“With a smaller magazine than its unmuffled counterpart, the silenced M4A1 provides quieter shots with less recoil and better accuracy.”
―Official description
The M4A1-S is a Counter-Terrorist exclusive rifle in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive & Counter-Strike 2, which was added in the game on the August 14, 2013 Arms Deal update. In Global Offensive, it is an alternative to the M4A4, replacing it if equipped in the loadout. It is a successor of the Maverick M4A1 Carbine from previous Counter-Strike games.
Overview[]
The M4A1-S is the reintroduction of the original M4A1 from earlier Counter-Strike games, originally replaced by the M4A4 in Global Offensive. The M4A1-S in game is based off a Colt Model 723 "M16A2 Carbine" (an early predecessor to the M4 Carbine identified by the non-removable carry handle) with an "M4" profile barrel.[1]
In game, the weapon's capacity and reserve capacity is reduced compared to its predecessor, at 20 rounds per magazine and 80 rounds in reserve, which is the lowest out of all assault rifles. Its rate of fire is slightly lowered at 600 RPM, slightly lower than the average assault rifle fire-rate or 667.
The M4A1-S is equipped with a silencer, which is attached when receiving the weapon, and can be manually detached (and reattached) by pressing the secondary fire key. The time taken for detaching and reattaching the silencer is greatly increased, so it is unadvised to do it in the midst of combat.
The silencer is best kept on because removing it increases recoil and decreases accuracy, making it less effective overall than its non-silenced counterpart M4A4. One reason to do so however is that the silencer noticeably increases the length of the weapon, which may make stealth around corners slightly more difficult.
With the silencer on, the weapon has a quiet firing sound, low recoil, and high accuracy. It also doesn't fire tracers. These properties make the M4A1-S suitable for long-range tapfiring.
The max audible distance of silenced firing sound the M4A1-S is 800 units[2].
Properties[]
| Hitbox | Primary Attack | |
|---|---|---|
| Unarmored | Armored | |
| Head | 132 | 92 |
| Chest & Arm | 37 | 26 |
| Abdomen & Pelvis | 47 | 33 |
| Leg | 28 | 28 |
| Movement speed in hammer units per second | |
|---|---|
| Running | 225 |
| Walking | 117 |
| Crouch walking | 77 |
Tactics[]
- To the body, the M4A1-S outputs more damage than the M4A4, and can kill in four shots anywhere against armor at very close ranges. This should only be resorted to if you need to spray when rushed, or utilized when shooting through smokes or otherwise cannot see your target's head.
- At longer ranges, the A1-S' range weakness becomes very apparent. Lacking the capability to kill in two shots with one to the head and one to the body unlike the A4 with disciplined tap-firing.
- Almost always keep the silencer on. Removing it increases the recoil and spread, decreases accuracy while jumping, and gives away your location. Firing with the silencer may not always prevent attention, but the enemy will have a harder time pinpointing your position.
- The lack of tracers make this rifle great at shooting through smokes, as all other weapons that have tracers make it easy for those behind smokes to find where a player is firing from.
- The long length of the silencer can cause the weapon to protrude from corners, exposing the player. Point the weapon towards the inside of the corner.
- In the case that you need to be able to see past a tight corner, briefly removing the silencer may be your best option.
- The magazine capacity and ammo reserve are the lowest of all the other automatic rifles. Ensure careful usage in any engagement.
- You can combine the M4A1-S and USP-S to make you even more subtle, but at the significant cost of total ammo.
Update History
- November 18, 2022
-
- Reduced the M4A1-S range modifier from 0.99 to 0.94.
- June 15, 2022
-
- Reduced the M4A1-S magazine size to 20 bullets, with 80 in reserve.
- September 21, 2021
-
- Increased body damage
- April 10, 2020
-
- M4A1-S – Price reduced to $2900.
- March 13, 2019
-
- The M4A1-S now holds 25 bullets in the magazine, and has 75 in reserve.
- June 12, 2018
-
- Increased reserve ammo for the M4A1-S from 40 to 60, to provide some additional utility without impacting brief engagements.
- September 28, 2016
-
- Increased fidelity and reduced distortion in fire sounds for Famas, Galil, Aug, SG553, M4A4, M4A1-S, unsilenced M4A1-S, and AK47.
- August 3, 2016
- September 15, 2015
-
- Reduced price
- Reduced armor penetration*
- Reduced ROF
- Increased base spread
N.B. "Reduced armor penetration" did not occur.
- March 31, 2015
-
- Increased price of the M4A1-Silencer from 3100 to 3200 to align the weapon’s price with its utility.
- December 10, 2014
-
- Increased price of M4A1-S to $3100
Trivia[]
- The "S" in the weapon's name may stand for "silencer" or "suppressed".
- The design of the silencer modelled on the M4A1-S can be identified as the Griffin Armament M4SD silencer, evident from the smooth body construction, and the trapezoidal shaped gate latch locking tab. Although it was likely that the creator of the model was only referencing to make a generic looking quick detachable silencer.
- The design of the silencer on Counter-Strike 2's remodel of the M4A1-S is virtually identical to the Advanced Armament Corporation 556-SD silencer, further evident with the markings "ADVANCED ARMS 556-SD F 05067-7 (the latter part presumably the serial number of the silencer) on the topside of the silencer.
- Despite the quick detachable and mounting features on the silencers depicted in both games (evident by the locking tabs on the underside of both silencers), this feature is never used in game for balancing reasons, with the player's character taking the tedious and long process of screwing the silencer on and off the weapon.
- The M4A1-S shares its reload animations with the M4A4 and SCAR-20.
- All three involve "slapping" the bolt catch (a small, paddle-shaped lever on the side of the receiver) on the side of the gun, a process also known as "sending the bolt home". Although meant pressed with the thumb, some shooters prefer slapping it for convenience.
- The magazine model of the M4A1-S depicts a curved 30-round 5.56x45 STANAG magazine (also used on M4A4), despite still having a 20-round capacity.
- The M4A1-S and the M4A4 are both called "m4a1" in the game files; one being "weapon_m4a1_silencer" and the other being "weapon_m4a1", respectively.
- The M4A1-S model originally had no safety lever modeled, which was added later (though it is pointed at the Safe position). A strange bar was also present in front of the bolt catch on the original model, which was removed later.
- The popularity of the M4A1-S became even with the M4A4 10 months after release.[3]
- With the last damage update, the M4A1-S becomes the only weapon where the headshot damage is not 4x that of the bodyshot damage.
References[]
External links[]
- M4A1 at Wikipedia.
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