Getting Better....

[[UA] Mos Def]

Hey Forum folks I have a quick question-

I have been playing CS for a long long time, but it seems like I still lack some of the tricks and techniques that are going to take me to the next level, so my question is: Can you guys post some things that have helped you become the pros that you are?

For example, changing your crosshair settings, or doing crap with the frame rates, etc....

Thanks,

Mos

[ZERO]

Flashlight on improves hit registration. The recoil for the ak is up and to the left so counter down and to the right. If you really want to do well having top of the line headphones and sound equipment is as if not more important than having a good computer. (And I mean stuff that is actually good not some bs "gamming" sound shit, I mean audiophile grade(see headfi.org)) I use a higher sensitivity than most players so that I can react faster, your better off with a steady hand and a fast mouse than a slow accurate mouse in an inaccurate hand. Learn the timing, in a lot of games there is a rhythm to particular maps learn this and you will know when to do what. It helps if you try playing music when your gaming to learn what type of music matches with a given map. Then over time as you learn the rhythm you can turn the music off and the sound back on and take your game to the next level. I have been doing this to improve my NS skills and now I am often one of the top 3 or above players in that game. I also used to do this in CS:S all the time when I played in CAL. Always make sure your rates are perfect and your fps is never <100.

[Fireye]

The best thing you can do is to play with people that challenge you, IMO. The next-best thing is setting your rates properly (100/100/25000 if your computer / network can support it). I personally don't make my crosshairs smaller, but I know that some people do. Really though, playing with people that are better than you will force you to be a better player yourself. Aiming accurately and being able to headshot is a valuable skill, but so is patience and knowledge of maps. If you know that your enemy can't get to a location before you, you can use that to your advantage. If you hear an enemy around the corner, bank a flashbang into their face!

[loka]

Aim low. The weapons in this game are shown from holding it with both hands at waist length and not over the shoulder. Weapons like the AK that kick up when you shoot will have an automatic headshot when you aim low. It's always been like this since 1.5 and it hasn't changed. What has changed is the ability to get easy HS in source because of the hitbox around the head as oppose to 1.5 1.6. Aim low.

[acolyte_to_jippity]

relax and don't overthink the game. yeah, try to win, but don't bust yourself striving for it. as your brain gets used to the game, you'll start noticing things that you didn't before, while you were trying super hard. Your eyes and ears will begin to process info natually, and your hands react automatically.

i've found a big difference in when i go carefully around a level looking for a "spot" and worrying about getting shot...and when i essentially relax and let my body take over.

also, communication with your team and teamwork is important. it's alot easier to relax and become absorbed into the game if you can trust your team to have your back.


oh, and clarion is amazing for long range.

[Spasm]

I am a pretty good cs player. I have been playing since 1.5, on and off. Here is a few tips from me:

Learn the maps, its important to know when you will meet the enemy, that way you will be on your toes and not suprised.

I know someone in this thread said aim low, but I aim for the head, and so does most top cs players, I used to watch CAL matches years ago, and they all aimed for the head, its better if you shoot 1 or 2 shots and get a HS then having to shoot more to get it. Plus most guns are amazingly accurate on the first shot.

I know this might be irrelevant but I used to play alot of aim_ maps years ago, to improve aim with the most used guns at long range. I'd suggest scoutzknives to improve sniping skills, fun map and you will learn how to snipe.

I play with a high enough sensitivity that I can turn around real fast if need be, but not much faster. I think too fast makes aiming harder in stressful situations while too slow makes it impossible to shoot the guy behind you.

Turn off automatic pick up for stronger guns option. Got me killed too many times.

I wear headphones and turn the sound up, it is important to know where your enemy is at just by the sound. You should be able to tell where they are and if they are friendly or not within a split second.

