Avoiding AWPers

Question

I'm new to this game, just tried out playing on casual servers, and got my life ruined by AWPers. One-shot one-kill... too overpowered, in my opinion. Any advice on how to not spend more time in respawn then in-game because of AWPers?

Answer 1

I mostly play competitive modes and I know that AWPrs can be a pain.

So, learning the maps and where AWPrs play is probably the most important thing overall (as suggested by @Novarg). Aside from obvious reasons, you'll need that info for this next tip which is smokes and flashes. Knowing the map and where APWrs can be will tell you where to put those smokes and flashes.

When employed effectively, these completely neutralize an AWPer (albit it temporarily) putting them in a very bad spot (it completely turns the tables, in my opinion). The idea is to neutralize , and then take control of a bomb site. Even in casual games, this should be the goal (although teams are obviously less serious & organized).

Another tip is to stay with your team. A single enemy is an AWPr's wet dream - it's a low risk kill. A group can overwhelm an AWPr although a good AWPr will still take out one or two before you can get them (assuming no smokes or flashes for whatever reason.)

And my final tip is to know when an AWP can be bought by the enemy team. This is a tricky part of the metagame as it takes some experience. But when you think an AWP is on the field, adjust your play accordingly.

Answer 2

If you don't want to wait to respawn for so long there are a few options for you:

1. Play other gamemodes(Deathmatch, Arms Race, Demolition)

   • In Deathmatch you respawn immediately on a random spot on the map
   • In Arms Race you respawn immediately on your base
   • In Demolition you respawn at the beginning of each round, but rounds are 90 seconds max and maps are small, so normally it takes 30-60 seconds per round

2. Play on Community Servers

   • There you can find other game modes too or some modified servers.

3. Learn the maps, learn where AWPers normally camp. And don't go there :)

   • Of course there will be people who run with AWP all over the map, but many of them just use a couple of spots that they like

4. Stay at the back, wait until your entire team is dead and then go for a suicide mission :)

   • You will only have to wait a couple of seconds before respawning

EDIT

Frank V posted a nice addition to my answer. And I will add a few more tricks you could use against AWPers:

• Bunny hop! If you master it you can move much faster than normal which will make you a much more difficult target. In this video, there is a short explanation about bhop mechanics and speed. To get the speed faster start bhopping with your knife("fastest" weapon in the game, you move 250 units/second with it(in 1.6 you could reach 260 units/second with Steyr Scout)) and when you are in the air, switch to your main weapon. You will maintain your speed in the air, and after you land and jump again your speed will drop to +-285 units/second anyway(assuming you did a clean bhop).
• Circle jump. If you expect and AWPer somewhere(you should know the map of course), you could try a circle jump. The idea is: you approach a corner behind which might be an AWPer. Right before you go out of the corner, strafe and jump(strafe left if you approach a right corner or strafe right if you approach a left corner). While in the air, keep strafing(don't forget to release forward button right before or at the moment of the jump) and move your mouse the same direction. Like that you will be able to make a circle jump(a jump that looks like a circle if you watch it from the top). Most AWPers will probably expect you to land away from the corner and will immediately move their mouse to the predicted location and shoot.
• Timing! Timing is very important when facing AWPers. After the moment you hear AWP shot you have exactly 1.5 seconds(assuming there is only 1 AWPer) before he will be able to make another shot. Use it to your advantage! Run out, make a couple of shots and run back to cover. But don't forget, that AWP has incredible penetration power(in 1.6 you could kill an enemy through 2 ice blocks on fy_iceworld with a headshot). Alternatively, run out and start shooting, but do NOT stand still and do NOT run in a single line. Make random turns, zig-zags and jumps, everything to make you a difficult target for AWP. In close combat AWP is probably the most useless weapon.
• Molotov's/Incendiary grenades. If you know that AWPer is not too far, you can throw a Molotov/Incendiary grenade to his place. If you throw it good, the AWPer will run out of cover making himself a (very) easy target. You can combine it with circle jump. Circle jump to force him to shoot and then use that 1.5 second window to throw a grenade.

Answer 3

Another great way to maybe "out play" an AWPr is to shoulder peek. Lets say an AWPr is holding a close corner, the way i use to peak them is to get close to the wall and make it so my left or right shoulder barely peaks out( just for a second). The way to do this is to quickly press a or d. The AWPr should shoot, thinking that you are peeking. While he is falling back or trying to get in another shot, peek him and either get to another position or kill him. Most people in comp are pretty decent and know not to shoot, but it seems you are playing casual and they are most likely going take the bait. Gl man!