Everything about grenades in CS2

Grenades are one of the most important aspects of Counter-Strike. One grenade thrown at the right time can decide the fate of the round. All you need to do is know how to throw a grenade correctly, and we will tell you about it in our new guide today.

There are five types of grenades in CS2:

• Smoke
• Flashbang
• HE
• Molotov/Incendiary grenade 
• Decoy

During the match, players can have four grenades, but two of them can be the same at the same time – only the flahbang grenade, the rest can be bought only one at a time. Of course, in CS2, after you use, for example, your existing smoke, the teammate can drop you his own, or you can pick it up from a dead enemy.   

Now we will analyze all types of grenades and how to use them in more detail.

Smoke grenade

Most players believe that the key grenade in CS2 is the smoke grenade, which costs $300. When you throw it, the grenade activates only after landing and creates a smoke screen that lasts for 18 seconds.

The smoke is used to create a smoke wall to cross certain locations, which can make your movement invisible, as the enemy does not know whether you have passed there or not. Also, entering the smoke is dangerous, as the player in the smoke can be noticed earlier. However, the smoke can be dispelled by throwing a HE grenade into it, and then it disappears for a short period of time.

You can also throw a smoke grenade on the flames from an incendiary grenade, which will extinguish the fire. Also, when defusing a bomb, you can throw a smoke grenade on it if there is a live opponent, which can protect the defuse.

Flashbang (flash) grenade

The next grenade we will talk about is the flash grenade or flash. It’s important to realize that the flash grenade is the most commanding grenade in Counter-Strike, because it can be a decisive factor in a round if you throw it correctly.

The flashbang grenade costs $200 in the game, and it is the only one that you can buy in two copies for one round. The mechanism of the flash grenade is quite simple – if you look at the flash when it explodes, you will be blinded for a few seconds, depending on how close you are. If you manage to look away, you won’t be blinded. But you need to use it carefully, because you can blind your teammates.

A flash is used when you need to reach a certain point on the map. If the opponent sees it, he has to turn away, which gives you the opportunity to kill him without damage to you. Or the opponent can be blinded, which gives you even more chances to do a kill.

You can also throw a large number of flashbangs at the same time, often done when entering the plant position, so that opponents don’t have the opportunity to confidently take the exit.

As for defense, flash grenades are used to check positions on the map, to stop an attack from entering the plant positions, or during retakes.

Incendiary grenade (Molotov)

Next, we’ll talk about the incendiary grenade, or as it is called on the defense side, the Molotov cocktail. When this grenade is thrown, a fire appears that harms everyone inside it. Every second you stay inside the fire increases the damage received.

The fire disappears after about 7 seconds. It is important to remember that the Molotov Cocktail has the advantage of covering a larger burning area and causing more damage. Another important point is that you do not receive more damage from the flame immediately, but after the grenade has “ignited”.

For CT-side, the price of an incendiary grenade is $500, although before the May update it it costed $600. Players on the T-side can buy a Molotov cocktail for only $400. This is quite a big problem with the current economy in CS2, as FaZe player ropz told us in a recent exclusive interview during the IEM Cologne 2024.

The incendiary grenade is great for blocking movement on a certain area of the map for a while. Molotovs can also be thrown to drive the enemy out of position. It is also often thrown on the bomb in the last timing to avoid ninja defusion. Of course, you need to remember that fire can be extinguished with a smoke grenade.

High Explosive Grenade (HE)

High explosive grenades produce a loud explosion and significant damage to all players in the area. This grenade costs $300. HE can take a maximum of 57% of damage of a player who is wearing armor and if it explodes under his feet. If the player is not wearing armor, then he can get up to 97% of damage.

Nowadays, HE grenades are often used to dispel smoke to check for enemies in/behind them. Also, if you coordinate a simultaneous throw with a timed throw to a certain position at the right timing, you can heavily damage enemies, or even kill them. For example, on Inferno, the attack often throws several HEs at the same time on the cement to knock the enemy out.

Decoy

Decoy is a not-so-useful grenade among other available in CS2. It costs only $50. After throwing it, it simulates the sound of an explosion for 15 seconds, after which it explodes, dealing up to 5% of damage.

This grenade can be used to cover up the sound of the beginning of a defuse. It should also be noted that the decoy looks like a flash and throwing it can make the enemy turn away, which will give you an advantage when approaching the opponent. 

Grenade training 

To practice throwing grenades in CS:GO you had to go to the map with bots, delete them, register a number of commands, and only then start training. In CS2, the developers have simplified this process for players.

To create a training map in CS2, you need to click “Play” in the main menu and then select “Training” from the top. Then you need to select the map and enable the additional functions located on the top left.

It’s also worth noting that the developers have added the ability to see where the grenade will land if you throw it at the place where your sights are pointed. You will also be able to see the entire process of the grenade’s flight.

But even with this functionality of CS2 training maps, it is recommended to use several console commands. For faster movement on the map, you need to add a bind to it, for this you need to write the following commands:

1. sv_cheats 1 — allows you to use console cheats on the local server.
2. bind “convenient key” “noclip” — allows you to fly around the map.

There is also a quick smoke removal cheat so you don’t have to wait for the grenade to expire.

• bind “convenient key” “ent_fire smokegrenade_projectile kill; stopsound”

Also, in order to master the grenades in CS2 faster, it is recommended to customize a button for each of them. In the CS2 settings menu, in the “Keyboard/Mouse” section, you can assign keys to each type of grenade. You can also use console commands for binding:

• bind “shortcut key” “use weapon_flashbang” — bind for flashbang
• bind “shortcut key” “use weapon_smokegrenade” — bind for smoke 
• bind “shortcut key” “use weapon_hegrenade” — bind for HE
• bind “shortcut key” “use weapon_molotov;use weapon_incgrenade” — bind for Molotov
• bind “shortcut key” “use weapon_decoy” — bind for decoy

We hope this guide has helped you better understand how grenades work in CS2 and improve your game. 

The project was published with the support of Lorgar, an international brand of gaming accessories for gamers and streamers designed to take your gaming experience to the next level. The brand’s mission is to provide every gamer with live and exciting gaming emotions on high-quality devices inspired by the demands of the best gamers. 

Lorgar successfully entered the market in 2022. The product portfolio includes products for demanding gamers, streamers, and content creators. You can familiarize yourself with the assortment by following the link: lorgar.com.  

The Lorgar brand is owned by ASBISc Enterprises Plc, one of the leading distributors of IT products in EMEA markets. They are also manufacturers of gaming mice.