I have more but these are probably the more important ones. Good luck at getting better :)

[OMGBEARS]

[wall of text]

1) Invest in a professional gaming headset

5.1 true surround sound or 7.1 virtual surround sound is invaluable. It stepped my game up further than anything else I put money towards. Professional gaming headsets (such as the Steel Series 5h v2) are optimized for games like CSS and emphasize the frequencies that games use for sounds like footsteps, reloads, picking up the bomb, beginning a disarm, etc, etc. With my headset I can literally hear players exactly where they are on the map if they aren't being very careful before I can ever see them. I can also differentiate footsteps to tell how many there are, and how far apart they are.

2) Invest in a professional gaming mouse

Gaming mice (such as the Razer Deathadder or Naga) are developed with games in mind. That being said, they have a much more powerful tracking laser for improved accuracy as well as missing a few benefits of stock mouses or office mice. Those benefits include a really lame tool that non-gaming mice include which is the mouse can detect when you are trying to draw a line and cancel out small movements up or down. Anything under 5 degrees won't change the path of said mouse. With gaming mice the curser goes EXACTLY where you want it to with no filtering out small movements. A steady hand can be incredibly accurate. The day I got my death adder I tripled and quadrupled my score as a sniper in TF2. The stronger DPI laser and higher ultrapolling means lower response times and faster acceleration which translates into your crosshairs moving exactly when you want them to as well as when you left click you fire exactly when you need to without adding more than the absolute minimum to your response times.

3) Mouse Sensitivity

I started playing with very high sensitivity (around 9.5) and noticed that once I switched to a higher quality mouse (death adder ftw) that I got better results the lower my sensitivity was. Now I play with 2.5 for CSS and TF2 and it really works out wonderful. Low sensitivity and a big mouse pad (a gaming mouse pad - ~1foot/~1foot pad) will do great things for your accuracy. You have to move your hand around more, but you can also make extremely small adjustments if you need to. It takes some getting used to, but changing my mouse sensitivity alone helped me out big time.

4) Invest in a high-def monitor

Different monitors are better for different things. Some lower-quality monitors are opimized for viewing pictures. Some are optimized for watching video. You want ones with high refresh rates as well as high color and contrast quality in order to insure that when the enemy is there you can 1) see him and 2) react in time. HD gaming monitors are the best for this. You need to be able to SEE the enemy to kill him.

5) Learn about different weapons

Each weapon has a semi-unique recoil and are better for different circumstances. As ZERO and Loka mentioned, with the AK47 the recoil is up and to the left. The p228 is more accurate than the desert eagle when jumping or in the air. Weapons also lose their accuracies after a different number of shots. M228 is good for about 1 bullet before becoming extremely inaccurate at long ranges. The AK is good in bursts of 2 before losing accuracy, M1 can be used in bursts of 3, that sort of thing. It takes time to learn the popular weapons intricacies.

6) Watch demos of professional players

You can find demos of professional players on sites like ESEA which can teach you a lot of invaluable things. When to buy and when to save, what to buy when, hiding places, sniping spots, team-play stratagies, methods of throwing the different kinds of grenades, when to reload, tricks in terms of faking out the enemy (throwing a smoke grenade in place of a flash, or beginning a disarm then looking around for the enemy to pop out, for instance), these sorts of things can be learned from watching demos of professionals that have taken years, in some cases, to learn can be observed and absorbed by you in a few months time of dedication.

7) Play a lot

The more you play with proper techniques the better you become and more instinctive they become. The goal is to know when to switch to your pistol if you need to reload, when to flash, how to attack a position, how to defend a position, when to retreat, how to treat different weapons in different situations, which weapons are good for indoors fighting versus fighting at long range, etc, etc.

[/wall of text]

You can expect to invest around $500 into professional gaming equipment beyond your computer tower. ~350 on a good monitor, 80-100 for a good headset and 80 on a good mouse.

[maynard]

The best thing you can do is to play with people that challenge you, IMO. !

+10:wtg:


Lol bears quit being a noob. investing in products does not make you any better. honestly. you're gonna tell someone 2 go buy a new HD monitor 2 get better at the game? Lol

you don't need any fancy anything 2 be good at CSS.. all you need is 2 know the maps, have good reaction time, and have good hand eye.

spending a buncha money on a gaming mouse and all that other crap wont make you any better, it will just take money out of your pocket.


play people that are better then yourself, go on the losing team more often, and have a challenge, and just keep putting time into the game.




