Counter-Strike: Source Academy

 Pistols

The pistols are the cheapest guns in the game.  They are a

player's secondary weapon, and usually are only used in

pistol-only rounds, at the start of the game when nobody can

afford larger guns, or when ammunition supplies for the

larger guns have been exhausted.  They are only semi-

automatic, and typically lack power, but can be quite

effective if aimed carefully.

Glock 18

• Price: $400
• Country of origin: Austria
• Caliber: 9mm parabellum
• Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 0.3kg
• Projectile weight: 9g
• Muzzle velocity: 1932 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 475 joules
• Special traits: Can be fired in 3-round burst mode

The Glock is low-powered, but accurate. It is the default terrorist starting pistol, and is dirt cheap, but is often not particularly useful unless you are very accurate. If you have a fast finger, buy this gun or join the terrorist's team for a free gun. In some versions, this has an unlimited fire rate. If your finger is not so fast, use bursts and go for headshots or use the three round burst.

USP Tactical

• Price: $500
• Country of origin: Germany
• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Magazine capacity: 12 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 1kg
• Projectile weight: 15.2g
• Muzzle velocity: 886 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 553 joules
• Special traits: Can be fitted with a silencer

The USP is the default counter-terrorist starting pistol, packing a greater firepower into a similar size and weight. The added advantage of being able to silence the USP means that counter-terrorists often have an advantage in pistol rounds (i.e. at the start of a new game when nobody's got any money).

P228

• Price: $600
• Country of origin: Switzerland/Germany
• Caliber: .357 SIG*
• Magazine capacity: 13 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 1.03kg
• Projectile weight: 8.1g
• Muzzle velocity: 1400 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 600 joules

The P228 is a small pistol, with average attributes. Many players choose the Desert Eagle over it, as the prices are quite similar, but the P228 is a decent choice if you need a pistol. Its accuracy is around average, but it is more powerful than the USP.

The P228 actually seems to have more accuracy than the Desert Eagle, a larger magazine, and it only takes about five shots to the chest to kill a target. You can't snipe with this like you can the Desert Eagle though. Learn to use the recoil of the gun to increase your ability to hit a target and increase the chances of getting a head shot (it deals over 100 damage). It may have a faster firing rate than other pistols.

• Note: The P228 appears to be a SiG SAUER P226 renamed. The P226 was/is able to carry .357 SIG ammunition, but the P228, a military and law enforcement service weapon, is only chambered in 9mm in real life.

Desert Eagle

• Price: $650
• Country of origin: Israel
• Caliber: .50 Action Express
• Magazine capacity: 7 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 1.8kg
• Projectile weight: 19.4g
• Muzzle velocity: 1380 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1650 joules

The Desert Eagle (or "Deagle") is the most powerful pistol, being able to kill somebody with one headshot. Its magazine is rather small (only 7 rounds), so accuracy when using it is quite important. Most players will choose a Desert Eagle if they're buying a handgun (and have the money).

If you crouch and pick your shots you can snipe with this pistol and get headshots from ranges that most people will think they're safe during pistol rounds. The bullets also penetrate players, which despite its magazine size, can make this gun shine in close quarters.

FN Five-Seven

• Price: $750
• Country of origin: Belgium
• Caliber: 5.7x28mm
• Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 0.618kg
• Projectile weight: 2g
• Muzzle velocity: 2345 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 465 joules
• Team: Counter-terrorists only

The FN Five-seveN has a decent accuracy and a large magazine, but is slightly lacking in power. It's very low weight does not affect the running speed with the pistol, as all pistols allow the player to run at the same speed (250 units per second).

Good weapon if used correctly, but with this weapon the trick is to stay away from close range fights (except if you are sure you can get 2-3 shots to the head). It is about as good as the dual Berettas, but it's weaker and has a lower rate of fire; however, it has good accuracy and low recoil in comparison to other pistols.

Dual 96G Elite Berettas

• Price: $800
• Country of origin: Italy
• Caliber: 9mm parabellum
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds (15 rounds on each pistol)
• Weight (loaded): 1.15kg
• Projectile weight: 8g
• Muzzle velocity: 1280 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 606 joules
• Team: Terrorists only

The Berettas are not particularly useful apart from the fact that there are two of them, which doubles the firing rate over a single pistol. They have poor accuracy, and only average power, so are best used as spray weapons (and with considerable success in some cases). However, due to their high price and poor attributes, it's best to go for a cheaper pistol, or a sub-machine gun instead, unless you practice a lot with them, in which case they can actually perform better than many SMGs.

