Properly timed aggression can set a good player apart from the rest of the crowd. There are certainly times to be aggressive and times that you shouldn’t be. Here are a few of each of these times.
When you should be aggressive :
When your opponent is reloading. If they are reloading and not behind cover, use that to your ad- vantage.
When you have your opponent pinned down. If you are able to pin your opponent behind a box sometimes it is to your advantage to push on him. However when you are pushing on him make sure you stay at a good angle.
When you’re struggling as CT. Sometimes brute force is the only thing that wins rounds.
When your team has a huge player advantage. 3:1 or better. But be careful… being overly ag- gressive could do more damage than good. Remember that being aggressive still means that your team has to coordinate it’s attacks and think strategically. More often than not teams forget that last point.
When you shouldn’t be aggressive :
After you have planted the bomb. If the bomb is down, it’s better just to make the safe play and get some cover unless you have at least a 3:1 advantage.
If you’re a CT and no bomb has been called. Try to fight the urge to rotate at the first hint of a gun battle. If I am holding a bomb site alone, I will hold my position until either bomb has been called or people on my team start dying.
Aggression also plays a big part in the idea of momentum. Momentum is what happens when one team is simply steam rolling another, or when one team loses 9 rounds in a row and rallies back to win out. There are many things that effect momentum, and like how classical physics describes momentum with the equation p = mv, I will describe momentum with an equation.
Momentum equation :
Let’s start by breaking the equation down. Classical physic’s equation p = mv almost holds true in CS. P being momentum, M being mass, and V being velocity. Momentum in CS is defined by how much money a team has (the ability to buy up) plus your aggression factor (how Aggressive your team is playing) and that entire quantity is then multiplied by your streak (rounds you’ve won in succession). Since the ability to buy up is something you can only achieve through winning rounds, the only variables you can change are your aggression and your streak. Let’s start by talking about your streak. Momentum can change at a moment when you stop doing what works, or when what has been working fails. For example, if you do a rush B 3 times in a row and take the site and win the round all three times, you have created a streak. When you change the strategy, you effect the streak, thus giving the possibility of a momentum switch. Streak’s can be more complicated, such as doing a 3-2 split, then a 2-3 split while hitting the same bomb site on alternating rounds. Your streak can also be changed and momentum flipped when what your doing fails to work again. For example, if you rushed the B bomb site three times in a row and taken the rounds, if on the fourth round the CT’s mount a defense and win, your streak is over and the momentum has a chance to switch the CT side.
Since whoever wins the round generally gets the most money, the momentum has a greater chance to be on the side of the team that won the previous round. However, momentum is always on the side of the team that won the previous three rounds, as this gives them enough money to buy up even if they lose the next two.
Here’s how to use the formula. P = (M + A) S
Momentum = (Money factor + Aggression factor) * Streak
Money Factor = This will either be 0, 1 or 2. 0 means you have no money, 1 means your team can buy up fully ONLY for the current round, 2 means your team can buy fully for the next two or more rounds.
Aggression Factor = This will either be a 0, 1 or 2. A 0 indicates your team is not aggressive at all. A 1 indicates you are rushing some of the time OR you are playing as CT’s, and a 2 indicates you are running mostly rushing type strategies.
Streak = The number of consecutive rounds your team has won in a row.
Important things to remember –
• If you’re playing on CT side, your aggression factor will be 1.
• If you have not won any previous rounds, yet are very aggressive and can buy up fully, you still have 0 net momentum on your side.
Now let’s look at some examples...
Team A is on CT side of de_dust2. Team A has won the previous 3 rounds, and has enough money to buy for the next two rounds. What is their momentum?
P = (2 + 1)(3) P = 9
Their momentum is 9.
Team B is on T side of de_dust2. Team B has won 1 previous round, but is playing extremely aggressive due to the CT’s playing outside of the bomb sites. They have enough money to buy fully for one round only.
P = (1 + 2)(1) P = 3
Their momentum is 3.
Team B from the previous problem win their next 3 rounds, giving them a 4 round streak. What is their new mo- mentum?
P = (2 + 2)(4) P = 16
Their momentum is now 16. Please note that their money factor changed to 2 due to the fact that they are able to buy up for the next two or more rounds.
Team C is on T side of de_inferno. They have won 10 rounds straight. What is their momentum? P = (2 + 2)(10)
P = 40
Team D is playing Team C on de_inferno, what is their momentum? P = (1 + 1)*0
P = 0
Their momentum is zero.
The lowest possible momentum is a 0, and highest is a 60 (although this would mean your strategies are mostly rushing, you have enough money to buy for multiple rounds, and you have won the previous 14 rounds straight). Any momentum calculated to be higher than a 10 is favorable., although this is only 1/6th of the total momentum possible. Hopefully you can see from those exam- ples what momentum really means and how it is calculated.
So how does momentum actually affect your game? To be honest, there’s no scientific study you can do like you can in classical physics. Everything beyond this point is my own speculation, and can never be proved right or wrong. It’s up to you to make up your mind if you want to trust my judgement and experience.
Momentum can win and lose matches. Although it’s not the MOST important thing, it certainly plays a big roll in who wins and loses. One thing that momentum gives a team is hope. When mo- mentum builds for a team that’s an underdog, or needs many consecutive rounds to win, it fires the players up and makes them actually think “we actually can win this”. This in turn leads to better play- ing, which leads to more rounds, which leads to higher momentum, which leads to a closer match. Even tough momentum many not actually win a round for a team, it effects a teams mentality enough so that they can play to their full potential. Either way, momentum and winning rounds are closely related.