You can expect to invest around $500 into professional gaming equipment beyond your computer tower. ~350 on a good monitor, 80-100 for a good headset and 80 on a good mouse.

only if you wana throw money out the window Lol. you cant buy skill, you can only progress and learn and get better by playing more. fancy exspensive objects do not make you better.

[acolyte_to_jippity]

take golf.

the most expensive clubs in the world don't mean shit if you don't have the experience to use them.

now, the reverse isn't true however.

all the slkill in the world won't help for shit if you're using crap equipment. tiger woods aint going to play right if he's using a croquet mallet for a driver after all.

you don't need super quality stuff, just normal quality stuff. take me. i have a standard set of nvidia gaming headphones (about 40 bucks on newegg) that get the term gaming because they have a boom mic, a 20$ bluetooth optical mouse from lenovo (which came w/ my comp)

ironically, the crappy mouse is working great because of a slight quirk in the driver, clicking the scroll wheel left counts as me pressing "k"...and completely by accident, i bound !ztele to k.

[OMGBEARS]

+10:wtg:


Lol bears quit being a noob. investing in products does not make you any better. honestly. you're gonna tell someone 2 go buy a new HD monitor 2 get better at the game? Lol

Pft! You will definitely notice a huge difference if you go from standard stereo speakers to using a 7.1 virtual surround sound gaming headset. Being able to hear everything going on in a 20 foot area around you and being able to pinpoint exactly where footsteps are coming from, how many footsteps there are, if they are reloading, if they are going in different directions, etc, etc, etc, is priceless.

Same goes for the mouse, it's a large difference when you use a mouse optimized for gaming. I've used tons of mice before my death adder and can safely say that my death adder improved my game! It's more steady, more responsive, more accurate, has a faster response in terms of starting to move and stopping, has a smoother click and reset. Skill and experience can only take you so far before your hardware limits you. Hardware comes after experience, sure, but without the hardware you will never be as good as the guys with both skill and hardware. You do have to have the skill in order to fully appreciate the upgrade in hardware.

The HD monitor is less important, but important none-the-less if you want to fully optimize your game. Most professional players use similar set-ups not only because they're sponsored but because they're actually good set-ups that let them worry about the situation at hand rather than about their equipment.

EDIT:

The same is true with performing music. As a professional clarinetist I could make a plastic clarinet sound better than any beginning clarinetist. However, I couldn't do what I do with just a plastic clarinet. I need a professional set up in order to do so. Likewise, a beginning clarinetist couldn't just pick up my clarinet and play what I can play, they need the experience to do so.

TL;DR: Equipment matters.

[maynard]

Pft! You will definitely notice a huge difference if you go from standard stereo speakers to using a 7.1 virtual surround sound gaming headset. Being able to hear everything going on in a 20 foot area around you and being able to pinpoint exactly where footsteps are coming from, how many footsteps there are, if they are reloading, if they are going in different directions, etc, etc, etc, is priceless.

Same goes for the mouse, it's a large difference when you use a mouse optimized for gaming. I've used tons of mice before my death adder and can safely say that my death adder improved my game! It's more steady, more responsive, more accurate, has a faster response in terms of starting to move and stopping, has a smoother click and reset. Skill and experience can only take you so far before your hardware limits you. Hardware comes after experience, sure, but without the hardware you will never be as good as the guys with both skill and hardware. You do have to have the skill in order to fully appreciate the upgrade in hardware.

The HD monitor is less important, but important none-the-less if you want to fully optimize your game. Most professional players use similar set-ups not only because they're sponsored but because they're actually good set-ups that let them worry about the situation at hand rather than about their equipment.

EDIT:

The same is true with performing music. As a professional clarinetist I could make a plastic clarinet sound better than any beginning clarinetist. However, I couldn't do what I do with just a plastic clarinet. I need a professional set up in order to do so. Likewise, a beginning clarinetist couldn't just pick up my clarinet and play what I can play, they need the experience to do so.

