The Best Spots To Nadestack In CS:GO

Nadestacking can be considered the lost - and since kind of rediscovered - art of dealing out damage in CS:GO, especially since they have the potential to kill an enemy before the round has properly started and the enemy team has caught a glimpse of you. Props to Astralis for finding ways to utilize the HE grenade up to a point that they've been thoroughly analysed for their usage of said grenade, thus popularising the more complex usage of HE grenades - something we won't focus on today since we will look at nadestacks that are rather easy, simple to use, and easy to determine the timing of their usage, on both the round timing and the game timing.

Before we get to the actual nadestacks, let's have a look at the damage values of HE grenades: According to counterstrike.wikia.com, the actual damage output of an HE can get up to 98 on unarmoured and to 57 on armoured, giving an HE the possibility to kill you if they bounce off of you before exploding right in your face, if you are unarmored. This also means that two well placed HEs, no matter if you have armour or not, can kill you. Now, what do we make of that information?

Firstly, I'd say that HEs appear to be a rather safe way to attempt to suffocate any chance a full-eco had at winning the round before they even started to set-up. If that is worth it to completely throw out the possibility to farm money with an SMG or shotgun, however, is your call. Secondly, the chance of killing a player or more with three well placed HEs appears to be exceptionally good. Keep this in mind as I show you the best places to nadestack. Thirdly, although it is desirable to kill players with your nadestacks, some of them may be used to get a bunch of enemies so low that only a few bullets are now needed to shut down or open up the round.

T-Side
Inferno: Top Mid

Some teams and players like to get an aggressive peek into Mid, relying on their AWP, USP (in pistol rounds), or their strong aim to get an early advantage in the round, and one way to counter this is to throw a big batch of damage into their face until they stop.

Doing this with three or more players in total will almost certainly provide you with an early advantage, given that the enemy team likes to get a peek in from Top Mid or likes to have a player cross Mid in order to get into Apps. This nadestack can also help you against a five-player eco push down Mid, killing or severely injuring multiple CTs.

Inferno: Corner at Top Banana

AWPers positioned at this location can really get on your nerves, being annoying with their first-pick potential even after they've been flashed off due to the timing of their shots. A well-placed nadestack can really stop the CTs from using this position too much.

In general, it is okay to throw a grenade in the general direction of the Corner, but if you want to ensure that it explodes right in their faces, I'd attempt to find the sweet spots around and behind the wood at Tree in Banana. Also, listen closely, since the scope of the AWP can give you a sound cue that will allow you to predict the enemies position, making you use the nadestack more efficiently (without wasting HEs for nothing).

Overpass: Mid/A-Short

Like the nadestack above, this one also isn't so much an aggressive nadestack from the Ts but rather an almost defensive play to ensure that the enemies can't attempt an early aggression pick in Mid without getting punished.

If you want the maximum damage output of your grenades, I found it to be useful to bounce the HE off of the left wall in Mid, off the small cube-like structure between Mid, Fountain and Balloons. Doing this with the other two A players in your default ensures that the CTs will feel a bit more boxed-in since you won't allow them to get a peek in early from Mid without constantly taking huge chunks of damage.

Overpass: Toxic

Although a lot of teams will just molly off Toxic, coordinating a nadestack onto that position will, in case a CT plays there, grant you a kill should all three grenades hit their mark. This is especially useful when the CTs are giving you B-Short control and/or play good, non-aggressive crossfires that are hard to break without a man advantage.

Since this can grant you a kill for basically free, if you are careful about setting the nadestack up, your enemies will start to think twice about playing Toxic, a very strong and annoying defensive position, for the entirety of the game.

Train: Popdog

Similarly to the Toxic nadestack, nadestacking Popdog can grant you similar results on all fronts: you will get a kill for basically free while making a strong position dangerous to hold for your enemies.

However, nading Popdog isn't quite as easy as it could be: Place yourself above Popdog and aim towards the ground before you run and throw your grenade to have it bounce against the wall in Popdog, helping you get the angle right, especially since a bit of roof in Popdog is lowered so that bad nades bounce right back against the wall, missing their enemy by a big margin. If you have trouble coordinating an everyone-at-once nadestack, get three people to nade after each other. This, however, will certainly only work once every match.

Mirage: Window

Window is probably the most consistently played position in all of Mirage if you do not take the whole of Apps or A as a single position. If you practice nadestacking Window with your team, you will be more versatile with your opening picks on the T-side of Mirage rather easily.

Since the CTs will almost always position someone in Window, you can throw a default Top Mid smoke from T-Spawn to not to allow the enemy in Window to kill one of you when you get ready to throw your grenades. After you've gathered behind the smoke, throw your HEs into Window and enjoy your (almost) risk-free kill. If you vary your timing, you will be more likely to catch the Window player off-guard, allowing him to build a false sense of security before you strike later than in previous rounds.

CT-side:
Inferno: Banana

Everyone does it, but it almost always fails because people do not synchronize their throws. Basically, it almost doesn't matter when you throw your HE, you will pretty much always deal damage to your enemy. What does matter, however, is the synchronization of the throw so that, if you hit the mark, you will almost certainly deal damage to multiple opponents compared to just one. If you do not synchronize your HE-grenade usage, you will be more likely to give the enemy time to dodge the second or third grenade.

That being said, here is a rule of thumb to almost always hit an enemy, given that they do try to get into Banana before the one minute mark: If you throw your nade early, aim for the lower end of Banana. If you wait a few moments, bounce it off of the wall to the right. If you wait a bit longer, you can either target Tree (the lobe on the right side of Banana from your point of view) or right behind Wallbang, dealing significant damage to hiding Ts.

Mirage: A-Main

It happens to the best of us. The enemies are on a roll and are just rushing out of A-Main with one or two flashes and they one tap both A players almost instantly, taking advantage of their momentum. To stop this dead in its tracks, given that the enemies will rush A-Main again, simply nadestack A-Main with two or three players to get a good chance of killing at least one T.

To properly throw the HEs, wait until you have passed Triplebox before throwing your nade, ensuring that your nade won't come short of its intended target in A-Main. Also, bounce the HE off the left wall in A-Main, since that will change the trajectory in a way that it will deal more damage to rushing Ts.

Cache: Garage

Similarly to the A-Main situation on Mirage, Mid can spiral out of your team's control almost instantly every round. To stop this, nadestack Garage after crossing the imaginary line drawn from Sandbags to Whitebox. Given that the Ts with the best spawns will be able to see you just after you've thrown your three HEs, he will most likely die before or as he gets a kill.

Since the Ts won't have their best spawns every round, you are much more likely to get a free kill. However, be sure to not to give the advantage away by staying in Mid. Three guys in Mid means that there either is a bombsite without any CT guarding it or both are weak with only one player around to halt the other four Ts. Be sure to give instructions to your teammates instantly or before the round to rotate to A and B after the nadestack.

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