Practice makes perfect. Once you become proficient with these you become a very formidable force. You can also buy these during the first round of a new map, which will give you a significant advantage in terms of magazine size. Headshots are key with this gun.

Sub-Machine Guns

The sub-machine guns are the next cheapest, and pack

more firepower than the pistols.  Many players prefer to use

SMGs over full-blown rifles due to the weight advantage

(SMGs weigh less, and therefore the player can move faster)

and the fact that if they are aimed properly, they can kill just

as effectively and quickly as a rifle or shotgun.

MAC 10

TMP

• Price: $1250
• Country of origin: Austria
• Caliber: 9mm parabellum
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Rate of fire: 857 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 1.3kg
• Projectile weight: 8g
• Muzzle velocity: 1280 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 606 joules
• Team: Counter-terrorists only

The TMP (or "Schmidt Machine Pistol") is the cheapest counter-terrorist sub-machine gun, but is very useful if wielded correctly. It may not be particularly powerful, but its rate of fire is almost unmatchable, and is thus an exceedingly effective spray gun, especially in confined spaces. If aimed properly, and fired at the right time, one player can take down most of an enemy team with headshots, using only a TMP.

MP5 Navy

• Price: $1500
• Country of origin: Germany
• Caliber: 9mm parabellum
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Rate of fire: 800 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 3.42kg
• Projectile weight: 8g
• Muzzle velocity: 1132 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 637 joules

The MP5 navy has a high rate of fire, decent accuracy, and decent power. This is the most common submachinegun, as it has small recoil and the crosshair is the same while running, walking or ducking. If you aim for the head, you can pull off consistent headshots typically before the other person has time to react. The accuracy is poor at longer ranges, but up-close it's good.

UMP

• Price: $1700
• Country of origin: Germany
• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Magazine capacity: 25 rounds
• Rate of fire: 600 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 2.27kg
• Projectile weight: 15.2g
• Muzzle velocity: 1005 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 625 joules

The UMP is similar in many respects to the MP5 navy, but has a slower rate of fire. It is a slightly more powerful weapon, and is somewhat lighter, but the slower rate of fire means that you can't pull off the "surprise kills" you can with the MP5 navy.

P90

• Price: $2350
• Country of origin: Belgium
• Caliber: 5.7x28mm
• Magazine capacity: 50 rounds
• Rate of fire: 900 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 3kg
• Projectile weight: 2g
• Muzzle velocity: 2345 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 465 joules

The P90 is the ultimate sub-machine gun. It has a massive rate of fire, with decent accuracy and lower power, meaning that it's best used as a spray weapon. The large magazine (largest in game excluding the M249) lends itself to this, and so the P90 should always be used to spray at people's heads.

Shotguns

The shotguns are a special group of weapons.  Most players

can either use shotguns properly, or they can't.  Correct use

of a shotgun entails precise timing (not necessarily good

aim) about when to shoot, especially with the pump-action

M3 super 90, as mis-timing of a shot can mean death due

to pumping time.  Reload sooner as opposed to later.  With

the shotguns each round is reloaded individually, and you

can fire to interrupt the reload.

 M3 Super 90

XM1014

• Price: $3000
• Country of origin: Italy
• Caliber: 12 gauge
• Magazine capacity: 7 rounds
• Rate of fire: 400 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 4kg
• Projectile weight: 3.8g/pellet
• Muzzle velocity: 1250 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 2429 joules

The XM1014 is an auto-shotgun, meaning it does not have the pump time of the M3 super 90. It allows you to fire off all 7 rounds in two seconds or less, and is quite deadly. However, it is slightly less powerful than the M3 super 90, so usually two shots will be required to kill somebody. It is also almost double the price of the M3 super 90 and considerably heavier. Regardless, it's a very powerful weapon, without the pump drawback of the M3 super 90.

This is pretty obvious, but the bots' behavior is quite strange, since they shoot, load, shoot, load, etc. This increases the accuracy of the gun by taking out the recoil, so do that if you are stuck with a group of people, with no where to run. At least you won't waste any ammunition if you die.