TL;DR: Equipment matters.

you're a meat head.

as I said, fancy gadgets arn't skill. and most ppl play with the sound off and music on when they do anyway. having a slight edge on hearing better sound doesn't mean jack shit.

I just can't believe someone would ask how does 2 improve there skill, and your answer is 2 spend money Lol... that's so ass backwards it's not even funny.

your headset mouse and monitor don't give you any edge. your reaction time and hand eye is still the same, you've just wasted money is all.

if you wana believe diff, go for it, but you = wrong lol

yes a better clarinet will sound better, but we're talking about skill, not sound..... come on man..... go buy the best clarinet on the market, it might naturally sound a bit nicer, but your skill lvl with it will not improve at all... unless you practice and blah blah.

skill can't be bought. and his question was, how do I improve my Skill, not how do I get a better sound out of my clarinet, the 2 have absolutley nothing in common.

"get a HD monitor" yeah... for CSS... totally Lol...:stupid:



as acolyte said, you can spend all the money on the best clubs, or gear for any sport, even in paintball, you can go buy a $2000 gun, but you wont be ANY better. skill is worked for and earned, not paid for.


I'm pretty sure there's a reason within my going on 11 years of CSS now, you're literally the only person ive ever heard try and claim something like this




You can expect to invest around $500 into professional gaming equipment beyond your computer tower. ~350 on a good monitor, 80-100 for a good headset and 80 on a good mouse.


silly.. just down right silly lol.

[OMGBEARS]

you're a meat head.

as I said, fancy gadgets arn't skill. and most ppl play with the sound off and music on when they do anyway. having a slight edge on hearing better sound doesn't mean jack shit.

I just can't believe someone would ask how does 2 improve there skill, and your answer is 2 spend money Lol... that's so ass backwards it's not even funny.

your headset mouse and monitor don't give you any edge. your reaction time and hand eye is still the same, you've just wasted money is all.

if you wana believe diff, go for it, but you = wrong lol

skill can't be bought. and his question was, how do I improve my Skill, not how do I get a better sound out of my clarinet, the 2 have absolutley nothing in common.

"get a HD monitor" yeah... for CSS... totally Lol...:stupid:



as acolyte said, you can spend all the money on the best clubs, or gear for any sport, even in paintball, you can go buy a $2000 gun, but you wont be ANY better. skill is worked for and earned, not paid for.


I'm pretty sure there's a reason within my going on 11 years of CSS now, you're literally the only person ive ever heard try and claim something like this




silly.. just down right silly lol.

I don't think you understand what I'm saying :P

And besides, about half of my original post was about observing professional players, learning weapons and playing a lot using proper technique.

Believe me, I'm a perfectionist in everything that I do; performing at my best all the time is something I get paid for.

To say that you, with your 11 years of CSS experience, could go toe-to-toe with me with you using a computer that barely meets minimum reqs to play CSS and me using my own rig is something on which I'd bet good money.

But alas, this is not a pissing contest. He asked for ways he could get better, and I'd say that my post was pretty thorough to that end.

[maynard]

I don't think you understand what I'm saying :P

And besides, about half of my original post was about observing professional players, learning weapons and playing a lot using proper technique.

Believe me, I'm a perfectionist in everything that I do; performing at my best all the time is something I get paid for.

To say that you, with your 11 years of CSS experience, could go toe-to-toe with me with you using a computer that barely meets minimum reqs to play CSS and me using my own rig is something on which I'd bet good money.

But alas, this is not a pissing contest. He asked for ways he could get better, and I'd say that my post was pretty thorough to that end.


all I'm saying is you're wrong, and seem 2 think you can buy skill. ive never once in my god knows how long of online gaming in general heard any 1 say in response 2 the question "how do I get better at this game" come back with "oh go spend an additional 500 dollars on shit that will not make you better"

why do you keep bringing up shit that has no relevance, I don't care what you get paid 2 do in RL, that's not what we're talking about, just like we're not talking about instrumental sounds.

that's like saying if obama played an RTS, he would pwwn it cause of his leadership skills in RL< when the fact is THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER. just as your job in RL, has NOTHING to do with CSS, or your ability 2 shoot people in the game.

you keep brining up shit that has no relevance 2 prove your fail point of that spending 500 dollars on gaming shit will make someone better at CS lol.

