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Office (cs_office) is one of the most popular hostage rescue maps in the Counter-Strike series.
Overview[]
Office offers many hiding areas since it has many CQB (close quarters battle) spots. Submachine guns are recommended for this map, especially the MP5 and the ES C90. Shotguns are also recommended but some shotguns like the Leone 12 Gauge Super are not recommended due to the low rate of fire as it gives opportunities for enemies to (counter) attack unless a one-shot one-kill is performed.
Be sure to equip yourself with a Kevlar and a helmet as you will need all the armor you can get in a map like this. Also, remember to pack flashbangs and a smoke grenade to clear hallways and rooms from enemies. The smoke can also be used to provide temporary cover against snipers. In CS:GO, incendiary devices from both teams may be used, either for offensive or defensive purposes. If low on ammunition/supplies, try to avoid common ambush spots and try to scavenge better weapons from fallen players.
Although sniper rifles are not commonly used inside the office complex, players can effectively use these rifles. The long hallways and the outside yards are excellent for AWSM users so be sure to approach these sections with caution. While sniper weaponry can provide better damage and accuracy than submachine guns and assault rifles, snipers will lack the accuracy while on the move when rushing through the office complex. Semi-auto sniper rifles are more effective when used indoors, especially at long corridors. If users are in locations that favor their positions, they can inflict even more damage than AWSM users.
Specifically, the Terrorists have control of the office complex while the Counter-Terrorists can take advantage of the outside sections of this map with sniper rifles. Moreover, the Terrorist team is often prone to "camp" within the hallways, especially the projector room. Meanwhile, the CTs will rush with flashbangs to rescue the hostages.
Tactics[]
Counter-Terrorists[]
As a Counter-Terrorist, it is your job to fight your way into the Terrorist-occupied office and bring at least 1 hostage back to the hostage rescue zone near your spawn zone at the garage. Be wary as you enter the office from any angle, there are enemies awaiting for you. Throw a flashbang or a smoke grenade to cover up your entrance, especially when you enter through the windows or the doors. If you and your team are unable to barge through the front entrances and the backway, try to head towards to the backyard and go through the front room where the Terrorists may not be expecting you.
As you move down the hallways, make sure to check your corners so that the Terrorists do not flank you. If your team is not paying attention to your surroundings, the results include the massacre of you and your team, something that everyone would like to avoid. Always have an allied player to throw a flashbang before entering suspected enemy territory to ensure that any one of the Terrorists will be temporary-blinded and you will be able to take them out easily. Be careful when moving up to the hostages in the projector room; some Terrorists will often choose to camp near them in hopes of you accidently shooting the hostages. (You will lose money for shooting hostages, and even more if you kill them)
If all enemies have been eliminated or were not encountered inside the rooms with the hostages, press the use key to tell the hostages to follow you and escort them to the rescue zone. However, be alert for ambushes within the garage as the Terrorists will camp inside when their numbers have greatly been reduced or when time is running out.
If you do not encounter much foes until you reach the hostage, expect heavy resistance in the hostage rescue area or the corridor that leads to it, where the terrorists are awaiting for your arrival. In CS:GO the edge will slide slightly for the defenders, since they can deploy a wide variety of grenades to weaken your team. Do not bunch up and just go one direction, go from multiple routes will make the enemy team harder to anticipate your team's movements. Smart use of gadgets will make life easier for CTs, if they are using molotov to cover the entry point, use smoke is not always working, instead wait for up to 7 seconds and start using decoy and flashbang, HE grenades can also be used to flush the hiding enemy out. This tactic works best for a well-coordinated team, as they will attack from multiple spots simultaneously. Unless the enemy team is skilled and they are coordinated as well, or the CT team is low on numbers, this kind of assault will be very difficult to defend against.
Terrorists[]
Try defending the hostages by positioning yourself in the hallways, side halls, or the storage room since these routes will be traversed by the Counter-Terrorists. If possible, have team members go to the front room and perhaps the back way where the enemy is most likely to barge into.
Be warned that silencers may be used and could make it harder to detect the users while grenades can disorientate you and lead to your team being killed. If this happens, the opposing force can then easily infiltrate through the main hallways and surround the remaining Terrorist force. Whenever the situation allows, try to eliminate one opponent at a time and quickly retreat. When the enemy advances to your position, fire your weapon again and take cover. You can repeat this tactic several times unless you are running out of space and being surrounded from many angles.
As the last result, if the hostages are being rescued by a Counter-Terrorist operative, camp at the rescue zone9s) and wait to ambush the Counter-Terrorist. This tactic is best executed with a partner and if you have good aiming skills, flashbangs, smoke grenades, and if the Counter-Terrorist is alone and/or not very skilled, then the round may favor to your team.
