CS2 Spray Control Guide

Spray control is among the more important skills to master in Counter-Strike 2.  It is absolutely vital for accuracy at mid and long distances, and is rightfully considered one of the prerequisites for entering higher levels of play. However, spray control is also a far more challenging mechanic than, say, tapping or bursting. The thing is, every weapon you use actually has a unique recoil pattern you’ll need to master. In this CS2 spray control guide, we’ll do our best to explain why recoil control matters in competitive play and how learning it can improve your consistency, aim, and overall performance.

What is Spray Control in CS2?

In real life, recoil is caused by the explosions of gunpowder in the sleeve and occurs every time you fire a bullet. Counter-Strike developers transferred this mechanic into the game by giving every gun a specific recoil parameter. However, unlike real life, in CS, recoil affects your crosshair the same way each time you fire. In other words, every weapon has a recoil pattern you can learn, allowing you to stay in control of your aim while spraying.

There’s more than one way to overcome recoil:

1. Tap Shooting — firing one bullet at a time with pauses (approximately 0.8 sec) for recoil stabilization, ideal at long ranges.
2. Burst Fire — shooting a few bullets quickly, balancing accuracy with greater damage output. This method works because the first few bullets of a spray always hit close to the aiming point.
3. Spraying — holding down the trigger for continuous fire, requires the use of spray patterns to stay accurate.

Spraying has the highest firing tempo of the three, i.e., the highest potential damage, making it a fun favorite. However, this tactic will only work once you learn to use the spray patterns CS2 developers put into the game.

How Spray Patterns Work in CS2

Recoil Mechanics

The longer you fire, the worse the recoil gets. Thankfully, CS2 recoil patterns are both predictable and consistent, so if you learn the pattern and move the crosshair to counter it, most of your bullets will hit the target. This technique is known as spray control, and it’s crucial for close- and mid-range shoutouts where tapping won’t do the job.

Differences Between CS:GO and CS2 Recoil

While the fundamentals remain the same, CS2 introduces some important changes to how recoil works:

1. Increased randomness. Spray trajectories have become a bit more random, making full-auto control trickier.
2. Better reset mechanics. Burst fire feels smoother thanks to Source 2’s updated recoil recovery system, meaning there are more cases where you should go for this method instead of spraying.
3. Improved visual feedback. Tracers and bullet impacts are easier to see, letting you see how your spray behaves and adjust in real time.
4. Harder spray transfer. Despite having better animations and visual response, transferring sprays between targets became more difficult.

Overall, CS:GO recoil mechanics were more suited for spraying, while CS2 favors short and accurate bursts.

Step-by-Step Guide to Practicing Spray Control

1. Feel and Understand Recoil

1. Launch a practice map (if you don’t know where to start, check our list of the best CS2 aim training maps).
2. Enable the additional setting you plan to use via console commands (e.g., sv_cheats 1, bot_kick, mp_roundtime_defuse 9999, sv_showimpacts) or use in-built buttons on the workshop map to eliminate any game elements you won’t need (bots, obstacles, etc.).
3. Pick a weapon and fire several full sprays into a wall without moving your mouse.
4. Analyze the bullet holes and memorize the gun’s spray pattern.
5. Do several small bursts (up to 10 bullets) to feel the moves that best compensate for the recoil.

2. Try Proper Mouse Movements

Since all weapons share a similar spray path (up, then sideways), the key takeaway is to learn to drag your mouse down and then horizontally.

1. Start with bursts of around five bullets, standing close to the wall.
2. Try to feel the tempo of the bullets flying vertically and catch the compensation movement balance.
3. Once you’re comfortable with short sprays, try holding the trigger for a longer time (to fire around 10 bullets).
4. Gradually increase the distance from the wall over the course of several training sessions.
5. Test your skills with different weapons, starting with short bursts and close distance if necessary.

3. Practice Spray Transfer

Although spray transfer became more difficult to pull off in CS2, it is still a vital skill for clutches.

1. Choose two obvious targets (spots, drawings, intersections) on the wall, a few meters apart from each other.
2. Spray the first target while controlling recoil, then quickly move your crosshair to the second target and continue spraying.
3. As with normal spray control, analyze bullet impacts to improve your accuracy.

4. Warm-Up Routines for Spray Control

Here’s what a typical spray control warm-up looks like:

1. Wall practice (5 min): Spray 10–15 magazines into a wall, focusing on controlling the first 10 bullets.
2. Target practice (10 min): We suggest you use a workshop aim map with recovering bots.
3. Spray transfer (5 min): Work on moving between two or three targets while spraying; use responsive walls or reviving bots.
4. Mix spraying with taps and bursts (5 min): Train switching between tap, burst, and spray.

With enough practice, the process becomes automatic. Over time, you’ll stop consciously thinking about recoil, adjusting your aim automatically.

Weapon-Specific Spray Control in CS2

In this part of our CS2 recoil guide, we’ll take a look at individual weapons and their recoil patterns.

AK-47

The most popular gun in the game has a sharp vertical climb, followed by a left-right zigzag. All you have to do to make AK-47 spray control in CS2 look easy is pull the crosshair down hard and then move it from side to side.

The AK-47 has the highest damage per bullet of any rifle and can one-shot enemies through a helmet. With this in mind, it makes sense to stick with one-taps even when firing at middle distances. Still, with how popular the gun is, many players can accurately spray from incredible distances.

M4A4 / M4A1-S

Both M4 rifles have lower recoil than the AK and are far easier to control. However, they lack the damage to take a helmeted opponent down with a single headshot, which balances things out. On the other hand, their low recoil makes long-range spraying viable.