I wont argue with ya anymore, if you wana honestly stand by that retarded claim, go nutts.

[chase]

Maynard, I think you're hard headed. I'm not trying to be rude, but you must not be thinking straight to completely throw out what bears said. Bears is correct for most parts of his post.

Better hardware will help you without a doubt as long as you know how to use it. I've gone from a regular optical mouse to my razer lachesis and I don't understand how I played without it for all of these years. I immediately noticed a difference in how well I could aim and just the way it felt. So much smoother and easier to play with.

I got a new monitor and once again immediately noticed a difference with my skill level. I could see things from across maps all of a sudden that I couldn't before. It helped drastically by improving the colours of just about everything. I can see much clearer and distinguish between objects and people much better.

I got a new tower 100x better than my old one and again, noticed a big change in the way I was playing. CSS ran much smoother and fps was not an issue due to my graphics card and all that fancy stuff inside my case.

I got a nice headset so that I could hear where people were, as bear said. That alone helped my game a ton. I can listen for when people are walking around corners and pretty well pre-fire as I hear them approaching it.

You can't tell me that this was all coincidence... Hardware will help you out if you know how to use it. Thats the basis of what we're trying to get across to you.

Care to 1v1? :D

P.S. Just in case you call me out for being younger than you, that means nothing. I have been playing since the the original half life came out. I've played every game since then. Just a fyi..

This was in no way meant to be offensive or aggressive.. just came out that way. Hopefully I covered everything in there.

[maynard]

obviously a better PC would improve performace.... the monitor and microphone and gaming mouse are all cosmetic accessories.




I got a nice headset so that I could hear where people were, as bear said. That alone helped my game a ton. I can listen for when people are walking around corners and pretty well pre-fire as I hear them approaching it.


Lol... ya... a cheap headset can do all that as well...


I could careless how old you are. I find it amusing though you start going on about your age before any 1 has even said anything.


like come on people, we're talking about CS here. the graphics are mediocre at best, and the game play is very simple. and you wana talk about having 2 get new PC's 2 run it better, and spending 500 bucks in gaming accessories for CSS? Lol.. I'm sorry but that's just funny. you can think I'm hard headed or whatever you want, cause I think you're both meat heads.

[chase]

obviously a better PC would improve performace.... the monitor and microphone and gaming mouse are all cosmetic accessories.

Cosmetic? I disagree. A sticker on the case of your computer would be a cosmetic accessory. I think that a headset (not for the microphone, I don't even use mine) and my mouse help quite a bit. I notice a difference in my gameplay personally, although I'm sure that somebody that has logged quite a bit more time than me or is just generally better at the game wouldn't find it to be much help. Bears and myself are just stating what helps us play to the best of our abilities.

I see what you're saying in a way, but I still have to disagree with you.

I guess a cheap headset could do that too, so what are you on about? You still have to spend money on the headset do you not? And if you're going to spend the money, why not just go for gold and get something decent.

I put the thing about my age in there because I've noticed people tend to look down on the younger players, and sometimes try to throw that in there to work to their advantage in an argument. I figured I would state that before anything starts up.

You seem like a very confident guy saying the gameplay is simple. The basis of it is, but when you get into complicated situations, its not all that simple, is it? The graphics are mediocre, I'll agree with you on that. You still need good fps to play the game the way it was intended to be played.

God damnit you keep editing your post. I can't keep up.

[maynard]

Bears and myself are just stating what helps us play to the best of our abilities.


Lol... saying



You can expect to invest around $500 into professional gaming equipment beyond your computer tower. ~350 on a good monitor, 80-100 for a good headset and 80 on a good mouse.



isn't stating what helps him personally play. it's saying be prepared 2 spend that much, cause it's basically like the norm when it's not.