Rifles

The rifles are the most powerful automatic weapons, and the

most commonly-used.  Players need a fair amount of money

to be able to buy one, and they therefore typically appear

during the second round of a game, after pistols have been

used in the first round.  Due to the firepower of any of these

rifles, aim is not a requiremant of use, but their effectiveness

can increase dramatically if the seconds are taken to crouch

down and aim for a player's head.  Doing so will mean two or

three shots fired instead of ten.

FAMAS

• Price: $2250
• Country of origin: France
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 25 rounds
• Rate of fire: 1100 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 3.4kg
• Projectile weight: 4g
• Muzzle velocity: 2212 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1712 joules
• Team: Counter-terrorists only

The FAMAS is a decent weapon compared to some other rifles and SMGs. It has an unmatched rate of fire and is very accurate, but it is not very powerful. It has a burst fire mode which is useful for ammo conservation or when you have a very itchy trigger finger. This gun excels at long range, it gives a skilled user the ability to easily pull of single shot headshots, its effectiveness at close range is only limited by its low magazine capacity. Always use burst mode for long-range combat and aim for the head or the upper body. A couple burst shots will definitely kill, since the burst firing mode will make the weapon way more accurate compared to shooting manual bursts in the automatic mode.

AK47

• Price: $2500
• Country of origin: Russia
• Caliber: 7.62 M43
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Rate of fire: 600 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 4.79kg
• Projectile weight: 7.9g
• Muzzle velocity: 2329 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1992 joules
• Team: Terrorists only

The AK47 is one of the classic weapons included in every game. It is powerful, has a high rate of fire, and good accuracy if fired in small bursts. Most terrorists will use the AK47 almost exclusively, and it's a safe bet for any player on any map. Remember to fire in small bursts only, as in longer bursts, all the accuracy is lost and you will most likely miss your target by a long way. This weapon will kill anyone with a single headshot, no matter if they wear a helmet or not.

M4A1 Carbine

• Price: $3100
• Country of origin: USA
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Rate of fire: 685 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 3.22kg
• Projectile weight: 4g
• Muzzle velocity: 2900 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1570 joules
• Special traits: Can be fitted with a silencer
• Team: Counter-terrorists only

The M4A1 is the counter-terrorists' equivalent of the AK47. It is powerful, has a rapid rate of fire, and is slightly more accurate than the AK47, especially when only a few shots at a time are fired. It is a capable weapon in the hands of any player, and most counter-terrorists will use it if they have the money available. If you crouch when firing with the M4A1, headshots are very easy to achieve, and you will most likely kill with one headshot.

Many people find it easier with a silencer in certain conditions. For example, when facing a large group of enemies at the double-doors in de_aztec. If you are sure you can kill them, since they don't have good accuracy, put on the silencer and start spraying at their lower bodies. The recoil should bring up the attack box, shooting their chests, or possibly even their heads. Also, reload after you have about five bullets left.

SG-552 Commando

• Price: $3500
• Country of origin: Switzerland
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Rate of fire: 727 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 3.1kg
• Projectile weight: 4g
• Muzzle velocity: 2900 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1570 joules
• Special traits: Has a usable scope
• Team: Terrorists only

The SG-552 is a more expensive weapon (which raises the question of why the terrorists can purchase it). It is about as powerful as the M4A1, but has a higher rate of fire, and the addition of a scope, enabling both sniping and assault tactics to be used. It is a very good all-round weapon, but many players can't buy it due to its high price.

To snipe, zoom in on the enemy, and shoot one shot at a time. It actually seems more accurate than the SG-550 or the counter-terrorist version. In at most six accurate shots, you can kill someone from medium/long range. However, you should only use the scope at long-range, as the rate of fire falls dramatically when scoping.

AUG

• Price: $3500
• Country of origin: Austria
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Rate of fire: 727 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 4.09kg
• Projectile weight: 4g
• Muzzle velocity: 2900 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1570 joules
• Special traits: Has a usable scope
• Team: Counter-terrorists only

The AUG is the counter-terrorist equivalent to the SG-552. It also has a scope, and is about as powerful as the SG-552. However, it is considerably heavier, and therefore will impede movement more than the other weapons. Despite this, it is a very good weapon both for assault and sniping, and it's only the high price which prevents many players from using it.

