I “hate” Dust2

There are many articles about what makes Dust2 a good map, about what makes it popular, and so on and so forth.

However there are also many reasons as to why one would dislike Dust2 and that is what this article is about.

Now don’t get me wrong popular maps are usually pretty good right? Unfortunately in a game like CS:GO popularity is also a downside. Because it means even if you add other choices into the mix you will still get the popular map 85-90% of the time. Which means a map like Dust2 is gonna get real stale real fast.

Another issue I have with Dust2 is how bland the actual environment is. It’s not so bad in CSGO, but it still has a colour palette of 5-7 colours that barely change in terms of shade. It’s just more orange, yellow and even more orange. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that the Terroist teams uniform consists of these same colours which makes them blend in far too much. Compared to the Counter-Terrorist team which consist of blacks and blues that stand out like a sore thumb.

Luckily the CS:GO development team have noticed that the map has largely gone unchanged since its last edit between the jump from CS:S to CS:GO and have decided to give it a facelift. My hope is that they do decide to change the colour palette of the map so that it isn’t as bland. Whilst also still trying to keep the layout and gameplay of it the same.

After all the actual maps gameplay and layout isn’t that bad. Although there are flaws in some areas of the map. For example B tunnels is a cramped choke point that has very little room for tactical smokes and flashes once the terrorists are inside the tunnels.

The same can also be said for the exit into long A on the terrorist side. Albeit there is a lot more room for flashs and smokes to avoid being mowed down at the doorway.

Mid isn’t so bad due to the openness of the route however it is a little too open at the T side of the map with only a lone metal barrel near the split onto Catwalk/Short. When compared to the giant metal doors that lead onto the CT side of mid.

The bomb sites are fine as is but B is a little too cluttered with a bunch of spots for CTs to hide whilst still having clear shot on the long choke spot that is the exit from Upper Tunnels onto B site. And because of the way Tunnels is made, it is difficult to utilise smokes to cover the angles required to exit safely.

Overall I don’t really “hate” Dust2 but I do dislike it in its current state and really hope that the attention it is receiving from the developers fix the issues I do have with it.