Guide to Positions/Roles in Counter-Strike. Part 2: Who are the IGL, Sniper, and Support?
Choosing a position on the map can be challenging, but after reading these materials, you should have a clearer understanding of which type of player you most closely align with. In this part, we will discuss the captain, the sniper, and the support. What do your teammates expect from you in these positions, what moments should you focus on, and other nuances.
IGL (In-game Leader) or Captain: 50% of Success Depends on Their Decisions
- Top players in this role: karrigan, apEX, Aleksib, Jame, siuhy
Being a team captain is not only a huge responsibility but also a significant workload outside the game server. You might not be interested in the job of a professional team captain and want to know more practical things, so we will briefly touch on this aspect.
There can be different types of IGLs, but generally, they are divided into tactical/improvisational from a gameplay perspective and disciplined/impulsive from a moral perspective. Undoubtedly, every good captain should have their own playbook with prepared rounds, so-called “defaults.” In other words, these are simple and clear rounds for everyone, where if you do everything “perfectly,” it should be successful. Some captains like to calculate every second and every action strictly and will ask the team to stick to the plan, even if circumstances call for a different play. Other captains describe the overall idea but leave freedom in actions to achieve the final goal. Regarding morale, it’s more straightforward: some prefer to encourage or emotionally point out mistakes, while others want to hear only clear information during the game. Decide what suits you best, but for such interaction schemes, you should have your own stack, which you will relay your vision of the game to in advance.
It might seem that captains are useless for matchmaking games, but that is not the case. In random mixes, a voice to guide the team, analyze the opponent’s actions, and focus not only on their own game but on all ten players on the server is very much needed. When playing with random teammates, pay more attention to the radar, give advice to allies, and try to read the opponent’s game based on the situation on the map. Important calls before or during the round should regularly come from you, and ideally, you should be able to quickly justify your decisions. Individually, try to take any free slot on the map: you can die first and help players, take anchor roles, and coordinate players from more closed positions. Undoubtedly, this is all quite challenging, but such players bring the game closer to the professional scene, which is much more enjoyable. How you motivate players emotionally is an individual matter, so learn to find an approach to people. Strategies can be invented by yourself, but it’s better to refer to proven setups that will be clear to all players. Try to find simple but effective rounds that require a minimal number of complex actions from your teammates, and you can do most of the groundwork yourself.
Sniper: Wielding the Most Powerful Weapon in the Game
- Top players in this role: m0NESY, ZywOo, sh1ro, dev1ce, broky
With great power comes great responsibility. The sniper is always expected to make impactful plays and is often trusted to lead the game. The most powerful weapon in Counter-Strike requires the sniper to be extremely active on the map, attempting to be useful everywhere. For this, the sniper must not only have good reaction time for shooting but also quickly react to in-game situations. The sniper’s primary role is to be where there is a large concentration of opponents and create an advantage through their weapon. Essentially, they take on the roles of an entry fragger, support, and even an anchor in one, depending on the plan and flow of the round. Therefore, it’s crucial for the sniper to have a good sense of the entire map, not just specific points; otherwise, the purchase of an expensive weapon will be highly ineffective. Recently, sniper-captains have become very popular, as leading the game while being active on the entire map has proven to be more comfortable.
As obvious as it may be, without good aim, you can’t be a sniper because, in most cases, you only have one, at most two, shots to make the kill. The sniper also needs to be good with pistols, as they will often find themselves in situations where the AWP will be a disadvantage. One obvious problem when playing as a sniper is the high cost of the rifle, and if you miscalculate the economy, you might not get to use this weapon more than twice in a game. Therefore, keep an eye on your money and your teammates’ money, who might earn enough for an AWP earlier than you.
Long distances and shooting with minimal visibility for the enemy (narrow gaps, slits, etc.) are the main bread and butter for an AWP player. Thanks to the scope, you can spot the enemy faster; the main thing is to learn these positions and press the left mouse button at the right time.
Support: The Shadow Worker with Colossal Impact
- Top players in this role: Twistzz, rain, magixx, Xyp9x
Many mistakenly believe that the support serves as “cannon fodder,” drops weapons for teammates, throws a couple of flashes, and dies. Of course, this is not the case. The support must know a huge number of grenades and be able to use them at the right time. One way to identify a good support is by the number of flash assists, but obviously, the role doesn’t end with flashbangs.
As mentioned earlier, working with grenades is the main task of the support, and they often have to sacrifice their weapon to buy a full set of utility. The support needs to know all the timings in the game, such as when to throw a particular grenade, how long until the enemy’s smoke or molotov dissipates, how much time is left until the bomb explodes, etc. Counting the enemy’s grenades and monitoring their economy also falls under the responsibilities of a good support. Shooting skills can’t be weak either, because following your teammates, you need to get a trade kill and finish the round for them.
Conclusion
Each role is unique and interesting in its own way, but you shouldn’t try to play all the roles. It’s better to focus on one of them. Of course, in public matches, you won’t always get to play where you want. But the game will definitely have moments where you find yourself in a familiar environment and can apply your experience more effectively. Determine your role, and you will enjoy the game much more because you know what to do and what task lies ahead of you. To develop a specific action pattern, refer to the demos of professional players. Most things can be borrowed and adapted to your situation on the server. Your gameplay level will undoubtedly increase, and your impact will be noticed not only by your teammates but also by your opponents