Platforms: PC

Players who want a decent alternative to Counter-Strike would want to look at Black Squad , a free-to-play multiplayer FPS . Released in 2017, Black Squad seems reminiscent of other F2P FPS titles, with its own share of items in the cash shop. However, while players can whale real money buying guns, skins, and other cosmetics, they can also use in-game currency into buying the same it

Platforms: PC, Linux , macOS

Arguably the parent of Overwatch and its unique game modes, Team Fortress is a team shooter that remains popular to genre newcomers and pros years after its initial release . Players in a squad choose one out of nine classes, each with predetermined abilities and toolkits that can help achieve the mode's objectives. Matches can involve mechanics such as moving carts, protecting locations, or even stealing briefca

This, doubled with the game's wildly difficult execution, makes the game one of the hardest for newcomers to approach in the fighting game scene. KoF XV has tons of pretzel inputs that are physically hard to pull off, and can lead to injured wrists if done too often or incorrectly. All in all, KoF XV is a fun yet brutal game for newcomers to le

Created by renowned map creator Chris "Narby" Auty for Counter-Strike version 1.1, Inferno would go on to be included in every Counter-Strike game and remain a mainstay of the competitive scene. Since the map has such a legacy it made sense that it would be an ideal candidate for a revision and would get just that on October 13, 2

Tekken has been one of the most consistently popular fighting games in the genre. The 3D fighter features beautiful graphics and a huge roster of unique characters to choose from. Save for a few exceptions like Super Smash Bros , fighting games are often very hard for newcomers to come into. There is a ton of information to learn, and it can even be hard just choosing a charac

Over time Overpass would receive numerous adjustments and his response tweaks to balance out the map and most would be well-received. Today the map is praised for its balance and unpredictable nature but remembered infamously for the "Fnatic/Olof boost" of 2013. During the fourth CS:GO Major at DreamHack Winter 2013 the professional player Olof "olofmeister" Gustafsson from the Swedish team Fnatic utilized an exploit known as "pixel walking" to gain an advantageous position against the opposing t

Center to the experience is the "Spike," the equivalent of a high-yield bomb that a team either has to deploy and protect or defuse. Players can become various powered Agents like Jett (Duelist) who navigates the battlefield faster with her high-altitude jumps, or Sage (Sentinel) who can heal allies and block enemies with her ice abilities. With the game's physics-defying mechanics, players will have to get creative maximizing their team synerg

It wouldn't be until November 18, 2022, that the map would be added to the official Valve active map pool, replacing the iconic Dust II. Immediately the player base voiced its confusion and apprehension as while the map received initial positive feedback it went through many changes and issues were highlighted throughout this time. As it is now Anubis has a long way to go before it is fully mastered and players can truly form an opinion on the potential of the

The ping mechanic is one of the most useful non-verbal ways for teammates to help each other during a game of Danger Zone . This is because a player pinging can reveal an enemy, a supply crate, or can direct the focus of a team to a particular po

As the newest map to be introduced into the active pool, Anubis has had some controversy upon its inclusion, to say the least. Designed by Roald, jakuza, and jd40, the map was first added to the game on March 31, 2020, to the Scrimmage mode before eventually being moved to Competitive 10 days later. This is notable as it was only the second map to be added to Competitive via this method as before this Cache was the only one to make it. Given this fact, there seemed to be a lot of positive feedback for the map since Cache is a very well-loved

Ancient is, unfortunately, also quite CT-sided with many of the same sentiments for Vertigo being shared here. Many would argue it is worse on Vertigo, but the pro scene has shown how effective T-sides can be at the highest level. With that being said the map has seen a few minor changes since its introduction to improve this imbalance such as improving player visibility. Despite its early and current issues, it does fare well in pick rate in both professional and casual p

Generally, players will want to go for these because of the advantage that the overpowered weapons give them. For example, a player with an AUG assault rifle is easily able to win a fight at long range over another player holding a P90. Although it can be risky for players to leave the comfort of their hexagon and try and loot these crates, it is surely worth it for the competitive edge that it gi