Valve has released the latest round of patches and hotfixes to the critically acclaimed Counter-Strike 2 tactical FPS but they’ve also included a ‘surprise’ string of code in the game’s backend to a controversial topic in the FPS scene right now, Snap Tap.
Today, we’re checking out the new patch notes to see what’s changed and what’s updated and we’ll also discuss what this new Counter-Strike 2 SnapTap findings really mean in the grand scheme of things.
That said, if you’re on the hunt for new Counter Strike 2 accounts with higher-ranked levels, or just want to expand your collection of CS2 skins, check out U7BUY to find the best deals on the market!
That said, let’s start off with the latest Counter-Strike 2 patch notes for August 18th, 2024.
Counter-Strike 2 Patch Notes 8/14/2024
For the most part, there isn’t anything too substantial in the latest rounds of patches of CS2. These are mostly patches to two of the game’s CS2 maps as well as a few misc quality-of-life improvements and fixes to a few notorious bugs. Nothing that’ll impact the game at a higher level.
That said, if you need to level up your game, check out U7BUY to find professional CSGO boosting service or coaching.
Patches to Two Maps – Pool Day & Mills
Two of the game’s Counter Strike 2 maps have been updated to fix some underlying bugs for the ‘Mills’ and ‘Pool Day’ maps.
For the ‘Mills’ CS2 map, they’ve fixed a few bugs including a ‘grenade blocking issue on mid’, tweaked the map lighting, and some fixes to clipping issues, and reduced visual noise in certain Counter Strike 2 in-game texture elements.
For the ‘Pool Day’ maps, we’ve noticed a more drastic change which ‘locked the unlocked locker’ on the CS2 map. This was done to address an issue where switching between graphics was a bit too easy when spawning as a Counter-Terrorist.
Additionally, the ‘Pool Day’ CS2 map also has adjusted spawn points to mitigate spawn kills from behind.
Nothing too substantial, more akin to a quality-of-life fix more than anything.
Miscellaneous Fixes & Changes
Additionally, there were a few more improvements and fixes to a few issues in Counter-Strike 2 with the latest update. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Fixed a bug that caused the revolver barrel to rotate incorrectly.
- Fixed a bug that allowed Counter Strike 2 players to start the bomb planting animation when not within range of a bomb site.
- Settings & Play menu initial loading times reduced.
However, there is one more, seemingly substantial CS2 update you should be aware of. In particular, it relates to ‘tagging’ or when a player is shot resulting in lowered movement speed.
They now ‘slightly delayed’ tagging effects in the game to reduce a bug where players would suddenly experience ‘teleportation’ when damaged. This delay in tagging aims to have a ‘smoother’ experience but also comes with the unintended consequence of CS2 players having slightly more time to move at ‘full speed’ when being damaged.
Whether this change will make for a substantial ‘advantage’ to damaged players still remains to be seen, but it’s a good idea to keep an eye on whether it really affects play at higher levels.
Snap Tap Detection Now Being Tracked in Counter-Strike 2
Besides the above-publicized patch notes, the Counter Strike 2 new update also had a few intriguing happenings in the game’s back end. In particular, a data miner for CS2 (@gabefollower on X) discovered two new strings of code that could possibly have an effect on overall gameplay.
In particular, @gabefollower discovered these two strings ‘SnapTapStats’ and ‘SnapTap Detection’ potentially signalling that Valve is now aware and tracking players who use Counter Strike 2 Snap Tap keyboards and hardware.
For the uninitiated, ‘Snap Tap’ is a new feature on a selection of Razer’s gaming keyboards that essentially allows you to conveniently pull off ‘counter-strafing movements’ which is a widely used technique in CS2 and other tactical FPS games.
But using this feature, which would normally require practice to perfect the movements to a T, you can perform it just by using the keyboard as you normally would.
This was a topic of debate within the CS2 and other FPS communities when Razer initially unveiled the feature and with this new finding within CS2, we have to wonder what Valve’s intentions are.
Considering that Valve will now be actively ‘tracking’ Snap Tap users within the game, we could potentially see players penalized for using a Snap Tap keyboard. While the impact of Snap Tap features and other similar iterations is yet to be seen, it has been banned in certain tournaments since it could provide an unfair advantage to pro players.
For now, though, all we really know is that Valve is collecting data on users who do use the Snap Tap feature. They haven’t revealed any intentions to outright ban or penalize players who do use it.
At most though, we predict that at Pro level play and tournaments, we may see the controversial ‘Snap Tap’ feature outlawed, but everyday CS2 players can probably breathe a sigh of relief if they’re just using their pricey Razer keyboard for a ranked match or two.
