Inferno is officially back in the active duty map pool! It has replaced Dust2 and has already been played a few times during DreamHack Las Vegas. As teams have likely gotten more practice on it over the past couple weeks, we should expect to see more of it at IEM Katowice. Inferno is exciting to both watch and play, so I have to say I'm happy with the change! The changes have been more or less limited to a widening of certain choke points, such as the entrance to B, along with upgraded graphics. The old Inferno was notorious for being quite dominant for CT sides as teams would be able to keep B permanently smoked or mollied for the duration of the round. The widening of the choke point has made it easier for Ts to execute onto B, but with so many different angles to cover as you enter, properly utilizing your nades still remains critical to success. In particular, fire is extremely powerful on Inferno and using them as you execute onto B will make it much easier for your team to take the site. The increased use of mollies in the pro scene has been one of the contributing factors in the shifting of the meta to be less and less CT dominant over the years. Unsurprisingly, though, when one pugs, it's uncommon see more than 3 Ts buy molotovs and even rarer to see them properly utilized! But for $400, they're quite the steal given molotovs can completely eliminate certain positions from CTs. With that being said and with more Inferno play on the horizon, we'll cover exactly how to eliminate those CT positions to help your B-site executes.

Molotov #1 - Sandbags

Step 1. Run up the right wall at banana until you are pictured windows. Make sure you are not completely hugging the wall, but close enough to give yourself cover from top banana.

Step 2. Place your crosshair near the rightmost beam under the roof as pictured.

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

The sandbags molotov is probably the easiest one to throw, but it remains an important one nevertheless. As YNk will frequently point out, molotovs are really strong during anti-eco rounds to flush out CTs who may be hiding in corners to hold a close angle where pistols (Five-sevens) can be devastating. This molotov will fire out the entire position and forces the CT to either run back to site, potentially exposing himself as he does so, or run into a more compromising position to make a play in the open. All in all, a simple yet effective molotov for taking banana control.

Molotov #2 - 1st Oranges

Step 1. Run into the leftmost corner of the barrels at top banana (old car).

Step 2. Place your crosshair on the 1st dip of the roof to the right of the beam that lies above the left edge of the teal painting on the wall. The scoped image shows exactly where to place your crosshair.

Step 3. Jump throw.

Another pesky angle that CTs can hold is the 1st oranges position. This is a common spot and can be especially effective for CTs as it is possible to popflash Ts entering the site from the position. It is possible to spot the CT playing 1st oranges if you make it to grill, but this isn't a reliable way to clear the spot. Simply firing out the 1st oranges position will allow your team to focus on the other angles as they enter the site.

Molotov #3 - 2nd Oranges

 Step 1. Run into the leftmost corner of the barrels at top banana (old car).

Step 2. Place your crosshair in the dip of the roof directly above the leftmost post as pictured. The scoped image shows exactly where to place your crosshair.

 

Step 3. Jump throw.

Similar to 1st oranges, this is another angle that Ts have to clear as they enter the site. But sometimes, taking the split second to check the angle will expose you to a peeking CT playing from dark or new box. Having to worry left (oranges), middle (new box), and right (dark) as you enter the site is less than ideal. Entry fragging is hard enough as it is. Firing out the oranges position will allow your entry fragger to focus on a more concentrated field of vision as they clear the site.

Molotov #4 - 1st Oranges Boost

Step 1. Wedge yourself in between the barrel and the upright plank of wood at top banana (old car).

Step 2. Find the beam that is to the left of the wolf in the teal painting on the wall (the 5th beam from the right). Place your crosshair in the first dip of the roof to the right of the beam. The scoped image shows exactly where to place your crosshair.

 

Step 3. Jump throw.

B executes are sometimes completely wrecked by a player sitting on top of 1st oranges. There's a lot of angles to worry about as you enter B and sometimes you'll look above a split second too late. This mollies out the entire top of the 1st oranges box and a bit of the 1st oranges position as well. Using this molly together with 2nd oranges molly above will completely negate the oranges area altogether as the 2nd oranges molly will cover the half of the 1st oranges that this molly does not cover. Again, this will allow your team to focus on the remaining angles that will make the site less difficult to take.

Molotov #5 - New Box

Step 1. Wedge yourself in between the barrel and the upright plank of wood at top banana (old car).