In the hostage rescue area, it's possible to use grenades, especially firebombs, for area-denial and buy your team some time. In CS:GO, a Molotov is an effective way to cover choke points, since the CTs will be very likely to deploy a smoke grenade to put the fire out. This is a good opportunity to attack when their visuals are impaired by it. Although this will increase the chance to harm the hostages for both teams, you can even add more chaos by using a decoy grenade or a flashbang and cause them to retreat. If your team needs to defend the rescue zone, avoid looking at only one direction. Have your teammates to watch your back and vice versa.
Hot spots[]
Front yard/Stairwell[]
Unlike the side yard and the backyard, this is where outdoor combat takes place most of the time. Snipers can be common as they can camp in the main hallway and the garage windows but leaves them vulnerable to players who have submachine guns and assault rifles and they will have a hard time in eliminating opponents if they are too close and are in large numbers.
There are two outcomes when fighting does occur in the front yard. Either the Counter-Terrorists are able to breach into the office complex through the hallway or the front room or the Terrorists forcefully push back the Counter-Terrorists into the garage and eliminate them with the possible presence of other Terrorists who arrived from the back way.
However, it is rare for the Terrorists to actually kill all members of the opposing team since they prefer to camp nearby the hostages.
Whenever combat does occur in the front yard, be sure to bring an assault rifle or a submachine gun to take down multiple enemies or for additional suppressive fire. Smoke grenades can be very helpful in any situation as enemies would have a harder time in predicting your movements while flashbangs may blind both the opposing force and your allies and HE grenades may prove to be harmful (if friendly fire is enabled) and too noisy. If ranged combat is your weakness, because you're armed with a shotgun for instance, avoid moving to the front yard because most enemies will have the upper hand, even if you have a good sidearm. Instead, take the stairwell, where the CQB capability of shotguns really shines.
If you have a sniper weapon, try to stick close to your allies or find suitable spots for cover. The best places for snipers are at the garage windows where it is possible to eliminate unaware enemies at the hallways. In these situations, sniper weaponry mainly serves as defense purposes rather than for offense strategies.
Stairwell[]
In older Counter-Strike games. players may avoid using this area, especially CTs. However, in Source and CS:GO, crates have been added, which can allow players to have an easier time in accessing the front hall from lower ground. Be warned though that a Terrorist sniper can ambush you.
Main hallway/Side hall/Hostage Rooms (Terrorist spawn zone)[]
Main hall[]
Similar to the front yard, the Terrorists have sniping spots in the main hallway and the side hall. In either situation, the Terrorists have to proceed with caution through the hallways to prevent getting killed by any sniper from the opposing team. Sometimes, these areas are completely avoided unless it is necessary to move through these areas.
Normally, combat in these sections occurs after a gunfight in the front yard, side yard, back way, garage, stairwell, and/or the front room and remains a hot spot for nearly the entire duration of the round.
While Flashbangs and Smoke Grenades are used by many players, HE grenades are deadly due to the confined spaces of the hallways and thus intensifying the war zone.
Side hall[]
If you do not hear anything while moving through the hallways, be sure to walk or wait for a few seconds to ensure that the enemy do not detect your presence. Sometimes, a sniper could be hiding around the front yard or enemy players are waiting to ambush you behind a corner.
In the enclosed narrow hallways, try not to get in your team members' way when they are firing their weapons as it can lead to friendly fire and it can lead to chaotic consequences.
Since the hallway and the side hall offer very little cover for players, close-ranged weaponry is used very often and campers can be common as they can hide around the corners. To counter this, the tactical shield can be used to a great extent to corner camping enemies who thought that an ambush would be easy. Whenever users were deploying the shield, allies would know that an enemy is nearby or behind and thus have enough time to properly react.
Hostage rooms (A.K.A. Terrorist spawn zone)[]
As for the hostage rooms, Terrorists will be found in the rooms or in the storage room, waiting for the CTs to arrive. Often times, the round ends when one of the teams is eliminated as they attempt to rescue the hostages or prevent their rescue. It is highly recommended to throw a flashbang, check for corners, and be alert for footsteps (if enabled). Wallbanging (the act of shooting through a wall) can be observed a number of times to eliminate enemies. Note that HE grenades are not recommended as it can injure and kill hostages, resulting money penalties, unless they are not in the room or are already killed. In CS:GO, the Terrorists might deploy Molotov to cover the entrance or just keep a distance between them and the CT team. If fast assault is needed, use Smoke grenade but beware that the Terrorists might counter-attack during the chaos.
Projector Room[]
In servers with many players, multiple Terrorists will camp in this room.
When retreating from enemies that were previously located around their spawn zone, players can run quickly through the projector room and the storage/lunch room and attack enemies from behind. Normally, these tactics are effective against bots since they will often chase targets, rather than taking the storage room to trap fleeing enemies.
