Aim isn’t everything. Don’t get me wrong, your ability to shoot people in the head and exercise nutty ‘flicks of da wrist’ is one of the most important components to winning rounds. However, at a certain point, you will start to experience diminishing returns in the improvement of your aim. You’ve still got to keep your aim sharp, so keep on grinding DMs and aim_botz, but be sure you’re paying attention to other aspects of the game too! One aspect that doesn’t require thousands of hours to improve, like game sense, is your knowledge of smoke grenades. Most of us play CS:GO in the form of Valve matchmaking or ESEA/FaceIt pugs and can likely attest to poor nade usage in those games. If you don’t know smokes on a certain map, learning them represents one of the most efficient ways to become a more valuable player on your team. There’s a reason why professional players prioritize buying utility over a better gun when they’re short on money. Utility wins rounds—simple as that. But you have to know how to use them! Dust2 is a good place to start as it is the universal map. Without further ado, then, let’s cover the 5 must know smokes on T-side dust2.

Smoke #1 – X-Box Smoke

This smoke requires a jump throw—you can either do this manually or through a jump throw bind.

Step 1. Stand in the corner of the ramp at T-spawn.

Step 2. Place your crosshair on the second to left pictured dot (scoped image shows exactly where).

Step 3. Tap W and jump throw.

If you’ve ever watched popular streamer Steel’s YouTube videos on T-side philosophy on dust2, you’ll know that he emphasizes catwalk control a lot. The reasoning is simple and sound—if you have control of catwalk, it gives you the flexibility to execute on either bomb site. The problem, of course, is getting there without being picked from CT middle. This is what makes the X-Box smoke such an important one as it enables you to achieve just that. There are a few different ways to do this smoke, but I think this one is best for two reasons: 1) you can do it as soon as the round starts from spawn 2) you can do it in complete safety. The first reason is important because by throwing the smoke in spawn, it will allow you to take early cat control. The second reason is important because throwing the smoke in lower B tunnels or top mid exposes you to potential CT pushes. This makes this particular X-Box smoke particularly effective.

Smoke #2 – Long-A Corner Smoke

 Step 1. Stand in the corner of the car at the entrance of T-spawn as you leave T-ramp.

Step 2. Place your crosshair right below the first dot as pictured (scoped image shows exactly where).

Step 3. Jump throw.

This is an important smoke for long A control that you will see professional teams regularly use. Long control is crucial for executing an A-split and it is for this reason that CTs often put heavy numbers there with utility usage. This smoke is useful as it prevents a CT crossfire into the narrow DD area. Instead of worrying about both the CT near pit and the CT near corner, you can focus on clearing the pit area first. Alternatively, if the CTs seem to back away as a result of the smoke, you can flash into the smoke and push through to catch the retreating/flashed CTs.

Smoke #3 – CT Spawn A-Side Smoke

From Long-A:

Step 1. Right as you step out of DD, find the middle green/white posters in between long DD and the blue bins.

Step 2. Run into the green/white posters and stand on the right edge of the green poster.

Step 3. Look up to left and find sticks coming out of the wall. Place your crosshair in the middle between the first and third sticks at the height of the third stick, as pictured.

Step 4. Simply throw.

From Catwalk:

Step 1. Stand in the corner of the first box when you get up the stairs at catwalk.

Step 2. Look up at the left wall and line your crosshair in between the white lines. Line it up slightly to the left of where the dome ends as pictured.

Step 3.Simply throw.

This smoke is useful and at times better than an elevator smoke as it allows full vision of the potential CT playing elevator from both catwalk and long in a split scenario while providing cover for Ts crossing long from CT mid. In addition, with this smoke, you can safely have a player jump down from cat to elevator. This is particularly useful as the split becomes 3-way and is an effective way to trade out the CT playing car which can sometimes be a nightmare to deal with when getting into A site in the elbow area.

Smoke #4 – Mid to B Smoke

Step 1. Stand in the corner of X-Box as pictured.

Step 2.  Look towards DD and find the first window from the right as pictured. Place your crosshair in the middle of that window.

Step 3. Simply throw.

This smoke is effective for B splits and operates similarly to the CT-Spawn A-Side. It covers the other side of CT spawn to provide cover for Ts who are splitting B from mid. Without this cover, Ts are sitting ducks from multiple angles. It should be noted that if a CT is boosted/jumped onto the boxes in CT spawn, Ts getting into B DD will be spotted. CTs will also often try to flash out and push the smoke so be aware of that. But anytime you can force a CT to make a play based on a single smoke, you should take it. All in all, the smoke is a must anytime you execute a B-split.

Smoke #5 – B Entry Smoke

Step 1. Stand in the corner at the first pillar when you enter B-tunnels.

Step 2. Look towards B-site and place your crosshair in the middle of walls as pictured.

Step 3. Run forward for a second and simply throw.

This smoke is useful for entering B through the tunnels as it will block off CTs vision from the platform and double box areas. One of the worst things that can happen as a T is to die in tunnel before getting out into B. This smoke gives you a higher chance to get into the site and clear the angles one by one as opposed to being exposed to the entire site as you enter. You still may need to flush out CTs on the left with mollies and should also be wary of a CT on back plat. Nevertheless, it is a good smoke that allows Ts to swarm the B site and hopefully get the necessary trades to secure the round.

The list does not contain super clever one-way smokes and the likes, but these are the smokes that are essential to taking map control or executing a split that will lead to a higher chance of winning a round. For the price of $300, the smoke grenade is one of the highest value items in CS:GO so make use of them and help your team win rounds! Your ability to use them effectively is what makes a well-rounded player. Once they help you win some rounds, you won’t be likely to forget them soon. And by all means, if there is an alternative way to throw these smokes or think another T-side smoke deserves to be on this list, be sure to comment below!

-SZ | Kevin