CS:GO Load-out debates: CZ-75 AUTO VS. P250

This is the last article in a series of three, if you wish to read the M4a1 VS. M4a4 debate, click HERE, if you wish to read the USP-S VS. P2000 debate, click HERE.

Of the three weapon choices players are given, I would argue that this is the hardest one to decide simply because the P250 and the CZ-75 are two entirely different weapons that almost serve two separate purposes. The biggest difference of course being the fact that the CZ-75 is an automatic weapon, whereas the P250 is semi-automatic. This weapon decision is the first of which affects both teams as the CZ-75 is available for both Terrorists and Counter-terrorists.

The P250 appears to be a replacement to the P228 which appeared in Counter-strike 1.6 and Counter-strike: Source. The P250 has been in the game since Counter-strike: Global Offensive's launch and was by far the most used pistol when it came to eco rounds, as the deadly one-shot headshots provided an easy opportunity to steal a gun off of an armed opponent and then save it or try and win the round with it. Then came the CZ-75 on the 12th February 2014, at first people were skeptical and complained about how the new addition to the arsenal would ruin the game, but then it became a widely used weapon, more so than the P250, but this was prior to the nerf of the CZ-75. The decision between these two pistols is crucial as it can be the difference between winning or losing your eco rounds, with both weapons holding advantages over the other and being more practical in different situations.

 

The difficulty in choosing from the P250 or CZ-75 comes from the fact that Counter-strike is a very dynamic game and situations can be impossible to predict, including things such as not knowing your enemies playstyle which means you will struggle to counter-act them. I know a lot of people that use the AWP love the idea of having an automatic secondary weapon for when a situation becomes close quarters and they don't want to risk missing an AWP shot and potentially getting themselves killed, and so carry the trusty CZ-75.

I think that the deciding factor for the choice with these two weapons is that people see "Automatic pistol" and think that it is automatically better than a semi-automatic pistol, and those people are correct to an extent. The CZ-75 is immensley powerful and should never be underestimated as just another pistol when it comes to close-quarters encounters. However the P250 has enough ammo to be able to constantly fire and even land a lucky headshot at long range, meaning that one more bodyshot will kill that person, which could result in a free gun or a round win.

Accuracy:

(P250 on the left, CZ75 on the right of the individual pictures, with the left picture being a comparison of CZ75 automatic vs P250 clicking as fast a possible, with the right picture being single clicking)

As you can see the CZ-75 is far less accurate than the P250 while firing fully automatic, whereas single firing the P250 is still more accurate, but only by a little.

Ammo + Magazine size:

The CZ-75 has a lower magazine count AND only a total bullet count of 24, making it the pistol with the least amount of ammo in the game, whereas the P250 has 65. This ammo is important as the extra 41 bullets in the P250 can ensure and extra couple of kills. I personally find it hard to get more than 3 kills with a CZ-75 without using up all the ammo, whereas I have bagged myself a couple of aces using the P250 because the ammo allows players to do so. The CZ-75 has a magazine size of 12 whereas the the P250 has 13, while this one bullet can feel like very little, it can mean one extra headshot which could lead to you getting your hand on a gun, which could lead you to winning the round.

Damage:

Body Part:	Unarmored:	Armored:
Head	140	108
Chest	35	27
Stomach	43	33
Leg	26	26

The damage of both weapons is identical, with the CZ-75 appearing to just be an automatic version of the P250 with less accuracy, less ammo and having automatic capabilities.

Rate of fire:

With the CZ-75 being automatic, it is clearly the winner here as it fires at 600 RPM, whereas the P250 fires at 200 less of that, with 400 RPM. The CZ-75 has the highest firing rate of all the pistols (Excluding the glock burst fire). Given the fact that the CZ-75 is automatic, that makes it better than the P250 indefinitely at close quarters as players using it only have to land one headshot in order to make a kill, but can spray and pray in order to do this. This is the main disadvantage for the P250 against the CZ-75.

Reload speed:

The P250 has a reload speed of 2.5 seconds, whereas the CZ-75 has a reload speed of 2.9 seconds, whilst this may seem insignificant, when you are being rushed by 5 Terrorists/Counter-terrorists with assault rifles, you will be forced to reload and that .4 second difference could be the difference between you grabbing a rifle or you dying and losing the round. The reload speed is also important to take into account when using the weapons as secondaries, especially when your primary is an AWP. A slower reload speed has more chance of getting you killed.

Summary:

Accuracy: P250 - CZ75
Ammo: P250 - CZ75
Damage: P250 - CZ75
Magazine size: P250 – CZ75
Price: P250 – CZ75
Rate of fire: P250 - CZ75
Reload speed: P250 – CZ75

As these pistols are viable for both CT's and T's, it means that the implications of the statistics vary for each team, for example the automatic advantage of the CZ-75 is more advantageous on the CT side when holding a tight angle such as Short A on de_dust 2 because you will always be guaranteed atleast a kill or two. However a CZ-75 in the T's hands can also be very punshing when they rush locations that are tight and you don't expect it, such as a 5-man rush ramp on de_nuke.

With a couple of CZ-75's in a ramp push you will almost always kill the CT's holding as it's almost the equivelent of a rifle with a reduced effective range. Despite this I still personally find the P250 better on T as the CT's will likely be peaking you and you need to either supress them or make the shot, both of which are difficult to do with the CZ-75 without running out of ammo almost instantly.

The amount of green in favour of the P250 would indicate that it is the better weapon, but as I've said, it is an entirely personal and situational decision. As with the M4A4/M4A1 or USP/P2000, it always comes down to personal preference and the weapon you feel like you perform best with, if you can make the kills consistently with the CZ-75 and grab a rifle nearly every eco round or if you use the AWP and like to be comfortable holding onto an automatic secondary then use the CZ75. But if you have difficulty with things like ammo conversation with the CZ-75 and rarely make kills then I would advise switching to the P250 and learning to use that pistol as it is worth it in the long run. As always leave comments stating which is your favourite and why!