Machine Guns

There is only one machine gun: the M249-SAW.  It is one of

the most expensive weapons, but also has one of the

highest firing rates, and can be used very effectively as a

spray gun.  Contrary to popular belief, the machine gun is

actually quite accurate when firing one round at a time, and

can be used to snipe in a similar manner as a rifle.

M249-SAW

• Price: $5750
• Country of origin: Belgium
• Caliber: 5.56 parabellum
• Magazine capacity:100 rounds
• Rate of fire: 600 RPM
• Weight (loaded): 7kg
• Projectile weight: 6g
• Muzzle velocity: 3930 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 600 joules

The M249-SAW is a very expensive weapon, with a rapid firing rate and a large clip. Each round does not inflict a particularly high amount of damage, and it isn't particularly accurate unless fired in single shots or short bursts, but the spray power from an M249 is almost unbeatable. Due to the fact it carries a large ammunition bin, the advised way of using an M249 is to shoot anything that is vaguely out of the ordinary. Shoot round corners as you jump round them. Shoot at anything that moves.

You can use this in a closed space, like cs_office, or a large place, like de_aztec. For close spaces, shoot at every corner, and for large spaces, when you are being shot at, keep your finger on the trigger and search for the enemy. When you see some red blood, keep it there and either: spray (if it is close-range) or burst (in either situation, preferably long-range). Also, for both situations, use it for covering fire when facing the group (or person, please do it in group-vs-group), aka shooting at the group without bursting. The new players would retreat, and the pros would stay, leaving your team to kill the pros, unless they are smart enough to retreat once their whole team retreats or everyone besides the pro died. This weapon is somewhat like the AWP with the scout; it is expensive, and it is sort of hard to use effectively. People also say this weapon is a stupid person's weapon, and pros don't use this, but that is false. If you can kill three people using this with a expert level (bots), then you are a pro. Otherwise, keep practicing.

Sniper Rifles

The sniper rifles are the most specialized weapons

available.  They are all either non-automatic, or semi-

automatic, and designed for careful aiming over long

distances.  They all boast telescopic sights, and several

of them (namely the AWP and the semi-automatic sniper

rifles) are banned on many servers due to their extreme

firepower.  Before using a sniper rifle on the internet, it is

advisable to practice carefully with bots locally, and it is

always a good idea to buy a good pistol as well, since

snipers are extremely poor in close-range combat (they

don't have cross hairs unless zoomed, and zooming in at

close-range is not advised).

Scout

• Price: $2750
• Country of origin: Austria
• Caliber: 7.62 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 10 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 3.3kg
• Projectile weight: 8g
• Muzzle velocity: 2800 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 2200 joules
• Special traits: Has a usable scope

The scout is the cheapest sniper rifle, but does the least damage, taking two body shots or one shot to the head to kill somebody, and is bolt action, meaning the gun must be cocked after every shot, taking time. The scout is the most accurate sniper rifle, and is very light, allowing for fast running speeds. The accuracy of the scout is such that it will still be moderately accurate while strafing, unlike the AWP.

If you are inaccurate don't use the scout, because if you are unable to hit people in the head you will be very ineffective with the scout. If you aren't very accurate, use the automatic sniper rifles instead, as they give you more opportunity to take repeat shots. Also, the scout is widely believed to be a pro gun, so if you are good with it that's great, but beware that it is known as a pro weapon because it is very difficult to use effectively.

G3/SG-1

• Price: $5000
• Country of origin: Germany
• Caliber: 7.62 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 20 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 4.41kg
• Projectile weight: 8g
• Muzzle velocity: 2800 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 2200 joules
• Special traits: Has a usable scope
• Team: Terrorists only

Along with the SG-550, the G3/SG-1 is an auto-sniper, and as such is banned on most servers. When sniping with the G3/SG-1, it is important not to get carried away with the fact that this gun is an auto-sniper: each consecutive automatic shot is considerably less accurate than the last, and going overboard with rapid fire will quickly empty the twenty-round magazine.

SG-550 Commando

• Price: $4200
• Country of origin: Switzerland
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO
• Magazine capacity: 30 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 7.02kg
• Projectile weight: 4g
• Muzzle velocity: 3100 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 1650 joules
• Special traits: Has a usable scope
• Team: Counter-terrorists only

As with the G3/SG-1, the SG-550 is an auto-sniper, and banned on many servers. The SG-550 is less powerful than the G3/SG-1, but fires faster and is $800 cheaper. Its accuracy falls dramatically with each consecutive automatic shot, so it's best to fire one or perhaps two shots at a time, then pause and re-aim.

