Of the 20 maps included in Counter-Strike 1.0, half are hostage rescue maps. Hostage rescue maps all have four defenseless (and often mindless) hostages that should be guarded by the terrorist team, which spawns very close to the hostages at the start of each round. Counter-terrorists spawn farther away and must infiltrate the terrorist's lair, rescue the hostages unharmed, and deliver them to freedom.
For terrorists, the priority on all hostage rescue maps is to stay alive and guard the hostages from being liberated. Counter-terrorists can win the round in two ways: by rescuing the hostages within the time limit or by killing all the terrorists. Conversely, the terrorist team can win the match by either killing all the counter-terrorists or by preventing them from rescuing the hostages in time.
Let's look at some general strategies that apply on all hostage rescue maps for both counter-terrorists and terrorists.
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Each map has four or five hostages that must be rescued. |
Well, now they've gone and done it. A group of scientists or tree-hugging environmentalists or capitalist pigs or whomever has gone and upset a group of savage terrorists, and now it's been captured and is being held against its will. Saddle up, counter-terrorists, you've got a job to do, and you're going to do it well by following these specific guidelines.
1. Grenades are your friends.
The smoke, flashbang, and high-explosive grenades in Counter-Strike have specific purposes, and they lie solely in distracting, disorienting, or killing terrorists that are guarding hostages. Sure, the terrorists can have some great fun with grenades too, but they're really precise instruments that a good counter-terrorist team should use. A good general rule is to smoke dangerous entry zones to limit the terrorists' visibility, advance and flash the principal terrorist camping area, and rush in after the flashes deploy.
2. Counter-terrorist camping has a role... within reason.
On some of the hostage rescue maps, notably Canyon Siege, Assault, and Militia, it serves counter-terrorists well to watch the clock and bleed off a minute or two of game time before rushing into the terrorists' camp. Why? More often than not, some terrorists, possibly even half the entire team, will quickly get bored with guarding the hostages and rush like rabid dogs into the concentrated fire of the entire counter-terrorist team. As long as terrorists stay near their spawn area, they have the tactical advantage over the counter-terrorists. By goading them out of their hiding area, the advantage shifts to the counter-terrorists.
Let a minute or two bleed off, kill the few mindless rushing terrorists, and enjoy a nice numeric advantage against the wise terrorists that are still left guarding the hostages.
3. AWM delight.
There should always be at least one out of every five counter-terrorists that purchases an AWM/AWP sniper rifle each round. This is because of the nature of most hostage rescue maps, which have long approach lanes for counter-terrorists to navigate as they try to get close to the hostages. In maps like Office, Canyon Siege, Militia, Estate, and Italy, there are plenty of long-distance angles that sniping counter-terrorists can exploit as the rest of the team rushes toward the terrorist camps.
Terrorists' role on hostage rescue maps is very simple: Guard the hostages. To accomplish this goal, the terrorists must work together in groups, preferably all within close range of the hostages. Here are a few general tips.
1. Like it or not, it's camping time.
On almost all the hostage rescue maps, guarding or camping near the hostage rescue point tends to let terrorists hold a natural advantage over their counter-terrorist opponents. The Assault map is the perfect example, and many players detest playing as counter-terrorists on Assault due to what they perceive to be excessive terrorist camping. Terrorists win, however, because their spawn point forces them to stick together, pool their fire, and cover all counter-terrorist entry points.
2. Purchase rifles, not submachine guns.
Yes, the MP5 is one of the most accurate and easiest weapons in Counter-Strike to use, even for those unskilled in burst-firing. But the reality is that you will be guarding hostages in buildings, behind doors, and around boxes, and you will need the AK-47's incredible penetrating power and bullet damage to mount a defense against marauding counter-terrorists. The SIG-552 also makes for a great terrorist weapon on hostage rescue maps due to its penetration and zoom capabilities.
3. Watch the grenades.
It's tempting to hang back while guarding hostages and purchase limitless grenades to throw from relative safety as terrorists, particularly on maps like Canyon Siege and Assault. You should use caution and good judgment when doing so, since it's very easy to injure or blind one of your own teammates. And improper use of the smoke grenade will only help the counter-terrorists on hostage rescue maps, since it provides cover for them to get closer to the terrorist base camp as a group.