[chase]

Lol... saying





isn't stating what helps him personally play. it's saying be prepared 2 spend that much, cause it's basically like the norm when it's not.


You've lost me now... what?

Did I use a word out of context? :S

Bears was just giving a general guideline to what good parts would come out to. I'm sure you can find them cheaper if thats what you're getting at

[maynard]

You've lost me now... what?

Did I use a word out of context? :S

Bears was just giving a general guideline to what good parts would come out to. I'm sure you can find them cheaper if thats what you're getting at

no what I'm saying is that bears and myself were disagreeing and now you've jumped in like you were involved when never were, and are now not understanding the facts

here's a fact



You can expect to invest around $500 into professional gaming equipment beyond your computer tower. ~350 on a good monitor, 80-100 for a good headset and 80 on a good mouse.


saying expect to spend 500 dollars gives the impression it's the regular and norm thing to do. the fact is CSS is a 10 dollar game, if you spend 500 dollars on shit 2 be better at it then that's just epic fail. I got no beef with people who wana buy that shit... but to do it for the soul purpose of "getting better at CS" is hilarious.

you said 2 posts ago that you and bears are stating what you personally like, and i"m saying no, bears is giving a false illusion that people need 2 spend a shit ton of money on extra stuff when they honestly don't.

[chase]

no what I'm saying is that bears and myself were disagreeing and now you've jumped in like you were involved when never were, and are now not understanding the facts

here's a fact




saying expect to spend 500 dollars gives the impression it's the regular and norm thing to do. the fact is CSS is a 10 dollar game, if you spend 500 dollars on shit 2 be better at it then that's just epic fail. I got no beef with people who wana buy that shit... but to do it for the soul purpose of "getting better at CS" is hilarious.

you said 2 posts ago that you and bears are stating what you personally like, and i"m saying no, bears is giving a false illusion that people need 2 spend a shit ton of money on extra stuff when they honestly don't.

In case you didn't notice, this is a forum. I am allowed to post in it, and agree with people and disagree with people. I can jump in wherever I would like to as long as it is related to the topic at hand.

Maybe me and bears do have a difference in what we think, but I think we are pretty well on the same page. How much money would you expect to spend on your computer to efficiently run the game? $10? the same price as the game? What I think bears is getting at is that if he was to start from scratch and had the money, that would be what to keep in mind. He didn't say that you HAVE TO go and buy all those things, but if you wanted to, they may help.

[maynard]

In case you didn't notice, this is a forum. I am allowed to post in it, and agree with people and disagree with people. I can jump in wherever I would like to as long as it is related to the topic at hand.


no 1 said you couldn't......



thx, but I don't need you 2 try and explain what bears is saying, I'm sure he's more then capable to do it himself. that and I'm able 2 read his msgs and see what he's saying.


I'm simply trying to say that spending 500 dollars wont do you any favours but break your bank. and even if you get all these goodies, the slight bit of skill difference isn't even what I'm sure the person was asking about in the first place. generally when someone asks how do I get better or good at the game, they want 2 pwwn, not have a slight advantage cause they spent a shitload of money. they want 2 be a board topper, and the best way 2 accomplish that is just play the game and become familiar with it and improve your hand eye and reaction time.


I'm done with this thread. if wasting money is what your into... go nutts.

-End

[chase]

no 1 said you couldn't......



thx, but I don't need you 2 try and explain what bears is saying, I'm sure he's more then capable to do it himself. that and I'm able 2 read his msgs and see what he's saying.


I'm simply trying to say that spending 500 dollars wont do you any favours but break your bank. and even if you get all these goodies, the slight bit of skill difference isn't even what I'm sure the person was asking about in the first place. generally when someone asks how do I get better or good at the game, they want 2 pwwn, not have a slight advantage cause they spent a shitload of money. they want 2 be a board topper, and the best way 2 accomplish that is just play the game and become familiar with it and improve your hand eye and reaction time.


I'm done with this thread. if wasting money is what your into... go nutts.

