The April 25 update for Counter-Strike 2 is one of the largest and most substantial updates to the game in months, highlighted by the grand return of the iconic Dust 2 to the active map pool.
Dust 2 has been added to the Active Duty map pool in place of Overpass, signifying the first change to the map pool for competitive, Premier, and pro play since CS2 launched. Dust 2 has been a part of CS2 since launch, but not in the active map pool.
Replacing Overpass with Dust 2 isn’t the sole map change that Valve has made to CS2. Inferno has received a couple of crucial changes, with the overhangs at top mid and the bottom of banana being removed, plus “various map tweaks to improve player collision and readability” according to the patch notes. Nuke, Vertigo, and Mirage all received minor bug fixes, line of sight and collision adjustments, and performance improvements.
But Dust 2 isn’t the only thing returning. The Overwatch program, which allows trusted community members to review match demos of suspected cheaters, has been added.
A slew of changes to the user interface also accompanies the major changes in this latest update. Players can now more easily choose between left-handed and right-handed play, with the ability to set their preference in settings and temporarily switch hands mid round. This has been a feature asked for by the community since before CS2 even launched. The default key to switch hands is set to H.
The buy menu has received a couple of changes to provide more information to players. A guaranteed next round minimum cash value now appears in the top right of the menu, and a new section at the bottom provides a list of all weapons, grenades, and bombs dropped in the spawn area. Players can also throw more precise grenades thanks to a new line-up reticle that appears after pulling the pin.
