CSGO Warming up techniques

Introduction

As a swimmer I can tell you how important warming up is, if I jumped in and raced without hopping in the water and knocking off a kilometer of various drills and activities I wouldn’t race well and I’d be likely to have an injury. Whilst you may be unlikely to injure yourself by jumping in and playing a competitive game of counterstrike, it still stands that to play well you should warm up making sure your muscle memory is in place and your visual reactions are up to scratch. As such I would briefly like to touch on the ways I like to warm up and ensure that when I hop in I’m ready to play resulting in better results and less stress for myself and my team.

Deathmatch

It’s been harped on again and again but that’s because it works, deathmatch may be the home of bad spawns, invulnerability and ‘filthy casuals’ but it’s also one of your best shots at warming up. What many people don’t consider is going beyond the basic valve 64 tick deathmatch servers and using the server browser where there is a wealth of different deathmatch environments to hone your skills. Here you’ll have access to free 128 tickrate servers with a variety of options such as pistol only, headshot only, rifle and more with communities of consistent users you can meet and potentially team up with. Whilst this isn’t going to prepare you for the slow, tactical environment of competitive specifically it will get your shot on point and the first step to being a good CS player is shooting the other guy before they shoot you. The ability to search for specific servers also gives you the chance to work on specifics that you feel are important in a no stress environment and if you play FACEIT or ESEA you can warm in in 128 tick.

Yeah this can get a little frustrating

Practice maps

Aim test servers are great places to warm up if you don’t feel like playing with other people or want something a little more controlled and tailored to your needs. There are a variety of different servers that can be customized to include different types and numbers of bots, different terrain, spawning locations and guns to allow you to warm up the way you want. One map I have recommended to train on in the past is also great for warming up called aim_botz, typically I like to use the AK and flick one taps for 5 – 10 minutes. This is effective at training your reflexes and aim but unlike death match removes your movement from the equation so really it’s up to you what style of practice you prefer. There are so many maps on the community workshop that fill this niche and can involve other elements such as movement and spray so search for something that you enjoy.

Just some of the options avaliable on the Aim_Botz map

Other Games

If you’re anything like me though these methods can be boring and the last thing you want to do before jumping into competitive is to load up a bot map or play a few rounds of stale deathmatch. This is when decided to try warming up in other games which I find enjoyable and effective. CS, especially in competitive is a slow game and there are a number of faster paced fps that you can use to warm up. I recently picked up Overwatch and have found by playing characters like Genji and Tracer with considerably more movement than in CS that when I moved back into ESEA I was able to land my shots quickly with less movement to worry about. Furthermore with the average skill level being much lower in Overwatch right now and the ability to respawn it's possible to play consistently find games quickly and be much more confident in your own skills when heading into competitive. Now I’m not suggesting you go pick up a 60 dollar game just to warm up in CS but you can use any game with a faster pace than CS to warm up in that you enjoy for example Quake Live or Team Fortress 2 as a scout. For me the only problem I’ve found is getting stuck playing Overwatch for 5 hours and not having time to hop in and play CS.

This article is not sponsored in any way! (Blizzard hit me up with that colab)

Conclusion

Warm-up is a key element of playing well; don’t rely on your team carrying you through the first match while you get up to scratch. I’m not saying that you have to spend hours on end practicing sprays and murdering bots but 15 minutes is a small price to pay when working on improving your rank and keeping your team happy. Utilize these methods in conjunction with each other to maximize your performance, play a bit of Overwatch then hop into a deathmatch server to get used to the feel of CS and you’ll feel accurate, fast and deadly in your competitive games.

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