-End

I'm sure bears can explain himself just fine, but he hasn't so far so I threw in my 2 cents. My ideas were the same as bears, so I try to help him get his point across to you. Welcome to life, people help out others. If bears doesn't want me to speak by his side, then I won't.

Raw skill is obviously very useful, but we're talking beyond that as well. Better off telling him everything now.

[[UA] Mos Def]

Here's my two cents since I actually posted the question in the beginning. I agree with both sides to an extent and I think there is a happy medium. I have been playing the game a long time and I do have a good concept of what I need to be doing to improve, I mainly posted the question to see if some of the TOP players could suggests some things that have helped them to become the superior players that they are. I tend to top the scores a lot, but when some of the more awesome players come in I see myself doing worse when they are in and I just wanted to pick their brains a little bit.

Anyway, what I am saying is....I understand the argument that decent hardware is going to improve your ability to get better, I also understand that 500 dollars is in no waynear what needs to be spent to be both competitive and at pretty much the same level, if not better than most people. I have a pretty sweet rig set up and the only things I have purchased for the game is a set of 15 dollar headphones, (which are 2.1, but honestly if I had surround I would maybe get one more kill a round, so the extra 80 dollars isn't worth it), and my monitor is a standard 21 in lcd which is just fine for my needs and even in more intense gaming I find that I am doing just fine. Now I don't really have any room to compare, so maybe I more expensive monitor may be beneficial, but I highly doubt that extra money would honestly turn into more kills. I do have a decent gaming mouse and I agree that precision movement and aiming is important. I think I spent about 65 dollars on my mouse, but I know many many many great players who have a stock dell optical mouse that can pwn my ass any day.

I think it is pretty obvious that some better hardware can be beneficial, but some improvements are kind of cosmetic in the sense that it is kind of overkill and spending the extra money doesn't really relay into improved play. Its like playing on a 720p or 1080p, the naked eye can't tell the difference at the distance that most gamers play, so why get the more expensive one? That is just vanity.

Anyway, I appreciate all the comments and help you guys have given me. I have employed lots of the tips I have read from this thread and I am getting better by the day!!!

I hope you guys can find that happy medium!!

Mos

[walterbrunswick]

I've been using PS/2 ball mice since the late 1990's.

The ball mouse that I've been using for the past month is glitchy as fuck--the mouse pointer randomly jumps across the screen (in-game and out), the mouse randomly clicks (and discharges a round in-game), and is just a REAL pain in the ass. Playing with that mouse has SEVERELY reduced my abilities to play up to my skill level.

It's not necessary to spend a fortune on equipment, but like OMGBEARS and chase have stated, there is without a shadow of a doubt that equipment improves gameplay. It's only a matter of degree of how much.

I'm going to buy my first USB optical mouse after my shift today :D

[loka]

Yeah you really don't need a 100 dollar mouse. It's all about the surface of the mouse. Talk to some good CS players and they are using a Logitech standard mouse, but a great mouse pad. Sensitivity is also a plus. I play on my couch and use the sofa as my surface so go figure. CS is boring now so whatever.

[Spasm]

I use a pair of sony earbud headphones that I bought for my mp3 player. I may have gave 20 bucks for them. I hear as much as I need to. I have used 5.1 surround headphones in the past and I actually did worse with them. I ended up playing on my speakers more then my headphones..

I use a logitech mx518 for a mouse, I spent like 50 bucks on it new, and now it can be bought for like 20. I dont use a mousepad, got a good smooth surface on my desk.

Older computer as well, I maintain about 200 fps on css so its good enough for me. I do use a 1080p 21 inch moniter through, so I'm not sure if it makes a difference.

I tihnk if you are using a ball mouse you need to upgrade or you will be hindering yourself. That is probably the biggest hardware difference maker. As far as the other high end stuff that omgbears was posting, i would say it would make a difference, but not that much of one, maybe a extra kill or two a map.

