How to play Retakes in CS2: Best Retake Servers

CS2 Retakes is arguably one of the most important game modes to play if you’re looking to improve at the game. All of the pros use it to improve their game and get better at attacking and defending bomb sites quickly. For some players, Retakes in CS2 are also used in place of Deathmatch as a way to warm up before hopping into actual matches.

What are CS2 Retakes?

Retakes were first introduced as an official game mode back in CS:GO. The premise is simple: you quickly switch between attacking and defending a bomb site, where the game chooses every parameter, from CS2 weapons, smokes, and even your starting position.

When the bomb is defused or every player is dead, you jump right back into another CS2 retake scenario. This gives you tons of practice attacking and defending bomb sites in every different situation. In one play session, you might experience weeks’ worth of retake scenarios if you were playing regular matches. Sadly, Retakes has yet to return in an official capacity to CS2. Not to worry, though. There are plenty of third-party CS2 Retakes servers out there you should be playing instead, and finding them is easy.

How to play Retakes in CS2

First, you’ll need to look for some of the best CS2 Retake servers. There are plenty to choose from across the different CS2 maps, but I’ve found that the Cybershoke Retake servers are the best overall. I often find pros in these servers, and while they do wreck me, it’s a valuable learning experience. Other providers worth looking at for Retakes in CS2 include XPLAY and ClashGG.

Once you’ve found the CS2 Retakes server you want to play, click it, and copy the IP. Then, in CS2, open the console by pressing the tilde key, and paste the IP with the “connect” command. Hit enter, and you should be loading into your chosen CS2 Retake server. It’s super easy. While in-game, you don’t even need to do anything. The server will do everything for you, although you can technically change your weapon via the buy menu if you really want. You get to focus on playing round after round of exciting CS2 Retakes!

Is it free to play Retakes in CS2?

Yes! Although most server hosts do offer a premium option for their offerings, you can always play Retakes in CS2 for free.

Can I play CS2 Retakes with friends?

Of course. As long as you connect to the same IP, you can always choose to play CS2 Retakes alongside your friends.

Can I create my own CS2 Retakes server?

It’s certainly possible, but the process of doing so is long and a little annoying. You can start on the official CS2 Retakes GitHub if you’re really interested.

Will official CS2 Retakes ever return?

While Valve hasn’t confirmed anything as of yet, the latest CS2 leaks seem to imply that an official version of Retakes is coming back at some point in the future. There’s no set date for this, though.