Today’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive patch introduced three changes to Valve’s first-person shooter including customizable agent patches, a crosshair editor, and a brand new buy menu.
CSGO has been getting a ton of attention recently and today’s patch introduced some new cosmetic items for fans to drop their money on. The patch introduced patches to the game. These patches feature all nine operation icons and several other graphics beloved by the community. Although players can put stickers on their default weapons, the patches can only be placed on the custom agent models.
Here is the complete list of patches along with pictures of each, starting at the top left.
- Longevity
- Bravo
- Crazy Banana
- Easy Peasy
- Vigilance
- Payback
- Danger Zone
- Shattered Web
- Bloodhound
- Vanguard
- Chicken Lover
- Koi
- Welcome to the Clutch
- The Boss
- Breakout
- Hydra
- Dragon
- Wildfire
- Longetivity
- Howl
Agent patches are CSGO’s latest customizable options
There are three different places on each Agent that will hold a patch, and those vary with the agent. Here are some examples on Special Agent Eva and “The Doctor” Romanov.
Valve brings crosshair generator to CSGO settings menus
For years, Counter-Strike players have had to use the console to customize their crosshair. Advanced players will notice that the in-game crosshair generator is nowhere near as customizable as it is when using the settings, but beginners will be grateful that they can hop right in.
In order to get to the new crosshair menu, go to “Settings” and then “Crosshair” under the “Game” section. From here, players can change their crosshair style, gap, outline, and pretty much everything else that used to require the console.
Unfortunately, Valve still doesn’t explain to new players what each crosshair style does. If you’re a new player or curious about the different styles, check out the link to our “Most useful CSGO Console commands” for a quick walkthrough.
Clicking on “Share or Import” on the crosshair preview screen brings up another that allows players to enter their own code or import someone else’s.
The thing about the crosshair update is that it’s good for everyone. Now, trying out a pro’s crosshair is as easy as copying their crosshair code. The new feature even lets you see how your crosshair looks against a variety of backgrounds.
This means no more copying and pasting long strings of commands, and no more forgetting your own either. Now you can go back to your original crosshair with just a few keypresses.
Don’t skip the console!
We still think that all players should know how to use the console, if only because it serves so many functions beyond just changing your crosshair. If you’re interested in learning more about the console and the crosshair commands that Valve left out of the menu (we’re looking at you, cl_crosshairdot), our 2020 CSGO and console guide series can be found below.
- Customizing your viewmodel in CSGO
- CSGO’s Net graph explained: Measuring CSGO FPS, ping, loss, and more
- The Ultimate CSGO Config Guide: Where to put it and find your SteamID
- DId you know CSGO has 5 different ways to throw grenades?
- CSGO’s Easiest Practice Configuration Guide
- Counter-Strike’s most useful customizable console commands
Panorama returns with a stylish new buy menu
After the Panorama UI came to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it just kind of existed. While Valve eventually implemented the preview character function along with precoding some Panorama functions for the upcoming store, there wasn’t much use.
The new UI was just that: new and purely visual. The new buy menu is just like that. The majority of players play on lower graphics settings to get the best FPS, so their models on the buy menu don’t look as good as they could.
That said, it’s interesting that this is something that Valve decided to spend time on. In the past four months, Valve has released five new collections over two new cases, two new sticker capsules, a battle pass, customizable agents, and now customizable patches on those agents.
With the major now fast approaching, there’s no telling what Valve will bring next to Counter-Strike Global Offensive. Well, that Valve won’t stop with a Howl patch. After ESL’s EPL announcement video and the release of custom patches today, it’s clear that team, player, and tournament patches will arrive sooner rather than later.