M4A4: The M4A4 spray pattern in CS2 consists of a strong vertical rise followed by a long horizontal sway to the right and then to the left.

M4A1-S: With fewer bullets in the mag, M4A1-S doesn’t have that sway from right to left at the end, making it easier to control.

FAMAS & Galil AR (Budget Rifles)

Both FAMAs and Galil-AR have decent damage and accuracy, but suffer from complicated recoils. You should stick to tapping and small bursts (up to 5 bullets) at long ranges, and spray at mid and close distances.

FAMAS: Similarly to the rifles we’ve already covered, FAMAS makes your crosshair do a quick vertical climb with minimal side deviation. However, the second half of the spray has an erratic left-right spread.

Galil AR: With a larger magazine, the rifle has a more complex spray pattern consisting of a vertical climb and three broad horizontal swings.

SMGs (MP9, MAC-10, UMP-45)

SMGs are supposed to be cheap weapons ideal for close-range fights where fast spraying is more important than precision. Surprisingly, their recoil patterns are quite similar to those of assault rifles: you get a vertical downturn on the first dozen bullets and horizontal sways on the rest.

MP9: Has an easy-to-follow spray pattern similar to that of M4A1-S, but the lack of damage makes it unsuited for long-range taps. Small bursts (up to 5 bullets) trying to hit the head make more sense during mid and long range spray shooting.

MAC-10: The low penetration rate makes the MAC-10 the least dangerous SMG, but its great running accuracy turns it into a deadly run-and-shoot gun. Its recoil is similar to that of the MP9.

UMP-45: The slowest fire rate among SMGs means more accuracy at long ranges, and the simplest recoil pattern among all the rifles and SMGs only adds to that advantage.

Pistols

Most pistols do not have any recoil pattern to speak of because of their slow fire rate, but there are a few important exceptions.

Fast Pistols (Tec-9, Dual Berettas, CZ75 Auto): With a comparatively high fire rate, it makes sense to learn the recoil patterns for these pistols to keep them effective once the first few bullets are fired.

For example, Tec-9 is closer to rifles than pistols, having both vertical and horizontal sways, while its good running accuracy still makes it a nice rush weapon.

While they look pretty unpredictable in action, Dual Berettas actually have an easy-to-follow recoil pattern consisting of a single vertical line. All you have to master here are the shooting tempo and the crosshair down move.

CZ75 Auto was once something akin to a cheap rifle (until it received a nerf), but now it’s reduced to a backup pistol for snipers due to its small magazine size. Note that the first half of the spray is extremely grouped and doesn't need much recoil compensation.

Traditional Pistols (USP-S, Glock-18, P2000, P250, Five-SeveN): All have the standard vertical move if you pull the trigger several times. There’s a single piece of advice that applies to all of them: learn and feel their firing speed to make the right pauses between taps on long and mid distances.

Slow Pistols (Desert Eagle, Revolver R8): These weapons have a very high accuracy, making them ideal long-range killers. Of course, fast shooting is acceptable only at close ranges.

Tips and Tricks for Better Spray Control

Many players like to pull the trigger and hold it regardless of the distance. If you’re one of them, we can’t really judge you. However, if you’d like to know how to improve spray control in CS2, here are some tricks that can make a world of difference:

Understand The Distance and The Weapon

Every CS2 gun has dozens of characteristics, and learning recoil won’t solve all problems at once. For instance, SMGs lose their damage with distance at a higher rate compared to other guns, so even a precise spray at long range will not be as impactful.

Strafe + Crouch

Most players know that shooting while crouching and not moving makes weapon fire more precise, but few actually use strafe plus crouch spray tricks. If you know that someone is holding the angle, you can not only pre-aim, but also dive into this fight with the spray. Just make sure to push the crouching button! If you do everything right, your spray will be as accurate as if you were standing still.

Experiment with Sensitivity

Sometimes, learning recoil patterns seems impossible, and your mouse and crosshair control feel absolutely abysmal. In such cases, decreasing aim sensitivity can make your moves smoother (interestingly, the opposite is also true, as some players show better results with increased mouse sensitivity). Experiment and see what works for you.

Dedicate Some Time to Practicing

Learning how to spray properly is one of the most challenging aspects of the game. If a spray practice routine seems too much for you, do not hesitate to dive into the aim map to kill bots or simply join the deathmatch and learn all about the spray pattern of your favorite gun.

Common Mistakes Players Make

Even those who know how to control spray in CS2 often make those mistakes:

Over-Spraying at Long Range

Many players try to maintain a full spray at such long ranges that recoil makes their shots wildly inaccurate. At long range, controlled bursts or single shots with good crosshair placement are far more effective.

Not Resetting the Recoil Before Bursting

Pauses between bursts or even single taps are necessary to make follow-up bullets stick to your target. CS weapons have various recovery times, and you should try to learn the recoil reset time of the guns you’re using.

Spraying All Bullets Without Proper Cover Nearby

Spraying all the time can be dangerous, especially if there’s no wall or box to offer you some cover. Smart opponents are always listening for reloads and are ready to catch you off guard, so you should either leave a few bullets for an unexpected fight or request cover fire from your teammates.

Conclusion

CS2 players love crazy one-tap shots, but those who show spray consistency are on another level. Luckily, there are plenty of workshop training maps that will help you learn spray patterns until they become a part of your muscle memory. Just remember that stable spraying is a matter of regular practice, as you have to keep your skills sharp and steady.

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