Having good movement in CS2 is just as important as having good aim. After all, if you outmaneuver opponents to positions that they don’t expect, the aim duels you take will be extremely one-sided. By combining basic movement mechanics, you can access different parts of the map and reach them at extremely early timings. Not only does it give you free kills, but it is extremely frustrating for your opponents when they die from unexpected angles. Here are the basics of movement in CS2 and how you can apply them to get to useful spots on different maps.

The Building Blocks of Movement

This guide will solely focus on movement tricks so you can access off-angles and hidden positions. All you need to know is how to strafe and how to jump.

Strafing in the air is important since it allows you to gain extra velocity. First, build the habit of releasing your “w” key (or whatever move forward key you use) when you're in the air. Instead of holding “w” in the air, you want to hold either “a” or “d” (move left/move right) and move your mouse in the same direction at the same time. This can help you get around corners faster and also increase your jump distance, which will be vital for some of these tricks.

Now that you know how to jump further, you need to learn how to jump higher. You might already know that if you hit crouch at the tip of your jump, you’ll tuck your legs up, allowing your character to jump even higher. However, did you know that if you crouch at the beginning of the jump, you can go even higher?

Take the Mirage firebox as an example. A normal jump+crouch isn’t enough to get on top of the boxes. However, if you do a crouch+jump+crouch, you can actually make it on top of these boxes. To do a crouch jump, you only have to tap your crouch key before jumping (don’t wait for your character to crouch fully). For beginners, it might be easier just to hit your crouch and jump keys at the same time.

Easy Tricks

If you are completely new to the game and you just finished reading the section above, here are three movement tricks you can practice and use in your games. The first one involves using a strafe and a jump + crouch to reach the boost position on Ancient A site.

The hard part of this jump is the beginning, where you have to make it onto the sign from the stone ledge. You have to jump right, strafe left, and crouch at the end to gain enough height. Once you’re on the sign, you can easily jump and strafe left onto the boost. After a few tries, you should be able to pull this one fairly consistently in-game. As previously mentioned, you can only get on top of the firebox on Mirage by doing a crouch+jump+crouch. If you are just starting out and want to do it consistently, aim as shown in the video and hold your forward key.

Once you get the hang of it, start practicing it from different angles and while facing different directions. The last trick is the hardest of the three but also the most useful. When you’re in the window on Mirage, you can actually jump up to the ladder room and get to cat. This trick is extremely helpful since it is significantly faster and safer than jumping down and running all the way around to cat.

The trick here is to nail the jump's timing. You have to begin running slightly left and then jump once you’re at the edge to avoid bumping your head. Once you reach the top of the cinder blocks, make sure the vent is broken, then jump and crouch to fit through the gap.

Hard Tricks

These tricks are hard to pull off (I can’t even do them consistently), but are also the most rewarding. The first one is to jump across the cubby at mid on Ancient to access heaven quickly.

Again, the hardest part is to nail the timing and make sure you leave at the very edge. You also have to add in some strafes to make sure you have enough velocity to cross the gap. When you’re about to land, crouch so you tuck your legs up for extra height. Once you make it across, you can peek elbow from an angle that most players won’t expect, or peek into B ramp at a very early timing. The last trick is a timeless classic: jump from the window on Mirage up to the cat.

This jump is extremely difficult due to both the timing and the movement. My biggest tip: once you make it onto the window ledge, hold both your forward and right keys. Once you’re in the air, keep holding both keys, but swing your mouse right and crouch when you’re about to land.

Conclusion

Using your movement in creative ways is an easy way to outsmart your opponents. The basic tricks in this article are simple to do and easy to master. The 20-30 minutes you spend learning them will easily take your gameplay to the next level, more efficiently than grinding your aim. As a final tip, check out my previous guide on CS2 commands for a simple command chain you can use in your private games to help you practice these moves!