All smoke changes in Counter-Strike 2: How smokes work in CS2

Valve will update its classic tactical shooter in Counter-Strike 2, highlighting smokes and how smoke grenades work in the new engine.

One of the biggest updates that Valve highlighted in its announcement of Counter-Strike 2 was the strides the engine has made in terms of smoke grenades.

In Counter-Strike 2, smokes are more responsive to their surroundings and can be affected by light, gunshots, grenades and other objects in the environment.

In CS:GO, smokes were more like an opaque part of the player’s view that was activated by the release of a smoke grenade. In Counter-Strike 2, smokes are a dynamic part of the game because they are now coded as three-dimensional objects.

How do smokes work in Counter-Strike 2?

In one of the announcement videos for the new game, Valve highlighted the big changes for smokes. Smokes in the new game will grow to fill spaces in the map and all players will also see the same smoke on their screens.

Previously, players could create one-way smokes in which one player would be able to see through parts of it and others would have their vision completely obstructed. In other iterations of Counter-Strike, smokes could also be a bit finicky with how much they expanded and wasn’t consistent in the vision it obstructed from the same position.

The last, and arguably biggest, change to smokes in Counter-Strike 2 is their intractability with guns and grenades.

In CS:GO, if a player shoots through a smoke or throws a grenade on a smoke cloud, nothing would really happen. In Counter-Strike 2, however, the plumes of smoke can be carved through and players can make windows of vision through them by shooting at them or by using grenades to dissipate the smoke quickly before it naturally goes away.

These changes have large implications for tactics in the game casually and competitively and fans will probably not understand the full impact of them until they get their hands on the new title.

For more information about Counter-Strike 2, make sure to check out the links below:

How to play Counter-Strike 2 limited beta test | Is Counter-Strike 2 going to be free to play? | What is sub-tick in Counter-Strike 2? | Can you play Counter-Strike 2 on Linux or macOS? | Can banned CS:GO players play Counter-Strike 2? | What will happen to my CSGO skins? | Will Counter-Strike 2 come to Steam Deck? | Valve officially reveals Counter-Strike 2 | Everything we know about Counter-Strike 2