CS2’s New 3v3 Gamemode & Everything Else in the New CS2 Update

It may not be an operation or the return of Danger Zone, but CS2 has just released its biggest update since the game was released in September 2023. The newest CS2 update includes a brand new 3v3 game mode with new maps and objectives, a new Premier map pick/ban selection feature, another reloading update, new blood and bullet impact visibility, the return of clan tags, and more! Follow along as we cover everything added and changed in CS2’s Rush Hour update, the biggest Counter-Strike 2 update yet!

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The New 3v3 CS2 Gamemode: Rush

The primary selling point of this update, as well as its namesake, is the new 3v3 game mode called Rush. Unlike CS2’s 2v2 mode, Wingman, which follows the default CS2 objective of planting/defusing the bomb, Rush has its own objective: controlling a tower. Three players on each team fight their opponents on a small map in fast-paced rounds and win each round by killing enemy players and capturing a tower, which is usually around the center of the map.

The new game mode comes with 15 mini maps, called Arenas, and unlike all previous Counter-Strike game modes, where every game was limited to a single map, Rush games randomly draw 7 maps, and as the game progresses, rounds are played on different maps until one three-player team pushes all the way to the opponents’ “castle” map and captures it to seal the win. Rush is a breath of fresh air to hundreds of thousands of CS2 players sick of the grind of Premier and the repetition of Wingman.

Change to Premier Pick/Ban Map Selection

Previously, deciding which map a Premier match would be played on was based on a voting ban system, where each team banned maps until only one remained. Now, instead of banning down to a single map, each team selects two maps, and a single map is randomly selected from those four. This means that players now have an incentive to practice strategies and utility on every map, as there is no guarantee that you can avoid a certain map.

Silent Reloading

Yes, you read that right. CS2 now has silent reloading.

Just a few months after CS2 completely overhauled the reloading system so each reload clears all the ammo left in your mag, they have implemented yet another change to reloading. Now, while normal reloads (pressing your reload key once) still make noise as usual, players have the ability to hold down the reload key to do a silent reload. However, there’s a catch: silent reloads take much longer than normal reloads, so while they can be helpful in a clutch situation where you need to be sneaky, they can also be the deciding factor in whether you win or lose the round if you get caught mid-reload.

Keeping up with the theme of allowing for sneakier, quieter gameplay, CS2 also changed the sound that scoping in and out of scoped weapons makes. Previously, unscoping from a scoped weapon made a clicking sound, which alerted enemy players to your location if they were close enough. Now, when you unscope from any scoped weapon (AWP, SSG 08, SCAR-20, G3SG1, SG 553), it is completely silent.

Chicken Pets and Eggs

You thought silent reloading was the craziest part of this update? You’re going to need to sit down for this one.

Yes, CS2 really did add pets. In your weekly care package when you level up, you can now get a chicken egg. Claiming the chicken egg consumes both of your care package rewards for the week. Once you get the egg, it appears next to your agent in the CS2 lobby, where it will eventually hatch and grow up into your very own pet chicken. There are multiple different egg and chicken skins (it’s Counter-Strike, what did you expect?), but eggs and hatched chickens are not tradeable. When you get the egg, you also get a Hatchbook, which you can use to take photos with your pet chicken and document your relationship.

Chickens grow in 4 stages: egg, chick, pullet, and finally, hen. You can rename the chicken at the end of each stage, except, of course, the hen stage. Once the chicken is a pullet, it can join you on the map. There are 3 chicken breeds, 34 color variants, 3 egg-hatching animations, and chickens have a ton of animations for all kinds of situations in the lobby and in-game. There are even chicken hats and accessories.

Chickens need to be fed to stay alive. Once you have a chicken egg/pet, you will get chicken food in your weekly drop, which replaces two regular drops, just like the egg. However, no matter how much you feed your chicken, it is guaranteed to die after 140 days. Once the chicken dies, it is moved to your memory book.

Clan Tags are Back!

After years of CS2 players begging for the return of clan tags, CS2 has finally brought back the feature that millions enjoyed in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive days. To activate a clan tag, all you have to do is go to your player profile and select one of your Steam Groups, and the group’s clan tag will appear next to your name in-game.

New CS2 Crosshair Settings

Crosshair customization has been a major aspect of first-person shooter games for decades, and CS2 players have turned it into a serious obsession, copying pro crosshairs and making their own extremely unique, and sometimes funny, crosshairs. Now, crosshair customization has received a huge update. Users can select from several new preset crosshair shapes and styles, including dot crosshairs and dynamic/static crosshair options. Players also have a wider range of crosshair thicknesses to select from, and a new color selector so you can build the perfect crosshair of your dreams.

Visual Changes to Blood and Bullet Impact Visibility

The Rush Hour update also made several quality-of-life changes to improve the CS2 experience and make it feel more like the crisp gameplay of CS:GO while retaining CS2’s improved graphics. One of the most significant quality-of-life changes is the new impact visibility of bullets and blood. In the words of Valve themselves:

Blood is now much more bloody, and bullet impacts are far more impacty

CS2

Official Blog

In other words, bullet marks on map structures, objects, and even the ground are now larger and more pronounced, and blood splatters are bigger and brighter than before.

New Music Kit: Starjunk 95

The latest CS2 update also brought a new music kit from the anime-inspired, intergalactic pirate radio spaceship-themed EDM group Starjunk 95. The new music kit can be purchased in the STORE tab in both standard and StatTrak versions.

There are a few other changes, including the ability to apply stickers on bombs and several performance-related solutions. Overall, this is by far the most substantial update CS2 has released since its launch, and there’s genuine hope in the CS2 community that the game is turning the corner toward a bright future. How do you feel about the update? Let us know in the comments.

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