This video looks into Slothsquadron's changes to CS GO in more depth.
I'd suggest you check out the sub-reddit in the description of this video which will remain
up to date with the latest guides, tweaks and downloads.
Every weapon has been changed in some way and I'll be going through the categories later
on.
Slothsquadron took me on a fascinating journey behind the scenes to the numbers that define
each of the weapons of Counter Strike.
They don't look like much to the casual observer but he has been watching them change for years.
He began noticing inconsistencies with which figures changed.
Well, of course some are changed in the name of balance.
You expect that.
But he started to point out interesting discrepancies with the changes.
He even had theories as to why they had occurred, explaining how some values had been left neglected
yet still included since the earlier games, while some updates would change MOST weapons
but leave others the same for no logical reason.
One example of this is the Mac-10's ridiculous accuracy when climbing a ladder when compared
with other weapons, such as the bizon.
His weapon balance project has 3 main goals: 1) To improve some questionable design choices
for certain guns.
There's nothing wrong with rewarding players for using weapons in particular ways, provided
it isn't open to blatant abuse.
It's hard to defend the accuracy of scout-jumping when in conjunction with hitbox problems,
or how the tec-9's run and gun accuracy has been exploited in countless games.
This mod reduces the effectiveness of the said tactics, which go against the gameplay
that most of CSGO tries to encourage.
First shot accuracy has been increased.
Many players from 1.6 had their tap-fire playstyle ruined once they moved to CS GO due to how
inconsistent core weapons were at range.
Contesting long sight lines became about using smokes and flashes to close the gap in order
to compensate for this inaccuracy, rather than landing skilful long-range shots.
The level of inaccuracy that rifles should have has always been up for debate.
In short, this mod should make tap firing and bursting a lot more viable, with spraying
remaining mostly the same.
Jumping accuracy is now more punishing, to prevent players from abusing certain positions
and the broken hitboxes.
Another nice little touch is that weapons such as the FAMAS and Galil now have reserve
ammunition that's a multiple of their magazine capacity, so you now have 3 spare magazines
rather than two and a bit, which always seemed strange to me.
2) To improve the overall balance between guns while still keeping the meta-game similar
to its present form.
This is the tricky one so it will require playtesting to see whether Slothsquadron's
adjustments are balanced.
The now-buffed deagle may once again overshadow the other pistols, but hopefully this won't
be the case and other pistols will still have a part to play in eco rounds, which should
now hopefully be more skill-based than before.
He accepts that not every gun should be as used as the AK or M4, but they should at least
have some kind of purpose.
I mean, COME ON.
Look at the M249!
It's a sorry excuse for a weapon.
It even fails as a joke weapon when the far-superior negev is also available!
It has been reworked to become more of a premium rifle that can one-hit headshot at long-range.
In my opinion this is one of the most drastic changes in this mod but I'm all for trying
it out since it was as though the weapon didn't even exist before.
I can't wait to see if it's used now that it's been improved so much.
Fire away!
3) To make guns feel more intuitive to use by making the relation between certain variables
more consistent.
This means cleaning up a lot of the values.
We might not have consciously felt these inconsistencies but it makes the game less intuitive to learn.
To rectify this, Slothsquadron has introduced universal rules for the guns to follow, which
you can find a more detailed breakdown of in the description of this video.
Part of this has been a weight system, where the more a weapon slows you down, the more
you're punished for running and gunning with it.
Here's an example.
The AK slows you down more than the M4, so it will be worse to run and gun with.
The MP7 slows you down more than the mac-10, so the same rule applies.
However, some categories of weapons such as SMGs don't get punished as much for run-and-gunning,
so although the MP7 slows you down more than an M4, it still performs better when you run
and gun with it.
It sounds obvious and yet isn't how the game's values currently work- and I don't think that
this is intentional.
The same logic has been applied to many elements of Slothsquadron's weapon mod.
I'll now go through each of the weapon categories and list the changes.
PISTOLS He was influenced by Thorin's well received
video, The Pistol Problem, and has made radical changes to how they handle.
Pistol first shot accuracy hasn't been improved as much as other weapon categories, since
they are suited for a different play-style which often requires taking out opponents
at close range and stealing their weapon.
As stated in the previous video, the aim of this was to move the strategy away from lucky
sprays by making them more accurate and skill-based when stationary and by reducing their effectiveness
when on the move.
Slothsquadron said that he started with how they were in earlier games, in which the real
problem was how inferior they were when compared with the deagle in terms of pricing and/or
firepower.
They've all been adjusted differently to compensate for this.
In general they're more expensive though.
