The greatest fps of all time, Counter-Strike Global offensive remains players’ favorite even after a decade of its release. The game came out in 2012 from the developer, Valve.
Over the years, we have seen many changes & updates in the game, like picking up grenades, changes in weapon prices & many new maps.
Believe us when we say that there are numerous maps & not just Dust 2 or Mirage in CSGO. There are more than ten maps, all divided into three categories, namely:
Active Map Pool
The Active map pool includes all maps that are currently available for the matchmaking queue. From all the CSGO maps, only a few are playable in an official ranked game.
In official CSGO matches, only the maps in this pool are allowed, including the Major. The Active map pool includes the following map as of now:
- Dust 2
- Inferno
- Mirage
- Nuke
- Overpass
- Ancient
- Vertigo
Reserve Map Pool
The Reserve map pool includes fewer maps than the previous one. A couple of these maps were once part of the Active map pool, but officials keep shuffling them. Maps included in the Reserve map pool are:
- Train
- Cache
- Grind
- Mocha
Hostage Rescue Map Pool
The Hostage rescue map pool is one of the least played ones. It includes all the maps with rescue missions & is usually part of Wingman matchups. The maps involved are:
- Office
- Italy
- Militia
- Assault
- Agency
Apart from these, many more small CSGO maps are available in modes like arms race & flying scouts-men. Some of the maps are considered the best CSGO maps & for many of us, they feel like home. Let’s take a look at the most incredible CSGO maps:
Best CSGO Maps
Dust 2
The list of best CSGO maps has to begin with none other than Dust 2. Dust 2 has inspired maps in many shooting games. Even if someone hasn’t played CSGO, there’s a high possibility that they know this map.
The map represents the middle-east region with dusty lands. Like every other CSGO map, Dust 2 has only two bombsites, A & B. Arguably, the best part of this map was the Mid door AWP fight.
Unfortunately, Valve decided to block the view & thus ending the AWP fights from the times of CS 1.6. The notorious CSGO B rushes have started from this map.
Inferno
Inferno has a bit of a dark theme to it, especially the A apartments. The crucial thing to remember is to get the Banana control while playing from both sides. As Ts, you will need to have Mid control along with Banana. Both the bombsites have tight corners & thus, CTs tend to hide & peek from off-angle positions.
For CTs, maintaining Banana control is essential to hold the T’s all-time favorite strategy, the B rush. Also, avoiding unnecessary peek as a CT is crucial. Since the rotation time on this map is higher, not giving away man advantage on the CT side is significant.
Nuke
Nuke is yet another map from the CS 1.6 era. The map is one of the biggest in CSGO. It’s also a unique one since the sites are on top of each other. The theme of this map is a Nuclear reactor.
Learning utility usage on this map is crucial. You’ll need to memorize some default smokes for outside & flashbangs for the A site. The sound cues are confusing on this map due to the underground layout. It’s easily one of the most played maps on official CSGO tier 1 tournaments.
Having outside control on Nuke is crucial for both CTs & Ts. Not giving away man advantage for the CT side is critical. So they need to play passively & control over peeking. While retaking a site, having a man advantage proves vital for a successful retake.
Mirage
As Dust 2 is to CS 1.6, Mirage is to CSGO. Most of us prefer playing Mirage over any other map since it feels balanced to play on both sides. Even finding this map in a competitive queue is quicker than any map.
The map is of average size. There are two bombsites, both having apartments on them. The B bombsite is famous for rushes from the APS, where the classic Coldzera Major play happened.
Again, having Mid control is crucial for both sides on this map. For Ts, Mid control helps rotate over the map while trying to get the entry frag & for CTs, Mid control ensures better rotations between bombsites for retakes.
There are many split plays for Ts on this map:
- B APS + B short split execute.
- A connector + A main execute.
- A main + A palace + connector execute.
- Connector to the jungle to B market + B APS split.
For CTs:
- CTs tend to play the 2-1-2 split on this map. 2 players on both bombsites & 1 on Mid window.
- Another strategy can be playing 3-2 breakup. The Mid window player plays from the connector & the 2nd player on the B site plays B short spot.
- You can modify the default plays according to your opponent’s play style.
It’s one of the best CSGO maps currently, which explains why this CSGO map is the only one to never drop out of the Major map pool. Even the silver lobby players at least know some utility usage like smoke lineups on this map.
Overpass
The last map on the list of Best CSGO maps is the one & only Overpass, famous for the burning Olofmeister play. The map is on the bigger side. Having an AWP on both sides is beneficial on this map. As a CT, communication is essential on this map since the rotation time between sites is higher.
Ts play relatively passive on this map. Gathering intel on players & then executing is crucial here. Having connector control is preferable for Ts since it enables them for faster rotation. Make sure you play by the clock since running out of time is typical on bigger maps.
Since the map is massive, CTs must be at the top of their game in collecting Ts’ activities & conveying them to their teammates for on-time rotations. Untimely movement leads to round losses since 5 Ts are playing against only two site holders.
These are the best CSGO maps from the commencement of the game till now. You should not stick to only one map while playing CSGO. Learn all maps with the utility usage on them & you’ll enjoy the GOAT of fps games a lot more.
The Most Popular CSGO Maps
Let’s talk about the most popular CSGO maps as of now. The following data comes from Leetify’s survey of popular CSGO maps:
- Mirage
- Inferno
- Dust 2
- Nuke
- Overpass
As expected, Mirage tops the list of popular CSGO maps. The popularity of CSGO maps depends on the number of official CSGO competitive matches played on the maps mentioned.
