When you first start playing CS2, roles probably aren’t something you’ll consider too much. You’ll just be running and gunning without a care in the world. However, as you gain a deeper understanding of the game and want to improve, you’ll need to learn how to understand and play all the roles in CS2.
Some CS2 roles are harder to play than others. It can be difficult to restrict your playstyle in certain ways, especially if it goes against your natural instinct. This is just how it is if you’re going to improve in CS2. Read on to find out more about all of the roles in CS2 that you should have on your team.
Entry Fragger
The entry fragger is the CS2 role that no one wants. This T-side-exclusive role involves fearlessly running in first, trying to break open bomb sites through sheer force. For this reason, an entry fragger needs to have excellent mechanics, including god-like crosshair placement, if they’re to have any success.
No one envies an entry fragger. The reality of the role means that if it’s you, you’re going to die. A lot. Even if you get the first kill on a bomb site, you might get traded instantly, so it’s rare an entry fragger sees out the end of a round, unless they do a really good job. It’s crucial an entry fragger is fearless – being afraid of death will usually cost your team big time.
NiKo is arguably the best entry fragger of all time. His mechanics are great, yes, making it difficult to copy him to improve in this CS2 role. But what sets him apart is his positioning, which you can try to emulate by watching his demos.
In-Game Leader
The in-game leader is the hardest CS2 role by some margin. It requires you to be good at so many different skills, many of which are outside the game itself. The primary role of in-game leaders is to call the strats. Whether it be at the start of a round or making adaptations in the mid-round, the onus is on you to tell your teammates what to do. This alone is pressure enough.
If you’re an IGL of a competitive team, then people management comes into it, too. You have to be something of a leader of men, knowing the right things to say to keep your team motivated and away from the dreaded tilt. An IGL must also be able to recognize patterns from round to round and know how to find the solution to adapt to them.
There’s a reason there are so few good IGLs in the competitive scene. In my opinion, karrigan is the GOAT in this regard, and all would-be in-game leaders should study his approach to this difficult CS2 role.
Lurker
The lurker spends half their time in-game being called a “rat” in Game Chat by the enemy team. Their role is primarily on T-side, sitting back in difficult-to-read positions while their teammates make noise elsewhere. This allows them to cut off enemy rotations and make more space for their teammates to rotate into.
Lurkers can’t just stay still in one place, though. A good lurker will stay active, using sound cues to know when to make their moves. When no sound is available, it all comes down to instinct on the timings, which is why being a great lurker is such a rare skill in CS2.
Perhaps the best lurker in the world is Team Vitality’s ropz. For years, he’s been an absolute menace to enemy teams, always finding the best positioning to catch his opponents off-guard. Watch some of his demos for ideas if you’re a budding lurker.
Anchor
Anchors are always underappreciated on the CT-side. Their role is to stay on the bomb site, and deal as much damage as possible to the enemy team to make a retake doable for their teammates. Part of their job involves figuring out whether they’re actually being fully attacked, or whether it’s a fake, so they have to call rotations, too.
This is why you might see some anchors operate as secondary callers for their team, too. If the IGL doesn’t have all the information, it can be down to the anchor to make the right call in the end.
Magisk is arguably the best anchor ever. He is always left in very tough positions, but is constantly able to get more than he is worth from them. A good anchor is worth more than their weight in gold.
AWPer
The AWPer is arguably the most important role in CS2. To use the AWP, you’ll first need to cough up the hefty $4750 cost, and then the pressure is on to make an impact. The AWP is a one-hit kill, making it very deadly in the right hands.
Because of the power of the AWP, I’d recommend always passing it off to your best aimer. It’s a big economic investment, and you don’t want to waste it on someone who doesn’t know how to use it. Some of the best AWPers are almost hybrids with entry fraggers, peeking fearlessly with the confidence that they’re going to win the duel with the player on the other side.
Right now, m0NESY is arguably the best AWPer in the world. He has developed a reputation for god-like flicks, often doing things that seem beyond comprehension for most players.
Support
Support players in CS2 are pretty much pack players. These are more prevalent on the T-side, where you have the entry fragger to go in first. Often, the support will be next in line to trade out the entry fragger if things go wrong.
Support sounds easy, right? Wrong. Support players in Counter-Strike need to ensure they’re in tune with their entry fragger to get the timing right. They look silly if their entry fragger dies, and they’re simply not in a position to trade them out.
Team Spirit’s magixx is an example of a great support. The nature of his role means he won’t always put up the highest numbers, but that’s part of the sacrifice you make for the team.
