Vertigo, depending on who you talk to, is one of Counter-Strike‘s most polarizing maps. It’s difficult to rotate to different bomb sites, and the wide-open nature of the access to the A site makes it a bit of a straightforward map—if all else fails, just go A.
If you think a map being basic means you’re going to stomp your CS2 premier matches, though, you’re wrong: You need a basic grenade set to have a chance on the map.
Here are some of the best and most essential grenade spots for you to know on Vertigo in CS2.
The best smoke, flash, and Molotov lineups for Vertigo in CS2
How to throw the A ramp side hall smoke
The A ramp side hall smoke is crucial for taking fast control of Vertigo’s ramp, as it will cut off anyone pushing from short. To throw this as a T, go right in the corner to this little outcropping directly next to your spawn.
Once there, look up directly at this spot on the crane, and then take out a smoke grenade. Do a quick jump throw, and the smoke will land right in the side hall and protect the players on the ramp from pushes.
How to throw the A ramp smoke for CTs
You won’t get far on Vertigo’s CT side without the A ramp smoke. It cuts off fast pushes and gives your team lots of control over the ramp. Luckily, you can practically throw this smoke from the CT spawn.
Line yourself up with the entrance to the elevator room. Next, put your crosshair right on the crosshair’s mark where the two tiles meet in the ceiling. Run forward and throw the smoke when your crosshair crosses the circled portion.
Then, you can sprint to the ramp and begin taking control of the map, with your smoke popping before the T’s can make it to the bottom of the ramp if you’re fast enough.
Safe sandbags molotov for Ts
Sandbags is one of the strongest positions for the CT’s to play on ramp and digging out a player there without a Molotov can be a pain. Here’s a quick Molotov that anyone can throw with a simple left click.
On the ramp, run up directly next to the yellow scaffolding until you see this specific gap. Aim to the left, and then simply left-click.
The advantage of using this lineup is that you no longer have to stand in the middle of the ramp and be exposed to short and side hall to Molotov out a player hiding behind the sandbags. It’s always wise to throw this Molotov, regardless of whether you believe a player is there or not.
A ramp T side grenade set
Alright, you’ve gotten control of the ramp. You’ve cleared out the side hall, and you don’t think there’s anyone in short. You still need grenades to take the site. Here’s a quick little set to fully take the all-important A site.
Go back down the ramp, line up where the middle part of the scaffolding meets the concrete and steel beam, and jump-throw to smoke the left side of the site.
Use a running left click throw at this angle to smoke off the elevator room. This lineup is extremely forgiving with CS2‘s new volumetric smoke feature.
Hug the front part of the ramp, aim here, and left-click throw to smoke off the right side. This smoke is forgiving as well.
Finally, press anyone playing Tetris above your smoke back with this Molotov.
B generator smokes
Let’s look at some B utility. Go to this box, crouch, and aim at the top edge. Stand and left-click throw. This lineup is the same as in CS:GO. For the left side of the generator, get stuck on the beam, look at this point on the railing, then left-click throw.
While there are many more grenade lineups on Vertigo, these are good enough to get you started in CS2 and they’ll be grenade lineups you see in every game of Vertigo you play.
