New data shows how effective CT aggression on Vertigo can really be

M Alzamora Published 08/05/2020

When players think about map movement in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, bunnyhops and difficult jumps are usually the things that come to mind. But after looking at this animated illustration of Vertigo’s rush timings, players should see that there’s a lot more to just moving around a complex map than they’d previously thought.

The gif visualizes player movement from ESL’s Road to Rio matches up until this point, animating them and plotting them all on one image. After the gif starts, green and yellow dots spread out across the image, taking thousands of rounds of map control all at once. The original gif can be found here.

The most startling realization players can take from the video is how often pro players took an aggressive position at the B site stairs. WIN.gg’s analysis of the map showed that the newest version of Vertigo heavily favored the CT side, but seeing pro players in such aggressive stances means that there is even more safety on the stairs platform than was previously thought. Between the new angles, the CT cover, and the narrowed entrance to stairs from T spawn, B is a logistical nightmare for the attacking side to take without blind support from middle.

Stuck trying to crack Vertigo’s new B site? Check out this set execute for CSGO’s most defendable bombsite.

According to the data, that support is also more difficult to provide. Valve’s attempt to replace the attacking window advantage with a comprise between a CT and T side of mid hasn’t turned out particularly well. CTs have abandoned their new platform in favor of a position even more aggressive than the one used by their teammates at B. CTs frequently took positions not only on the T side of mid, but inside the hallway next to T spawn.

Somehow, the changes to the middle of the map have made CTs even more aggressive despite providing a powerful defensive position against that aggression.

If Vertigo players were looking for good news on the A bombsite, we’re sorry to disappoint. Things don’t look much better for the attackers on the A ramp. This is in spite of the attacking team arriving in a position to molotov short a second ahead of the CT short defender. While they might arrive before a CT makes the short corner, they arrive at the same time a CT can take a more aggressive ramp position. So far, the Road to Rio as seen even more forward ramp plays coming out from the Counter-Terrorists.

As Vertigo’s outskirts start to give CT’s aggressive opportunities similar to those found on Cache, this video could be the first evidence that it’s possible that Valve went a little too far.

Want to learn more about Valve’s drastic changes to Vertigo? Read WIN.gg’s full patch breakdown, including what the changes could mean for Valve’s future plans for CSGO, by clicking here.

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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