That are still not in Counter-Strike 2
During the Lifespan of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, there have been a lot of updates gradually added to the game. Some of the things CSGO had, we duly miss in Counter-Strike 2.
In our small trip down memory lane, we will take a look at some of CSGO’s features, modes or other things that we lost along the way, and which we miss now and also want back for Counter-Strike 2.
Seasonal Chicken Skins
A cute and endearing update in Global Offensive was about the cute clucking critters, the chickens of Counter-Strike. During every festivity or holiday, you could see the chickens dressed to the nines! Be it Christmas, Halloween or Easter.
Valve used to add a lot of variety to its mascots. But this stopped sometime around January 2017. The last Chicken skin we ever got was during the Winter 2016 Update, and it was a colour-swapped Christmas sweater model from the year before.
But we loved the little chickens! It gave the game a unique feeling, as it often stayed close to the status quo, as nothing really changed (apart from the obvious, like Gameplay changes, Sounds, or later the graphics and Counter-Strike 2).
Valve used to add a lot of variety to its mascots. But this stopped sometime around January 2017. The last Chicken skin we ever got was during the Winter 2016 Update, and it was a colour-swapped Christmas sweater model from the year before.
But we loved the little chickens! It gave the game a unique feeling, as it often stayed close to the status quo, as nothing really changed (apart from the obvious, like Gameplay changes, Sounds, or later the graphics and Counter-Strike 2).
Dangerzone
On December 6th 2018, Valve gave us an unprecedented move: the introduction of Dangerzone. A battleroyale mode in Counter-Strike? This was highly controversial at the time, and a lot of people from the community, such as YouTubers and Streamers, were the opinion that Valve just wanted to jump on the Battleroyale bandwagon- and they also made CS:GO free to play?
A lot of odd changes came from the release of Dangerzone. But if you did not want to play a competitive game, Dangerzone was quite a good substitute for some good Fun in CS! And it played quite differently from the Counter-Strike we are used to. You had the same game, but now you had to relearn it and adapt to the new “open” environment.
Dangerzone had the tablets where, in Counter-Strike fashion, you could buy items that were delivered to you by drone. It had unique items, under it fan favourites like the Exo-Jump boots and Bumpmines. Dangerzone also had quite a few maps in different settings.
A lot of odd changes came from the release of Dangerzone. But if you did not want to play a competitive game, Dangerzone was quite a good substitute for some good Fun in CS! And it played quite differently from the Counter-Strike we are used to. You had the same game, but now you had to relearn it and adapt to the new “open” environment.
Dangerzone had the tablets where, in Counter-Strike fashion, you could buy items that were delivered to you by drone. It had unique items, under it fan favourites like the Exo-Jump boots and Bumpmines. Dangerzone also had quite a few maps in different settings.
Factions
During the move from CS:GO to CS2, Valve also saw fit to remove Factions entirely. A lot of maps had unique factions, such as the FBI and GSG9 on the CT side, but also the Suits and Anarchists on the T side. The reason why these were removed can stem from many reasons. The common belief is that Factions based on real-world Terrorist organisations are too problematic to depict in video games. Another thought was that Valve would thus push its now “unique” Playermodels, as now every default skin for T and CT looks the same. To stand out nowadays, you have to buy an Agent skin.
Achievements
Another thing that Valve decided to remove (or purge) was Steam achievements. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive used to have 167 Achievments!
These ranged from kills, to specific weapons, Maps and even game modes based ones!
Another thing which did not make it to CS2 were the “Medal Shields”, but these were also missing in the Panorama UI.
“Each category has its own medal with three distinct levels: bronze, silver, and gold. To earn a bronze medal, a player must complete 33% of the achievements in the desired category. To advance to silver, 66%. To further advance to gold, all achievements must be achieved in the category. These medals are an indicator of experience and can be seen on the scoreboard and the player's Global Offensive profile.” - @Counter-Strike Wiki
Counter-Strike 2 has exactly one achievement, and it is gained from simply starting CS2 and loading into a game and quitting it!
Counter-Strike 2 has exactly one achievement, and it is gained from simply starting CS2 and loading into a game and quitting it!
Map variety
About the map variety...CSGO had a lot of maps. And also more frequently rotating map pools, especially in regards to Wingman. CS2 Wingman had four maps for the longest time, but with a few community maps, we have seen this upgraded. But compared to CS:GO, which has a lot of wingman maps, it is still a bit to be desired. Rialto, Lake, Train and Shortdust are sadly missing from this rotation. With the recent addition of Counter-Strike 2’s Train, many hoped it would return in Wingman, but sadly this is still not the case as of the writing of this article.
Operations
Let us talk about the elephant in the room:
Operations - you knew this topic was coming- this is why we did not even include it in our “Five things” we miss about Counter-Strike: Global Offensive list.
CSGO’s Operation were a fun way to spend time with your friends, complete the co-op missions, grind for challenges and drops, and later on stars. The earlier operations gave you a comic and a map to follow along, while later had a Battlepass-like system. In both, you could grind and try to get a rare and expensive drop, hunting the Covert collection skins.
Operations have been missing completely in Counter-Strike 2. Instead of missions and grind, we now have weekly missions for experience points. And Operation passes? It seems they have been completely sidelined by the new Armory Pass system that CS2 introduced.
CSGO’s Operation were a fun way to spend time with your friends, complete the co-op missions, grind for challenges and drops, and later on stars. The earlier operations gave you a comic and a map to follow along, while later had a Battlepass-like system. In both, you could grind and try to get a rare and expensive drop, hunting the Covert collection skins.
Operations have been missing completely in Counter-Strike 2. Instead of missions and grind, we now have weekly missions for experience points. And Operation passes? It seems they have been completely sidelined by the new Armory Pass system that CS2 introduced.
Top five things we miss in Counter-Strike 2
The five, well, granted, six things we are still missing in Counter-Strike 2. We hope that Valve will add these missing features, especially Operations and Dangerzone to Counter-Strike 2. Especially with the limitations and restrictions of Dangerzone now being basically removed.
Personally, we would LOVE the return of the Seasonal chicken skins. They were so quiet and unique, and in the early days, chickens were even more of a big staple and mascot of Counter-Strike.
Personally, we would LOVE the return of the Seasonal chicken skins. They were so quiet and unique, and in the early days, chickens were even more of a big staple and mascot of Counter-Strike.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading our article. Counter-Strike 2 might still miss a lot of stuff that CS:GO had, some of it is definitely an intentional decision by the Game designers and the Studio Valve, but some of it might simply not have been the focus lately. CS2 had a lot of very good changes and updates; it feels way smoother and more responsive than the Beta, and they keep updating the game.
It is still very early in Counter-Strike 2’s lifetime, and we certainly look into a bright future.
It is still very early in Counter-Strike 2’s lifetime, and we certainly look into a bright future.
