CS2 Strategy — Strats, CT Setups, T Defaults and ExecutesAll 7 maps

CS2 strats for all 7 Active Duty maps from the guides that teach them — the T default, CT setups, executes, retakes and the calls a solo-queue team can use.

Ancient
T default: Elbow · Mid · A Main · B Ramp · Cave — regroup MidCT setups: 2-1-2 (standard) · 2-0-2 + roamer (utility mid lock) · 2 mid (mid denial)Executes: Late A execute · Mid take into Donut split · Fast B Ramp rush · Ramp + House split7 guides · newest 3 Oct 2026Open the Ancient plan →
Anubis
T default: Mid · Mid · Water · B Main · A Main — regroup WaterCT setups: 2-1-2 · 1-2-2 (one A anchor)Executes: Main + Connector split · Full B execute with a Palace second wave · B Long + E-Box split10 guides · newest 3 Oct 2026Open the Anubis plan →
Cache
T default: A Main · Garage · Mid · Vents · B Main — regroup MidCT setups: 1-2-2 · 2-1-2Executes: A Main + Squeaky execute · Mid-to-A split via Highway · B Main + Checkers execute · Fast Vents + B Main split13 guides · newest 24 Jul 2026 · Valve changed the map 22 Sept 2026, after every guideOpen the Cache plan →
Dust II
T default: Long Doors · Long Doors · Top Mid · Catwalk · Upper Tunnels — regroup Long ACT setups: 2-1-2 · 3-1-1 (A / Long control)Executes: Long take into A · Mid-to-Short split with Long · Upper Tunnels B hit · Mid-to-B split10 guides · newest 16 Aug 2026Open the Dust II plan →
Inferno
T default: Banana · Banana · Middle · Second Mid · Apartments — regroup CarCT setups: 2-1-2 (two B, one Arch/Mid flex, two A) · Banana take, then one stays on BExecutes: Banana control into B execute · Late B execute after a slow default · Apartments + A Short split · A Short + A Long split from Top Mid21 guides · newest 12 Sept 2026Open the Inferno plan →
Mirage
T default: B Apartments · Top Mid · Top Mid · Underpass · A Ramp — regroup A RampCT setups: 2-1-2 (two A, one mid, two B) · 1-2-2 (one A, two mid, two B)Executes: Full A execute · Mid-to-A split · B Apartments execute · B split via B Short and B Apartments21 guides · newest 5 Oct 2026Open the Mirage plan →
Nuke
T default: Outside · Silo · Lobby · Squeaky · Ramp — regroup LobbyCT setups: 2-1-2 standard (two on A, one Ramp, one Outside, one floater) · Two Outside (anti-Secret) · Two on Ramp (1 Heaven, 1 Main, 1 Garage, 2 Ramp)Executes: Standard A from Lobby (Hut + Squeaky) · Outside take into Secret split · Ramp take into B · A fake into Vent drop17 guides · newest 12 Sept 2026Open the Nuke plan →
Before you pick a map
Every plan is five places and jobs, never names — the default, the setups, the executes and the retakes as the guides teach them, each cited. Where guides disagree, both views stay.
Round
1:55
Bomb after plant
40 s
Defuse, no kit
10 s
Defuse, kit
5 s
Valve’s round settings

Team play on every map

Roles

Entry: First player into contested space; job is to win the opening duel or die where a teammate can trade and take the space. guide
Support: Throws most of the set utility, flashes for others and is the trade behind the entry. guide
Lurk: Plays away from the main group, holds ground the team left, cuts rotations and closes late rounds — with timing agreed with the team. guide
AWPer: Carries the team's most expensive weapon to close or open long sightlines; a team purchase, not a personal one. guide
IGL: Calls the round, reads it mid-round and manages the team's money. guide
Anchor: CT who holds a site alone or in a pair and is judged on surviving long enough for help, using delay utility. guide
Rotator: CT who floats between areas and decides when the noise is real before moving. guide

Trading

Stay tradeable: keep enough spacing that a teammate can punish your killer — not stacked on top of each other, not so far back that the defender escapes. guide
The trading player swings right after first contact, before the enemy can reset; on a numbers advantage, count down a double peek. guide
Do not be the first to see an enemy unless the trade or your utility is ready; an entry only works as a pair, and an untraded first death gives the enemy free value. guide
On CT side, being tradeable means crossfires, a support angle or a fallback route rather than a lone early fight. guide
In retakes, enter together and trade instantly instead of trickling in. guide

When to save

The bomb explodes 40 s after it is planted (CS2 default). guide
Defusing takes 10 s without a kit and 5 s with one; the kit costs $400 and is used automatically. guide
Your last safe moment to start a defuse is time left minus defuse time; a kit lets you start 5 s later, which buys time to clear or trade first. guide
Save mid-round when heavily outnumbered, when there is no time left for a realistic retake, or when you hold an AWP or rifle the team cannot afford to replace. guide
Example threshold from the source: a 2v4 retake with no kit and little utility is often worth less than keeping two rifles; a 2v3 with kits and grenades may still be worth trying. guide
Call the save early — hesitating gives you neither a retake nor a saved weapon. guide
Under MR12, lean toward keeping full-buy weapons alive over a marginal retake; how retakeable the site is should weigh in. guide
A T who survives without a plant gets no loss bonus, so saving a rifle can be worth it but saving a cheap pistol usually is not. guide

Solo queue

Agree on one simple default each round; full executes rarely work with randoms. guide
Learn and throw your own key smokes instead of counting on teammates to do it. guide
Call exact numbers, positions (callouts, not "left"), utility you see and kills you get; say when you are guessing and how old your information is. guide
Announce anything that departs from the plan — taking the bomb elsewhere or lurking; an unannounced lurk just leaves the team a player down. guide
If unsure what to play, take support: learn a handful of grenades, throw them for others and trade. guide
Stay quiet in clutches unless the info is vital, never flame randoms, mute if needed. guide
Settle buys together in freeze time; players with spare money drop weapons for poorer teammates. guide

Common mistakes → fixes

Taking first contact with nobody close enough to trade.→ Only take an early fight if a teammate can trade it or it buys real information. guide
Swinging before the smoke blooms or the flash pops.→ Wait for the utility, then go together with the entry. guide
Rotating on one sound or the first sign of a fake.→ Rotate on confirmed information; rotators should judge whether the noise is real. guide
Overpeeking after a kill, dry-peeking an AWP, rotating late.→ Review your own deaths: did I need to be there, did I need that fight? guide
Uneven buying — four save while one buys an unsupported rifle.→ Match the team spend so the next round is a proper buy. guide
Retaking one at a time or alone.→ Wait for teammates on other paths and enter together; call the utility you are throwing. guide
Vague calls like "they're B" after seeing one or two enemies.→ Give the exact number you saw. guide
Dying with unused utility.→ Spend grenades to take space, delay or retake. guide