Ancient Callouts Explanation: Guide + Screenshots of Each Place

Dating all the way back to 2020, the CS map Ancient didn’t get a splash of community joy but gained the attention of the long-standing fans who remembered de_aztec in CS 1.6. Both the older map and the currently available Ancient are dedicated to the Central American rainforests and ruins of Aztec culture.

On release, Ancient was noticeable for its lack of proper lighting, making the map unique but hard to play because of difficulties in detecting other players’ models against the dark background. However, after Valve added Ancient to the active map pool in the middle of 2021, professional teams made the difference — it started gaining popularity. With the Source 2 engine in action, the map became brighter and much more playable in CS2, and learning Counter-Strike Ancient callouts will make your gameplay more effective on it.

The map structure is pretty typical to CS with three main battling areas — A and B bombsites and Middle. However, simply understanding the map layout is not enough to play successfully, as referencing specific positions is essential for communication with teammates during a skirmish. In this article, we’ll discuss all the important locations separately, while here is how all CS2 callouts on Ancient look like:

CS2 Ancient: A Site Callouts

With a few updates to textures and lighting, Ancient callouts in CS 2 on the bomb site A look like this. However, let’s take a closer look at them and start the guide with the A Site.

CT Spawn

Since the A Site is much closer to the CT Spawn, let’s start with it. As is common for CT maps, it’s a wide area, with the spawning spots being close to the back wall.

CT Lane

The Counter-Terrorists that protect A bombsite often choose the CT Lane as the main passageway to the plant, especially those who try to take the Donut position and hear Ts running to the Elbow or Main Halls.

Triple

The Triple Box is one of the main positions for players to protect the A Site, especially when they expect opponents coming from the Main or A Short.

Temple

The Temple connects the CT Spawn and location around boxes, making it a decent alternative way to take the defensive position on the A Site, helping the team to hold opponents coming from the Main.

Plat

The Plat is not a valuable position on its own, but the box near it can protect a player from the opponents arriving from the Main or A Short.

Big Box

With a few different boxes on the A bombsite, it’s vital to know the particular names of each from the list of callouts on the Ancient map. The Big Box is one of the most universal spots close to the plant zone, suitable for clutches and hiding.

Boost

The name of the position comes from the fact that CTs typically boost their teammates up to this point when defending the A Site. 

A Short

The connection between the Donut and the A plant zone is called the A Short, although players often highlight it simply as the Donut or Chamber, highlighting the direction.

Main

The most obvious and straightforward way from the T Spawn to the A Site goes through the Main Halls and Main itself, which is a wide area that is easy to counter even without using nades.

Main Halls

The Main Hall is divided into two corridors connecting the Main and Stairs, but battles occur here only if both sides are ready to fight for it.

Stairs

With a few CS Ancient map callouts that could’ve been called the Stairs, the community decided to give this distinctive name to the position between the Split and Main Halls.

Split

If Terrorists choose to attack the A Site from two directions, their split starts at the huge pillar near the Elbow and Stairs, giving the location its name.

Middle Callouts for CS2 Ancient

Out of all the locations on the CS2 Ancient map, the Middle area can be regarded as the most important. Control over it gives wider opportunities for Terrorists to choose the direction to enter, while CTs can cut their opponents’ smart splits or fast rotations.

Elbow

The fastest entrance to the Middle for Ts is the Elbow, a corridor located near the Split. However, it’s a dangerous spot as it can be easily isolated via smokes and incendiaries from the CT side.

X Box

The X Box is a pretty flexible construction as it can serve as the elevation option from the Mid to Heaven or even the ambush against CTs playing in the Sniper’s Nest or Donut.

Heaven

The Heaven position is one of the most important on the map as both sides have similar chances of taking it, while it’s also connected to the Middle area with the T-Upper and Lamp Room. An alternative callout for the location is the Cat, short for the Catwalk.

Pit

Another ambush position in the Middle is the Pit, which is a perfect spot to fight Ts in the Elbow. However, the Ts who are aware of this often molly it early into the game to reduce the potential danger.

