Utility Guide

Let’s take a look at utility, that fancy stuff players like to throw around the map so much. First of all, what really is utility? It refers to the five types of thrown weaponry of which your hero can carry four units, with some limits though. High explosive grenades (commonly known as HE nade), the Molotov (or incendiary on the CT-side), flashbang, smoke grenade, and decoy. Your hero can only carry one of each, except for the flashbangs where the limit is two.

Utility is an integral part of CS:GO, and is a very important factor in the current meta that can decide between victory and defeat. There are way to few players who know how to actually use their utility to perfection, and some of them do not even buy them at all. These videos in the article will help you to learn how to use your utilities the right way. Especially smoke grenades, which are essential to take map control.

The HE nade

The HE grenade is a grenade which will explode after a certain amount of time has passed after throwing them, and has a maximum damage output of 57 against armored players, and 98 against unarmored. Therefore, a High Explosive grenade can be lethal against eco-rushes, because a direct impact of the nade on a player can leave them at 2 health.

The Flashbang

The flashbang, or flash, has the primary use of blinding your enemies. If players look directly at it, teammate or not, their hero who looked at it will be blinded for a period of time, defined by how close the flashbang popped and how directly the player looked at it. Therefore, the further away from the flash pops, the less effective the blinding effect will be. There are multiple ways to use the flash.

The Smoke grenade

The smoke grenade became synonymous with CT-side holds of bombsites. They are definitely a crucial part of the defense in CS:GO, and rightfully so. Smoke grenades only pop once they’ve stopped moving, so you are able to literally throw them as far as the map allows you to, which allows for both sides to smoke off certain passageways or doorframes that are a crucial part for the other to have vision through, like Mid-doors on Dust2.

The Molotov/Incendiary grenade

 The Molotov/Incendiary grenade explodes after a certain amount of time has passed after throwing it. If it explodes on, or close to, the ground it will cover a good amount of space in flames. Every player standing in those flames with 100 HP has roughly three and a half seconds left to get out of the flames before they die. Players can put out any flames caused by an Incendiary or a Molotov with a smoke grenade, which may allow the CT’s to survive longer than intended.

The Decoy grenade

Players can use the decoy in many different ways. One of the ways is to use them to mask your rush, and confuse enemies by doing so. It could be possible for players to throw a good number of decoys towards one side of the map, let them make noise and then push out. The CT’s will be late to call for assistance, as they will only know about T’s push once they are already knocking on their door. Alternatively, to vary, players can play a fake by throwing decoys to one side of the map and then going to the different side.