Counter Strike:Global Offensive: What is an AWPer?

The AWP is a bolt action rifle featured in CS:GO. It deals massive amounts of damage and can be employed to great effect by those skilled in its use. The AWP can have such a polarising effect on rounds that professional teams commonly designate a player to use and specialise in this weapon, known as an AWPer. Team Dignitas’ dedicated AWPer is Nicolaj 'Nico' Jensen.

Using the AWP

The AWP is a one-shot kill to the head, arms and torso of both armoured and unarmoured players. It has two zoom states (toggled by right-clicking). Hitting a player in the legs will deal 86 damage and is colloquially known as “legging” an enemy. The AWP costs $4750 to purchase on either T or CT side, making it an expensive choice relative to the rifles (M4A1-S $3200, M4A4 $3100, AK47 $2700) but one that can be devastating and change the face of rounds and even games if used correctly and skilfully.

A quick note here while economy is being discussed – some players will buy an AWP with no armour and sometimes no grenades, spending all their money on only an AWP. This is colloquially referred to as being/going “glass cannon”, and is not an advisable play. It is rarely used in professional games, and only then by a team who needs to win a round when they’re low on money and believe their AWPer can make a difference – one example of this I can recall is JW of fnatic. A pistol player can easily take you down when you have no armour – if you miss your first shot, aimpunch will make it severely difficult for you to take your next shot and you will be killed very quickly. SMGs and rifles will make even shorter work of you, so going “glass cannon” is the very definition of a high risk, high reward move.

Roles of an AWPer

An AWPer can play either offensively or defensively, depending on his situation and position. The simplest way to distinguish between the two is a defensive AWPer waits for enemies to peek him, whereas an offensive AWPer will play aggressively and peek enemies first.

Offensive vs Defensive

As a defensive AWPer, the biggest thing you will need is reflexes. You hold down an angle where an enemy will appear and the very instant he appears you shoot him. If your reflexes are fast enough, you will need very little scope movement, although small flicks are often necessary.

As an offensive AWPer, you play in a similar way to a rifler in the way that you check corners, clear areas, and move around the map. However, rather than aiming your crosshair around the corner like you would if you were equipped with a rifle, you have two options using an AWP:

- Scope around the corner and plan on being faster than the enemy if he is there, or

- Scope in after you move around the corner and be prepared to fire.

The other side of offensive AWPing is flicking. Quickscoping is possible, although not reliable, and if you're in a situation where you need it you may well be out of position. You need to be able to consistently flick your crosshair to an enemy very quickly in order to survive in an aggressive situation.

An Example of Flicking

Practicing the AWP

Defensive AWPing is something most any player can do. You simply need to hold an angle where you think an enemy will appear, and be prepared to fire if and when he appears. The most difficult part of defensive AWPing is simply positioning – for example, if you are holding long corner on de_dust2, you will take a shot at the first terrorist you see and then fall back to car or crossover, throwing a flash or a smoke to cover your retreat if necessary.

Offensive AWPing is somewhat more difficult to practice. As an offensive AWPer, you have to peek where other players will be and be prepared to fire and move quickly. Reflexes and timing are very important. Becoming familiar with noscoping can also help, but don't rely on it as it is inaccurate and inconsistent. Noscoping should only be used as an absolute last resort, when you have no time to scope in or switch to your secondary.

The easiest way to practice AWPing (both offensive and defensive) is to play deathmatch. You can play online against other players, or offline against bots if you want to work your raw skill up before facing off against rifle players. Playing deathmatch will also train your reflexes, which will help with both offensive and defensive AWPing. Another thinhg to practice while in deathmatch is what is known as quickswitching - that is, double tapping your "last weapon used" key (Q by default). This will switch to your previous weapon (either your pistol or your knife), and then back to your AWP, but, crucially, your AWP will be unscoped. This allows for a quick way to exit the first zoom level of the AWP. After shooting, double tap Q: your guns will quickswitch, leaving you with an unscoped AWP ready to fire again faster than if you fired, waited for the bolt pull animation and then toggled through zoom states.

Firing, reloading and scope cycling as compared to quickswitching

The final part of AWPing of all kinds is your mental composure. If you miss a shot, don’t panic – fall back or be prepared to hold the angle and get the kill. Don’t take risks, however; if you’re not confident in your ability to land a shot, it is better to not risk your life and your gun on a chance. If you are confident in your ability, take the shot – confidence is a huge part of AWPing and landing your shots will only boost your own confidence.

As a final consolidation of everything I’ve spoken about, below is a video of a recent AWP ace I pulled off on de_dust2 as a Terrorist. As T side AWPer on Dust 2, everything you do until the bomb is planted is aggressive pushing and peeking. Although my play is not the best, this video shows the fundamentals of AWPing – peeking angles, retreating to somewhere safer after taking a shot, and pushing aggressively. Once you practice and you are confident, it should translate into your play.

Most importantly, do not give up! AWPing (especially offensively) is easy to learn and hard to master. Persistence is the key to success. Best of luck!

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