Top Mid

One shouldn’t confuse the stairs callouts of Ancient map, as those in the Middle zone are called the Top Mid and lead to the Sniper’s Nest.

Sniper’s Nest

When discussing the best spots for AWP lovers on the Ancient, this one is the first pick for the CT players. The Sniper’s Nest is an advantageous spot as it requires the player to pay attention to only two positions (the Elbow and Heaven), while it has a few stairs and walls from both sides to hide after the shot.

House

The House (or Connector) is located near the Snipers’ Nest and links it with the CT Spawn and Alley. Sometimes, the House refers to the whole position, including Sniper’s Nest.

Donut

Out of all the CS2 Ancient callouts explained, the Donut has one of the most obvious name origins. To understand it, one should look at this position on the general plan, where the rounded room with a massive column in the middle looks like the donut.

B Site Callouts on Ancient CS2

If we look at the Ancient kills’ heatmap, the conclusion is obvious — the B Site is much more game-involved than the A plant. It’s only logical, as plenty of corners and cheeky spots give equal kill opportunities for both sides while there is also at least one safe spot for planting.

Alley

The Alley is a path from the House to the B plant, either via the B Short or B Long corridors. Players also occasionally call it the CT, as it’s the only way from the CT Spawn to B.

Back Alley

The Back Alley (located behind the Square) divides the B Short and B Long, helping to observe the area for possible opponent activity but separating it from the Alley and responsive firing angles.

B Short

In the list of CS2 Ancient callouts, names like the B Short are too obvious not to confuse them, so pay attention here! As the name suggests, it’s the shortest way from CT to B Site and vice versa.

B Long

With the same logic in mind, B Long is the area between the bomb plant and the Back Alley, which is a longer way for the opposite sides to start the fight.

Pillar

The Pillar's presence makes the B Site more prevalent than A because it covers a bomb-planting player from the random bullets spamming via the smoke.

Enhance your gameplay with our guide on CS2 Ancient smokes, complete with tactics and precise throwing points.

Ninja

With plenty of articles about the Ancient callouts in Counter-Strike, the Ninja position is sometimes called the Banger, with both names having their logic. The corners that provide an easy hiding spot lead to the ‘Ninja’ name, while ‘Banger’ refers to wooden walls that cannot stop bullets and are effective for spamming.

Cave

The Cave is a critical location for B Site, either for holding or execution, as it gives plenty of hiding and controlling options.

Lamp Room

In fact, many Ancient callouts might claim the Lamp Room name after the CS2 release because the map became brighter with the addition of artificial lightning. However, precisely in this area, the lamps create a huge shadow when Ts are coming from the T Upper, so CTs can use this advantage pretty often.

T Upper

The location between the Heaven and T-Lower is called the T-Upper — a vital spot for the Terrorists who can build the whole round strategy around taking it.

Construction

The wooden Construction can serve as the boost and give additional firing angles against the T-Ramp and Heaven positions.

T Lower

When Terrorists are choosing the primary location to prepare for B Site execution, the T Lower is the most suitable area with vast space for grenade throwing.

Ramp

If Ts decide to directly rush one of the plants (on eco round, for instance), 70% of it would be the B Site via the Ramp position, which is wide enough for a massive skirmish and fast outcome.

Doors

Since the Doors is a pretty narrow spot, the opened skyboxes allow CTs to smoke it on early timings and cut the vision for Ts without taking even the T Lower.

Ruins

The Ruins is the open area on the Terrorists’ way to the Doors, with plenty of grenade spots for B Site execution.

Water

The Water spot is nothing special because of its location on the map, but it has been a popular place for Ts to cover the huge bomb explosion radius on the B Site.

Tunnel

It’s hard not to understand why this passageway is called the Tunnels, isn’t it?

T Spawn

Since we opened the CS Ancient callouts guide with the CT Spawn, it’ll be logical enough to close it with the opposite position — the T Spawn, which is located between the Tunnels and Split.

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