Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, one of the most popular eSports and FPS titles, has a new operation called Operation Riptide. Along with the announcement for the new operation, the developers shared patch notes containing details of every kind of change that have arrived. Most of the time, when a new operation arrives, no one bothers much about the patch notes and all when a new operation drops. Still, this time, the internet is divided in half because Valve made a huge change to Dust2, the most familiar and iconic map in gaming history. The patch note mentioned that there would be a ‘Slight visibility tweak from T spawn through mid’, and here’s what it means.
We're adding new maps during the Operation and updating Ancient and Dust2. Here's a sneak peek at Dust2 changes: pic.twitter.com/2nCfoFktYi
— CS:GO (@CSGO) September 22, 2021
In this video, you can see that, right around the T-spawn, one significant change is there- You can no longer spawn, buy an AWP and get ready to hit the Counter-Terrorists hit while they cross Mid towards the B bombsite. The direct line of sight from T Spawn to Mid is now blocked permanently. You could, however, jump down to Suicide to have a direct line of sight, but it will surely waste a few precious seconds. Even at Suicide, the versatility of AWP is reduced as once you have jumped onto the box, you can’t just hit ‘S’ to climb down and get automatically hidden. Instead, now, if you want to get down, you will have to go sideways, with a possibility that someone from Mid may blow your head out.
Though developers call it a ‘slight visibility tweak’, this dramatic change will completely change how people used to play Dust2 for all these years. Without that direct line of sight to mid, we may not see something like Fnatic destroying apeX.
However, this will let CTs rush to Lower Tunnels at the start of the round without worrying about getting butchered at mid. This update will indeed have a significant impact on the game. The most exciting part of it will be how this major change affects the professional scene, which is still very lively, and tournaments are happening.
People are already having very polarizing or radical thoughts about Dust2. Some folks at Reddit are already suggesting their big idea to bring back the old Dust2 with some minor changes rather than this massive update. Apart from this, the platform at the B bombsite received a minor update where the door was shifted back and the area is now slightly more visible for those approaching towards the site from the Upper Tunnels.
Apart from this, Valve has made changes to two weapons. M4A1-S, the much loved and primary rifle for CT, now does more damage to the body, and Deagle does minor damage. The body shield, used by CTs in good old days returns, finally. Though, for now, it’s available only in Hostage Rescue Maps in casual game mode.