The Deagle now sits at $800 as the premium pistol.
It is the only one-hit headshot pistol against helmet-wearing enemies and functions very
similarly to how it did in earlier titles.
The P2000/USP have also borrowed from past games and no longer have a slower rate of
fire when compared to other pistols.
The Glock feels similar to its previous iterations but retains a lot of its benefits that CSGO
blessed it with to try and keep pistol rounds fair.
The Dual Berettas were buffed significantly and should make for an excellent option on
pistol rounds if you are willing to pay $650 for them.
The P250, Tec-9, Five-Seven, and CZ75-Auto all see a lot of changes to keep them viable
as eco pistols, though playtesting will show how viable they really are against the deagle.
RIFLES As a crucial backbone of the game, the rifles
have remained almost the same, though the accuracy buff promotes precision rather than
spam.
The M4A1-S sees a few changes such as harsher damage drop off with distance which should
better balance it with the M4A4.
The more expensive SG553 and Aug are the only ones to have been completely reworked to reduce
their reliance on their scoped option, by making unscoped recoil easier to manage.
Scoping is now more for long range tap shots rather than full on spraying.
Hopefully they see some use in competitive play.
SNIPERS Now that rifles are more precise they begin
to encroach on the sniper territory, so the recent movement nerf has been almost completely
reverted to make the scoped weapons more effective again.
The scout is slightly more expensive and can't scout-jump, but deals slightly more damage
and has a more powerful scope, similar to the AWP's.
The snipers are now more accurate when scoped to reduce unfair misses.
The AWP's kill reward is back to $300 again.
The autosnipers have been made more different in function.
The scar20 inflicts less damage, meaning that it will now take 3 leg shots to kill.
To compensate, it is a lot more precise if tap-fired.
The Terrorists' G3SG1 has been made cheaper and more precise.
With these improvements, perhaps terrorists will have a sniper rifle better suited to
their offensive play-style.
SMGS SMGs remain the best weapons for spraying
when on the move but have been toned down in some areas, particularly when jumping.
Recent improvements to the run and gun aspect of both the MP7 and Mac-10 have been reverted
since they were overshadowing other SMG and pistol choices for eco rounds.
SHOTGUNS This class provides cheap, risky weapons with
high kill rewards.
The spread has been tightened up for all but the Mag-7 and the Nova can now wallbang just
as well as the other shotguns can.
Some of them now deal less damage but fire more pellets to compensate which reduces the
randomness of the shots further.
The XM1014 now has a faster fire-rate to help it play a part in anti-eco rounds.
Terrorists seldom use shotguns, especially the slow and underpowered sawed-off, so it
has had significant buffs to its running speed and spread, which should also indirectly help
with damage.
Its maximum range has been upped since before you wouldn't even hit the broad side of a
barn if stood more than 650 units away!
All shotguns are now less accurate when moving, meaning that you should stop to shoot for
mid-range shots.
It will be interesting to see if people begin opting for shotguns when in defensive positions
after these changes take effect.
LMGS These weapons still won't see much use in
competitive play but have had $700 knocked off their prices and now regain accuracy faster
after firing.
Slothsquadron believes that the M249's accuracy was incorrectly calculated following the transition
to CSGO so it has been improved and now also deals about as much damage as the AK47, giving
CTs a one-hit kill rifle but at a price premium!
It now has a more traditional, easier to learn spray pattern which makes it behave more like
a rifle.
Even the Zeus has been adjusted!
It is now just as light as the knife and always does 100 damage, meaning that people can no
longer survive the attack.
It is perfectly accurate unless the player is jumping or on a ladder.
These script files were originally designed by Hidden Path Studios during the Counter
Strike Source era and while Valve has adjusted them to fix many of the problems with weapon
balance since the game's release, their solutions have often been messy or incomplete.
He believes that they have gotten better with them recently, but still haven't fully mastered
the control they could potentially have over the weapon variables.
By analysing the weapon script files, he has found far tidier solutions to problems and
has concluded that there's more to the system than meets the eye.
Slothsquadron has been working on this project for over a year.
I warned him not to get his hopes up as it would be unlikely that any of his changes
would be officially added to CSGO.
That it was his word against the playtesting from hundreds of thousands of players and
a hundred tournaments.
But he replied with something that made me believe.
All he wants is for people to know just how much can be changed.
That a lot of the things that players may have thought were set in stone can be altered
and that suggestions CAN be implemented.
And even if Valve doesn't make changes now, learning about these design philosophies and
potential solutions will help them in the future.
And that concludes my more in-depth look at the changes.
If you need MORE INFORMATION still then check out the description of this video.