win.gg
Win.gg Counter-Strike Massive shotgun and VAC buff added in new CS2 update

Massive shotgun and VAC buff added in new CS2 update

Author Icon
William Davis Published 07/06/2023
Counter-Strike 2 smokes

CS2 is adding a ton of gameplay changes to the Counter-Strike, and the latest update will make shotgun buyers very happy.

Valve has finally updated the limited beta test for Counter-Strike 2, swapping out Dust 2 for Mirage and tweaking gameplay to better reflect the new mechanics. Chief among these changes is a massive buff to shotguns, which now blast through smoke grenades similarly to frag grenades. It also includes a buff for VAC, bringing one of the most requested features from Global Offensive. 

First up, the CS2 shotgun buff. The new interaction between HE grenades and smokes is one of the most controversial changes among top players, but now the mechanic will be even easier to access. Shotgun blasts will now tear through smokes in CS2, creating bigger openings to peek at players and gather info. This is compounded by a nerf to the frag grenade, which now creates a smaller hold than before.

CS2 shotgun smoke interaction

Shotguns have historically been only used in niche situations in Counter-Strike. While the MAG-7 and Sawed-Off had their uses, they’ve been almost completely absent from competitive play for several years. Adding in this new utility could give them a new niche on eco rounds where players can blast through smokes and catch enemy players by surprise.

New CS2 update buffs shotgun, adds mid-game VAC ban

VAC is also getting a major change in CS2, with a previously leaked feature now permanently in the game.

In the current version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a player getting VAC banned mid-match doesn’t do much. The player is kicked from the server, but everyone else is forced to play out the match. This leaves the hacker’s team at an inherent disadvantage, essentially making the game a waste of time.

Now, when a player is VAC banned in CS2, the match will end at the end of the current round. This simple change means that players will waste less time playing four-versus-five after a hacker gets kicked. In combination with the map change and shotgun buff, it seems like Valve really is paying attention to player requests during the development of CS2.

William Davis
About William Davis

View full profile
Read Also
The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027 News
The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027 Ben Boland The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...
MLBB is the most-watched game from the EWC, and it’s hard to see another game beating it Esports Betting
MLBB is the most-watched game from the EWC, and it’s hard to see another game beating it Michael Hassall The Esports World Cup 2026 has officially passed its midway point and viewership figures for the tournament have surpassed many expectations so far, as per Esports Charts. The viewership tracking site revealed new statistics for the event on Aug. 6, showcasing just how many games had set new records in viewership, including one name leading the way in views: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. MLBB leads the viewership charts with the ...
CS2 at the EWC 2026 Preview: Odds, Details, Predictions and More Counter-Strike
CS2 at the EWC 2026 Preview: Odds, Details, Predictions and More Owen Harsono Top-tier Counter-Strike action returns at the Esports World Cup, as 32 of the best teams will take the trip to Paris to compete for millions of dollars. If you’re looking to watch the event, here’s everything you need to know and which teams to keep an eye on. The Esports World Cup is one of the largest CS2 events if we’re looking at prize pools, as $2,000,000 will be distributed ...
Opinion: Is Esports Tracing the Same Evolutionary Path As Traditional Sports? News
Opinion: Is Esports Tracing the Same Evolutionary Path As Traditional Sports? Cecilia Ciocchetti What happens when an industry compresses centuries of sporting evolution into less than a decade or two? Communities become global audiences overnight, rivalries spread through social media within minutes, and tournaments turn into entertainment products faster than ever before. And so what took traditional sports centuries to build has taken esports a fraction of that. From local communities to sold out arenas, and from informal matches to Olympic-style events, the ...
BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-final predictions: who’s making it to the grand final? Counter-Strike
BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-final predictions: who’s making it to the grand final? Owen Harsono The top four teams we’re seeing at the BLAST Bounty 2026 semi-finals are far from what anyone would expect before the tournament began, but here we are. We’re only three matches from crowning a winner, so let’s take a look at the best BLAST Bounty semi-final predictions for both upcoming matchups. Starting the semi-finals off is a banger of a series between FaZe Clan and Team Spirit, which is one ...
We Ranked The Top 5 Most Hated CS2 Maps Counter-Strike
We Ranked The Top 5 Most Hated CS2 Maps Owen Harsono If you’re a Counter-Strike player, you probably have that one map you always ban first in every Premier game — and you're not alone as almost everyone has one too. Below, we’ll take a look at the most hated maps in Counter-Strike history and explain why they are disliked by the community at large. Anubis is one of the newer releases in the Counter-Strike 2 map pool, but it has ...
The Top 10 Best Clutches in Counter-Strike History Ranked Counter-Strike
The Top 10 Best Clutches in Counter-Strike History Ranked Owen Harsono Pulling off an impossible clutch is one of the greatest hits of dopamine any Counter-Strike 2 player can ever feel. However, pulling them off at the highest level can be a little tricky since everyone is so coordinated. That’s exactly why mind-blowing clutches are remembered forever. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at the 10 best clutches in Counter-Strike history. We’re opening the list with former mousesports ...