To surround retreating foes, have an ally go through the projector room while another one takes the storage room to effectively trap fleeing enemies.
Garage[]
Fighting in this area can be dense if the Terrorists have decided to flank the Counter-Terrorists from behind (if the CTs choose to attack from the front yard) or prevent the hostages from being escorted to the rescue zone when the round is about to end.
More specifically, if the Counter-Terrorists have not decided to breach through the backyard at the beginning of the round, the Terrorists can easily swarm through the garage and occupy that area with fierce resistance. When this happens, the CTs may have to fight aganist two enemy waves at the same time.
Because the crates offer protection from surrounding enemies for a short moment and ambushes that can lie around the corner or from behind, players use grenades to flush out hiding enemies or quickly escort all the hostages as a CT.
If a player is attempting to surprise enemies, that player may be armed with an M4 auto-shotgun or some other deadly close-range weapon that can easily inflict massive damage on opponents. As a counter-attack, some intended victims can somehow fall back and keep shooting while on the move thus turning the tables.
Generally, if not all of the Terrorists have been eliminated, then it is more than just likely that the surviving players have camped throughout the garage, waiting for the CTs to arrive. To prevent being killed by this, always throw a flashbang across the area and walk quietly. Pay attention to all corners and you may be saved from the "patient" Terrorist.
If you have to prevent the hostages from reaching their rescue zone, try to camp nearby one of the two hostage rescue zones and regularly patrol the garage. If possible, have another team member guard the other zone and keep in touch with the radio.
Normally, Counter-Terrorists that are leading/carrying the hostages will often travel through the backyard to a rescue zone rather than the front entrance because it is closer. As a result, it is imperative to focus more attention on guarding the backway rather than the front yard when you have more than 2 allies. However, if you are the last Terrorist and there are numerous Counter-Terrorists, you can position yourself in the L shaped area of the garage to guard both the entrance and back entrance of the hostage rescue zones. Beware of flashbangs and HE grenades since you are heavily exposed to gunfire and the area lacks cover.
Other areas[]
Backway/Backyard[]
These confined spaces are perfect for players to throw a flashbang or an HE grenade and eliminate enemy players with ease. Escape is nearly impossible thus many team members do not use these areas or linger for more than a minute. The only positive element that the stairwell, backway, and the back yard contains is that campers will have a hard time in remaining hidden and they can only ambush their opponents once (if ever). Since players avoid these areas as much as possible, it is worthy to note that the garage automated door will open (if a player is nearby it) and they may have to break through the windows, which is noisy and leaves a signal to enemy players that someone was there.
In any situation, try not to rush through these areas, especially when you are armed with sniper weaponry. If you have to move, then a flashbang can assist you to increase your chances of survival. However, with coordinated team work, it is possible to breach behind enemy lines of both teams and may lead to a victory.
Side Yard/Front Room[]
Generally, these areas serve as alternative infiltration routes if the Counter-Terrorists were unable to breach into the stairwell, backway, and the hallways. Combat is not very fierce unless there is a high concentration of players in the Front Room. Sometimes, this is where the Terrorists will hide or camp when the enemy gains the upper hand for that round or the environment is too quiet and still. Most of the time, snipers can choose to camp in the Front Room or the adjoining side hall where enemies may have a hard time in getting closer to their targets. To some players, in fact, the front room has nearly the same structure as the rooms with the hostages; the only differences is the exclusion of the projector and the storage room.
Other Tips & Tricks[]
- The Counter-Terrorists' spawn zone is located within a long tunnel containing the hostage rescue zone. The hostages are found deep in the complex; they've been split into pairs and shuffled to the back end of a couple offices. The two offices are virtually adjacent to one another.
- The beauty of Office is the number of entrances into the structure. Search both ends of the starting tunnel, as a Counter-Terrorist, to find several entrances into the structure. You can jump on top of crates and break windows to jump into the building or you can enter through stairwells and even climb ladders to reach the ledge outside of the large windows.
- In the garage, there’s a passage connecting to the hostage rescue zone that leads to a large room where you can provide sniper support for your fellow CTs. These sniper nests can allow you to eliminate Terrorists who are moving through the hallways of the office.
- Some of the Tour of Duty challenges include scoring a number of kills with a sub-machine gun (K&M specifically for the higher difficulty levels). The MP5 is a good weapon in the tight halls of the Office. Combined with the narrow space and the sub-machine gun’s high rate of fire, you should maintain good ground with your opponents.
- There are plenty of corners, crates, and desks to hide behind in the Office building. Beware of Terrorists using the same tactic! Approach each corner carefully by walking instead of running or throw a flashbang at suspected areas where the enemy may be hiding.
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