoke dramatically reduces visibility and disorients players caught in the cloud.

The smoke effect persists for about 20 seconds, during which the players inside the cloud are practically blind. They can only orient by sounds and contours.

The Smoke has changed a lot in CS2 compared to CS:GO. 

Counter-Strike 2 Twitter has been buzzing with discussions about the innovations since the changes.

• Smokes are now 3D models that react with bullets, objects, and light. Shooting Smoke can create an opening that briefly exposes enemies.
• CT and T Smokes differ in color, which improves tactical awareness. CT smoke is blue, while T smoke resembles a dust storm.

Comparison of CS:GO and CS2 smoke

• Smoke changes appearance depending on the lighting and environment and eventually turns gray, signaling when it will dissipate. Also, Smoke spreads downward and sideways rather than just hanging in space.

For example, in the picture below, the Smoke interacts with the surroundings. The grenade was thrown near the box, and the box itself is visible.

Interaction of Smoke with the environment

And here, when the player shoots, the color of the smoke changes

Smoke reaction to light

• Valve has removed skyboxes so grenades can be thrown anywhere on the map. This means utterly new smoke strategies, even between distant objects.

Initiating Your Smoke Practice Server in CS2

Setting up a private server to practice Smoke in CS2 is the best solution for practicing grenade-throwing techniques on any map. CS2 offers several options you can customize from the start to ensure the console runs smoothly.

To do this, you need to:

• Start CS2.
• Click "Play" and then "Practice."
• Select "Casual."
• Enable advanced options: "Infinite Ammo", "Infinite Warmup," and "Grenade Camera".

Smoke practice server settings

Alternatively, enter the command "map [map name]". This will start a custom server on the map of your choice.

Once your custom server is up and running, a few console commands exist to execute.

The Best Smoke Console Commands In CS2

Below is a list of commands that will be very useful when practicing.

Command

What is does

sv_cheats 1 - Sets whether or not cheat commands are allowed on the server.

mp_startmoney 60000 - At the beginning of the game, you will receive an amount of $60000.

mp_maxmoney 60000 - Raises the maximum amount of money that you can have.

mp_buytime 1 - Both teams can buy anywhere.

sv_showimpacts 1 - The information displayed pertains to the bullet's impact and is of great value.

sv_showimpacts_time 1 - Sets the amount of display time for the information related to bullet impact.

sv_infinite_ammo 1 - It provides you with an unlimited supply of ammunition.

ammo_grenade_limit_total 5 - Sets the maximum total amount of grenades you can carry at any given time

bot_kick [name] - Kicks a bot.

mp_warmup_end - Ends the warmup.

mp_roundtime_defuse 60 - Extend the bomb defuse time to 60 minutes.

mp_respawn_on_death_ct 1 - It offers instant respawn to the CT side.

mp_respawn_on_death_t 1 - It offers instant respawn to the T side.

mp_roundtime 60 - Set the round time to 60 minutes.

mp_freezetime 0 - Permits instant movement at the start of the round.

god - Enter god mode and become immortal.

sv_gravity - Changes the gravity.

noclip - It allows you to fly.

Some commands will help you learn to throw smoke grenades more easily. They allow users to visualize the trajectory of smoke grenades and their final landing place.

sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_pipreview 1 - This command gives you a preview of where the grenade will fall.

sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_trailtime 15 - This command draws and displays the grenade's trajectory line for 15 seconds

sv_grenade_trajectory_time_spectator 15 - This command draws and displays the grenade trajectory line for 15 seconds for all players

Remember the command "sv_infinite_ammo 1" when practicing. It gives the player unlimited ammo and eliminates the need to reload.

To get rid of unnecessary Smoke, enter the command below and change KEY to the desired key that will be responsible for this action:

• bind KEY "ent_fire smokegrenade_projectile kill;ent_fire molotov_projectile kill;ent_fire flashbang_projectile kill;ent_fire hegrenade_projectile kill;ent_fire decoy_projectile kill;stopsound"

Now, you can clean up lousy Smoke with a single key.

Another important command is sv_rethrow_last_grenade, which throws the same grenade as the last time.

Practice Using Smoke Grenades

Practice Using Smoke Grenades

Once you have your training server set up, start mastering smoke grenades. Always start with the basics. Basic smoke throws lay the foundation for learning more advanced smoke strategies later.

In the past, to determine the accuracy of a throw, players usually used a bind to use a custom crosshair that made it easy.

Now, you can line up your grenades using the aiming reticle, which will do the same. You can enable this option in the game's settings and customize how long you need to hold down the check on a grenade for it to appear and whether or not your aiming reticle will appear with it. This makes throwing any grenade that requires precise aiming much more accessible.

Settings custom crosshair

But if you are a fan of the old school, it is enough to write three commands:

• alias “xhair” “cl_crosshairsize 1000000; bind l xxhair” alias “xxhair” “cl_crosshairsize 2.5; cl_crosshairgap -2.5; bind l xhair” bind l “xhair”

Console commands

Instead of l, you can write any button you like. When you press it, the sight will either increase or decrease. Note that the button must be specified in all three commands, as each sets its binding.

