CS2 Rush Hour Update: Everything You Need to Know About the New Features

The new CS2 update just dropped, and it’s already getting a lot of positive reactions. But what exactly did Valve bring for us this time? In fact, the developers added several new features that can instantly change the game experience. Spoilers: you might not hear your next opponent behind the corner or play the favorite map as much as you want. Without further ado, let’s explore the Rush Hour update together in minutes and cover every detail!

Premier

The first change to explore in the new CS2 update is Premier mode. From now on, map selection will work differently. It works the following way:

Advertisement

• Team 1 picks one map.
• Team 2 picks two maps.
• Team 1 picks a final map.
• The game randomly selects one of the picked maps.

So, no more Dust II and Mirage in Premier and no bans? However, the stats of the most-played maps will noticeably change over the next few months.

Rush

The Rush Hour update also brings a new mode: Rush. It’s a fast-paced 3v3 queued mode, where players battle through a series of battle arenas. The goal is to reach the opponent’s castle and win the match. To win the round, you must control the tower, either by letting time expire or by eliminating the enemy team. Each match also randomly selects battle arenas. In other words, each match promises to be unique from the previous.

Gameplay

The new update also brings exciting changes to CS2 gameplay. First, you can now reload silently. Just press and hold the reload key (R by default), and don’t expose your position around the corner. Still, there is a cost to this stealth: it increases reload time.

Continuing the stealth theme, un-scoping a sniper rifle no longer makes a sound. Another detail of the CS2 update is increased visual clarity and improved fidelity in bullet-impact decals. If you couldn’t keep track of the bullet tracers before, you’ll definitely be able to now. Or, as the developer describes it, “Blood is much more bloody, and bullet impacts are far more impacty.”

Also, chickens now take damage from the Zeus x27. In fact, there is even more to chickens. Now, each player has a chance to obtain a chicken egg from the Weekly Drop system. It takes up both item slots in the drop and doesn’t appear in the inventory; instead, it appears beside you in the main menu. Once it hatches, you can inspect and pet it. On one hand, it completely follows the CS2 leaks you might see on the Internet.

On the other hand, Valve hasn’t included any information in the patch notes. So we definitely have pets now, but how exactly will they work? What about feeding? Are there other variants besides chickens?

The last gameplay detail is the ammo_grenade_limit_total setting, which enforces the total number of grenades a player can purchase in a round.

Settings

Valve also added crosshair changes in the latest CS2 update. You can preview it, and there are also several new styles. Additionally, the default crosshair is now “Dynamic Quad,” which better reflects weapon accuracy.

Engine

Valve updated the engine code to the latest version of Source 2.

Maps

There are also a few changes on different maps. Let’s take a look at each of them:

• Ancient:
  • Fixed holes in world in Long A Main Hall.
  • Adjusted door geometry and grenade clipping inside Jaguar.
• Cache:
  • Fixed some gaps and clipping around the blue doors in Mid.
• Mirage:
  • Reinforced scaffolding by Balcony in A site.
• Train:
  • Blocked pixel gap in crates on bombsite A.

MISC

Players can now get a new music kit, the Starjunk 95, Industrial Sunset Memories Music Kit. It is available in both standard and StatTrak versions through the in-game Store tab. It has two MVP Anthems, one of which is rare. Players can now adjust music volume per game mode.

Another detail we shouldn’t ignore is the support for applying stickers to C4. So, no more charms exclusively, but a space for more sticker crafts.

Also, halftime scoreboard stats now fully reflect the previous round’s results, giving you more information. No less important, Valve fixed a case where players could avoid a kick ban. If you are a member of Steam Community Groups, you can set a Clan Tag from your Player Profile.

Workshop

There are changes to the Workshop in the new CS2 update:

• Added “minimap_volume” entity, which enables a custom minimap image when a player is within the volume.
• Added “sky_camera_volume” and “sky_camera_volume_target”, which enable custom location-specific skybox rendering.
• Added “point_deathcam_bounds” entity that constrains the player death camera.
• Added “env_shake_volume” entity that allows camera shake only within a specified volume.

Advertisement

Scripting

Lastly, the new CS2 update also has scripting changes:

• Added CSRadarPoint entity.
• Added CSObservablePoint entity.
• Added AddTeamMoney API method.
• Added OnPlayerTeamChanged callback.
• SetDialogVariableString now accepts a localization string.

Conclusion

As you can see, Valve added several features. While some are mostly for fun, like pets, others can directly affect your next round. These changes range from a new mode and the Premier map selection process to a new music kit and map changes. And, as always, it’s time to contact your loyal comrades and start a new match, or enjoy Rush Hour mode to defeat everyone brave enough to challenge your skills.

Remember to explore other materials and guides on Hellcase Blog. Here, you can find everything you need to know about Counter-Strike, including the most sought-after skins, playstyle differences, and game tips. Enjoy CS2 together with Hellcase!