There are many guides about peeking, smokes, and other utility line-ups as well as more than enough aim improvement guides, which is why this one will be a bit different. Today we're taking a step back from the in-game skill aspect and try to look at CS from a theoretical perspective. Before you tune out, no, this won't be useless for the average player - actually, I think this will greatly improve every player that didn't know about this concept before.

Almost everyone will have heard about trading, as well as double-peeking and some of you might even have heard about spacing. All of these are concepts, as well as skills, needed to master CS:GO. However, there is an underlying concept that will greatly improve all of the aforementioned concepts almost on its own to a smaller extent in solo-queue, in duo- or more-people-queues as well as full team play: The Buddy System.

A general introduction

As a concept alone, the Buddy System is not very hard to grasp: When you're player A, you'll try to stick together with player B for either the current situation, the round, the match, or in general when you're in a team. It's also not uncommon to have different buddies for different maps and sides. Now, what do I mean when I say "try to stick together"? Let's say you're in soloqueue and on the T-side of Dust 2 currently, you're feeling well and have a good Long spawn and look back to see that a teammate is near to you. Now you ask him "I'm going out long, can you trade me, blue?". If your teammate says yes, you now have a buddy for the situation of going out Long, highly increasing your chances of successfully trading either one for one or two for one compared to just playing silently.

This can get extended to everything and is especially useful if you're in a team and you set up defaults, in which you can establish a team-wide Buddy System for those default. Another example: You like to peek and poke around B on Overpass as your default position on the T-side and you now get a teammate to play in front of B with you as well. Now it's both of your jobs to watch out for each other - should player A try to execute an Idea, player B should support him either with utility, holding an angle or trading him, which is also why the Buddy System is so important: If you can focus on "I'll help Player A whatever we do," you'll always be in a position to trade him, eliminating the worst mistake in CS:GO, which is dying alone and without dishing out equal treatment to the enemies.

Important Aspects of Properly Using the Buddy System

Trading: When you're running around with a teammate, try to stay close enough by or in a complementary position to trade-frag him once he falls. CS:GO, in theory, relies on the Terrorists getting a trade of one for one and the position you just killed a player in, putting the CTs in a rougher spot than the four-man Terrorist team. This means that, even if both teams are equal skill-wise, the team that can trade better will most likely win.

Spacing: Literally the second most important aspect of the Buddy System is the correct spacing. Spacing refers to being close enough by to trade, but not too close in order to not to get sprayed down by a single rifle. This is also why pro players stress that the entryfragger needs to make space since just standing in Long Doors on Dust 2 to entry will get himself and the guy behind, who tried to trade but got blocked, killed.

Look at the graphic above: Left is an example of bad spacing, as the entry stands still in the doors and blocks the pathway of everyone behind him who tries to refrag his death, dooming all at Long. On the right, you can see the entry getting out and away from the doors before the second guy peeks, allowing your to either trade the CT at the corner at Long or to both attack him when he misses his shot, while a third player can support the buddies out Long with a flash. More on entrying here.

Support: When one player decides to take the initiative, it's up to the buddy to correctly support him. Pay attention to what he wants to do and if you're the one taking initiative, try to communicate properly what you need. If you try to out-AWP the AWPer holding Ivy, make your teammate jump across to bait out the shot before you peek him, if you want to run out A-Main on Mirage, ask for one or two flashes above Main to exit correctly.

Crossfires/Bait'n'Switch: Especially important in defensive situations like on CT-side or in the afterplant, think about who will have the first contact in which situations and how to react properly. For example in Top Mid Inferno, when a T tries to entry and you have one guy Long and you're standing below Roof, you should split his attention by peeking him before hiding again to have your teammate finish him off or hold angles that only allow the Ts to run into your crosshairs at the same time, making it an instant two versus one.

Left: Bait and switch, Right: Crossfire

How do you implement this?

In soloqueue, there is little you can do if your teammates don't comply, however, it is very unlikely that no one listens when you ask nicely. It is also important to ask one person specifically since simply asking into a group of people tends to make people think "someone else will take care of this". When you have an idea and don't want to die alone executing that idea, asking a specific teammate to help you with it will greatly increase your chances of success, for example when you know you want to get flashed into B Tunnels on Dust 2 since you have a read on them, asking someone to do that at the start of the round will be much better than just hoping someone will be around and have a flashbang ready.

In duo- or more-people-queue, you can try to stick together on the T- and CT-side, always being around one another to quickly communicate what you want to do. You can either completely stick with one of your pre-mates the entire match or switch it up every or every few rounds. This will help you set up crossfires on the CT-side, trading and taking map control or getting support. Example: If you are three players, you can hold A Inferno pretty effectively. If you remember the Buddy system, try to always find a position that complements the positions of your buddies well and allows you to set up a crossfire or trades/baits. Remember: Just being in a premade doesn't make a good Buddy System.

The Buddy System is most effective in a full team: When you establish that you and player A are constantly playing together on Train, you know with who to talk with about an idea of yours before the match. It allows you to work together, and be prepared (since you get to know each other as players pretty well) no matter if you have to jump across Ivy to bait out a shot for your AWPing friend or if you have to flash from A-Main towards Ivy in order to give him a better Angle to hold mid-round. If you're an IGL, I highly recommend asserting non-compromise Buddy-teams for a few scrims to get your players to know each other and know what it takes to properly trade kills or support one another before making the Buddy System more fluid and natural again.

Two Buddy-teams ready to be supported by the fifth player

But wait... If the Buddy System is dependent on two people, then what does the fifth in a full team do? Well, I'm glad you asked, but technically, there is no number limit on a Buddy System. If you need a three-man-Buddy-team in Connector on Overpass, send three people there and tell them to watch their Buddies. However, I do recommend you mostly stay in two-pair Buddy systems as long as you're not yet executing, since this opens up a fifth player to flash entire Buddy-teams into a position or to bait for them, as seen in the image above, as well as lurk if the fifth player is intended to be able to do that.

Conclusion

Sticking with a buddy is always good, no matter the situation: A 2vX is always better than a 1vX. If you have no pre-mates, directly asking for support or if you can support is your best option, but if you have at least a single pre-mate, you're set to increase your chances of success in every situation. Look at what your teammates do and react or funnel them to where you want them to be. If you have a team, there is no reason to not to implement the Buddy System in one way or another or teach about it.

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