Train is once again part of Counter-Strike 2’s map rotation and it looks and feels better than ever.
Counter-Strike 2 Players Finally Get Train Back
Counter-Strike veterans probably remember de_train, an iconic map from the CS1.6 era that also persisted throughout the other iterations of the franchise. However, it has been notably missing in CS2’s competitive play since the game was launched last year. In fact, it was last seen in Counter-Strike’s competitive pool in May of 2021.
However, fans can now rejoice as in a recent update, Valve re-introduced Train into the active rotation. It’s a long time coming since the fan base has often implored the devs to bring back the map in the competitive pool. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising, considering the old railyard has been the site of some of the all-time great plays in CS:GO esports.
Of course, Valve didn’t just reintroduce Train as it was previously but gave it a huge visual overhaul. Although the graphics look better than before, that’s more to do with the updated engine that CS2 has compared to CS:GO. However, Train now also has a way gloomier appearance with a sky full of grey clouds. Not only that, but it’s always raining on the map with pools of water on the ground everywhere, giving a much more different aesthetic than before.
But there are also some gameplay differences as well. Some corridors are now open to make new approaches to the bombsites. For example, there is a more open entrance towards the A bombsite for the Terrorists from Main. Also, there’s now a partially rerouted avenue from Ivy to A and a new building on Catwalk to B.
It’s still unclear how these and the other map changes will impact how it’s played. Of course, fans hope the design is for the better and will make the map more balanced.
What Else Did Valve Introduce In the Newest Patch?
While Train is perhaps the main highlight of the recent Counter-Strike 2 update, it is by far the only change Valve introduced in the game. One of the major new features is the so-called “damage prediction” setting. According to the devs, this would make shooting weapons feel “significantly more responsive”.
When the setting is on, audio and visual feedback will be played instantly without waiting for confirmation from the server. However, this could mean that players might sometimes receive false positives if their connection is bad.
But back to maps, the lineup is getting more of a shake-up than just Train. Community maps Thera, Mills, Assembly, and Momento are now gone and replaced with four newcomers. Aside from Train Basalt and Edin will also enter casual and competitive modes, while two other, Palais and Whistle, are now in Wingman.
Overpass has also undergone some significant changes, more than 20 in fact. Most of these were based on community feedback and perhaps the biggest among them was removing a lot of the water from the map. Other changes included the addition of new objects that block bad sight lines, removing objects that mess with visibility, and various other small layout changes.
The newest Counter-Strike 2 update was indeed big and also much-needed. Valve is somewhat notorious for the often long pauses of time between updates. But the latest one was quite big, so hopefully, fans will be content if Valve once again takes its time in updating the game. You can read the full patch notes on the official page here.
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