I maintain a 2.4 K:D ratio on PUB and a 1.77 K:D on GG almost always in the top 3 rank. Take my opinion as you want :)

[OMGBEARS]

I should clarify that you can surely play on a bare-bones computer with a low-end headset, mouse and such and be better than 90% of the people you'll find on PUB servers. If you find yourself enjoying this game (or other FPS or any other game for that matter) to the extent that you feel that investing in high-end hardware to bring that number up to say.. 99% of the people you'll find on PUB servers, you'll certainly notice the difference. If you get an ESEA subscription or find other places where people pay-to-play with people of a higher caliber than your run-of-the-mill PUB player you will also find a different story, however. Any edge you can afford to give yourself is a good one. Key word: 'afford' -- don't break your bank if you want to tighten up your CS game 5%.

There is a threshold with equipment that after a certain dollar value of said equipment there are very small gains in terms of what you receive in performance. You have to be very good to even notice the difference, and it's not a guarantee that said difference will result in a guaranteed improvement in performance, as many players grow accustomed to their set-ups over time. If you enjoy CS or any other game to the point where your skill is out-pacing your equipment and also to the point where purchasing high-end equipment is an option (not all of us have enough money to invest into high-end gaming hardware) then by all means do so. However, it's always a cost-benefit deal. You will pay more for a smaller increase in performance at high-end rather than low-end.

TL;DR: You won't become rambo all-of-a-sudden if you buy a top of the line machine gun. You have to start off at the machete like rambo did and once you get really good with that maybe the upgrade to the machine gun will be worth while.

P.S. Thank you, chase, for trying to help me explain my point! Much <3. Also much <3 maynard, even though you're being a poop-head.

[Vladninja]

I cant believe THIS has some how turned into a flame thread. Get back on the subject and stop flaming each other or I will close this thread tonight and delete all negative posts.

@ Walter- Why are you still here? Doesn't your server launch in less than a week? Most of IBIS is ready to see you move on...
Its nothing personal but I think your move to a new Clan/Server is a good thing. Its been fun but I wont miss the drama queens you seem to attract... :muffy:

[OMGBEARS]

I cant believe THIS has some how turned into a flame thread. Get back on the subject and stop flaming each other or I will close this thread tonight and delete all negative posts.

@ Walter- Why are you still here? Doesn't your server launch in less than a week? Most of IBIS is ready to see you move on...
Its nothing personal but I think your move to a new Clan/Server is a good thing. Its been fun but I wont miss the drama queens you seem to attract... :muffy:

Tee hee, Vlad.

Eh, as far as flaming goes I don't think there's too much of it. A pretty low ratio if I say so, myself. Posts concerning skill are bound to have some of that in them! Plus, most of the flaming was at me, and I don't mind all that much :P

EDIT: I'm sorry if my poop-head comment offended anyone. My b, yo.

[maynard]

. Also much <3 maynard, even though you're being a poop-head.

Lol.. I'm not being a poop head. I just strongly believe if someone asks how 2 get better, saying "be prepared to invest 500 dollars in gaming equipment" is an incredibly stupid ass thing to say, and I will stand by that till the day I die.

instead of arguing the fact with me, then having chase "clarify it".. and then agreeing with chase, you could have just said it properly from the get go, which you now have... that the 500 dollars worth of shit will only sssllligghhttlllyyy increase your overall skill.... even though you were claiming the headset alone will make "a huge difference"... and now claim all these things combined will only up your skill about 5%



I cant believe THIS has some how turned into a flame thread. Get back on the subject and stop flaming each other or I will close this thread tonight and delete all negative posts.


Where is this flame you speak of? I see people disagreeing about the thread topic issue and discussing the topic issue. other then myself calling bears a noob once and chase calling me hot headed (all in good humor) I don't see any flame any where... I see people disagreeing, that's about it. I wouldn't call that flame.

[walterbrunswick]

This was more of a discussion as opposed to a flame war.

And yes Vladninja, we're moving on, but we haven't been able to make the purchase yet because myself and my business partner have been very busy lately, so I'm just shootin' the shit here.

As far as drama queens go, I recall you seemed to be very good friends with one of them.

[acolyte_to_jippity]

guys, this is not a place for personal attacks.

def was simply looking for advice about getting better. walter's organization has nothing to do with that.