Counter-Strike 2’s December 18 Update Brings Major Changes and New Features

If you’ve been dodging bullets and navigating smoke grenades in Counter-Strike 2, you’ll want to pay attention. There’s a fresh update that’s thrown some goodies your way, like finding an extra slice of pizza in the fridge at midnight. So let’s dig into what’s new, shall we?

Patch Notes

Counter-Strike 2 Update

[ SHANGHAI MAJOR ]

• Shanghai 2024 Major Champions Capsule is now available for purchase. The capsule features autographs for each member of the winning team in paper, glitter, holo, and gold. 50% of the proceeds go to the players and organizations.

[ GAMEPLAY ]

• Adjusted the threshold at which death notice displays attacker as “flashed”.
• Explosions will now more reliably throw weapons around even if multiple weapons are dropped on top of each other.
• During warmup, weapons will no longer drop on the ground when changing teams.
• During warmup, changing teams now has a two second cooldown.
• Added server settings controlling which items drop on the ground during warmup period: mp_warmup_items_drop_policy, mp_warmup_items_nocost, mp_warmup_items_nocount_policy. Community servers that run with free non-droppable weapons during warmup can set these settings as follows: mp_warmup_items_drop_policy 0, mp_warmup_items_nocost 1, mp_warmup_items_nocount_policy 251.
• Give command will now always drop the held weapon if the given weapon needs an empty primary/secondary weapon slot to be used. For legacy behaviour, which would drop the new weapon on the ground, developers can use “-keep_gear” flag, e.g. give weapon_awp -keep_gear

[ MAPS ]

• Train
  • Improved collision fidelity on various props
  • Updated and fixed surface types on several props
  • Adjusted wetness levels on some surfaces
  • Fixed various gaps in map

[ MAP GUIDES ]

• Map Guides are now supported in the Steam Workshop for submission and subscription.
• Added a selector to pick which map guide gets loaded in practice mode.
• Annotations nodes are now visible in the radar.
• Add a tool (via console command “workshop_annotation_submit”) to submit a map guide to the Steam Workshop.

[ MISC ]

• Added a setting for CPU Cores Usage Preference to control how high performance and power efficiency cores are used by the game on CPUs with variable cores.
• Fixed a case where graphics driver could render a corrupt graphics image for weapons in inventory item tiles.
• Improvements to weapon inspect animations. Improvements to display of extra-long custom weapon names in UI.
• Stability improvements.
• Added all-new 2025 Service Medal which will be available starting January 1st GMT
• Workshop Tools – Fixed bug on shadows for low sunlight angles

This latest patch isn’t just about fixing bugs; it introduces changes that might change how you approach your games. Did you know those moments when someone blindsided you because they were “flashed,” but you didn’t get notified? Yeah, they’ve adjusted that threshold to make it more accurate in the future.

You’ve also got more astonishing physics with explosions. No more worrying about your favorite gun getting stuck under another one after chaos ensues. And hey! If you’re practicing during warmups… well, they’ve added some structure there too. Changing teams won’t leave weapons scattered anymore; instead, a slight cooldown is involved, like giving yourself time to breathe between rounds.

If maps are your jam (and let’s face it, they should be), Train has seen some love, too! Improved collision fidelity means fewer random deaths from misjudged jumps, which is a blessing! Plus, have there been wetness adjustments? Who doesn’t appreciate realistic rain effects while trying not to get shot?

The cherry on top? A shiny new (and slightly shiny) Service Medal is coming in January next year! What better way to flaunt your skills than rocking some bling? Check out all these details straight from Valve.

This update feels packed with minor tweaks to make our lives easier while gaming without losing any intensity or excitement. So gear up, or don’t gear down, to jump back into those chaotic matches.

I’m curious, though, what strategies will you try with these changes? Will you finally utilize those map guides or just keep winging it like I do sometimes? Whatever path you take amidst this thrilling world of CS action, until next time, see you around! Angel out.