Setting up a Terrorist Default

Why use a Default?

Rushing a site seems to be the most appealing approach to the Terrorist side; being able to push with 5 of your own members into a site that might only contain 2-3 Counter-Terrorists is incredibly tempting. However, generally this isn't the strongest plan of action. There are number of ways the CTs can thwart your rush. If you enter the site too early, then preemptively thrown grenades will destroy your team and slow your push considerably. If you decide to delay your push then you run the risk of being flanked by the opposition from various angles that aren't currently being watched or walking into a stacked bombsite.  

This is why a 'default' is considered the strongest terrorist strategy. All professional teams, including our own team, run defaults on all maps, with various alterations upon the strategy depending on a multitude of factors such as the economy of the opposing team and their general playstyles.

A default is a broad term that defines the 'default' style of play of a Terrorist team as they leave spawn. Defaults generally cover a number of bases, a default will almost always have Terrorists holding every angle that a Counter-Terrorist could push aggressively, with the more popular and widely used aggressive areas covered by two or more Terrorists. This allows you to play the round at the pace which you dictate, being able to punish impatient Counter-Terrorists and to gain information before your push to plant the bomb.

Using a default efficiently can easily net you one or two kills before executing onto any site by holding angles that heavily favour you such as ones in which the Counter-Terrorists have to push into.

Positions in a Dust 2 Default;

Immediately out of Terrorist spawn you should strive to take as much map control as possible without allowing any CT's to slip through the gaps. A general Dust 2 setup sends 3 people into Tunnels, two going to lower Tunnels into mid and one holding outside of Upper Tunnels for a Counter-Terrorist push from B. The remaining 2 players wait outside of Long for a Long push and have a crucial role in throwing grenades for X-Box or Long Corner, depending on where the team wishes to advance in the late round scenario.

How to smoke X-Box from outside Long: 

If nothing happens, you do not immediately group and rush to a site, you use your current map control to push into "contested" zones. These zones aren't the sites that are being held but instead forward map positions that can be used as a staging area for your push. Two common examples of 'staging' areas are A-Short on Dust 2 and Bathrooms and/or Water on Overpass.

These contested zones may include a Counter-Terrorist, as they generally have the timings to be able to get there and set up before you can. Effective use of flashbangs, smoke grenades and molotovs can push them out of these positions or get your team an early frag. As a rule of thumb, only one contested zone should be taken at a time, leaving one player within the zone to lurk if you decide to re-route your attack elsewhere.

To take short, one of your players outside long should throw an X-Box smoke. At the same time a player in Lower Tunnels should throw a mid smoke. This combination completely blocks off the vision of the Mid player peering into Short and allows you to get up Short. Two flashbangs should be expended, one through the mid smoke deep into CT-Mid and the other to flash anyone holding Stairs or Corner on Short, allowing you full Short control.

Depending on how the kills go and the feel of the map you can either progress into a Mid to B split or a split onto the A site, splitting A usually puts 3 players onto short and 2 onto long, while splitting B should be done with 3 players in mid and 2 going through Upper Tunnels onto site.

Lurking in a Default

Additionally, a default can be adapted via the use of a lurker, when a player is "lurking" they will not join up with the rest of the team to engage onto the designated site, but will instead push around the holes left by rotating CT's and attack them from their flank, catching them unaware and making post plant situations much easier. A good example of this is on Dust 2, where instead of pushing through onto A site with the team, a lurker can wait at top of Middle or by CT Doors to cut off any Counter Terrorists attempting to retake via Short or CT Spawn.

In conclusion, a default is an incredibly strong asset to bring into any team and can wear enemies out of utility or patience as you gradually gain map control. The key to utilizing a default to its full potential is to take your time and have all players know their role in controlling the map. When your default comes to a close and you finally execute onto a site, your opponents should be weakened and your avenue of attack should be significantly easier, allowing you to steamroll onto the site in force.

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