Ever since the very first edition of Valve’s Counter-Strike series was let loose to the public in the late 1990s, Inferno has been a map that has seen an incredible amount of play and, as such, is still one of the most famous and recognisable in each game.
According to HLTV’s official stats for the map, Inferno has been played a total of 14,484 times in competitive play alone, making it the second most popular map in the game behind Mirage. It is set in a quaint Italian hamlet, making it one of the most picturesque and unique maps in the pool currently.
Because of just how much playtime it receives, there’s very little room for error on Inferno. There are some of the most hotly contested spots in the entire game to compete over, and mastering every aspect of the game is needed to get ahead of the curve. However, we are on hand to help you out with some tips to help you master Inferno.
The Layout
Unlike maps like Mirage or Nuke in the game, Inferno has very few spots that are large and out in the open. Bombsite B is probably the biggest of these spaces, coming in as little more than just a fountain and a couple of pillars to contest. Instead of housing the big bombsites and open spaces, Inferno is instead made up of a plethora of long tight straights and corridors that are bombarded with utility.
Whilst positioning is vital in every map on CS:GO, there is a little bit more room for error here on Inferno. Rather than playing angles and holding points, work on having a crosshair placement that is always aimed at the head of the opponent when they’re about to maruade through the straights and polishing up on your molotov and smoke placements.
According to HLTV, the winrate on Inferno is still around 50/50 between the T and CT sides. Not only does this mean that the map is exceptionally tough to call in the Esports betting markets for its match ups, but it goes to show just how fairly balanced the map truly is, and exactly why you should never rule yourself, or your opponents, out of comeback on it.
Master Your Utility
As we mentioned above, there’s no map in CS:GO more utility-dependent than Inferno. Spots like Banana will be contested every single round you play, and you can guarantee that it will be bombarded with molotovs, smokes and frag grenades at every opportunity. Quite simply, if you don’t pepper and contest Banana, you lose the round almost every single time.
As well as Banana, some of the smokes down middle and around the A Bombsite are always vital heading into a match up on Inferno.
Pepper The Corridors
Inferno is made up of numerous straights and corridors that usually mean 1v1s are more common to find than the likes of Dust II or Mirage. The likes of Banana, Middle, Apts and even Pit and Graveyard near the A Bombsite can all bring fights that are pivotal to a round’s success. Again, knowing your crosshair and where it needs to be to dispatch as quickly as possible can be an invaluable skill to have on Inferno, and will bring you more rounds won than lost for sure.
The pacing on Inferno can be a little harder to grasp than other maps, because of this build and emphasis on winning the various straits around the map.
Rotations can be made a little bit more frequently than on the likes of Mirage, where switching up bombsites in the middle of a round is practically unheard of, and there are a number of routes around the map which will always ensure that moving around and getting from point to point is always available to a team regardless of their status and standing in a round.
And besides the opening to every round revolving around a good few members of each side racing down to Banana to contest, there’s a good amount of variety in how slow or fast a round can go on Inferno.
Communication is king in CS:GO at the best of times, but calling rotations and understanding how fast a round is developing is especially vital on a map like Inferno.
