Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a well-developed shooter, but it’s not perfect even a decade after release. A fan delved into the game’s files and discovered that some CSGO agent skins offer a pay-to-win advantage based on the size of their heads.
CSGO has been out for 10 years now, as Valve continues to roll out updates. However, some
bugs and glitches
are as old as the game itself. Part of the reason the developer doesn’t bother with these long-standing bugs is their negligibility. Most have learned to work around minor glitches, but some keen players still leverage them on occasion. The player model disparity in CSGO is an excellent example of long-standing yet relatively minor bugs.
A deep dive into the CSGO code by Ansimist has revealed that not all CSGO player models are built equally. The slight difference in hitboxes isn’t precisely game-breaking, but it sure can help those who are aware of the disparity.
Fan finds some CSGO agent skins are pay-to-win, while others are pay-to-lose
Aim placement is the bread and butter of a highly competitive game like CSGO. Even those with crisp aim sometimes find themselves whiffing otherwise simple shots. It’s possible that CSGO’s imbalanced hitboxes are to be blamed, according to Ansimist’s find.
The player has accumulated data on imbalanced player models. According to the data some CT models, especially the SAS models used on Mirage and Inferno, have bigger shoulders and heads. The hitbox of Professional terrorist models is
16.75%, making them most difficult to shoot at. The Professionals line of characters includes the Sir Bloody Darryl line of skins, the default terrorists from Vertigo, and more. Comparatively, the smallest hitboxes on the CT-side are the FBI models from Vertigo, Nuke, and Office with a 10.32% design disparity.
This likely wasn’t intentional on Valve’s part as some of the default models are better than certain agent skins. Regardless, the fact that certain models are easier to headshot is a significant difference.
Those who would rather not delve into numbers can see a visual example in a video shared by Ansimist. The headshots in both models vary despite the same aim placement, proving that models aren’t precisely equal.
The best agent skins to use in CSGO are
the Professionals
on the T side, and
the FBI
on the CT side. Though the individual skins vary greatly, each one in the line has a functionally identical hitbox.
While casual players may not benefit from this information, dedicated CSGO players can tweak their skins to gain an advantage. On T-side, Guerrillas and Elite Crew tend to have bigger heads and shoulders, so they aren’t the best agents to play. The difference is still quite small, but ideally it could be a difference-maker in very specific circumstances.
Fariha Bhatti
About Fariha Bhatti
Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.
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