A ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ update has nerfed the AWP

19 November, 2022

CSGO

Valve’s latest update for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has made changes to some of the game’s weapons – including the iconic sniper rifle, the AWP.

Valve announced the changes on the official Counter-Strike blog, in which it was announced that the AWP is being nerfed.

The iconic sniper rifle has seen its magazine size cut in half, down to 5 from its previous 10. A pretty severe cut – and it’s not the only gun getting nerfed in this update, as the M4A1-S rifle is now less effective at long distances.

“The AWP has had its magazine size reduced to five bullets (so make them count!),” reads the post, “and the M4A1-S now does less damage at long ranges.”

It’s a pretty significant nerf for the powerful sniper rifle, which has long been a fan favourite in the game. Such a huge reduction of magazine size is bound to affect how players approach Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, both on the casual and the competitive scene. Especially when you consider the gun’s high price, at $4,750 in the game. With a reduced magazine size, players are much more likely to give the AWP a wide berth.

That’s not the only change on hand either. Valve has also announced that is making changes to the Active Duty map pool. Following the update, Anubis has been added to Active Duty, while Dust II (arguably the game’s most iconic map by some measure) has been removed.

These changes will affect which maps get played at the 2023 Paris Major, which is due to take place from May 13 to May 21, 2023. However, these maps will remain available to all players in Casual, Deathmatch, and Competitive modes.

In other gaming news, Blizzard has confirmed fan theories that queue times in Overwatch 2 are so long because not enough players are playing support heroes.

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