Recently, CS:GO received one of its bigger updates in many months - Operation Riptide. With it came a myriad of changes to the game, including the addition of utility dropping and some changes to the guns and how they behave.

One of those changes happened to the Desert Eagle, or how it’s commonly called, the Deagle. The big pistol now does less damage to the body, essentially killing its ability to deliver two-body shot kills. For so many years there were complaints from some players that the gun was essentially overpowered, guaranteeing a kill with simple spam of bullets.

With this change, it’s now more common to see Terrorists using the Tec-9 instead of the Deagle. But which gun is better now? In this article we’ll cover the recent changes to the Deagle, how much it was really nerfed, what difference did it make, and if it’s actually worth using a different gun now.

Although the patch notes regarding the Deagle update were very small, they posed a big difference in the way the gun behaves in-game. To understand this, we have to look at the hitboxes and how they behave. There are four different spots in a character’s body that deliver different damage multipliers - Head, Chest, Stomach, and Legs. When you buy kevlar, it only covers your chest, not your stomach, and this is the single most crucial information when analyzing this update.

The Deagle used to kill with 2 shots to the chest and stomach (and 1 in the head), but after the update, you need at least 3 shots in the chest to kill a player, since the damage was lowered to 48 (this only applies to armored opponents since it is still a 2 shot kill against unarmored ones).

This creates problems when deciding if you want to buy a Deagle or not. A lot of players used to buy it and try to go for the headshot, having the comfort that if the first shot missed they could just spray it and hit two shots in the chest. Now, having to hit at least three, players may have to make a decision - should I go for the headshot or two-shots in the stomach? Naturally, this is a problem that affects the best players the most, since playing in high-elo is either kill or be killed. If you miss one or two shots, you’re most likely dead in less than a second due to how good your opponents are at that level.

This is exactly the reason why you can see the Tec-9 being used more frequently now than before. It’s a super versatile weapon, one that can be shot as fast as you can click (which is very different from the Deagle) and also does a very decent amount of damage against armored opponents. Not only that, it’s a weapon that can easily be used while running, making it good for fast pistol pushes, while the Deagle is better used on a more slow approach.

Also, the Tec-9 has 18 bullets, which are 11 more than the Deagle. Trust me, it makes a world of difference! With the Deagle, if you try to spam the low number of bullets you have, you’ll find yourself reloading faster than you think… and probably die if you’re playing close quarters against your opponents. If you had a Tec-9, although it may still be a very dangerous situation, you’ll be in a better spot with more bullets and a gun that shoots as fast as you can click.

Everyone has memories of playing Dust2 on B as a CT and suddenly having five Terrorists gunning you down with Tec-9s that seemed like they just got out of DOOM - because there’s no way you’d survive that. But remember that you should always tell your teammates what you’re doing, what pistol you’re thinking of buying, and other information that you think is pertinent at the time.

Despite all that, Deagle can still be the king of CS:GO. First of all, it’s easily one of the most recognizable weapons in the game, and most players will always use it because of that. But for those more hardcore and dedicated players, it’s worth looking at both guns and seeing which works best in your playstyle. You don’t feel confident with your first bullet accuracy? Maybe the Deagle is not the weapon for you. On the other end, are you the player with a 70% headshot ratio? Well, maybe it is the pistol for you. And let’s be honest, there are few things as satisfying as hitting that perfect Deagle headshot.

Every gun has its place in the game, and these two pistols are a perfect example. Although the update changed the Deagle a lot, in the end, it’s up to you to decide what’s best for you to do and decide what gun fits you the best.

In the end, it’s all a matter of preference and knowing how to use the guns to the best of their ability. Do you feel confident in delivering clean headshots? Go with the Deagle. Are you planning on making a quick round by running and trying to overwhelm your opponents? I’d say the Tec-9 is the gun you want.

Personally, I love to use both - when I want to play faster, I’ll use the Tec-9 and try to overwhelm my opponents. If I want to play a bit slower and feel that I’m on a good day, I’ll buy the Deagle nine out of ten times. Then I’ll probably just miss a few easy shots and I’ll be back to the Tec-9, but that’s on me.

Hopefully, this article will help you make up your mind when deciding which one you want to buy and use to get the next round win for your team!

Thank you for reading. You can reach out to me for feedback or suggestions via Twitter.

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