Use it when you are playing with beginner bots. Act like it is a real sniper rifle, and shoot and wait for the bolt-action substitution. The beginners are fairly stupid, and will usually shoot above the head, hoping for a head-shot. This is practice for using a scout for real tournaments, as the "auto-snipers" are a disgrace to most servers and, as listed above, will be banned. If you are up to the challenge, play against "professional" bots. Also, if you can, change the settings to (possibly) sniper rifles only. This will help you get better with killing other snipers.

AWP ~ Arctic Warfare Police (AI AWP 7,62) 7.62x51 Sniper Rifle

• Price: $4750
• Country of origin: UK
• Caliber: .338 Lapua Magnum
• Magazine capacity: 10 rounds
• Weight (loaded): 4kg
• Projectile weight: 20.2g
• Muzzle velocity: 7000 feet/second
• Muzzle energy: 7000 joules
• Special traits: Has a dual-optical scope

The AWP is the largest and most powerful sniper rifle, killing in one shot in most cases. It is banned on most servers, but if you are allowed to use it, make good use of the scope. The AWP's scope is very detailed, and proficient snipers can jump out from behind cover, zoom in, fire and kill somebody then hide again multiple times and not get hurt. Training for hours offline with bots or online in deathmatch servers is the best way to go about learning. The drawback of this gun is that it isn't very accurate while moving, you have to actually stop moving and fire for the bullet to hit the target. Also, beware that this gun is sometimes believed to be a cheap gun because of its very high power and overusing it is discouraged in public servers. However, unknown to others is the fact that this gun can be defeated. Using zig-zagging and unpredictable movement an awper can be taken down. This takes a bit of practice but can be achieved.

To chamber a new round faster than would otherwise be possible, you can change to a pistol, then back to the AWP very quickly. If practiced enough, this will result in a faster chamber time. This weapon is almost exclusively known as the AWP (Arctic Warfare Police), but is actually intended to be the AWM (Arctic Warfare Magnum).

Grenades

These weapons are thrown, and are irretrievable once

thrown.  Skilled players will bounce them off walls so that

they land around corners; this is especially useful with

flashbang grenades, which you don't want to look at once

thrown.  Every grenade makes at least one damage if you

manage to hit your enemy with it, so there is a possibility to

kill an enemy with a flashbang or a smoke.

Flashbang Grenade

• Price: $200
• Special traits: You can only carry two of them

The flashbang grenade is a good cheap way to keep the enemy from hitting you. When it goes off, any players (even your teammates) looking at it – or a reflective surface showing it – will be blinded for several seconds. Any players in the close vicinity will also be completely blinded. When thrown ahead of a rushing force, a flashbang is invaluable; one method of using it is to stop just before a corner, and bounce one off a wall to go off around the corner before you jump round.

Even if the flash didn't affect them, chances are enemies had to take cover and are less likely to be in a proper firing position right away. Flashbangs can also make a good distraction if you need to retreat.

Counter-tactic: If you see one land in front of you, you have several options. First, if no cover is available, quickly turn 180° directly opposite of the flashbang. This will minimize the effect to where you can still make out the area. The second is to open fire in the general direction the grenade came from hoping the enemy will be discouraged to go through with their attack.

Smoke Grenade

• Price: $300
• Special traits: You can only carry one of them

Smoke grenades release large volumes of smoke - enough to cover about six square meters - when they go off. In the middle, the smoke is thick enough to completely blind people going through it, and somebody outside the smoke cannot easily see people inside it. Smoke grenades can be used in a similar fashion to flashbangs, although their use has to be pre-planned and you must remember to wait about ten seconds after the grenade goes off, for the smoke to populate the area.

High-Explosive Grenade

• Price: $300
• Special traits: You can only carry one of them

A high-explosive grenade (or frag grenade) explodes a few seconds after being thrown, hurting or killing any players (even your teammates) near it; the damage given depends on how far away from the grenade you are. Grenades are useful to throw when you know somebody is (for example) around a corner, but jumping out to shoot them would be too risky: they're bedded in, and your accuracy would be thrown by the movement.