The player base of CS2 is rapidly growing. In the last 30 days, the game has had almost 950,000 average concurrent players and more than 1.6 million peak players. Clearly, Valve is doing a good job and things are moving in the right direction.
By the time we reach the one-year anniversary, CS2 will likely be as good as CS:GO, if not better. The only thing that’s still missing is some of the old game modes. But they too might soon be back as well.
In the latest CS2 update, Valve decided to do more than just patch the game with the goal of fixing existing bugs. This was one of those updates that could lead to significant changes in the meta, and that’s because the T-side was nerfed while the CT-side was buffed.
Important Changes
The terrorist team used to get $800 for planting the bomb, if it got defused. But now the amount is only $600. According to Valve’s patch notes, this was done to make the first round of each half less impactful.
That $200 difference may prove to be significant at the highest competitive level, especially because the CT side was simultaneously buffed.
The M4A4, one of the most used guns by the CT side, now costs $100 less than before. The price was reduced from $3100 to $3000. At the same time, the price of an incendiary grenade was reduced by $100, from $600 to $500.
This will allow the CTs to buy such grenades more frequently and potentially win more of those key rounds that tend to decide who wins the map. At IEM Dallas 2024, we will find out how big the impact of this buff really is.
The changes made by Valve to the game’s economy will probably make the CT side consider a force-buy a lot more frequently. They will also change the T-side’s approach to gaining money in the desperate rounds.
The reward for planting the bomb is now just $600. That $200 nerf adds up to $1000 for the entire team, which is the cost of several grenades.
Other Changes
An interesting change made in the latest CS2 patch has to do with the rental option offered by the Kilowatt Case. When you open it, you can now rent all of the skins apart from the Exceedingly Rare ones for one week in exchange for receiving one.
Another interesting change is the addition of the “switchhandsleft” and “switchhandsright” console commands, which allow you to move your weapon. Left-handed players will love this.
