CS2 Community Unify To Creatively Speed Up Armory Grind

For those unaware, the Armory was added to CS2 as part of the mega-size update that dropped on October 2nd, featuring network improvements, minor bug fixes, map changes and much more. The Armory is unlocked by grinding through the Armory pass, yielding all sorts of cosmetics items for free. Currently, the Armory features 3 new weapon collections, 2 charm collections, 2 sticker collections, the Gallery Case, and the Heat Treated Desert Eagle but more are sure to come!

What are these methods?

The first method exploits the fact that knife and grenade kill yield the most amount of XP in a Valve-official server. So, what people have started to do, as demonstrated by a famous clip on the Subreddit is queueing Deathmatch (a Casual game mode) on Dust2. Then, players start to line up on the box in mid (past the door) and backstab the first person facing the box. The box is of particular importance as it’s the middle-most point of the map, making it a quick trip no matter where you spawn. 

The second method is what players are employing in matches, including Premiere and Competitive. Although it’s a bit difficult to get everyone in the lobby onboard, the idea is to run mid every round and lob all manner of throwables, from grenades to Molotovs at the enemy, decimating both teams instantly and ending the round in seconds. Even though it comes down to pure chance how many people your throwable gets, expect to get at least a few multi-kill rounds every game.

Community opinions on these exploits

For many who have been partaking in these exploits, they have expressed much excitement and joy over these activities. Skins are not an easy commodity to come across in a game like Counter-Strike, but for the whole lobby to come together, putting aside their tryhard nature is a sight to behold. A Redditor has put it in the best terms possible:

“I said it. I think the farming lobbies are the funniest time I've had playing CS in a decade. It beats reaching Global for the first time, it beats the 2 am surf moments. I've had a lot of fun talking to the people just trying to collect some skins. It's funny to think about, Valve gave us an "operation-ish" without any missions or game modes, and so the community unified and made its own game mode and mission. It's the first time I've ever seen the CT and T play as one team for the duration of an entire game.”

On the other hand, those who are not interested in the Armory, perhaps because they have skins of their own, do not like the sight of such exploits in every lobby they go to, casual or not. Deathmatch is typically a game mode where players warm up their aim before queueing up for Premiere or Competitive, but to see it riddled with players backstabbing each other and vote-kicking anyone who doesn’t comply can be understandably frustrating. Moreover, joining a Premiere or Competitive lobby, only to see your teammates throwing their lives in the first few seconds of the round can be equally frustrating.

Such exploits are expected to be a seasonal fever at the start of every Armory pass only to die down later on as fewer and fewer people agree to cooperate.