Will CS2 get rid of one-way smokes? Here’s what we know

CS2 has completely changed everything about smokes, but the classic one-way has somehow managed to survive.

One-way smokes are some of the nastiest pieces of tech in Global Offensive. Whether it’s abusing high-up landing spots or messing with corners, the classic mechanic is either extremely frustrating or satisfying. CS2’s major smoke changes have pros divided but ranked grinders who abused the mechanics may be even more upset. So now that CS2 players have had time to mess with the new system, are one-way smokes a thing of the past? 

The main concern players have expressed is the way smokes now flow to fill up empty spaces. They’re no longer a big round cloud with clear floors and ceilings. This means that classic one-ways, like the one on Dust 2’s bomb plant zone toward long, will no longer work. Those types of one-way smokes are effectively gone from CS2.

However, height-based one-ways will continue to exist very similarly to before. In the clip below, austincs shows off an example on Dust 2 involving dropping smoke on top of a box. Smokes still have a clear limit on how low they can go, allowing players to see enemies at certain angles while remaining hidden. 

These aren’t quite as versatile as what CSGO offers, but another new smoke mechanic compounds the nerf.

One-way smokes can get blasted away in CS2

In addition to eliminating corner-based one-way smokes, players will be able to blast away limited sightlines in CS2 entirely.

In CSGO, players can get multiple frags using a one-way smoke because shooting through it doesn’t reveal your position. However, in CS2, shooting through smokes will immediately give away your position. It’s still possible to get multiple kills in quick succession, but organized teams can quickly blast back. It may be best to have an escape plan after scoring your first kill through a one-way.

However, the smoke clearing away also opens up new opportunities for temporary one-ways all over the place. Shooting through the smoke gives the shooter a temporary sight line, and slightly off shots can be corrected with that information. It’s a double-edged sword, as they must keep safe while doing so. All things considered, one-ways should be a much fairer technique in the new engine.