Understanding Smoke Grenades
Smoke grenades create thick clouds of smoke blocking line-of-sight for 18 seconds. Any player within or looking through smoke can't see enemies beyond it. Smokes are crucial utility for blocking common angles, executing site hits, and creating rotations. Every team buys smokes in most buy rounds due to their utility value.
Vision through smoke depends on perspective: a player inside the smoke can see enemies near the edge more clearly than enemies far away. A player outside looking in sees very little. This asymmetric vision makes positions inside smoke valuable—the player can gather information while being less visible to external threats.
Smoke lineups are precise grenade throws that create smokes at specific locations every time. For example, smoking out an AWPer position on Mirage from a consistent location allows your team to execute without fear of opening duel. Learning 5-10 critical lineups per map dramatically improves execute success rate.
Advanced smoke usage includes timing smokes to expire at crucial moments, using multiple smokes to control large areas, and smoking for protection during rotations. Professional players coordinate smokes with flashes and HE grenades for full site execution packages. Spending 20+ minutes per map learning smoke lineups yields long-term competitive benefits.
Key Points
- Smoke blocks vision for 18 seconds
- Vision asymmetric: inside sees better than outside
- Smoke lineups crucial for consistent execution
- Multiple smokes control large areas
- Combine with flashes for full utility packages
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not learning consistent smoke lineups
- Using smokes without plan or coordination
- Wasting smokes on low-value positions
- Smoking then not entering through the smoke
- Not timing smoke expiration for pushes