Knifing is the ultimate insult in CS:GO.
But you don't want to blow your opportunity
by using the wrong knife combination.
To test this I've spawned a load of zombie
bots who will stand still, regardless of what
I do to them!
Hmm, this could make it more difficult.
First up is the front attack.
Not a position you'd like to be in in a fight,
but we've all been there.
Using the stronger, secondary attack it takes
two hits.
Primary takes 5 hits.
You could also do two primary and one secondary,
which- OH FOR GOODNESS SAKE.
Ahaa!
Hmm...
I have a plan...
Yeah!
Try escaping from THAT!
So once again, two primary and one secondary.
But which of these methods is best?
If I play them at the same time and in slow-motion,
you can see.
The shortest way to defeat people from the
front is with the two primary and one secondary,
closely followed by two secondary attacks.
I don't recommend the 5 primary knife attack
option, though it does look hilarious.
Another difference between primary and secondary
attack is the range.
The weaker knife attack has a range of 64
units instead of 48 for the secondary.
Working this out was the most boring 10 minutes
of my life.
In real terms, the 16 unit difference is the
equivalent of one quarter the length of a
head-height crate in CS:GO.
That's one fifteenth of a second head-start
versus a stationary opponent who's trying
to knife you with the secondary attack, or
one 30th of a second if you're both running
towards each other.
Actually, that doesn't sound as impressive
as I thought it would.
Still, I suppose that every little helps and
if you're circling each other Flash-Gordon
style then the advantage will become greater.
With that in mind, in a knife fight you'll
likely have the advantage if you RUSH AT THEM
using primary attack, then after the second
hit, switch to secondary fire for the killing
blow.
You can almost use those two primary attacks
as an opportunity to line yourself up for
the killing third secondary blow.
If that makes sense.
In knife duels if you miss with the secondary
fire it takes a while to 'recharge', and you'll
find that enemies will take advantage and
run straight towards you before your knife
'reloads'.
You can fool them by pressing the primary
fire instead.
You should be ready to attack again by the
time they get into range.
There are all kinds of tactics for knife fights,
though they're rarer than they were in CSS
where they were often used to decide which
team you'd like to play first.
If you're fighting using only secondary attack
and you land the first hit, keep running at
the enemy to get that second, fatal blow.
If they hit you first... run, and consider
shooting them in the face.
If Indiana Jones can do it, so can you.
From the front, secondary attack always deals
55 damage.
Primary attack does 34 on the first blow,
then drops to 21 for every attack afterwards.
Armour makes no difference in CS:GO, nor does
where you hit them with the knife.
They deal the same amount of damage regardless...
with one exception.
If you attack an enemy from behind, it does
far more damage.
Secondary attack is an instant kill, while
primary does 76.
It's obviously best to go for the instant
kill though if you're feeling particularly
evil you can try a repeated primary attack,
though be warned that it will take 3 hits
rather than 2 if they spin around to face
you after the first hit.
And there you have it- my guide to knives.
Knifing somebody in a competitive game nets
you $1500 so there is an incentive to do so
if you can.
Have fun!
