Leaks can be a beautiful thing sometimes. We can’t help but be amazed at how pretty the leaked CS2 Inferno screenshots are. There is much more to the new Inferno than lovely visuals, however, as several notable gameplay changes are apparently coming to the map for its CS2 introduction.
Valve has been slowly introducing maps to the CS2 beta, with Dust 2, Mirage, Nuke, and Office being available to play at various points during the limited test. One map that hasn’t been formally added is Inferno, but thanks to a pretty reliable leaker, we got a sneak peek at the beautiful work Valve is doing with that map.
Unlike what we’ve seen so far, the leaked Inferno screenshots show several gameplay-altering changes in the works in what appears to be a full remake of the map. We will highlight all changes coming to Inferno in CS2 according to these leaks, and explain what they could mean for gameplay. We will stay away from purely cosmetic changes that have zero or minimal effect on gameplay, as that would essentially include everything from the screenshots.
Bombsite A
The two bombsites are where the action usually unfolds, so any change made there counts as a major one. We begin with new Inferno’s A site where the notable victim is the graveyard. It seems to be the first thing that comes to Valve’s mind when they want to alter Inferno, which is why it hasn’t actually depicted a graveyard for a very long time.
CS2 won’t bring that spot on A site to its deadly roots. On the contrary, Valve stripped down the position completely by removing the wall that serves as protection for CTs in CS:GO. Now all we have is a baby-sized fence on top of the stairs, with the staircase completely open.
This change heavily nerfs one of the strongest CT positions on that site, and there’s no counter-balancing measure that’s visible in the provided screenshots. Pit and balcony, as well as library are all out of sight for now, which leaves the Counter-Terrorists with the consolation prize of an added pallet to double box that will make it much easier to boost on top of it.
Bombsite B
Valve really went to work on the B site. If A had one major change to it and not much else, B is almost unrecognizable from its CS:GO variant. Granted, the strikingly different visuals do play a little trick here, as most of it is just that—different visuals. One example is the swap of the old barrels and boxes with the new construction-themed sandbags and scaffolding pieces.
Not all of it is aesthetics, though. Newbox has been replaced with one of the aforementioned scaffolding pieces, which opens up the question if it will be wallbangable. It certainly looks plausible based on the design.
The other key scaffolding addition is found up high, over the wall that separates B site from banana. These new objects might seem scary at first, but they should actually play the role of keeping utility usage closer to how it is in CS:GO. CS2 doesn’t have skyboxes like its predecessor does. These scaffolding pieces rising over the wall should help players align their grenades, so they find their intended targets: a very unobtrusive way of dealing with this utility challenge in our humble opinion.
The other immediately apparent changes are a little less impactful but still worth mentioning. The fountain and the coffins are both gone, replaced with a monument and some sandbags, respectively. The fountain change should have little to no effect on the way it’s exploited by players. The monument’s design looks large enough for players to work around it for some limited cover, as is the case with the fountain in CS:GO.
The coffins being removed could be bigger than initial viewings may show. The wall of the church now extends into the area where the upright coffins used to be, and it looks like that whole area toward the garden will have much different angles than what we’re used to.
Buildings
The last section will cover the same type of change seen at various spots on the map. Several buildings have seen their height altered one way or another, with one structure completely removed.
The tower that stood above everything else on Inferno in CS:GO is nowhere to be seen in the CS2 screenshots. Taking out the map’s signature landmark would be a weird aesthetic choice, which makes us believe the tower’s removal will have some effect on gameplay, most likely in regard to utility usage. Unfortunately, we have no visuals on that section of the map yet, so we’ll have to wait for confirmation of our suspicions.
A similar change we do have visuals on is the A site building, which is considerably taller on the side toward long. This structure is close enough to the tower to make us think the two alterations are somehow connected. By the looks of things, the lack of a skybox has allowed Valve to enable some elaborate grenade angles–a process for which the tower had to be sacrificed to the benefit of A site’s building.
The final structure we’d like to mention that’s part of this new utility system is the T apps building, which now extends to cover mid entirely. The space above the old building’s roof was used for a common mid smoke, but that option is now gone. It will be interesting to see if the same smoke could be thrown over the new building’s roof with a higher parabola, or if players will have to come up with a completely new approach.
This covers all notable changes that are supposedly coming to Inferno in CS2. We’d like to remind you that the official Counter-Strike profile tweeted in response to the leaks, seemingly confirming their legitimacy. That’s not a bad thing at all. New Inferno is looking like it will inspire new tactics and potentially plays we haven’t seen before, which is exactly what we want from CS2.