Step 2. Look for where the two roofs intersect with each other. Place your crosshair in the first dip of the roof to the right as pictured. Move your crosshair to the right a little as well as up in order to be level with the highest point of the roof. The scoped image shows exactly where to place your crosshair.

Step 3. Jump throw.

This fires out one of the most commonly played positions at B. This is for good reason. It gives the CT full cover as well as the ability to peek from two different angles. If your team is working with only one molotov, you couldn't go wrong with mollying out new box. That being said, this molly is difficult to get just right. Your crosshair has to be placed almost exactly as pictured. Otherwise, it may bounce off the roof or leave some parts of the new box position safe from fire. The best way to go about practicing this would be to scope the spot as exactly pictured and switching to your molotov. With your respective crosshair, find something that lines up with your crosshair that will allow you to remember the exact spot with precision. It takes a bit of work, but will more than pay for itself once mastered.

 Molotov #6 - Dark

Step 1. Crouch above the plank of wood at top banana (old car). Crouch and look all the way down. Line your crosshair up to the right edge of the wood.

Step 2. Look up and place your crosshair in the first dip in the roof directly to the right of the trees as pictured.

Step 3. Simply throw.

Dark is another common spot because it can be difficult for Ts to spot CTs playing from there and CTs can also hide there to make a sneaky play. Flushing dark out will force the CT to likely play from the first pillar to the left which provides little cover. It should be noted that the pillar does provide some cover to play from, making the dark molotov a little less effective than the other molotovs.

Molotov #7 - Coffins

Step 1. Run up banana until you get to the pictured area the crosshair is pointing to.

Step 2. Crouch and look all the way down. Place your crosshair in the middle of the shadows as pictured.

Step 3. Place your crosshair at the top of the dark mark right above leftmost barrel at top banana (old car). The scoped image shows exactly where to place your crosshair.

Step 4. Jump throw.

When I hold B with an AWP, playing coffins is one of my favorite places to play. It gives a significant advantage for the CT awper vs. any potential T awper trying to peek the angle. If the Ts execute onto the site, you can re-peek from a different angle or drop back to the garden area and wait for rotations. Teams will more than often opt to smoke out coffins, but mollying it can have two distinct advantages: 1) the CT player must move from the fire or die, whereas in a smoke, they can spam through it 2) while risky, the CT player can jump on top of the coffins to gain vision (similar to ticket booth on Mirage). The obvious disadvantage is that the CT player can move back to the garden area and still have vision of Ts as they enter the site. Still, a handy molotov to throw in certain situations.

BONUS Molotov #8 - Default Plant (BBQ Grill)

 Step 1. Run to the first step in the construction area.

Step 2. Crouch and look all the way down. Place your crosshair on the second line from the left on the bottom steps as pictured.

Step 3. Stand up and find the corner sticking out the right of the pillars. The scoped image shows exactly which corner.

Step 4. Move your crosshair down until you hit the dark part of the ledge and move it down a little more. The scoped image shows exactly where to place your crosshair.

Step 5. Jump throw.

 As you can see, this molotov is different from all of the ones above. While the mollies above are used to take the site, this particular molotov is used when you already have the site in a post-plant situation. This will allow you to molly the entire default plant section (old BBQ grill) from construction, denying the CTs the ability to defuse the bomb for roughly 7 seconds, granted they do not have a smoke. The stars will have to align in order for this to work, but the moment may come when this molotov proves to be the difference in the round.

The obvious advantage CTs have is the fact that there are a number of positions to play from and Ts don't know exactly which one they're playing at on any given round. By successfully using molotovs, you can lessen this edge. It's simple math. You have a much higher chance of being successful at clearing three spots rather than five. So if you find yourself in a pug and no one else knows any molotovs, you will still be doing your team a service by throwing one. No matter how marginal, it will still give your team a higher chance of taking the site. I want to close by noting that there is one particular molotov that I could not find--the boost spot that Xyp9x used to ace NiP at DreamHack Las Vegas. This is what molotovs can sometimes prevent if you molly just right! To be fair, it was a fantastic play and I'm not sure if it's even possible to molly that spot, but if anyone finds it (with the requirement of being able to be thrown from good cover in banana), please do share the wealth!

-SZ | Kevin