Consider that all alias commands are removed after a restart - you must write them again each time. You can create a separate config that will save the commands forever: go to the path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\csgo\cfg" and create a new file with any name, for example "crosshairsmoke.cfg".

Please open it and write the commands above. Then, go to the game and write the command "exec crosshairsmoke.cfg." You will need to enter it every time you enter the game.

Dust 2

Practice on Dust 2 is the perfect map for beginners to start practicing Smokes, as it is popular and will help you master the base.

By the way, the map pool has recently been updated with Dust 2. Read more in our article "CS2 April Update. Valve brings back Dust 2?".

Each map in CS2 boasts unique features and strategic points that are essential to the effective use of smoke grenades.

Vital strategic points where smoke devices can be applied include:

• Bombsites (A and B sites)
• Choke points (such as Alley and Main Lines)
• Sniper nests (like Back Lines and Connector)
• Common defensive positions (including Heaven and Hell)

Start with basic throws and select landmarks for throwing a smoke grenade.

• Left-click throw – simply press LMB while not moving;
• Right-click throw – press RMB to throw a grenade in front of you;
• Two-button throw – Press the left and right mouse buttons, then throw the grenade. This way, the grenade will not fly as far as a standard throw but not as little as a LMB throw.

Jumpthrow

There are also more complicated ways of throwing grenades, which you will have to master additionally:

• Jump (jumpthrow) - throwing a grenade in a leap. Hold LMB, jump, and release the button.
• Walk-throw - a grenade throw in motion. Hold LMB, then hold Shift (or even go without holding Shift), go forward, and then release the button.
• Crouch-jump - grenade throw in a crouch.
• Crouch-walk-jump - a combination of the previous actions.

Jumpthrow is a jump grenade throw that allows you to make a long-range spread. The script for it automates the execution of two actions and reduces the error probability.

In Counter-Strike 2, an accurate jump grenade throw binding to a single key can be configured using a configuration file. We wrote how to do this in the article Best CS2 Practice Commands and Config for 2024. Inside the file, you need to spell out the commands:

• alias “+boing” “+jump”
• alias “+ding” “-attack; -attack2”
• alias "+dong" "-jump".
• bind key “+boing; +ding; +dong”.

After starting CS2 in the console activate your config with the command exec jumpthrow.cfg.

To avoid activating your config after every game restart, you can add the required command to the CS2 startup settings via Steam: +exec jumpthrow.

Use YouTube tutorials by experienced CS2 players to make your training more effective. For example:

YouTube tutorials

Practicing with CS2 Grenade Camera

How do you use the Grenade Camera to your advantage?

First, place the desired grenade and pull the pin. The CS2 Grenade Camera will come to life and show you the grenade's exact landing spot and flight path. This visual aid is beneficial in learning to understand where your grenade will land.

With the CS2 Grenade Camera active, point the grenade at the target and release it. You can now move around walls using the "noclip" feature to test your accuracy and memorize angles. This unique angle will allow you to hone your throws and understand how grenades behave in different situations.

Simulate Real-Game Conditions

To bring the conditions on the training map closer to natural conditions, you will need to enable bots and select a difficulty level:

bot_difficulty 0 - easy;

bot_difficulty 1 - normal;

bot_difficulty 2 - difficult;

bot_difficulty 3 - expert.

Be careful: after activation, the bot's difficulty will change only in the next round. To speed up this process, you can use the command mp_restartgame 1—the round will restart within one second.

In addition, you should turn off infinite ammo and the ability to fly and put gravity as default.

Strategic Use Of Smoke

Understanding strategies for using Smoke in CS2 helps you adapt to the dynamic match environment. Consider several uses for smoke grenades.

Blocking key sightlines is the most common use of smokes, where players block crucial chokepoints or sniper nests to move safely or plant/defuse the bomb.

Creating fake executions: skilled teams use smokes to mimic an attack on one site while planning to hit the other, misleading the opponents.

Isolating opponents: smokes can split an enemy team, isolating players for easy pick-offs.

Retake and defuse: defenders can use Smoke to retake bomb sites, using the cover to defuse the bomb or apparent angles.

At the same time, simply being good at throwing smoke grenades is not enough. It would help if you were good at shooting, and our CS2 Aim Guide 2024 will help you with this.

We can immediately give some excellent tips on how to use Smoke profitably:

• Once the Smoke is up, throw an HE grenade into the Smoke. Thanks to improved physics, the explosion of the second grenade temporarily clears the Smoke.
• You are throwing smokes to imply a push or a site take while your team executes a different plan. This tactic can mislead the enemy and force rotations, creating openings elsewhere.
• You are throwing smokes to imply a push or a site take while your team executes a different plan. This tactic can mislead the enemy and force rotations, creating openings elsewhere.

Summary

We always talk about how to master a particular skill in CS2. You might also like our article How to Peek in CS2? Peeking Tips.