RULE #1- Always buy an HE grenade before anything else. You'll find this incredibly useful later on in the round because after your teammates have weakened the other team, throwing an HE grenade will most likely kill a few opposing players then if you threw it at beginning of round. Secondly, you'll want to purchase either full armor or just kevlar vest. Going into battle without armor is more or less shooting yourself in the foot. Those are the two primary rules that you must follow at the beginning of the round. If not, you'll most likely end up dead or not fragging anyone. Now, if you don't have enough money to buy a submachine gun or your favorite rifle, go for a solid pistol with full ammo. A strong pistol is 100 times more efficient then an MP5 or AK-47 with 30 bullets. After you've done the following, you'll be able to do some virtual rampaging

Charging or Camping

If you chose to charge after you've bought your equipment, it is absolutely vital to stick with your team. If you do the equation, you and 3-4 other teammates can easily take down 2-3 opposing teammates then you charging out like Rambo, getting mowed down by some blaster, then getting made fun of. Another positive aspect of charging with several teammates is that if there's a sniper at the point where your charging, and he has to choose to snipe one of you, your chances increase dramatically of getting sniped. Also, the sniper will emotionally shutdown and begin to cry if he sees a group of opposing teammates charging at him. Now, if you feel the need to ditch your teammates and go commando style, do it with passion and remember this phrase "Chicks dig scars, pain is temporary, glory is forever". When you embark on your Kamikaze mission, make sure that when you get fragged gloriously, you'll feel you've accomplished something for yourself, maybe not for your teammates, but for you. You'll find a sense of inner pride when you do this. Camping- not respected by any Counter-Strike rusher, but, is necessary at times. When you've decided to camp instead of charge, MAKE SURE TO CAMP WITH SEVERAL OTHER TEAMMATES. I can not stress this more. It will be humorous to watch you get fragged by four other opposing teammates without giving a fight. Second rule of camping is to not be easily visible. If you make your self visible from a reasonable distance, the opposing team is going to take big time advantage of you, it's a given. On demolition maps (i.e. de_dust , de_prodigy), if you camp as a terrorist, you'll find that winning will be significantly more difficult then if you rushed with your fellow terrorists. On hostage rescue maps (i.e. cs_siege Cs_estate), you'll want to either 1) Take cover near hostages (CT's will try not to shoot the hostages, but shoot you directly which will make them in turn most likely to miss you) or 2) Get proper coverage behind a tree, box, or any kind of object between you and the CT's. Make sure that the object gives enough space for you to fire at the CT's and take cover when needed.

Aiming and Proper Shooting Technique

This section is by far the most important factor in your Counter-Strike playing career. If your shooting and aiming techniques are poor, the other players will always have an advantage over you. Here are the proper techniques of shooting/aiming- 1) Try to aim above the CT's/T's belt. If you shoot a player above the belt, it will cause more damage then in the leg for example. After you've worked on just hitting the players above the belt, try aiming for the head. With any gun, 2-6 head shots will either kill them or severely injure them 2) Pulse your fire button correctly. Regardless what gun you purchase, your going to want to pulse your fire button. When I say pulse I mean fire bursts of bullets (usually 2-4 bullets a burst). This will increase your aim to another level. Now, if you have a highly inaccurate gun (AK-47 for example), your going to want to shoot off bursts of bullets as much as possible. If you can master the art of shotting bursts of bullets from the AK, you soon become a great Counter-Strike player. This rule goes for any other gun but I highly stress it with the AK-47. 3) Jump and strafe whenever possible.

When you're in battle, it is much more difficult to hit a target that is moving and jumping around then it is to hit a stationary one. Also, by jumping, it forces your crosshair to hit the upper part of the opposing team's bodies. Hence, increasing the chances of getting head shots and upper body shots. This technique is for advanced players, but soon enough, you'll be able to do this yourself. So don't try this when you first start out. Lastly, proper sniping technique. Regardless what rifle you're using, try to crouch and shoot when possible. Crouching will increase your aim and prevent you from moving easily. Second rule of sniping is if your ping is 10-110, try to lead the shot the most minute bit in front of the players movement. Now, if you have 120-150 ping, you'll want to increase the amount of length between your shot and the players movement. If you have 160-200+ ping, it becomes very difficult to snipe and most likely your better off not sniping at all. Some people can pull it off, some can't. It's obvious that the AWP is by far the more powerful rifle in the game, but, is it the most sufficient?

Not at all. The scout, a gun that is less played then the AWP, is a great gun. If you think about it, once you shoot a player with the scout, it stops them from moving them temporarily which leaves you to easily shoot him again. By shooting him twice with a scout, you'll probably kill him or at least hurt him badly. The rule of trying to hit above the belt also goes for sniping guns (except for the AWP, guaranteed kill regardless where shot). Some of you newbies out there are going to shoot a guy through a wall with an AWP and not kill him. I know, you'll probably be saying, "WTF?! I shot that f00 with AWP, he should have been fragged :D!" Wrong, depending on the thickness of the wall, the bullet will not penetrate at full speed, hence, not hitting the opposing player will full force. My recommendation, don't try sniping until you get good with all other guns.

Clans

This is not a necessity, but it can and will help in any Counter-Strike player's career. Joining a clan will not only let you practice with a group of organized, well talented players, but also let you experience the game from a professional standpoint. After joining a clan, Counter-Strike is still just as fun, but you appreciate it more and then you most likely will want to get better at the game. Now, for you real newbies that don't know what a gaming clan is I'll explain it. A clan is a group/team of gamers that join together and participate in matches/practices/leagues together. For example, I'm in clan [UGP]. That's why I wear the "clan tag" in front of my name. Some popular clan sites are www.mercshideout.com , www.clanugp.com , www.darkwhisperclan.com. If you visit those sites, you'll better understand the ideology

Cheating

Regardless how much you suck the big one, NEVER NEVER NEVER cheat. Simple as that. By cheating, you're 1) Throwing away all skills which you had previously worked on 2) Not being at all l337 3) Showing lack of respect for the greatest game ever created 4) Overall, showing no regard for the reason why Counter-Strike was created, to have fun for yourself and the other around you playing.

Conclusion

I hope this guide has and will help you with your Counter-Strike career. If you would like to contact me via email, my email address is ubercooban@hotmail.com . Feel free to give me feedback. Good luck!

-[UGP]Jobu

For a more in-depth guide, visit CS-Nation's CS Guide.